Digital Commons Network^™

Menu For Home Cooking, Zherong Hu

Theses - ALL

The purpose of this thesis is to chronicle the influences and origins of my work and how they ultimately led to the discovery of my current practice. While my childhood and high school experiences in China were the foundation for my art practice, my undergraduate and graduate school experiences in the United States are what allowed me to search, discover, and explore my roots. I begin the paper by describing who and what influenced me to pursue art as a calling. I then briefly refer to some of my undergraduate work for context. Next, I will address some of the …

Sexual Scripts And Sex Tips: Construction Of The Spiciest Subject Through Sex Educational Content On Tiktok, Ashley G. Hay

Theses - ALL

This thesis investigates the changing shape of sex education online, particularly sex education that is pointed toward young audiences in algorithmically-constrained communities on TikTok. Drawing from rhetorical theory, critical sexuality studies, and critical algorithm studies, I situate sex education on TikTok within a broader paradigm of sexual scripting and sexual subjectification processes that participate in the cultural neoliberal sphere. I explore how sex educational TikToks rhetorically construct technosexual agents through digital pedagogies while navigating complex algorithmic constraints—and to do so, I analyze two emergent sexual scripts in these videos: that of orgasm and aftercare. While orgasm discourses fold neatly into …

Media Literacy And Entertainment Media: A Comparative Experiment For Understanding Student Engagement And Enjoyment, Shannon Burth

Theses - ALL

Media literacy has become increasingly important, as our digital media landscapecontinues to grow and change. Countless studies have been done to explore the importance and impact of media literacy interventions. However, existing studies infrequently measure levels of enjoyment and engagement associated with these interventions. By applying the theoretical lens of edutainment and critical enjoyment, this research will hypothesize that entertainment media will be most engaging, enjoyable, and enduring for media literacybased activities. Using an experimental design (N = 44), this study will compare these variables across three conditions (memes, ads, news headlines). The findings from this study lack statistical power …

Philosophical Approaches To Evaluating Critical Thinking As Diminished Empathy: A Qualitative Analysis Of News Framing Of Student Loan Forgiveness, Maleeha Bhadki

Theses - ALL

Critical thinking has long been recognized across disciplines as being solely rooted in problem-solving and logical argument construction. By using Miranda Fricker’s Epistemic Injustice: The Power and Ethics of Knowing as a core theoretical framework, this study aims to deconstruct the ways in how news framing has shaped critical thinking over vast periods of time through an exploration into the ways in which thinking has been socially understood in an otherwise largely technologically immersed world. Using a rhetorical criticism approach, 33 news articles and segments are analyzed from a variety of popular news sources from several platforms that are commonly …

My Space Of Emotional Belonging, Mengru Zhou

Theses - ALL

The purpose of this paper is to articulate how my work as a painter aims to create emotional connections with viewers based on personal memory and the effects of color on human emotions. In reference to key selections of my work, I cite inspirations as well as sources that reveal how color psychology and color selection helps me express emotions more accurately and thus establish emotional connections with audiences through my work. I will also describe additional methods that I use in my work to express human emotions through facial expression and body posture. Ultimately, the purpose of my work …

Causal Effects Of Green Infrastructure On Stormwater Hydrology And Water Quality, Caitlin G. Eger

Dissertations - ALL

Applications of green infrastructure to stormwater management continue to increase in urban landscapes. There are numerous studies of individual stormwater management sites, but few meta-analyses that synthesize and explore design variables for stormwater control structures within a robust statistical framework. The lack of a standardized framework is due to the complexity of stormwater infrastructure designs. Locally customized designs fit to meet diverse site conditions create datasets that become messy, non-uniform, and difficult to analyze across multiple sites. In this dissertation, I first examine how hydrologic processes govern the function of various stormwater infrastructure technologies using water budget data from published …

Shifting Identities: An Examination Of Teacher Professional Identity Development On An Interdisciplinary Collaborative Team, Christine Morgan

Dissertations - ALL

This research study used ethnographic research methods to examine teachers’ perceptions of their professional identities and explored the ways in which these identities were constructed and negotiated through language as they participated on an interdisciplinary collaborative team. In theoretical foundation and methodology, the study drew on theories of symbolic interactionism and discourse, as well as key theoretical understandings of identity. Data were collected from six participants over the course of nine months through interviews, participant observation, and audio-recordings of the team’s planning sessions. The findings from this study show that each participant constructed multiple identities, such as team leader or …

Civility, Epistemic Injustice, And Criticality: Toward A Praxis Of Affective Democratic Friction, Sally J. Sayles-Hannon

Dissertations - ALL

Socially-privileged students’ discomfort in the social justice classroom as injustice is dramatically increasing in public discourse, especially as the Anti-Critical Race Theory (CRT) movement thrives. It is in the current climate of Anti-CRT that social justice educators must be vigilant of how classrooms could reproduce the very injustices they seek to problematize. Coupled alongside social justice educators’ fears of job security and violence—physical, emotional, and epistemic—calls for civility that function to mute discomfort about systemic injustices could easily creep into classrooms. I claim civility can function speciously—when appeals to civility falsely claim, even if well-intentioned, to create just, open dialogue. …

Leading For Equity: Understanding The Influences, Realities, Resistance, And Beliefs Around Tracking And Acceleration In Suburban School Districts, Joseph Michael Debarbieri

Dissertations - ALL

Inequity and marginalization exist within educational structures, policies, and practices. As such, practitioners, like district-level leaders need a clearer understanding of the barriers and their role in making meaning and shaping progress to overcome the disconnect between their beliefs, data, and meaningful and sustainable action. This study sought to understand regional efforts and influences of district leaders around issues of academic tracking and acceleration. As a result of a desire for transformation, this qualitative research study closely examined high-level district leaders by analyzing how they view academic tracking and acceleration within their organizations, how they address issues of equity within …

Social Lives At College: Experiences Of Students With Intellectual And Developmental Disability, Katie Ducett

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation qualitatively studied the social interactions students with IDD had in Inclusive Postsecondary Education (IPSE) programs. Through a DSE lens, I analyzed the experiences of 15 current and former IPSE students to determine the phenomena of social interaction while at IPSE. Methods included focus groups, participant observations, and interviews with the participants. Adaptations of social circle diagrams and photovoice were also utilized. Findings illustrated the presence of ableism surrounding the lives of individuals with IDD. This ableism was apparent within many aspects of the participants lives and experiences during IPSE. Ableism across larger systems was impacting access to higher …

Artificial Intelligence Assisted Motor Learning For Speech Sound Disorders Impacting /ɹ/: The Percept Project, Nina R. Benway

Dissertations - ALL

Approximately 1-2% of the American population enters adulthood with a residual speech sound disorder (RSSD) that impacts the clear pronunciation of speech sounds, most frequently /ɹ/ in fully-rhotic dialects of American English. RSSD is commonly encountered by clinicians, but traditional treatment practices have not been consistently effective in improving an individual’s clarity of /ɹ/. Unresolved RSSD may lead to a lifelong negative impact on quality of life. Recent research has shown that motor-based intervention, which involves high intensity speech practice that adapts in difficulty, can improve production of /ɹ/ even for those who have not responded to traditional treatment. However, …

Meta-Analysis Of Driving Behavior Studies And Assessment Of Factors Using Structural Equation Modeling, Duong Ngoc Hai, Chu Cong Minh, Nathan Huynh

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

The aim of this paper is to understand the factors that influence unsafe driving practices by examining published studies that utilized the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to predict driving behavior. To this end, it reviews 42 studies published up to the end of 2021 to evaluate the predictive utility of TPB by employing a meta-analysis and structural equation model. The results indicate that these studies sought to predict 20 distinct driving behaviors (e.g., drink-driving, use of cellphone while driving, aggressive driving) using the original TPB constructs and 43 additional variables. The TPB model with the three original constructs is …

To Meet Or Not To Meet, That Is The Question: An Analysis Of The Meeting Requirement Of The Arkansas Freedom Of Information Act, Jerry L. Canfield

Arkansas Law Notes

The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) of 1967 provides open public access to “all meetings, formal and informal, special or regular, of the governing bodies of all municipalities, counties, townships, and school districts and all boards, bureaus, commissions, or organizations of the State of Arkansas.” Through the years, FOIA’s open meetings provision has been amended as to executive sessions, to provide for recording of meetings, and to provide for meetings via electronic means in the event of a declared disaster emergency. However, the basic requirement that meetings of governing bodies be open to the public has remained unchanged since …

Gender Disparities Present Within The Legal Profession, Olivia M. Sanders

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the problem of gender disparities present within the legal profession in order to discover their causes and ways to mitigate them. Currently, there are a variety of gender disparities in the legal profession. Women are paid less than their male counterparts, are exposed to sexual harassment and violence more often, and receive fewer leadership opportunities, to name just a few of these disparities. While these disparities are documented in larger firms, little data exists on the extent of such issues in smaller firms, especially in the southeastern United States. Accordingly, I interviewed eight individuals with their juris …

Aging An Ancient Maya Population From Actuncan, Belize Using Dental X-Rays, Kaitlyn Nicole Cash

Honors Theses

My goal is to determine an accurate age at death estimation of an ancient Maya population from the archaeological site of Actuncan, Belize. This was done by measuring the lengths of the coronal pulp cavities in the individuals’ teeth. I used X-Ray images to measure the coronal pulp cavities of the teeth and estimated age using multiple regression formulae for premolars, molars, and incisors to make age estimations. The formulae came from two studies, Ikeda et al. (1985) and Drusini (2008), that form the basis of my research. Ikeda et al. (1985) was the first to use this aging method, …

Accompanied Solo: A Singer/Songwriter's Look Into The Music Industry From Design To Debut Album, Vivienne Mccracken

Honors Theses

Vivi McCracken is my self-titled debut Extended Play Record (or EP) that consists of five original songs. This project encompasses all of my creative passions, with the aim of gaining knowledge of the music industry and what it takes to debut an album from concept to completion. I wrote the music, sang the songs for the recordings, and, for my BFA thesis exhibition, I designed all the graphics, merchandise, and collateral.

The cover art is intentionally minimal. I wanted the imagery to be the main focus, so I chose a condensed sans serif typeface that felt playful enough to complement …

Hungry For Student Food Security: A Comparative Analysis Of University Food Pantry Policies, Anastasia Jones-Burdick

Honors Theses

This undergraduate research thesis aims to explore the relationship between public institutions of higher education and the operational policies of their university food pantries. The increasing rates of nontraditional students entering public universities correlate to an increasing population of students facing food insecurity, placing strain on institutional interventions, especially university food pantries (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015; Nazmi et al., 2019, p.2). This research conducted a qualitative comparative case analysis of university food pantry policies and semistructured interviews with pantry informants through a USDA-adapted evaluative framework to understand the evolution of public universities’ interventions (Barale et al., 2017). The …

Key Barriers To University-Enrolled Student Parents Enhanced By The Covid-19 Pandemic, Khadeejah Franklin, Alexa Saval

Honors Theses

Student parents, both undergraduate and graduate, already face the difficult task of balancing their studies and raising children. The COVID-19 pandemic enhanced already present issues student parents face, such as virtual-schooling, daycare costs and closings, staying home with sick children, and potentially not having a local support system, among others. Further, students who are performing laboratory research to fulfill their STEM educational requirements had their
research progress come to a halt when the country locked down. This study aims to identify the struggles student parents faced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, what issues the pandemic exacerbated, and what new problems …

Women In Dentistry At The University Of Mississippi: Increasing The Confidence And Skills Of Future Women Dentists, Lakin Cramer

Honors Theses

Women in Dentistry became a registered student organization in February 2022. The purpose of the organization is to encourage and promote the professional and personal success of women in dentistry on the University of Mississippi Oxford campus. The historical and current literature of Women in Dentistry serve to provide a framework for the importance of uplifting women as they prepare for a career in dentistry. During my time as Founder and President of Women in Dentistry, my goal was to establish the organization, provide mentorship to prospective female dental school applicants, and increase the confidence and skills of future women …

The Associations Between Adolescent Motives For Social Media Use With Body Dysmorphia, Eating Disorder, And Anxiety And Depression Symptoms, Kaylan Melvin

Honors Theses

Adolescents spend a large amount of time on social media sites. This is notable, as adolescence is a crucial time for body image development. Additionally, recent findings suggest that using image-oriented social media sites, such as Facebook and Instagram, is associated with more body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Among previous studies, certain social media motivations have been found to have an association with poor body satisfaction and well-being in adolescents. To our knowledge, no studies have directly examined the association between social media motivations and eating disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, and anxiety and depression symptoms in adolescents. The current study …

Execution By Alien (A Collection Of Poetry), Sara Emma Kahane

Honors Theses

The following is a collection of poems narratively depicting the childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and death of a woman and her memories. I will analyze the poetry in meaning and form as well.

An Examination Of Financial Accounting Through Case Studies And Discussion, Andrew Meyer

Honors Theses

This thesis is a collection of eleven case studies completed over the course of the 2021-2022 academic year in the Patterson School of Accountancy in the ACCY 420 course, under the direction of Dr. Victoria Dickinson. The cases cover a broad array of concepts within the field of accounting. A few examples of topics include the impact of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on business in America, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financials of Pfizer Inc., and an interview with a successful entrepreneur. From Case 6 on, the thesis is comprised of an analysis of the …

The Interhemispheric Auditory Tract Connectivity And Autism Spectrum Disorder, Josie Long

Honors Theses

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can have abnormal responses and hypersensitivity to sounds (Haesen et al., 2011). ASD is also related to inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive behaviors (Bradley & Isaacs, 2006). One study by Stansberry et al. (2022) found that a higher fractional anisotropy (FA) of interhemispheric auditory white matter is associated with higher impulsivity. Our study examined the interhemispheric auditory tract (IAT) to determine whether it is impacted by ASD. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data from Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange utilizing two datasets so that we could replicate primary findings. We first isolated the IAT …

Dextromethorphan/Quinidine For The Pseudobulbar Affect In Neurological Disorders And Injuries: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Magnolia Livingston

Honors Theses

AVP-923, commonly known as Nuedexta or Zenvia, is a drug that has recently been suggested as a potential treatment for Pseudobulbar Affect in patients affected by different neurological disorders and injuries. Studies have been done to examine the effectiveness of AVP-923 on PBA, but the results of these studies don’t seem to be comparable. The goal of this meta-analysis is to assess the efficacy and safety of AVP-923. 781 individuals from six trials were included in the analysis. The analysis's findings revealed that AVP-923 considerably lowered the Center for Neurological Study Lability Scale (CNS-LS) scores and the frequency and severity …

Identification And Assessment Of Fixed Versus Growth Mindsets In Human And Anatomy Physiology Undergraduate Students, Jayanti Shukla

Honors Theses

Fixed mindsets and growth mindsets are present in individual’s attitudes, affecting their motivations to complete responsibilities or overcome challenges. In this study, we aim to identify and assess the mindsets of undergraduate students partaking in the Human Anatomy and Physiology (HAP) undergraduate course at the University of Mississippi, the gateway course being well-known for its difficulty and being described as “daunting” to many allied-health majors. By utilizing Carol Dweck’s growth mindset model, we are interested in determining whether students possess a “fixed” mindset versus a “growth” mindset, in conjunction to assessing their classroom performance correlating with that demonstrated mindset. An …

Attitudes Toward Intimate Behaviors Vary With Context, Behavior Type, And Attachment Avoidance., Julian Domingo Fuentes

Dissertations - ALL

Close relationships are associated with myriad benefits for human functioning. Intimate behaviors (e.g., physical affection, self-disclosure) are critical for establishing closeness, and people who enact intimate behaviors more frequently also tend to experience greater positive affect and subjective well-being. People vary in how much they desire and enact intimate behaviors in their relationships, and persons who are relatively high in attachment avoidance—reluctance to rely on close others for support and comfort—tend to report less desire for and less frequent enactment of intimate behaviors than do persons who are relatively lower in attachment avoidance. If highly avoidant persons’ negative attitudes toward …

Traumatization Resulting From Interpersonal Disclosure: Developing A Measure Of Disclosure-Induced Neo-Trauma, Sarah D. Wolf-Gramzow

Dissertations - ALL

The purpose of this study was to introduce a new construct into the field of traumatology: disclosure-induced neo-trauma (DINT). DINT is conceptually defined as a negative disclosure experience that entails traumatic stress, disrupts the relationship between the discloser and the person(s) to whom they disclosed, and is appraised by the discloser as a new traumatic event. Participants (N = 167) identified a stressful event in their lives and reported whether they had ever disclosed that event. The majority (59%) of participants who had disclosed the event had experienced a difficult disclosure, and 15% strongly agreed that the disclosure in and …

Data-Informed School Counseling Programming: Investigating The Relationship Between School Counselors' Data Behaviors And Prior Training, Intrapersonal Characteristics, And School Factors, Erin Nicole Friedman

Dissertations - ALL

School counselors’ data behaviors are critical for implementing and assessing comprehensive developmental school counseling programs (CDSCP). The purpose of this research study was to examine the factors related to practicing school counselors’ data behaviors in the context of CDSCPs. Participants (n = 151) were practicing professional school counselors within the United States of America (USA) that received their masters from a school counselor training program in the USA. The study utilized a non-experimental survey research design to examine the impact of prior training on utilizing data, school counselors’ intrapersonal characteristics related to program evaluation, and organizational characteristics (e.g., perceived administrator …

Real-Time Adaptive Detection And Recovery Against Sensor Attacks In Cyber-Physical Systems, Lin Zhang

Dissertations - ALL

Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) utilize computation to control physical objects in real-world environments, and an increasing number of CPS-based applications have been designed for life-critical purposes. Sensor attacks, which manipulate sensor readings to deceive CPSs into performing dangerous actions, can result in severe consequences. This urgent need has motivated significant research into reactive defense. In this dissertation, we present an adaptive detection method capable of identifying sensor attacks before the system reaches unsafe states. Once the attacks are detected, a recovery approach that we propose can guide the physical plant to a desired safe state before a safety deadline.Existing detection approaches …

An Empirical Study Of Pre-Trained Model Reuse In The Hugging Face Deep Learning Model Registry, Wenxin Jiang, Nicholas Synovic, Matt Hyattt, Taylor R. Schorlemmer, Rohan Sethi, Yung-Hisang Lu, George K. Thiruvathukal, James C. Davis

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) are being adopted as components in software systems. Creating and specializing DNNs from scratch has grown increasingly difficult as state-of-the-art architectures grow more complex. Following the path of traditional software engineering, machine learning engineers have begun to reuse large-scale pre-trained models (PTMs) and fine-tune these models for downstream tasks. Prior works have studied reuse practices for traditional software packages to guide software engineers towards better package maintenance and dependency management. We lack a similar foundation of knowledge to guide behaviors in pre-trained model ecosystems.

In this work, we present the first empirical investigation of PTM reuse. …