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Associations Between Tiktok Use, Mental Health, And Body Image Among College Students, Alexz Carpenter May 2023

Associations Between Tiktok Use, Mental Health, And Body Image Among College Students, Alexz Carpenter

Honors Theses

Background. Social media use continues to increase globally, and there is a large field of research examining the relationships between social media use with anxiety, depression, and body image. College-aged students are particularly vulnerable to these associations because they are at a unique developmental point of their life. College-aged students also use social media more frequently than almost any other age group, which may put them at increased risk for negative mental health and body image outcomes related to their social media use. TikTok is a relatively new social media app that has exponentially risen in popularity, especially among younger …


Gender Disparities Present Within The Legal Profession, Olivia M. Sanders May 2023

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 …


The Evolving Role Of Women In The Sinaloa Cartel: An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Drug Trafficking Organizations, Female Agency, And Economic Mobility, Catherine Page, Kennady Leigh Hertz May 2023

The Evolving Role Of Women In The Sinaloa Cartel: An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Drug Trafficking Organizations, Female Agency, And Economic Mobility, Catherine Page, Kennady Leigh Hertz

Honors Theses

Exploring the role of women in Mexican drug trafficking organizations is a topic that has gained significant traction in the past 30 years. Despite the increase of literature on the topic, few papers theorize as to why women participate. This product sought to explore the various reasons why women participate in Mexican drug trafficking organizations, either willingly, or against their wishes. We hypothesized that women join drug trafficking organizations for two primary reasons: a) they are coerced by male figures in their life, and b.) they participate willingly in an effort to gain economic mobility. To test our hypothesis, we …


Calculating Risk: A Scoping Review Of Ncaa D1 Football Players’ Motivations To Play And The Correlation To Demographic Characteristics And Injury Experiences, Kathleen D. Walsh May 2023

Calculating Risk: A Scoping Review Of Ncaa D1 Football Players’ Motivations To Play And The Correlation To Demographic Characteristics And Injury Experiences, Kathleen D. Walsh

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research was to investigate the motivations of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 (D1) football players for playing the game and how these motivations are associated with their socioeconomic status (SES). Further, the research aimed to investigate how the uncovered motivations were linked to injury experiences. The original project was designed as a survey-based mixed methods study on a national scale. However, issues with participant recruitment led to sidelining of that primary research. The research presented is a scoping review of the available literature pertaining to the research question: What is known from existing literature …


Tourism's Power To Promote Peacebuilding In Post-Conflict Societies - A Northern Ireland Case Study, Margaret Walker May 2023

Tourism's Power To Promote Peacebuilding In Post-Conflict Societies - A Northern Ireland Case Study, Margaret Walker

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the capacity of tourism to promote peacebuilding in post-conflict societies, specifically focusing on Northern Ireland. This study assesses the current state of conflict tourism in Northern Ireland by analyzing two tourist sites and considering variables that may impact peacebuilding in the greater Northern Ireland community. It measures the success of the Northern Ireland approach by comparing the effects of tourism in other post-conflict and conflict societies. This study culminates with the presentation of certain strategies that Northern Ireland should implement to positively impact peacebuilding through tourism. Curators must portray history in a balanced, sensitive manner that avoids …


Black Male Educator Shortage In The Mississippi Public School System: Impact, Challenges, And Intervention Strategies, Jilkiah Bryant May 2023

Black Male Educator Shortage In The Mississippi Public School System: Impact, Challenges, And Intervention Strategies, Jilkiah Bryant

Honors Theses

The shortage of Black male educators in Mississippi's public school systems is a critical issue with far-reaching implications for the state's education system. Despite the state's sizable Black population, the percentage of Black male teachers remains disproportionately low, and there is little evidence of progress being made to address this issue. This paper examines the impact of the Black male educator shortage on Mississippi's education system, the challenges faced by Black male educators, and related intervention strategies to increase the number of Black male teachers in Mississippi's public school systems. Through a comprehensive literature review and interviews with Black male …


Ethnicity, Nationalism, And Football: Exploring The Construction Of Ethnic Identities And Their Manifestations For Athletic Club Bilbao And Celtic Football Club, Kelly Wetherton May 2023

Ethnicity, Nationalism, And Football: Exploring The Construction Of Ethnic Identities And Their Manifestations For Athletic Club Bilbao And Celtic Football Club, Kelly Wetherton

Honors Theses

This thesis centers on the construction of ethnic identities for fans of Athletic Club and Celtic F.C. and the two clubs’ roles in evincing nationalism. Utilizing survey data from an online, anonymous survey posted to fan forums, the research aimed to determine which of the three leading theories of ethnicity—primordialism, instrumentalism, or social constructivism—was most applicable to the formation of identities for Basque Athletic Club fans and Irish Celtic fans. The results demonstrated that the theory of social constructivism most closely aligns with the case of Basque Athletic Club fans while the identities of Irish Celtic fans can best be …


Disruption To Ems Service During Flood Scenarios In Western North Carolina, Julia Cardwell Nov 2022

Disruption To Ems Service During Flood Scenarios In Western North Carolina, Julia Cardwell

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Given that the intensity and frequency of flood events will increase under climate change scenarios, the ability to model potential impacts, such as those to healthcare access, will become increasingly important. This study analyzes EMS response time under both a historical (Tropical Storm Fred in August 2021) and a modeled flood event (FEMA’s 100-yr floodplain) in western North Carolina, a predominantly rural area. The results indicate that network disruption during flood events is a concern in the study area, and while the historical event produced moderate disruption, the 100-yr event produced major disruptions throughout the study area. This research emphasizes …


Bridging The Divide: Connecting Urban And Rural Care Through The Right! From The Start Initiative, Tess Lefmann, Sannie Snell, Mobolaji E. Famuyide, Sushmitha Inguva, John J. Green Nov 2022

Bridging The Divide: Connecting Urban And Rural Care Through The Right! From The Start Initiative, Tess Lefmann, Sannie Snell, Mobolaji E. Famuyide, Sushmitha Inguva, John J. Green

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Disparities in health and barriers to healthcare are prominent in rural areas, particularly in the Delta region of Mississippi where high rates of premature births, infant mortality, low weight births, and maternal mortality exacerbate the dearth of access to care. Extending the reach of healthcare providers and services between urban and rural areas is of utmost importance in improving the landscape of maternal and child health. Community health workers (CHWs), trusted individuals in the community, play a valuable role in this through social support. This research note delineates the importance of community health workers as connectors in establishing a trusted …


Using The Capabilities-Opportunity-Motivation-Behavior (Com-B) System To Conceptualize The Legalization Of Sunday Migratory Game Bird Hunting, Elena C. Rubino, Christopher Serenari Sep 2022

Using The Capabilities-Opportunity-Motivation-Behavior (Com-B) System To Conceptualize The Legalization Of Sunday Migratory Game Bird Hunting, Elena C. Rubino, Christopher Serenari

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Recent wildlife agency efforts aimed at hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) are examples of behavior change interventions. Therefore, these R3 programs and policies should be strategically designed to meet hunters’ goals and motivations. We analyzed survey responses (n=808) from North Carolina resident migratory bird hunters regarding potential Sunday hunting legalization to serve as an illustrative case demonstrating how the capabilities-opportunity-motivation-behavior (COM-B) system can be used to conceptualize and more effectively test potential hunter behavior changes prompted by debated R3 strategies. Findings provide decision-makers and land managers with an understanding of the potential implications of migratory game bird Sunday hunting …


Evaluating Success Factors And Challenges Among Small-Scale Agricultural Producers: A Texas Case Study, Katie Tritsch, Ken Mix, Michelle L. Edwards, Manuel Piña Jr. Sep 2022

Evaluating Success Factors And Challenges Among Small-Scale Agricultural Producers: A Texas Case Study, Katie Tritsch, Ken Mix, Michelle L. Edwards, Manuel Piña Jr.

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Literature on small farms in the U.S. is limited though they are the most numerous farm type, generate over twenty percent of agricultural production, and are more likely to be operated by historically underserved (i.e., beginning, minority, veteran, women, young) farmers than large-scale farms. This article details an online survey study of small-scale agricultural producers using a purposive sample from Texas. We used cross tabulations to evaluate qualitative operational and demographic (e.g., age, gender) factors of success, finding several significant variables with moderate effect sizes. Generally, producers regarded quality of life as more important to success than profitability. Producers’ top …


Hiv And Housing Insecurity In Louisiana, Hui-Peng Liew, Leslie E. Green Sep 2022

Hiv And Housing Insecurity In Louisiana, Hui-Peng Liew, Leslie E. Green

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This study sought to assign the parishes in Louisiana into distinctive spatial-temporal clusters based on their trends in HIV prevalence and percentages of households with severe housing problems and to assess the parish’s resilience and susceptibility to HIV infection given its pre- existing sociodemographic conditions. Results revealed that trends in the HIV prevalence rates and percentages of households with severe housing problems differed across the five distinct spatial-temporal clusters. The percentage of households with severe housing problems and the percentage of non-Hispanic Black population were positively associated with the HIV prevalence rate while the reverse was true for the percentage …


Anxiety Symptoms Among Extension Professionals' During The Covid-19 Pandemic With The Gad-2, Glenn D. Israel, Colleen E. Gariton, Harsha E. James Jun 2022

Anxiety Symptoms Among Extension Professionals' During The Covid-19 Pandemic With The Gad-2, Glenn D. Israel, Colleen E. Gariton, Harsha E. James

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are a common mental health disorder but often remain undetected and undertreated. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Extension professionals have worked hard to address emerging issues that communities face, possibly impacting the amount of anxiety they experience. This study determined the prevalence of anxiety symptoms among Extension professionals in the United States. Participants from 24 states completed a survey containing the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item (GAD-2) screener. Almost one-quarter of Extension professionals had a GAD-2 score greater than three, an indicator of anxiety with a possibility of generalized anxiety disorder, which …


Implications Of Covid-19 Mitigation Policies On Recreational Trail Users: Exploring Antecedents To Physical Distancing On Trails Across The Rural-Urban Continuum, Christopher J. Wynveen, Ingrid Schneider, Deonne Vanderwoude, Taylor Stein, Heather Gibson, Kim Shinew, William Hendricks, Megha Budruk Jun 2022

Implications Of Covid-19 Mitigation Policies On Recreational Trail Users: Exploring Antecedents To Physical Distancing On Trails Across The Rural-Urban Continuum, Christopher J. Wynveen, Ingrid Schneider, Deonne Vanderwoude, Taylor Stein, Heather Gibson, Kim Shinew, William Hendricks, Megha Budruk

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions led to a worldwide increase in greenspace use. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encouraged policies including physical distancing and COVID-related signage. However, the extent to which these policies influenced behavior is unknown. To fill this gap, we report on a 2020 observational study at 14 trails across six U.S. states framed within a social-ecological model. Behavioral observations of 8,093 groups assessed compliance rates with infection-mitigation behaviors. Additionally, we noted the presence of COVID-related signs, the days between the observation and stay-at-home order start date, the setting (i.e., urban, suburban, and …


Preventive Behaviors Along The Rural-Urban Continuum In Utah During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad, Jennifer E. Givens, Mitchell Beacham Jun 2022

Preventive Behaviors Along The Rural-Urban Continuum In Utah During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad, Jennifer E. Givens, Mitchell Beacham

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Rural individuals and places face major vulnerabilities in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet how and why rural residents adopted preventive behaviors as a result is not well understood. Using cross-sectional data from an online panel survey of Utahans along the rural-urban continuum collected in June of 2020, we find that, overall, rural Utahans were less likely than their more urban counterparts to adopt preventive behaviors. Those who perceived less risk, knew someone sick with COVID-19, thought former President Trump was doing a good job handling the pandemic, had false optimism about the pandemic, had less formal education, and belonged …


Rural-Urban And Within-Rural Differences In Covid-19 Mortality Rates, Yue Sun, Kent Jason G. Cheng, Shannon M. Monnat Jun 2022

Rural-Urban And Within-Rural Differences In Covid-19 Mortality Rates, Yue Sun, Kent Jason G. Cheng, Shannon M. Monnat

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Since late-2020, COVID-19 mortality rates have been higher in rural than in urban America, but there has also been substantial within-rural heterogeneity. Using CDC data, we compare COVID-19 mortality rates across the rural-urban continuum as well as within rural counties across different types of labor markets and by metropolitan adjacency. As of October 1, 2021, the cumulative COVID-19 mortality rate was 247.0 per 100,000 population in rural counties compared to 200.7 in urban counties. Higher COVID-19 mortality rates in rural counties are explained by lower average educational attainment and lower median household income. Within rural counties, mortality rates have been …


Factors Explaining Variations In Covid-19 Deaths In Rural America, Don E. Albrecht Jun 2022

Factors Explaining Variations In Covid-19 Deaths In Rural America, Don E. Albrecht

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, case and death rates from the disease in rural counties were significantly lower than in urban counties. This pattern changed during the summer and fall of 2020, and by December, death rates in rural counties were higher than in urban counties. This article uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau and voting and COVID-19 data from The New York Times to explore factors related to the increase in COVID-19 deaths in rural counties in the United States. Further analysis is conducted to understand variations in death rates across different types of rural counties. Multivariate regression …


Space, Place, And Covid-19: Introduction To The Special Issue, Vanessa Parks, Ronald E. Cossman, John J. Green Jun 2022

Space, Place, And Covid-19: Introduction To The Special Issue, Vanessa Parks, Ronald E. Cossman, John J. Green

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

The COVID-19 pandemic alerted the U.S. populace to spatial patterns of health outcomes. Trusted sources of information such as the Johns Hopkins University and The New York Times mapped COVID-19 indicators at the county-level, bringing widespread attention to the timing and clustering of case rates, mortality, and vaccine uptake. The severity of the pandemic has motivated the research community to share data and conduct analyses to illuminate and project trends that would be useful for healthcare providers and policy makers in their communities. This special issue of the Journal of Rural Social Sciences explores the roles space and place have …


Beyond Religiosity: Examining The Relative Effects Of Religiosity And Religious Ideation On Climate Skepticism (A Research Note), Kristin Haltinner, Dilshani Sarathchandra Jun 2022

Beyond Religiosity: Examining The Relative Effects Of Religiosity And Religious Ideation On Climate Skepticism (A Research Note), Kristin Haltinner, Dilshani Sarathchandra

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Much of the existing scholarship on climate change uses religiosity to measure the effects of religion on climate skepticism and results in inconsistent findings. Drawing on insights from the study of religion and environmentalism more broadly, we suggest that scholars should seek a deeper understanding of religion’s impacts by considering the influence of specific religious beliefs on perceptions of climate change. We further contend that researchers should consider how these factors shape attitudes within and between segments of the public who hold varying positions on climate change. We test these contentions using a novel sample of 1,000 self-declared “climate skeptics” …


Preservation And Public History In Mound Bayou, Mississippi, Walker Bray May 2022

Preservation And Public History In Mound Bayou, Mississippi, Walker Bray

Honors Theses

This paper is an exploration of the history of Mound Bayou, Mississippi, an all Black community in the Mississippi Delta formed by freedmen in the wake of Reconstruction. This paper also discusses the ways in which Mound Bayou citizens are working to preserve their history and make it known to a wider audience. In particular, this work discusses the recently opened Mound Bayou Museum of African American Culture and History and related efforts to restore and preserve historic structures in Mound Bayou. In addition, this work also seeks to explore ways in which the University of Mississippi can effectively supplement …


"The Pontotoc Dream:" A Case Study Analysis Of Rural Homeownership In Mississippi, Ian Pigg May 2022

"The Pontotoc Dream:" A Case Study Analysis Of Rural Homeownership In Mississippi, Ian Pigg

Honors Theses

Rural communities face issues with affordable housing just like urban communities, but these problems are not often associated with rurality. Using Pontotoc County, Mississippi, as a case study, this thesis seeks to understand the extent of the affordable homeownership issue in rural communities and identify possible policy solutions. This thesis used a qualitative research approach by conducting semi-structured interviews with a diverse group of stakeholders in the communities of interest within and surrounding Pontotoc County, Mississippi. Using the data collected from these interviews, units of meaning were grouped into categories, which were then grouped into themes. The findings of this …


Driving Factors Behind Language Use Among Younger Generations In Taiwan: Is The Demise Of Hokkien Inevitable?, Jesse Weaver Paxton May 2022

Driving Factors Behind Language Use Among Younger Generations In Taiwan: Is The Demise Of Hokkien Inevitable?, Jesse Weaver Paxton

Honors Theses

Globalization and internationalization have undoubtedly led to a decrease in linguistic diversity worldwide. Yet even receiving active governmental support and boasting native speakers in the millions, Taiwanese Hokkien is on the decline. Though researchers have begun to hypothesize why a generational gap exists in local language use within Taiwan, there is little agreement about the possible drivers or causes of the decline. This thesis examines why the use of Taiwanese Hokkien and other local languages has continued to decrease, despite governmental language initiatives and policies created to encourage the use of these languages. Using specific factors that have been identified …


How Religion And Age Are Correlated With Partisan Geographical Sorting In The United States, Claire Monsour May 2022

How Religion And Age Are Correlated With Partisan Geographical Sorting In The United States, Claire Monsour

Honors Theses

This study explores the intersection of two main demographic variables, religion and age, and the ongoing phenomenon of partisan geographical sorting in the United States. Americans have been migrating to areas composed of politically like-minded individuals for the past few decades, resulting in the existence of Republican and Democratic clusters throughout the country. Republicans are sorting into rural areas, while Democrats are sorting into urban areas. Republicans and rural residents as a whole are more religious than are Democrats and urban residents. In addition, on average, Republicans and rural residents are older than Democrats and urban residents. Moreover, religion and …


Population Aging And Healthcare Costs In China And Japan, Sean Brown May 2022

Population Aging And Healthcare Costs In China And Japan, Sean Brown

Honors Theses

This study focuses on the natural demographic phenomenon known as population aging and its intersection with healthcare expenditures. Healthcare spending can be a major burden on a country’s economy, so it is important to accurately assess the connection between these two factors. Population aging occurs when countries reach a point in their demographic transitions characterized by declining total fertility rates and high life expectancy. This natural but undesirable position has implications for virtually all aspects of society, and all countries are trending towards aging. This study examines the cases of China and Japan in an effort to assess the validity …


Pendulums Of Personhood? Exploring The Multitudes Of Immigrant Womanhood In Spanish-Maghrebi Literature, Kaitlyn C. Sisco May 2022

Pendulums Of Personhood? Exploring The Multitudes Of Immigrant Womanhood In Spanish-Maghrebi Literature, Kaitlyn C. Sisco

Honors Theses

Often considered articulations of in-between-ness and bearers of fraught selfhoods, the work of Spanish-Maghrebi authors has been widely debated in literary fields, with academics arguing that it constitutes a largely homogenous set of texts about the standard immigrant experience. However, by placing these texts in a single category, such arguments end up erasing the immensely varied identities expressed and represented by Spanish-Maghrebi authors. This thesis seeks to address this issue by paying particular attention to how Spanish-Maghrebi authors negotiate different types of immigrant subjectivities in their writing. Specifically, I analyze the works of three contemporary Spanish-Maghrebi writers, Najat El Hachmi, …


Social Media Agenda Setting Of Environmental Policy Issues In Switzerland, Canaan Vaughan May 2022

Social Media Agenda Setting Of Environmental Policy Issues In Switzerland, Canaan Vaughan

Honors Theses

This paper seeks to develop methodologies and testing methods for the agenda setting power of Swiss political organizational accounts on Twitter to determine who sets agenda about environmental topics. Previous research has examined social media’s agenda setting power over traditional media but has been unable to draw conclusions on which political organizations set agenda on other organizations. Research has suggested that larger organizations might have an agenda setting role over smaller ones, and organizations perceived as experts may set agenda over others. Twitter data from official organizational accounts was collected, encoded as environmental or not, and then fitted to a …


A Look Towards The Future Of Eldercare: Lessons Learned From Social Care Models In Japan, Caroline M. Steil May 2022

A Look Towards The Future Of Eldercare: Lessons Learned From Social Care Models In Japan, Caroline M. Steil

Honors Theses

The rapidly accelerating trend of population aging is redefining the state of eldercare globally, as every country is currently or will soon face a gap in the excess demand for care versus the scarce supply of caregivers, both formal and informal. Specifically, there is a decrease in the number of elders seeking care through a family member as well as less caregivers in institutions to provide care for elders. Japan is at the vanguard of this caregiving gap, and thus provides key lessons, particularly from two innovative models of eldercare: Ibasho, a grass-roots, non-profit organization, and Japan's Long-Term Care Insurance …


On The Intersections Of Childhood Maltreatment, Self-Control, And Behavioral Outcomes Across The Life-Course, Ameleigh Bippen May 2022

On The Intersections Of Childhood Maltreatment, Self-Control, And Behavioral Outcomes Across The Life-Course, Ameleigh Bippen

Honors Theses

Childhood abuse and neglect are highly deleterious experiences that a number of children continue to encounter. The purpose of the current discussion is to examine the impact of childhood abuse and neglect on the growth and development of self-control in early childhood. In service of this goal, several methods were employed, including a review of the historical and current research on the development of self-control. In addition to this, specific scientific theories and their advancements were analyzed to provide further insight into the connection between poor impulse regulation (and decision-making) and downstream linkages with criminal offending. Perhaps not surprisingly, evidence …


Why No Rallying Force? Factors Of Rassemblement National Underperformance In 2021 French Regional Elections, Amy Rhodes May 2022

Why No Rallying Force? Factors Of Rassemblement National Underperformance In 2021 French Regional Elections, Amy Rhodes

Honors Theses

Marine Le Pen remains popular within national French politics. However, following the June 2021 French regional elections, her far-right party, Rassemblement National (RN), failed to win a single region. This thesis seeks to explore the factors behind the RN’s surprising lack of success through a comparative historical approach. This thesis also evaluates the applicability of the second-order model on these elections. Two regions, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA) and Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur (PACA) serve as case studies for this research based upon their diverse electoral results. Regional newspaper articles, national newspaper articles, and candidates’ social media posts from the election cycles serve as the data …


The Long-Term Health And Developmental Impacts Of Children Born At Low Birth Weight, Kathryn Grace Kelly May 2022

The Long-Term Health And Developmental Impacts Of Children Born At Low Birth Weight, Kathryn Grace Kelly

Honors Theses

The state of Mississippi currently has the highest incidence of low birth weight (LBW) births in the United States. LBW is a negative birth outcome which can lead to suboptimal pediatric health and development. The primary goals of this thesis are to identify the long-term outcomes associated with LBW and to present potential interventions to address LBW. A combination of literature review and quantitative data analysis were used to inform the objective of this thesis. A variety of physical health, behavioral health, and other long-term issues were found associated with LBW. The consequences of LBW place LBW children at a …