Digital Commons Network^™

Creating A Collapsible Sling Lift Capable Of Transporting Patients Between Various Locations, Macey Jewell Ross, Cameron Delaney Hillman, Lydia Noel Miller

Honors Theses

As Senior Biomedical Engineering students at the University of Mississippi, we, Lainey Hillman, Lydia Miller, and Macey Ross, are required to complete a final senior capstone for our department. This project aims to provide a solution to a current unmet clinical need in the healthcare industry, thus our team sought to improve the lack of transportability of sling lifts. The current sling lifts on the market display numerous issues: heavy, bulky, use confined to certain areas, and use specific for only one type of transportation. To combat these problems, we designed a sling lift that was lightweight, collapsible, safe, and …

La Langue Des Autres: The Linguistic Evolution Of African Representation In French Popular Culture, Colonialism To Present, Kathrynanne Eastman

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the linguistic representation of African peoples and cultures in French popular culture, specifically as this pertains to immigration. The foundational research question of this project is: how has the representation of Africans in French popular culture evolved since the colonial period? In order to answer this question, I examine seven sources of popular culture, all works of either literature or cinema, depicting three different time periods: 19th-century French colonization in Algeria (1830-1900), the post-World War II “Trente Glorieuses” [Thirty Glorious Years] (1945 to 1975), and the contemporary era (1990-present). I lay out and analyze the language present …

Guardian's Goals And Gains: The Relationship Between Need Satisfaction And Parenting Goals In Parents Of Toddlers, Kallen E. Mitchell

Honors Theses

Self Determination Theory (SDT) theorizes that when three core psychological needs are met (i.e., competence, relatedness, and autonomy) then humans reach their highest level of optimization (Deci & Ryan, 2000). One common way people tend to satisfy these needs is through social relationships, typically ones where their efforts can be reciprocated; however, not all relationships are reciprocal. This study looks at the psychological needs within an asymmetrical relationship between a parent and their toddler aged child. Given an already established relationship (Smith et al. 2023) between need satisfaction and the types of goals parents have for their college aged kids …

Population At Risk: The Design And Production Of The Pollinator Plaza, Shane Houston Stephens

Honors Theses

This report focuses on the development and manufacturing of the Pollinator Plaza, a high-quality bug house created to combat pollinator population loss. According to countless studies, pollinator populations have seen a dramatic decrease in recent years, and this product was developed to address these alarming statistics by providing a suitable habitat for pollinators. A market analysis was used to identify our potential clientele and cost point. This research played an integral part in the design of the Pollinator Plaza, which was developed using AutoCAD software. This design became a reality through the construction of a physical prototype.

The Pollinator Plaza’s …

Skin To Skin: A Mixed-Media Exploration Of The Inheritance Of Identity, Angeline Morgan

Honors Theses

Skin to Skin is a mixed-media project that investigates the inheritance of identity through fine art and anthropological approaches. With a focus on womanhood, maganda (beauty), and Filipino-American culture, Skin to Skin reflects my deconstruction of cultural beauty practices. Growing up, proximity to lightness and darkness was a heavily emphasized metric. I witnessed family members experiment with light, water, and skin-lightening products on their skin. Now, I use alternative process photography to mirror their aesthetic experimentation.

To visually connect darkroom and beauty rituals, I created a series of unique, experimental prints where I treat paper surfaces as skin. I produced …

A Visual Journey Of Diseases, Joanna Ni

Honors Theses

Patient journey maps serve as invaluable tools in healthcare to comprehend and enhance the patient experience. This research explores the significance of patient journey maps in understanding the diverse interactions between patients and healthcare systems. By visualizing each stage of the patient’s experience, from initial symptoms to post-treatment care, the journey maps offer insights into patient needs, preferences, and pain points.

Of the eight patient journey maps identified, most examined a patient’s journey through cancer, and concerned a Canadian patient. Evaluation of these maps revealed that there are many factors that can challenge and facilitate a patient’s journey through the …

Early Developmental Exposure To Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Causes Latent Behavioral, Growth, And Bioenergetic Effects In Danio Rerio, Astra Hahm

Honors Theses

Early developmental exposure to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol causes latent behavioral, growth, and bioenergetic effects in Danio rerio

(Under the direction of Dr. Kristine Willett)

Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) is used during pregnancy to mitigate symptoms such as nausea, pain, and insomnia. It is established that Δ9-THC exposure early in life causes adverse effects in children’s development including behavioral disorders. Our goal was to determine the latent and generational impacts on growth, behavior, and mitochondrial bioenergetics following exposure to Δ9-THC. Wildtype (5D) zebrafish were exposed to 0 (0.05% DMSO), 0.08, 0.4, or 1 µM Δ9-THC from 6-96 hours post-fertilization (hpf), then subsequently raised in clean …

Synthesis And Analysis Of A Novel Magnetic Surfactant, Donovan Turpin

Honors Theses

Researchers in the University of Mississippi Chemical Engineering Department have suggested that chelation of a large magnetic transition metal, namely dysprosium, into the large polar head group of a surfactant could result in a magnetic surfactant. This project was aimed at synthesizing a surfactant with a large enough head group and negative charge (specifically EDTA) to support this ion and demonstrating that the chelation process was successful. If so, the molecule would ideally be capable of forming micelles which could extract oily substances from water using a strong magnet—possibly applicable to environmental crises like oil spills.

NMR analysis has suggested, …

Into The Wild: A Journey Paddling The Lower Mississippi River With Quapaw Canoe Company, Sarah Caroline Crall

Honors Theses

Humanity’s profound relationship with water is undeniable. From our reliance on it for sustenance and transportation to the recreation it provides, water is a fundamental aspect of our existence. Yet, in our contemporary era, we find ourselves increasingly disconnected from this life-giving source that shapes us and our surroundings. The Mississippi River stands as a prime example of this detachment. Often overlooked as a lifeless river, nothing more than the backdrop to our daily lives, its significance as the heart of America is underappreciated and misunderstood by many. This thesis embarks on a journey to share the true reality that …

A 360-Degree Approach To Accounting, Kaleel Salloum Iii

Honors Theses

This thesis consists of one year of research related to the modern day accounting and financial industry. There are numerous topics that are covered, with the first four sections being related to one company’s financial statements and operating conditions. Each of these sections includes their own abstract that outlines the scope of the research. The remaining parts of the thesis are topics, events, and industries related to modern day accounting. This research was completed and submitted to the faculty of The University of Mississippi in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.

A Comparison Of Assessment Experiences Between Standards-Based Practices And Traditional Practices Within Secondary Mathematics Classrooms, Emily Mayes

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research was to compare assessment experiences and find ways to improve those experiences for students in two mathematics classrooms: one classroom that employs Standards-Based Grading and one classroom that uses traditional grading practices. The research examines students’ perceptions regarding their level of preparation, their anxiety levels surrounding assessment, the validity of assessments, and using assessments and grading practices to give accurate indications of student progress in their learning, given the students’ perceptions. Students in both settings voluntarily and anonymously participated in completing pre- and post-assessment free-response surveys which asked questions about students’ assessment experiences. This research …

The Water Crises In Flint, Michigan And Jackson, Mississippi: A Comparative Analysis Of The Public Water System Failures, Grace Doody

Honors Theses

This undergraduate thesis aims to determine the societal, economic, and policy contributions of public water sector failures by comparatively analyzing the water crisis of Flint, Michigan and Jackson Mississippi. By examining the backgrounds of Flint and Jackson it is clear poverty, governmental neglect, and a lack of accountability influence the likelihood of a public water crisis. This thesis specifically compares Flint and Jackson’s demographics, the media’s response to each crisis, and the use of third-party administrators in the two water crises. The practical applications of these findings are for government agencies across all levels to actively work together to ensure …

The Effects Of Vigorous-Intensity Acute Exercise On Hippocampal- And Prefrontal Cortex-Dependent Memory, Lauren Hord

Honors Theses

Acute exercise has been shown to differentially impact memory, dependent on whether the task is considered prefrontal cortex- or hippocampal-dependent. More specifically, acute exercise has been shown to impair PFC-dependent memory while enhancing hippocampal-dependent memory. No study has compared whether exercise differentially impacts separate types of cognition, so this experiment was designed to determine the relationship between high-intensity acute exercise and both prefrontal cortex-dependent and hippocampal-dependent memory. This study consisted of five total visits for 55 participants. In the first visit, participants engaged in a maximal exercise test, where their heart rate reserve was obtained. In visits 2-5, participants engaged …

Around The World In 80 Days: Navigating Culturally Diverse Texts In Secondary English Education, Abby Boyer

Honors Theses

In the secondary English classroom, the inclusion of diverse texts holds importance in fostering a rich and inclusive learning environment that reflects the realities and complexities of our diverse world. Diverse texts encompass a wide range of voices, perspectives, and experiences that represent various cultures, races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. By incorporating such texts into the curriculum, educators not only honor the diversity of their students but also provide them with opportunities to engage critically with different narratives, develop empathy, and cultivate a deeper understanding of the complexities of the human experience.
Moreover, diverse texts offer …

Exploring The Cultural Influences On Sexual And Reproductive Health Behaviors: A Cross-Cultural Study Of Asian American And Caucasian Female College Students, Emilee Ly

Honors Theses

This capstone honors project aims to investigate the influence of cultural backgrounds on the healthcare behaviors of Asian American and Caucasian college students. The main research question of this focus group study is: “How do cultural backgrounds influence healthcare behaviors, including communication, seeking, and access to sexual and reproductive health, information, and services, among Asian American and Caucasian female college students?”

Drawing upon the World Health Organization’s 2003 Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) framework, this study explores how structural determinants, social networks, cultural backgrounds, and healthcare systems factors collectively influence the way female college students communicate, seek, and have access …

Childhood Food Insecurity As It Relates To Adult Intuitive Eating Patterns, Lily Langley

Honors Theses

Many American families struggle with food insecurity and do not have the economic capabilities to obtain a sufficient quantity of nutritious food. Childhood food insecurity is associated with negative health effects and altered relationships with food as an adult. Intuitive eating, a non-diet framework that emphasizes mindful eating, may attenuate these effects. It includes unconditional permission to eat, eating for physical rather than emotional reasons, reliance on hunger and satiety cues, and body-food choice congruence. Previous research has not examined whether childhood food insecurity can affect one’s ability to eat intuitively as an adult. The goal of this study was …

Theoretical Spectroscopic Predictions Of Electronically Excited States, Noah R. Garrett

Honors Theses

The quest for faster computation of anharmonic vibrational frequencies of both ground and excited electronic states has led to combining coupled cluster theory harmonic force constants with density functional theory (DFT) cubic and quartic force constants for defining a quartic force field (QFF) utilized in conjunction with vibrational perturbation theory at second order (VPT2). This work shows that explicitly correlated coupled cluster theory at the singles, doubles, and perturbative triples level [CCSD(T)-F12] provides accurate anharmonic vibrational frequencies and rotational constants when conjoined with any of B3LYP, CAM-B3LYP, BHandHLYP, PBE0, and ωB97XD for roughly one-quarter of the computational time of the …

Recidivism In Mississippi: Causes, Impacts, And Solutions, Grace E. Brian

Honors Theses

Because the United States is home to the largest prison population in the world, finding solutions to reduce the rate at which prisoners return to prison is paramount to helping reduce crime. Assessments of how Mississippi, the state with the highest incarceration rate, engages with access to prison education, barriers to employment, and youth incarceration compared to the national, Southern, and non-southern averages will be explored to direct recidivism reduction solutions. Results showed that Mississippi had a slightly higher recidivism rate than the national average, had fewer barriers to employment, and a lower youth incarceration rate than the national average …

Bargaining On The Nile: Modeling The Impact Of The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) On Egyptian And Ethiopian Negotiations, Madeleine Rachel Dotson

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the role of dams in bargaining and analyzes the current conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Dams are analyzed using a strategic competitive market model. The model demonstrates the asymmetrical power balance between an upstream and downstream state. Ultimately, the model shows that the upstream state can reduce its quantity with relatively less lost potential than the downstream state’s benefits. Thus, upstream- downstream cooperation can generate positive net gains from trade. In the context of Egypt and Ethiopia, bargaining failures are certainly possible. However, a quota could increase the net gains …

Fe(Iii) And Mn(Ii) Binding De Novo Designed Peptides And Their Oxidation With H2o2, Hannah Randall, Russ Upton

Honors Theses

Metalloenzymes perform a wide variety of reactions that are instrumental to the basic functions of life. Learning more about those enzymes–their structure, folding, active sites, and co-factors–can help to not only better understand the finer details of the chemical world, but also help provide answers and possible solutions to questions pertaining to alternative energy. Particulate Methane Monooxygenase (pMMO) is a metalloenzyme that oxidizes methane into methanol in the biological processes of some methanogenic bacteria, a valuable part of their process to obtain energy. One of its active sites, CuB, has a relatively unknown function. Heptad repeats of model enzymes have …

Reconstruction Retold: Perspectives From 20th Century Us Secondary History Textbooks, Lyric Church

Honors Theses

Since the creation of the American public school system, the use of the textbook has been vital to history education. It has been the primary tool used by educators to teach children about the past to help them understand the present and shape the future. To this day, in the modern technological age, they are, still, used in classrooms across the country. This thesis investigates the effects of changing societal thought on United States history textbooks used in the secondary classroom, using the Reconstruction Era as the area of study. Analyzing multiple textbooks from each decade of the twentieth century, …

The Effects Of Uv Degradation On Polycarbonate Plastics Under Dynamic Compressive Loading, Hannah Bradford

Honors Theses

The objective of this experiment was to analyze the dynamic properties of polycarbonate plastics subjected to accelerated ultraviolet (UV) exposure. This was done by subjecting rods of polycarbonate plastic to UV degradation in a QUV accelerated weathering machine for 375, 750, and 1500-hours. These rods were then tested under dynamic compression using a Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar at an average strain rate of 1600/s. The Split-Hopkinson pressure bar works by rapidly compressing a sample between 3 axial rods sending an elastic wave through the sample. The strain gauges on the incident rod and the transmission rod transformed the elastic wave deformation …

Science Quest! An Educational Comic For Fifth Graders In Mississippi, Astra Hahm

Honors Theses

Astra Hahm: Science Quest! An educational comic for fifth graders in Mississippi (Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Eyler)

Science Quest! is an educational comic aimed at fifth graders in Mississippi to teach them science in a way that differs from how they learn science in class. The inspirations for the creation of Science Quest! are both my interests as a child and my vision of the future as an adult. During Sophomore year, I had the privilege of volunteering at Oxford Intermediate School, where I witnessed students play a variety of educational games, which reminded me of my childhood. …

Detection Of Sars-Cov-2 Nucleocapsid And Spike Antibodies In Serum Of Covid-19 Vaccinated And Infected Patients Utilizing Immunoblot Assay, Suzanna Horn

Honors Theses

In 2020, the world was introduced to COVID-19, a strain of Coronavirus that quickly caused a pandemic at the global scale. COVID-19 was reported to cause 5.94 million deaths between 2020-2021, and it continues to prevail amongst society in 2024. Many methods of preventing COVID-19 infection arose throughout this time period; however, mRNA vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein became the most effective way to protect the population from COVID-19’s destructive reign.

Although society has made significant scientific strides in Coronavirus testing and vaccination efforts, there are many improvements that must be made to better protect our society from …

Validation Of A Triple Quadrupole Lcms Instrument For Cocaine And Amphetamines, Isabel R. Nichols

Honors Theses

Despite the opioid crisis taking headlines, the abuse of cocaine and amphetamines remains rampant and laboratory instruments must be able to effectively and reliably handle the overwhelming case load. In this study, an Agilent 6475 Triple Quadrupole (QQQ) LCMS, recently acquired by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office (TCMEO) in Fort Worth, Texas, was validated for identifying and quantifying CocAmps. Results show that the instrument was fit-for-purpose and that the instrument passed all validation tests. Reproducibility was ≤ 20% RSD for 12 QC replicates, 6 of blood and 6 of urine. Accuracy was ± 20%. A 98.9% recovery was yielded …

An Analysis Of Accounting Services And Relevant Economic Factors, Lauren Huffstatler, Emma Yates, Jacobi Scruggs, Kolby Husted

Honors Theses

This thesis consists of a collection of six case studies completed during the fall and spring semesters of Honors Accountancy 420 under the guidance and direction of Dr. Victoria Dickinson. These case studies represent an analysis of financial accounting and current economic events relevant to the profession. During the fall semester, Dr. Dickinson formed groups of students to complete four case studies relating to an assigned company. My group was assigned FB Financial Corporation, and we evaluated the company in the areas of risk assessment, audit and risk planning, and tax planning. At the end of the semester, we presented …

Functional Connectivity Of The Hippocampus In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Noah Watts

Honors Theses

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological developmental disorder that affects around 1/44 of individuals in the United States. ASD individuals tend to struggle with things such as communication and socialization. This disorder has been found to affect many brain regions; however, autism’s effect on the hippocampus has been heavily understudied. Since the hippocampus is not commonly referred to as the brain region affected by autism, the importance of the hippocampus in ASD may have been unrecognized. While ASD hippocampi have been very narrowly researched (only size and shape), there is compelling evidence that the hippocampus could be another part …

The Employment Situation Of Veterans: April 2024, Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

Veteran employment trends and statistics among various demographics during April 2024.

Examining Galaxy Bulge Regions With The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Sarah E. Draves, Ariyeh Maller

Publications and Research

Nearly all of the ordinary matter in the universe is located in galaxies, which are made up stars, gas, dust, and black holes, and range in size from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand light years across. Galaxies come in different shapes, but many of them are spiral shaped, and some of those have a central bulge region that is distinct from the rest of the galactic disk. This project used a large data set of galaxies that had their bulge and disk components separated to see what correlations those fractions of each galaxy have with other galaxy …

Securing Kubernetes Services Exposed To Public Networks From Cyber Attacks, Kaung Myat Thu

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.