Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Climate Crisis And The Class System: An Ethical Analysis, Alia Baig

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Climate change is a concerning subject that more and more people are beginning to care about. The climate crisis is continuing to affect populations across the globe and shows no signs of slowing. While everyone has been affected by climate change in some capacity, the climate crisis disproportionately affects low-income communities around the world and, specifically, within the United States. I plan to research the ethics of the relationship between climate change and the class system and the goal o f this project is to prove the claim that the class system is the reason for climate change's disproportionate effect …

Historical Trauma: Literary And Testimonial Responses To Hiroshima, Mariam Ghonim

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of trauma is controversial in literature. While one may be able to come up with ways to describe trauma in fiction, representing historical trauma is a hard task for writers. Some argue that trauma can not be described through those who did not experience it, while others claim that, provided some elements are added, one can represent trauma to the reader. This thesis focuses on twentieth-century historical traumas related to a nuclear catastrophe and explores the different literary and testimonial responses to the catastrophic man-made event of Hiroshima (1945). In this thesis, Kathleen Burkinshaw’s historical fiction The Last …

I Was Looking For God: A Study Of Wehrmacht Personnel And Their Personal Relationships With Religion, Christopher Bishop

Master's Theses

The Wehrmacht was Germany’s fighting force in the field during World War II. Its brutality and discriminatory practices rivaled that of the Nazi paramilitary and police units dispatched alongside them in newly conquered areas during this conflict. Coming from a society that was not at all unfamiliar with Christianity, some within the Wehrmacht related to Christianity in some form and attempted to use it to either justify actions or make sense of the world around them.

While considerable scholarship exists on the Nazi Party’s relationship to Christianity as a convenient propaganda tool for both soldier and civilian alike, the historiography …

Another Covid Causality: Media Landscape In Bangladesh, Ershad Komal Khan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This study seeks to understand the pressure from both advertisers and the Bangladesh government on the local mass media between March 2020 and December 2021 concurrent with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this study aims to explore whether the local mass media compromised more with advertisers amid the COVID recession to earn advertising-based revenue and whether the Bangladesh government mounted more pressure on the press during the period as well as to analyze the influence of the aforementioned factors on newsrooms. To guide this work, this study employs the Market Theory of News Production (McManus, 1994), the Authoritarian …

It Takes A Village: Tribalism As A Premise To Understand Societal Responsibility And Impact Of Mass Violence, Paige D. Schultz

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

What is a mass shooter? This is difficult to answer as there is no single definition. The definition of a mass shooter depends on contextual factors including victim count, setting, and motivation (Gramlich, 2019). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines active shooters as “one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area” (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2021, page 1). While other definitions are used to identify a mass shooter, given the breadth of study in this area by the FBI, this paper will use the FBI definition.

The Realistic Desirability Of Perfection In Thomas More’S Utopia And John Milton’S Paradise Lost, Eryn Tan

Honors Projects

This paper analyzes Thomas More’s Utopia and John Milton’s Paradise Lost to investigate the realistic desirability of perfection. The practices that ensure perfection in Thomas More’s Utopia are realistically applied to society to determine if such practices would be feasible, accepted, or desired in society. Meanwhile, the reactions and comments on the lost perfection of the Garden of Eden in John Milton’s Paradise Lost are analyzed as a template for navigating a fallen, imperfect world. By studying these two literary works together, this paper seeks to investigate the realistic desirability of perfection in society and the effects of chasing perfection.

Brain Drain In Mississippi, Clifford Adam Conner

Honors Theses

Brain drain is the out-migration of educated individuals from an area. It is a problem with which Mississippi is overly familiar. This thesis uses data gathered from a survey of 965 respondents to identify who is leaving the state and for what reasons. The data gathered suggest confirmation that brain drain is an issue for the state, with roughly two-thirds of respondents having left the state or seriously considering doing so. The impetus for this varies with each individual, but respondents underscore economic and societal factors within Mississippi as pushing them away from the state. Quality of life factors are …

Preparing Pk-8 Teachers To Engage In Discussions Regarding Race, Mckenzie Hallstrom

Leadership Education Capstones

The purpose of this study is to discover what PK-8 teachers need to be prepared to engage in discussions regarding race with their students and to explore specific strategies to support teachers. Historically, Black students have been disadvantaged by the educational system and their voices silenced by pervasive racism. Using Critical Race Theory in education, this qualitative study will discuss barriers and strategies to engaging in race-discussions. This study will also discuss leadership implications for better supporting PK-8 teachers to be able to engage in race-discussions with their students. Ultimately, this study argues that PK-8 teachers are unprepared to engage …

When Worlds Collide: Charlie Hebdo And Islam In The 21st Century, Mildred Morse

Honors Theses

Caricatures are entrenched in French socio-political identity. That identity has shifted due to internal and external forces, but the most important event for the socio-political identity of France in the 21st century is the attacks at Charlie Hebdo in January 2015. The event and the responses to it reignited the ideas of incompatibility of France and Islam, furthering the schism between French society and the integration of Islam. The nature of the memory of Charlie Hebdoand its effect on the perception of Islam before January 2015 and after necessitates the question, “How does Charlie Hebdo reveal contradictory ideas of …

Transgender Research Part A And B, Conor Jesse Finnegan

Communication Senior Capstones

A paper written to explain the struggles transgender people everyday and to explain how they have fought for equality. The paper also aims to educate the reader on ways that they can help trans people just by trying to understand them.

Toxic Culture: An Emotion And Sentiment Analysis Of College Football Fans In Relation To Controversy And Win-Loss Records, Joshua R. Jackson

LSU Master's Theses

Fans of certain college football teams will experience a wide array of emotions when their team is involved in a scandal. This study examined the fan bases of three university football teams as they learn about and react on social media to their schools and head coaches becoming implicated in controversies. Under the protection of those with similar likes and the secrecy of social media, users can voice opinions in favor of and against the football team’s firing of a coach or handling of an investigation. Fan bases analyzed in the study are Ohio State University, Maryland University, and Baylor …

A Sociological Evaluation Of A Large Team Science Project: The Iutah Experience, K. Taylor Dean

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many contemporary scientific research projects are composed of large numbers of researchers working together to provide solutions to social issues that affect our society. In an attempt to understand and address these issues, projects have been implemented where researchers from a wide variety of disciplines come together and collaborate. As this research includes a variety researchers, it requires a unique approach. Questions such as how to make these projects as effective as possible, how to properly evaluate these projects, and how to gauge the quality and success of these projects need to be answered.

These are directly addressed in this …

The Uses Of Community In Modern American Rhetoric, Cody Ryan Hawley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the functions of the term “community” in American social and political rhetoric. I contend that community serves as a god-term, or expression of value and order, which rhetors use to motivate actions, endorse values, include/exclude persons, and compensate for modern losses. Informed by the philosophy of Kenneth Burke, I explore the general features of “rhetorics of community,” including community’s ambiguity and status as an automatic good, the relationship between community and modernity, the myth of communal loss, and the uses of community as a site of political unity and contest. I analyze the writings of John Humphrey …

Narcocorridos: Music, Defiance, And Violence In Transnational Contexts, Nallely G Murguia

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This research aims to explain and understand the effects that the music genre known as narcocorrido has on society, politics, and culture in Mexico and the United States. It provides a background on the history of narcocorridos and how it came be known as a symptom of the ongoing violence in Mexico. The Movimiento Alterado is also explored in this research project, as a product of narcocorrido singers who came together to glorify violence. A global aspect plays a big role in researching this topic as globalization and transnationalism reveal the complexity of politics, economics, and culture and its effects …

Structures, Norms, And Renewable Energy Policy: A Comparative Analysis Of The Driving Forces Behind Energy Policymaking In The United States And Denmark, Elise Ogden

Senior Theses and Projects

The 1973 OPEC Oil Embargo served as a wake-up call for many highly oil dependent countries, including the United States and Denmark. In the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, the U.S. and Denmark had very different policy responses. Denmark identified oil itself as the underlying issue, and quickly transitioned to alternative energy sources, including wind. Today, Denmark is a global leader in renewable energy usage and sustainability. The United States, on the other hand, saw foreign reliance on oil as the main issue, and moved to develop domestic oil reserves rather than transitioning to alternative sources. Today, the U.S. …

Exploring Personal And Societal Expectations Of Blind Veterans, Malinda L. Wimbs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

More U.S. men and women are returning from military service obligations with physical and mental disabilities which complicate their transition to civilian life. Few researchers, however, have examined the post service experiences of blind veterans and whether they are affected by societal expectations of people living with disabilities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain knowledge about the experiences of U.S. veterans who suffered vision loss, and the influence of societal expectations on their lives. Hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was used to explore the personal meanings 8 veterans, who lost their vision during active service, attached to their experiences …

The Price Of Democracy: Hong Kong's Identity Crisis In The Umbrella Revolution, Jen Keung

Honors Theses

Most past research on the democratization of Hong Kong has been generally concerned about on the ramifications of institutional power dynamics, and aimed to inform an audience whose primary interests were in China. Accordingly, understandings of the culture and society of Hong Kong becomes limited, as they serve to support an argument for or against Chinese regional despotism. From public media coverage to scholarship articles, very little attention has been paid to the transformations of Hong Kong at the individual level. In a society that has been through constant social, economic and political transformations in the past decades, Hong Kong …

The History Of Chinese Cybersecurity: Current Effects On Chinese Society Economy, And Foreign Relations, Vaughn C. Rogers

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Chinese cybersecurity has become an infamous topic in the field of cybersecurity today, causing a great deal of controversy. The controversy stems from whether or not censorship is hindering Chinese economy, society, and relationships with other countries. The White Papers (中国政府白皮书), the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China (中华人民共和国宪法), and The Internet in China (中国互联网状况) all suggest that there is a free flow of Internet both within and without China that promotes peaceful socioeconomic development which the Chinese government seeks to promote. But is China sacrificing lucrative business prospects to secure …

Evolution Of A Nation After A Dictatorship: How Law, Politics And Society Of The 1973 Dictatorship In Uruguay And Of The Subsequent Return Of Democracy In 1985, Potentially Helped Evolve The Nation Of Today., Jonathan A. Fein Proaño

Master's Theses

In 1973, Uruguay’s president authored a coup d’état with the military and changed the history and fabric of Uruguay. Once democracy returned to Uruguay in 1985, it was a chance to see if an evolution of the law, politics and society would occur. This thesis aims to analyze and understand the patterns of change and de-evolution or evolution that happened during the dictatorship and then over the last 30 years. I break down the process of changes that happened legally and politically, how the dictatorship and its leaders used law to destroy rule of law, and how society changed.

This …

Philosopher's Stone: The Faustian Geist Of Development, Salikyu Sangtam

Dissertations

The present study juxtaposes scientific rationality with polyphonic rationality in respect to societal development. This is done to illuminate how scientific rationality provides a narrow and truncated view of development. In order to explicate the exclusion of polyphonic rationalities/knowledges in favor of scientific rationality, several development scholarships are examined along with an episode of developmental scheme and two episodes of development programs. This is done to expound (note: ‘→’ = influences) how scientific rationality → scholarships → organizational/institutional schemes, such as the MDGs → actual applications of development schemes, such as transmigration and compulsory villagization. The present inquest, …

Judging Laura, Rebecca E. Richardson

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Laura Audax is a sixteen-year-old girl who has an interesting set of characteristics. She is a dynamic mixture of compassion, stubbornness, brilliance, recklessness, imagination, and arrogance. The way the world understands these personality traits has transformed and evolved over time. If a girl like Laura lived in four different time periods, society would react differently to her in each era, but the overall question is how different these reactions really are. Does the definition of what makes certain personality traits “good” or “bad” change over time?

The following four stories take place in 1850, 1920, 2015, and 2100 respectively, and …

Caso Empresarial: Comparación Entre Las Empresas Ecopetrol En Colombia Y Petrobras En Brasil, Desde Los Programas De Rse Que Coadyuvan Al Mejoramiento Competitivo En El Periodo 2008 2012, Luisa Fernanda Ojeda Roa, Aminta María Peñaranda Martínez

Finanzas y Comercio Internacional

La Responsabilidad Social Empresarial (RSE) ha sido un concepto dinámico que busca precisar el papel de la empresa y demás implicados en la producción y distribución de bienes y servicios dentro de la sociedad. Como tal, este concepto busca precisar si el papel de las empresases enteramente económico o si semejante papel trasciende dicho ámbito, como también si la práctica de lo que es la RSE es beneficiosa para los intereses económicos de las empresas. En el trabajo que aquí se presenta se pretende determinar, mediante un estudio de caso, cuáles son los factores que están implicados en la práctica …

Dr. Who?: The Science And Culture Of Medical Wear Design, Patricia Duignan

Theses and Dissertations

The multi-million-dollar medical uniform industry has not utilized advancements in garment and textile technology that could positively impact the protection of healthcare professionals and patients. In most cases the uniforms meet basic requirements – they clothe the professional in a recognizable way. Little innovation in design, function and performance, has been applied to these garments. This is particularly evident in the case of the stereotypical white lab coat worn by many physicians, despite evidence indicating that these lab coats may carry contamination and play a role in the spread of deadly bacteria. Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) are among the most …

México, Una Nación En Riesgo: La Descomposición De La Dinámica Familiar Patriarcal En Las Obras De Jesús González Dávila, Diana Fletcher

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the decomposition of the patriarchal family model in three plays written by Mexican dramatist Jesús González Dávila. Focusing on Pastel de zarzamora, El jardín de las delicias and De la calle, the present study analyzes the roles of the adult and the youth characters. González Dávila portrays oppressive, authoritative fathers who are power hungry and need to have control over all family matters. These domineering fathers are the roots of all the problems exhibited by the youth protagonists in all three of these plays. The younger generation has been damaged by the harsh behavior of their parents, …

Irish Travellers And The Transformative Nature Of Media Representation, Aisling Kearns

Honors Theses

The Travellers, a nomadic group of people indigenous to Ireland, have long been marginalized in Irish society as a result of discrimination. The Travellers themselves have had a history of working to keep themselves separate from the settled Irish, essentially maintaining their own ethnic identity. Traveller culture has undergone a number of changes since the 1960s, a period of increasing urbanization and economic transformation in Ireland. With the changes in both Traveller culture and Irish society as a whole, there has been a corresponding shift to a more positive relationship between the media (newspapers, documentaries, and commercial films and television) …

Rejecting The Rejecters: The Latent Effect Of Policy On Subculture, Ethan Maxwell Higgins

Online Theses and Dissertations

Specifically, this thesis is a look into rap lyrics, subculture, policy, reflexivity and the formation of the social self. In a broader vision, this thesis attempts to mold a theoretical pathway that illuminates where our cultural products "come from," not historically, but socially. Through the vehicle of rap lyrics I attempt to show that there is a historical and social structure that molds, limits and contains the very possibility of what music and lyrics can come to be. I try to show that the decisions we make on a national scale effects groups which have little political power, effectively recreating …

Prostitution: An Independent Business Or A Societal Downfall?, Jaclyn Toop

Honors Theses

This thesis breaks down the subject of prostitution to be examined by four smaller categories: the history of prostitution, the pros and cons of current legislation surrounding prostitution, the effects of the media’s portrayal on society, and a comparison of abortion as a similar issue. While society may have a current notion of prostitution, this thesis would like to examine the idea of prostitution as an independently run business under government regulation in hopes of recognizing the positive effects it would have upon sex workers. Through the use of surveys distributed to a number of students at a small liberal …

Differences In Race And/Or Gender In Attitudes And Beliefs Towards Obesity Among Students At The University Of Southern Mississippi, Erick Brown

Honors Theses

Overweight and obesity have been described by various experts as critical problems in populations around the world, especially in the United States. These issues are so characterized because they affect numerous facets of life in this society. Researchers in the medical community have repeatedly described the health-related risks associated with obesity rates, asserting that higher risks of debilitating or fatal disease are tied to one’s level of obesity. They also say that obesity rates of populations are related to other disease rates, and many imply or clearly state that obesity is the cause and therefore the problem to be contested. …

The Existentialist World Of Murakami Haruki: A Reflection Of Postmodern Japanese Society, Maria Garguilo

East Asian Studies

No abstract provided.

Museveni's Centralization Of Power: The Political Economy Of Development In Uganda, Nathan Vasher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis develops a model of structural power in society that builds upon Weber's notion that several types of power exist in societies and that these types of power operate differently within societies. The purpose of this model is to help explain the political economy of development during Museveni's tenure. The thesis argues that Museveni has centralized power through a complex system of patronage and repression. Furthermore, Museveni's transformation from the leader of a cadre of `new breed leaders' to `just another African big man' results from his choice to centralize power as a means of achieving his revolutionary goals. …