Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Shared Tracks, Divided Rule: The Role Of Polycentrism In Shaping Public Transportation In U.S. Metropolises, Dev Purohit

Honors Theses

American public transportation is notably less comprehensive and efficient relative to peer nations. The reliance on private automobiles and commercial air travel for routes that can be served by high-speed rail is a uniquely American phenomenon. This inefficiency is deeply rooted in governance structures, where centralized decision-making has often failed to address the complexities of metropolitan transit systems spanning multiple jurisdictions. This project explores polycentric governance as a potential mechanism to address these shortcomings by fostering competition, enhancing collaboration, and promoting localized responsiveness within metropolitan transit systems. By developing an empirical inventory to measure governance polycentricity and comparing transit outcomes …

Shouting Down Democracy: The Role Of The Deeply Engaged In American Political Discourse, Annaliese Fleck

Honors Theses

In an age of heightened polarization and increasing incivility in politics, a small but influential subset of Americans, known as the deeply engaged have emerged as dominant voices in political dialogue. This thesis investigates who these individuals are, what drives them, and how their behavior impacts democratic participation in the United States. Through a combination of theoretical analysis and original survey data, this study constructs a profile of the deeply engaged and distinguishes them from the general electorate. Drawing on foundational concepts of free speech, including isegoria and parrhesia, and the philosophies of John Stuart Mill and Karl Popper, this …

When Choice Disappears: Voter Cynicism In The Absence Of Competition, Benjamin J. Kaden

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the democratic consequences of uncontested state legislature elections in the United States, focusing on how the absence of electoral competition influences both voter engagement and political attitudes. While state legislatures wield significant influence over public policy and resource allocation, an increasing number of these elections proceed without meaningful opposition. Drawing on an original survey of 2,775 respondents, this study tests two core hypotheses: first, that uncontested state legislature elections lead to decreased voter engagement, as reflected in voter attitude towards election participation and candidate qualities; and second, that uncontested state legislature elections increase negative attitudes towards government …

Global Rate Pass Through: Impact Of The Global Savings Market On Home Prices In The Uk, Laxmi Namboodiri

Honors Theses

This paper examines how changes in the global savings and investment market impact housing prices and supply in the United Kingdom. I first constructed a global interest rate using principal component analysis. Then, using structural VARs, I estimate impulse response functions to study the dynamics of housing prices and supply in the UK with an impulse in the global interest rate. The model predicts that housing prices and supply will increase immediately and then decrease after a lag. The decrease is primarily driven by the years after the stock market crash as opposed to before.

Asian American Navigation In Higher Education: Do We Belong At Colby College?, Amanda Rose Alpert

Honors Theses

This thesis explores how Asian American students navigate their belonging at Predominantly White Institutions (PWI), specifically a case study at the higher educational institution Colby College. In understanding how Asian American students navigate the spaces around them, this thesis dives into the history of Asian immigration to the U.S., the Asian American politicized label, and the different diasporas and cultural nuances Asian Americans experience that make up the complicated, diverse, and misunderstood label. Through exploring global racializations of Asian bodies and legacies of Western imperialism and colonialism, this gives a basis of how Asian Americans understand themselves as persons living …

The Relevance Of Information On Effective Charitable Giving, Pride J. Jia

Honors Theses

The most effective charities are often more than a hundred times as effective as the average charity. However, top charities are not prioritized, and donation money is not used most effectively. To address this issue, it is crucial to understand why effective charitable giving is not prioritized. One factor identified in previous research is the limited access to cost-effectiveness information among donors. Our research explores whether providing individuals with different forms of information about charities leads to more effective donation decisions. Through an online RCT, individuals are separated into groups exposed to different types of information about two charities and …

A Long Way Home: Postcolonial Migration Between Cameroon And France, Elizabeth Greenberg

Honors Theses

This project grew from an observation that despite exhibiting strong national pride, most young Cameroonians express a fervent desire to emigrate. Through a combination of interviews and a review of past literature, I discovered a unique narrative among upper middle class Cameroonian migrants whose stories are generally underrepresented in migration literature. This study investigates how history and sociocultural dynamics help explain the Cameroonian decision to choose France (specifically the Île de France region) as a migration destination. France is particularly relevant because it previously held control of many parts of Cameroon and is one of the most popular migration destinations …

Mucking Up Public Health: A Geospatial Analysis Of Agricultural Sludge Application And Cancer Prevalence In Maine, Sarah A. Bassett

Honors Theses

This study investigates the impact of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on cancer prevalence throughout Maine. The main contribution of this project is the database constructed to examine cancer rates at a novel aggregation area: watersheds. By using a watershed as the aggregation area, this study gains insight into the threat that spreading sludge as fertilizer on agricultural fields poses to human health through groundwater pathways. Using geospatial analysis and an ordinary least squares regression model, this study estimates the effect of the presence of PFAS in a watershed from 2017 to 2021, in addition to estimating the impact of …

From Colony To Classroom: British Rule And Contemporary Educational Outcomes In India, Yashvita Shukla

Honors Theses

This study analyzes the modern day legacy of British colonial ruling structures on Indian educational outcomes. In directly ruled areas, the British retained total control, while Indian princes in indirectly ruled areas had administrative agency. I find that directly ruled districts have higher literate population shares across both genders over three census years, but no significant difference by 2011 in primary, secondary, and tertiary education, controlling for colonial geographic conditions. Gender-disaggregated results generally find stronger colonial effects for women than men. This thesis challenges earlier findings and implies that the British effort to create an educated administrative class and their …

Are Cities Still Liberal? An Analysis Of Post-Pandemic Political Change In American Cities, Olivia Mundy

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates whether American cities are experiencing a political shift to the right in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as suggested by recent media narratives. Drawing on an original national survey of 2,385 respondents conducted in early 2025, the study examines attitudinal and demographic changes among urban residents, with a particular focus on ideology, trust in local government, economic perceptions, and views on race and immigration. Despite anecdotal evidence of conservative gains in urban elections, the findings show no significant trend toward conservatism among urban residents overall. In fact, urban respondents were slightly more likely than their non-urban …

Adhd As A Lived Experience Amongst Bipoc College Students, Nikash Kale

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on the perspectives of Black Indigenous and Persons of Color (BIPOC) college students on Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The study analyzes scoping strategies, perceived symptomatological differences, and the effects of racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds among BIPOC college students. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 14 participants, I examine the full permeation of ADHD among BIPOC college students, its evolution from pre-diagnosis to the present, and how they navigate the disorder and its treatment. A qualitative analysis of ADHD among minorities in college will not only allow clinicians to understand the distinct struggles of BIPOC with ADHD, but it …

Resilience And Its Effects On Psychological Well Being During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Taylor Reinsel

Honors Theses

Stressors and trauma in life are unavoidable. However, the way we respond and adapt to them can be within our control. This response differs from person to person, but there are factors that can influence the likelihood of an individual rebounding from a crisis, as well as factors that can put them at a higher risk of developing mental illness. One of the main factors that influences Psychological Well Being is the presence of Resilience.

The main goal of this study was to examine how factors of Resilience relate to Psychological Well Being and COVID-19 Well Being during the COVID-19 …

From War To Walls: U.S. Intervention And The Rise Of Carceral Society In El Salvador, Xochitl Granados

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the historical and contemporary impact of US foreign policy on El Salvador’s security landscape. El Salvador’s gang crisis, largely driven by the deportation of gang members from the US in the 1990s, is rooted in a complex history shaped by US intervention during the Salvadoran civil war, which intensified political, social, and economic inequalities. These inequalities, along with the rise of international gangs such as La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and 18th Street, have contributed to El Salvador’s ongoing security challenges. This thesis demonstrates how US involvement in the Salvadoran civil war indirectly fueled the growth of gang …

Predictors Of Facultative Siblicide In Black-Legged Kittiwake (Rissa Tridactyla) Chicks, Maria Pisciotta

Honors Theses

In Black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), a seabird species, competition between siblings can arise when more than one chick is present in a nest. The first-hatched chick, known as the “A” chick, frequently establishes dominance over the second-hatched chick, known as the “B” chick. Many different factors can drive the presence and intensity of this competition, including the size discrepancies between chicks, and their physiological state. A likely factor is resource limitation, seen in many instances of sibling competition to be a prominent component because limited food must be allocated between both chicks by parents. In some cases, competition can escalate …

A Broad Range Of Sexual Misconduct And Associated Mental Health Outcomes, Cory Sanderson

Honors Theses

College women are at a high risk of experiencing sexual misconduct (SM) (Graham et al., 2022). Research shows a connection between sexual victimization and psychological distress (Graham et al., 2022). The lack of research on a broader range of SM and associated mental health outcomes is a lacuna that must be addressed. SM is a widely understudied issue, and approximately 1 in 5 college women will experience it at least once during their time on campus (Muehlenhard et al., 2017). Women are not only at a high risk of experiencing SM during their time in college, but research shows a …

Coercion In Campus Sexual Misconduct, Ailsa V. Boger

Honors Theses

Women are at a high risk of experiencing sexual misconduct or assault during their time in college (Graham et al., 2022). Studies suggest that many college students, specifically women, are likely to experience sexual coercion, which is defined as: unwanted sexual activity that occurs when you are pressured, threatened, tricked, or forced in a nonphysical way (Pugh & Becker, 2018; Office on Women’s Health, 2021). Coerced sex is not illegal in most states in the US, so sexual coercion is not seen as important as more aggressive forms of sexual assault that are illegal (Peterson, 2023). Furthermore, the research on …

The Boston Metco Program: Recent Alumni Experiences And Educational Equity, Maya Hernandez

Honors Theses

This project focuses on contemporary school integration practices by examining, in particular, the Boston METCO (Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity Inc) program and the experiences of its recent alumni. The METCO program, the United States’ longest-running voluntary school desegregation program, was created in 1966 to give students of color from the city of Boston better educational opportunities by busing them to the surrounding suburbs for school. To this day, it is a program meant to expand educational opportunities, increase diversity, and reduce racial isolation, by permitting students from Boston to attend public schools beyond district lines, in the suburbs. My …

Burnout In Female Collegiate Athletes: Relations With Stress, Body Concerns, Coping, And Sport Type, Sarah V. Policano

Honors Theses

Burnout occurs when an athlete experiences stress and fails to cope with this stress, resulting in loss of interest in sport, emotional and physical exhaustion, and negative attitudes towards an athlete’s abilities. Female collegiate student-athletes suffer disproportionately from exhaustion, stress, and body image concerns compared to their male counterparts. The present study explored the relationship between stress and burnout among female collegiate athletes while also investigating how body image dissatisfaction (BID), weight pressure, and coping moderated this relationship and individually correlated to burnout and stress. Comparisons were made between sport type, lean versus non-lean, on stress, burnout, body concerns, weight …

How The Town Views The Gown: A Case Study Of A Campus-Community Relationship, Dora Kreitzer

Honors Theses

This research uses Bucknell and Lewisburg as a case study to understand the relationship between universities and their surrounding communities. While prior research has focused on urban, large, and/or research-oriented universities, the rural, small, and predominantly liberal arts nature of Bucknell provides an opportunity to explore how campus-community relationships vary by environment. Forty-eight qualitative semi-structured interviews and 12 months of observation of Lewisburg Borough Council meetings are used to explore three main areas of the town-gown relationship: economics, space, and social capital. These three themes emerged from interviews and observations as the most important determinants of residents’ perceptions of the …

Liberating The Library: Alternative Libraries And Counterpublics, Gabby Diaz

Honors Theses

As the current state and future of libraries remains uncertain, scholars across the Library and Information Science (LIS) are emphasizing the need to examine the social, political, and economic conditions and implications of our climate in the context of libraries. Seeing as libraries are situated within, and often reflect, socio political landscapes, this study aims to examine how groups relegated to the margins, develop spaces to intentionally address the needs of underserved communities through unconventional strategies, programming, and materials through what I call, alternative libraries. Through a qualitative exploration of alternative libraries through four different case studies, this research aims …

The Alien Language: Game The Developmental Trajectory Of Auditory And Visual Statistical Learning, Gwen Radecki

Honors Theses

Statistical learning (SL) extends across multiple stimulus domains and modalities, including vision, audition, and touch. However, it remains to be seen whether SL is supported by a modality-general or modality-specific mechanism(s). Prior work examined this by varying the rate of presentation across modalities, finding evidence of modality-specific constraints on learning (Emberson, Conway & Christiansen, 2011). In a prior experiment, I extended this work by testing the effect of presentation rate in standardized audio and visual SL tasks. The results of this project provided evidence against modality constraints to SL, suggesting instead that the mechanism is modality-general in nature. However, SL’s …

A Bittersweet Experience: Language Brokering Attitudes And Experiences Among Latinx Young Adults, Nicole Fernandez

Honors Theses

Objective: Language brokering, the practice of translating or interpreting, has been identified as a prevalent event among Latinx youth in the United States. This study aimed to investigate the psychological and interpersonal processes that affect the experiences of Latinx young people who serve as language brokers. Methods: Utilizing a simultaneous mixed-methods approach, this study investigated the influence of parent-child relationships, familism as a cultural value, burden attitudes, psychological well-being, and personality traits on language brokering experiences. Quantitative data was collected through a Qualtrics survey, which was analyzed using SPSS. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed using …

Social Determinants Of Mental Health Outcomes, Ariana Fein

Honors Theses

Mental health disorders, particularly anxiety and depression, are a growing global concern with profound consequences on individuals' well-being and societal functioning. The burden of these disorders is not only psychological but also economic, affecting quality of life. Mental health outcomes are heavily influenced by a range of social determinants, such as financial status, education, and access to healthcare. While extensive research has focused on WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) countries, there remains a significant gap in understanding how these determinants affect mental health in low-resource settings or non-WEIRD countries. This study aimed to address this gap by exploring the …

Decentralized And Divided: Philadelphia’S Public Assistance System And Community-Based Initiatives, Gianna Casey, Shari Orisich

Honors Theses

Public assistance programs and community-based initiatives have aided Philadelphian’s residents in a cohesive effort to fill the gaps of community-needs. While both are inherently different in their methodologies and executions, their structures are built upon a collective foundation of legislative principles and policy-based ordinances in Philadelphia. These concepts, first began with poor laws and religious organizations in the 19th century, have turned into a complex system that has fallen tremendously short of sufficiently addressing the specialized needs of Philadelphian families. The surrounding laws for public assistance program administration (e.g. TANF and WIC), are founded within the objectives of these poor …

Sustainability Of Food Prescription Programs In Rural Mississippi, Eve Davis

Honors Theses

Food prescription programs are an innovative strategy to address food insecurity and to promote health as a preventative measure, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Mississippi has high rates of chronic diseases relating to nutrition, poverty, and limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Throughout this research, I have analyzed program funding and sustainability mechanisms such as community investment, nutrition education, and awareness. The preliminary research has identified the need for collaboration between healthcare providers, local farmers, nonprofit organizations, and government officials. I interviewed various individuals that could become potential stakeholders for food prescription programs, such as individuals from nonprofit …

Women, Collective Creative Practice, And Community Health, Anne Hensley

Honors Theses

A growing body of research shows that art therapy yields positive outcomes for those experiencing stress and mood disorders. Creative arts therapies have been shown to lower cortisol, improve personal and universal outlook, decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression, increase self-esteem and confidence, alleviate burnout, help individuals to cope with trauma, and support brain function through activity-dependent plasticity. However, little research has been done on collective and collaborative arts, and the enhanced benefits communal practice might bring. Additionally, art therapy is inaccessible to many, due to a dearth of practitioners and cultural and socioeconomic barriers to participation. Peri-, menopausal, and …

An Exploration Of Russian "Plea Bargaining": Americanization And Administratization Theses, Nathaniel Brewer

Honors Theses

This Project attempts to answer the question: Why did Russia adopt a legal practice that is seemingly inconsistent with its inquisitorial legal history? The Project examines this question through two theses posited by Máximo Langer and applying them to the Russian Federation’s Code of Criminal Procedure (“CCP”) Chapter 40. Chapter 40 of the CCP creates the Special Trial Procedure (“STP”), a summary proceeding allowing the defendant to agree to the charges they face in exchange for a reduced sentence. In inquisitorial legal systems, this sort of proceeding is not meant to occur because they are meant to be predicated on …

The Relationship Between Religious Coping Styles And Eating Disorder Risk In Christians In A University Setting, Meghan E. Aubuchon

Honors Theses

Existing research on eating disorders and religion is beginning to gain momentum in the present day, but research is lacking on the topic of religious coping and eating disorder risk. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between two known styles of religious coping—positive and negative—and eating disorder risk in University of Mississippi students, faculty, and staff who identify as Christian. A survey consisting of basic demographic questions, the EAT-26, and the Brief RCOPE was distributed via emails sent by the office of IREP to students, faculty, and staff at the University of Mississippi. A total of 330 participants were …

Neurodivergent Experiences In Communication Sciences And Disorders Programs As Reflected In Reddit, Shadha Al Kalbani

Honors Theses

By definition, neurodivergent students are those whose brain function differs significantly from societal expectations (Walker, 2014). The term ‘neurodivergent’ is associated with the Neurodiversity Movement. Although the Neurodiversity Movement was spearheaded by the Autistic1 community, the term commonly includes other forms of neurodivergence such as ADHD and dyslexia. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of neurodivergent students in Communication Sciences Disorders (CSD) programs, where systematic data on their demographics and experience is relatively limited. Specifically, this study analysed posts from the online social media platform Reddit that are dedicated to the college experience of neurodivergent students …

What Is Known And Not Known About The Impact Of Social Media On Self-Esteem: Systematic Literature Review Of Research On Adolescents (2014-2024), Kailen Mokhantha-Sopraseuth

Honors Theses

Prior research has found social media can impact how users feel about themselves and can influence how individuals perceive the world around them. Due to the increase in adolescent usage of social media, a systematic literature review of research available through Western Michigan University’s library was conducted. This study was aimed at summarizing and critically evaluating research on the impact of social media use on adolescent’s self-esteem using a qualitative systematic literature review from the last decade, with some quantitative analysis. Specifically, this study examined 1) what methods of data collection was used, 2) research designs implemented, and 3) results …