Development Studies Commons^™

Comparing Two Emergent Literacy Screeners: The Reading House And Star Early Literacy In A Florida Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (Vpk) Program, Jaime D. Swenbeck

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Platforms Of Exemption (For New Relations) Within Suburbia And Other Consolidating Hegemonies, Ayden Pritchard

Honors Theses

Theory is a mode of action that opens up revisionary spaces in the world. By voicing complexity and ambivalence in a situation, disembodied patterns are put in contact with compliant, unclaimed material, and they gain a foothold within the established structures of the present. This paper seeks to sketch the lines of influence that govern association and perception in suburbia, and to speculate the kinds of spaces where new relations between people who are normally segregated can occur. The information presented here hopes to join the reservoir of patterns that structure your everyday theoretical (revisionary) activity, to make changes possible …

Emotion Regulation And Autism: A Literature Review, Quinn Bethea

Honors Theses

This comprehensive literature review investigates the increasing research on emotional regulation and autism, as well as the effect they have on each other.

The literature search was conducted using databases such as Google Scholar, National Institute of Health, and the Mississippi State Library. The inclusion criteria focused on studies that examined emotion regulation, autism, or the impact of emotion regulation and autism on each other.

The review accomplished several points. First, it defined what autism is, and it defined what emotion regulation is. Second, it examined how autism and emotion regulation, or dysregulation, affect each other. Third, it brought attention …

Interdependence In Practice: U.S. Travel Advisories And Turkey’S Economic Resilience, Matthew Michael Mccall

Honors Theses

This study examines the U.S. Travel Advisory and its economic impact on foreign nations, with a focus on Turkey between 2016 and 2024. Grounded in the theories of functional and asymmetrical interdependence, this approach employs a mixed-methods design, combining quantitative analysis of tourism revenue, GDP, and GNI with qualitative examination of geopolitical events that may raise or lower the Travel Advisory rating. Rather than assuming the advisory acts as a tool of coercive foreign policy, this study tests whether advisory changes meaningfully shape Turkey’s economic performance or whether they simply reflect moments of instability inside the country. The findings support …

Associations Between Parental Depression And Child Internalizing Behaviors: The Role Of Gender, Abigail M. Webb

Honors Theses

The present study is a cross-sectional examination of associations between mother and father depression as it relates to child internalizing symptoms and anxious and depressed symptomatology. The study builds on the literature that underscores the importance of parental mental health for child outcomes, particularly anxiety and depression symptoms, by examining the role of gender in the link between parental depression and child internalizing symptoms. This study included 256 children (M age = 9.53 years; SD = 29.97 months; 123 males) and their mothers, fathers, and teachers. The measures included the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, the Child Behavior Checklist, and the Teacher Report …

South Korea's Scramble For Diplomacy In African Development, Binta Fadiga

Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes South Korea’s motivations for growing engagement in African development hypothesizing that diplomacy is a main driver in Korean interest in Africa. South Korea conducts official development aid through the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). Korea contrasts itself against conventional donors of official development aid, portraying itself as a model of economic development to emulate to recipient countries. Yet, KOICA discloses little regarding developmental methodologies it exports to recipient nations beyond its use of its development expertise and experience. I conducted qualitative analysis using country partnership strategies, official Facebook pages of KOICA Senegal and Rwanda offices, and mid-term …

Development Under Erasure: Deconstruction In Development Discourse, Micah Gill

Honors Theses

Jacques Derrida’s theory of deconstruction has been historically underappreciated in development. Yet Derrida’s critical theory realizes development as an inherently deconstructive field, one which advocates for the Other when disciplines such as economics and international relations overlook them. By examining the history of development through a Derridean lens, we can see how deconstruction was working within some of the development discourse’s prominent shifts leading up to its “impasse” in the 1980s. Heightened critical attention around this time catalyzed a flurry of deconstructive processes in the following years which have reshaped the landscape of development scholarship and practice. The story of …

Telepractice-Based Language Intervention Training For Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sarah Bryan

Honors Theses

This study closely examined the progression and fidelity of strategy implementation of parents undergoing an ASD language intervention training program. This instructional, interactive program was designed for parents of children with autism, thus catering to the needs of participants involved. This study assessed the use of parent comments and redirects, two kinds of parent strategies, during each parent-child interaction to provide more information about the impact of training sessions. The researchers hypothesized that by the end of training, parent participants would increase their fidelity of strategy implementation, increase their use of comments rather than redirects, and employ more open-ended questions …

The Role Of Community Outreach Programs In Partnership With The University Of Mississippi In Combating Food Insecurity In The Oxford/Lafayette Area, Gabrielle Miller

Honors Theses

Grow Club is a community outreach programming effort that was formed in Oxford, Mississippi in the fall of 2020 by University of Mississippi undergraduate students. The program works towards bringing community members as well as university students and staff together in attempts at alleviating many stressors felt by local community members living in poverty. This written work aims to offer a breakdown of how this program began and the steps taken to recognize a community need, formulate solutions, and work with the community to offer resources.

Environmental Repercussions Of The Strange Fruit: The Implications Of Our Enslavement On Modern Black Experiences With Nature, Indya Woodfolk

Honors Theses

When I was nine years old my dad often took me hiking at “Rosaryville State Park” in Maryland. Sometimes we would ride bikes, other times we would walk the trail and become mesmerized by the sounds and sights of nature. We would run down the path, play iSpy, or tell stories and sing songs. The trail led to an open field with acres of land in the distance. The only presence there was my dad, the trees, and me. We would take out our 7/11 sandwiches, sit on the ground, and enjoy our time together. It wasn't until I was …

The Gamification Of Well-Being, Matthew Barnes

Honors Theses

The rise of the digital era has caused digital domains to become increasingly prevalent and impactful in people’s lives. This thesis explores the threats, as well as possible benefits of one type of digital system: a gamified app. It examines how gamification can impact people and society in positive and negative ways. An experimental model was tested to examine the potential impacts of such apps. The project also considered the ethical implications of gamified systems and suggests that if ethical frameworks are created, gamified systems can have a positive effect on people’s lives and be tools for positive social change.

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Their Connection To Autoimmune Disease In Adulthood, Emma J. Molden

Honors Theses

Everyday in the United States, a child experiences a traumatic event. Autoimmune disease is one of the top two leading causes of death in the United States. Can these two horrifying events be connected? Autoimmune diseases currently affect millions of Americans and are considered an epidemic because of their prevalence within the adult population. Even with a high number of cases, this possible connection has been largely ignored and under researched for the history of modern medicine. However, two studies have begun to make the connection between adverse childhood experiences and how that affects the onset of autoimmune diseases in …

Reflecting On Our Terrain: How People And Places Create A Spirit Of Home, Meagan E. Harkins

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the nature of home. It situates the idea of home, both as a physical place and a spiritual state, where the subjects of these stories find belonging. Fourteen interviews were conducted, from December 2020 through February 2021, resulting in a series of longform stories. Eight interviews were recorded with immediate family and childhood friends in my hometown, the suburbs of Orlando, Fla. The balance of the stories derived from Zoom interviews, culminating in a 1,200-mile road journey to South Carolina, for the remaining ones.

What emerged from these oral history interviews and ensuing longform pieces are three …

Going Green: A Comparative Analysis Of Green Urbanism In Paris And Shanghai, Jeanne Torp

Honors Theses

As climate change becomes more pressing with each day and as we scramble to slow down the challenges it poses, adapting the means of operation within our cities will become an invaluable tool for reducing humanity’s carbon footprint. This paper seeks to study the ways in which green infrastructure in global cities can be used to do just that—adapting to and mitigating the effects of challenges resulting from climate change. In order to provide a broad overview of the effectiveness of such green infrastructure systems across the globe, this research will focus on two cities that vary greatly in their …