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Honors Theses

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Cognitive Biases And Reflexive Control, Natalie Minton Jan 2017

Cognitive Biases And Reflexive Control, Natalie Minton

Honors Theses

Manipulating an opponent is nothing new to warfare, but what is new is the understanding behind modern tactics, psychology, and the how the two intertwine under real world circumstances. One modern tactic, particularly used by the Russian government, is called reflexive control. This hybrid warfare tactic is used to manipulate an opponent into unknowingly making decisions benefiting the manipulator while harming the opponent. Though executed through many outlets, reflexive control is aimed at flaws within the opponent's decision making process. Many such flaws are categorized as cognitive biases derived from mental shortcuts that can lead the brain to misjudge information. …

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Celebrity Protest And Media Consumption: A Comparative Analysis Across Media And Cultural Context, Paxton Williams Jan 2017

Celebrity Protest And Media Consumption: A Comparative Analysis Across Media And Cultural Context, Paxton Williams

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I performed a comparative case study between the United States and a foreign country, particularly Australia, Venezuela, and the United Kingdom, in each of the media ages that I defined. I defined these media ages as the Pre-24 Hour News Cycle Age, the Internet Age, and the Social Media Age. For the Pre-24 Hour News Cycle Age, I examined Muhammad Ali and his refusal to be inducted into the Armed Services in 1967 after being drafted for the Vietnam War and Peter Norman, an Australian Olympic medalist, and his decision to take a silent stand for equality …

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Beauty In The Eye Of The Producer: The Role Of Appearance In The Careers Of Hispanic Female Broadcasters, Rachel E. Anderson Jan 2017

Beauty In The Eye Of The Producer: The Role Of Appearance In The Careers Of Hispanic Female Broadcasters, Rachel E. Anderson

Honors Theses

This paper explores the pressures of beauty and appearance on a selected group of female Hispanic broadcast journalists. Ten broadcasters who identify as female and Hispanic were interviewed about their experiences in the industry. A careful analysis indicated that there are pressures for adopting ultra-feminine looks for hair and makeup and sexy clothing for on-air appearances based on consumer feedback. News stations also manage employees' appearances to maximize favor with audiences and to increase ratings.

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Cross-Cultural Comparison Of Cosmetic Procedures In Latin America And East Asia, Rebecca Vorisek Jan 2017

Cross-Cultural Comparison Of Cosmetic Procedures In Latin America And East Asia, Rebecca Vorisek

Honors Theses

This paper explores the factors that influence women's decisions to undergo cosmetic procedures, including: globalization, westernization, patriarchy, empowerment, and endogenous factors. It specifically focuses on East Asia and Latin America focusing on South Korea, China, Brazil, and Argentina and offers a cross-cultural comparison between these regions and countries as well as between the world and the West. I compiled and analyzed data from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) 2011 annual report to create profiles of the most common cosmetic procedures performed for each region and country, and these profiles were then compared to one another. Through my …

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Intelligence Dissemination Among Local, State, And Federal Law Enforcement: The Necessity, Gaps, And Recommendations, Emily Holcomb Jan 2017

Intelligence Dissemination Among Local, State, And Federal Law Enforcement: The Necessity, Gaps, And Recommendations, Emily Holcomb

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine how intelligence is gathered in the Southern State Region, identify perceived gaps in the current policies used with this communication and offer potential solutions to intelligence communication flaws. An interview-based research of Southern State Region officers and agents and the support of peer-reviewed academic articles shaped the research in this paper. The results of this research indicated that (a) personal connections between law enforcement agents and federal agents are the backbone of the current process utilized in information sharing, (b) there are gaps when personnel leave their position in office because of …

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The Effects Of Terrorism On Public Opinion Of Gun Control In The United States, Emily Mckee Jan 2017

The Effects Of Terrorism On Public Opinion Of Gun Control In The United States, Emily Mckee

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between terrorist activity and public support for gun control. This thesis tests three hypotheses: 1) that out-group violence causes greater support for gun control than in-group violence, 2) that the method of violence determines support for gun control, and 3) that the results of the first two hypotheses are dependent on the conditional variables of gender, fear of Muslims, and residence in an urban or rural area. To analyze these relationships, a survey experiment was conducted to determine if out-group violence and method of violence had an affect on public …

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Multi-Generaltional Marketing: Variations And Implications Of Nonprofit Approaches, Emily Alexandra Lindstrom Jan 2017

Multi-Generaltional Marketing: Variations And Implications Of Nonprofit Approaches, Emily Alexandra Lindstrom

Honors Theses

Research reveals that today's nonprofit organizations have shifted their longtime marketing efforts away from Baby Boomers to target the younger Millennial and Generation Z audience. In their effort to reach the new audiences, nonprofits have been forced to change their marketing strategies, including the adoption of new and more effective social networking media. Despite their shift in focus, nonprofits remain in a battle for funds with their for-profit competition. Using past and present nonprofit marketing strategies, this thesis isolates the difference between nonprofits and for-profits and identifies the influence that nonprofits have on society today. It further analyzes the current …

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Parental Influence On Weight Biases In School-Age Children, Emily E. Wasson Jan 2017

Parental Influence On Weight Biases In School-Age Children, Emily E. Wasson

Honors Theses

Obesity rates have rapidly increased in America over the past few decades, and with this rise comes an increase in the negative psychosocial consequences experienced by victims of weight bias. Although a fair amount of research on weight bias (i.e., the negative attitudes or beliefs one holds toward overweight individuals) has been done in adults and adolescents, limited research has been done in young children. This study worked to fill gaps in the literature by investigating if children between the ages of five and nine would show weight biases, if the biases against individuals would vary by the ethnicity and …

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Close Relationships, The Self-Concept, And Health Behaviors In College Students, Erin Davis Fowler Jan 2017

Close Relationships, The Self-Concept, And Health Behaviors In College Students, Erin Davis Fowler

Honors Theses

This study investigated whether romantic, parental, and peer relationship satisfaction influence eating behaviors and alcohol consumption through the self-concept. To test this hypothesis, 251 undergraduate students from the University of Mississippi completed an online survey in return for class credit. Participants first answered questions regarding their relationships with their parents, romantic partners, and close friends. These questions were adapted from the Couple's Satisfaction Index (Funk & Rogge, 2007). Next, to assess the self-concept, self-esteem, and objectification participants completed the Robson Self Concept Questionnaire (Robson, 1989), The Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (Rosenberg,1965), and The Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (McKinley, & Hyde, …

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A Qualitative Process Evaluation Of A Meal Service Program, Grace Marie Sullivan Jan 2017

A Qualitative Process Evaluation Of A Meal Service Program, Grace Marie Sullivan

Honors Theses

This study serves to evaluate the process of a meal service program, local to Northeast Mississippi, in response to the need to evaluate methods of alleviating food insecurity as it continues to be a growing and evolving issue in the American South. The researcher chose to employ qualitative research methods in order to understand the program guests, volunteers, and board members' perceptions of the program's processes using data from interviews with members of each group, a focus group composed of program guests, and photovoice projects completed by program guests. The researcher used thematic analysis to interpret the data and defined …

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Are Chinese Firms Attracted To Political Risk? Locational Determinants Of Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investment, Grant Depoyster Jan 2017

Are Chinese Firms Attracted To Political Risk? Locational Determinants Of Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investment, Grant Depoyster

Honors Theses

This study evaluates the foreign direct investment (FDI) location choices made by Chinese firms from 1996 to 2015 and investigates the extent to which Chinese firms are attracted to investing in countries with high levels of political risk. Using new Chinese data, the study categorizes Chinese firms into Central State-Owned Enterprises and Other Chinese Firms to see the relationship between investment location and political risk for firms with varying levels of Chinese government control. Additionally, the data is divided between investments made from 1996 to 2003 and investments made from 1996 to 2015 to measure the effect that important changes …

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Memory Retention Rates Of Gossip-Related Information, Hannah R. Rogers Jan 2017

Memory Retention Rates Of Gossip-Related Information, Hannah R. Rogers

Honors Theses

The aim of this study is to determine if gossip-related information produces higher memory retention rates than scientific information. Participants completed a two-part survey. During the first part of the survey, participants read nine paragraphs, separated into three categories. Three were scientific, three were non-celebrity gossip, and three were celebrity gossip. After reading each article, participants rated each on a scale of 1-10 based on both personal relevance and how interesting they found each article. After a week delay, participants completed a multiple-choice memory test about the articles read the week before. The study found that while scientific articles were …

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Community Engagement Strategies For Civic Participation In Youth Development: The University Of Mississippi's Fight Against Poverty, Henry Lang-Vanderlaan Jan 2017

Community Engagement Strategies For Civic Participation In Youth Development: The University Of Mississippi's Fight Against Poverty, Henry Lang-Vanderlaan

Honors Theses

This thesis examined civic participation and community engagement strategies by the University of Mississippi to fight poverty through education in Mississippi. In 2014 the McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement started an innovative approach to fight poverty through education in Mississippi. The center began a Catalyzing Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED) program to establish community-university partnerships for university students to engage in communities beyond campus. I served in the program as a CEED scholar from 2015-2017. In this thesis I explored the state of an afterschool program to determine its success, and to evaluate the community engagement strategy …

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Catalyzing Entrepreneurship And Economic Development Program: An Analysis Of The Educational Opportunities In Mississippi's Tourism Industry, Holly Ruth Pitts Jan 2017

Catalyzing Entrepreneurship And Economic Development Program: An Analysis Of The Educational Opportunities In Mississippi's Tourism Industry, Holly Ruth Pitts

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to provide an analysis of the educational opportunities provided by the tourism industry in Mississippi, and to highlight the University of Mississippi's efforts to institutionalize community engagement. I undertook this study as a result of my role as a Catalyzing Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED) innovation scholar at the McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement. The McLean Institute was expanded as part of UM's 2020 strategic action plan, and its mission statement involves advancing transformative service and fighting poverty through education. I began my research as a participant observer serving as an …

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The Effect Of Font Type On Memory For Instruction, Courtney Upchurch Jan 2017

The Effect Of Font Type On Memory For Instruction, Courtney Upchurch

Honors Theses

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether or not one font type promotes superior memory retention for order over another. Participants were presented with one of three sets of instructions each displayed using a different style of font. They were asked to read the instructions and, following this, were provided with the instructions presented in a different, random order. Their task was to place the instructions back in the order in which they were originally presented. Results indicated that one font style led to better memory for order than the others. In addition, based on participant self-reports, …

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A Weight Intervention Dismantling Study: The Effect Of Social Support And Self-Monitoring On Weight Management In College Students, Kathryn Prendergast Jan 2017

A Weight Intervention Dismantling Study: The Effect Of Social Support And Self-Monitoring On Weight Management In College Students, Kathryn Prendergast

Honors Theses

Evidence shows that psychological intervention with obese individuals facilitates improved diet, increased physical activity, weight loss, and maintenance of stable body weight over time. These interventions use techniques derived from broader theory and empirical work related to the health belief model (HBM), theory of planned behavior (TPB), and social cognitive theory (SCT) to target general health behaviors in terms of diet, patterns of eating, sleep, stress, and level of physical activity. These behaviors have been effectively targeted by multi-component evidence-based practices utilizing self-monitoring and social support: two common components that facilitate implementation, requiring few resources. While evidence suggests that interventions …

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History And Heritage Made Accessible: The Lee County, Virginia Story, Martha Grace Mize Jan 2017

History And Heritage Made Accessible: The Lee County, Virginia Story, Martha Grace Mize

Honors Theses

This thesis creates a digital space to preserve the heritage of Lee County, Virginia through community input of stories, values, and beliefs, loosely based on the concept of an eco-museum as described by Corsane, Davis, and Murtas (2009). The virtual museum space includes a history of Lee County, Virginia, and the community's heritage ideals, as identified through local interviews, research, and stories. The results of the research created www.theleecountystory.com, a community-based website centered on heritage preservation that incorporates regional values identified through ethnographic research and educational information from local organizations and the University of Mississippi. The digital community space includes …

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Little Philosophers: Assessing And Prompting Philosophical Reasoning With Children, Makensey Sanders Jan 2017

Little Philosophers: Assessing And Prompting Philosophical Reasoning With Children, Makensey Sanders

Honors Theses

There is a debate in academic philosophy and psychology of whether or not children can or should do philosophy. Robert Kitchener asserts that due to cognitive limitations, children under the age of 10 cannot think philosophically (Kitchener, 1990). Murris (2000) challenges Kitchener's arguments and concludes that more research is needed. Further, this is a period during which children show individual differences and development in cognitive capacity, specifically within executive function relating to conscious control that may influence abstract thought (Zelazo et al., 1997). The present study assessed 7- to 9-year-olds' and adults' ability to answer philosophical questions in relation to …

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A Complex Relationship: Civic Education And Political Activism, Raquel A. Espitia Jan 2017

A Complex Relationship: Civic Education And Political Activism, Raquel A. Espitia

Honors Theses

Over the past decade or so, a community of civic education advocacy organizations have been created. These various organizations, while varying on methodology, have signified a common support of the 2003 report, The Civic Mission of the Schools, and have based their organizations' foundations on the main proposals found in the report. Each organization agrees that American civic education has been on the decline in recent years. They argue that this decline warrants education reform because civic education is the key to maintaining American democracy and that the public school system is the best institution to teach civic skills. The …

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Judicial Behavior And The Miranda Doctrine: A Question-Level Analysis, Gretchen Edelman Jan 2017

Judicial Behavior And The Miranda Doctrine: A Question-Level Analysis, Gretchen Edelman

Honors Theses

The attitudinal model of the Supreme Court is now a well accepted and valid way to explain the voting behavior of justices, as judicial prefer- ences dictate the eventual voting that occurs in cases. While many studies have looked at overall judicial ideologies through a variety of different mea- sures, this paper is the first that looks at judicial ideology and determines preferences within a single doctrine through a question level analysis us- ing ideal point estimation. To explore this measure of ideology inside a single-issue area I use the Miranda doctrine and its progeny cases to score judicial votes …

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Heritage, Not Hate: The Mississippi State Flag As A Conduit Of Colorblind Racism, Jenna Bailey Jan 2017

Heritage, Not Hate: The Mississippi State Flag As A Conduit Of Colorblind Racism, Jenna Bailey

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the ways in which students at the University of Mississippi employ colorblind racism in their justifications for keeping Mississippi state flag. Arguments have been made that the state flag is about history and heritage, not hate. It is this history that has led to two different meanings being associated with the flag: one about heritage and one about hate. Through an online, self-administered survey, the goal is to assess students' levels of colorblind racism and observe the arguments used in an open-ended question about their attitudes on the flag. This qualitative data …

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Early Foreign Language Education And The Effect On State-Mandated Standardized Testing Scores, Kaitlyn Elizabeth Duda Jan 2017

Early Foreign Language Education And The Effect On State-Mandated Standardized Testing Scores, Kaitlyn Elizabeth Duda

Honors Theses

Early foreign language education has been shown to have a positive effect on the performance of students on state-mandated standardized scores. This work gives an overview of the history of foreign language education, as well as a description of a specific program at an elementary school in North Texas. In order to analyze the effects of early foreign language immersion education on the performance of students enrolled in the program at Bedford Heights Elementary school, a statistical evaluation was performed using the STAAR scores of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students enrolled in both the foreign language immersion program and …

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The Drier The Land, The Higher The Chance?: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Water Availability And Civil Conflict And Its U.S. National Security Implications, Sailer E. Perkins Jan 2017

The Drier The Land, The Higher The Chance?: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Water Availability And Civil Conflict And Its U.S. National Security Implications, Sailer E. Perkins

Honors Theses

This thesis uses quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the relationship between water availability and civil conflict through an ethnic conflict lens. It further applies the trends observed in this relationship to United States National Security concerns to provide real-world applications of the knowledge gained. Consisting of quantitative and qualitative parts, this thesis uses logit analysis of data to test for significance in the water-conflict relationship then conducts a case study on Israel and Palestine, Darfur, and ISIS in Iraq to examine how water impacts conflict in true situations. This thesis posits that increased measures of ethnic divisiveness, monopolization of …

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(N)Ostalgic Consumption And The Former German Democratic Republic, Savannah Coleman Jan 2017

(N)Ostalgic Consumption And The Former German Democratic Republic, Savannah Coleman

Honors Theses

This study examines the consumer psychology of nostalgia. It specifies, focusing on consumer products that are associated with the former German Democratic Republic. My research studies the Ostalgie phenomenon through the lens of nostalgic consumption. The study is focused on understanding the relationship between the consumer psychology of nostalgia and the theory of 'Ostalgie' and what implications such a relationship could have. I took previously discussed concepts and theories of nostalgic consumption and observed if they played a role in the consumption of East German goods. I conducted and distributed surveys to eighty-eight Germans above the age of twenty-eight. Both …

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Dam Politics: Bolivian Indigeneity, Rhetoric, And Envirosocial Movements In A Developing State, Thomas Moorman Jan 2017

Dam Politics: Bolivian Indigeneity, Rhetoric, And Envirosocial Movements In A Developing State, Thomas Moorman

Honors Theses

How is the natural environment used and understood in contemporary Bolivian politics? To answer this question, this thesis examines two environmental conflicts, one past and one contemporary. In 2011, indigenous communities from the Indigenous Territory and Isiboro Secure National Park participated in the Eighth March for Territory and Dignity to protest the Villa Tunari—San Ignacio de Moxos Highway planned for construction through the TIPNIS. Using the existing literature, I show how this protest utilized distinct forms of environmentalism to combat state resource claims. My contribution to the field is the exposition of how the environment is used and understood surrounding …

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What Did You Expect? How Expectations And The Structure Of Student Loans Affect The Incentives To Pursue An Undergraduate Education, Timothy Parker Jan 2017

What Did You Expect? How Expectations And The Structure Of Student Loans Affect The Incentives To Pursue An Undergraduate Education, Timothy Parker

Honors Theses

Student loan debt and the cost of a college degree are on the rise each year, even as the value of a college degree appears to be stagnant. Yet, little research is available on how the characteristics of student loans create the incentives that have caused this effect. In this paper, I create a two-period, inter-temporal model for examining two related questions. First, what effect do interest rates and the structure of student loans have on individuals' incentives to attend college? Second, how do expectations of graduating high school students about future earnings impact their decision to attend or not …

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From Love Canal To The Flint Water Crisis: Government, Public Opinion, And Environmental Crises, Sarah Hughey Dec 2016

From Love Canal To The Flint Water Crisis: Government, Public Opinion, And Environmental Crises, Sarah Hughey

Honors Theses

After the rise of the modern-day environmental movement, environmentalism in the United States focused more and more on issues and crises related to the areas in which people lived and to the aspects that impacted public health. In particular, the crisis at Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York during the late 1970s and early 1980s provided a starting point to the awareness and activism of modern environmental history. Recently, an environmental crisis related to drinking water occurred in Flint, Michigan in the mid-2010s that showcases how various aspects of the environmental movement have developed over time since the Love …

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Priming Of Narrative Language In Young Adults, Rachel M. Crowder Dec 2016

Priming Of Narrative Language In Young Adults, Rachel M. Crowder

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

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Mating Behaviors Exhibited By A Captive Male Pacific Walrus (Odobenus Rosmarus Divergens), Jessica M. Mccord Dec 2016

Mating Behaviors Exhibited By A Captive Male Pacific Walrus (Odobenus Rosmarus Divergens), Jessica M. Mccord

Honors Theses

Understanding mating behaviors of a species can be utilized to help protect the species. Results of population surveys have shown the walrus population to be on the decline, and over the history of walruses being held in captivity, few pups have been born or survived. Not much is known about Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) due to the isolated Arctic habitats in which walruses live making wild population studies difficult. Few studies have examined wild observations of walrus mating behaviors and virtually none for captivity. The purpose of this study was to observe a captive male Pacific walrus for mating …

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Super Pac Funding And Its Impact On Voting Behavior In The U.S. House Of Representatives, Michael J. Scariano Dec 2016

Super Pac Funding And Its Impact On Voting Behavior In The U.S. House Of Representatives, Michael J. Scariano

Honors Theses

In light of the increasing levels of polarization in terms of voting behavior among members of the U.S. House of Representatives over the 112th, 113th, and 114th Congresses, coupled with the recent Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commision 558 U.S. 310 (2010), which authorized the use of unlimited fundraising and expenditure by outside groups in elections, the question was raised whether or not there was a correlation between these two occurrences. Specifically, this paper asks “what role does Super PAC funding play in the roll call vote choices of House Members of the 114th Congress?” To …

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