Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Digital Pulpit: A Thematic Analysis Of Evangelical Leaders’ Statements On Twitter In The Two Weeks Following The January 6 Capitol Riot, Everett Belle Kirkman

Honors Theses

White evangelicals overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. According to the Pew Research Center, 81% voted for him. That support baffled pundits at first but held up throughout his presidency. By the time the 2020 election season was ramping up, White evangelicals who supported Trump held more tightly to their beliefs, many taking to social media to convey their opinions. Since the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, over 600 outspoken Trump supporters have been arrested and charged for inciting violence in dispute of election results. This research is a thematic content analysis of the statements …

Pragmatic Deficits In Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Paige Kessler

Honors Theses

Background: Most studies have found pragmatic language skills to be poorer in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) populations, but there is no conclusive evidence.

Aim: Our aim was to conduct a meta-analysis of pragmatic language abilities in ADHD populations to more definitively demonstrate the extent of pragmatic language deficits in these populations as compared to typically developing (TD) populations.

Methods and procedures: Journal articles were identified using the search terms ((attention deficit) OR (adhd)) AND (pragmatics). Identified studies were screened and reviewed for inclusion criteria, descriptive information, and outcome variables. A meta-analysis was conducted, and individual effect sizes and overall effect size …

The Impact Of Trauma On Parenting Experiences Of Refugees, Mili Menon-Perez

Honors Theses

The importance of understanding trauma amongst refugees and providing trauma-informed care continues to grow as the number of refugees in the United States steadily increases. Despite the necessity of providing trauma-informed services to this population, a limited number of studies have explored the impact of trauma on this population and how to improve case management. This literature review aims to analyze the relationship between trauma and parenting experiences of refugees within the United States. It also aims to explore the impact of trauma on parenting experiences within this population and how social workers can best provide trauma-informed and culturally competent …

Eyewitness Identification, Alley Chan

Honors Theses

Eyewitness identification often plays a crucial role in the criminal justice system. It can be used to make an arrest, both exonerate and convict suspects, fuel police interrogation, and influence a plea bargaining decision. In the meantime, eyewitness misidentification has contributed to approximately 69% of the wrongful convictions, making it the leading factor in wrongful convictions nationwide. Hence, the central question that will be explored in this thesis is: Why eyewitness testimony is so powerful despite it is prone to error? To answer this question, this thesis will examine the role of eyewitness identification played in the criminal justice system …

Culture And Economics: A Literature Review, Faith Howard

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Gender And Sexual Orientation On Perceptions Of The Bereaved, John Dickinson

Honors Theses

The loss of a spouse is different for everyone who experiences it. There is no universal pattern for bereavement, and there is a wide variation in what is considered normal or healthy grieving (Hooyman & Kramer, 2010). Researchers have found that spousal bereavement is associated with increased risk of mortality, decrements in physical health, and diverse psychological reactions; some experience ongoing, disabling levels of stress, some experience symptoms that gradually decrease over time, and many experience little to no interference (Bonanno et al. 2004; Stroebe et al., 2007). The loss of a spouse or romantic partner affects most individuals at …

The Combined Influences Of Race, Sexuality, And Gender On Perceptions Of Sexual Harassment, Courtney House

Honors Theses

The current research examines the perceptions of sexual harassment based on the influence of the victim’s gender, and the race of both the victim and the perpetrator, and perceiver’s feminist beliefs. By using vignettes (a brief description of an event), we manipulated a) the gender of the victim (man or woman), b) the race of the victim (POC or white), and c) the race of the perpetrator (POC or white). Our hypotheses were as follows: a) vignettes depicting same-sex harassment will be less in line with the definition of sexual harassment; b) vignettes portraying the victim as a woman of …

The Relationship Between Status Motives And Social Activism, Olajuwon Olagbegi

Honors Theses

Numerous social and cultural events have resulted in increased interest and participation in social activism in the United States, stemming from mounting dissatisfaction with social inequality. Though explanations have previously included increased issue exposure and awareness due to the proliferation of digital media and increases in progressive ideology amongst the nation’s younger generation, the current study tests the hypothesis that social activism may in part be motivated by interest in status acquisition, given the evolutionary value of status for securing access to resources and mates. To test this hypothesis, participants were randomly assigned to a status versus control priming condition …

Item-Specific And Relational Encoding, But Not Warnings, Are Effective At Reducing The Illusion Of Competence, Emily Cates

Honors Theses

Metamemory, or the ability to understand the capacities of one’s own memory, is an important part of the learning process. One method for assessing metamemory is through the Judgment of Learning (JOL) task in which participants are asked to judge the likelihood of correctly remembering a target word in a cue-target word pair when only presented with a cue word at test. The associative direction of the cue-target pair has been shown to affect the accuracy of JOLs. Unlike forward pairs (e.g., credit-card), in which JOLs accurately predict recall, an illusion of competence has been reported for backward associates (e.g., …

“A Penny For Your Thoughts:” Developing An Adapted Stimulus Reward Association – Stroop Task To Assess The Impact Of Individual Difference Factors On Cognitive Control, Mia Melone

Honors Theses

Limited studies have examined the effect of feedback sensitivity and intrinsic motivation on cognitive performance. The present study serves as a pilot project for a study at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga that examines the modulating role of external, monetary reward incentives and cognitive intrinsic motivation on cognitive control. For the present study, the relationship among cognitive performance outcomes (reaction time and accuracy) on an adapted Stimulus Reward Association Stroop Task will be explored. Two main hypotheses were tested in the present study: H1 Reaction time on congruent trials will be significantly faster than reaction time on incongruent trials. …

A Case For The Decriminalization Of Simple Possession Of Narcotics In Mississippi, Stroud Tolleson

Honors Theses

Through its incarceration of simple possession offenders, Mississippi is failing to acknowledge the severity of addiction and importance of mental health. In this paper, I will examine Mississippi’s history of opinion and policy on drug use. In order to gain a better understanding of addiction and Mississippi’s criminal justice system, I interview several individuals with experience in varying aspects of these issues. Mississippi has one of the highest rates of incarceration in the United States, with stringent laws regarding the possession of narcotics. Mississippi’s mental health resources have been deemed unconstitutionally deficient on more than one occasion, and addicts are …

“Oye, Como Va:” How Streaming Services Have Contributed To The Globalization Of Latin Music, Isabel Caballero

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Path Of Least Resistance?: Women Government Attorneys’ Success At The U.S. Supreme Court, Bailey Chauvin

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

An Accounting And Economic Analysis Of Various Tax Plans And Strategies, Max Catalanotto

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Understanding Religious Tolerance In Yongchang, China, Liming Gao

Honors Theses

The formation of China is a process of national integration and a fusion of different beliefs. However, under Chairman Mao (1949-1976) and specifically during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), people were reeducated to focus on Communism and expel remnants of traditional Chinese culture including the various religions. Although, after the Cultural Revolution, China reinstated its policy of religious freedom, there were still strict laws against religion. Despite such circumstances, Chinese people still practice their religious beliefs. The Yongchang area, located in Gansu Province in the northwest of China is a typical region of Chinese culture. At the same time, compared to …

Reforming United States Prisons: A Cross-Cultural Analysis, Alex Henkel

Honors Theses

This paper examines the United States prison system and its standing among peer countries, as well as potential reforms to improve this system and its effectiveness. The incarceration statistics of many different countries show that the United States incarcerates significantly more of its population than similar countries. I turn to an examination of how penal policies are formed across the world to evaluate their impact on the U.S. prison rate compared to other countries. Additionally, I look at recidivism to determine the effectiveness of United States incarceration. This analysis aims to highlight the differences between the U.S. and other countries …

A Walk Through History: Interactive Tours Of The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln’S Historic City Campus, Emily Vanek

Honors Theses

The main purpose of the creation of an interactive walking tour of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) city campus was to bring to light the history of some of its most important buildings, as well as to bring awareness to some of the buildings that no longer stand as digital heritage. A key emphasis is to help preserve the contributions of the namesakes of these buildings as they are often just as valuable as the history of the buildings themselves. The scope of this project includes a website that is the main hub of information, and two digital forms of …

Lost In Time And Lost In Space: Chronotopes In Thomas Pynchon’S Against The Day, Stephen Margavio

Honors Theses

In his 1937 essay “Forms of Time and of the Chronotope in the Novel,” Russian literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin coins the term “chronotope” to discuss the inherently interconnected nature of time and space in narrative constructions. According to Bakhtin, there are a number of specific chronotopes (or space/time configurations) that help to define literary genres. Applying Bakhtin’s concepts to Thomas Pynchon’s novel Against the Day (2006), this thesis examines how the idea of narrative space/time can clarify Pynchon’s use of genre to make socio-political commentary. The first chapter of this thesis focuses on Bakhtin’s “road chronotope,” which is characterized by …

The Artistic Mother Tongue, Hannah Perkins

Honors Theses

Art is the mother tongue of culture. William Cameron Townsend, pioneer missionary and founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators, said “The greatest missionary is the Bible in the mother tongue.” But the mother tongue of any people of any culture is more than just the spoken and written word. It is found in every artistic and visual expression of that people. How is the Bible, the everlasting truth of God, to be expressed through artistic expression in the ‘mother tongue’ of a people?

Often, Christianity is painted as the Westerner’s religion. Christianity is very ingrained into specifically America’s cultural identity. In …

Discrepancies Amongst Utc Students' Diets And Their Understanding Of Their Role In Environmental Activism, Claire Reticker

Honors Theses

The present research attempts to analyze why university students claim a love for the outdoors but do not use means of dietary action to protect the environment. Through an extensive analysis of corresponding literature, the effects of gender, age, motivation, barriers, and attitudes are examined as they relate to diet. To obtain data regarding these effects, students enrolled in online or hybrid classes at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) were sent a survey via Google Forms, with 129 students willingly responding. Previous to survey collection and statistical analysis, I hypothesized that if students rated their love of the outdoors …

Mentally Restorative Areas For Students: Impacts Of Nature On Psychophysiological State, Jesse Moore

Honors Theses

Situated in the top outdoor ranking city of Chattanooga, the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) includes diverse areas available for student rest and recreation. This study aims to introduce UTC students into the collection of studies on the effects of natural environments on Attention Restoration Theory (ART) by using the Stroop cognitive test and portable electroencephalograph (EEG) headsets. Participants completed the Stroop test after ten-minute mental restoration sessions in environments of varying natural exposure included on campus. Through analysis of variance, location was found to significantly influence performance on Stroop testing and measures of relaxation (p=0.030). …

Environmental Justice Analysis Of Drinking Water Policies In Michigan Cities, Annika Paldan

Honors Theses

This thesis examined environmental justice aspects of drinking water policies in four cities across Michigan: Flint, Birmingham, St. Joseph, and Benton Harbor. An overview of the history of the environmental justice movement, environmental racism, and drinking water policies provided the basis for a four-part evaluative criterion to assess environmental justice components at the municipal level. These criteria include (1) housing tenure, (2) age, size, and service line composition of the infrastructure, (3) public participation in the policy process, and (4) emergency management of the city. Findings indicate that environmental justice has come a long way, with cities now incorporating components …

Childhood Trauma And Substance Use: Differences By Race And Sex In Juvenile Justice Prevention Programs In Nebraska, Sophie Holtz

Honors Theses

This study seeks to analyze whether demographic factors such as gender and race have a relationship to the reporting of trauma symptoms in juveniles. This study also examines whether higher substance use has a relationship to higher reports of trauma symptoms. To gather this data, surveys were administered to juveniles involved in juvenile justice prevention programs across the state of Nebraska. Overall, we found that juvenile girls reported significantly higher amounts of trauma symptoms than boys do. There was also a significant difference in how much juvenile girls report using cannabis compared to juvenile boys. Furthermore, there was not a …

Heavy Metal Contamination In Drinking Water And Its Connection To Superfund Site Related Environmental Injustice, Emily Caruso

Honors Theses

Equal access to clean, potable drinking water is crucial for our society’s health and advancement. In 2014, the infamous water crisis in Flint, Michigan, shed light on the widespread water quality issues impacting numerous communities in America. In response to the Flint water crisis, Union College established the Union College Water Initiative, providing free drinking water analyses to the public. This initiative aims to raise awareness and educate people by analyzing heavy metals commonly found in drinking water—specifically lead, copper, and zinc.

As a part of this initiative, I collected over 300 cold drinking water samples from residences, schools, and …

Female Infertility In The United States And India: An Analysis Of Treatment Barriers And Coping Strategies, Devneet Singh

Honors Theses

This research studies barriers to accessing fertility treatment in the United States (U.S.) and India, as well as the coping strategies infertile women use. Barriers include reproductive health knowledge, cost, and politics, while coping is affected by cultural stigma, family, and religion. These two countries were chosen for their different cultural contexts, healthcare systems, and political infrastructure. Ten fertility specialists across both countries were interviewed as expert informants. Reproductive health knowledge was the most important barrier to accessing care in both countries, with similar gaps in understanding when and what type of care to utilize, though social media can educate …

Triumphing Over Trauma: Addressing Past Experiences And Mental Health Following Resettlement In The United States, Tyler Greenwood

Honors Theses

Refugee populations are exposed to an unusually high number of traumatic events in their lifetimes that have the potential to cause long-lasting psychological harm. Millions of people are forcibly displaced by international conflicts, ethnic genocide, targeting of political dissidents, climate disasters, and countless other traumatic events. For the small fraction of refugees who are resettled in wealthy nations such as the United States, they are fortunate to leave behind the harmful and often violent places which they are fleeing from, but they are also leaving behind their families, friends, homes, and traditions. During and following resettlement, refugees continue to face …

Hbo’S "The Wire" And Its Portrayal Of Baltimore Politics, Schools, And The Judicial System In Season 4: Was It Accurate Then And Does It Stand The Test Of Time?, Josephine Klingeman

Honors Theses

This thesis is a content analysis of HBO’s fourth season of The Wire. After conducting an in-depth analysis of the content in the thirteen episodes of season four, I then assessed the level of accuracy in the show’s portrayal of two major topics discussed throughout the season: Witness protection and police informant harassment. I did so by conducting several interviews with professionals who have several decades of experience working in the criminal justice system. I compared their personal experience with witness protection programs, witness harassment, and police informant harassment with the content presented in The Wire on these topics. …

Election Administration: The Effect Of Race On Election Technology Implementation And Advancement In The United States, Danielle Blaustein

Honors Theses

A necessary condition for democracy is the ability for citizens to be heard. The way by which this is done is through electing officials that represent a diverse set of beliefs and values. The mechanism by doing this is through elections. At a quick glance, elections appear to play a minor role in democracy. But in fact, the foundations of elections are essential to our understanding of American democracy. It is assumed that the implementation of an electoral system is sufficient for American democracy. Diving deeper into the complexities of election systems provides evidence for benchmarks that prevent elections from …

"Prevention Through Deterrence" Against Citizens: The Venezuela-Colombia Border During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Human Rights Implications, Andreina Negretti Benito

Honors Theses

This thesis analyses the human rights implications of the measures taken by the Venezuelan government at the Venezuelan-Colombian border during the COVID-19 pandemic. I will argue that the goal of these measures is preventing or impeding the return of citizens through "deterrence techniques" that have been historically used by other countries. This case's importance relies on the fact that, unlike other cases, the Venezuelan government uses these "techniques" against its own nationals, rather than against unwanted immigrants. The first chapter will provide an overview of the theoretical framework concerning migration, arguments regarding open borders, and human rights protections. This will …

An Analysis Of China’S Claims And Their Development Of Artificial Islands In The South China Sea; Are They One Step Closer To Becoming A World Power?, John Pugliese

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the complex foreign conflict occurring in the South China Sea. There are two primary theories utilized to study this conflict, realism, and liberalism. The realism study involves both offensive and defensive realism. While the study of liberalism has a strong focus on international law. These theories are then applied to how China has been constructing artificial islands in the South China Sea.

The first chapter focuses on how surrounding countries have reacted to China’s island building, particularly the Philippines. This includes an analysis of an international law case between the two countries, where the Philippines accused China …