Honors Theses

THE DIGITAL COMMONS AND COPYRIGHT: THE CONFLICT BETWEEN PROPERTY RIGHTS AND FREE SPEECH

Ashley Turacek — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:54:45 PDT

U.S. copyright law as most laws are based off of British law. This paper examines the origin of copyright law in Britain and traces its development throughout 19th America up until the 21st century. While tracing the development of copyright I also examine the implications occurring on the freedom of speech as technological advances create more changes in copyright law.

Examination of Critical Greek Texts of the New Testament Through Word Study of Therapeuo

Joe Gulick — Mon, 20 May 2013 08:03:53 PDT

This project seeks to examine the idea of healthcare within the New Testament of the Bible. A word study of the most prevalent Greek word for healing in the New Testament, therapueo, was done to illuminate the meanings behind these scriptural examples of healing. Five passages that included verses surrounding occurrences of therapeuo were selected to be translated. Four of these passages were from the book of Luke and the fifth was from Acts. The report consists of two parts. The first will discuss the word study conducted on therapeuo exclusively, and the second will expand on some of the portions of the translated passages that stood out regarding healing. The definition and use of therapeuo was found to be a very broad term for healing of many different types, according to the word study. Many other phrases and language used stood out in the translations and these were further examined in the second part of the report. It was concluded that the word study of therapeuo was thorough, but other types of healing, and other words for healing, should be studied in order to gain a more complete depiction of healing in the New Testament.

Investigation of Adaptation: A Creative Perception of Collegiate Behavioral Responses

Brittney L. Meador et al. — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:42:49 PDT

Caitlin Moliske¹ and Brittney Meador²

Department of Physiology, College of Science¹

Biological Sciences Education, College of Education and Human Services¹

The Investigation of Adaptation: A Creative Perception of Collegiate Behavioral Responses

As a collaborative team, we created a short graphic novel in the Italian style “fumetti.” This style of comic design uses actual photography instead of hand drawn or computer generated images. Despite that we are both students in the sciences, we decided to collaborate on a creative project. Our intent was to develop something unique that could showcase our abilities and interests outside of the traditional route of research, while still presenting a work with sustenance and meaning.

This creative work focused on our experiences as college students and lessons we learned. Our project utilized techniques from published authors, while incorporating unique stylistic aspects of our own. We discussed various issues that are common among college students. Perhaps more importantly, we also brought light to situations that are not typical to the average student.

To create this work, we outlined a rough draft into four sections, each corresponding to each year in college. Each division contained a few stories. All photographs were edited using Photoshop and a variety of online photo editing sites. InDesign was used to create the layout of each page and all text was inserted by hand to give it a more personal edge.

Our thesis was not to simply recount all of our experiences, but look deeply into them; illustrating social stigmas, underlying influences and their effect on our choices. We felt that we offered another dimension to our piece that is important to society and relevant to future generations of college students.

Project Mentor: Dr. Edward Brunner, Department of English

The Effects of Testosterone on Leydig Cell Development in Male YHR+ Mice

Steven D. Ebers — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:42:47 PDT

Leydig cells (LC) are specialized cells in the testis that develop during puberty and are responsible for producing testosterone. Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and testosterone are important for LC development. Binding of LH to its receptor (LHR) initiates the production of testosterone. Constitutively active mutations in LHR have been identified in humans resulting in puberty in males as young as 3 or 4 years of age. A transgenic mouse (YHR⁺), was generated which mimics the constitutively active LHR by fusing the hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin, to LHR to continually activate the receptor. Testosterone levels in YHR⁺ mice are high at neonatal ages. Previous studies in the lab have shown that YHR⁺ mice have decreased LC numbers compared to wild type (WT) mice. It was hypothesized that high levels of testosterone at neonatal ages was responsible for the decrease in LC numbers and was causing a decrease in the proliferation of LCs. To test this hypothesis, the action of testosterone was blocked with the androgen antagonist, flutamide, and the total number of LCs as well as the number of proliferating LCs were determined. There was no significant increase in LC number or in proliferation of flutamide treated YHR⁺ mice suggesting that other factors may be involved in the decrease in LC number. Together, these results suggest that high neonatal testosterone is not sufficient to inhibit LC development.

Built on Friendship: A Study of Formal and Informal Business Culture in Carbondale, Illinois

Sarah E. DePuy — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:55:12 PDT

Business practices in urban centers have garnered much of the research and interest by anthropologists, sociologists, and economists with very little focus on small business communities in rural areas. In this paper I explored the social connections and relationships between business owners in the region of Southern Illinois and their communities and the ways in which they integrate their public and private lives. To do this, I interviewed members of the formal, semi-formal, informal, and online business communities in Carbondale, Illinois. For my analysis, I used a variety of sources including Claudia Strauss' Partly Fragmented, Partly Integrated: An Anthropological Examination of "Postmodern Fragmented Subjects", Josiane Boutets' Language Workers: Emblematic Figure of Late Capitalism, and Sayre Schatzs' Socializing Adaptation: A Perspective on World Capitalism. I also explored the possibilities of further research in the city of Carbondale centered on business practices.

Super Terror: The Complex Relationship Between Sequential Art and Real World Political Violence

Tyler R. Chance — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:35:17 PDT

While scholars have recognized that the media plays a very important role in the understanding of terrorism and other forms of political violence, alternative and popular forms of media (such as the Comic Strip, Graphic Novel, Cartoon, etc.) have not been examined as closely by social scientists.

This research is concerned with the reaction by graphic narratives to events of terror and the graphic work as a way of influencing the public in its opinion of terror.

The main piece examined is Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta which was made as a discussion of the justification of terror witch specific historical examples such as Guy Fawkes and political violence in Ireland.

Another text that this paper explores is The 9/11 Report Graphic Adaptation that is a graphic work that was made in response to the September 11^th terrorist attacks in an attempt to better educate the masses about the events leading up to the attack. In contrast to this, I will examine Paul Jenkin’s Marvel Civil War: Front Line, a superhero narrative which actively criticizes United States governmental policy post 9-11.

This research also starts a discussion of visual codes in Geoff John’s Green Lantern series that shows and then counters different stereotypes of Arab Americans that resulted from the aftermath of September eleventh and the War on Terror.

Culture Flock

Rachael M. Huszar — Wed, 01 May 2013 08:53:20 PDT

Details of the research, planning, and execution behind the exhibit "Culture Flock" which opened in the University Museum on April 2nd, 2013, and ran through May 10th, 2013. Final text panels and images of the exhibit in progress are included.

Who Says I Should Leave? Factors Determining the Decision to Leave Home During Disasters

Vondragas J. Smalley — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:19:39 PDT

In an effort to minimize casualties during natural catastrophes, specifically hurricanes, researchers have found that risk perception, socioeconomic status, and past evacuation experience are important determinants in evacuation behavior. This study argues that these factors as well as race are important determinants in the decision of individuals to evacuate in the face of natural disasters. My investigation employs chi-square analysis and cross tabulation to determine the importance of these factors. The findings indicate that these hypotheses may impact the decision of residents to evacuate in the face of natural disasters and warrant further study by those doing evacuation behavior research.

Infant Sign in Relation to Development

Jacqueline A. Yates — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:09:08 PDT

Preverbal children around the world use gestures to communicate before they have words to do so. Variations in children’s gestures remain an important predictor of children’s later language and social skills. Infant sign language includes gestures in preverbal children. There is evidence to support that infant sign does not impede verbal development, that there is a positive relationship between infant sign and development, and finally that infant sign can enhance mother-infant interactions.

The RIM Center of St. Louis; An Integrated Technology Based Health Center

Danielle R. Sheley — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:43:47 PDT

Phylogeography of Sepioteuthis lessoniana (the bigfin reef squid) and Uroteuthis duvauceli (the Indian squid).

Alexis M. Bergman — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 08:04:07 PDT

Sepioteuthis lessoniana (the bigfin reef squid) and Uroteuthis duvauceli (the Indian squid) are two squid species found in largely overlapping regions in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. While both squids are important to fisheries throughout their ranges, very little taxonomic work has been done on either of them. Previous studies have led scientists to believe that S. lessoniana is actually a species complex (for example, there appear to be three species of “S. cf. lessoniana” in Japanese waters alone). The similarly broad geographic range of U. duvauceli suggests that this species could also harbor substantial cryptic genetic diversity. In order to evaluate genetic variation within these two species, regions of two mitochondrial genes—the large subunit ribosomal RNA gene (16S) and the cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI)—from specimens caught in regions throughout the northern Indian and western Pacific Oceans were sequenced and compared. Sequences were obtained by extracting the DNA from tissue samples of both species, amplifying the DNA using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), determining the sequences of both DNA strands using a automated DNA sequencer, and comparing sequences to one another to establish similarities and differences between geographic locations. To expand the significance of this study, we compared our sequences to data contributed by a collaborator (Samantha H. Cheng, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA) and data downloaded from GenBank (an online genetic database). Phylogeographic analyses showed that Sepioteuthis lessoniana from southern India represent two very distinct genetic lineages, suggesting that “S. cf. lessoniana” comprises at least two cryptic species in south Indian waters. For Uroteuthis duvauceli, specimens from Iran are genetically distinct from those in Thailand and Japan, which may support the hypothesis of several undescribed species within “U. cf. duvauceli”. This study is the first attempt to assess genetic diversity across the ranges of these two species; future work will require additional genetic markers and (most importantly) additional sampling from other geographic regions.

Facebook Sharing Habits And Its Effect On Personal Privacy

Bryan M. Bubulka — Mon, 14 May 2012 06:44:15 PDT

Over the past several years many individuals have jumped on the social networking bandwagon to create Facebook accounts linking their lives to the outside world, over four hundred million according to Facebook (Facebook, 2012). Whether it’s your personal privacy or property, knowing what information to post or share on social networking sites such as Facebook could be the key in protecting both. This research will focus on possible privacy concerns within social networking sites using Richard Mason’s groundbreaking PAPA (Privacy, Accuracy, Property, and Accessibility) Framework (Mason, 1986). The PAPA Framework will be used to identify what is being shared on social networking sites and how publishing certain information can negatively affect an individual’s privacy. This research will revisit Mason’s PAPA Framework and apply it to today’s individual privacy risks concerning social net-working, primarily Facebook.

Revolutionary Identities and Competing Legitimacies: Why Pariah States Export Violence

Ari B. Weiss — Mon, 14 May 2012 06:44:13 PDT

Amid the burgeoning literature on international norms, the study of states that violate them, so called pariahs, remains sparse (Shannon 2000). Although recent studies of pariah states have the identified numerous ways in which they break international norms, we do not know why they pursue one action over another (E.g Geldenhuys 2004, Nincic 2005). I argue that the export of violence is caused by the state’s "revolutionary identity" which leads to the adoption of competing and incompatible norms. Using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) I test this against other alternate and prevailing hypotheses, demonstrating that a combination of sovereignty, existential threat, and either irredentism or a revolutionary identity is necessary to cause the export of violence. As an additional analysis, I examine this under the Cold War and Post-Cold War eras, achieving similar results.

DISCOVERING ARISTOTLE: AN EXAMINATION OF HIS LIFE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS IMMUTABLE BRILLIANCE

Timothy H. Sparling — Fri, 11 May 2012 09:11:48 PDT

A synoptic piece which addresses the life of Aristotle and analyzes the development of his philosophical thought, Discovering Aristotle: An Examination of his Life and the Development of his Immutable Brilliance reviews multiple facets of this thinker's being, ranging from his genealogy to his pedagogical and theoretical contributions, and serves as a standard of measurement through which his vast works may be studied, thus granting his "exoteric" or early works with a certain preponderance in the text itself. Additionally, a respectable number of appendices, which are extremely relevant to Aristotle's world, are also included in the work; these provide the reader with a slew of useful supplementary material to aid him or her in their attempt to elucidate his reality as he knew it in a manner which may provide contemporary scholars with further insight into the psyche of one of humanity's most brilliant minds.

Revolving Green Loan Funds and Implementation at SIUC

Carly Freiwald — Thu, 10 May 2012 06:58:20 PDT

Over the past few years revolving green loan funds have been implemented at about fifty schools all across the country to help fund sustainability projects on their campus. These green revolving funds are used to invest in sustainability projects that lower operating expenses, for example, energy bills. The savings that these projects produce then get sent back to the fund and are reinvested in additional projects. These loan funds have been incredibly helpful in furthering the sustainability goals of colleges, while also helping to save the universities money. My research included looking into how other universities are implementing these revolving loan funds, with a focus on universities in our peer group, to determine how Southern Illinois University can best implement one of these funds on our campus. I also spoke to stakeholders on campus to find out their ideas or opinions on the fund. Finally, I looked at examples of projects other universities have funded to gain insight on the best kinds of projects to fund in the future at SIU, once the loan fund is implemented. The goal of my research is to educate others on campus green loan funds and sustainability projects and to do everything possible to get a loan fund implemented on our campus.

A Phylogenetic Analysis of Polygyridae (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) Based on Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Data

Nicholas A. Defreitas — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:38:11 PDT

Effects of Nicotine and Emotional Priming on Ability to Inhibit Eye-Gaze Toward Emotional Stimuli in an Antisaccade Task in Nonsmokers

Nathaniel J. Wachter — Fri, 13 May 2011 14:10:02 PDT

Saccadic eye movement tasks like the antisaccade task (AST) have been used to assess impulsivity and response inhibition in a variety of populations, including tobacco-abstinent smokers. Previous studies using ASTs have shown nicotine to reduce reaction times (RTs) possibly reinforcing the habit of smoking. Research also shows nicotine to reduce attention to and distraction by emotionally negative stimuli, which may account for some of the ability of nicotine to reduce negative affect. The present study was the first to assess the interactive effects of nicotine, emotional priming and emotional target stimuli on AST performance in nonsmokers. Ten male and 14 female college student nonsmokers wore a nicotine and placebo patch on separate, counterbalanced, days during which they performed ASTs. The ASTs consisted of sequences with a prosaccade or antisaccade cue followed by an emotional priming picture and emotional target face. Findings revealed an expected main effect of Saccade Type such that reaction times (RTs) were longer (slower) in antisaccade trials compared to prosaccade trials and an overall RT shortening (speeding) effect of nicotine compared to placebo. The effects of Drug interacted with Saccade type, such that nicotine speeded RTs on antisaccade trials more than on prosaccade trials. However, most importantly, both Prime Valence and Target Valence moderated the effects of nicotine in poor baseline-performing individuals, but not others, such that nicotine decreased RTs most during negative prime with the negative target condition, relative to other prime-target combinations. These findings support the view that emotional primes and targets can be important modulators of an inherent ability of nicotine to modulate cognitive and/or affective processes in poor baseline performing nonsmokers.

Computer Mediated Discourse: Applying Defamation Laws of Slander and Libel in the 21st Century

Derreck Langwith — Thu, 12 May 2011 08:42:02 PDT

With the integration of technology into society computer mediated discourse (CMD) has become a standard form of communication. E-mail, chat rooms, and social networking websites are used daily to discuss a variety of informal and formal topics. The ability to communicate with millions of people across the world instantaneously has not come without legal repercussions and court cases involving online defamation have started to appear. Traditional law separates defamation into two categories: slander encompassing oral defamation and requiring greater proof of injury, and libel including written texts without need of definitive proof to collect compensation. Current lawsuits involving online defamation have all advanced on the basis that these statements are libelous. However, the author argues that just as distinction between oral and written language exists offline so too does it exist online. Drawing on work done in Linguistics this project examined the similarities and differences in spoken and written language as it compares to CMD and discovered that certain Twitter posts are closer in structure to speaking and should therefore be considered as slander. The free exchange of ideas and opinions is a cornerstone to any free society and governments must be cautious of regulations imposing self censorship. Failure to recognize the differences in CMD could lead to such a chilling effect of online communication in fear of repercussion.

Habits and Lifestyles of Successfully Aging Women in a Rural Area

Julia L. Sheffler — Wed, 11 May 2011 09:09:14 PDT

Older adults in rural areas have unique challenges to maintain well-being. The goal of this project was to examine those unique factors related to successful aging in a sample of older women living in a rural area in the Midwest using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Mental and physical health, personality traits, cognitive abilities (i.e., working memory, vocabulary and attention), and activity levels were assessed. A semi-structured interview using a life narrative approach was also used to explore habits, family relationships and lifestyles over the past 20 years. The women were administered the following measures: 1) Big Five Factor Personality Inventory (John, 1990); 2) The Florida Cognitive Activities Scale (Schinka et al., 2005); 3) Geriatric Depression Scale (Brink et al., 1982); 4) A series of cognitive tasks to assess working memory, vocabulary, and attention; and 5) the Identity Style (revised) measure. All of the women indicated that they felt they were aging successfully. Many of the women also reported having very healthy diets, moderate to high levels of exercise, and included many redemption sequences in their life stories (i.e., a negative event leading to an emotionally positive outcome). Current self-rated health was related to Extraversion (r = -.45), Openness (r = -.36), and Neuroticism (r = .35). Interestingly, the women's educational level was related to their current level of cognitive activities (r = .39) as well as depression score (r = -.36). These findings present support for the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle and also indicate that many factors including personality traits as well as education may play a role in how well women age.

Analyzing Predator-Prey Models Using Systems of Ordinary Linear Differential Equations

Lucas C. Pulley — Thu, 05 May 2011 07:50:40 PDT

The main operating concern of all species in any ecosystem or natural environment is rooted in the battle for survival. This constant battle for survival is most highlighted in the two main modes of species interaction; categorized as predation or competition. This research focused on applying biological mathematics to analyzing predation relationships, especially the relationship between the Canadian Lynx and the Snowshoe Hare. This predation relationship is quite special, because these species interact in a relatively isolated manner compared to others, meaning their populations fluctuated in a regular cycle. These population fluctuations can be defined and analyzed mathematically using systems of linear ordinary differential equations, built of course upon several minimizing assumptions in order to exclude incalculable variables. One of these models is the Lotka-Volterra Model, which was reformulated and analyzed in this research. By Applying the Lotka-Volterra Model to the predator-prey relationship between Canadian Lynx and the Snowshoe Hare, it is discovered that their populations fluctuate on average ten-year phases. Predator-Prey population cycle charts as well as direction fields of the system were analyzed. This model was then compared to other real life models, like the Kermack-McKendrick Model and the relationship between fish and sharks in the Mediterranean. Future research could expand on the Lotka-Volterra model by accounting for variables like hunting, natural disaster, epidemic, or other predators. This research is important in biological fields studying predation, especially when predation leads to species endangerment or yields intense coevolution.