Honors College Theses

Permanent URI for this collection

https://jewlscholar.mtsu.edu/handle/mtsu/3483

The capstone experience of the Honors College curriculum is the thesis, conducted across two consecutive semesters. This unique opportunity allows students to conduct scholarly research or a creative project under the direct guidance of faculty mentors.

A thesis project is required of every student who graduates from the University Honors College. The purpose of the thesis or project is to prepare the student for graduate or professional school, to provide an opportunity for the student to complete a scholarly or creative project of significant proportions, and to gain a new perspective on knowledge by becoming a contributor to the recognized knowledge in a particular field of study. This experience provides invaluable preparation and a competitive edge to students applying to graduate or professional schools.

Honors College Thesis Archives Collection is now preserved online through Walker Library’s institutional repository called JEWLScholar and are indexed in the library’s catalog. The thesis archives prior to 2015, are printed copies maintained in Special Collections (4th floor) of the James E. Walker Library and are also indexed in the library catalog.

Use the search box or "browse by" filters on the right side of this page to navigate the Honors Thesis Collection.

To see other Honors College publications, please visit http://jewlscholar.mtsu.edu/handle/mtsu/4362

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Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 5 of 676
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    Time is Ticking, Expressing Grief Through Time: Exploring the Production and Creative Techniques for a Composition for Flute and Electronics
    ( 2024-05) von Doehren, Morgan
    Using the conceptual framework of Gregorian chant’s Dies Irae, an original composition for flute and electronics, entitled Time is Ticking, was created to express the experiences of human grief across time. The piece is intended to be performed with flute and an electronic backing track. The music for flute is composed to express the human phases of grief, and the chaotic emotions felt throughout. The backing track is made with a combination of MIDI, pre-recorded sound effects, pre-recorded flute, reverb, equalization, and panning to create a track with an interesting stereo image for the audience, to contrast with the clean live sound of the flute.
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    Crystal Cell Solid-State Batteries: Testing and Variations
    ( 2024-05) Bray, Drew
    This thesis delves into the electrical potentials of solid-state crystal cell batteries through systematic exploration of electrochemical designs and construction parameters. Methodology involved designing and building batteries for comprehensive testing. The study assessed the impact of substrate doping, copper cathode annealing methods, magnesium anode diameter variations, and cell mass analysis on electrical performance. Results showed significant electrochemical variations corresponding to parameter changes. Substrate doping improved ion conductivity and battery longevity. Annealing methods were shown to influence electrical properties. Varying anode diameters affected initial energy output. Cell mass analysis hinted at correlations between dopant characteristics and performance metrics. These findings offer insights for optimizing crystal cell battery design and construction, potentially advancing battery technology.
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    Identities in Flux: Social Media as Insight into Cultural Identity - A Case Study of Japanese-Brazilian migrants in Belém, Brazil
    ( 2024-05) Jenkins, Liadan
    This thesis examines cultural identity formation and preservation among Japanese-Brazilian immigrants (Nikkei) in the Amazonian city of Belém, Brazil. The thesis builds on studies documenting Nikkei migration, cultural maintenance, and changes occurring since the early 1900s in Brazil. The principal focus of this proposal is engagement with social media. Within this context, I focus on music and its role in cultural identity formation, preservation, and/or acculturation. The study combines online research (netnography) with offline qualitative and ethnographic methods. The research occurred during my five-month internship at the Museum Paraense Emílio Goeldi (or Goeldi Museum) in Belém, Brazil, as part of an MTSU Study Abroad semester program.
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    Past and Present: Preserving Dollar Dominance and the Reserve Currency Status
    ( 2024-05) Dodson, Antonio
    This study examines the influence of political events on the development of economic power pertaining to international currency usage and reserve currency usage. It considers the conceptual framework underpinning predominant empirical models for quantifying international currency usage and reserve currency usage. We point to literature on historical international currencies that indicate large shifts in international currency usage and reserve usage historically occurred due to broad shifts in economic and geopolitical dominance. Marginal shifts can also occur in connection with various empirical factors which are covered extensively by literature, but we discuss literature on the initial formation of U.S. hegemony that indicates shifts on the margin are also impacted by qualitative political and geopolitical factors. We examine some of these factors and gather them into a framework we term doctrinal enforcement. We argue that the existing empirical models considered successfully incorporate empirical factors to quantify economic dominance, but they fail to fully quantify doctrinal enforcement, which includes additional qualitative factors that do not lend themselves readily to quantification. Using doctrinal enforcement as a general framework, however, could aid in identifying the impacts of specific modern policy decisions in terms of whether they positively or negatively affect dollar dominance and the doctrinal enforcement abilities of the United States.
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    I Am Your Constituency: Voices and Perspectives of LGBTQ+ Tennesseans on anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation
    ( 2024-05) Certain, Elliot
    Despite both national and state level Supreme Court decisions such as Obergefell v. Hodges and Campbell v. Sundquist expanding the scope of LGBTQ+ rights, LGBTQ+ individuals still face ongoing discrimination and legal challenges. In addition, LGBTQ+ individuals struggle with mental health challenges at a disproportionate rate when compared to their non-LGBTQ+ peers. The purpose of this study was to examine and understand the relationship between LGBTQ+ identifying individuals and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Qualitative open-ended surveys were distributed to and answered by 49 of LGBTQ+ self-identifying higher education students in Rutherford County, Tennessee. The survey questions aimed to collect participant perspectives on anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. The data indicated a complex, highly individualized perspective from each participant, with all disagreeing with anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, but responding to it in their own way. The centering of LGBTQ+ voices in a study such as this is especially important because oftentimes anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is created and considered without input from a legislator’s LGBTQ+ constituents. Through this study, the participants were empowered to be heard in their own words on the legislation that dictates their lives.