Theses - Honors College 2015-03-31T18:20:04Z Long Distance Running: Our Evolutionary Past, and its Mismatch With the Modern Environment Long Distance Running: Our Evolutionary Past, and its Mismatch With the Modern Environment Hereford, Daniel When compared to other mammals, bipedal humans are unique in their capacity for endurance walking and running. Recent discoveries in the fossil record provide solid evidence for our transformation from tree dwellers to elite runners. In addition to our unique structural adaptations, the human body contains an elaborate pain regulation system. This biochemical system supports and encourages our ability to scavenge over many miles. Unfortunately, modern society differs drastically from the one we evolved in. This mismatch produces many negative effects including dramatic changes in our mood, and our propensity for injuries while engaging in physical activity. Through a better understanding of our evolutionary origins, we can begin to make changes to our approach to running that allow it to be more enjoyable, and less injurious 2014-12-09T00:00:00Z Code-Switching in Modern Indian Cinema Code-Switching in Modern Indian Cinema Richardson, Audrey A multi-billion dollar industry based in Mumbai, Bollywood—the world-renowned Indian equivalent of Hollywood—is a force to be reckoned with. For decades its dramatic plotlines, colorful cinematography and intricately choreographed dance numbers have provided the Hindi-speaking population of India with its primary cinematic entertainment. In addition to stunning visual and musical elements, however, an increasingly common linguistic trend has been observed in many recent Bollywood films. Within the scripts of modern Indian cinema, code-switching, or the alternation between multiple language systems within discourse, showcases the fascinating present-day relationship between Hindi and English, providing insight into the unique cultural and linguistic positioning of millions of Indians in the twenty-first century. This thesis explores the phenomenon of code-switching by examining excerpts from the 2009 blockbuster 3 Idiots in light of past research from the fields of syntax, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics. 2014-12-09T00:00:00Z Personality Correlates of Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Towards Interracial Attraction Personality Correlates of Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Towards Interracial Attraction Nguyen, Linda Although interracial dating and marriage is increasing in the United States, it has not yet reached normalcy. People’s automatic and controlled responses to interracial couples may differ from their responses to same race couples. This study examined attitudes toward interracial couples versus same race couples using implicit and explicit measures. Participants completed an online survey before coming to a research lab for further testing. The online survey included a newly developed self-report measure of interracial attitudes, and widely used measures of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), bicultural identity integration (BII), internal motivation to respond without prejudice toward Asians, and impression management (IM, BIDR). In the lab session, participants completed an Implicit Association Test (IAT) adapted to assess attitudes toward interracial relative to same-race couples. Heart rate (HR) was also recorded, using a Biopac M30 system, as participants viewed photos of same-race or interracial couples. All self-report measures were internally consistent. A principal components analysis with oblique rotation revealed Social Approval and Interracial Attraction were two factors of the interracial attitudes scale. Correlation analyses reveal that implicit and explicit attitudes correspond with one another. Both correlated negatively with RWA and SDO. Additionally, we found demographics such as socioeconomic status and political ideology may predict attitudes towards interracial couples. Regression analyses show socioeconomic status, SDO and RWA uniquely predict implicit and explicit interracial attraction. We found that RWA mediated the relationship between SDO and factors of interracial attraction. These results indicate that there are still racist influences in society factors of interracial couples were associated with political ideology, gender, SDO, RWA, and religiosity. 2014-12-09T00:00:00Z Fairy Tales Revisted Fairy Tales Revisted Holder, Madison Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are known as the gatherers and editors of tales collected in Nursery Tales for Children, or Kinder‐ und Hausmärchen. These tales were originally collected by the brothers as part of a mission to reassert German nationalism, not solely as a collection of bedtime stories for children, but also as a way for the adults reading them to understand their identity as Germans. What they created was a blueprint for how fairy tales would be retold and passed down, and made familiar to us even today through television and film. As is characteristic of fairy tales, today’s versions reflect problems relevant to our culture like incorporating feminism, the disparity of wealth, and so on, while maintaining widely recognized aspects of the Grimm’s “original” tales. Though we have tried to repackage fairy tales for children, by emphasizing the morals within the stories, the fairy tale genre today still contains material designated for adults rather than children: violent retribution and sexual connotations, complex societal overhaul, and a longing for the past and the beauty and freedom of youth 2014-12-09T00:00:00Z