Thesis Archives Search
This search engine will let you explore the over 1800 theses written in Honors at The University of Maine since the Program’s inception in 1935. You may search our thesis archives based on any of the fields listed above. If the thesis is available at the Reynolds Library (Thomson Honors Center) or Fogler Library (Special Collections), the information will appear below the bibliographic data. At last count, we had about 1800 theses in the Reynolds Library.
Search Results
An Elementary Proof of the Prime Number Theorem
An Elusive Match: Afghanistan and the State
An Empirically-based Typology of Adolescent Males Who Sexually Offend in Maine
An Energy Budget for North Atlantic Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)
An Evaluation of an Avian Diversity Model
An Evolutionary Approach to Crowdsourcing Mathematics Education
Author:
Spencer
Ward
Major: Mathematics Graduation Year: 2020 Thesis Advisor: Justin Dimmel
Description of Publication:
By combining ideas from evolutionary biology, epistemology, and philosophy of mind, this thesis attempts to derive a new kind of crowdsourcing that could better leverage people’s collective creativity. Following a theory of knowledge presented by David Deutsch, it is argued that knowledge develops through evolutionary competition that organically emerges from a creative dialogue of trial and error. It is also argued that this model of knowledge satisfies the properties of Douglas Hofstadter’s strange loops, implying that self-reflection is a core feature of knowledge evolution. This mix of theories then is used to analyze several existing strategies of crowdsourcing and knowledge development, allowing the identification of a small number of design mechanisms that combine in different ways to create each strategy’s power. Finally, a website is proposed that combines all of these mechanisms to crowdsource the selfreflective evolutionary development of mathematics education using existing web design techniques.
Location of Publication:
URL to Thesis: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/618/
Major: Mathematics Graduation Year: 2020 Thesis Advisor: Justin Dimmel
Description of Publication:
By combining ideas from evolutionary biology, epistemology, and philosophy of mind, this thesis attempts to derive a new kind of crowdsourcing that could better leverage people’s collective creativity. Following a theory of knowledge presented by David Deutsch, it is argued that knowledge develops through evolutionary competition that organically emerges from a creative dialogue of trial and error. It is also argued that this model of knowledge satisfies the properties of Douglas Hofstadter’s strange loops, implying that self-reflection is a core feature of knowledge evolution. This mix of theories then is used to analyze several existing strategies of crowdsourcing and knowledge development, allowing the identification of a small number of design mechanisms that combine in different ways to create each strategy’s power. Finally, a website is proposed that combines all of these mechanisms to crowdsource the selfreflective evolutionary development of mathematics education using existing web design techniques.
Location of Publication:
URL to Thesis: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/618/
An Evolutionary Approach to Modeling and Processing the Use-Value of Linked Objects
An Examination of DirigoChoice and the Benefits and Drawbacks for Small Businesses in Maine
An Examination of Pervasive Language Around Sexual Harassment Through the Lens of Anita Hill, Christine Blasey Ford, and #MeToo
Author:
Elizabeth
Theriault
Major: Journalism & Political Science Graduation Year: 2020 Thesis Advisor: Jennie Woodard
Description of Publication:
This thesis explores the hypothesis that the #MeToo Movement and Twitter have contributed to the changes in language used by individuals to describe sexual harassment and the survivors that come forward with their stories. To do so, this thesis identified common themes derived from language used in New York Times articles published during the Hill and Thomas hearings of 1991, as well as Tweets published between the dates surrounded the Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh hearings, September 25, 2018 and September 29, 2018, to create a comparable platform for language used in similar settings 27 years apart. It contains a literature review that discusses a brief history of sexual harassment, the history of the #MeToo Movement, and the role Twitter plays in the advancement of social justice movements. The goal of this thesis was to advance the understanding of how society talks about the #MeToo Movement and sexual violence. Using the Framework Method, this thesis analyzed words and phrases in over 200 tweets and 30 New York Times articles. The findings of this thesis suggest that the #MeToo Movement and Twitter have shifted society away from using language that immediately places the burden of proof and responsibility on the survivor of sexual violence. This research serves as an introductory baseline understanding that Twitter reflects some change in perception of sexual harassment in society, that can be used in future studies as a stepping off point.
Location of Publication:
URL to Thesis: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/619/
Major: Journalism & Political Science Graduation Year: 2020 Thesis Advisor: Jennie Woodard
Description of Publication:
This thesis explores the hypothesis that the #MeToo Movement and Twitter have contributed to the changes in language used by individuals to describe sexual harassment and the survivors that come forward with their stories. To do so, this thesis identified common themes derived from language used in New York Times articles published during the Hill and Thomas hearings of 1991, as well as Tweets published between the dates surrounded the Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh hearings, September 25, 2018 and September 29, 2018, to create a comparable platform for language used in similar settings 27 years apart. It contains a literature review that discusses a brief history of sexual harassment, the history of the #MeToo Movement, and the role Twitter plays in the advancement of social justice movements. The goal of this thesis was to advance the understanding of how society talks about the #MeToo Movement and sexual violence. Using the Framework Method, this thesis analyzed words and phrases in over 200 tweets and 30 New York Times articles. The findings of this thesis suggest that the #MeToo Movement and Twitter have shifted society away from using language that immediately places the burden of proof and responsibility on the survivor of sexual violence. This research serves as an introductory baseline understanding that Twitter reflects some change in perception of sexual harassment in society, that can be used in future studies as a stepping off point.
Location of Publication:
URL to Thesis: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/619/