The Honors College

Heartworm disease is a potentially lethal disease for domestic dogs as well as numerous other species of mammals. The disease is caused by the parasitic larial worm Dirolaria immitis and is transmitted primarily via mosquitoes. It is currently estimated that approximately one percent of the local domestic canine population of Watauga County is infected with heartworms. This infection rate is influenced by immigration of summer resident dogs and potential changes in the length of the transmission season caused by global warming.

Given that the depletion of fossil fuels is one of the most important issues that the world currently faces, it is imperative that nations and organizations invest in exploring alternative energy sources and ways of reducing energy consumption. The purpose of this study is to examine the cost effectiveness of investing in solar photovoltaic energy as a renewable alternative energy source and in energy conservation as a way of reducing energy consumption.

This thesis examines select texts from vampire as a reflection of societal fears and concerns of its age. As literature changes with society and age, vampires themselves have been transformed by writers who reflect and critique the taboos of their age. Folklore utilized vampires to explain deaths from unknown causes, particularly disease epidemics. The Romantics and Victorians used vampire literature to expose and confront fears of their age, such as fear of sexuality, homoerotic and female, and fear of the "Other," which, according to them, needed to subdued and killed.

There is an unprecedented problem of orphans in South Africa.  This problem began with the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the mid 1990s and has since escalated. African communities were historically structured to absorb children who have lost one or both parents. However, from the turn of the 20th century, this community structure was undermined by the apartheid government, by the post-apartheid government, by poverty and by lack of HIV/AIDS education. Consequently, African communities have not been able to absorb the growing numbers of orphaned children in the 21st century.

Yoga is an ancient discipline that was initially developed about 5,000 years ago as part of traditional Indian philosophy. In Sanskrit, yoga means union or unification, or to yoke together (American Yoga Association, 2006). The practice of yoga aims to develop a balance between all aspects of the body and mind. Yoga was passed along the generations from teacher to student orally and originally only men (priests) were permitted to practice yoga. Around 200 BCE, the yoga sutras, writings about the philosophy and practice of yoga, were compiled and documented by Patanjali, a scholar.

The creation of this paper was a process of exploring the potential parallels between the fundamental theoretical physics of the natural universe and the universal phenomena of human behavior, and formulating a unique expression of creativity in terms of the resulting insights. 

Occupational therapy is frequently used to support and treat children with autism. Among the most popular techniques are sensory integration therapy, therapies using animals, and relational development integration. Each of these therapies targets a domain in which children with autism exhibit deficits. While popular and supported by anecdotal evidence, there is an overall paucity of empirical research investigating the effectiveness of these therapies in promoting wellbeing, self-sufficiency, and abilities among children with autism.

Osteoporosis is a serious problem. The National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) in the USA reports that currently osteoporosis is a major public health threat for an estimated 44 million Americans or 55% of people 50 years of age and older. Current trends estimate Osteoporosis to only increase over time. Risk factors for osteoporosis include: Being female, aging, family/personal history, having a small and thin body frame, being of a certain race/ethnicity, having low sex hormones, poor diet, low activity levels, smoking, alcohol abuse and certain diseases/medications.

On January first in 1804 Haiti won its independence from France becoming the first black republic in the world and the first country to overthrow colonial rule in Latin America (Rotberg 289). In spite of this strong beginning, Haiti has had nothing but a tumultuous history, with few success stories. Insufficient public services, instability and lack of legitimacy because of corruption, poor health care, rampant poverty and extreme economic reliance on international benefactors, have made life miserable for the majority of the population.

This thesis examined the effects of various psychoeducational interventions on changing women's perceptions of men's preferences for female body type. Specifically, the goal was to address the often held misconception that men prefer idealistically thin female figures. Female participants were weighed and measured for height, presented with images of thin Caucasian female swimsuit models, and then assigned to one of three conditions: a self-persuasion based disconfirmation, a passage-based disconfirmation, and a no-intervention control group.