Honors College

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https://repository.library.cofc.edu/handle/123456789/436
The College of Charleston Honors College expands on partnerships between faculty and student by creating a vibrant living-learning community where personal attention gives the support students need to reach their goals during and after college. Inside the CofC Honors community, motivated students live, learn, and grow together while pursuing their unique interests and goals – everything from study abroad, internships, research and service projects at home and globally.

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    66 Church Street: A Profile of an Eighteenth Century Building in the Original Colonial Settlement of Charleston
    Agid, Caroline ; Butler, Christina R
    This research documents a late colonial era building, including occupants and owners, building materials, context of setting, history of the lot prior to construction, historical context of the architectural style and form of the building, and evolution of the building over time.
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    “Because I am not a writer”: Local Literacy Sponsorship of Adult ESL Students
    Gerdes, Elizabeth ; Warnick , Chris ; Farrell, Susan $ ; Lewis, Simon $
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    “Pura Vida” Breakdown: A Triple Bottom Line Analysis of the Ecotourism Industry in Monteverde, Costa Rica
    Astor, Alexandra E. ; Scott, Blake C. ; Maldonado Bird, Beatriz$
    As ecotourism continues to gain international attention as a potential form of sustainable development, important questions arise about the impact of ecotourism industries on local communities and environments. Can ecotourism be a viable means to achieve economic prosperity that exists alongside a high quality of life for local residents and a healthy natural environment? If so, what conditions must be met for ecotourism to be a form of truly sustainable development? Using a multipronged process of primary and secondary source analysis, this research attempts to answer these questions by assessing the ecotourism industry in Monteverde, Costa Rica through a triple bottom line analysis (TBL); a sustainability assessment framework that is rarely used in development assessment. Through a TBL approach, an analysis of the economic bottom line, social bottom line, and environmental bottom line of this specific case study location, often deemed a “poster child” of ecotourism development, will provide insights on the successes of the ecotourism industry in Monteverde while also demonstrating fundamental challenges of the industry that must be addressed. Successes of Monteverde’s ecotourism industry, including local inclusion and the presence of organizations to monitor ecotourism’s impacts, can be reproduced in future development projects to increase the success of ecotourism projects. Likewise, documented challenges, such as lack of basic infrastructure and dependency on an industry that is intrinsically linked to a threatened environment, can allow for a reconsideration of ecotourism as a viable means of sustainable development. Overall, this research provides a new approach to sustainable development assessment that not only serves as a guide for future development projects but also encourages a more individualized, place-based approach to analyzing global sustainable development goals.
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    “Tourists’ Use of Restaurant Webpages” Revisited: The Hype Surrounding Web-based Marketing
    Chikos, Leigh E ; Litvin, Stephen W
    This study revisits a 2005 paper by Litvin, Blose, and Laird which centered on how frequently tourists view restaurant webpages before dining and before embarking on their trip, and whether that ultimately led to purchase behavior. Due to the nature of rapidly changing technological advances, increasing internet use, and the advent of user content sites such as Yelp or Tripadvisor as well as the popularity of the aforementioned publication, the study was replicated and the topic was re-examined. Analysis showed an increase in tourists’ use of restaurant webpages, but not to the extent predicted.
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    A Comparative Dietary Analysis of Tomtate (Haemulon aurolineatum) and White Grunt (H. plumieri)
    Babrowicz, Mary Frances ; Sancho , Gorka
    A diet analysis can provide insight on competition for resources, food web dynamics, feeding behavior, and transfer of energy throughout the ecosystem. Species population management is most effective when focusing on ecosystem-based fisheries management. Studying groups of fishes rather than a single species can be useful when completing a dietary analysis of the community. This study compared the diet of two species from the genus Haemulon: White grunt, Haemulon plumieri, and Tomtate, Haemulon aurolineatum. Both species had a widespread diet that included amphipods, bivalves, bony fishes, bryozoans, crabs, decapods, echinoderms, gastropods, isopods, ostracods, plants, shrimp, sponges, stomatopods, tunicates and worms. White grunt had a more diverse diet, feeding on a total of 52 varied prey items, while tomtate fed on 21 different prey items. Many of the prey items found in each species were benthic or bentho-pelagic species, confirming that tomtate and white grunt are bottom dwellers. Competition between the fishes is only likely among bony fish prey items.
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    A Comparison of the Projection to the Nucleus Accumbens from the Ventral Subiculum Versus the Dorsal Subiculum Using EVOS Cell Imaging
    Hynd, Erin S ; Geslain , Renaud ; Griffin , William $
    Excessive alcohol consumption is a major economic, societal and health burden in the United States and globally but the neurobiological pathways involved in the disease are not well understood. This study hypothesized that both the ventral hippocampus and the nucleus accumbens play a role in excessive drinking behavior. Additionally, the study aimed to compare the projections from the dorsal subiculum and the ventral subiculum to the accumbens. The mice in this study underwent a stereotaxic surgery to have a viral DREADD placed and then a microinjection of a CTB tracer. An EVOS Cell Imaging system was used to capture images of the tissue during the study. Several events that occurred during the study prevented significant results from being obtained. However, there is still hope that, with some modifications, this protocol can be used to answer the research question in the future.
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    A Comprehensive Study on Cybersecurity
    Grooms, Krista Lee ; Stalvey, RoxAnn
    President Obama has declared that the “cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation”. Worldwide, cyber-attacks happen almost constantly. The targets of these attacks include not only individuals, but larger organizations and even countries. I believe by understanding current risks, predicting future risks, and putting safeguards in place we may be able to diminish cybersecurity threats in the future. It is important that we not only teach these strategies to adults, but also to children as they are more accepting of technology which leaves them vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Furthermore, it is a necessity that we begin teaching these techniques to current computer science students who will be able to integrate what they have learned into their future computer programs; in turn leading to the replacement of risky code with programs that can battle cyber-attacks.
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    A Digital Metis: Composing the Networked Self
    Moreano, Sydney Paige ; Craig, Jacob
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    A Multimodal Approach to Identifying Stormwater Pollutant Hotspots in Coastal Urban Watersheds
    Kirker, Ashleigh N ; Vulava, Vijay M
    Stormwater runoff is a primary concern for water quality in the Southeastern US and beyond. Surface water near the Charleston Harbor in SC is impaired by their low dissolved oxygen concentrations, and by urban contaminants flushed off of impervious surfaces of the nearby Charleston peninsula. The goal of this study is to create a methodology to determine the areas of highest concern for contaminating stormwater in Charleston. It was expected that landuse, antecedent rainfall, and traffic flow would be related to variations in contaminant concentrations, and allow us to pinpoint hotspots. We sampled stormwater over a sixteen month period to locate these contaminant hotspots. Enterococci, a fecal indicator bacteria, was measured with a nutrient indicator system. Common urban trace metals were determined with ICP-MS, and nutrients were quantified and tracked. Enterococci consistently exceeded USEPA guidelines by two orders of magnitude. The most important relationship involving enterococci in stormwater was not a spatial one, but involved antecedent rainfall; there is significantly more enterococci in stormwater when the three days before sampling had been relatively dry. Most stormwater samples contained some of the nine trace metals, which were related to one another and to antecedent rainfall and traffic flow. Like enterococci, antecedent rainfall appears to relate to a decrease in metal concentrations, possibly because of a 'flushing out' effect. Cu, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn occur in high concentrations in areas of heavy traffic. A relationship was noted between residential landuse and nutrient concentration in runoff. Hotspots for stormwater contamination in Charleston are heavily trafficked roads (for Cu, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn) and dense residential areas for nutrients. Reduced contaminant concentrations are observed when there is significant antecedent rainfall. Sampling urban stormwater is an effective means of finding hotspots of primary concern for surface water quality. From a management perspective, this means that targeted practices can reduce contamination in runoff. Furthermore, this method allows the sources and hotspots of nominally nonpoint source pollutants to be determined.
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    A New Kind of Art Experience: Immersive and Interactive Art
    Hickey, Madeline Grace ; Mazzone, Marian
    Immersive and interactive art are two relatively new phenomena in the context of contemporary art. Sparked by technological growth, immersion and interactivity have changed the way our contemporary society experiences art, in efforts to engage audiences for longer periods of time. In installations that utilize contemporary technology, artists explore new forms of art and create new art viewing experiences. When participants enter into rooms of immersion or interactivity, they are required to involve themselves through one of their five senses. In cases of new media exhibitions, participants enter the rooms with some familiarity of the technology used in the creation of the project. However, these rooms utilize this technology in unfamiliar ways, transporting the participant into a new world. In rooms of interaction, participants are often asked to interact with the work in unfamiliar ways. During this exposure, participants experience a perceptual change or sudden awareness [be it unconscious or conscious]. Increased activity in the brain begins when the participant consciously or unconsciously attempts to place where this exhibition can exist, understand their own role in the exhibition, and the context of the exhibition itself. Once the physical or mental interaction of the viewer begins, it creates an experience which many artists will to cross the into transcendental.
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    A Quantitative Study of the Interactions between Organic Functionalities and the Surface of Silver Nanoparticles in Aqueous Systems
    Goines, Sondrica ; Mullaugh , Katherine M
    As nanoparticles become increasingly commonplace in many consumer products, the release of nanomaterials into natural waters is inevitable and potentially harmful. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), the most widely used type of nanomaterial, is of special concern due to the toxicity of silver to many aquatic organisms. Recent laboratory studies examining the behavior of Ag NPs in various conditions have demonstrated the importance of nanoparticle surface chemistry in the potential transformations of Ag NPs such as dissolution and aggregation. However, specific interactions between Ag NPs and organic compounds are usually not quantified. Furthermore, most studies to date have used large, poorly characterized natural organic material (NOM) standards, making it difficult to achieve a molecular-level understanding of relevant NOM-NP interactions that control NP behavior. We have investigated a method by which Ag NPs are allowed to react with various organic compounds and, following a size-based separation, the amount of compound that remains unadsorbed is determined by HPLC or voltammetry. Preliminary results indicate adsorption of benzoic acid derivatives bearing carboxylate groups are negligible under the conditions examined, but adsorption of thiol derivatives was significant. The extent of adsorption varied based on the adsorbate molecule as well as the separation method used, ultrafiltration or centrifugation. Additionally, the sensitivity for thiols with voltammetry allowed for experiments at lower, more environmentally relevant concentrations. Complementary SERS spectra were used to provide a qualitative understanding of the interactions between various organic functionalities and the surface of Ag NPs in aqueous systems, and UV-vis spectra provided evidence of adsorbate induced NP dissolution and aggregation.
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    A Quarter Century of Coastal Change on San Salvador Island: 1988-2014
    Hefron, Christina ; Carew, James L
    In 1988, Daryl Clark completed a Masters thesis outlining the characteristics of modern beach sediment for 18 beaches on San Salvador Island, Bahamas. This study provides an assessment of 9 of the 18 beaches 25 years after Clark’s study. Samples collected from the lower beachface, upper beachface, backbeach, and dune environments were processed to determine particle size, grain texture, sample sorting, sample skewness, and kurtosis. The results of this study, and a smaller study completed by a College of Charleston student in 2010, were compared to Clark’s results to determine coastal changes on the island during the past quarter century. Clark concluded the major determinant of sediment texture and sorting on the island was platform geomorphology and antecedent topography. He also attributed coastal development to major storm events. Clark conducted his research during a relatively calm period in Bahamian hurricane history. From 1990 to 2013, multiple hurricanes have impacted the Bahamas, including San Salvador Island. Despite these storms, no conclusive results support Clark’s conclusion that storm events are a major determinant of modern subaerial sedimentation. Therefore, antecedent topography and platform geomorphology appear to be the greatest factors in coastal development on San Salvador Island.
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    A Semiotic Approach to Ancient Greek Religious Accessories
    ( 2013-11-05) Van Arsdale, Alice ; Gentile, Kristen ; Gulizio, Joann$