Digital Commons Network^™

Changing Authority In The Chinese Communist Party, Daniel Bruno Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines how authority in China has changed from personal, rooted in a leader’s connections, to institutional, rooted in a leader’s position or job. This paper examines two cases, that of Jiang Zemin and the Yang brothers and that of Wen Jiabao and the Wenchuan earthquake, to show how authority is shifted. The examination of these cases reveals that while personal authority routinely was more important than institutional authority leaders with personal authority have died out and not been replaced. Because of China’s recent history, there was no opportunity for new leaders to build up the personal authority of …

Alternative Models Of Connectivity: Reclaiming Networked Spaces, Philip M. Bain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alternative networking is a growing field of study and practice due to advancements in computer networking hardware, and software protocols. Methods of integrating alternative networking configurations into infrastructure present enhanced forms of empowerment and embodiment for participants. Through an analysis of multiple hardware and software examples, this research suggests that practices of sharing and collaboration, which are embedded in the history of computer networking, have the potential to reinvigorate the notion of a virtual public sphere, and support the ideals of digital democracy.

Doing Development In Extraordinary Environments: Exploring The Impact Of Development Ngos In Zimbabwe, Gladys Antonio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study I provide accounts of the phenomenology of development within a state of exception in Zimbabwe. My main goal was to understand how the notion of development is conceived by development NGOs and beneficiaries of their services. To achieve this objective, I raised several ontological questions about the capabilities ordinary citizens have to develop within an extraordinary context of political, economic and social uncertainty. Moreover, I explored the creative strategies and tactics adopted by development NGOs to make their operations possible in a context of severely curtailed freedoms. A significant part of that investigation was to find the …

Aging In Place: Perceptions Of Older Adults On Low Income Housing Waitlists, Angela L. Lavery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many American older adults with low incomes wait years for affordable housing or housing assistance. Insight is needed on the concerns of older adults who need to move but cannot. In addition, within the study of aging in place, there is a paucity of research regarding older adults with low incomes. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of aging in place from the perspective of older adults with low incomes, and to understand the process in making the decision to move to agesegregated housing. The purpose incorporated an examination of potential oppressive factors that …

Community Identity In "The Granada Pioneer", Jessica P. S. Gebhard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My research examines how the writers of the Granada Pioneer, a newspaper published in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II, used the editorial column of that publication to shape the community identity of that camp. The newspaper was published by Japanese America internees living in that camp, but their readership was composed of Japanese American internees and also non-interned non-Japanese Americans. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, I found that the internee writers were using the editorial column to shape a community habitus within the internment camp while at the same time attempting to reshape the imagined community …

Toward Context-Sensitive Statebuilding For Development: State-Local Complementarity In Rural Guatemala, Matthew Thornton Klick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Developing countries emerging from conflict often feature enduring, destitute poverty amid often fast-growing economies at the national level. This dissertation explores a critical question: What accounts for variation in human development levels across similar communities in conflict-affected countries? In particular it explores how some equally poor, indigenous, highland communities in Guatemala have made advances in health and education, while others have stagnated or regressed. These results are demonstrated through a quantitative analysis of all of Guatemala’s 334 municipalities, utilizing difficult to access data from myriad sources, combined with the results of qualitative field methods – including over 250 key informant …

The Role Of Institutions And Policy In Knowledge Sector Development: An Assessment Of The Danish And Norwegian Information Communication Technology Sectors, Keith M. Gehring

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Nordic economies of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden outperform on average nearly ever OECD country in the share of value added stemming from the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. Early investments in computing and telecommunications, supportive social democratic institutions, and effective innovation/technology policy, help to explain overall Nordic ICT performance. Cross-country variation persists in sector outcomes, however, and cannot be reduced to differences in institutions and policy. Denmark and Sweden have moved toward liberalization while Finland and Norway maintain commitments to social democracy and yet Finland and Sweden outperform Denmark and Norway in ICT sector development. Institutionalists explain …

“She Can Be A Superhero, But She Needs Her Day Off”: Exploring Discursive Constructions Of Motherhood And Depression In Emerging Adult Talk Surrounding Maternal Depression, Leah Seurer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite studies demonstrating the impact of health on the family and the family on members’ health, research exploring this intersection remains scant in both family communication and health communication. This study explores the nexus of health and family by examining constructions of motherhood and depression in emerging adult talk surrounding maternal depression. Using relational dialectics theory as the theoretical lens, the study examined talk collected in 36 one-on-one interviews with emerging adults asked to describe their experiences of having a mother with depression. Participant talk surrounding motherhood voiced two primary discourses of motherhood: (1) the discourse of real mother …

Young Adult Children’S Communicative Management Of Emotions About Divorce And Divorce Disclosures: Creating And Applying A New Measure, Jenna Shimkowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although scholars have examined the impacts of divorce on children, there has been little research focused on how children communicatively manage and make sense of their emotions following the divorce. Theoretically, the communication field is lacking in the knowledge of ways in which children of divorce handle the emotions that can arise in their new family system. This dissertation consists of two studies. Study 1 included identifying the strategies that young adult children report using to manage their emotions regarding parents’ divorce and creating a new measure based on children’s reports of these management strategies. Young adults reported using verbal …

Reclaiming The Body: Understanding Arab–American Hybrid Experience Through Affective Attunement, Salma Tariq Shukri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Critical intercultural communication (CIC) scholarship on hybridity emphasizes the necessity of examining hybrid performances within their cultural, political, and interpersonal contexts. Though telling, it overlooks a significant piece of the puzzle in understanding hybrid lived experience: how one feels in relation to an interaction, societal structure, or circulating discourse. This dissertation seeks to build an interdisciplinary bridge between CIC and affect theory with the purpose of emphasizing the importance of embodiment in the exploration and interpretation of hybrid performance. To do this, I will draw upon what Manning (2013) terms affective attunement, which accentuates how each lived moment is particular …

Comparing Short-Term Outcomes Of Three Problem Gambling Treatments: A Multi-Group Propensity Score Analysis, Adam David Soberay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study applied a multi-group form of propensity score analysis to the study of outcomes related to problem gambling treatment. Across various treatment settings, it is often unfeasible or unethical to randomly assign participants to different treatment conditions, particularly when one of the conditions involves not receiving treatment. Additionally, evaluative practices often involve assessing outcomes from a primarily treatment focused setting, in which case clients are likely not randomly assigned to treatment. Consequently, where randomization does not exist, methods such as propensity score matching need to be implemented to separate what part of the observed outcomes is attributable to treatment …

Internationalization: Utilizing The University Museum, Adrienne Turnbull-Reilly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A review of the literature on the nature of international education in the United States reveals that although most international students want to engage socially and academically with their peers, many encounter cultural, linguistic, and institutional obstacles. Using this information to guide interview questions and format workshops, the author explored the question of how university museums can contribute to a more holistic and enriching educational experience for international students on American campuses, using the University of Denver as a case study. Findings from workshops and interviews conducted by the author reveal similar obstacles (cultural, linguistic, and institutional) when engaging students …

Feel-Good Giving: The Mythic Construction Of Generosity In Millions, Grace Y. Chiou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The question of what generosity is and how it is practiced in relation to the neoliberal contexts of late capitalism has emerged as a subject of interest across a variety of fields. Instead of placing emphasis on the recipient and the cause or structural inequalities contributing to the need for generosity, new practices of giving have appeared on a variety of media platforms and have been performed by a host of celebrities, sports figures, and politicians that emphasize the giver's moral goodness.

By using a critical cultural studies approach, this dissertation demonstrates that in the visual culture of humanitarianism representations …

The Effects Of Surf-Driven Development On The Local Population Of Playa Gigante, Nicaragua, Nicholas Harrison William Earhart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In many of the world's developing countries, tourism is starting to play a more important role in the improvements of the local and national economies. One of these countries that have started to view tourism as a way to alleviate poverty throughout the country is Nicaragua. With miles of beaches, large swaths of pristine rainforests and beautiful volcanoes, Nicaragua has plenty to offer to travelers from all over the world. One of the sectors of tourism that has rapidly expanded in recent years is that which caters specifically to North American and European surfing tourists, who travel to Nicaragua for …

Economic And Traffic Impacts Following The Installation Of New Bicycle Facilities: A Denver Case Study, Stephen Antonio Rijo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

America is currently experiencing a unique departure from the historical vehicle miles traveled (VMT) trend, often referred to as "peak travel." Decreasing VMT numbers suggest that the US is currently experiencing an unprecedented change in the way individuals utilize transportation systems. The following research calls on a need to understand the importance of improving alternative transportation infrastructure, namely cycling facilities, and how this impacts local businesses and their communities. This research informs the overarching question, "What are the economic and traffic impacts of cycling facilities?" A mixed methods analysis of retail sales tax, traffic count, and RTD transit access data …

Imagining The Scandal Of The Cross With Graphic/Novel Reading, Elizabeth Rae Coody

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For countless adherents to the Christian tradition, the Cross functions as a symbol of divine power. For the earliest Christians, however, this overwhelmingly positive valuation of crosses would have been unintelligible. Living under Roman rule, their immediate understanding of crosses would have been as instruments of execution and thus symbols of the power and victory belonging to a foreign empire rather than to the Lord they worshipped. For them, the crucifixion was a traumatic event in which the Messiah died shamefully. It is for these reasons that the scandal of the Cross is a prominent theme in the New Testament, …

Organizational Strategies For Addressing Disparities Among Marginalized Older Adults, Jennifer L. Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the United States older adult population expands, it is also becoming more diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). This increased diversity necessitates that social workers research issues of cultural competency at the organizational level to ensure that community based organizations are able to meet the unique needs of a heterogeneous population of American elders. This qualitative study utilized a modified grounded theory approach to conduct individual interviews and focus groups with over 25 community based organizations serving diverse elders. This study also included analysis of over 100 agency documents, such as mission …

Spontaneous Facial Behavior Computing In Human Machine Interaction With Applications In Autism Treatment, Seyedmohammad Mavadati

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Digital devices and computing machines such as computers, hand-held devices and robots are becoming an important part of our daily life. To have affect-aware intelligent Human-Machine Interaction (HMI) systems, scientists and engineers have aimed to design interfaces which can emulate face-to-face communication. Such HMI systems are capable of detecting and responding upon users' emotions and affective states. One of the main challenges for producing such intelligent system is to design a machine, which can automatically compute spontaneous behaviors of humans in real-life settings. Since humans' facial behaviors contain important non-verbal cues, this dissertation studies facial actions and behaviors in HMI …

The Evolution Of The Federal Reserve's Mandate In Response To The Global Financial Crisis: The Case For Financial Stability, Laurel Celastine Mazur

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis looks at the evolution of the Federal Reserve’s mandate and regulatory responsibilities as a result of the Global Financial Crisis. The onset of the crisis exposed the financial system to risks that had yet to be identified by the traditional microprudential regulatory framework, necessitating a rapid and unconventional response in order to prevent widespread financial collapse. Now, in 2015, as most of the scourges of the crisis are in the recent past, practitioners are beginning to not only pick up the pieces but attempting to reform the system to increase resilience in the future. One of the proposals …

Sustainable Farming Versus Ethanol: A Comparison Of Energy Use, Brandon John Weiland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The subsidization of corn-ethanol has proven to not live up to the original promises made when it was promoted as gasoline additive. With research pointing to ethanol as a source of increased greenhouse gases emissions and other pollution while merely changing energy consumption, not decreasing it, an alternative that achieves the original goals of is sought. I propose that sustainable farming practices have the ability to decrease the United States’ dependence on fossil fuels while decreasing emissions and pollution related to farming. By looking at the adoption of 3 year rotations, fertilizer banding, and zero tillage farming in Iowa, Illinois, …

Development Of The Dori-Tbi: An Investigation To Develop A New Screening Measure To Determine Consultation With A School-Based Brain Injury Resource Team, Doriann Marie Adragna

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Brain injury is the leading cause of disability and death in children in the United States. Student re-entry into the school setting following a traumatic brain injury is crucial to student success. Multidisciplinary teams within the school district comprised of individuals with expertise in brain injury are ideal in implementing student specific treatment plans given their specialized training and wide range of expertise addressing student needs. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop and initially validate a quantitative instrument that school personnel can use to determine if a student, identified as having a traumatic brain injury, will benefit …

Shift Work And The United States Female Workforce: The Relationship Between Shift Work And Ill-Health Effects, Allison Marie Bondanza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study was designed to determine the magnitude of the relationship between amount, frequency, and length of shift work completed by female transportation employees and the number, degree, and extent of problems related to physical, menstrual and psychological health including depression. It was hypothesized that workers that are employed in areas such as transportation who are working shift work on a regular basis place themselves at higher risk for developing health or psychosocial related effects. These health related outcomes can have a profound impact on an employee’s job performance, daily functioning, and personal life. The present study sought to …

A Fair Day's Wages: Liberty, Legality, And Liability Among Denver's Day Laborers, Camden Ryan Bowman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Day laborers occupy an essential position in Denver’s booming construction industry. Day laborers make up a highly flexible, highly effective workforce able to respond to market changes. For day laborers, informal day-labor gathering points provide increased control over working hours and employee-employer relationships when compared to traditional wage labor. Still, recent legislation and policies around irregular migration has forced large numbers of workers who may have benefited from the stability of full-time regular employment into the informal sector. The day laborers’ flexibility also exposes them to employers constantly inventing ways to deny them the wages and benefits they are owed. …

Ethnic Violence On Kenya's Periphery: Informal Institutions And Local Resilience In Conflict-Affected Communities, Fletcher D. Cox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Deadly, inter-ethnic group conflict remains a threat to international security in a world where the majority of armed violence occurs not only within states but in the most ungoverned areas within states. Conflicts that occur between groups living in largely ungoverned areas often become deeply protracted and are difficult to resolve when the state is weak and harsh environmental conditions place human security increasingly under threat. However, even under these conditions, why do some local conflicts between ethnic groups escalate, whereas others do not? To analyze this puzzle, the dissertation employs comparative methods to investigate the conditions under which violence …

Patterns And Predictors Of Stability And Change In Representations Of Romantic Relationships In Adolescence And Young Adulthood, Claire Stephenson Flansburg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research on the stability of attachment representations across the lifespan has led to two alternative perspectives: the prototype and revisionist perspectives (Fraley, 2002). The prototype perspective posits that there is a stable factor underlying fluctuations in representations and the revisionist perspective argues that there is no inherently stable factor. The current study employed a latent trait-state model to investigate these alternative models of stability and change in representations of romantic relationships in adolescence and young adulthood. The study also sought to identify individual characteristics and relationship experiences that are associated with changes in representations. In a sample of 200 participants, …

Everyday Indivisibility: How Exclusive Religious Practices Explain Variation In Subnational Violence Outcomes, Joel Kieth Day

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project explores the puzzle of religious violence variation. Religious actors initiate conflict at a higher rate than their secular counterparts, last longer, are more deadly, and are less prone to negotiated termination. Yet the legacy of religious peacemakers on the reduction of violence is undeniable. Under what conditions does religion contribute to escalated violence and under what conditions does it contribute to peace?

I argue that more intense everyday practices of group members, or high levels of orthopraxy, create dispositional indivisibilities that make violence a natural alternative to bargaining. Subnational armed groups with members whose practices are exclusive and …

Risk For Engagement In Nonsuicidal Self-Injury In Children And Adolescents, Andrea Lee Barrocas Gottlieb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although NSSI engagement is a growing public health concern, little research has documented the developmental precursors to NSSI in longitudinal studies using youth samples. This study aimed to expand upon previous research on groups of NSSI engagement in a population-based sample of youth using multi-wave data. Moreover, this study examined whether chronic peer and romantic stress, the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR), parenting behaviors, and negative attributional style predicted the NSSI group membership as well as the role of sex and grade. Participants were 549 youth in beginning in the 3^rd, 6^th, and 9^th grades at …

New Middle East Cold War: Saudi Arabia And Iran's Rivalry, Tali Rachel Grumet

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The competing powers of Saudi Arabia and Iran continue to redress and reverse the strategic imbalance and direction of the Middle East’s regional politics. The 1979 Iranian Revolution catapulted these two states into an embittered rivalry. The fall of Saddam Hussein following the 2003 U.S. led invasion, the establishment of a Shi’ite Iraq and the 2011 Arab Uprisings have further inflamed tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Iran and Saudi Arabia have not confronted each other militarily, but rather have divided the region into two armed camps on the basis of political and religious ideology in seeking regional allies and …

Examining The Relationship Among Genes, Attention Bias To Emotion, Depression In Youth, Jessica L. Jenness

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The investigation of biologically initiated pathways to psychological disorder is critical to advance our understanding of mental illness. Research has suggested that attention bias to emotion may be an intermediate trait for depression associated with biologically plausible candidate genes, such as the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) and catechol-o-methyl-transferase (COMT) genes, yet there have been mixed findings in regards to the precise direction of effects. The experience of recent stressful life events (SLEs) may be an important, yet currently unstudied, moderator of the relationship between genes and attention bias as SLEs have been associated with both gene expression and attention to emotion. …

China's Strategic Choices Towards North Korea And Iran, Kang-Uk Jung

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study tests two hypotheses. First, China cooperates with the United States only when it is able to obtain material rewards. Second, without material incentives from the United States, China straddles between the United States on one hand and Iran and North Korea on the other. My findings show that neither Structural Realism, which holds anti-hegemonism alliance, nor Constructivism, which holds positive assimilation of the nuclear nonproliferation norm explains Chinese international behavior comprehensively. My balance of interest model explains Chinese foreign policy on the noncompliant states better. The cases cover the Sino-North Korean and Sino-Iranian diplomatic histories from 1990 to …