Digital Commons Network^™

Race, Sense Of Belonging, And The African American Student Experience At Predominantly White Institutions, Anthony Kane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study utilized a critical race theoretical framework and methodology to explore the lived experiences of African American students at a predominantly White institution. The purpose of this study was to identify how race impacts the sense of belonging of African American students at predominantly White institutions (PWIs). This study highlighted the racialized experiences of African American students at a predominantly White institution and how these experiences impacted their sense of belonging. Additionally, this study sought to understand the type of support African Americans students preferred and needed in order to develop a positive sense of belonging.

Six African …

Raising An Indoor Generation: Outdoor Environmental Education Impact On Adolescent Development, Daisy Elizabeth Bewley

Student Theses 2015-Present

In an increasingly digital world, children are growing up with less involvement and interaction with the environment. Hands-on and experiential learning is less popular in schools and a more test-oriented and numerical evaluation is increasingly popular. This thesis explores the decrease in outdoor environmental education and the impact that has on adolescent development and developmental milestones in children. This impact extends past just mental development and impacts the physical health development of children. Obesity, attention deficit disorders, and other behavioral issues are just a few of the signs of the problems that have arisen due to a decrease in environmental …

Systems Isomorphisms In Stochastic Dynamic Systems, Rajesh Venkatachalapathy

Dissertations and Theses

The identification of isomorphisms between disparate systems is an important focus of systems science. Such isomorphisms have not only conceptual and pedagogical value to systems science, but they also provide pragmatic value to specific disciplines by suggesting new ways to model familiar phenomena and by serving as reference models that show how even simple models can generate complex behavior. Specifically, this dissertation looks at certain classes of stochastic dynamic systems (SDS) and shows that similar equations can model phenomena in sociology and psychology. In both disciplines, what is modeled by these SDS isomorphisms is a certain type of reliability, defined …

Examining The Role Of Integration Experiences In Shaping Immigrants’ Post-Migration Food Choices And Eating Practices In Ontario, Canada, Eunjeong Eugena Kwon

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Despite the extensive literature on immigrants’ post-migration dietary transitions and their implications for long-term health and well-being, little research has been conducted to link these processes to their integration experiences. This dissertation contributes to the current literature by examining the interrelationship between immigrants’ integration experiences – especially their economic integration – and their post-migration food choices and eating practices.

The first integrated article (Chapter 2) draws on qualitative interviews with 38 recent immigrants in two Ontario cities (Toronto and London) in Canada. First, this chapter focuses on illustrating recent immigrants’ general experiences in managing their post-migration food choices and eating …

Resignation Or Resistance? Examining The Digital Privacy Attitudes And Behaviours Of East Yorkers, Kaitlyn Cavacas

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Digital technologies have become enmeshed in everyday life causing the public to become exposed to potential privacy risks through data collection and aggregation practices. Further, the upsurge in use of social networking platforms has also created opportunities for privacy violations through institutional and social surveillance. Employing a qualitative thematic analysis, this study explores how adults (N=101) living in East York, Toronto, navigate privacy through their use of the internet and digital services. Participants expressed feelings of mistrust, loss of control, resignation, and perceived self-unimportance with regards to their digital data. Importantly, others noted their desire and attempts to …

Getting Out: Bruce Bryant’S Climb To Redemption Inside Prison, Rachel M. Rippetoe, Sean Sanders-Mills

Capstones

Bruce Bryant, 50, was convicted of the murder of 11-year-old Travis Lilley in June 1996. Bryant maintains he never fired a weapon that day in 1993. But he recognizes that his lifestyle as a young person — he started dealing drugs when he was 14 — contributed to an environment in which a stray bullet could take a young life. And for that reason, he’s spent most of his 25 years in prison working to help young people.

With at least 12 more years on his sentence, Bryant is now asking the governor for early release, with the hope that …

Aging Intimately, Niamh Mcdonnell, Giulia Hjort

Capstones

We’re both familiar with grief after the loss of family members over 75. This project is our way of giving back in a small way by listening, but also as a way of remembering the people we unexpectedly lost. Each person we’ve met on this journey has inspired us in their own way, with their stories of resilience through grief and aging. All of our collaborators on this project are constantly learning, taking risks, and moving forward through loss and pain. They aren’t defined by their age. Rather, they embrace it with a willingness to reinvent their approach to romance …

Latinx Millennials Won’T Surrender To Tech-Industry Bias, Josefina F. Bruni

Capstones

Organizations like Techqueria, which seek to improve the odds of Latinx in the tech labor market, have been popping up since 2014 among minorities and other marginalized social groups, with names like LGTBQ in Tech, Blacks in Technology, Latinas in Tech and Lesbians Who Tech. They’re free, fluid and informal, with members constantly exchanging information and support. While they offer many opportunities for face-to-face gatherings, they are powered by social media.

Some of these collective efforts are no more than Slack workspaces. Others cross multiple platforms or even have web pages. Some have even incorporated. But all …

Among America’S Oldest, Opioid Overdoses Are On The Rise, Emma Davis

Capstones

Often overlooked in coverage of the opioid crisis, American seniors have experienced a dramatic increase in addiction in the last two decades. Drug overdoses in adults ages 55-64 have risen six-fold since 1999, according to the Center for Disease Control, and emergency visits due to opioid misuse tripled among those over 65 from 2006-2014, a study from Towson University found. This print and video piece investigates how heroin and prescription opioid use among older adults in New York City has contributed to the overdose rate; the consequences of opioid restrictions for geriatric pain patients; and the treatment options for seniors …

The World Of Sports Sexual Harassment, Arsalan Sadiq Sheikh

MSJ Capstone Projects

Sexual harassment has been a major issue in all fields of life, similarly, the national and international level athletes also faced it on their way to the glory. The capstone project focused on exploring the state of sexual harassment in the field of sports in Pakistan, at the school, university, national and international level. During the investigative report, it was revealed that sexual harassment was much more common in sports than anyone had imagined. Moreover, the harassment was not always by male coaches or counterparts against female athletes. Instead, the females were being harassed by the same gender, while men …

Crip Time In Fin-De-Siècle Spain: Disability, Degeneration, And Eugenics, Erika Rodriguez

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A period of intense nation-building, the late nineteenth century was marked by the search for medical and legal solutions to the increasing number of bodies that did not align with culturally constructed expectations of productivity and reproduction in Spanish modernity. Authors of this time used representations of disability to engage in urgent political questions about population control and the rights of individuals in the face of increasing medical intervention. In carrying out this analysis, I raise the question of how representations of disability created a space to reconfigure the social values that determined what lives matter. Focusing on canonical realist …

Ethnic Power Dominance In A Resource-Rich Sub Saharan African State: An Analysis Of Violent Conflict Accelerators And The Mitigating Influence Of Civil Society In Nigeria, Victor O. Fakoya

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

My dissertation research explores the impacts of ethno-regional power dominance, trust, and violent conflict in a resources-rich multiethnic, sub-Saharan African state. This dissertation examines the impact that ethnic power dominance has on the relationship between conflict and civil society in a resource rich sub-Saharan African (SSA) nation examined. Relying upon intra-state case study analysis of the socio-political climate in Nigeria, I argue that distrust in the national government, when motivated by ethno-regional cleavages has an accelerating influence on the incidence of conflict. Using cross-national survey data in conjunction with field interview data, this research finds that in the regions where …

Living On The Move: The Digital Nomad Mobile Phenomenon Identity And Practice, Virginia Rachele Smercina

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The following exploratory project used a qualitative mixed method approach by means of a preliminary blog analysis of thirty-seven blogs and twenty-five semi-structured interviews for data collection on individuals known as digital nomads. The theoretical foundations of this study are centered on practice theory, structuration theory, as well as discussions surrounding cultural identity. The project’s aim is to increase our understanding of the digital nomad phenomenon by asking four research questions: Who are the digital nomads? How is digital nomadism practiced? Why choose to live on the move? Is digital nomadism sustainable? The discussion includes how the digital nomad identity …

Chatting Online: An Ethnographic Case Study Of Educator Discourse On Social Media, Lindsay J. Russell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study sought to examine the online discussions of teachers located in the Southwestern area of the United States regarding social justice issues on social media. Specifically, it looked to discover how educators in this region are attempting to assert agency when faced with socially inequitable situations. Teachers in this region are hired as public employees in a state that penalizes public workers for exhibiting opinions (SRS § 288.260, 1969).

The study utilized Cultural Historical Activity Theory along with Critical Multiculturalism to demonstrate that our present actions are culturally and historically situated while illuminating hegemonic forces. The study found that …

On Muddy Banks: An Ecoethnography Of A River Island Community, Nicholas Baxter

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this study, I examine the relationship between a river and a community. Specifically, I analyze the processes and patterns that organize the nature-society relationship and define the river town of Sabula, IA. To guide my historical and ethnographic analysis, I utilize a co constructionist posture (Rice 2013), which sees culture, community, economy, and physicality as much a product of bio-physical forces as social forces. My aim is to understand how Sabula is conjointly constructed and reveal the nuanced interconnections between human communities and nature through which social and environmental problems play out. My analysis clarifies patterns in residents’ identity …

Using Engagement Journalism To Serve The Needs Of Caregivers Of People With Autism, Ariam Alula

Capstones

I’m Ariam. I worked with a diverse group of families who are intimately impacted by the autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities through caring for a loved one with the diagnosis. During the program, I used my journalism education, advocacy work, and interpersonal skills to support the emotional and informational needs of the community. The majority of the caretakers I engaged over the duration of the program reside in the Bronx, my home borough. I chose to focus on the lived experiences of people in this community because they represent my own. I have an older brother on the spectrum …

Mandatory Busing And Desegregation: Wichita, 1954 – 1999, Pilar Pedraza-Bailey

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Wichita opened its first officially integrated school in 1954. Yet, by 1965, approximately 85% of schools in Wichita were predominantly white. After a 1966 complaint to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) and a protracted legal battle, a federal administrative judge ordered the district to come up with a plan for integration or lose federal funding in 1971. The resulting mandatory busing plan remained in effect in Wichita for more than 40 years. Yet, in 2016, nine years after the official end of mandatory busing in Wichita, 25% of the city’s schools had already returned to what the …

Escritura Crí­Tica Orgánica Para Deconstruir La Opresión Femenina: Propuesta Nepantlera A Redefinir La Pedagogía De La Creación Literaria, Hilda Y. Sotelo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

PREFACIO

¿Cuáles son los códigos lingüísticos opresores o cautiverios (Lagarde, 2005) dirigidos hacia las mujeres obligándolas a abandonar su actividad sociocultural (artística y literaria) y a perpetuar el ciclo de la víctima? ¿Es la escritura crítica orgánica (ECO) una herramienta pedagógica y decodificadora funcional para la enseñanza del arte y la creación literaria? En este trabajo feminista analizo a través de la investigación cualitativa y cuantitativa crítica, el fenómeno de las opresiones, y la pedagogía de la violencia entretejida en la relación binaria y jerárquica (hombre-mujer) en el ambiente académico y sociocultural de Ciudad Juárez. Consideré centro de cautiverio, el …

“Tell Me, Bambi Or Yogi Ever Hunt You Back?” The Windigo Myth: A Metaphor For Imperialism And Mental Illness, Christine Carlough

Senior Capstone Theses

The Canadian indigenous myth of the windigo, originating from Algonquian-speaking tribes of the subarctic Northeast like Ojibwe and Cree, is a manifestation for a multitude of fears. This myth originated hundreds of years ago in order to explain the horror and lack of understanding of a mental illness, which would later be known as Windigo Psychosis. Windigo Psychosis is a culture-bound syndrome for an insatiable desire to consume human flesh. A culture-bound syndrome is recognizable and unique only within a specific society or culture, so in other words, Windigo Psychosis is specific to this area in Canada due to a …

Fabricated Forensics: Examining An Undergraduate Population’S Ability To Detect Fallacies In Crime-Based Media, Conner Davis

Senior Capstone Theses

My research examines the effects of general education on students’ perspectives of the CSI effect. The CSI effect is a phenomenon in which people’s perceptions of criminal investigation are distorted from the truth because of the media’s portrayal of criminal investigation. The study sample includes undergraduate students enrolled in a Mid-Atlantic University. To quantify the degrees in which subjects are susceptible to the CSI effect, the subjects will be measured on their ability to identify basic forensic investigation flaws portrayed in three different television series. Subjects were given a worksheet, exposed to a fifteen-minute video compilation, and were told to …

A Phenomenological Study Of Parent Experiences With Postsecondary-Admission Counseling, Anthony Espitia

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to better understand parent experiences with the postsecondary-admission counseling of high school students in California. As a state, California exceeds the ASCA’s student-to-counselor national recommendations, impacting the delivery of postsecondary-admission counseling on high school campuses. To understand the postsecondary-admission counseling experiences in California, a qualitative phenomenological study consisting of 12 parents of current or recently graduated high school students was utilized. Open-ended interviews captured parents’ lived experiences with the postsecondary-admission counseling of California high school counselors. The data analysis for this study was accomplished by utilizing a four-step process outlined by Moustakas (1994), which …

Resiliencia De Las Mujeres Sobrevivientes Que Emergen Después De Haber Sido Atacadas Con Agentes Químicos. Tres Casos En La Ciudad De Bogotá, D.C, Laura Milena Cano Ayure, Tabata Magally Hernández Cárdenas, Laura Marcela Laverde Martínez

Trabajo Social

La investigación realizada comprende la subjetividad de tres mujeres sobrevivientes después del hecho violento con agentes químicos, indaga sobre las potencialidades y capacidades resilientes que emergen luego del ataque, develando cuál ha sido su fortalecimiento, empoderamiento y papel político sobre la exigencia de derechos, asociada a la atención integral recibida y sustentada bajo la normatividad en Colombia, el acompañamiento familiar, social, comunitario e institucional como parte de las redes de apoyo. Los AAQ (Ataques con Agentes Químicos) como temática abordada por Trabajo Social develan su escaso tratamiento, así como por parte de otras profesiones, considerando fundamental evidenciar el papel político …

Queen Nanny, A Case Study For Cultural Heritage Tourism: The Archaeology Of Memory And Identity, Lacy Risner

Liberal Arts Capstones

This research project is intended to provide a foundation of knowledge of the Maroon culture in Jamaica, through the legends of one of their most prominent founders, Queen Nanny, as an aid for those who want to educate themselves before approaching community leaders about tourism development. Documentation of Queen Nanny’s life is contested and shrouded in mystery. Yet, that is part of what makes her memory so powerful. The various roles that Queen Nanny is associated with feature her adamant pursuit of an independent life for herself and her Maroons. Whether she is catching bullets or teaching the Maroons how …

The Effects Of Climate On Suicide Rates In 36 Oregon Counties, Elshadai Hailu, Maria Hernandez

Student Scholarship - College of Business

This study looked at average temperature, amount of rainfall and amount of sunshine in all 36 Oregon counties and how they affect suicide rates. Climate information was gathered over the past 30 years and suicide rates were measured between the years 2013 and 2016. It was hypothesized that there would be a negative relationship between low temperature and suicide rates. It was also predicted that there would be a negative relationship between high temperatures and suicide rates. This study found that there was a negative relationship between average high temperature and sucide rates. It also found there is to be …

An Intersectional Analysis Of The Role Race And Gender Play In Welfare Recipients’ And Case Manager Experiences, Stephanie Baran

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an ethnographic study of food insecurity in Milwaukee and how people receiving benefit assistance understand themselves, others and how they thought others understand them. This frame was duplicated for social workers and poverty organizations in the Milwaukee area. Using a series of theoretical viewpoints, the study utilizes racial theories, as well as, symbolic violence and annihilation to discuss how various aspects of recipients, social workers and poverty organizations interact within the theoretical margins. Taking place over one and a half years and including 350 observation hours at a local food pantry, the study found that respondents feel …

Mental Health Awareness And Advocacy: Assessment Tool Development And An Evaluation Of A College-Based Curriculum, Ty B. Aller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Students’ mental health issues are a common concern on college campuses and are often addressed via prevention programming called mental health literacy. This dissertation consists of two studies regarding mental health literacy programming for college students at a western university in the United States. In study one, the Mental Health Awareness and Advocacy Assessment Tool (MHAA-AT) was created and evaluated for its utility in assessing college students’ mental health literacy. This assessment tool is unique in that it is built upon a process-based approach to mental health literacy. The assessment tool demonstrated adequate psychometric properties and it was deemed an …

Load Flow Analysis Of 138/69kv Substation Using Electrical Transient & Analysis Program (Etap), Vanessa Abadia Gomez

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper examines the load flow analysis of a high-voltage substation using ETAP, and explores options for improving the voltage profile of the system. This study yields critical information about the system, such as the voltage drop at each feeder, the voltage at each bus, as well as real and reactive power losses at the different branches and feeders. In this power flow examination, the system’s performance is evaluated for different operating conditions, so that control measurements can be applied if necessary. The experimental results are used for proposing a plan of using fixed and switched shunt capacitor banks to …

Effective Design Features For The Management Of Behavioral Health Patients In General Emergency Departments Of Hospitals, Rheena Ware Luchansky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated nursing staff members perspectives of their existing Emergency Department (ED) and their ability to care appropriately for behavioral health patients within the environment. The study involved three rural hospitals in eastern Texas that may not always have the proper resources to care effectively for this vulnerable patient population. The researcher administered a paper-based survey utilizing a Likert-scale response system to nursing staff across all facilities and received participation from 56 respondents. Survey questions were designed to investigate the current ED environment and identify design features available to assist with caring for behavioral health patients. Data gathered revealed …

The Social Construction Of Black Fatherhood In Responsible Fatherhood Policies, Azaliah B. Israel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Responsible fatherhood legislation bridges the gap between two explicit family policies in order to serve fathers: The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 and the Child Support Enforcement Act of 1975. Historically, these two polices have been racialized and discourse surrounding them may contribute to negative cultural formula stories about the primary targets of responsible fatherhood programs: low-income Black fathers.

The first article addresses the question of whether and how congressional discourse disrupts or legitimizes negative cultural formula stories about Black fatherhood. This study examines congressional discourse during hearings on fatherhood legislation. Members of congress legitimized …

Preschool Science: An Examination Of Classroom And Teacher Predictors, Donna S. Blaylock

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Science experiences during the preschool years is important because it helps build brain development in children, and improves school readiness. This exploratory study examined several characteristics of teachers and classrooms to see if any factors predicted time spent on science. Over 120 teachers participated, with teachers from Head Starts, university child development laboratories, home-based preschools, and other private preschool programs.

Findings suggest that preschool teachers are quite comfortable with teaching science, but science activities are reported to occur infrequently—one to three times a month. Teachers with higher levels of education and comfort levels with science are reported to be more …