Digital Commons Network^™

Fairness Doesn't Have To Be Egalitarian: Evidence From Bargaining Games, Kevin Wong

Theses and Dissertations

I develop a theoretical model and provide experimental evidence that social norms of fairness play a critical role in determining equilibrium outcomes in bargaining games.

Evaluating Growth Rates Of The Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) And Water Quality For Oyster Restoration Sites At City Island, Bronx, Ny, Cody L. Jernigan

Theses and Dissertations

Oyster growth and water quality were monitored at four sites at City Island, Bronx, NY, to determine suitability for oyster reef restoration. Significant growth occurred at two sites and water quality was not indicated as a contributing factor. Oyster growth at all sites indicate appropriate conditions for oyster reef restoration.

Methods For Drone Trajectory Analysis Of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus), Jillian D. Bliss

Theses and Dissertations

With the increase in the use of UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) for marine mammal research, there is a need for the development of methods of analysis to transform UAS high resolution video into quantitative data. This study sought to develop a preliminary method of analysis that would quantify and present a way to visualize the dynamics and relative spatial distribution and changes in distribution of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the waters of Turneffe Atoll, Belize. This approach employs a previously developed video tracking program ‘Keypoint Tracking’ that enables manual tracking of individual dolphins and the creation of …

Grendel's Mother, Zoe M. Lasden-Lyman

Theses and Dissertations

She helps all the humans and animals in her building. Then why won't she answer this strange, new knocking at her apartment door? A bizarre thriller about the world right now... and about cats.

The Feminization Of Mexico City In The Late Twentieth Century: Polvo De Gallina Negra, Pola Weiss, And Lourdes Grobet, Alexis N. Corral

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis centers on select artworks in public intervention, photography and video as an exploration of female's relationship to Mexico City's social landscape and urban space during the late 1970s into the early 1990s. In three case studies, I explore historical urban planning, gender relations, and the effects of modernization.

Exploring Relationships Between Dog Training Approaches And Aggression, Fear, And Dog-Owner Relationship, Janee Wise

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The current study examined relationships between operant conditioning derived dog training techniques and aggression, fear, and dog-owner relationship. Participants (N = 326) completed two online surveys; 1) a survey created for this study measuring the frequency of use of 14 common dog training techniques, which were grouped into four categories based upon operant conditioning: positive reinforcement, negative punishment, positive punishment, and negative reinforcement and 2) the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), which measured several factors related to dog behavior. There were no statistically significant results related to the use of positive reinforcement or positive punishment. However, dog …

Effects Of The Form Of Address “You Guys”, Jocelyn Sawyer

Theses and Dissertations

Renewed focus on workplace inclusivity has prompted calls to eliminate the mixed-gender group address “you guys” due to its potential to lower women’s sense of belonging. Our study found that interactions between this address and participant gender affected opinions on gender inequality but did not affect women’s sense of belonging.

Nikki S. Lee’S Self-Stereotyping And Refiguring Cultural Stereotypes, Somi Lee

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines a Korean Conceptual photographer, Nikki S. Lee’s performative photographs and film in the series of Projects (1998-2001) and Parts (2002-2005). Through a theoretical analysis of her self-representation in disguise, my research explores established Western stereotypes as well as the artist’s fluid identity in relation to other cultures.

An Epic (Fail): Humor, Play, And Politics In Chilean Contemporary Art From The Early 1980s, Paula Solimano

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis foregrounds the methodology of humor and play employed by Chilean artists during the late 1970s and early 1980s. I argue that, through comic relief, collaborative practice, and melodrama, artists from different fields worked together in Santiago to reimagine the relationship between intellectuals and the public sphere and criticize the Pinochet regime.

"Overture" (For Emmanuel), Katherine Gordon

Theses and Dissertations

“Overture” (For Emmanuel) is a piece derived from twelve melodies from the composer’s original musical, Emmanuel. The piece is for full orchestra, and is five minutes and forty-seven seconds long.

Accuracy, Precision, And Efficiency: Comparing Mapping Techniques In Nixtun-Ch’Ich’, Petén, Guatemala, Gabriela Zygadlo

Theses and Dissertations

New archaeological survey technologies have transformed the way in which sites are mapped. Nixtun-Ch’ich’ in Petén, Guatemala has been surveyed in a variety of ways including a theodolite with an electronic distance measurement (EDM), total station (TS), laser imaging, detection and ranging (LiDAR), and photogrammetry. This paper aims to compare various mapping techniques and their accuracy, precision, and efficiency when pertaining specifically to mapping in Nixtun-Ch’ich’, Petén, Guatemala. The goal is to evaluate which technique is most efficient when mapping in the site by considering the variables of cost, time, and environment of the site. The paper also considers the …

What An Interesting Video To Put On The Internet (An Amusing Economic Indicator), Dahlia S. Bloomstone

Theses and Dissertations

My exhibition reconciles representations of domesticity, labor, and morality through the lens of sex-work (SW). It consists of video work, a video game, and free-to-take objects, where donation, the strip club, and the fish tank converge. My work concludes that SW is a timeless construct that will always exist even after reimagining multiple worlds.

Music In The Holocaust: The Roles Of Music In Nazi Concentration Camps, Jennifer L. Lefleur

Theses and Dissertations

The atrocities and horrors of the Holocaust are well-known and well-documented. Hitler’s “Final Solution” was to eradicate all Jews from Europe, and to implement this, the Nazis built six extermination camps in Poland. These camps, and others throughout Europe, mass-killed millions of humans between 1933 and 1945. Prisoners in these camps were consumed by torture, terror, and murder on a daily basis. Although most survivor accounts detail the role music played in these camps, it had been in the last twenty to thirty years that musicologists and historians have really delved into this subject.

While there were different types of …

Parent-Child Relationship Quality, Emotion Reactivity, And Suicide Ideation Among Adolescents, Deborah Schaeffer

Theses and Dissertations

The rate of teenage suicide has increased markedly in recent years, highlighting the need for greater understanding of the factors that underlie such behavior. While separate studies have established significant associations between the quality of the parent-child relationship and suicide ideation, and between emotion reactivity and suicide ideation, no prior research has examined the interaction of these variables. The current study used survey data collected from 111 youth recruited in emergency departments and inpatient units to measure parent-child relationship quality (the PACHIQ-R scale) and emotion reactivity (the ERS) as predictors of severity of suicide ideation at three months into the …

Special Education Teachers’ Perceptions Of Self-Determination Supports In Inclusion Classrooms, Suzanne Tiffany-Salogub

Theses and Dissertations

The outcomes presented in this dissertation were motivated by a scarcity of research that explores self-determination practices explicitly within inclusive classrooms. Three overarching goals motivated my research. The first was to understand what inclusion teachers know and do in relation to self-determination (Chapter 2). The second was to understand how their practices align with existing knowledge about self-determination in the field (Chapter 3). Finally, I sought to create an accessible, research-based tool tailored to inclusion teachers who seek to support their students in developing self-determination skills (Chapter 4). To achieve these goals, I designed an investigation using a case-study design …

The Ring Quarry Mining Complex: A Preliminary Archaeological Investigation Into Ancient Native American Sites In Northwestern New Jersey, Joseph D. Cusack

Theses and Dissertations

The Ring Quarry Mining Complex (RQMC) in northwestern New Jersey is an archaeological, Pre-Contact Native American mining and habitation complex. The RQMC was a primary source of tool stone in the Vernon Valley of New Jersey for thousands of years. Evidence of human occupation within the study area extends from the Paleoindian through the Contact Period. This study focuses on the ancient chert quarry and surrounding sites across a landscape making up a habitational complex.

The Perceived Impact Of Project-Based Learning (Pbl) On Middle School Students’ Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Identity And Engagement, Jonathan Olivera

Theses and Dissertations

Despite multiple calls to action, the United States educational system is not producing enough viable contributors in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These fields continue to grow, and the STEM workforce continues to expand. However, the pool of citizens prepared to enter these professions is not keeping up with the demand. Part of this issue can be attributed to a diminishing interest in STEM by students, particularly during their identity forming adolescent years. Active learning strategies have proven successful in preventing this decline with project-based learning (PBL) being one of the most successful active learning strategies. …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Employment Characteristics, Eliana Shatkin

Theses and Dissertations

The following study examines ways in which COVID-19 has disrupted the United States labor market. My findings present disproportionately negative effects of COVID-19 on employment, labor force participation, worker absence, and weekly working hours for the female population in my sample, as well as veterans, disabled persons, and racial minorities.

Conflict And Nature: How War In Cambodia Shaped Its Natural Landscape, Emily Lifs

Theses and Dissertations

Through the efforts of the Cambodian people and historians, the world is familiar with the tragic human story that unfolded over decades of war and the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge. This thesis is an attempt to tell the equally tragic but untold story of how decades of conflict shaped the Cambodian landscape and the lives and populations of elephants and other animals.

The Structures Of Intra-National Class Divisions In Neoliberalism: The Women Of “Light” And “Dark” In The White Tiger, Sneha Madimi

Theses and Dissertations

Aravind Adiga’s novel, The White Tiger, represents gender hierarchies and the class struggle of India’s neoliberal present. Adiga uses elements of satire and allegory to teach us something about how women are differently positioned in the neoliberal system. David Harvey in A Brief History of Neoliberalism defines neoliberalism as “a theory of political economic practices that proposes that human well-being can best be advanced by liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills within an institutional framework characterized by strong private property rights, free markets, and free trade” (2). I will consider the novel, alongside Chandra Mohanty’s “Under Western Eyes” …

Assessment Literacy: Using Computer Adaptive Test Data, Ogechi Iwuoha Njoku

Theses and Dissertations

This study employed a quantitative research design to examine teacher assessment literacy and its relationship to external and internal factors. The researcher sought to describe the level of assessment literacy that teachers demonstrate when using score report data from computer-adaptive interim assessment and to analyze whether teachers’ assessment literacy seems to be affected by: a) the quality of professional development training received; b) teachers’ level of self-efficacy; c) teachers’ attribution to student effort, that is their perception of the importance of student effort; and d) teachers’ attribution to context, specifically their perception of the importance of tests. For this study, …

The ‘Ezel Project’ Inquiry: Mesotransformative Praxis To Decenter Whiteness In Racialized Organizations And Schools, Justin Gerald

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, a Black scholar in the midst of understanding his neurodivergence and his identity as someone who has been dis/abled reacts to the prodding of white peers by creating a course on decentering whiteness. The scholar then interviews ten of the participants in said class to understand how they came to select such a course and what they might have accomplished in attempting to challenge the structure of whiteness in their institutions. Drawing on Critical Race Theory, Critical Whiteness Studies, Dis/Crit, and in particular the work of Victor Ray, this work seeks to examine the narratives that brought …

Does Race Still Matter? An Exploration Of Race And Mentoring Relationships From The Perspective Of Early Career Teachers Of Color And Mentors, Franchesca R. Ho Sang

Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring has been attributed to lowering attrition rates of teachers. At present, the majority of teachers in the United States are White and female. The national teacher workforce does not represent the student body. Although there have been recent initiatives to improve the diversity within the teacher workforce, by explicitly recruiting teachers of color (TOC), the attrition rates of these teachers are negating the effects of recruitment efforts. Previous research has pointed to the need to consider race in novice TOC mentee and mentor matches, as cultural capital theory suggests common knowledge and experience may lead to stronger mentor relationships …

Disrupting Inequitable Practices In Special Education: Privileging Student And Family Voices, Armineh E. Hallaran

Theses and Dissertations

Black, Latinx, and other minoritized students have long been overrepresented in the high-incidence, subjective, disability classifications including Learning Disability, Speech and Language Impairment, Emotional Disturbance, and Intellectual Impairment. Special education places these students on trajectories that deny them access to quality education and the same postschool outcomes and opportunities as their nondisabled peers. Using Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit), and grounded theory analysis this study foregrounds the voices of minoritized middle school students receiving special education under high-incidence classifications. DisCrit allowed for an investigation of how student’s intersecting marginalized identities impacted their experiences as special education students. Further, Education Journey …

Nup211 Plays An Important Role In Regulating Mrna Export And Stress Response, Ayana Ikenouchi

Theses and Dissertations

Nup211 is a nuclear pore basket component in Schizosaccharomyces pombe and roles in the gating functions of NPCs. Using RT-qPCR, I found that in nup211-shutoff cells, the transcript levels of genes in mRNA export and stress-response pathways were significantly changed, suggesting nup211 is involved in regulating stress response pathways.

Building Racial Literacy Through Relational Trust, Teacher Solidarity, And Antiracist Praxis, Tanya E. Friedman

Theses and Dissertations

Schools in the United States continue to dramatically under-educate students with marginalized identities. Although professional development for teachers regularly fails to develop the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and commitment needed to interrupt educational inequities and ensure all students thrive, scholarship on teacher learning has identified promising practices such as critical inquiry groups for social justice which can foster teachers’ capacity to interrupt inequitable instructional practices and school policies. (Gorski & Dalton, 2020; Manfra, 2019; Peters, 2016). The three manuscripts in this dissertation explore the experience of a CIG comprised of seven teachers working in an urban elementary school that serves multiply …

Perspectives Of Students With Asd And Their Parents: What Does It Truly Mean To Be Included?, Keara M. Browne

Theses and Dissertations

Though there are a number of practices identified by researchers and other professionals as inclusive, the question remains about whether the students themselves truly feel included. There has been limited research surrounding specific experiences in inclusive classrooms that students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) perceive to be facilitators and barriers to being included in general education and co-teaching settings. The purpose of this study was to inform educational policies and school practices surrounding the inclusion of students with ASD in general education and co-teaching settings by analyzing the perceptions of students with ASD and their parents to determine what it …

The Worst Horror Of All: Greene’S Political And Salvific Imagination In Brighton Rock, James C. Mcguire

Theses and Dissertations

An evaluation of Graham Greene's Brighton Rock as it apprehends the Catholic novel as form. With ample assistance from Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory, Robert Hugh Benson's The Lord of the World, and select works of Fredric Jameson—most notably The Political Unconscious—this analysis seeks to clarify the politico-spiritual "horizon" evident in Greene's first "Catholic novel." By reviewing the novel through the lens of both Catholic theology and modern historical dialectic material criticism, this evaluation reclaims Graham Greene's early political radicalism that critics identify better in his later, less-religious texts. Discovered most clearly in the ending …

A Tool-Supported Metamodel For Program Bugfix Analysis In Empirical Software Engineering, Manal Zneit

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes a software modeling approach aimed at addressing empirical studies in software engineering. We build a metamodel that provides an overview of the taxonomy of program bugfixes in deep learning programs. For modeling purposes, we present a prototype tool that is an implementation of the model-driven techniques presented.

Pioneers Of Evacuation, Pioneers Of Resettlement: The Photographic Archive Of The Japanese American Incarceration And The Settler Colonial Imaginary, Christina Hobbs

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reexamines the photographic archive of the Japanese American incarceration during World War II produced by the US government, arguing that these images “restage” the evacuation, incarceration, and resettlement periods through a settler colonial “pioneer” mythology, thereby obscuring the precarity of Japanese Americans' racial positionality between “settler” and “native.”