Digital Commons Network^™

Gaming The Network Poetic: Networking And Code In Art Games, Joshua A. Fishburn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Videogames have historically used networking either to connect players for competition or cooperation or to provide an ephemeral connection to allow the upload, comparison, or assessment of single-player achievement data. The majority of videogames take place on a screen and on established platforms each of which have physical, technical, and sociocultural constraints that dictate how a player will interact. Recent art games, such as those by Jason Rohrer and the Atari VCS games of Ian Bogost highlight experiments in a more focused use of the medium from concept to interaction, both between the player and the software but also foregrounding …

Uncertain Identity: Medical Practitioners In Doctor Thorne And Middlemarch, Denis Illige-Saucier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The medical practitioners who play leading roles in the novels Middlemarch by George Eliot and Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope are examples of a new breed of professional medical men that emerged during the middle of the nineteenth century in England. The new class of general practitioners held licenses from the old hierarchical system of physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries, but they were the driving force in favor of reform and professionalization in medicine. The 1858 Medical Act was an important step on the path toward a new conception of the medical practitioner, and the development of that new medical identity …

A Supreme Battle In Metaphor: A Critical Metaphor Analysis Of The Culture War In Lawrence V. Texas, Judy A. Bruce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work explores how metaphor, specifically conceptual metaphor, is used to create the argumentative context, carry meaning, supply the enthymematic structure of the arguments, and transform the sexual autonomy controversy within the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Lawrence v. Texas. Research questions that guide this work include:

Is there evidence that the metaphor of "culture war" drives the argumentative context in the Lawrence opinion and is carried by other metaphorical constructions?

How is the social controversy over sexual autonomy advanced by conceptual metaphors in this legal text?

What are the dominant metaphors used to argue for sexual autonomy? What …

Maintaining Adult Student-Parent Distal Relationships: An Explorartion Of Mediated Communication Among Thai Students In The U.S., Thammaphong Isarabhakdi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although a growing amount of research in relational maintenance has began to focus intensively on long-distance relationships (LDRs), especially marital, dating, and friendship relationships, little attention has focus on the process of maintaining LDRs in non-Western families. The objective of this study was, first, to explore the experience of Thai adult students who maintain LDRs with their parents. Second, this study identified Thai students’ specific relational maintenance behaviors and examined the channels of mediated communication used among Thai adult students and their family members.

This study utilized a qualitative method framed by a grounded theory approach to uncover the experience …

The Doctrine Of Christian Perfection For Today: Reading Wesley's Theology Through The Lens Of Process Thought, Jung Sup Ahn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis is: A process-theological reading of Wesley's doctrine of perfection, by constructing an adequate concept of God in process, gives renewed importance and vitality to Wesley's doctrine of perfection, a doctrine that has been confused and virtually ignored even by Methodists themselves, despite the central importance Wesley himself assigns it. Why, then, has Wesley's doctrine of perfection been so often misunderstood, confused or even ignored from his time until today? The clue to the answer lies in the failure clearly to heed the distinction between the two senses of divine perfection: perfected perfection (a static state of perfection) and …

Ocosta-By-The-Sea: A Boomtown In Three Narratives, Katherine L. Arntzen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the Washington State 1890s railroad boomtown, Ocosta-by-the-Sea through place, microhistory, and narrative theories. Place theory focuses analysis on the townsite. A microhistory is created by the presentation of three narratives on Ocosta: the city-as-imagined, the city-as-built, and the city-as-remembered. The city-as-imagined narrative recounts the city that Ocosta was projected to become by its founders through analysis of historic maps, advertisements, and financial investments of the city's founders. The city-as-built uncovers information about the built environment of the site. The city-as-remembered reveals the city that has and is remembered by the local community. Site memory is explored through …

Woman Has Two Faces: Re-Examining Eve And Lilith In Jewish Feminist Thought, Diana Carvalho

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the religious history of American feminism, Jewish feminist biblical interpretation shifted attention away from Eve as a viable example of women's identities. Instead, Lilith, the independent, "demon" and "first wife" of Adam is praised as a symbol of female sexuality for "Transformationist" Jewish feminists. Re-claiming Lilith as the "first Eve," "Transformationist" Jewish feminists turn scripture on its head. Eve's creation and her actions in Genesis are interpreted as a product of patriarchy and male dominance, while Lilith in the midrashic narrative, the Alphabet of Ben Sira, is used by Jewish feminists to reclaim their identities on religious and …

A Critique Of Neoclassical Theory Of Health Care Consumption, Xiao Jiang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to display an internal critique of the neoclassical theory of health care consumption with the intention of understanding its true merits and limitations. To avoid arbitrariness, instead of criticizing it directly, this thesis first explores the existing scholarly critiques, as well as the developments of this theory in response to these criticisms. What is interestingly observed is that the neoclassical responses tend to systematically fall into two problematic categories – the trade-off between reality and theoretical determinacy, and free-market behavior resolution. Such observation suggests that there is something fundamentally problematic with this theory, which …

Using Ground-Penetrating Radar To Study The Bluff Great House: History And Regional Interactions From A.D. 200 To 1300, Sarah M. Lowry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Bluff Great House is a Chaco-era monumental building, located in southeastern Utah. This site was inhabited from A.D. 700 to 1300, before and after the time when Chaco Canyon was widely considered a regional “capital”. To map the Bluff site’s architecture throughout its’ occupations, ground-penetrating radar data were collected for the site’s encircling berm, plaza, terrace, and a pithouse. Excavation data were combined with ground-penetrating radar maps, which together allowed for a spatially extensive and more temporally complete understanding of the Bluff site’s architecture. The findings of this research show that site had a series of long-term habitations, which …

The Digitally Born Identity: The Influence Of Social Networking Sites On Teen Identity, Alexis Lynn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Based on in-depth interviews, this thesis examines how teens use Social Networking Sites (SNSs) to negotiate their identities. The thesis concludes that SNSs, such as MySpace and Facebook, facilitate a social connectivity that influences how teens portray themselves online. The process of constructing a self-presentation, receiving input from peers, and then modifying one's self-presentation in response is not new, but the speed at which it occurs and the very public way it is displayed on an SNS constitutes a change in how teens understand the ways in which they make and constantly remake their identities. The findings suggest that, as …

Gene-Environment Interactions In Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Holly Donovan Barnard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The overall goal of this project is to advance our understanding of the multifactorial etiology of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by testing a diathesis-stress model of gene x environment (g x e) interactions. Although the literature increasingly supports g x e interactions in the manifestation of ADHD, few studies have investigated multiple genetic and environmental risk factors, included direct tests of gene - environment correlations (rG-Es), explored the specificity of interactions to symptom dimensions, or attempted to minimize comparisons. Therefore, utilizing both within-family (FBAT/PBAT) and case-control methodology, this study sought to (1) explore main effects of polymorphisms in the …

The Passions And Self-Esteem In Mary Astell's Early Feminist Prose, Kathleen A. Ahearn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the influence of Cambridge Platonism and materialist philosophy on Mary Astell's early feminism. More specifically, I argue that Astell co-opts Descartes's theory of regulating the passions in his final publication, The Passions of the Soul, to articulate a comprehensive, Enlightenment and body friendly theory of feminine self-esteem that renders her feminism modern. My analysis of Astell's theory of feminine self-esteem follows both textual and contextual cues, thus allowing for a reorientation of her early feminism vis-a-vis contemporary feminist theory. An entire chapter in the dissertation is devoted to Astell's use of Descartes's theory of regulating the …

Irus: An Intercultural Collaborative Art Show Between Artists In Iran And The United States, Morehshin Allahyari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

IRUS is both a research project and art exhibition that form and analyze cultural exchange. Using art that is developed dialogically and collaboratively between Iranian and American artists, the project employs digital media and the traditional mailing system to create an intercultural exhibition.

The exhibition (March 21st, 2009) brings together two teams of artists, one in Tehran and another in Denver, that have assembled under one name: IRUS (Iran - United States), and collaborate under a common theme: dialogue. Both teams consist of artists proficient in various media.

The research will document, and analyze the dialogue process through the …

Sub-Ordination: Mary Magdalene, The Church, And The Ordination Of Women, Richard Bishop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Roman Catholic Church maintains that it cannot ordain women to the priesthood due to a lack of biblical warrant. The Church therefore relies upon the traditional concept of a Bridegroom-Bride relationship (read: Christ and His Church), which they say can only be maintained if a male priest serves as the representative of the invisible Christ for his Bride during the Eucharist. In this essay, we shall explore the role and treatment of Mary Magdalene and women in early texts and show that they actually did have prominent positions within at least some early Christian communities. Texts were altered, and …

Conversion To Islam In Colorado, Patrick D. Bowen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the scholarship concerning conversion to Islam in the West, few books or articles have been written that examine non-African American US converts. Furthermore, this literature generally neglects using models of conversion for analyzing US Muslims. This thesis is an attempt to begin such a project. For this thesis, I interviewed 13 converts to Islam over the course of a month and a half at a local mosque: 8 females and 5 males; 9 white, 3 Latina/o, and 1 non-African American black. These converts told me their stories of conversion: beginning with their life prior to conversion, the process leading …

Hilltop Archaeology: Ceremony And Ritual At The Site Of Cerro Santa Rita, Chao Valley, Peru, Richard A. Busch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Site of Cerro Santa Rita is located in the mid-valley region of the Chao Valley on the North Cast of Peru. Occupied by people during the Gallinazo, Moche and Chimú time periods, Cerro Santa Rita fulfilled a role similar to that of a huaca, or temple. The people of pre-Hispanic Peru were deep set in their traditions, many of these traditions are still practiced by Peruvians today. The traditions of ancestor veneration and feasting are no exceptions to this. Cerro Santa Rita was a burial complex that had plazas and courtyards associated with the tombs of ancestors. Not …

Understanding Masculinity: The Role Of Father-Son Interaction, Clyde J. Remmo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although a significant amount of research has accounted for gender from a social constructionist perspective, research specifically examining the construction of masculinity is still a relatively new endeavor. Additionally, although gender is accounted for in various family communication theories, no theory specifically accounts for gender formation within the context of family interaction. The purpose of this study is to examine sons' narratives of their recollections of father-son interactions. Studying the father-son dyad in this way may help us to better understand how men constitute masculinity in particular familial relationships. Although the purpose was to examine the themes of father-son interactions, …

Still Standing, Wendy Joy Rosoff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

On April 20, 1999 Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into Columbine High School and killed 12 students and 1 teacher. The days following the shooting were spent questioning their motive and it seems, to this day, some are still confused. If those in charge of the investigation would have stopped pointing fingers and listened to the cries of the shooters and the students, they would see that Columbine was a time bomb. Students tells stories of bullying and torment and many agree that a group of athletes dominated the school.

Most who see bullying see it as entertaining, but …

Jean Toomer And Carl Van Vechten: Identity, Exploitation, And The Harlem Renaissance, Phil Shaw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Jean Toomer's Cane is considered one of the literary achievements of the Harlem Renaissance, though the many of his philosophical ideas which inspired it are dismissed. Inversely, Carl Van Vechten's influence as an advocate and patron of African American art is foundational though his Nigger Heaven is dismissed. However, there are commonalities in each authors identity positioning and subsequent exploitation of the black Harlem Renaissance ethos. Further, their utilization of Gurdjieffian principles of objectivity and primitivist images of blacks links and explains, in part, how their identities contributed to the ideas expressed in the novels.

Analyzing The Factors Behind Crude Oil Price Increases From 2002–2007 And The Implications For The Oil Industry: A Non-Technical Assessment, Brian Patrick Shepherd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this paper I analyze how various price regimes inherent to different oil industry structures affected crude oil prices in the 20th century. Overall, there are strong relationships between oil prices and the corresponding price regimes. Using an informal approach as well as concepts from economic theory, I also analyze the effects of supply and demand variables including spare capacity, stocks, futures prices, OPEC production, and GDP on crude oil prices from 2002 - 2007. The results of my analysis are fairly consistent with economic theory as they elucidate the consequences of severe underinvestment in the oil industry and price …

Peer And Maternal Relationship Predictors Of Adolescent Romantic Conflict Resolution, Pallavi Visvanathan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of the current study was to examine whether change in adolescent conflict resolution in romantic relationships is predicted by adolescents' prior interactions with mothers and friends. A community sample of 191 adolescents (96 female), representative of the U.S. population, their mothers and close friends participated in this study. Data collection began when adolescents were in 10th grade (¬Average age = 15.9, SD = .52) and continued for the next five and a half years. Results indicated that teens engaged in positive problem solving, withdrawal, and compliance far more frequently than in aggressive conflict resolution strategies. Hierarchical linear modeling …

Comparative Study Of Transition To Democracy In Portugal And Iran, Loosineh Markarian Senagani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The thesis compares the period of transition to democracy in Portugal and Iran after the collapse of the authoritarian regimes through revolutions in 1974 in Portugal and 1979 in Iran. Despite the similarities the cases share, the outcome of the transition in Portugal was a political democracy while Iran faced the rise of authoritarianism. The research compares the similar and dissimilar variables between Portugal and Iran such as the form of the break with authoritarianism and holding of initial elections, institutional design, involvement in wars, and popular mobilization. By keeping respecting factors as control variables, the thesis argues for the …

Japan's Preventive Strategy: Secure The World—The National Defense Program Guidelines In And After Fy 2010, Tadashi Watanabe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Japanese government is now reviewing the National Defense Program Guidelines in and after FY 2005 (NDPG 04), and this review will be completed by the end of this year. Even though NDPG 04 provides Japan's security and defense policy vision to FY 2014, the government nevertheless has decided to change it completely. The purpose of this thesis is to know the reason why the Japanese government has decided to change NDPG 04 completely, the likely contents of NDPG 09, and NDPG 09's effect on the US-Japan alliance.

The globalizing international society and threats have been increasingly diversified and multi-polarized …

Encountering The Religious 'Other': Limitations Of Confining 'Religious' Conversation In Interreligious Dialogue In Denver, Adam Buchanan Westbrook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963).

Technology, the Internet, and the ability to communicate with one another instantaneously in any place on the globe, at any point in time have made Dr. King's remarks increasingly evident in the 21st century. We now have the unprecedented ability to communicate with people of all groups, all over the world, but are lacking the proper tools for understanding them. The interreligious dialogue movement has strived to utilize religion as one …

Biblical Revision Both Ancient And Modern, Jamie Christine Willeford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biblical revision has been a part of the Jewish tradition since the Bible began to be canonized in the Second Temple period. Many authors throughout the centuries have seen fit to revise the biblical text: creating a new literary genre that is in this paper termed "rewritten Bible." Maxine Grossman's literary critical method, as advocated in Reading for History in the Damascus Document: A Methodological Method, helps us to understand the different types of meaning that can be created from a text, including meaning that is created outside the intent of the author, as it is in the genre …

Media Literacy Education, Elizabeth Etherington Wood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study offers an analysis of media literacy practices and techniques used at local public middle and high schools in Colorado. Media literacy is an emerging field in education that blends literacy skills such as critical analysis and evaluation with an inquiry-based questioning process that encourages students to process information using cognitive, moral, aesthetic and emotional dimensions. This inquiry-based process is not a new educational approach; it has been used to critically evaluate literature for centuries. However, media literacy scholars argue that applying inquiry-based approaches can enhance learning across all grades and content levels by applying new methodologies.

The literature …

Cortisol Reactivity Across The Day At Child Care: Examining The Contributions Of Child Temperament And Attachment To Mother And Lead Teacher, Lisa S. Badanes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous work has shown that full-day center-based child care is associated with increased physiologic stress for many young children (e.g., Tout, de Haan, Campbell, & Gunnar, 1998; Watamura, Sebanc, & Gunnar, 2002). Specifically, increasing cortisol from morning to afternoon at full-day child care in contrast to decreasing cortisol across the day for these same children at home has been repeatedly demonstrated for toddlers and preschoolers. Factors that have been related to rising cortisol across the day at child care include the child's age (rising cortisol at child care between 2 and 5 years, but not for infants or older children, …

Revictimization: A Multi-Method Approach To Understanding Risk Detection, Ann Chu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has focused on identifying mechanisms that increase revictimization risk in women, such as risk detection (i.e., ability to identify threat). While risk detection deficits have been linked to revictimization in college samples, individual differences that might predict risk detection deficiencies remain unclear. In this study, 94 women recruited from the community performed a risk detection task by listening to an audiotape of a risky dating situation. We obtained parasympathetic (e.g., vagal tone) and sympathetic (e.g., pre-ejection period) activation, heart rate, and self-reported emotional responding while participants completed the task. We also assessed participants' trauma histories and relevant symptoms. Results …

Sibling Relationships During The Young Adult Years: An Analysis Of Closeness, Relational Satisfaction, Everyday Talk, And Turning Points, Jennifer Kellie Corti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the sibling relationship during the young adult years. Specifically, this study explored how turning points and everyday talk related to closeness and relational satisfaction among college age siblings. One-hundred and ninety-nine young adult participants completed a detailed questionnaire about their relationship with a sibling. Results indicated that (a) geographic distance does not have a significant effect on the closeness among siblings, (b) everyday talk was expressed in terms of three categories: expressions of intimacy, maintenance talk, and relationally risky talk, (c) all three categories of everyday talk related to closeness, while only …

One Of Us: Joseph Conrad's Under Western Eyes And A Personal Record, Torgeir Ehler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This present work explores the relationship of Joseph Conrad's status as a Polish exile to his creative and biographical work. Its main focus is on the tandem publications of the novel Under Western Eyes and his autobiographical volume A Personal Record, both published within a year of each other and written contemporaneously. The first chapter is a short biographical survey of Conrad's life and addresses some later biographical works by his wife, among others. An overview of critical works that deal with Under Western Eyes is presented in the second chapter. An investigation into narrative structure and its use in …