Digital Commons Network^™

#Getinked: An Anthropological Exploration Of Tattooing And Social Media, Delanee Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to address two inquiries regarding contemporary tattooing. The first goal is to explore how social media has changed the practice of tattooing while the second goal is to examine how tattoos are used to express or explore the differing facets of a person’s identity. Identity theory, social identity theory, semiotics, and the concepts of stigma and deviancy form the theoretical framework which allows one to understand the ways in which tattoos can provide insights into the various aspects of someone’s identity as well as how social media can influence members of the tattoo community. An online survey, …

Twice-Exceptional Identification And Identity Formation: A Mixed Methods Study, Robin Goldin Tobin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study examined the parent perceptions of and relationships among intellectual potential, academic achievement, and the order of identification of exceptionality for twice-exceptional students. Twice-exceptional students exhibit both giftedness and a learning disability or difference. Consistently and equitably identifying and serving twice-exceptional students is a persistent problem of practice in the field of education (Artiles et al., 2010; Gentry et al., 2019; List & Dykeman, 2019; Moon & Reis, 2004; Webb et al., 2019). This study was supported by a community partner, a private educational testing and advocacy agency in a Western state.

This mixed methods study utilized a …

The Dual Role Of A Teacher And Teacher Leader: An Auto-Educational Criticism Examination, Joseph Bolz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The world of teaching has long been explored: from works focused on different contents to different grade bands to different techniques and methods to best practices, the literature is dense with materials on the world of teaching. Where this literature has just begun to shed light however is the world teacher leadership. As an educator in a dual role since 2014, that of a teacher and a teacher leader, I have beared witness to what current research has only recently begun to unearth.

It is here that I situate myself, as the researcher of teacher leadership and the subject of …

Asexuality And Demisexuality: Clinical Implications Of Sexual Identity, Michael Scott Fiorini

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

This paper considers demisexuality as an identity and sexual orientation for use by psychologists using historical, sociological, and psychological perspectives. It discusses the clinical implications of demisexuality as an identity and orientation distinct from asexuality. The paper discusses applications and limitations of defining and identifying demisexuality in a clinical population and it's social, scientific, and contextual significance. The paper compares what can be observed with existing diagnostic guidelines present in the DSM-5 for the identification of Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (FSIAD) and Male Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (MHSDD). The paper proposes guidelines for the diagnosis and the ethical clinical treatment …

Examining Experience, Role, And Lgbtq Identity In Department Chairs, Ashton B. Clouse

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

LGBTQ rights have progressed tremendously in recent times, not long ago LGBTQ individuals could be arrested simply for being themselves. Though many rights have been won, the fight for equity continues. This is especially true in the field of education, many think of higher education as a pathway to equity, but in reality it can serve to solidify societal inequities. Campus climate studies of LGBTQ faculty members in higher education show that climate is most impactful at the departmental level (Nichols & Scott, 2005), others highlight the importance of department chairs in fostering climate within their departments (Bystydzienski et al., …

An Educator Out Of Water: A Phenomenological Study Into Identity-As-Educator For Student Affairs Professionals, David Mccoy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The work of student affairs professionals has been happening since the inception of western higher education. The profession has shifted a great deal since that time, with an emphasis now on student affairs professionals as ‘educators’ alongside their faculty counterparts. Regardless of change, research has consistently demonstrated the impact student affairs can have on the experiences of students and colleges as a whole. Given the emergence of identity-as-educator, for these professionals to best continue their work, it is imperative to understand how they understand and make sense of this professional identity. This research was a phenomenological study to understand how …

People And Place: A Journey Through Film, Tourism, And Heritage, Sarah Beals

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Old Tucson Studios is a theme park where film, tourism, and heritage all converge through the American Western genre. During national social change, Westerns increase in number to reflect national values and identity. Westerns that ally with landscapes and people are potentially the most powerful storytelling tool in mainstream media. My research shows that this paring of people and place creates a prevailing image in the audience’s memory. The results suggest that the current image of the West comes from films made between 1951-1970, despite there being newer Westerns. John Wayne and saguaro cactus are enduring images with historic, cultural, …

“Because We Are Catholic”: Music As A Bridge Between Identities Within The Catholic Community Of South India, Johnathan Theodore Travis Rhodes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I argue that the music of the Catholic Church of South India, which draws from Indian and Western music genres, functions as a cultural bridge allowing the worshiper to express a distinctively Catholic identity without distancing themselves from their Hindu roots. This cultural connection reinterprets Karnatak musical styles, practices, and traditions as distinctively Catholic rather than Indian or Hindu. Thus, Indian cultures are recontextualized within a Catholic paradigm, as these practices are regarded as Catholic regardless of their historical, cultural, or religious origin. These identities, Indian and Catholic, are not in tension with one another, but instead, …

@Gretathunberg: Navigating Critique And Identity Within Youth Climate Activism On Twitter, Carina Robin Weadock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Youth climate activist Greta Thunberg sat alone on the steps of the Swedish Parliament building in September of 2018, holding a bold black and white sign and demanding action be taken in the face of the climate crisis. Ever since, her activism and Twitter presence have sparked media attention, catalyzed youth activists globally to organize marches and strike from school, and have drawn critique. This thesis employs McKerrow’s (1989) critical rhetoric to uncover dominant discourses within tweets that undermine Thunberg based on identity and to explore the potential that Thunberg’s Twitter presence might or might not hold for future youth …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of Korean Adoptees’ Multiple Minority Identities, Jared Utley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the end of the Korean War, Korean children have been placed for international adoption due to their marginalized status in South Korea. In the United States, Korean children have predominantly been adopted to White families through transracial adoption (Bergquist, 2003; Lee, 2003). Transracial adoption describes the process of children being placed in a home where there are racial differences with one or both adoptive parents. Through international transracial adoption, Korean adoptees may undergo events that impact the salience and development of multiple minority identities, including: racial, ethnic, cultural, and as an adoptee. These experiences may be shaped by interactions …

China's Lost Face And The Two Koreas: The Effects Of Culture And Identity On Chinese Foreign Policy, Kang Kyu Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the question of why China responded particularly harshly to pro-U.S. military actions taken by South Korea, when this nation was identified as a friend to China, while responding less harshly to similar pro-U.S. military actions taken by Japan, who was not identified as a friend. My argument is that these divergent responses were caused by China’s different expectations, according to whether different nations had a perceived identity as a friend or a rival. China’s behaviors are essentially based on its own proclaimed identity and on the perceived identities of others. China has advanced the proclaimed identity of …

Whose Community Museum Is It? Collaboration Strategies And Identity Affirmation In The Amache Museum, Ting-Chun (Regina) Huang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Amache Museum is a preservation project that has multiple communities involved in preserving Amache history. It represents Japanese American as well as American history and is owned and maintained by the Amache Preservation Society (APS), which is comprised of local Granada High School students. By approaching the Amache Museum as a community museum and noticing its distinct collaborative strategy, this thesis investigates the community collaborations and the identity affirmations within the museum, and addresses the question of whose community museum the Amache Museum represents. My research explores the overlapping conceptual models of the Amache Museum: community museum and ecomuseum, …

"Traditioning" Blackness: A Theo-Ethical Analysis Of Black Identity In Black Theological Discourse, Ben Sanders Iii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of James Cone's black liberation theology in the late-1960s and early 1970s marked both a radical challenge to and a historical transformation of the fields of religious and theological studies. Building on Cone's work, black theological discourse has developed a rich tradition of religious and academic inquiry characterized by its commitment to interpreting Christianity in particular, and religious experience more broadly, from the vantage point of oppressed black people. This dissertation shows that James Cone developed a particular understanding of black identity in his early works and, furthermore, that various scholars have critically engaged this conception of black …

Rethinking Reintegration And Veteran Identity: A New Consciousness, Jeni Hunniecutt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how Veteran reintegration is a process of identity transformation. Written as a first-person narrative and weaving my own story of Veteran reintegration and identity into the chapters, this purpose of this project is to address two questions: RQ1: Examining my own experiences of separating from the U.S. Military institution, what are some possible Veteran identity tensions that exist in the liminal space of reintegration? And, RQ2: How might the experiences of U.S. Military Veteran reintegration be shaped by an individual's sacred liminal experience of military initial entry training as well as their institutionalized liminal experience of belonging …

Working With Transnational Women From Latin American Countries From A Feminist Therapy Framework: A Guide For Mental Health Providers Working With This Population, Diana Hinojosa

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The experiences of transnational families in the United States have largely been examined as they relate to the impact that separation and migration have on the family system. In most recent years, women have assumed the experience of migration and have moved to countries like the United States to work and provide for their families back home. Transnational families are typically understood as family members who live separated from each other, often across national borders, but continue to maintain unity and connections with each other. The following literature review will examine the social factors impacting Latin American women’s decision to …

"There Will Be More Cookies": A Discursive Exploration Of Polyamorous Identity In A Monogamous World, Stephanie K. Webb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Monogamous romantic relationships are the standard by which to engage in relationships in the United States. Despite the pervasiveness of monogamy, polyamorous romantic relationships are growing. Polyamory is an approach to romantic relationships that includes engaging sexually and emotionally with multiple people simultaneously, with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved (Polyamory, 2015). This study explores how individuals who identify as polyamorous construct personal and relational identities in a monogamous world. Using relational dialectics theory 2.0 and queer theory, the study examined self-recorded conversations of 21 polyamorous participants and their partner(s). Participant talk surrounding polyamorous personal and relational identity voiced …

The Dynamics Of Community Museums And Their Communities: Museo De Las Americas' Spanish Happy Hour Fostering Social Inclusion For The Latino And Denver Metro Area Communities, Maritza Hernandez-Bravo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many museums are now aspiring to collaborate and engage with Latino communities and the community as a whole. Due to Museo de las Americas status as a community museum, I predicted that I would find a collaborative effort already occurring between the institution and their community, which can aid in creating a sense of social inclusion by being committed to including diverse voices by having clarity of purpose that makes sense both within the context of the community and the institution itself. I used staff, volunteer and visitor interviews and observations of the program to evaluate the degree of collaboration …

Can You See Me? Ethnography Of Women's Experiences With Homelessness In Denver, Colorado, Taylor L. Morrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Following the economic crisis in 2008, the United States, and Denver in particular, saw a considerable rise in the number of people considered homeless. Despite an increase in the population, little anthropological research has been done to understand the experiences of street-embodied individuals and the services available to them. Through participant-observation, life-history interviews, and photovoice, I closely studied the lives of two women experiencing homelessness and used interpretive phenomenological analysis to analyze the data. Analyzed through Foucault's biopolitics, technologies of the self, and panopticism, as well as Goffman's presentation of the self, I make the case that the homeless experience …

Same Same But Different: The Self-Portraiture Of A Vietnam War Adoptee And The Poststructural Language Of Alterity, Joie Norby Lê

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the journey of a Vietnam War adoptee and the multitude of experiences that influenced her alterity. Through the development of a poststructuralist conceptual framework, the author reveals a philosophy of difference realized by philosophers such as Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Jean-François Lyotard, and Jacques Derrida. Using the method of self-portraiture, the author illustrates how this philosophy of difference was shaped as a result of her experiences and how those experiences have informed her engagement or disengagement throughout her K-12 and post-secondary education, her work as a student, and her beliefs as an educator. The study focuses upon …

The Abc's Of Art Teacher Professional Identity: An A/R/Tographic Investigation Into The Interstitial Spaces, Sarabeth G. Berk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers are more than teachers, however, they do not often discuss, define or identify their multiple professional identities they possess. Likewise, society narrowly perceives and categorizes the conception of teacher, and disregards practices teachers perform that do not fit neatly into established constructs within the profession. This research study explores the multiple professional identities of teachers, specifically art teachers, to understand how they perceive themselves as professionals, and furthermore, to investigate what happens when professional identities intersect, overlap, and create hybrid spaces. Teacher professional identity, multiple identity, intersectionality, and developmental evolution of self are key constructs within this research.

To …

Tracing An American Yoga: Identity And Cross-Cultural Transaction, Christa Schwind

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation looks at the creative identity of an American yoga, both rooted in its Indic origins and radically transformed in its U.S. manifestations. It traces the broad historical transactions of yoga in terms of East and West, Secular and Religious, authenticity and idealized conception, as well as provides a critical historical genealogy of Anusara and Sridaiva yoga. Furthermore, the project relates yoga to the identity, power, and knowledge dynamics of pre-modern, modern, and postmodern histories and interpretations of yoga and Tantra, multiple theoretical discourses, and the embodied practices of individuals within Indian and American contexts.

I argue that there …

"I Came To America, Crying": Rebuilding A Life, Redefining The Self—Ethiopian Women Refugees In Denver (Colorado) (2012–2013), Barbara Guglielminotti Valetta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the challenges faced by Ethiopian women in the Denver community to reach harmony within their new social and cultural space and to examine what they feel they have lost and gained in their self-identity as a result of their immigration. Refugees face a multitude of dilemmas when they are compelled to relocate from their home countries to a new, foreign-host society. Ethiopian refugees have been arriving in the US since the 1970s and feel the uprootedness of being away from their homeland. Being uprooted is losing one’s culture and ways of life. …

A Legacy Of Letters: The Construction Of An Aging Masculine Identity, K. Tiffani Baldwin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the construction of a masculine identity through a qualitative analysis of personal letters written by an aging man over the last two decades of his life (age 68-89). Symbolic interaction and life-span communication are the guiding frameworks behind the development of the research questions and the subsequent analyses. Research question one asks: What themes emerge from the personal letters written by an aging man? The following two themes emerged: a) relationality, and b) age and aging. Research question two asks: What do the metaphors that emerge from personal letters reveal about the …

Nationalism, Identity, And Rhetoric In Bosnia-Herzegovina: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Presidential Speeches, 2004–2012, Mary Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ethnic divisions undermine statebuilding efforts in Bosnia-Herzegovina almost twenty years after the end of a war among the three main ethnic groups in the country. The political elites influence on how nationalism and identity is experienced in Bosnia-Herzegovina and offer reflections on how the country can or cannot be united. To what extent do the political elites at the level of the presidency articulate more narrow, ethnic themes or a broader national identity in pubic speeches? The rhetoric used by the political elites is explored to find occurrences of ethnic polarization or a framing of national identity. The thesis is …

A Divine Round Trip: The Literary And Christological Function Of The Descent/Ascent Leitmotif In The Gospel Of John, Susan Elizabeth Humble

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The thesis of this dissertation is that the Descent/Ascent Leitmotif, which includes the language of not only descending and ascending, but also going, coming, and being sent, performs a significant literary and christological function in the Gospel of John. The Evangelist's Descent/Ascent Leitmotif becomes the Gospel's organizing principal, drawing together a constellation of verbs and a number of themes, including Jesus-Son's origin, identity, relationship to God, authority, signs and works, life, and glory.

In the introductory chapter, after providing a layout of the dissertation, the discussion turns to the spacial dimensions and christological importance of the vertical and horizontal depictions …

Performing The Personal Within The Organizational: Communicating Professional Identities Through Taiwanese Commercial Airline Pilots' Personal Narratives, Kai-Chun Chuang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation project explored professionalism and the performance of identities by examining Taiwanese commercial airline pilots' discursive practices in everyday life. The intentions for this project were to not only expand current knowledge of organizational communication from a critical rhetorical perspective, but to further explore the under-appreciated concept of professionalism of organizational members. Theoretically, I traced theoretical analysis in the sociology of professions and further investigated scholarship from identity research in organizational communication studies. This research agenda helped to advance communication-based understandings of the meanings and practices of professional identity as a complement to the sociological conception. I further merged …

Thuggin' With The Oldies: Successful Professionals Who Continue To Listen To Gangsta Rap And The Professional Identity Conflict That Arises, Tarhonda Thomas Mckee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rise of explicit rap music in the 1990's brought with it a challenge that has not been seen until today: what becomes of listeners who, once past their adolescent years, become responsible, successful adults yet choose to keep explicit rap music in their lives? This thesis examined that question to find that some high-achieving adults continue to listen to the controversial form of music, while simultaneously separating themselves from the images associated with the music. Furthermore, their musical tastes can present a conflict with their professional images which may cause them to conceal their preference for explicit rap music, …

Searching For Truth(Iness): Mapping The Religio-Political Landscape And Identity Of Christian Emerging Adults Through A Reception Study Of The Colbert Report, Jill Elizabeth Dierberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing textual analysis and in-depth interviews of self-identified Christian participants ages 18-35 (n=20), this dissertation explores the way Comedy Central's The Colbert Report portrays Christianity, how young Christian viewers negotiate their religio-political identity in relation to the show, and what this negotiation says about the religio-political landscape of Christian emerging adults (19-29) (Arnett, 2004) in the United States. I conclude that The Colbert Report provides a contextual occasion for critical religio-political reflection, and that Christian emerging adults of myriad Christian subcultures negotiate their religio-political identity in relation to The Colbert Report to varying degrees as they select differing reference points …

Digital Storytelling And Study Abroad: The Impact Of A Narrative-Based, Reflective Practice Upon Identity Construction, Nicole Hubbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Digital storytelling is a multimedia genre that has been steadily gaining recognition since its inception in the early 1990s. Study abroad is also on the rise among U.S. undergraduates. Study abroad returnees often lack opportunities for structured reflection upon their experiences abroad. Digital storytelling is one reflective tool that may be useful for stimulating reflection as part of a narrative process, which connects past events with current life choices and solidifies identity. Five undergraduates and three graduate students attended digital storytelling workshops, created digital stories, and were interviewed. Analysis of these case studies found that while graduate students were more …

Caring Work: Opening A Space Of Possibility For Exploring Transnational Feminist Solidarity Between Privileged And Marginalized Women, Beverly Romero Natividad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neoliberalism, through its emphasis on personal responsibility and individual freedom in accelerating economic development globally, has only pushed women further into the margin of society. Structural adjustment programs (SAPs), which impose state budget cuts on healthcare and welfare programs, particularly have kept poor women and women of color in poverty and generally, have exploited women's labor. However, in this age of neoliberalism, women's solidarity becomes more significant. Because neoliberalism is founded on individualism, its downfall rests on alliance-building. Against this backdrop, I explore the possibility of fostering transnational feminist solidarity between privileged and marginalized women engaged in formal caring work. …