Digital Commons Network^™

The Sixty-Six Percent, Natalie Abruzzo

Capstones

The Sixty-Six Percent represent the percentage of women in the U.S. who are overweight. They are regarded as full-figured or “plus” size in the world of women’s apparel. Even though more than half of American women wear a “plus” size - size 14 and up - designs for these women account for a fraction of women’s apparel - Only 37% of women's wear is plus-size.

The Sixty-Six Percent is coming at an important time in a broader conversation about de-stigmatizing what it means to be a plus-size woman in America. Fat shaming has become taboo and mainstream media as well …

Bike-Geist Nyc, Jack D'Isidoro

Capstones

More people ride bicycles in New York City than ever before, and that number continues to grow. At the turn of the 20th century, this city was the epicenter of a cultural obsession with bicycles, and is on the verge of a second renaissance with these simple machines. This project highlights different iterations of bicycle culture within modern New York City, and the socioeconomic, interpersonal, and self-expressive stories it produces.

Strangers In Their Own Lands: A Story Of Japanese Brazilians, Ken Aragaki

Capstones

Brazil is home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan. Since the first dispatch of Japanese immigrants in 1908, more than 240,000 people moved from Japan to Brazil between the early 1900s and the 1970s. Many of them settled outside the city of São Paulo and started working as coffee farmers under unfamiliar and harsh conditions. Today, according to some estimates, more than 1.6 million people of Japanese descent live in Brazil.

As Japan became the world’s economic power, it sought foreign workers to fill its booming labor market. The government turned to Japanese Brazilians and started granting them …

Outrage Is The New Black, Derek R. Scancarelli

Capstones

In 1964, legendary comedian Lenny Bruce was brought to court on an obscenity charge after years and repeated arrests for using what was then deemed to be sexually vulgar language. Despite the testimony of fellow artists and intellectuals (Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, James Baldwin), Bruce was convicted. The symbolism of what Bruce stood for is way more important than the four months he consequently spent in a workhouse. It proved that comedy has the power to shake the system- make people challenge authority and question the value of parallel thinking. Now – in 2015 – America is obsessed with outrage. …

An Ethnographic Study Examining Nurse-Client Relationships In A Jordanian Mental Health Care Setting, Wafa'a Falah Ta'an

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

An Ethnographic Study Examining Nurse-Client Relationships in a Jordanian Mental Health Care Setting

The nurse-client relationship is viewed as the primary human contact that is crucial to providing nursing care. Interaction processes need to be investigated within their cultural context in order for the nurses to establish a therapeutic nurse-client communication that is congruent with the culture in which it takes place.

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the Jordanian mental health care system, and investigate how the cultural values and beliefs of Jordanians shape nurse-client relationships. The study utilized an ethnonursing approach. Data were collected …

Industrial Robot Acceptance: Effects Of Workforce Demographics And Establishing A Culture Of Acceptance Within Manufacturing Industry, Melissa M. Henderson

Theses and Dissertations

Industrial applications have not been extensively researched regarding human-robot interaction. This project investigated industrial robot acceptance in the context of one manufacturing site. Acceptance was examined in relation to the workforce and conditions of acceptance were identified using mixed methodology. Quantitative (surveys) and qualitative (interviews) data was used to measure and analyze the existing state of technology acceptance and site culture. Based on this exploratory study, it was found the manufacturing facility has a weak culture but would be generally accepting of industrial robots if the technology were easy to use and useful. The identified boundary conditions to acceptance included …

An Arts Therapy Case Study: The Vision, Progress, Impact, And Plan Of Canada’S First National Centre For Dance Therapy, Abigail Jane Axelrod

Graduate Theses

Since it’s founding in 1957, the ballet company, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal (LGBCM, Les Grands Ballets), has stretched the reputation of classical dance. Within its first year, the dance company was listed as a “top-rank cultural institution, actively involved in the presentation and promotion of dance in all its forms” (Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal “National Centre for Dance Therapy”). To continue its legacy, the Executive Director of LGBCM began collaborating with LGBCM’s Director of Development of Affairs, to establish the National Centre for Dance Therapy (NCDT, the Centre). Both directors updated Les Grands Ballets’ original …

A Cultural Consideration: Eliminating The Barriers In Order To Effectively Communicate Crises, Morgan H. Dunaway

Master's Theses

This study aimed at gaining a better understanding of the Hispanic American culture in an effort to evaluate how they view and receive messages sent from the government. The purpose of this study was to further the conversation that messages should be designed with careful thought in order to resonate with the target audience involved in the communication process. A previous study found that the majority of the Hispanic American population felt as if they are overlooked and would not be warned properly in a time of crisis (Heath, Lee, & Ni, 2009). Therefore, the present study focused on variables …

The Transformative Experiences Of Female Educators As A Catalyst For Social Change In The World, April D. Jordan

Dissertations

As social justice issues become known, one may be moved to act in the hopes of alleviating the conditions that burden marginalized and oppressed people. What is sometimes missing from the discourse when discussing oppressive issues is the role women play in counteracting such subjugation. Also essential, yet missing from the research, are studies that underscore the importance of educators fostering social action change outside of and apart from institutions of learning and curriculum planning. This qualitative study examined the lives of six, nontraditional, female educator intellectuals whose perceptions of self (identity) and the world were transformed by engaging in …

Exploration Of The United States’ Cultural Legacy In Panama Through Analysis Of American Foreign Policy And Public Opinion, Katherine A. Boss

Honors Theses

The study of a culture is nearly too difficult to accomplish academically, therefore the consilience of data, personal experience, and public opinion offers the most comprehensive approach. The Panama Canal has just celebrated its centennial and remains to this day one of the most important geopolitical and global economic hubs in the world. Nearly every country that participates in maritime trade utilizes the canal. Panama has ambitious plans for the canal’s future, as it nears completion of a multibillion dollar expansion project; however predicting how Panama handles this growth and new responsibility as a major world power is directly related …

Exploring Elementary Teachers’ Conceptions Of Global Citizenship Through Cross-Cultural Interaction, Sheliah Durham

All Dissertations

The challenge we face as educators is how to best prepare our students for an increasingly complex and interconnected world. A growing interest in global citizenship education is evidenced by its inclusion in academia related to curriculum development and teacher preparation (Banks, 2008; Merryfield, 2000; 2001; 2003; 2009; Myers, 2006; Nussbaum, 2002). I, following other scholars, argue that global citizenship education provides an opportunity to develop tolerances, appreciation for differences, and global awareness, as well as providing a format to address current and future global issues (Ikeda, D. 2005; Noddings, 2005a; Merryfield 2000; 2007; 2009). Yet, a review of the …

Structural Transformation, Culture, And Women’S Labor Force Participation In Turkey, Yasemin Dildar

Doctoral Dissertations

Turkey has experienced important structural and social changes that would be expected to facilitate women’s participation in market work. Social attitudes toward working women have changed in recent years; women are becoming more educated; they are getting married at a later age; and fertility rates are declining. Despite these factors, women’s labor force participation rates are very low in comparison to the countries at a similar development stage. This dissertation analyzes the underlying causes of low female labor force participation in Turkey. In addition to a background chapter (Chapter 2) analyzing structural transformation and employment generation patterns, the dissertation has …

The Experience Of Chronic Pain Management: A Multi-Voiced Narrative Analysis, Loren Wilbers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the late 1990s, the abuse of prescription opioid painkillers has been constructed as a major social problem in the United States, commonly referred to in the media as the “prescription painkiller epidemic.” Stories of addiction, overdose deaths, robberies, and other tragedies related to prescription opioids have been, and continue to be, commonly featured in the media. In response to public outcry regarding the “epidemic,” government and medical institutions have enforced strict regulations on the distribution of opioids, targeting most of these regulations at the treatment of chronic pain in particular. In this dissertation, I examine the experience of chronic …

Discrimination, Substance Use, And Cultural Buffers Among Native American College Students, Brenna L. Greenfield

Psychology ETDs

The negative effects of racial discrimination and microaggressions on health have been consistently documented, but only a handful of studies have examined this topic among Native Americans. The goal of this study was to test the Indigenist Stress-Coping Model (Walters, Simoni, & Evans-Campbell, 2002) among Native American college students attending two post-secondary institutions in the Southwestern United States. It was hypothesized that microaggressions would be positively related to substance use, and that cultural factors would attenuate the strength of this relationship. A total of 347 participants (65% female) completed a one-time online survey that included the Microaggressions Scale, the Actualization …

An Investigation Of Health Literacy, Acculturation, Diabetes Knowledge, And Social Supports Among Latinos With Diabetes In Southern Ontario, Ivonne Aguilar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The prevalence of diabetes is high among Latino people. This study investigated the relationships between health literacy, acculturation, social support, and diabetes-related knowledge among Latino adults with Type 2 diabetes and informal caregivers with a family history of Type 2 diabetes. A non-experimental, cross-sectional design was used to examine these relationships among 73 adult Latino participants living in Southern Ontario. Based on Nutbeam’s conceptualization of health literacy, associations existed between health literacy, acculturation and knowledge of diabetes among Latino participants, yet the concept of social support showed no direct relationship to health literacy. This research has explored the factors that …

The Arts: Building A Foundation To Increase Science Literacy Skills For Urban Youth, Mildred Zimmerlyn Wigfall

Dissertations

This study examined issues related to the development of science literacy skills for urban youth, which affected school performance and achievement in science. Examined were historical and societal educational issues, identity and perception of place in society, perceived individual cultural advantages, self-efficacy, and future career interests in science. Strategies used to addrress these issues included culturally responsive approaches using hip-hop art forms, as an infusion into the urban middle school classroom. Middle school teachers and youth in large Midwest urban districts were surveyed to discover their attitudes about science education and to determine the students' level of science literacy. A …

Utopia And Human Culture: Alternative Communities Of Higher Learning In America, Eli Orner Kramer

Theses

In this thesis I explore the place of the actualized utopian American alternative community of higher learning within a philosophy of human culture. I carry out such a study in order to articulate a unifying description of movement; to find the “target” that orients the activity of actualized utopia, as opposed to a classificatory rule to define a mechanically determined utopian-object. Although these communities have varied in practice since the first generation of them were created in the mid-nineteenth century, I argue that they have played, and continue to play, a particular role in America. They imagine what a world …

Philosopher's Stone: The Faustian Geist Of Development, Salikyu Sangtam

Dissertations

The present study juxtaposes scientific rationality with polyphonic rationality in respect to societal development. This is done to illuminate how scientific rationality provides a narrow and truncated view of development. In order to explicate the exclusion of polyphonic rationalities/knowledges in favor of scientific rationality, several development scholarships are examined along with an episode of developmental scheme and two episodes of development programs. This is done to expound (note: ‘→’ = influences) how scientific rationality → scholarships → organizational/institutional schemes, such as the MDGs → actual applications of development schemes, such as transmigration and compulsory villagization. The present inquest, …

Ethnographic Inquiry Of The Cultural Context: Academic Nurse Educators, Karen D. Cotter

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Changing Climates, Fading Cultures: A Study Of Place Annihilation As A Result Of Climate Change, Brooks A. Bolsinger

Honors Projects

Abstract

Research has established the phenomenon of cultural annihilation: the notion that the members of cultures can perceive a sense of loss when the geography upon which their culture is built undergoes a dramatic destructive change. This review examines prevailing literature to uncover existing and expected ways that climate change will impact cultures, specifically damaging the shared history that is infused into the geographic traits that make up a culture’s homeland. It examines three case studies - Native American tribes in Alaska, the island nation of the Maldives, and the country of the Netherlands – to highlight vulnerabilities that these …

Une Génération S’Expriment: Le Mouvement Social Du Rap Et La Culture Hip-Hop Pendant Les Années 1990s En France, Robert Hazzard

Honors Theses

A study of the emergence of rap and hip-hop culture during the 1990s in France.

Chinese Students' Experience At United College: Dialogue Between Executives And Chinese Students, Alicia Palmer

Honors Theses

More and more Chinese students come to the United States to study. They come to the United States for college because education in American universities counts as one of the best education in the world. Some Chinese families pay a lot for their children's best education. In addition, American universities have major funding problems because the subsidies of the U.S. government decrease rapidly. Students often can not accept the United States scholarship, so have to pay all the tuition. However, it seems that students from the east have more psychological problems than those from western countries. One reason is that …

Exploring Cultural And Linguistic Aspects Within The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Queer Youth Community, Justine Carrillo, Julie Marie Houston

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the cultural and linguistic aspects within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) youth community. A qualitative research design with an exploratory approach was utilized in this study. An interview questionnaire was created to explore participants’ perceptions and experiences to generate an understanding on LGBTQ culture in practice. The study sample consisted of 12 youth who self‑identify as LGBTQ recruited by snowball sampling. One‑on‑one interviews were conducted, audio‑recorded, per participant consent, and transcribed for thematic analysis. Based on participant narratives, this study found there are cultural considerations that pertain specifically to …

Diario De Perla Jimenez, Brenda Dorantes

World Languages and Cultures

The aim of this project is to present the effect of the immigration issue in the United States, with a direct focus in San Luis Obispo, and including a spread of intercultural knowledge between the Hispanic and the Caucasian community. Through a fictional short story, the manifestation of these ideas will relate to current events occurring in our society today. These events focus primarily on immigration in California, deportation issues, socioeconomic issues in Mexico, and the cultural barrier seen in Mexican and American cultures; expressed through the main character: a young college student named Perla.

My primary goal in completing …

Cross-Cultural Bridges : Closing The Gaps In Direct Services With Immigrant And Diverse Populations, Lucy Chen

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The shifting cultural, racial, ethnic, and linguistic makeup of the United States is expected to become more diverse in the coming decades. This has important implications for direct service professionals, including social workers and educators. An overview of culturally sensitive, responsive, and competent practices is provided for work with immigrant and diverse populations to assist professionals in the process of crossing cultural bridges, overcoming privilege, and building bridges.

无法抗拒 – Untranslatable, Yuanyuan Liu

Theses

As an artist, there are several themes I find of interest within the medium of photography including the relationship between the lens and the eye, aspects related to imagination and truth, as well as history and tendency. I believe that photography is the best medium for my current body of work because it inherently allows one to reflect on the conflict between reality and construction/fabrication. This is the main theme conveyed in this work. The title, 无法抗拒-Untranslatable, describes the problematic aspect of expressing oneself in a different (foreign) language and the feeling of inadequacy experienced therein. Any individual who is …

My Embodied Multiracial Experience, Catherine C. Miller

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

While there is some research on dance/movement therapy (DMT) and people of Color, there is no research specifically on the use of DMT with multiracial people. This heuristic study explored the embodied experience of being multiracial and how that experience could inform the practice of DMT to better meet the possible needs of multiracial clients. The researcher was a 24 year old multiracial female graduate student. Data collection lasted for 12 weeks and consisted of experiences in which the researcher’s multiracial heritage was highlighted. Data was collected through three self-interviews and artistic journaling. The researcher used Forinash’s adapted form of …

Leadership Cultural Values Of United Arab Emirates-The Case Of United Arab Emirates University, Ebtesam Ali Alteneiji

Theses

UAE is a young country with a young population that has witnessed tremendous changes over the past decades. There has not been much research about the cultural values of the UAE in generational perspectives, and there have been rapid changes. Therefore, this study aimed at exploring systematic changes in leadership cultural values among the older and the younger generations of the United Arab Emirates. The author utilized Hofstede’s (VSM08) instrument to survey undergraduate students, administrators and faculty at UAE University.

The study found no significant differences between the younger and older generations’ tolerance to unequal distribution of power (power distance), …

The Mobile Phone And You: Human Interaction And Integration With Mobile Technology, Ryan C. Miller

Anthropology Theses

What is the impact of mobile phones on those who use them? Does the use of mobile phones affect sociocultural systems when they are introduced? With the prevalence of the mobile phone in society today it is imperative that mobile phone use is studied. Through the use of ethnography, I have studied students at Georgia State University in order to understand the mobile phones influence on this particular culture. I have found that my participants have been changed through use of this device as it has become a part of themselves, adding functionality to users while splitting their focus between …

How Are Therapeutic Professionals Interpreting Ethics In Practice With Migrant Clients?, Madeline A. Brenner

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

The research study aimed to understand the praxis of mental health professionals working with immigrant and refugee populations in relation to ethical guidelines and agency protocols. Through practice-led inquiry, seven mental health professionals were interviewed from differing therapeutic backgrounds and orientations; including Marriage and Family Therapy, Clinical Social Work, Counseling, and Art Therapy. The researcher sought to identify how theory of therapeutic professionals differ, where professionals are engaging in culturally competent practice and what impact this has on the therapeutic relationship. Participants identified the key components of a positive therapeutic relationship include trust, cultural competency, approach, presence, as well as …