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The Power Of The Other: A Character Analysis Of The Orphan Figure In Children's Literature, Elizabeth Ann Crain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Orphan children in literature often occupy the spaces of reality and fantasy simultaneously because they have had an early encounter with another world--the afterlife. This endows them with supernatural abilities (implied or explicit) that compensate for the loss of a parent and helps them to overcome this traumatizing beginning; this fiction is in stark contrast to the historical reality of an orphan's life, and orphan fiction is a reaction to this reality. Supernatural ability is an almost universal characteristic of the orphan character. This study draws on cultural studies of the orphan , psychoanalytic theories related to the concept of …

Prudery And Perversion: Domination Of The Sexual Body In Middle-Class Men, Women, And Disenfranchised Bodies In Victorian England, Ashley Barnett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research argues that with the rise of the middle-class, Victorian England saw the development of a power model in which middle-class men, middle-class women and disenfranchised bodies of children and lower-class women suffered from the demands of bodily domination. Because the bodily health of middle-class men was believed to represent national health, it was imperative that he dominate his body, particularly with regard to sexual urges. Consequently, the bodies of women with whom he sought sexual release suffered from forms of bodily domination as well. Through an analysis of journals and private writings of those living in Victorian England, …

Grief And Bereavement Among College Students, Kaitlin E. Roberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impacts of grief and bereavement among undergraduate students enrolled at Abilene Christian University. Research indicates that bereavement is a significant matter in the lives of no less than 40% of the students on the campus (Balk, 2008). Grief and bereavement affects students holistically, impacting their emotional, cognitive, physical, social, and spiritual/religious state. Because of these impacts, it is extremely important for university faculty and administration to recognize the frequency of grief on campus. It is crucial for the university to understand how to respond to students who are grieving to ensure that we retain students. To …

Applying Situational Crime Prevention To Terrorism Against Airports And Aircrafts., Molly Mae Block

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation identifies the characteristics of terrorism against airports and aircrafts and the appropriate measures to prevent or reduce the damage of this crime. The situational crime prevention framework, incorporating routine activity theory, rational choice theory, and crime pattern theory, is used to identify techniques to reduce the opportunity for terrorism targeting airports and aircrafts. This study is a first attempt to determine which situational characteristics may be relevant in attacks specifically targeting airports or aircrafts. Data for this dissertation comes from the Global Terrorism Database and covers terrorist attacks targeting airports or aircrafts from 2002 to 2014. The sample …

Flushed, Virgilia K. Ellis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The artist describes the process and development of the work throughout her graduate career, relating them to the most recent works of her thesis exhibition. Topics discussed include experiences of beauty and themes of transformation. Contextual influences include the Rococo period as well as ideas and theories of Romanticism and the sublime. Histories and theories on representations of the body are also discussed.

The artist discusses her MFA thesis exhibition Flushed, at the Tipton Gallery in Johnson City, Tennessee, from April 13th to April 24th, 2015. Two painting installations, a sculptural installation, and a number of collages are included. Media …

Eleutheromania, Matthew Gallant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this creative nonfiction manuscript, the author attempts to examine and analyze the relevant aspects of his life in relation to the impact his hometown, the people in it, and his family had—continue to have—on him as an outsider living within those groups. While the collection of essays is mostly a memoir, the author also uses elements of contemporary journalism, poetry, music, and cultural criticism, to better relate to a wide yet specific audience: those familiar with the genre of creative nonfiction, although that familiarity is not a requirement for understanding. Reoccurring elements are: addiction, fitting in, family disputes, desire …

El Ghorba Fil Gharb: Conceptualizing Ethnic Identity With Saudi Women Graduate Students In The U.S., Katharina Barth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This narrative inquiry examined how ethnic identity is conceptualized in the stories of Saudi women students living and studying in the United States. This was done using theorists from the field of ethnic identity and enculturation research, as well as postcolonial feminist critique to address various layers of marginality and power relations. Participants included seven women enrolled as international students in graduate programs at two northeastern U.S. universities. Unstructured life-story interviews of 2 to 2.5 hrs. were conducted to elicit narratives of how the women positioned themselves ethnically and how they were positioned by their surrounding while living in the …

In The Non-Light, Katherine Lanel Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the Non-Light is a collection of personal essays. A few of the essays are elegies to loved ones who died from overdoses, suicides, and illnesses. Other essays look at what it means to be a woman in the world of dope and crime where the female body is seen as a commodity. Each essay works together to reveal how some people are drawn to both the darkness and the light, and end up having to stay in between. I do this through personal narratives of my life and my relationships with others. Whether it be in the gritty landscape …

Though I Know The River Is Dry, Victoria Campbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Though I Know the River is Dry is a place-oriented collection of short fiction. The included stories follow female protagonists as they struggle with identity, relationships, and place in the world. The women in these stories frequently grapple with the fear of being loved in the wrong way, often unearthing a deeper examination of what it means to be tethered to a person or a place, along with the ramifications of these ties. All tangentially related to the island of Martha's Vineyard, place serves as a grounding element in this collection, as well as an entity with which the women …

Go Ahead, Daytona, John Hughes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Go Ahead, Daytona is a collection of essays meant to explore the experiences and lessons learned through law enforcement. It juxtaposes hope with cynicism and encourages the reader to explore his or her own biases through the lens of a narrator believing police work is something to be lived down, rather than up. The essays depict struggles with hypocrisy, sex, homelessness, violence, moral ambiguity, and self-awareness.

Schools As Systems Of Care Supporting Mental Wellness In Schools: Teacher Perceptions And Roles, Tracy Lynn Scanlon Limegrover

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Schools lack a response system for effectively supporting student mental health needs and there is a substantial research to practice gap in this area. To better understand how to build capacity for schools, with and through teachers, the purpose of this study was to examine teachers' perceptions of current mental health needs in their schools; their knowledge and competencies about mental health issues as well as perceived competencies and barriers that contribute to burnout. Participants included 20 teachers from two local Pittsburgh area Catholic schools. Teachers reported they believe it is their job to support middle school student mental wellness …

Techno-Racism: Heidegger's Philosophy Of Technology And Critical Philosophies Of Race, James Michael Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Racism continues to be a pressing problem in Western Society. In some ways it even makes a great deal of sense to think about racism as a tool of political power. My dissertation explores the way in which racism is informed by the underlying social structure of whiteness, and the way that modern technology is informed by the underlying structure of the enframing. I draw on the works of George Yancy, and Cornel West to demonstrate that the everyday problems we face in racism are informed and guided by the systemic problem of whiteness. I then use the work of …

The Impact Of French Camp Academy On Child Abuse And Neglect, Ji Hoon Heo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Within the last few decades, child abuse and neglect has not improved in the United States. Government services provides facilities and licensed families for abused and neglected children, but children often do not adjust due to negative past experiences. However, there are other non-governmental programs that help counter child abuse and neglect. This research focuses on one student attending French Camp Academy, a Christian-based boarding school in central Mississippi, in order to shed light on possible ways to stop the vicious cycle that children go through. When children receive the acknowledgment and support from a parental figure, they are more …

Analysis Of Alternative Convoy Route Patrol Procedures For Countering Improvised Explosive Devices Deployed During Asymmetric Warfare In Afghanistan-Like Rural Settings, Larry Baca

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are the greatest casualty producing and costly weapon system employed by the enemy on the asymmetric battlefield of today. Despite Billions of dollars spent on technological devices to counter the IED threat, IEDs are still responsible for roughly 50% of battlefield casualties. A tremendous amount of effort and resource has and continues to be levied in the pursuit of a technological solution to the IED problem. By contrast, little research has been done on Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) procedures. This paper explores the potential of CIED procedures as a casualty reduction mechanism by comparing two …

Representation Of The American South In Marvel Comics, 1963-2016, Katherine Gill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My work tracks the role of the American South and Southern characters in Marvel Comics, from 1963 to 2016. This thesis spring from a simple question: how stereotypical does this Northern industry portray the American South? To achieve this goal, I read a lot of comics, applying literary theory (such as Patricia Yeager and Tara McPherson) as well as American cultural studies (1980s televangelism and the history of human trafficking in America) to my findings. After reading multiple comic books from multiple sources, I settled on four different texts, each with a unique approach to portraying the South: the portrayal …