Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority Commons^™

Evaluation Of The Gnpv Method For Decision-Making In Non-Conventional Projects, Ningning Song

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Engineering economic analysis techniques are used to evaluate projects and make appropriate decision in capital budgeting. Conventional projects can be solved by the traditional methods such as the net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) methods. These methods may not work in evaluating non-conventional projects. Kulakov and Kulakova (2012) have presented the generalized net present value (GNPV) method for such projects. They have illustrated the method with three examples: a project of 2-year life with multiple IRRs, a project of 2-year life without IRR, and a project of 3-year life with a unique real-valued IRR which is …

Alternative Ways To Enumerate Data On Race In Puerto Rico: Are Racial Segregation And Spatial Clustering More Evident When Using A Culturally Grounded Methodology?, Reuben Allen

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nationalist discourse concerning race in Puerto Rico generally states that residents are of the same racially mixed heritage—a combination of Spanish, West African, and indigenous ancestry of various degrees. However, literature and casual observations suggest that the population is characterized by greater variation in physical appearances than what is posited by “admixture” discourse. Moreover, and further complicating the understanding of race, 2010 U.S. Census data show that over 75 percent of Puerto Ricans self-identified as “White, alone”, and that only 3.3 percent of respondents indicated “Two or More Races.” Researchers, employers, and governmental agencies attempting to address or further analyze …

The Effects Of Reflective Prompts On Attention In Restorative And Non-Restorative Environments, Ryan Dumke

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan, 1995) posits that the prolonged use of directed attention results in directed attention fatigue and that exposure to environments with restorative properties leads to increased attentional capacities. Despite a great deal of evidence illustrating this effect, there has been little research into the specific mechanisms accounting for this effect, and no research examining what is occurring in the mind during the restorative process. Most researchers have operated on the assumption that the relaxation of directed attention faculties accounts for the effect of attention restoration, with little evidence to completely support this assumption. However, conflicting evidence suggests …

Effects Of The Interaction Of Religion And Internalized Homonegativity On Psychological Well-Being, Ashleigh C. Young

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of the current research is to contribute to knowledge regarding the ways in which religion impacts the mental health of lesbian women and gay men. A body of existing literature shows support for religion as a means of bolstering psychological well-being. However, there is a dearth of research on the unique ways in which religious sexual minority individuals may be differentially affected by religion, considering the presence of heterosexist beliefs and norms in many mainline Western religions. The current research explores the effects of the interaction between religion and internalized homonegativity on psychological well-being. Possible relationships between religious …

A New Mmpi-2 Measure Of Psychopathy: An Empirical Approach, Erin M. Greene

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to develop a new scale on the MMPI-2 to identify individuals with global psychopathy, as measured by the PCL-R. The study consisted of four smaller studies, including 1) derivation of the scale 2) cross-validation 3) external validation, 4) factor analysis. The derivation sample consisted of male prison inmates (N = 170) and a second sample of male prison inmates (N = 126) was utilized for cross-validation. A third sample of male and female college students (N = 308) was utilized for the purpose of correlating the developed scale with existing measures of personality …

Ptsd And Disclosure: Understanding The Implications Of Personality, Jena Wierwille

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite decades of research outlining the onset, course, and treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the question of why some, but not others, develop the disorder remains unanswered. One of the most widely accepted predictors of the disorder is the presence of negative posttraumatic cognitions. However, because the term “posttraumatic” implies a retrospective prediction, the clinical utility of this finding is relatively insignificant; it does not allow for the identification of those most at risk for developing PTSD prior to trauma exposure. A more promising area of research concerns the degree to which individuals feel comfortable discussing their thoughts and …

Development Of An Optimal Lean Six Sigma Model, James Taylor

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lean six sigma is a hybrid continuous improvement methodology that is not standardized and is not well understood. A review of literature found that the spectrum of lean six sigma approaches extends from those that are lean dominant to those that are six sigma dominant. This research illuminated the lean six sigma methodology by methodically assessing the literature via text mining and cluster analysis. Text mining was used to establish the degree to which lean six sigma models, as described in articles published in the International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, are lean dominant versus six sigma dominant. The iterative …

Framing Identity: Repudiating The Ideal In Chicana Literature, Michael A. Flores

All NMU Master's Theses

In the 1960s Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez penned his now canonical, epic poem “I Am Joaquin.” The poem chronicles the historic oppression of a transnational, Mexican people as well as revolutionary acts of their forefathers in resisting tyranny. Coinciding with a series of renewed, sociopolitical campaigns, collectively known as the Chicano Movement, Gonzales’ poem uses vivid imagery to present an idealized representation of Chicanos and encouraged his reader to engage in revolutionary action. Though the poem encourages strong leadership, upward mobility, and political engagement the representations of women in his text are misogynistic and limiting.

His presentation of the “black-shawled …

Moderating Effects Of Religious Orientation On The Relationship Between Sexual Self-Discrepancies And Guilt And Anxiety, Ann E. Jones

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined the moderating effect of religious orientation on the relationship between sexual self-discrepancies and guilt. There is some evidence of a positive correlation between sex-guilt and higher levels of religiosity. In this study it was proposed that sex-guilt in religious individuals is partially driven by discrepancies between actual sexual behaviors and how the individual thinks that they ought or ideally should behave. In order to test this idea a survey was administered to 151 undergraduate students to assess religious orientation, actual, ought, and ideal sexual behaviors, and sex guilt. Gender differences were found in reporting intrinsic religiosity, …

Urban Flash Flood Risk Assessment And Inundation Model Utilizing Gis For Terre Haute, Indiana, Zachary Scott Ishman

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Use of ArcGIS to examine flash flooding variables and produce a flash flood risk assessment and inundation model for Terre Haute, Indiana. Risk assessment, produced within ArcGIS, indicates that an increase in developed area leads to an increase in very high flash flood risk area and majority of very high risk area resides in developed areas of Terre Haute. Inundation model, produced using ArcGIS and Python, indicates that the proposed model can determine locations of flash flooding, but spatial extent of model predicted flooding is not reliable based on field validation.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, And Disorders Of Extreme Stress, Not Otherwise Specified; A Vignette Study Exploring Va And Private Sector Clinicians’ Diagnostic Perceptions, Sara B. Lacy

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due to the role of trauma in the etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), borderline personality disorder (BPD), and disorders of extreme stress, not otherwise specified (DESNOS), and noted similar clinical pictures, it is important to explore differential diagnosis. There is evidence that gender influences the diagnosis of PTSD and BPD and of an “anchoring effect” in which disclosure of childhood trauma early versus late in a case vignette results in more diagnoses of PTSD or BPD, respectively. Additionally, as many veterans seek care within the private sector, it is important to understand possible diagnostic differences between VA and private …

The Influence Of Literacy On The Lives Of Twentieth Century Southern Female Minority Figures, Laura Leighann Dicks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The American South has long been a region associated with myth and fantasy; in popular culture especially, the region is consistently tied to skewed notions of the antebellum South that include images of large plantation homes, women in hoop skirts, and magnolia trees that manifest in television and film representations such as Gone With the Wind (1939). Juxtaposed with these idealized, mythic images is the hillbilly trope, reinforced by radio shows such as Lum and Abner, and films such as Scatterbrain (1940). Out of this idea comes the southern illiteracy stereotype, which suggests that southerners are collectively unconcerned with education …

Pursuing The Universal Particular, Sally Baker

Colby Magazine

Teaching with passion and precision, Cedric Bryant demonstrates that, like politics, all literature is local.

A Study On What Factors Influence Teachers To Remain In The Teaching Profession, Louis S. Jensen Jr.

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the employment factors that schools have control over and how teachers and administrators perceive these factors to have the most effect in influencing teachers to remain in the profession. This study was conducted by administering a survey to public school building administrators and public school teachers in Indiana. Teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions were measured on what reasons a teacher (hypothetically) might leave the profession. A total of 2,219 teachers and 208 building administrators submitted complete responses to the Teacher Retention Survey. The Teacher Retention Survey was developed by this researcher to quantitatively …

To Be A Man: A Re-Assessment Of Black Masculinity In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun And Les Blancs, Julie M. Burrell

English Faculty Publications

The first Black woman to pen a Broadway play, Lorraine Hansberry scripted a majority of male protagonists. Critics tend to see Hansberry’s depiction of Black men as either an unfortunate departure from her feminist concerns, or as damaging representations of Black masculinity. In contrast to such views, this essay maps the trajectory of Hansberry’s career-long project of scripting positive visions of Black masculinity, from the politically progressive, while still patriarchal, structures of masculinity in A Raisin in the Sun, to the heterogeneous performances of revolutionary masculinity in Les Blancs. Further, in her role as public intellectual, Hansberry questioned prevailing assumptions …

An Investigation Into The Traits Of And Strategies Used By Highly Effective Teachers, Stephanie J. Ciolli-Stewart

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the traits of and strategies used by highly effective teachers. Two research questions were presented in this study: What are the traits of highly effective teachers? and What strategies are used by highly effective teachers? Elementary school principals in the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation in Evansville, Indiana, were asked to recommend one to two highly effective teachers. After a thorough review of principal recommendations, participants were considered based upon gender, years of experience, and grade level or subject area taught. Once the participant selection process concluded, dates for six onsite classroom observations …

A Qualitative Study Of Nursing Living-Learning Communities, Renee Noel Bauer

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Living-learning communities, although not a novel concept, have been known to promote student performance and a sense of collegiality. Because nursing is essential to the medical profession, nursing student retention and pass rates are of paramount importance. Attrition tends to happen to nursing students in their first formative years (Newton & Moore, 2009). Therefore, this study was conducted to explore findings associated with living arrangements and residential factors promoting and deterring retention. Although most studies on this topic have utilized quantitative methods, this qualitative comparative case study, involving two universities in Indiana during the winter of 2014, examined the personal …

‘My Freedom Is A Privilege Which Nothing Else Can Equal’: The Life And Writings Of Venture Smith And Phillis Wheatley, American Slaves, Donald Holmes Ii

Honors Theses

Slavery in the United States was an evolving institution that lasted nearly 400 years. To understand the colonial era of slavery within the United States, I examine the life and times of Venture Smith, as documented in his autobiography, A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, A Native of Africa (1798), and that of Phillis Wheatley using The Collected Works of Phillis Wheatley (1988). Both Smith and Wheatley were African-born slaves brought to America during the eighteenth century. In Smith’s narrative, he concludes by proclaiming “my freedom is a privilege which nothing else can equal” (31). This statement …

“The Impossible That Is Going To Happen”: The Denial Of Death In Roth’S Zuckerman Books, Matthew P. Germenis

Honors Theses

Since Philip Roth’s official retirement from fiction writing after the publication of his last novel in 2010, scholars have embarked on a major reassessment of Roth’s oeuvre. This analysis is a reassessment of Roth’s Nathan Zuckerman series, which includes nine novels beginning with The Ghost Writer (1979) and ending in Exit Ghost (2007). While much has been written on The Ghost Writer and its inclusion of a character that is believed to be Anne Frank, scholars have overlooked the beginning of a major theme in Roth’s work. The emphasis is often placed on Roth’s engagement with history, the Holocaust, and …

Detection Methods For Small Analytes: Improvement Of Novel Spr Technology Detection Of Toxins And Toxicants, William B. Ollayos

Honors Scholar Theses

Humans are exposed to a variety of toxic substances in their day-to-day activities that may have adverse health effects if not properly identified. An integrated dual-mode instrument that combines grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance (GCSPR) and grating-coupled surface plasmon coupled emissions (GCSPCE) should allow for the efficient detection of toxic analytes in a high-content system using gold-coated superparamagnetic nanobeads. The goal of this study is to validate the binding characteristics of the reagents intrinsic to this innovative assay methodology. Competition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assays were conducted on NNK toxicants and SEB toxins, which were the …