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Deserts Will Bloom: Atomic Agriculture And The Promise Of Radioactive Redemption, Chris Fite

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the rhetorical and visual strategies used in marketing atomic agriculture to the American public from the 1940s to the 1960s. The term “atomic agriculture” refers to various agricultural research programs that used radioactive materials, particularly radioisotope tracing and mutation breeding. In print and on screen, atomic boosters from government and industry offered the promise of a better world made possible by applying atomic energy to agriculture. I argue that the proponents of atomic agriculture combined futurism and nostalgia to create a techno-pastoral vision. They hearkened back to the nineteenth century while simultaneously imagining a bright postwar future. …

Kant, The Natural Law, And The Question Of Normativity In Catholic Ethics, John Robert Crowley-Buck

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the question of normativity in 21st century Catholic ethical reflection. While, today, the natural law tradition frames and founds the normative question in Catholic ethics in terms of the imago Dei, this project explores the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant and the challenge it presents to the natural law's claim to normativity. Specifically, this dissertation argues that in Kant's ethics, the normative question is answered in terms of the dignity of humanity, rather than the imago Dei, and that the dignity of humanity is a more relevant, shareable, and normative grounding for ethical reflection. To this end, …

Embodiment Of Empathy: Experiencing Disease Through Design, Noha Fouad

Theses and Dissertations

Today, more than 400 million individuals around the world have diabetes. This number is expected to grow to more than 600 million by 2023. However, diabetes is more than just a statistic. It is an incurable, psychologically nuanced disease, with daily battles and far-reaching complications. The lives of those afflicted undergo permanent physical and psychological changes.

Reading the stories of diabetics, or hearing them share their experience may elicit an immediate yet often fleeting sense of realization. How, then, can this brief moment of awareness be prolonged? How can a non-diabetic feel diabetes? More importantly, why should they? This research …

Gvsu Undergraduate And Graduate Catalog, 2016-2017, Grand Valley State University

Course Catalogs, 1963 - Current

Grand Valley State University 2016-2017 undergraduate and/or graduate course catalog published annually to provide students with information and guidance for enrollment.

Mother Making: How First Time Mothers Develop A Parenting Practice In Contemporary America, Stephanie A. Wright

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

History has shown, time and again, that parenting practices in America change in the face of important social, political, cultural and ideological transitions. Such influences are often concealed, but nonetheless greatly impact not only the way mothers parent their children but also how they think of themselves in their mothering role. Historical and feminist scholars have helped to elucidate how broad historical legacies and current ideologies, such as patriarchy, capitalism, neoliberalism, and feminism itself, continue to shape dominant discursive understandings about motherhood. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, eight first time mothers from mostly white, middle class, educated and full time working …

Distribution Of And Relationship Between Medically Classified Weight And Self-Perceived Body Size Across Sexual Orientation: An Add Health Analysis, Ashley J. Strauss

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Rates of overweight and obesity have reached epidemic status in the United States and better understanding and treatment of obesity is vital to our success in ending this national trend. Current understanding of special populations informs us sexual minority women are at a higher risk of overweight and obesity. This study sets out to verify this using a nationally representative sample population in a fixed factor blocked ANOVA, controlling for common confounding variables shown to be strong influences of overweight and obesity. Next, the relationship between self-perceived body size and medically classified body size will be compared across sexual orientation …

Perceptions Of Infertility Among Arab Women In The U.S, Zena Hamdan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Infertility is a serious public health issue. Infertile couples may perceive infertility differently based on their own cultural background. There is a paucity of literature about how infertility is perceived among Arab women living in the United States. The purpose of this study was to be able to understand how Arab women who live in Dearborn, Michigan feel about infertility and to understand their concerns and worries about their health status. The primary research questions asked Arab women how they perceive infertility and how infertility may impact their future. This qualitative case study was guided by the social support theory …

Influence Of Mothers-In-Law On Infant Feeding Practices Of Mothers Living With Hiv In Rural Cameroon, Kenneth Ngwambokong Muko

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mothers living with HIV (MLHIV) face complex challenges regarding infant feeding practices, which often restrict their ability to adhere to their chosen or medically recommended feeding behaviors. Mothers-in-law (MIL) enjoy significant influence and participate actively in the rearing of grandchildren in Cameroon. However, the extent to which MIL influence infant feeding behaviors of their daughters-in-law have not been studied. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) was used in this phenomenological study to explore how attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control influenced infant feeding practices of 9 MLHIV in rural communities of the North West Region of Cameroon. The five …

Why Fish Do Not Feel Pain, Brian Key

Animal Sentience

Only humans can report feeling pain. In contrast, pain in animals is typically inferred on the basis of nonverbal behaviour. Unfortunately, these behavioural data can be problematic when the reliability and validity of the behavioural tests are questionable. The thesis proposed here is based on the bioengineering principle that structure determines function. Basic functional homologies can be mapped to structural homologies across a broad spectrum of vertebrate species. For example, olfaction depends on olfactory glomeruli in the olfactory bulbs of the forebrain, visual orientation responses depend on the laminated optic tectum in the midbrain, and locomotion depends on pattern generators …

Fish And Pain: The Politics Of Doubt, Dinesh Joseph Wadiwel

Animal Sentience

The commentaries on Key’s (2016) target article make it clear that there is a great deal of doubt about Key’s thesis that fish do not feel pain. The political question therefore is about how we should respond to doubt. If the thesis of Key and others (that fish do not feel pain) is wrong, then the negative impact for fish in terms of suffering caused by human utilisation would be extreme. In the face of this doubt, the very least we can do is to adopt basic welfare precautions to mitigate the potential impact if fish do suffer, with attention …

Zoetic Fitness, Brooke S. Fremeau

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Graphic design is a problem-solving field. A client or company tasks a designer with a problem, and to solve that problem the designer uses 2D fundamentals and technology. As a designer, one must carefully listen to the client to understand their needs before making design decisions. While graphic designers are responsible for creating stunning visuals for both print and digital media, one of the most important aspects of graphic design is branding. Broadly speaking, branding is the process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product or service in a consumers mind. Through branding, the designer aims …

Book Reviews

The Bridge

No abstract provided.

Asia Pacific Perspectives Vol. 14 No. 1, Fall 2016, University Of San Francisco

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Contents:

Editor's Introduction by Melissa Dale

This special issue presents five papers focused on themes related to the social history of medicine and contemporary cultural understandings of disease and patients' lived experiences in the Asia Pacific.

Rethinking Breast Mountain (Yuam): Surgical Treatments of Breast Cancer in South Korea, 1959-1993 by Soyoung Suh

This article analyzes premodern Korean medical treatises, professional surgical journals, and patient memoirs to expand our understanding of surgical treatment of breast cancer between 1959 and 1993 in South Korea. This essay discusses changing historical connotations of breast ailments, treatments, and surgical interventions. Although the depiction of breast …

Should Fish Feel Pain? A Plant Perspective, František Baluška

Animal Sentience

Key (2016) claims fish that fish do not feel pain because they lack the necessary neuronal architecture: their responses to noxious stimuli, according to Key, are executed automatically without any feelings. However, as pointed out by many of his commentators, this conclusion is not convincing. Plants might provide some clues. Plants are not usually thought to be very active behaviorally, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Moreover, in stressful situations, plants produce numerous chemicals that have painkilling and anesthetic properties. Finally, plants, when treated with anesthetics, cannot execute active behaviors such as touch-induced leaf movements or rapid trap closures after localizing …

Perceptions Of Immunizations As Health Prevention Among Female Mexican Immigrants In Oklahoma, Jennifer Doyle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research on health prevention behaviors of Mexican immigrant mothers regarding immunizations has been limited. As of 2014, Hispanics or Latinos comprised 9.6% of the population of the state of Oklahoma and were the largest minority group within Oklahoma. This minority population has continued to grow at a rapid rate in Oklahoma. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of immunizations held by Mexican immigrants who are mothers residing in Oklahoma. The aim of this study was to identify their perceived risk of contracting a vaccine-preventable disease if not immunized and knowledge of immunizations as a health prevention …

2016 Annual Reports And Resolutions, American Dental Association

ADA Transactions

This item is part of the Annual Reports and Resolutions subtitle of the ADA Transactions, a serial publication of the annual activities of the ADA House of Delegates (HOD)/Board of Trustees (BOT) made up of three separate subtitles: Annual Reports and Resolutions, Supplements, and Transactions. Generally, the ADA Transactions are published in multiple volumes throughout the year. Older versions include reports from all departments as subsections, while more recent versions include only those of councils, commissions, and committees.

An Investigation Of Irish Culinary History Through Manuscript Cookbooks, With Particular Reference To The Gentry Of County Kilkenny (1714-1830), Dorothy Cashman

Doctoral

This thesis argues that Irish culinary manuscripts have a significant contribution to make to an understanding of Irish culinary history. It does so by identifying one particular manuscript, NLI MS 34,952 (Baker) as being representative of the genre but singular in terms of the archival and literary support available for an in-depth study. Analysis of the manuscript is undertaken using a methodology devised by the culinary historian Wheaton for researchers attending her workshops at Radcliffe College, Harvard. In these workshops Wheaton studies historic cookbooks to ascertain what these complex texts can reveal by breaking them down into five categories, that …

An Obesity Needs Assessment With African American Adults In Central Virginia, Nicole Michelle Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The risk for obesity is especially prevalent among African American adults in Central Virginia, who have one of the highest rates of obesity in the nation. Efforts to address obesity in African American adults through diet, weight reduction, and increased physical activity in settings such as schools, worksites, healthcare organizations, churches, and communities, are among the initiatives of Healthy People 2020. The objective of this project, conducted with 91 African American adults (33 females and 58 males) in central Virginia, was to complete a community needs assessment that related to obesity among members of an African American church. The needs …

Health Care Professionals' Perceptions Of Media Influence On Eating Disorder-Related Factors Among African American Women, Erica Hudson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Little is known about health care professionals' perceptions of eating disorder etiology among African American (AA) women. The purpose of this quantitative research study was to examine the associations among health care professionals' race, cultural awareness, and perceptions of media influence on eating disorder-related factors in AA women. Festigner's social comparison theory; Bandura's social learning theory; and Garcia, Cartwright, Winston, and Borzuchowska's transcultural integrative model served as the theoretical frameworks for this study. Specifically, this study examined whether race and cultural awareness of health care professionals relate to their perceptions of the extent to which media influences AA women's eating …

Improving Child Welfare: African Canadian Youth's Postcare Options, Irene Elizabeth Mcintosh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Thousands of youth exit Ontario's Child Welfare System (CWS) each year and perform poorly after returning to the community. However, understanding African Canadian youths' perspectives about their experiences and needs was problematic because no outcome data was available in the Canadian database. Using a phenomenological design grounded in a constructivist framework, the purpose of this study was to explore the meaning(s) that African Canadian youth ascribed to positive outcomes on exiting the CWS. A purposeful sample included 10 participants (6 females and 4 males, ranging in age from 19-24). The data collection method was face-to-face interviews with hand coding used …

The Gender-Responsive Approach For The Female Delinquent, Jeanette Alexandria Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of females arrested for violent crimes has increased. The juvenile justice system continues to be challenged with developing gender-based treatment strategies to accommodate female delinquents. The purpose of this study was to examine probation officers' perceptions of the treatment provided for female delinquents and its ability to rehabilitate, reduce recidivism, and promote successful transition among female delinquents. The framework of this study encompassed the feminist theory from a criminology perspective. Data collection included interviews with 5 probation officers in El Paso County's Juvenile Justice Detention Center. Interviews were reviewed to generate a summary of relevancy. Themes and codes …

Exploring An African American Principal's Cultural Leadership Effects On Closing The Achievement Gap, Doristine Cornelius

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Closing the achievement gap is a key concern for educational leaders. Research has indicated that principals’ actions directly and indirectly influence student learning. The purpose of this case study was to explore cultural leadership in an urban Mississippi high school from an African American’s racialized perspective. The cultural competency/proficiency theory provided the conceptual framework for this study. Successful leadership practices of this African American principal were examined through the principal and through the perceptions of teachers and the assistant administrator. A researcher-developed questionnaire was content validated and given to a purposeful sample of 17 individuals: the principal, assistant principal, and …

Risk Factors For Hypertension Among African-Born Immigrants In The United States, John Ojih

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Essential hypertension (HTN) has been and continues to be a serious public health problem across the globe, particularly among Black races, with an estimated morbidity rate of over 1 billion people and an estimated mortality rate of 9.4 million people worldwide. Essential HTN can lead to a host of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, myocardial infarction, brain damage, kidney failure, and retinopathy. The main purpose of this quantitative, descriptive, nonexperimental study was to investigate the association of physical inactivity, length of stay in the United States, immigrants' health status, and food security as risk indicators in the development …

The Perception Of Obesity Among African American Women 35 Years And Older In Houston, Texas, Bernadette Ebere Osuji

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As obesity has reached an epidemic level, the female population age 35 years and older is struggling with increased risks of death from type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers. The purpose of this study was to explore the perception of overweight and obesity among African American women 35 years and older in Houston, Texas. A phenomenological approach was adopted for this study to explore the perception of overweight and obesity among African American women 35 years and older in Houston, Texas. This study was also guided by the Health Belief Model as a conceptual framework …

Rural Obese African American Women And Depression, Food Culture, And Binge Eating, Tracee Tamiko Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rural African American population has a high incidence of severe psychosocial problems and a skewed perception of obesity, despite obesity's extremely high prevalence rate in this population. Despite the acknowledgements of these problems, there is a gap in literature relative to the effective treatments for obese African Americans diagnosed with depression. This study measured correlations between obesity and depression, binge eating, and food culture amongst African American women residing in Jefferson County, MS. The health belief model was used to guide an assessment of beliefs, perceptions, susceptibility, cues to action, and self-efficacy. A cross-sectional design was used based on …

A Multiple Case Study On Leader Support, Breastfeeding, And Work Commitment, Lisa Marie Rancourt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, over 50% of women return to paid work after becoming mothers. Mothers who breastfeed are more likely to stop working than peers who chose to use infant formula. The purpose of this research was to explore work commitment among new mothers during the first year of their infant's life. Many of these mothers had skills that were imperative to organizational success, making their retention a priority. The relationship between leadership support for dual roles as mothers and employees had not received attention previously in the literature. This multiple case study analyzed the perceptions of new mothers …

Adventist Affiliation And Type 2 Diabetes Pre- And Post-Complete Health Improvement Program (Chip), Janie Unruh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adventists following a plant-based diet have half the prevalence and incidence of type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarian Adventists. This study used a quantitative, correlational study design to assess if there was a significant difference in type 2 diabetes prevalence rate between Adventists and non-Adventists preprogram, and if there were significant differences in biometrics between Adventists and non-Adventists with diabetes pre- and post-Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP). This study incorporated the social ecological model for its conceptual framework and examined pre- and postprogram changes among Adventists (n=210; 20.1%) and non-Adventists (n=836; 79.9%) with type 2 diabetes. It used secondary data from …

The Push For Plus: How A Small Part Of The Fashion Industry Hopes To Make Big Changes To The Plus-Size Women’S Fashion Market, Alexa Pipia

Capstones

67 percent of the American female population is plus-size, yet 85 percent of the clothing sold to women in the country does not fit them and is not created with them in mind. A select group of designers, stylists, models, modeling agencies, and students are taking initiative on how to take the stigma out of plus-size fashion.

Ethical Discourse And Narrative Strategies In Yan's老师，好美 (To My Teacher, With Love), Zhuo Wang

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Ethical Discourse and Narrative Strategies in Yan's老师，好美 (To My Teacher, with Love)" Zhuo Wang discusses the way in which narrative converges with ethics at the site of a radical "ethical environment" in Geling Yan's novel. Wang focuses on how the novel's first-person confessional narration, third-person reflective narration, and online narration dialogue with and interrogate one another working together to bring forth Yan's reconsideration of the ethical dimensions of her text. Wang argues that the novel's personal and social ethics are embodied multiple narrative voices which altogether reflect on the close relationship between novels and ethical discourse …

Family Studies Graduates With National Honors, College Of Education And Human Development

Family and Consumer Sciences News

Jerry Phelps, a family studies student who graduated in fall 2015, is one of 29 students from across the country graduating with National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) honors.