Digital Commons Network^™

Spatial Patterns In Anthropomorphic Fremont Rock Imagery Of Central Utah, Alyssa Pitts Merrill

Theses and Dissertations

Rock imagery from the late Fremont period (1000-1300 AD) has captivated the interest of both professional and avocational researchers for the past century. In this thesis, I apply a highly systematized method of cataloguing and analysis to 482 anthropomorphs from Clear Creek Canyon (CCC) and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (GSENM). The primary theoretical assumption in this thesis is that the shapes used in anthropomorphic imagery convey ideas about how the Fremont saw people. I therefore recorded the head and body morphology and presence of arms, legs, and genitalia of each anthropomorph. By observing the data spatially, I discovered both …

Biodiversity Conservation In Western China With Scientific And Technological Support: Current Status, Challenges, And Suggestions, Fuwen Wei, Hang Sun, Jiaojun Zhu, Baoguo Li, Gexia Qiao, Shilong Chen, Jiang Zhu, Xiaoge Ping

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

As a megadiverse country, China has made significant progress in biodiversity conservation in recent years. The western region is a critical area for biodiversity conservation in China, boasting rich species resources and a high proportion of endemic species. However, its ecosystems are fragile and vulnerable to the impacts of multiple factors like climate change and human activities. Scientific and technological support has played a vital supporting role in biodiversity conservation, providing comprehensive support from monitoring and assessment to restoration and decision-making through biodiversity surveys, scientific research, and the establishment of monitoring networks. Nevertheless, challenges remain, including gaps in taxa and …

Uncovering The Dynamic Nature Of Fire Refugia Across Landscapes In Oregon's Western Cascades, Alec Scott Dyer

Dissertations and Theses

With increased fire activity, the presence of fire refugia is critical to support forest resiliency and mitigate large-scale vegetation conversion, however, the persistence of fire refugia within burn perimeters over time is uncertain. This study examines the dynamic nature of fire refugia by mapping the decline in forest cover over time, identifying spatiotemporal patch- and landscape-scale patterns and the biophysical drivers of delayed mortality following the 2020 Labor Day Fires occurring in Oregon’s western Cascades. After three years post-fire, delayed mortality accounted for an additional 8.5% of forest loss (total of 24,147 hectares in all five burns) compared to pre-fire …

Evangelicals As Zionists And Peacemakers In Arab And Israeli Peacemaking Through Track Ii Diplomacy, Johnnie Moore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative study contributes to the literature at the intersection of religion and foreign policy by focusing on one of the modern era's most protracted and relevant foreign policy issues (the conflict between Israelis and Arabs), the influence of one of America’s most powerful religious constituencies (evangelicals), and one of the most widely used tools of non- governmental diplomacy (Track II diplomacy). It provides original research related to the relevancy of Track II diplomacy by evangelicals, specifically pro-Israel or “Zionist” evangelicals, in Israeli and Arab peacemaking. The study analyzes three relevant case studies to answer the research question: “How are …

A Qualitative Descriptive Study Of Therapists And Their Work With Socially Isolated Female Victims Of Sexual Violence Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic, Iris Lazette Saldivar

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to assess the experiences of therapists and the descriptions of their navigation processes while working with female victims of sexual violence who were socially isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic in the state of Texas. The theory that guided this study was the theoretical framework of loneliness, social isolation, and associated health outcomes. The research study focuses on two research questions that sought to examine the experiences and navigation of virtual treatment of therapists who provided counseling during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 to March 2022. This study sought to find a …

Development Of A Serious Game As A Natural Hazard Planning Decision Support Tool, Jody A. Thompson

Journal of Extension

As coastal populations grow, so does the exposure to natural hazards such as hurricanes and flooding, creating the potential for increased social and economic disasters. The literature indicates coastal residents remain complacent when planning before, during, and after an event. There is a growing successful use of serious games in natural resources planning, and a growth in the use of digital and electronic games. We developed the serious digital game Plan for It! in response to identified needs and to capitalize on the public’s familiarity with gamification and digital gaming.

The Relationship Between Therapists' Belief About Exposure-Based Therapies, Anxiety, And Religious Faith: A Quantitative Study, Leslie Marie Gordon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Professional therapists are vital in society, providing mental health care for individuals and families. However, therapists can experience mental health diagnoses as well, which may affect what therapeutic techniques they use with clients. Exposure-based therapies (EBTs) are an effective therapeutic technique for anxiety disorder, yet professional therapists underutilize them. Research demonstrated that religious faith affects the counseling relationship, although no research was identified as exploring the relationship between therapists’ religious faith, personal anxiety level, and belief in using EBTs in their practices. This quantitative, descriptive, correlational study utilized PROCESS Model 1 and sought to fill this gap in the literature. …

Evidence-Based Practices For Military-Connected Students With Disruptive Behaviors Receiving Response To Intervention/Section 504 Services: School Counselors' Attitudes And Theoretical Orientation, Eddie Benitez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This cross-sectional quantitative study compares primary and secondary counselors’ attitudes and theoretical orientation for evidence-based practices for military-connected students with disruptive behaviors receiving Response to Intervention and Section 504 services in Texas. This study is paramount for military-connected students with disruptive behaviors in closing gaps in academic performance, social-emotional skills, social justice, and multiculturalism in education. Military-connected students with disruptive behaviors confront the risk of not receiving evidence-based interventions through school services due to school counselors’ practices and theoretical approach. The researcher used a quantitative cross-sectional method and three analyses: Pearson r correlation, Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), ANOVA, and …

Assessing Effects Of Climate And Technology Uncertainties In Large Natural Resource Allocation Problems, Jevgenijs Steinbuks, Yongyang Cai, Jonas Jaegermeyr, Thomas W. Hertel

Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

The productivity of the world's natural resources is critically dependent on a variety of highly uncertain factors, which obscure individual investors and governments that seek to make long-term, sometimes irreversible, investments in their exploration and utilization. These dynamic considerations are poorly represented in disaggregated resource models, as incorporating uncertainty into large-dimensional problems presents a challenging computational task. In this paper, we apply the SCEQ algorithm (Cai and Judd, 2023) to solve a large-scale dynamic stochastic global land resource use problem with stochastic crop yields due to adverse climate impacts and limits on further technological progress. For the same model parameters …

From Guns To Intimate Partner Violence: The Impact Of Power And Control, Meaghan E. Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gun violence and intimate partner violence are pervasive public health concerns across the globe. Notably, previous literature has shown a positive relationship between gun ownership and intimate partner violence (IPV), even when a gun is not used during acts of IPV. Despite this established link, few studies to date have explored psychological mechanisms, especially feelings of and desire for power, that could explain this relationship among young men. Given that college students remain one of the most at-risk groups for both victimization and perpetration of IPV, examining the relationship between actual or intended gun ownership and IPV could close vital …

Understanding Political Rigidity: Exploring The Epistemic Underpinnings Of Political Ideology, Chad Mitchel Osteen

Dissertations

The ideology as motivated social cognition model conceptualizes conservatism in terms of two unique constructs: political conservatism and psychological conservatism. The former pertains to a predisposition to specific ideological beliefs (e.g., resistance to change), while the latter pertains to the psychological traits that are associated with particular ideologies (e.g., negativity bias). Experimental research demonstrates the mechanistic relationship of epistemic motivations and emergent political behavior. Much of the evidence lies in explicitly ideological outcomes. The current proposal seeks to test the fundamental assumption in this body of work. This is the assumption that increased epistemic motivation should lead to a preference …

A Small Light For The Road: The Lived Experience Of Mhpss Trainers In Northern Iraq, Sarah Mathis Nowery

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experience of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) trainers of lay workers and paraprofessionals in Northern Iraq. One central research question, followed by three subquestions, was used to frame this study: What are the lived experiences of MHPSS trainers for lay workers and paraprofessionals in Northern Iraq? How do participants describe the challenges they faced providing training to lay workers and paraprofessionals in Northern Iraq? How do participants describe their students’ greatest needs? How do participants describe the tools, trainings, and techniques they identify as helpful? The wicked problem …

Pastoral Prose And Civic Engagement: Crafting The Call To The Public Square, Christopher Ian Thoma

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis explores the relationship between creative writing techniques employed by pastors and congregational engagement in the public square. The central thesis posits that if pastors incorporate creative writing methods in extended weekly communications with congregants, then the necessary factors for engagement in the public square will be fostered, leading to attitudinal shifts demonstrated by increased congregational interest or participation in civil affairs. Through an extensive literature review, the thesis fairly examines historical and contemporary views of church and state, the Two Kingdoms doctrine, concepts relative to public square participation, Christianity’s waning cultural influence, communication science, developmental theory, literature familiarity, …

Catching The Unlikely Gambler : How And Why Gacha Games Appeal To Conscientious Consumers, Jingyi Zhang

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

Gacha games, often featuring Japanese anime-style characters and designs, are characterized by their eponymous gacha mechanics, wherein players obtain random virtual items using in game currency purchasable with real-world money. While scoring significant market success, gacha games are frequently likened to gambling by critics due to their chance-based purchase system. Despite this gambling-like feature, here we identify a paradoxical attraction of gacha games for individuals high in conscientiousness, a trait typically linked to self-discipline and gambling aversion. Through five behavioral experiments involving actual gacha game players, we consistently found that higher conscientiousness correlates with increased gacha game engagement, as captured …

Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 113, 2nd Quarter 2024, National Defense University Press

Joint Force Quarterly

JFQ is certainly the Chairman’s journal, but it exists solely to give voice to you and your ideas on the joint force, jointness in general, and how best to fight and win our Nation’s wars and secure the peace. For over 30 years, the best and brightest among us have sustained the dialogue within these pages, whether physical or virtual. Help us continue this great tradition by sending us your articles and adding to the growing body of knowledge that is Joint Force Quarterly.

Taking Cues From Complexity: How Complex Adaptive Systems Prepare For All-Domain Operations, Benjamin Selzer

Joint Force Quarterly

How can a complex adaptive systems (CAS) model guide a Service when facing future challenges at the individual and Service/institutional levels? This article provides recommendations on how to address these challenges taken from the study of CAS. These studies can inform efforts to develop doctrine, education, training, planning, and eventual implementation of joint all-domain operations (JADO) doctrine.

Improving Academic Engagement And Task Completion Using Antecedent Physical Exercise In An Elementary School Classroom, Grace N. Maxwell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effectiveness of antecedent physical activity interventions in enhancing academic engagement and task completion among first-grade students displaying off-task behaviors. The research involved three student participants from a first grade general education classroom. An ABAB reversal design was used to assess the impact of the intervention. The intervention, implemented by the classroom teacher, consisted of short, structured physical activities conducted before targeted academic periods. Results revealed significant improvements in both academic engagement and task completion following the implementation of the physical activity interventions. The findings suggest that incorporating brief physical activities into daily classroom routines can lead …

A Modelled Estimate Of Food Access Within Countries Shows That Inequality Within Countries Has Increased Despite Rising Equality Between Countries, Juan Diego Martinez, Navin Ramankutty, Zia Mehrabi, Tom W. Hertel

Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

Global food calorie supply per person is more than 2900 kcal per day on average, but we have failed to ensure equitable access to these calories. Yet how uneven food access is within countries has remained poorly understood, as has the progress made over the past five decades on closing the access gap. Using publicly available data, we developed a theoretically-grounded statistical model to estimate the cross-national relationship between average per capita expenditure and per capita food availability and used this to estimate within-country access to food for income deciles in 135 countries. We find that, from 1961 to 2013, …

Variegated Order: Making Space For Neurodiverse Perspectives In Archives, Sophie Penniman

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

This article aims to envision how archives could better reflect and represent neurodivergent records creators—people whose brains function in ways that diverge significantly from dominant societal standards of “normal". It discusses how neurodivergent records creators and their recordkeeping behaviors often do not fit within traditional archival paradigms which center verbal, written, and linear documents in specific organizational systems. The article then brings together sources from disability studies, feminist and gender studies, library studies, literary analysis, and archival scholarship to imagine ways in which the principle of provenance could be expanded to fit the archives of neurodiverse creators (and archives that …

Graduate Students' E-Book Awareness And Usage At A Public Research University In The U.S.A., Denise Brush, Daniel G. Kipnis

Libraries Scholarship

Purpose

This study aims to understand the level of graduate students’ awareness and usage of e-books purchased by the authors’ university library since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors created a Qualtrics survey with 13 questions that was sent to the university’s graduate student email list. The survey was sent in the fall of 2023 and was open for one month. The list had 3,318 subscribers; 113 complete responses were received, for a response rate of 3.4%.

Findings

The results found that doctoral students (80%) are more aware than master’s students (64%) of e-book availability through the library, and usage …

De L’Oral À L’Écrit : Pour Une Traduction Du Statut Social De La Littérature Dans « L’Arbre Anthropophage » De Jean-Luc Raharimanana, Fitahianjanahary Ralaiharinony

Al-Kīmiyā

“In Africa, an old person who dies is like a burning library”, emphasizes Amhadou Ampaté Bâ. This statement highlights the significant role of an elderly person who, in Madagascar, stands as the guardian of the knowledge governing social harmony. It has become a tradition for the youth to gather around the elders or “masters of speech” to benefit from teachings transmitted through legends, proverbs, and stories. In this context, the essence of oral tradition, closely connected to humanity, reveals its worldview while maintaining its ultimate mission: the preservation of culture. Considering this perspective, we will examine Malagasy literature in French …

Measurements In Kautilya’S Arthasastra, In The Domains Of Public Finance And Governance, Saraswathi Murali M

Theses and Dissertations

Ancient Sanskrit literature has rich discussion of measurements by different authorities. Examples from the Vedic Age and the period of Itihāsas can be found in Ṛgveda (c. 1500 BCE), Rāmāyaṇa, and Mahābhārata. A subsequent, and more elaborate, exercise of codification of measurements, relevant to finance and administration, is observed in Arthaśāstra, written by Kauṭilya, also known as Cāṇakya and Viṣṇugupta (c. 350-275 BCE).

The author, a scholar from Takṣaśilā, was the advisor during Cāndragupta Maurya’s reign (c. 321-297 BCE). After millennia of hibernation, Kauṭilya’s Arthaśāstra resurfaced, in the beginning of the twentieth century. Ever since, Arthaśāstra has been a subject …

The Relationship Between Communicative And Social Deficits And Challenging Behavior In Angelman Syndrome, Cassie Chanel Feck

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Angelman Syndrome (AS) is a low-incidence neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in speech, motor, and social development as well as related differences in challenging behavior, seizures, and sleep issues. AS has a known genetic etiology and research conducted with this population has overwhelmingly focused on exploring the genetic and biological underpinnings of the disorder (e.g., applied gene therapies). At present, far less research on supporting the social, communicative, and behavioral needs of this population and how these specific deficits contribute to the individual’s overall functioning. The goals of this study were to characterize the use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication …

The Psychological Risks Of War Between The United States And China, Eugen Koh

New England Journal of Public Policy

The relationship between the United States and China has deteriorated over the past two decades and fears of escalating risks of war are regularly reported in global media. This article explores the psychological factors that contribute to the two superpowers shifting from a collaborative relationship to a competitive relationship, seeing each other as enemies, feeling increasingly threatened by each other, failing to consider the heightened sensitivities that arise from their respective traumatic pasts, triggering the collapse of thinking and unleashing of uncontainable emotionality, escalating accidents to conflict, and escalating conflict to war. It highlights the dangers of ignoring heightened trauma-related …

Biofeedback Gaming For Substance Use Disorder, Rebecca L. Chevrel

University Honors Theses

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and stress are often predictive of one another, bidirectionally causal, and mutually intensifying. This thesis describes the bi-directional connection between physiological stress-modulating systems and Substance Use Disorder, and explores some emerging biofeedback stress-reduction gaming technology as a potential adjunct to recovery treatments. Improving autonomic balance, often described by Heart Rate Variability, has been shown to be beneficial for physical and psychological recovery, as well as improving self-control. For this reason, regular biofeedback for stress relief could be helpful in augmenting SUD treatment and preventing relapse. This exploration found that presenting it through a gaming lens may …

Cannabis Exposure During Pregnancy And Neural Mechanisms Of Parenting: Assessing Neural Responses To Infant Cues And Parenting Outcomes, Shannon Powers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As legalization of cannabis and cannabinoids spreads in the United States, access and use of cannabis during the prenatal period has increased. There is limited knowledge on the effects of prenatal cannabis use on the parental brain. One way to identify potential effects of cannabis on parenting is through studying parenting brain functions and behavior. Cannabis use disorder (CUD) has been shown to be associated with lower positive parenting and lower sensitivity to infants, but it is unclear by what mechanisms. The following two studies address this gap in knowledge by examining the association between cannabis use during the prenatal …

Evidence Of Climatic Influence On Subsistence Strategies At Sage Hen Springs, Nevada, Andrew Rogers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Models of settlement patterns in the northwest Great Basin describe a decrease in residential mobility, intensified use of upland spring ecozones, and an increase in diet breadth during the Middle and Late Archaic. Here, I present data collected from the Sage Hen Springs site in northwestern Nevada during a Phase II testing project conducted by the BLM and an analysis of these data focusing on patterns of subsistence and mobility strategies throughout the Archaic. Results of this analysis support existing models of lifeways in the northwest Great Basin at the small scale and point to climatic factors as influences on …

Reconciling Moral Dissonance: A Framework For Re-Integrating Moral Orientation With Life Agency During Warfighters’ Struggles With Military Moral Injury, Jeffrey L. Zust

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation uses case studies to critically examine the Three Mirror Model (TMM) as a framework for understanding the formation and healing of Military Moral Injury (MMI). I adapt the work of Stephen Brookfield and Neal Krause to evaluate using the TMM as a methodology for dealing with the complex issues of MMI within a military deployment cycle (training, warfighting, and healing) (Brookfield 2012, 2017; Krause 2022). Specifically, I use theorists, researchers, healers, and warfighters as key stakeholders to identify and critically examine the intersections of disciplines and the subsets of models where warfighters’ moral orientations and moral agency form …

Using Historic Glacial Data And Gis To Predict Mount Rainier National Park’S Glacial Future, Daniel Kincaid

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Will Washington state have glaciers 100 years from now (year 2124)? Due to generally warmer weather glaciers are largely in retreat globally, including the glaciers in Washington state. In Washington state summer glacial meltwater plays a vital role in the survival of wildlife and is needed for human purposes that include recreation, power generation, drinking, agricultural, and industrial. This project looked at the most resilient glaciers in Washington state, the glaciers at Mount Rainier National Park. Historic measurements were used in an exponential growth calculation to project the amount in acres each glacier at Mount Rainer will advance or retreat …

The Effects Of Scenic Pictures And Progressive Time Delay On Intraverbal Responding, Breanna White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of tact prompts to establish single responses to questions about intraverbal categories. Scenic pictures, a visual depiction of multiple exemplars belonging to a stimulus class, may increase the likelihood that individuals will emit multiple responses when answering categorical questions, and promote response variability. The purpose of this study was to extend Glodowski and Rodriguez (2019) by evaluating the effectiveness of a larger array of visual stimuli and progressive time delay on varied intraverbal responding with individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 8 and 17 within a private school for individuals with …