Digital Commons Network^™

Applying A Sight Words Framework To Postcolonial Spelling Preferences In Wolof, Shelby Thomas

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Three Case Studies Of Transformative Learning In A Service-Learning Anthropology Course, Elizabeth S. Schulte

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the processes of personal transformation of three students enrolled in a service-learning based course that I taught at Brigham Young University. Informed by my observations as instructor of the course, in the analysis below I draw upon these students' weekly personal reflection essays to describe the process of individual transformation of these three students across the semester. This accounting provides insight into aspects of and contributing factors to that growth. I propose that a service-learning based course design with a framework of anthropological theory is a good way to facilitate transformational educational experiences. Aspects of service-learning such …

Marooned: A Western Frontier Dismal Swamp Narrative, Professor Meya E. Hargett

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

Marooned: A Western Frontier Dismal Swamp Narrative centers the erased figure of Samuel Mars, a lost Black station master whose movements through the Great Dismal Swamp have been excluded from dominant Underground Railroad cartographies. Here, the term “Marooned” refers not to abandonment, but to the maroon geographies of Black and Indigenous resistance encoded in land, lineage, and fugitive infrastructure.

Guided by Diasporic Maroon Memory Theory, Lineage as Method, and the Maroon Geographies Framework, this research reconstructs Mars’s trajectory through oral testimony, spatial patterning, and ancestral land memory. Rather than casting the Dismal Swamp merely as a site of refuge, this …

Personal Health Advice In The World Of Artificial Intelligence: An Assessment Of Responses From Chatgpt For Three Common Health Conditions In The Southern United States, Marion W. Evans Jr, Julie Harrison Swartz, Harrison Ndetan, Damian Francis, John Moore, Mary Kozub, Ernie Kaninjing, Jennifer Jones-Locklear, Debbie Greene, Josie Doss

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) applications within the health sciences including education and healthcare practice are now common. Patients are likely to apply AI to better understand their health status or to learn what they can do to improve their health.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate outputs from ChatGPT for three common health conditions seen in the southern United States as to whether it would include medically biased care or lifestyle related advice, legitimate sources of information and to assess reading levels generated.

Methods: Health care professionals rated outputs in 4 areas and interrater …

Spatial Conversations: Opportunities To Share Geographic Knowledge, L. Jesse Rouse, Barbara L. Maclennan, Susan J. Bergeron, H. Franklin Lafone

Anthropology and Geography

For more than twenty years geographers have taken advantage of “new media” to share information, make connections, and expand the “spatial conversation.” As blogs opened the door for informal self-publishing and communicating about narrow, focused topic areas, geographers began to use emerging media platforms to present ideas to a broader audience, more quickly and interactively, as new data and technologies became available. Audio podcasts and videos broadened the platforms for dissemination and provide a greater level of immersion through digital media. Between the open publishing and subscription opportunities, and interaction provided through comments and social media engagement, a dialectic was …

The Eastern Frontier: Border Forts Of The Nile Delta And Sinai During The New Kingdom Period In Egypt, Andrew Cahill

Student Scholar Symposium

Throughout history, nations have always sought to secure their borders in order to control the flow of people and commerce so that the interests of that particular state are served. Ancient Egypt was no exception, with a string of border forts established going back at least as far as the 12^th Dynasty. During the New Kingdom Period (Dynasties 18-20), Egypt wielded great political power in the Near East, and there were two primary lines of access into Egypt from that direction. This paper will give an overview of the major issues related to the archaeology of the forts along …

Gamergate And The Woke Mind Virus, Gavin Graves

Undergraduate Research Symposium

This text concerns the formation of beliefs that would shape the 2014 harassment campaign of GamerGate. Specifically, how GamerGate was perpetuated by stereotypes and ideas in Geekdom that spanned from the 60’s Disco Demolition to the Internet’s Wild West that ended in 2013. These include ideas like simulated ethnicity, geek melodrama, nerd determinism, and nerd fatalism. It also discusses the views and beliefs on anonymity, critique, and social capitals of the Wild West Internet and how the changing views of these led to resentment that started the movement. Drawing from historical research, I studied the history of moral panics like …

Face Value: A Computational Approach To Subjective Impressions Of Faces, Kevin Kpankou

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Various computational models of first impressions have been developed to uncover the mechanisms driving these judgments. However, the implicit notion of a singular ``human'' often overlooks meaningful individual differences in beliefs, attitudes, and associations, as well as culturally grounded group-level constructs. In this paper, we extend Cultural Consensus Theory (CCT) to estimate culturally shared beliefs about faces by incorporating latent constructs structured around interpretable facial features extracted via computer vision algorithms. We apply our model to a large-scale dataset of people’s first impressions of faces. Our approach reveals a robust mapping between facial features and culturally constructed impressions, allowing us …

A Play-Based Stoic Intervention: Preventive Pedagogy For Childhood Resilience, Ross William Podyma Mr

International Journal of Playwork Practice

Rates of reported childhood mental health difficulties have risen markedly in recent years, prompting a policy emphasis on early identification and rapid referral to clinical services. While such responses are vital for acute and complex presentations, there is growing concern that they may contribute to an over-pathologising of normative developmental experiences. Everyday challenges that once functioned as opportunities to build resilience are increasingly framed as early symptoms of mental disorder. This risks undermining children’s ability to cope adaptively with adversity, inadvertently fostering reliance on external intervention.

Since its inception in 2012, Sporting Communities CIC has been embedded in schools and …

Music And Sustainable Development Goals: Telling The Story, Mark Reimer

Journal of Global Awareness

Now, 10 years after the United Nations adopted its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the music profession continues to work toward being a responsible partner in the health and preservation of the planet and its inhabitants. By transcending social barriers, music promotes cultural awareness and mutual understanding, encourages creativity, and enhances emotional well-being, outcomes vital to the global goals of health, freedom, peace, education, equality, prosperity, and environmental sustainability. The article includes various examples of how music performers, educators, composers, and scholars are creating or adopting new practices that are mindful of reducing the carbon footprint, yet financially feasible in their …

Life In The Cracks: Law, Violence, And Resistance In Haiti, Marco Motta

Anthropology

A rich account of what it means to live with law amid its failures.

Life in the Cracks is a rich ethnographic portrait of law, violence, and resistance in Haiti. In a contemporary context marked by international interference, global capitalism, and state collapse, Haitians face complex challenges that are largely ignored and misunderstood. By examining the most unexpected inflections of ordinary life, Life in the Cracks offers a well-grounded account of people’s experience of law in their lives. The book describes what it means to endure violence partly engendered by the law, and thus to live up to one’s disappointment …

Beheld To Behold: A Rhetorical Theology Of Otherness In Acts, Hannah E. Gross

Masters Theses

The phenomena of otherness foundationally grounds this work. A micro-concept of Martin Buber’s I and Thou Theory, otherness is central to this study particularly as it is rhetorically situated in the work of Acts. The research draws from ideological criticism to produce a rhetorical theology. Findings uncover two primary relational dynamics of otherness: (1) God to the believer to the unbeliever and (2) God to the believer to the believer. These constructions of dialogical engagement in Acts are donned witness and withness, offering keen insight on a rhetorical theology of otherness.

An Examination Of Perceptions Of Strangers' Trustworthiness: A Comparison Of Religious Beliefs, Angelia Theresa Hogan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

When Panikkar wrote that the “meeting of religions is an inescapable fact of today,” he was describing the very premise of this study. The continual social interactions between people of different faiths and beliefs require an understanding of both perceptions and prejudices in order to help foster trust and cooperation in a global setting. The availability of current data on unimpeded and immediate perceptions of the social trustworthiness of a photographed face on the part of people of different religious beliefs is sorely lacking. This study examined whether people with six different religious affiliations assigned different levels of trustworthiness to …

Childhood Trauma And Adult Psychological Disorders: A Case Study, Jessica Marie Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Childhood trauma including experiences of sexual, physical and emotional abuse, neglect and exposure to violence has been widely recognized as a significant risk factor for the development of psychological disorders in adulthood. Such early life adversities can disrupt emotional, cognitive, and social development which can contribute to long-term mental health challenges. This qualitative study aimed to explore and understand how childhood trauma influenced adult psychological disorders, not only by examining direct impacts but also by identifying perceived moderating factors that shaped incarcerated individuals’ outcomes. Using a qualitative case study approach, the research investigated the lived experiences of adult incarcerated males …

A Collaborative Leadership Development Model For Classical Christian School Consortiums, Lisa Diane Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Over 55% of young adults in the United States have experienced some form of leadership development; however, their leadership skills are not being used within the church. Nearly 60% of those who regularly attended church during their youth are distancing themselves from it (Barna, 2023). Nonetheless, the same report suggested a link between youth who were well-integrated into a youth ministry and those who stayed active in the church. This Praxis program partnered with Redeemer Classical Academy to implement a Christ-centered leadership development initiative for its high school students. The argument supporting the Praxis program indicates that grounding students' leadership …

Oxytocin Varies Across The Life Course In A Sex-Specific Way In A Human Subsistence Population, Abigail E. Colby, Dominik C. Jud, Valerie Baettig, Jordan S. Martin, Camila Scaff, Michael D. Gurven, Benjamin C. Trumble, Bret A. Beheim, Paul L. Hooper, Daniel K. Cummings, Hillard Kaplan, Jonathan Stieglitz, Arnulfo Cary Ista, Adrian V. Jaeggi

ESI Publications

Oxytocin, a hormone linked to reproduction and health, may mediate life-history trade-offs across the human life course. Yet, how oxytocin naturally varies with age remains poorly understood. Here, working with the Tsimane, forager-horticulturalists of lowland Bolivia, we collected the largest sample of oxytocin measurements to date (n = 1,242 samples, n = 405 individuals, age = 2 to 84 y, 51% female), and i) examined how oxytocin varies throughout the life course in females and males, and ii) investigated potential drivers of age- and sex-specific variation. Our sample provides rare insight into the relationship between oxytocin and age in a …

Beyond Additive Risk: Longitudinal Associations Between Discrimination And Positive Affect Development Among Adolescents With Single And Multiple Marginalized Identities, Vanni Jefferson V. Arcaina

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Adolescents with marginalized identities often face chronic exposure to discrimination, a social stressor linked to a range of negative mental health outcomes. While much of the existing literature focuses on internalizing symptoms, fewer studies have explored how discrimination may disrupt the development of positive affect (POA), which is a core dimension of emotional well-being linked to resilience, identity formation, and long-term health. The present study examined how overall, race/ethnicity-based, and sexual minority (SM)-based discrimination affects longitudinal patterns of POA among adolescents with single or multiple marginalized identities. Drawing on four waves of data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, …

From Spark To Agency: Metalinguistic Awareness, Investment, And Liberatory Autonomy In Introductory And Honors Intermediate Spanish And Intermediate Italian At Cod, Brian Kapustka

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This field experience capstone documents the application of sociocognitive, reflective, and equity-oriented pedagogy across multiple Spanish and Italian instructional contexts at the College of DuPage, a large and diverse community college. Grounded in applied linguistics frameworks including sociocognitive second language acquisition (Atkinson, 2011), learner motivation and identity through the L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2009), the inseparability of cognition and emotion in second language learning (Swain, 2013), learner autonomy and postmethod pedagogy (Kumaravadivelu, 2002; 2003), learner investment (Darvin & Norton, 2015), willingness to communicate as a volitional process (MacIntyre, 2007), and transformative learning (Mezirow, 2000), the project examines language learning …

Blindness Through The Looking Glass [Book Review], Mollie Frazier

Disability in LIS (DisLIS)

This review analyzes Gili Hammer’s Blindness Through the Looking Glass: The Performance of Blindness, Gender, and the Sensory Body. This book offers insight into the lives of blind women in Israel and challenges assumptions about beauty, femininity, and gender through interviews and years of Hammer's fieldwork as an anthropologist. She shows how blindness is not defined by what is missing, but by how women use their experiences to shape their own understandings of gender and society. The book explores gender identity, visual culture, and the sensory body, highlighting how blind women navigate a world so centered on visual beauty while …

Yao Shaman Priest Robe, Zoe Smith

Department of Anthropology

This report examines a “Yao Shaman Priest Robe” from the May Weber Ethnographic Study Collection. It is attributed to the Yao Mien group, people who live in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, or China. Based on other robes (found in appendix), it dates from the nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. This piece studies the attribution, function, material, provenance, date, and iconography of this specific robe.

An Axe To The Funny Bone: Curated Instability And Horror-Comedy Intersections In American Storytelling, Samantha Box

Masters Theses

Funny. Terrifying. Subversive.

Horror-Comedy twists and bites at the intersection of two incredibly reactive genres— with both Horror and Comedy being well known for the political and social discourses they embody and reinvent through story. While prevalent in American popular culture, scholarly analysis of this hybrid space barely exists beyond a small number of Film Studies investigations. Despite this lack, Horror-Comedy works continue to be successfully produced. This thesis unpacks the vibrant relationship between fear and laughter in contemporary American storytelling through Horror-Comedy, maintaining a focus on structural dynamics and the audience-disarming results of simultaneously applying horror and humor to …

The Social In The Spiritual: Non-Theistic Spirituality In 12-Step Addiction Recovery, Steph Jacobs

Theses and Dissertations

To investigate whether Western-raised Narcotics Anonymous (NA) members engage in non-theistic spirituality and non-humanist modes of sociality with non-human beings, I conducted six qualitative interviews and a small-scale survey within a Vancouver NA community. The majority of participants practice non-theist spirituality, and three interviewees relate to non-humans in ways not accounted for by Western humanism. Findings suggest that connection and sociality are intrinsically woven into recovery and well-being. This research opens conversations about non-theistic spirituality in NA recovery, non-human sociality and healing, processes of ontological negotiation, and the entanglement of spirituality, sociality, and well-being. Through daily practices of exploration and …

Guest Editors’ Introduction, Maurits Bastiaan Meerwijk, Nicolo Paolo P. Ludovice

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

This introduction examines the historical evolution of health messaging in the Philippines, tracing its roots from early twentieth-century colonial public health campaigns to contemporary pandemic responses. It argues that health messaging, initially termed “medical propaganda,” has consistently served as a tool for persuasion and governance, intertwining communication, politics, and medicine. The introduction highlights how visual technologies and simplified narratives have been used to normalize biomedical authority, often obscuring complex realities. It concludes by emphasizing the need for a broader epistemic repertoire to navigate health knowledge in an era of misinformation.

The Unspoken Whiteness Of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: The Gracies Versus Luta Livre, Benjamin Penglase

Anthropology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article explores why the relationship between race and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and the ways that Brazilian jiu-jitsu has been racialized as white, have often been invisible, particularly for non-Brazilians. It argues that both non-Brazilians who practice the martial art, and the scholarly analysis of jiu-jitsu, have often ignored how the marital art has been positioned as ‘white’ within Brazil’s complex and highly unequal structures of racial dominance.  Focusing on challenge matches that the Gracie family fought against practitioners of luta livre (a Brazilian style of catch-wrestling), the article shows how these matches located jiu-jitsu within Brazil’s racial hierarchy, though often …

Trading Posts And "Old Pawn": Diné Navajo Trade And The Native Art Industry, Dustin Roberto

Native American Studies Student Publications

"Old pawn" is widely used to describe antique Native American jewelry and goods once pawned for credit at trading posts in the Four Corners region. This article traces how the trading post pawn system influenced Diné Navajo economic life from 1868 through the 1970s, when federal regulators documented exploitative practices such as inflated interest, withheld mail, and items sold without notice. Weavers and individuals pawning jewelry typically received store credit or overvalued commodities instead of cash, a result of the power dynamics of the setting. Today, "old pawn" functions as a marketing label for vintage goods, often without documentation. The …

Communities With Diverse Subsistence Needs Require A Variety Of Functional Tree Traits, Minoseheno Rakotovao, Cortni Borgerson, Kerry A. Brown, Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt, Steig E. Johnson, Onja H. Razafindratsima, Ruth Mendum, Onjaniaina O. Andrianjatovo, Harisoa B. Ravaomanalina, Seheno Andriantsaralaza, Sheila M. Holmes

Department of Anthropology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Tree species preference is an understudied yet crucial component of sustainable forest management, as unsustainable harvesting can lead to non-random loss of functional traits. We examine wood resource preference across five regions of Madagascar's biodiverse eastern humid forests. We asked forest users in 19 men's and 19 women's focus groups to list their preferred tree species for common short- (charcoal, firewood) and long-term (house construction, furniture, tools) uses. We then measured functional traits of 260 preferred and common tree species: height, DBH, bark thickness, specific leaf area, wood specific gravity, and seed dispersal syndrome in the surrounding landscape. Using household …

The Directive Force Of Cultural Models And Their Health Outcomes: An Examination Of Motivations, Consonance, And Well-Being In Brazil, Henri Jean-Francois Dengah

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

The Reception Of Neurodiversity Represented Within Netflix’S Wednesday, Anna Stevens

Graduate Theses & Dissertations

This paper explores how neurodiversity is represented through popular media - particularly Netflix's show Wednesday - and aims to discuss the effects this representation could have in regards to how it's received by the public, as well as those who are neurodiverse.

Development And Evaluation Of The Sex Positivity Inventory For Counselors, M. Ashley Burks, Jennifer Gerlach, Joshua C. Watson

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

The purpose of the study was to clarify the definition of sex positivity and identify sex-positive attitudes, knowledge, and skills through the development and evaluation of the Sex Positivity Inventory for Counselors (SPI-C). The exploratory factor analysis supported a six-factor, 34-item scale, accounting for 32.9% of the variance within the study. The SPI-C had an excellent internal consistency of 0.96 and consisted of the following factors: 1) Procedural Sex Positivity, 2) Comfortability with Sexuality, 3) Perceived Sex Positivity, 4) Fundamental Sex Education, 5) Sexological Worldview, and 6) Unconditional Positive Sexual Regard. Implications for practice, counselor education, and supervision are discussed.

All Of Us Live In Texas, But Our Friends Hang Their Hats In New Zealand, Augusta Arata, Irene L. Flores, Angel Castillo, Robert Hoilman, Donald D. Sanders Ii

Sociology and Anthropology Student Research - Archive

Cultural similarities and differences between New Zealand and Texas through an anthropological perspective. The zine focuses on cuisine, sports, consumerism, and lifestyle choices.