Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Invisible And Incarcerated: Women In A Male Dominated U.S Prison System, Emily Spidle Jun 2017

Invisible And Incarcerated: Women In A Male Dominated U.S Prison System, Emily Spidle

Honors Theses

This paper investigates how the contemporary U.S. penal system impacts women given that female imprisonment rates have skyrocketed over the last several decades. Notably the U.S. has increased the rate of female incarceration at double the rate of male incarceration. However female prisoners have been rendered largely invisible under the umbrella of the criminal justice system in both scholarly discourse and policy. Drawing on the broad characteristics and trends that encapsulate the female prison population it is examined that women face unique challenges within the system. Pathways of crime illustrate the interlocking nature of poverty abuse mental illness and drug …


La Humanización Del Otro Inmigrante En Tres Libros Álbum De España Y Estados Unidos, Kathryn K. Evans Jun 2017

La Humanización Del Otro Inmigrante En Tres Libros Álbum De España Y Estados Unidos, Kathryn K. Evans

Honors Theses

In both the United States and Spain both of which have higher rates of immigration than emigration the media and many government officials promote anti- immigrant sentiment as part of a nationalistic ideology. Nationalism which uses xenophobic rhetoric to unify and advance the citizens of one country at the expense of all others allows governments businesses other institutions and individuals to discriminate against "inferior" foreigners who are seen as a threat to national identity security and prosperity. The opposing ideology cosmopolitanism views all of humanity as one entity arguing that man-made borders between countries irrelevantly divide people who are in …


The Consequences Of And Factors Affecting Perceptions And Use Of Technology, Patrick Gardner Jun 2017

The Consequences Of And Factors Affecting Perceptions And Use Of Technology, Patrick Gardner

Honors Theses

Technology and its impacts on society are the subject of constant debate. Technology has been influential in creating a global economy, which has given people more time for leisure activities. However, technology has also produced unintended by-products, including issues such as a dependence on foreign nations for commodities like food. Analyzing both the positive and negative consequences of technology can help people better understand both its regional and global impacts. In turn, this knowledge can help us make more beneficial choices regarding how we use technology moving forward. This thesis explores how technology positively and negatively affects society, and will …


Monstrous Mothers: The Politics Of Forced Mothering, Gillian Henry Jun 2017

Monstrous Mothers: The Politics Of Forced Mothering, Gillian Henry

Honors Theses

Can a woman be a woman without being a mother? By studying the control of women's bodies around reproduction, my work elucidates the insistence on women becoming "good mothers" for society. Is the childless woman a monster? Analysis of the Medea trope identifies that the most monstrous woman of all is thought to be the woman who kills her children. And while white women fight for reproductive choice, women of color fight for reproductive freedom, as coercive policies such as forced sterilization deprive women of color as even being considered as potential mothers. Society's insistence on women fulfilling their destiny …


"We Poor Devils": The Interactions Shared Experiences And Differing Fates Of The Cheyenne Sioux Buffalo Soldiers And U.S. Army In A Post-Civil War America: 1865- 1890, Meghan Keegan Jun 2017

"We Poor Devils": The Interactions Shared Experiences And Differing Fates Of The Cheyenne Sioux Buffalo Soldiers And U.S. Army In A Post-Civil War America: 1865- 1890, Meghan Keegan

Honors Theses

As a real yet imagined place, the “American West” has a mythical aura surrounding it that hides a deeper reality of extreme violence and chaos. It is a place where great feats have been achieved and profound defeats have been suffered. The wars fought over control of the Great Plains lasted longer than any other armed conflict in United States history. From 1865 through 1890, the chaotic nature of seemingly unorganized warfare and the ensuing violence plagued the lives of those who, either willingly or not, took art. The two most recognizable and seemingly homogenous groups in this conflict were …


Evolving Perspectives Of Women In Intelligence: Can Women Have It All?, Alyssa Bonesteel Jun 2017

Evolving Perspectives Of Women In Intelligence: Can Women Have It All?, Alyssa Bonesteel

Honors Theses

This thesis serves to analyze the evolution of women in the intelligence community arguing that the role of women has transformed from one of a sexual nature into one of strong leadership. Early sources portray the female spy as a sexual object using her body to covertly gather intelligence through the disguise of a stereotypical woman. Women hid behind their socially accepted roles as housewives or nurses. Using a mix of primary and secondary sources including the declassified CIA Typist to Trailblazer document collection as well as sources of spy fiction this thesis identifies the factors that inhibited the advancement …


Urban Redevelopment: New Bedford Massachusetts, Michael C. Froman Jun 2017

Urban Redevelopment: New Bedford Massachusetts, Michael C. Froman

Honors Theses

In 2010, 80% of Americans lived in urban areas with the number on the rise. Trends in the economy and people's desires affect the demographics of the United States and over recent years there has been a movement from rural to urban areas called urbanization. Throughout the history of the United States, cities have seen economic successes where the city thrived, along with turmoil where the city was plagued with unemployment and a stagnant economy. This study assesses the developments of New Bedford Massachusetts, a city with a population of approximately 100,000, located in South East Massachusetts. New Bedford's economic …


Uprooting Food Injustice: A Qualitative Analysis Of Activist Efforts Combating Food Deserts And Inequality, Marley Noel Weig-Pickering Jun 2017

Uprooting Food Injustice: A Qualitative Analysis Of Activist Efforts Combating Food Deserts And Inequality, Marley Noel Weig-Pickering

Honors Theses

Food insecurity is rampant in the United States in both rural and urban settings. The limited access to affordable nutritious food and education about healthy eating, increase risks for diet related illness and impact community health. Through participant observation and analysis of various community-based initiatives, this thesis explores interconnections between community solutions and public policy. Six cases studies in New Mexico and New York are examined to better understand how communities and government programs must collaborate to create effective change. Further, each case study reveals similar factors of food injustice, yet modes of activism to counter attack food injustice are …


Make It On Her Own? The Portrayal Of Single Women On Television From The 1970s To The 2010s, Antonia Batha Jun 2017

Make It On Her Own? The Portrayal Of Single Women On Television From The 1970s To The 2010s, Antonia Batha

Honors Theses

This longitudinal study examines the portrayal of single women on television series from the 1970s to the present demonstrating the changing perception of single women by American society through the history of television. The study first examines the demographic changes leading to the rise of "singleness" in three forms: never-married women divorced women and widowed women. The study then examines television as a cultural force which affects and reflects the way that Americans perceive themselves and others including single women. A qualitative and quantitative content analysis of six television series shows several trends which appeared throughout the series. In earlier …


Breaking The Glass Slipper: Analyzing Female Figures' Roles In Disney Animated Cinema From 1950-2013, Brianna Prudencia Gutiérrez Jun 2017

Breaking The Glass Slipper: Analyzing Female Figures' Roles In Disney Animated Cinema From 1950-2013, Brianna Prudencia Gutiérrez

Honors Theses

In this study, heroines and villainesses in nineteen Disney animated films from 1950- 2013 are characterized as traditional, complex, or non-traditional. A total of twenty-four female characters are classified based on their representation, actions, personality traits, appearance, and relationship status. Traditional female figures are beautiful dependent on male figures and engage in a heterosexual relationship as part of their "happily ever after." The traditional female figures in this study are Cinderella from Cinderella (1950) Lady from Lady and the Tramp (1955) Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) from Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Duchess from The AristoCats (1970). Complex female figures are, in the …


Seeking ‘Collective Solitude’ In The Pacific: An Ethnography Of Wave-Riding In Encinitas, California, Laura C. Schaffer Jun 2017

Seeking ‘Collective Solitude’ In The Pacific: An Ethnography Of Wave-Riding In Encinitas, California, Laura C. Schaffer

Honors Theses

For centuries, the practice of surfing has mystified the novelist, the missionary, the thrill-seeker, and the proximate spectator, alike. Though it has its roots in Polynesia, this wave-riding eventually globalized – spreading to and adapted by coasts worldwide. Through observation, interviews, and participation, this study examines the co-existence of supposedly competing notions of individuality and community as they manifest in the Encinitas (California) surfer, their community, and their pursuit of the waves. The study finds that while the individual surfer inscribes their own personal meaning on the pursuit, they (in the context of a ‘surf town’) are tied to other …