Digital Commons Network^™

Pro-Angiogenesis Therapy And Aging: A Mini-Review, Charles T. Ambrose

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Apart from major illnesses and chronic afflictions, the elderly experience lesser ailments, such as muscle weakness, cold intolerance, and transient memory lapses. Physical signs in the aged include wrinkled skin and the slow healing of skin abrasions. These ailments and signs are grouped together because they may be due in part to an age-linked, waning microcirculation. A reduced capillary density (CD) throughout the body of aged people and animals has been reported in over 40 papers. The reduced CD is due in turn to declining levels of angiogenic growth factors (AGFs) throughout the body during old age, as documented in …

Animate Planet: Making Visceral Sense Of Living In A High-Tech Ecologically Damaged World By Kath Weston, Kelly Shepherd

The Goose

Review of Kath Weston's Animate Planet: Making Visceral Sense of Living in a High-Tech Ecologically Damaged World.

Religion And Ecology: Developing A Planetary Ethic By Whitney A. Bauman, Paul T. Corrigan

The Goose

Review of Whitney A. Bauman's Religion and Ecology: Developing a Planetary Ethic.

Stewards Of God’S Mercy: Vocation And Priestly Ministry In Africa, Jordan Nyenyembe

Journal of Global Catholicism

A reflection on the tasks of priestly ministry in Africa with specific reference to the example and exhortation of Pope Francis. Among the issues addressed and critiqued are Western “cultic” understandings of the priest and the, the “Igwe Syndrome" which likens the priest to a chief.

Contested Moral Issues In Contemporary African Catholicism: Theological Proposals For A Hermeneutics Of Multiplicity And Inclusion, Stan Chu Ilo

Journal of Global Catholicism

Drawing upon the broad work of Vatican II and Pope Francis’ Evangelicum Gaudium the article proposes how a hermeneutic of multiplicity and inclusion could help hold in balance the tension between tradition and innovation, universal principles and specific contextual application for Catholicism in Africa. Among the issues addressed are cultural relativism, natural law theory, and polygamy.

Gene Drives, Nature, Governance: An Ethnographic Perspective, Irus Braverman

Contributions to Books

Published as chapter 3 in Gene Editing, Law, and the Environment, Irus Braverman, ed.

Synthetic gene drives raise ethical, ecological, and legal questions that are sometimes difficult to grasp. What is clear, however, is that the power to directly alter not just a singular form of life but the genetics of entire populations and species are currently both under-regulated and under-theorized. In place of state regulations, what seems to be emerging is a form of self-regulation by the gene drive scientists themselves. My chapter draws on in-depth interviews with several prominent gene drive scientists to explore their approach toward nature, …

Music And Race In The American West, William Steven Schneider

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the complexities of race relations in the nineteenth century American West. The groups considered here are African Americans, Anglo Americans, Chinese, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans. In recent decades historians of the West have begun to tell the narratives of racial minorities. This study adopts the aims of these scholars through a new lens--music. Ultimately, this thesis argues that historians can use music, both individual songs and broader conceptions about music, to understand the complex and contradictory race relations of the nineteenth century west.

Proceeding thematically, the first chapter explores the ways Anglo Americans used music to …

Bloody Bay: Grassroots Policeways, Community Control, And Power In San Francisco And Its Hinterlands, 1846-1915, Darren A. Raspa

History ETDs

“Bloody Bay: Grassroots Policeways, Community Control, and Power in San Francisco and its Hinterlands, 1846–1915” follows the history of San Francisco’s spectrum of formal and informal policing from the American takeover of California in 1846 during the U.S.–Mexico War to Police Commissioner Jesse B. Cook’s nationwide law enforcement advisory team tour in 1912 and San Francisco’s debut as the Jewel of a new American Pacific world during the Panama Pacific International Exposition in 1915. These six decades functioned as a unique period wherein a culture of popular justice and grassroots community peacekeeping were fostered. This policing environment was forged in …

Evaluating Financial Planning Advertisements For Retirement In India: A Content Analysis, Ritu Gupta, Sudeepta Pradhan

The Qualitative Report

For Indians, retirement is neither a formal stage of life nor an issue that people dwell upon while planning their future. Despite the lack of preparation for retirement, a burgeoning population indicates a huge mass of retirees in the coming decades. These statistics trigger the need for individuals to prepare for their retirement appropriately, while accounting for factors like inflation. To highlight the significance of retirement planning and create awareness among the masses, pre-requisites to retirement planning should be effectively communicated. Extant literature suggests advertising to be one such measure of effective communication. This study intended to capture the extent …

Écrire Et Lire Le Caribou Au Lieu De L’Achever, Jonathan Hope

The Goose

Dans un acte sans précédent de gestion de la faune, le gouvernement libéral du Québec a décidé de capturer les derniers membres d’une harde de caribous des bois en Abitibi et de les enfermer dans un zoo. Biologistes et écologistes ont exprimé, avec raison, leur inquiétude et leur colère; cette situation est aussi consternante d'une perspective littéraire.

Socioeconomic Determinants Of Health Disparities By Race And Ethnicity: The Mediating Role Of Social, Psychological And Behavioral Factors, Amanuel Zimam Melekin

Dissertations and Theses

Socioeconomic status (SES) is inversely related to health status. Disparities in health status among races and ethnic groups are partly attributable to differences in SES, but the indirect pathways by which SES may influence health status are not widely studied.

Using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data, this dissertation examined the pathways by which SES, via social, psychological, and behavioral factors predicted physical impairment and overnight hospitalization, and asked whether these indirect relationships differed by race/ethnicity. The HRS is a nationally representative multistage area probability sample administered biennially to respondents over the age of 51 and their spouses. Data …

Qualitative Research With Participants Suffering From Ostracism: A Practical Guide For The Novice Researcher, Daniel Waldeck

The Qualitative Report

Being ostracized can be painful for most people, but for those who experience this persistently it can lead to severe levels of psychological distress. At present, there is a scarcity of qualitative research which focuses on this group of vulnerable individuals. This paper acts as a guide for the novice researcher who plans to research this population.

Return To Fort Rock Cave: Assessing The Site's Potential To Contribute To Ongoing Debates About How And When Humans Colonized The Great Basin, Thomas J. Connolly, Judson Byrd Finley, Geoffrey M. Smith, Dennis L. Jenkins, Pamela E. Endzweig, Brian L. O'Neill, Paul W. Baxter

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Oregon’s Fort Rock Cave is iconic in respect to both the archaeology of the northern Great Basin and the history of debate about when the Great Basin was colonized. In 1938, Luther Cressman recovered dozens of sagebrush bark sandals from beneath Mt. Mazama ash that were later radiocarbon dated to between 10,500 and 9350 cal B.P. In 1970, Stephen Bedwell reported finding lithic tools associated with a date of more than 15,000 cal B.P., a date dismissed as unreasonably old by most researchers. Now, with evidence of a nearly 15,000-year-old occupation at the nearby Paisley Five Mile Point Caves, we …

Uni S A C Updates: Sociology, Anthropology, Criminology Newsletter, Summer 2017, University Of Northern Iowa. Department Of Sociology, Anthropology, And Criminology.

Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology Newsletter

Inside This Issue:
-- Purple and Old Gold Awards
-- SAC Internships
-- Alumni in Residence
-- Sociology Updates
-- Anthropology Updates
-- Criminology Updates
-- Alumni Testimonial
-- Contact Us

Race, The Condition Of Neo-Liberalism, Vikash Singh

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This article addresses the social and historical relation between Chicago School neo-liberalism and contemporary racism, and its connections with the formations of racism in classical liberalism and its colonial character. I show the pragmatic and discursive operations of neo-racism in the context of this shift to a neo-liberal discourse, drawing particularly on Michel Foucault’s seminars, Society Must be Defended, and Birth of Bio-politics. Insofar as “race” cannot be understood as a discrete category outside its social, economic, moral, and political embeddedness in liberalism, I argue that methodological individualism and expectations of high-specialization constrain the theorization of race in U.S. scholarship. …

The United States Benefit Deficit For Veterans, Leslie-Dawn Quick

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Over the last few years the Department of Veterans Affairs has faced an increase of public scrutiny for its handling of veteran health care claims. Allegations that mismanagement created extensive waiting times and appointment scheduling manipulations resulted in veterans dying were made against the VA. This research examined data from the VA Monday Morning Workload Reports, the National Survey of Veterans, the VA Office of Inspector General, and media reports of whistleblowers accusing the VA of mismanagement to determine whether the VA was guilty of a state crime of omission and commission resulting in a social harm to its veterans. …

Potential Of One-To-One Technology Uses And Pedagogical Practices: Student Agency And Participation In An Economically Disadvantaged Eighth Grade, Maria Dulce Silva Andrade Johnson

LMU Theses and Dissertations

The accelerated growth of 1:1 educational computing initiatives has challenged digital equity with a three-tiered, socioeconomic digital divide: (a) access, (b) higher order uses, and (c) user empowerment and personalization. As the access gap has been closing, the exponential increase of 1:1 devices threatens to widen the second and third digital divides. Using critical theory, specifically, critical theory of technology and critical pedagogy, and a qualitative case study design, this research explored the experiences of a middle school categorized under California criteria as “socioeconomically disadvantaged.” This study contributes to critical theory on technology within an educational setting, as well as …

Aging, Executive Function, Fronto-Parietal Network Cortical Thickness: Insights From Cognitive Reserve, Katherine Reiter

Dissertations (1934 -)

Cognitive reserve (CR) indexes the nonlinear relationship between neurological insult and behavioral change. CR is manifested in both static factors (e.g., childhood environment, education) and modifiable lifestyle factors, (e.g., leisure activities). Detailed investigation of the influence of CR on cortical thickness, which indexes neuropathology, and cognitive functioning could be particularly important in understanding the heterogeneity of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). While memory decline is the hallmark of AD, executive functioning (EF) decline often predates memory changes, making EF an important target for investigating CR influences. The current study examines the relationship of CR and genetic risk for AD (ε4) on EF …

Rural Sociologists In The Transformation Of African Agriculture And Rural Development, Keith M. Moore, Amadou Ndiaye

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Comparative Assessment Of Rural Development Programs Of Selected Ngos In Plateau State, North-Central, Nigeria, I. A. Jacobs, T. O. Olanrewaju, P. O. Chukwudi

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

The study examined the extent to which the rural development programs of Evangelical Church of West Africa-People Oriented Development (ECWA-POD) and Country Women Association of Nigeria (COWAN) contribute to the development of rural communities in Plateau State. A comparison of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) was done to examine the factors that explain variation in the organizations. A total of 150 respondents made up of community members and staff of the organizations randomly selected from four Local Government Areas responded to the structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that the major rural development …

Coerced Agricultural Modernization: A Political Ecology Perspective Of Agricultural Input Packages In South Wollo, Ethiopia, Anne Cafer, Sandy Rikoon

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

To address systemic malnutrition, food insecurity, and a need to manage natural resources sustainably, within the context of an agricultural economy, the Ethiopian government has invested more than 15 percent of the national development budget in agriculture programs as part of the Agriculture Development Led Industrialization (ADLI) plan (MARD 2010; Berhanu and Poulton 2014). This article explores one such program – row planting of Eragrostis tef (tef). Tef is an important staple crop, with critical nutrient content for child growth and development (Stallknecht et al. 1993). Despite the use of demonstration plots and input packages, adoption of tef row planting …

The Places Of Faith: The Religious Hospitality In The Italian Sanctuaries In The Early Modern Age, Silvia Beltramo

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

Since the Middle Ages, Northern Italy has been characterized as a territory of pilgrimages to monasteries, sanctuaries and Sacred Mounts. The sources testify a significant proliferation of hosteriae and hospitali in the main religious settlements, more precisely since the 12^th century in the monasteries and since the 14^th century in the sanctuaries. An authentic architecture of hospitality can be identified in the centres of Piedmont and Lombardy.

The proposal, which is the outcome of a research in progress, intends to deepen in detail some meaningful examples amongst the main Italian sanctuaries – namely: Oropa (Piedmont), Tirano (Lombardy), Loreto …

Religion Or Fandom? Secular Ritual In Pop-Culture Pilgrimage, Kyungjae Jang

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

This paper aims to consider the meaning of secular ritual in pop-culture tourism, and to clarify the role of social media as a tool for making and transmitting secular ritual, focuses on Asian fans’ pilgrimage of Japanese mixed media Love Live! School Idol Project.

The paper first introduces contemporary sacred meaning-making as a theoretical framework. Then, based on anthropological research, the paper analyses how secular ritual is made and transmitted, focuses on Asian fans’ popular-culture pilgrimages. The specific popular culture work chosen, after five years of participatory research in Japanese popular culture-related pilgrimage, was an event related to the Japanese …

Religious And Pilgrimage Tourism: A Path To Sufism, Tariq Elhadary

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

The paper attempts to shed some light on religious tourism as a broad term which lends itself to cover Muslim tourism, Christian tourism, or any other religion linked with the term ‘tourism’. The paper likens religious tourism to Sufi travel and wander. It inquires about the similarities between Sufi wander and religious tourism, and what they both have in common. Moreover, how far and true religious tourism embodies the essence of Sufism in its search for love, peace, and knowledge. Sufism embraces love as a means of transformation to better human beings; Where does religious tourism stand as far as …

The Customisation Of 'Religion' In The Context Of Iran, Hossein Godazgar, Shiva Velayati

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

In the first four centuries of Islam in Iran, Mosques were arguably the only sacred places for Iranian Muslims to pray. It was only after the invasion of the Mongolians and the resulting expansion of Shi’ism and Sufism throughout the country that the tombs of some sacred figures became shrines and important sites for pilgrims. Examples of these include the shrines of Hazrat-e Ma’asoumeh in Qom and Imam Reza in Mashad. Other tombs were developed to a smaller scale and are generally called ‘Maqbarahs’, which mainly embraces those of the descendants of twelve Imams (Imamzadehs) and spiritual Sufi figures. Maqbarahs …

Taiwanese Perceptions Of Refugees: Results Of An Experimental Survey, Stella Treumann

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This research paper deals with perceptions of refugees, with the intent to demonstrate what factors influence perceptions of refugees in general, and specifically in the context of Taiwan. The paper is divided into two larger sections. The first section functions as a literature review with the aim of providing the reader with existing background information on the topic of perceptions of refugees. The second section contains an experimental study on perceptions of refugees in Taiwan. While the effects of individual-level factors on perceptions of refugees have been examined by many studies and in different countries, their effects have never been …

Prison Programming And Recidivism As A Method Of Social Bond Theory: A Meta-Analysis Of Research From 2000-2015, Madalyn Smith

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Prior research indicates that completion of prison programs significantly decreases recidivism amongst offenders. This research classifies prison programs as an aspect of Social Bond Theory to determine if these types of programs improve the recidivism rate. Social Bond Theory has four elements: commitment (time invested into education or career), attachment (relationships with family and friends), involvement (time spent in activities outside of crime), and belief (agreement with social norms). Research articles were compiled from 2000-2015, published and unpublished, with a three year recidivism rate or less (several exceptions were made), and a sample size of greater than 50. An odds …

Social Cohesion Through Cooperative Contact: A Theoretical Perspective, Ezechiel Sentama

Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies

This paper aims to contribute to the theoretical debate when it comes to how to successfully achieve social cohesion after violent conflicts. Using the premises of contact hypothesis, and qualitative approach, the paper’s theoretical conclusions are drawn from the experience of the relational effects of contact, in the cooperative organization, between antagonistic groups in post-genocide Rwanda—genocide survivors and genocide perpetrators, as well as their respective family members. The paper discusses the nature, the form and the degree of the relational effects resulting from contact, in the cooperative organization, between post-genocide sides and suggests that, by virtue of its guiding values …

Christian And Islamic Perspectives On The Ethical Dilemma Of In Vitro Fertilization (Ivf), Stephanie Sariles

Dialogue & Nexus

After defining IVF procedures and the associated biomedical ethics with each, I will compare and contrast Christian and Islamic perspectives on IVF. Christianity in general does not accept IVF, because it is an unnatural method of reproduction that can affect Christian traditions such as parenthood and marriage. Despite this view, Protestants, in particular, have opened up to IVF as a method for treating infertility. Islam fully accepts IVF provided the married couple follows Islamic law. Sunni Muslims do not accept gamete donation, but Shi’ite Muslims are more flexible with gamete donation and surrogacy.

The Altruistic Self, Nathan Dougherty

Dialogue & Nexus

Altruism as a purely naturalistic phenomenon self-defeats the term altogether; however, theology also makes unsubstantiated claims that some behaviors are purely selfless. I will first define various conceptual forms of altruism and then offer explanations of the term from neurological, evolutionary and psychological investigations. Despite the position that altruism can be reduced to a fantastical impossibility bearing neither the arms of science nor theology, it is also a fallacy to separate it from a religiously derived supernatural altruism that carries no implications for the realm of morality.