Digital Commons Network^™

Breaking The Rule Of Silence: Childbirth And Gendered Power In Efuru And The Joys Of Motherhood, Sunday Elliott Uguru

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study examines the thematic preoccupation of childbirth in the formative period of feminist discourse in African literature through a critical study of selected novels of Igbo women of southeastern Nigeria. The novels studied represent the earliest published African texts in English by women. The period under focus falls within the emerging stage of Nigerian literary tradition in its written form with a dominant presence of men. This study investigates the women novelists' perspective toward the failure of male authored works to represent women's childbirth experience. Through a critical reading of Flora Nwapa's Efuru and Buchi Emecheta's The Joys of …

Lessons In Persistence, Syble Heffernan

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

LESSONS IN PERSISTENCE is a thesis that operates within the tradition of writing about trauma and resilience, taking up themes of mental illness, class, colonialism, loss of a parent, navigating queerness in a conservative Christian context, and reckoning with gender-based violence and expectations directed toward people socialized as women. The use of ecopoetics highlights the relationship between traumas to the earth brought about by climate change, war, and worldwide suffering, and those brought upon the human body (specifically marginalized bodies) by grief, illness, abuse, and the loss of self. The collection ultimately aims to establish explicit connections between internal and …

Coalitional Response(Ability) In Rhetoric And Composition, Zoe Nicole Mcdonald

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation considers the literacy practices of progressive coalitions as a provocative way to examine central responsibilities of rhetorical scholars, college writing instructors, and writing program administrators. Through attention to case studies, this dissertation suggests opportunities to consider social differences as crucial assets for political advocacy, scholarly knowledge production, and teaching strategies.

Advisor: Stacey Waite

Healing In The Workplace: School Counselors, Trauma, And Growth, Judith L. Sigler

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

An autoethnographic study on the experience of a Midwest rural school counselor represents a personal and professional perspective on trauma, burnout, and posttraumatic growth. Content includes rural adversity, grief, and career progression. The research aimed to examine professional and private adversities to inform and improve the practice of professional school counselors.

The following research questions were addressed:

1. How did personal and secondary trauma impact a rural school counselor’s professional trajectory?
2. What insight can be offered to other school counselors or educators experiencing the challenges that come with this work and, sometimes, that come from sources that are not from work …

Sacrificial Lambs: The Perils Of Childhood In Shakespeare, Benjamin Sidney Reed

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

“Sacrificial Lambs: The Perils of Childhood in Shakespeare” utilizes childhood studies to read five Shakespearean plays and how they portray child characters in perilous situations such as kidnapping, banishment, and murder. It argues these dangers emulate real circumstances young people faced in the early modern period, including the boy actors playing these roles. The dissertation’s key research questions include how children in these plays exhibit agency in the face of danger, how they resist adult systems of power, and how audiences in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries may have responded to these portrayals of imperiled and rebellious youths. The Introduction …

What's In A Name? Plant Naming As Cultural Artifact And Story In The Midwestern United States, Sophie Wesseler

Undergraduate Theses

This project sought to collect and contextualize the historical and contemporary names given to plants by inhabitants of the Midwestern United States, understanding plant names as cultural artifacts that can offer insight into the communities in which they were created and evolved. Formatted as a series of entries, this collection gathered these names and contextualized them within other artifacts of cultural significance, such as art or poetry, and alongside historical research on their origins and cultural environments. Examining plant names through the fields of linguistics, semiology, anthropology, cultural studies, taxonomy, and ethnobotany, this work traces the names of various plants …

Seeking The Unspoken: Examining Queer Subtext In Storytelling, Morgan Stevens-Reidy

Postgraduate

This exegesis aims to examine the techniques of subtext that are used to determine creative decisions in narrative structures on various forms of fictional screen media with a specific focus on storytelling in an animation context and the creative mediums used to form it. The major focus of subtextual storytelling that is investigated during this exegesis is the themes and narratives used throughout the LGBTQ+ community and the diversity of its influences upon hidden signs within stories, which was studied through the process of creating the foundation of a short film with the use of methodological approaches such as practice-led …

Child Maltreatment Primary Prevention Methods In The U.S.: A Systematic Review Of Recent Studies, Maria Godoy-Murillo

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Child maltreatment remains a widespread issue in the United States of America, (U.S.). Identifying effective methods of preventing child maltreatment is key to reducing the prevalence of this issue. Objective: This systematic review provides an overview of contemporary primary child maltreatment prevention methods in the U.S. to investigate their effectiveness. Methods: Using the OneSearch database, the following keywords were included: (“prevention methods” and “child maltreatment”), (“parental leave” and “child maltreatment”), (“primary prevention” and “child maltreatment”), (WIC and “child maltreatment”), (“home visit” and “child maltreatment”), (“child abuse and neglect” and “primary prevention”), (“affordable housing” and prevention and “child maltreatment”), (“early …

Gender Dysphoria In Adolescence And The Models Of Care: A Systematic Literature Review, Arnold Briseno

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This systematic literature review examines and compares the efficacy of gender-affirming care and mixed-method approaches in treating adolescents with gender dysphoria. Through a detailed analysis of existing empirical studies, the research aims to identify optimal strategies that support the mental health and well-being of adolescents who are exhibiting criteria of gender dysphoria. The findings suggest a nuanced landscape where gender-affirming and mixed-method care models offer valuable benefits, highlighting the importance of individualized and flexible treatment approaches. This work contributes to the ongoing discourse on adolescent mental health care, advocating for policies and practices that prioritize the needs of this population, …

Students Of Higher Education Receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program And Its Impact On Mental Health, Cristina Palacios Mosqueda

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The focus of this research study was the impact of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on the mental health, specifically anxiety and depression, of students pursuing higher education. The study analyzed if food security from receiving SNAP benefits relieved mental illnesses for students pursuing higher education. This study utilized a post-positivist paradigm. The data was obtained through qualitative methods, including 14 audio interviews and verbal observations of current undergraduate and graduate students from Southern California. At the time that the research interviews were conducted, the students participated in the student and discussed their experiences of dealing with mental health symptoms …

Cultural And Structural Barriers Of Utilizing Mental Health Services In A School-Based Setting For Latinx Populations, Silvia Lozano, Bridgette Guadalupe Calderon

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This qualitative research study aimed to reduce mental health service disparities in Latinx communities and helps fill in the gap by addressing cultural and structural barriers to utilizing MHS in a school-based setting for Latinx youth. There is limited research regarding Latinx parents’ perspectives and the reservations they have on utilizing school-based mental health services (MHS) for their children. This study identified six important themes: cultural factors, trust and rapport, reservations, access and awareness, parental involvement and challenges, and school-based resources. Implications for school districts are that they can use these findings to increase early intervention mental behavioral health programs …

The Cooling Impact Of Urban Greening: A Systematic Review Of Methodologies And Data Sources, Saman Galalizadeh, Angus Morrison-Saunders, Pierre Horwitz, Richard Silberstein, David Blake

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Urban greening is a practical adaptation to improve the liveability of a city by providing urban cooling. This paper systematically evaluates the existing literature to understand the methodologies and associated data sources for determining the cooling effect provided by urban greening. A bibliometric analysis, including research focus parallelship network analysis and keyword co-occurrence network analysis using Gephi and BibExcel, was first performed on 156 articles to identify the main resulting research themes in cooling provided by UGAs. Subsequently, 72 of these were selected to extract more information, such as the focus, the measured parameters, the methods, and tools employed to …

Effect Of Asynchronous Virtual Interviews On Ethnic Minority Matriculation Into A Doctor Of Physical Therapy Program, Conner Clark, Nanea Lagasca, Gladys Miller, Jasmine Puspos

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose/Methods: This study examines the impact of the use of asynchronous virtual interviews (AVIs) in the admissions process of the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). This research aims to examine racial and ethnic subgroup differences in AVI scores, evaluate the influence of AVIs on applicant scores in the admissions process, and assess the AVI inter-rater reliability among faculty evaluators using data from the 2019-2022 admissions cycles.

Results: Significant differences were found in AVI scores among racial and ethnic groups, with Black applicants scoring highest and Asian applicants scoring lowest. Additionally, inclusion …

Houses Built For Gods: Articulations Of Urban Hokora In Kyoto, Steele Engelmann

Anthropology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Amidst the urban landscape of Kyoto, Japan, there are thousands of hokora, small neighborhood shrines. This study uses social theories of pilgrimage and space to examine the articulation of hokora, community, and personal desire. As sites of local pilgrimage, hokora form networks of communal, but also individual, aspirations across the urban spiritual landscape of the city. This thesis argues that communities are connected to the larger social structures of Kyoto through hokora. As such, neighborhoods are reproduced and displayed through their hokora’s entanglements with the urban, social, and religious landscapes of Kyoto. Therefore, this study deploys an ethnographic approach to …

States’ Covid-19 Restrictions Were Associated With Increases In Drug Overdose Deaths In 2020, Douglas A. Wolf, Shannon M. Monnat, Jennifer Karas Montez, Emily E. Wiemers, Elyse Grossman

Population Health Research Brief Series

Drug overdoses surged in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health experts raised concerns in the pandemic’s early months about how the pandemic and the policies enacted to stem it might increase overdose risk. This brief summarizes the findings of a paper that used national data to identify how states’ COVID-19 policies affected drug overdose rates among U.S. adults ages 25-64 during the first year of the pandemic. Results show that counties located in states that adopted more aggressive in-person activity restrictions experienced larger increases in 2020 than counties located in states with fewer limitations. State economic support policies …

Disavowed: The Downfall Of England's Men, Marriages, And Sense Of Self In The Stories Of D. H. Lawrence, Emily Guido

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This paper aims to discuss the theme of displacement, specifically of men in early twentieth-century England experiencing the decline of the traditional masculinity model, in the short fiction of D. H. Lawrence. Displacement, fundamentally, it is removing that which belongs in a specific place or home to an unknown, unadapted environment. In the context of literature, displacement can take more abstract shapes, such as cultural, spiritual, and mental displacements that—as most great literature does—arouses our sympathies to the larger groups and concepts for which they stand. In these types of stories, physical displacement becomes the metaphor for these more abstract …

A Performance-Based Exploration Of Vocal Anatomy And Pedagogy: Maximizing Technical, Stylistic, And Physiological Frameworks For Superlative Vocal Technique In Artistic Function, Michael J. Civitano

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the influence of specific frameworks in performance and vocal pedagogy on artists' capacity to enact evidence-based learning outcomes, with emphasis on vocal physiology and educator-performer relationships. Employing an experimental design, five philosophies that support capacity-building were tested across two trial settings, varying in intensity. The participant utilized narrative reasoning, diversified methods, and mentorship from specialized educators to apply frameworks. Findings indicate that, in practicing evidence-based learning and maximizing anatomic foundations of the voice, substantial developments in artistic capacity ensued. Educator-performer relationships mediate this process through reciprocal collaborations that foster capacity-building. Performers display optimal artistic capacity by effectively …

Autism On The Net: An Autoethnographic Appraisal Of Literature On Online Socialization, Empowerment, And Kinship Of Autistic People In Digital Spaces, Lennox Le Vine-Miller

Honors Theses

In a world that is increasingly becoming more and more active online, social groups formed on the basis of interests and passions have the propensity to intersect with communities of those who experience marginalization, in this case, autistic people. As such, this work seeks to examine what the basis of an autistic cultural identity is, and how the social factors that it is built on, those being belongingness, social connectedness, and political connectedness, and how they manifest among various online communities, whether it be cosplay fandom, fanfiction communities, or virtual worlds within Minecraft and Second Life. These online communities illustrate …

A Study Of Cybersecurity Landscape In The United States: Trend, Regional Variations, And Socioeconomic Factors, Trang Thi Thu Horn

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Internet has become an essential part of our daily lives. Cyberspace has emerged significantly with an enormous number of users, creating a lucrative hunting field for cybercriminals. The exponential growth of internet users and online activities, along with the increased sophistication of cybercrimes, is raising significant global concerns for individuals, organizations, and governments. This research aims to explore the cybersecurity landscape in the United States, investigate regional variations, and the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of cybercrimes. The study utilizes a mixed research method approach, including historical analysis and a Delphi study. Historical analysis studied …

"Everyone Got To Eat My Tears": Racialized Emotions, Mentoring Practices, And The Political And Ethical Commitments Of Women Of Color Graduate Students In Stem, Machienvee V. Lammey

Sociology ETDs

In this project, I examine the emotional and lived experiences of women of color (WOC) graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and how they embody and negotiate racism, classism, and sexism in academia, particularly in White, men-dominated STEM spaces. I utilize critical race theory and intersectionality to shed light on how WOC draw upon their intersecting identities, marginalization, and sense of community to navigate and resist oppressive environments. Specifically, I highlight the ways they experience racialized emotions and leverage vulnerability to resist dominant academic norms and controlling images to preserve their holistic selves, engage in critical reflexivity …

Reaping What We Sow: The Implications And Outcomes Of Mississippi House Bill 1125, The “Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (Reap)” Act, Kerigan Brewer

Honors Theses

Mississippi House Bill 1125 (MS HB1125), also known as the “Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (REAP) Act,” was signed into law by Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves in early 2023 (REAP Act, 2023). It is one of multiple policies passed into law that limit the rights of transgender people. This thesis aims to clarify the history of the trans community, dispel myths around gender-affirming health care and the trans identity, and discuss the current state of anti-trans laws and transgender rights. Using a policy analysis framework by DiNitto (2011), MS HB1125 is analyzed on points like its social and economic costs, the …

Across The Snake River Plain: Terminal Pleistocene, Early Holocene, And Early Middle Holocene Land-Use In Southeast Idaho, Jennifer Finn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The range of mobility demonstrated to overcome challenges with resource distribution is a hallmark of hunter-gatherer societies. Previous studies in southeast Idaho have investigated the possibility that precontact human movement was impacted by climatic differences. According to preliminary studies on regional obsidian toolstone conveyance, land use patterns were already changing throughout the early Holocene due to increased aridity. However, the geographical distribution of Northern Side-notched projectile points suggests a significant expansion in mobility at the early Holocene/middle Holocene transition. This thesis tests the hypothesis that precontact early middle Holocene human mobility in the study area was conditioned by environmental factors …

An Exploratory Research On The Sexualization Of Young Women On Tiktok, Grace Schmerz

Student Theses

This study adopts a mixed-method approach, utilizing both qualitative content analysis and quantitative metadata assessments to evaluate 1000 TikTok videos tagged under specific hashtags suggestive of youthful and sexualized themes. Qualitative findings highlighted the characteristics of sexualization through thematic content analysis, sorting behaviors, attire, and the context of music and speech within the videos. Themes such as sexualized postures, sexualized attire, sexualized dancing, sexualized speech, and sexualized gestures were categorized and quantified with the support of descriptive statistics. The study found a significant presence of sexualization in the sample, most prominently in post-pubescent women. Quantitatively, engagement metrics provided insight into …

The Role Of Transit Countries In Global Wildlife Trafficking, Joseph Gangi

Student Theses

This thesis explores the role of transit countries in the global trade of illegal wildlife. While much research has been conducted on source and destination countries, transit countries remain an under-researched link in this chain, even though they play an integral role in facilitating this trade. This study utilizes the Rational Choice and Institutional Theory theoretical frameworks to examine the factors associated with transit countries' roles in wildlife trafficking. The findings indicate that transit countries play an active role in wildlife trafficking, and there is a need for policy to address this issue. Considering the findings of this study, this …

A Content Analysis On Emotions Presented In Preschool Children's Television, Sarah Austin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Learning about emotions is an essential aspect of early childhood. Because of the increasing access to screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic, children have more resources in their environment to learn from. However, before more can be known about whether children are learning about emotions during their screen time, it is important to know how emotions are being presented to them in their online content. Therefore, this study sought to gather data regarding how four emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, fear) are portrayed verbally and nonverbally among three types of preschool television shows (entertainment, balanced, educational). A sample of 60 preschool …

Is This Behavior Impressive Or Repulsive? The Influence Of Our Ecology On Our Social Evaluations, Kai Lin Lynn Tan

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Sexual unrestrictedness, impulsivity, and seeking immediate gratification—these traits generally carry negative connotations and tend to be frowned upon. However, are they necessarily maladaptive? Evolutionary psychologists map these traits onto a behavioural cluster known as a fast life strategy. While a wide body of work has examined many types of prejudices (e.g., sexism, ageism, racism, classism, attractiveness bias etc.) the literature has yet to examine prejudices against people who display behaviours that lie on the life history strategy continuum. I propose that in our modern world where life is relatively predictable and mortality rates are lower than in ancestral times, there …

The Aspirations Of The Youth Of South Sudan Towards Tertiary Technical Education, Peace, Development And Civic Engagements, Sunil Orathel

Doctoral Dissertations

South Sudan, the youngest nation in the world, gained independence on July 9, 2011, following many long years of civil war and untold human suffering. After a decade of independence and millions spent from international assistance, neither stability nor development have been secured in the country. Although primary education is improving, tertiary education, particularly tertiary technical education, is considered a neglected sector. This descriptive mixed-method study documents and analyzes 1,461 surveys and 60 interviews, capturing the aspirations of the secondary school youth and stakeholders across the nation of South Sudan towards tertiary technical education, peace, development and civic engagements. Historical …

Travel-Time Disparities In Access To Proton Beam Therapy For Cancer Treatment, Todd Burus, Alexander Vanhelene, Michael Rooney, Krystle Lang Kuhs, W. Jay Christian, Christopher Mcnair, Sanjay Mishra, Arnold Paulino, Grace Smith, Steven Frank, Jeremy Warner

Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

IMPORTANCE: Proton beam therapy is an emerging radiotherapy treatment for patients with cancer that may produce similar outcomes as traditional photon-based therapy for many cancers while delivering lower amounts of toxic radiation to surrounding tissue. Geographic proximity to a proton facility is a critical component of ensuring equitable access both for indicated diagnoses and ongoing clinical trials.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the distribution of proton facilities in the US, quantify drive-time access for the population, and investigate the likelihood of long commutes for certain population subgroups.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This population-based cross-sectional study analyzed travel times to proton facilities in …

A Rhetorical-Sociological Understanding Of Emotion, Amy Boone

All Dissertations

This project presents a rhetorical-sociological understanding of emotion while foregrounding the place and role of language. Born from Sara Ahmed’s work in The Cultural Politics of Emotion, it presents a simplified equation (contact + orientation = emotion) as both a prescriptive and descriptive formula for making sense of human emotional experience. Starting with an exploration of the difficult-to-understand affect system, this dissertation identifies both rhetoric and affect as energies which cannot be understood apart from their traces, the things they move, produce, and become. As a way to get at these often-invisible forces, two trace studies are conducted which explore …

The Role Of Soft Infrastructure In Developing Sustainable Volunteer-Based Healthcare For Transient Migrants In The El Paso-Ciudad Juárez Border Region, Daniel Avitia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.