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Advancing Global Flood Inundation Mapping From Srtm To Fabdem, Taylor James Miskin Apr 2025

Advancing Global Flood Inundation Mapping From Srtm To Fabdem, Taylor James Miskin

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluates how elevation and hydrography inputs influence flood extent accuracy using ARC (Automated Rating Curve), a raster-based flood inundation model. It focuses on how spatial resolution and vertical accuracy, reflecting the satellite mission from which each dataset was derived, and bare-earth processing of the DEM affect the accuracy of predicted flood extents. The assessment compares four dataset combinations--FABDEM with GEOGLOWS River Forecasting System Version 1(RFS1), FABDEM with GEOGLOWS River Forecasting System Version 2(RFS2), SRTM with RFS1, and SRTM with RFS2--across five study locations: the Suncook River in New Hampshire, North Fork Kentucky River in Kentucky, Nimishillen Creek in …

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Teaching Information Synthesis In First-Year Writing: A Replication And Extension Study, Rachel M. Terry Apr 2025

Teaching Information Synthesis In First-Year Writing: A Replication And Extension Study, Rachel M. Terry

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the challenges and strategies associated with teaching information synthesis to first-year college students. Synthesis, a higher-order cognitive skill described as "knowledge-transforming," is critical for academic success and informed engagement in an information-saturated society. However, many students enter college with underdeveloped foundational reading and writing skills, compounded by declining literacy rates and the prevalence of fragmented digital content consumption. This study builds on prior research in composition, education, and information literacy to address three key questions: (1) How do students understand synthesis? (2) What strategies do students employ when attempting to synthesize information? (3) What instructional implications arise …

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Language Choice And Russian Course Enrollment Among University Students, Emma Calderwood Apr 2025

Language Choice And Russian Course Enrollment Among University Students, Emma Calderwood

Theses and Dissertations

University Russian enrollments have been steadily declining in the United States since 2009 (MLA, 2023). No research has been done to examine student motivation for studying Russian since long before the 2022 increase in conflict between Russia and Ukraine. This study surveys two groups of students at the university level: students enrolled in BYU 101-level language classes, and students enrolled in Russian classes at six universities in the United States. The findings report that the most common reasons students choose to take university Russian classes is because they have a general interest in the language, they want to travel to …

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Maximizing Germination Of Three Native Plants For Rangeland Restoration And Urban Landscapes Through Seed Enhancements, Janetta Teichert Apr 2025

Maximizing Germination Of Three Native Plants For Rangeland Restoration And Urban Landscapes Through Seed Enhancements, Janetta Teichert

Theses and Dissertations

Native plants offer numerous ecological benefits and opportunities for both rangeland restoration and urban landscaping, making their integration essential for building sustainable ecosystems. They enhance soil health, promote pollinator activity, increase microbial diversity, and support both wildlife and livestock, all of which contribute to overall ecosystem resilience. A promising strategy to improve the use of native plants is the application of seed enhancement technologies, which can optimize seed germination, improve seedling establishment, and enhance overall plant success in challenging environments. These post-harvest seed treatments incorporate materials that improve seed performance, often through coatings composed of binders, fillers, and active ingredients. …

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Durability Of Rapid-Setting Concrete Repairs On Pavement Panels And Bridge Decks In Utah, Steven Benjamin Burdette Apr 2025

Durability Of Rapid-Setting Concrete Repairs On Pavement Panels And Bridge Decks In Utah, Steven Benjamin Burdette

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research was to evaluate the durability of rapid-setting concrete batched using volumetric concrete mixers and placed in a cold region. The scope of work included field and laboratory evaluations of rapid-setting concrete repairs on both pavement panels and bridge decks in Utah. Six sites in northern Utah were selected by Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) personnel for evaluation. At the time of inspection, the repairs had been in service for 4 to 5 years. Field research included visual inspection, Schmidt rebound hammer testing, resistivity testing, and concrete sampling. Laboratory research included stiffness testing, compressive strength testing, …

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Studying Cultural Change With Transhistorical Semantic Directions, Travis Daichi Ashby Apr 2025

Studying Cultural Change With Transhistorical Semantic Directions, Travis Daichi Ashby

Theses and Dissertations

This study advances the use of diachronic word embeddings in cultural sociology, contributing both methodologically and substantively. Methodologically, it synthesizes best practices for constructing semantic directions and addresses challenges arising from diachronic embeddings, including missing data and semantic drift. Substantively, it examines historical changes in schemas and conceptual metaphors related to "processing." By analyzing the changing associations between processing-related words (e.g., "raw" and "refined") and evaluative categories like authenticity, valence, and aesthetics, the study examines whether word-level changes amongst schematically-related words indicate deeper cultural shifts at the schematic level. Findings indicate a growing association between processed states and inauthenticity, a …

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Inquiry-Style Planetarium Activities, Emma Rasmussen Groberg Apr 2025

Inquiry-Style Planetarium Activities, Emma Rasmussen Groberg

Theses and Dissertations

Introductory astronomy students often face challenges in exploring their own ideas and investigating astronomical phenomena due to the limitations of nighttime observation and weather conditions. Planetariums overcome these barriers by simulating the night sky, making it accessible during class sessions regardless of external conditions. This provides an opportunity to engage students in inquiry-based activities, where they are presented with a scenario and encouraged to use their own reasoning to reach conclusions. In this study, we implemented inquiry-based activities in PHSCS 127 using the planetarium as an investigative tool. We developed four activities designed to help students explore their ideas and …

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Reconstruction Of Cad Models Into Single Trimmed Surfaces, Rebecca Rasmussen Apr 2025

Reconstruction Of Cad Models Into Single Trimmed Surfaces, Rebecca Rasmussen

Theses and Dissertations

Classical methods by which computer-aided design (CAD) geometries are represented for both design and analysis involve meshing. However, the current process of converting a CAD model into an analysis-suitable surface mesh for the automotive industry takes a significant amount of time and labor, results in a faceted representation of the original smooth geometry, and generates representations that are prohibitively expensive for use in high-order explicit dynamics computations. This research focuses on accurately and efficiently rebuilding given CAD surfaces or meshes, such as shell-like components of automotive vehicles, into smooth, single trimmed spline surface approximations (rather than typical piecewise-linear approximations), making …

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Modeling The Kepler Systems With Multiple Transiting Planets, Daniel Kempton Jones Apr 2025

Modeling The Kepler Systems With Multiple Transiting Planets, Daniel Kempton Jones

Theses and Dissertations

As the study of exoplanets, planets not in our solar system, has developed, new observational constraints have illuminated the formation and evolution of planetary systems. Among these observations, the true distributions of planetary mass, radius, and density are at the forefront. NASA's Kepler Space Telescope has provided an enormous wealth of data on the exoplanet radius distribution as well as a significant fraction of mass measurements through the detection of planet-planet dynamical interactions. The best method for studying these exoplanetary systems is with a photodynamical model which combines an n-body integrator with lightcurve model to generate synthetic lightcurves. To support …

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The Influence Of Leaders And Managers In Commercial Construction, Samuel F. Merrill Apr 2025

The Influence Of Leaders And Managers In Commercial Construction, Samuel F. Merrill

Theses and Dissertations

This research explores how the distinct traits of leadership and management influence supervisory effectiveness and employee experiences in Utah's commercial construction sector. While leadership and management are often conflated, this study draws on foundational literature that defines leadership as people-centered, visionary, and empowering. In contrast, management is characterized as results-driven, process-oriented, and focused on control. Using survey data from 95 individuals working in commercial construction, the study evaluates how supervisors with leadership or managerial characteristics are perceived by their teams. Supervisors were categorized based on observable behaviors selected by respondents, distinguishing leadership traits from managerial traits. Supervisors identified as leaders …

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Reclaiming Identity: Miné Okubo's Self-Portraiture And Authorship In Citizen 13660, Caroline E. Johnson Apr 2025

Reclaiming Identity: Miné Okubo's Self-Portraiture And Authorship In Citizen 13660, Caroline E. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I argue that Miné Okubo's repeated self-portraiture in Citizen 13660 asserts her authority of the soul author of the text, forcing her reader to acknowledge the perspective in which the story is being told. Through the images of herself, she makes clear the fact that the story is filtered through her personal experience, rather than the widely accepted understanding that the novel is a universal story. While the written account strives for a sense of objectivity, the images of Okubo, especially when analyzed through the context of her contemporaries, including comics and photographers, shows how her work …

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Assessing The Effectiveness Of Aging Techniques On Cloning Fpga-Based Configurable Ring Oscillator Pufs, Jonathan Thompson Apr 2025

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Aging Techniques On Cloning Fpga-Based Configurable Ring Oscillator Pufs, Jonathan Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are reconfigurable devices that are used in industries that often require increased security. Physically unclonable functions (PUFs) are a security primitive used on FPGAs for device authentication and key generation. However, the output of a PUF can be susceptible to changes in the environment, such as voltage and temperature, as well as changes in device performance that occur due to transistor aging. Previous work has shown that it is possible to induce targeted accelerated aging in order to intentionally change a PUF response, even to the point of cloning one PUF to behave like another. …

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Organismal Classification And The Phylogenetic Tree: Improving Its Teaching Using Decision-Based Learning, Melissa Cavan Apr 2025

Organismal Classification And The Phylogenetic Tree: Improving Its Teaching Using Decision-Based Learning, Melissa Cavan

Theses and Dissertations

For a lot of students, learning biology is like learning a new language. There are new terms and concepts that a lot of new students have never heard of. Evolution is the cornerstone for understanding biology, yet it is one of the more misunderstood topics. In combination with learning new terms and concepts some students come in with preconceived ideas about evolution or misunderstandings about how evolution and the phylogenetic tree work. The research indicates instructors attempting active learning techniques to increase understanding of the phylogenetic tree with mixed results, where there appears to be some improvement but nothing significant. …

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Prime Factors Of The Third Cyclotomic Polynomial Of The Same Form And Inequalities Related To Odd Perfect Numbers, Cody Stenberg Hansen Apr 2025

Prime Factors Of The Third Cyclotomic Polynomial Of The Same Form And Inequalities Related To Odd Perfect Numbers, Cody Stenberg Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis relates some results about odd perfect numbers and factorizations of cyclotomic polynomials evaluated on integers. In Chapter 2 we parameterize solutions to the equality $\Phi_3(x)=\Phi_3(a_1)\Phi_3(a_2)\cdots\Phi_3(a_n)$, where $x,a_i\in \Z_{>0}$ for $1\leq i\leq n$, $\Phi_3$ is the third cyclotomic polynomial, and each $\Phi_3(a_i)$ is prime, in the cases that $n=2,3,4,5$. Let $N$ be an odd perfect number. Let $\omega(N)$ be the number of distinct prime factors of $N$ and let $\Omega(N)$ be the total number (counting multiplicity) of prime factors of $N$. In Chapter 3, we use a result from Chapter 2 to show that $\frac{99}{37}\omega(N) - \frac{187}{37} \leq …

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"The Things I Hate": Romans 7 And The Construction Of Self, Nicole Francis Apr 2025

"The Things I Hate": Romans 7 And The Construction Of Self, Nicole Francis

Theses and Dissertations

The construction of the self has been a central topic of discussion throughout Graeco-Roman history and continues to shape modern theoretical debate. This paper situates Paul’s construction of self in Romans 7 within these ongoing conversations, engaging both ancient and modern perspectives. While many scholars have written books on the topic of the Hellenistic and Roman constructions of self that include thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Seneca, Epictetus, and others, none of these extant works have explored Paul’s contribution to this discourse. Acknowledging the historical interests and the academic conversations about the historical Paul, this paper seeks to add …

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"The Truth Of Our Historic Encounter": Curating Networks Of The Past In Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad, Holden O. D'Evegnee Apr 2025

"The Truth Of Our Historic Encounter": Curating Networks Of The Past In Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad, Holden O. D'Evegnee

Theses and Dissertations

What unites the critical response to Colson Whitehead's 2016 novel The Underground Railroad is universal interest in the text's attitude towards historical truth. I contend that critics fixate so much on the issue of truth that they miss how the novel offers an alternative to historic truth in the form of an aesthetic encounter. During her employment as a "living exhibit" in North Carolina's Museum of Natural Wonders, protagonist Cora despairs at the apparent absence of truth. Despite the overt manipulation of history to justify white imperialism in the museum, Cora experiences a transcendent moment of refuge when she works …

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Longitudinal Analysis Of Evergreen Forest Cover Dynamics In The Great Salt Lake Basin: A Landsat-Based Stochastic Classification Approach And Comparative Assessment With The National Land Cover Dataset, Kaleb Markert Apr 2025

Longitudinal Analysis Of Evergreen Forest Cover Dynamics In The Great Salt Lake Basin: A Landsat-Based Stochastic Classification Approach And Comparative Assessment With The National Land Cover Dataset, Kaleb Markert

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents an investigation into the changes of evergreen forest cover within the Great Salt Lake Basin and its implications for regional water resources. Utilizing a Random Forest Classifier (RFC) model trained on Landsat imagery, this research developed a methodology to map and track changes in evergreen forest coverage over the period from 1984 to 2019. The initial phase of this study focused on the development of model trained within the Bear Lake sub-basin, demonstrating the feasibility of the method for analysis of coniferous coverage. The model incorporated summer and winter Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to enhance the …

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The Value Of Alternative Credentials To Earners And Employers, Daniel O. Young Apr 2025

The Value Of Alternative Credentials To Earners And Employers, Daniel O. Young

Theses and Dissertations

Between the rising cost of education and the oft-mentioned skills gap, current and potential students are pursuing alternatives to expensive 4-year degrees. This has contributed to the rapid rise of alternative credentials over the past 10 years. However, these alternatives still struggle with public awareness, questions of validity, and familiarity and acceptance by employers. This dissertation focuses on understanding the research surrounding alternative credentials and specifically looks at whether those credentials have perceived or actual value for gaining or improving an individual's career. To better understand this topic, I looked to the literature for context, and used data gathered from …

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Genetic Regulation Of Anthocyanin Biosynthesis In Flower Color In Gilia, Veronica Mosquera Apr 2025

Genetic Regulation Of Anthocyanin Biosynthesis In Flower Color In Gilia, Veronica Mosquera

Theses and Dissertations

Gilia was the model species in this research to study the genetic regulation of flower color. I generated an F2 population from a cross of two closely related leafy-stemmed Gilia: G. capitata with blue and G. yorkii with white flowers, to obtain the fertile F1, which was selfed. The F2 population showed a segregation ratio between pigmented versus white flowers 3:1, suggesting a single locus with a major effect on the regulation of flower color. Then, the G. yorkii genome was assembled and annotated to become the reference genome to genotype-by-sequencing (GBS) 189 F2 individuals. The Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) …

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Differential Binding Of Host Cell Proteins By Vpr Mutant R77q Compared With Wild Type Vpr, Madison C. Wagley Apr 2025

Differential Binding Of Host Cell Proteins By Vpr Mutant R77q Compared With Wild Type Vpr, Madison C. Wagley

Theses and Dissertations

HIV Viral protein R (Vpr) is a multifunctional accessory protein which plays a role in nuclear import of the pre-integration complex, transactivation of HIV LTR promoter, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis during HIV infection. R77Q is an HIV Vpr mutant which is associated with long-term non-progressor phenotypes, and which has previously been connected to higher levels of apoptosis compared to wild type Vpr in vitro. There are observable differences in host binding partners with HIV Vpr between wild type and R77Q strains as shown via coimmunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry. In one run R77Q samples showed binding to histone 1.2, 1.3, …

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A Novel Approach To Detect Shapes Of Constant Width, Ian D. Monk Apr 2025

A Novel Approach To Detect Shapes Of Constant Width, Ian D. Monk

Theses and Dissertations

Bodies of constant width have been studied mathematically since Euler and have found various applications in engineering and other areas. In this paper, we seek to develop novel tools to gain deeper insights into these shapes and to better be able to analyze them. The idea which motivates the development in this paper is as follows: a body has constant width if and only if the chord connecting the intersections of the boundary of the body with each pair of parallel hyper planes which lie tangent to a body lies perpendicular to the hyper planes.This is a known fact and …

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Development Of Raman Spectroscopic Methods To Analyze Chemical, Biological, And Physical Constituents For Food Safety And Quality, Hannah C. Broadbent Apr 2025

Development Of Raman Spectroscopic Methods To Analyze Chemical, Biological, And Physical Constituents For Food Safety And Quality, Hannah C. Broadbent

Theses and Dissertations

Ensuring food safety and quality is crucial for consumer health, satisfaction, and regulatory compliance. This study aims to develop rapid, reliable methods for detecting food constituents (i.e. lactose), pathogens (i.e. Listeria monocytogenes), and contaminants (i.e. micro- and nano-plastics) using Raman spectroscopy. With advantages like high specificity, minimal sample preparation, and fast analysis, Raman spectroscopy offers a promising alternative to traditional methods. This research explores its application in assessing chemical, biological, and physical properties of food to enhance safety and quality monitoring. Lactose-free products are increasingly popular due to the global prevalence of lactose intolerance, creating a need for effective verification …

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Frost Heave Of Clayey Soils Treated With Cement Or Lime, Ammon K. Hymas Apr 2025

Frost Heave Of Clayey Soils Treated With Cement Or Lime, Ammon K. Hymas

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research was to measure and compare the effects of portland cement and lime at low, medium, and high concentrations on the frost-heave susceptibility of multiple clayey soils with varying plasticity indices. The scope of work included laboratory frost-heave testing of three clayey soils sampled from Monticello, Utah; Bloomington, Indiana; and San Antonio, Texas. Each soil was tested with two stabilizers, cement or lime, at three concentrations, as well as with no treatment. Two replicate samples were prepared for each combination, for a total of 42 specimens. The frost-heave testing procedures for this research involved preparing specimen …

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Partial Replication Of The Severe Outcome Questionnaire (S-Oq): Determining Benchmarks Using Ecologically Valid Data, Joshua J. Allen Apr 2025

Partial Replication Of The Severe Outcome Questionnaire (S-Oq): Determining Benchmarks Using Ecologically Valid Data, Joshua J. Allen

Theses and Dissertations

Background: The Severe Outcome Questionnaire (S-OQ) is a self-report tool whose most recent manual was published in 2008. It measures the treatment progress of the seriously mentally ill (SMI). Objective: 1). Partially replicate the outpatient and inpatient admission, change, and internal consistency data. 2). Provide a manual extension including admission and change data for new settings of care and include treatment modality benchmarks. Method: OQ Measures provided an archival data set drawn from six different community mental health organizations from around the United States covering 101 different clinics (N = 25,511; Male = 11,524, Female = 13,987). We constructed normative …

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Gender Differences In Food Parenting, Lily Arrowood Apr 2025

Gender Differences In Food Parenting, Lily Arrowood

Student Works

Children’s food behavior can be determined by food parenting practices, which can differ between mother and father. This review aims to present the most current research on the difference in parenting styles between fathers and mothers and the influences on children’s food behavior. Searches were conducted through EBSCO database and the National Library of Medicine database to produce 10 peer-reviewed articles that were empirical studies. Findings about nutritional risk and nutrition education were inconclusive. A relationship exists between fathers and coercive food parenting strategies. There are inconclusive findings about children’s environment, but mothers contributed to more foodwork and used supportive …

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Hydrologic Decision Support In The Nile Basin: Creating Status And Outlook Products From The Geoglows Hydrologic Model, Rachel Huber Apr 2025

Hydrologic Decision Support In The Nile Basin: Creating Status And Outlook Products From The Geoglows Hydrologic Model, Rachel Huber

Theses and Dissertations

Decision makers and stakeholders need information about current and future streamflow to make informed decisions and we show how the GEOGLOWS Hydrologic Model, known as River Forecast System (RFS), can be used to provide hydrologic status and outlook products to inform these decisions. We examine a specific use case of RFS in the Nile River Basin and how RFS is used to provide users with hydrologic status products. We work with stakeholders at the Nile Basin Initiative to assess their needs for this information. We use basic low flow calculations to compute the Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI) and the 95th …

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Human Passion In The City And The Jungle: Translating Horacio Quiroga’S “Dieta De Amor,” “El Simún,” And “Polea Loca”, Washington C. Pearce Apr 2025

Human Passion In The City And The Jungle: Translating Horacio Quiroga’S “Dieta De Amor,” “El Simún,” And “Polea Loca”, Washington C. Pearce

Theses and Dissertations

Horacio Quiroga, Uruguayan-Argentine writer who is often considered analogous to Edgar Allan Poe, is notable for his contributions to the development of South American Modernismo and his status as a precursor to the Latin American "Boom" period. My project presents a translation of three previously untranslated short stories: "Dieta de Amor," "El Simún," and "Polea Loca." As a preface to these translations I articulate my translation theory and give examples of that theory in practice. I draw upon Jorge Luis Borges, Lawrence Venuti, and Friedrich Schleiermacher as translation scholars who have influenced my work.

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Systematic Analysis On The Applications Of Infrastructure Asset Management In Utah, Kelvin Kozakevitch Apr 2025

Systematic Analysis On The Applications Of Infrastructure Asset Management In Utah, Kelvin Kozakevitch

Theses and Dissertations

Public infrastructure is essential to a region’s economic stability and quality of life, especially its rural infrastructure where most consumable and essential goods derive from. Given the high capital investment required for infrastructure development and maintenance, asset management plans (IAM) are critical. Even though academic research exists on the problems rural infrastructure management face, little is known about the actual state, barriers and causes for the challenges IAM faces in rural Utah. This study examines the current challenges and barriers in IAM among rural communities in Utah. Employing a grounded theory approach, data was collected through a two-phase methodology: phase …

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"Peace [That] Could Only Be Amazement, Too": Narrativizing Wonder And Strangeness In Marilynne Robinson's Lila, Tricia Cope Apr 2025

"Peace [That] Could Only Be Amazement, Too": Narrativizing Wonder And Strangeness In Marilynne Robinson's Lila, Tricia Cope

Theses and Dissertations

Set against the backdrop of the mid-twentieth century American Midwest, Marilynne Robinson's Lila is a profound story of loss and redemption told through the perspective of a young woman who emerges from a childhood of trauma and neglect and begins a new life in the quiet town of Gilead, Iowa. This paper examines the novel as a narrative meditation on the theological and ontological dimensions of wonder. While its fragmented structure and bleak subject matter have led some critics to interpret the novel as emotionally fractured or pessimistic, I argue that its recursive form and narrative disorientation are deliberate formal …

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Learning Stations As A Dialogical Teaching Strategy In English Language Arts, Kaylee Smedley Apr 2025

Learning Stations As A Dialogical Teaching Strategy In English Language Arts, Kaylee Smedley

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers and teachers advocating for dialogical teaching in secondary English language arts classrooms value dialogical strategies because they offer flexible approaches to comprehension and learning (Wilkinson & Son, 2011). While research on dialogic pedagogy recognizes strategies that privilege student talk, connect reading and writing to students' life experiences, and value multiple perspectives as beneficial, research about learning stations--where students rotate through a series of learning activities in small, collaborative groups (Aydogmus & Senturk, 2019)--and their role in fostering dialogical learning remains limited. This article explores how learning stations supported the application of dialogical principles through an inquiry-based literature unit and …

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