Digital Commons Network^™

Mammalian Biodiversity On Greenways Across An Urban-To-Rural Gradient, Brooklyn C. Zwinklis

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Large-scale urbanization is one of the leading causes of biodiversity loss on a global scale due to habitat loss and fragmentation. This has created a need to investigate ways to mitigate the damage caused by urban development, such as studying whether green spaces in urban areas can serve as means of preserving mammalian biodiversity in cities. This study specifically focused on greenways as they are understudied when compared to other green spaces, such as parks and cemeteries. Greenways are linear tracts of paved land, usually designed for human recreational activities. However, their benefits to wildlife have not been well researched. …

Letters To Myself ~ Reflections Of A New Teacher ~ A Curriculum Of Self, Sarah Brittany S. Greneker

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This is a nontraditional, very creative approach to dissertation writing. Using reflective poetic inquiry, I reflect on my experiences transitioning from pre-service to in-service teacher in the early childhood classroom. I taught for 7 years and encountered many situations that would have been beneficial to know prior to becoming a certified teacher. I explore overarching themes of coworker relationships, undergraduate program preparation, the various responsibilities, classroom environment, teacher evaluation, teacher perspective, and teacher mental health and well-being and how they each impact a teacher’s experience in the classroom. This is accomplished through the epistolary genre and letters to myself as …

Meeting The Moment: Seeking A Symbiosis Of Economic Theory And Practice In Times Of Crisis, Sallie Taylor Manning

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

By their nature, crises upset the status quo and shake apart the ways of being and doing for individuals, families, communities, nations, institutions, and governments. This research seeks to identify the ways in which times of crisis led to changes in high school economics curriculum. The Georgia Performance Standards for high school economics curriculum were examined over a 23-year period to determine the extent to which three national and international crises led to changes in economics curriculum. A historiography was created for each of three crises, September 11, 2001 (9/11), Hurricane Katrina, and the Great Recession of 2008. The Georgia …

Joy In The Focus, Focus On The Joy, Alicia Cully

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This body of work, Joy in the Focus, Focus on the Joy is an engendered unspoken symbolic language generated from the handwritten words of the English language that are defined or viewed with positive connotations. These symbols are meant to spread the feelings each word embodies with what resonates with the priori or memory of the audience. The symbolic language is a key for an individual to make their own connections with how the symbol’s meaning makes them feel,, resulting in an openly welcome invitation to reach a focused joy in connecting with the displayed feeling(s). My drive to create …

Their Country: Black Women, Three Chords, And The Truth, Dmetri J. Smith

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Country music has long overlooked and at times outright erased the contributions of people of African descent. The past and present contributions of Black women are particularly ignored. Country music— a racially contested space centered in Nashville, Tennessee— is imbued with themes referencing the “good ole days” that were dangerous times for anyone who was not White, male, cisgender, and heterosexual. The genre has only become slightly more welcoming to those who are not part of the dominant class. And yet, there are Black women who feel called to use country music as their storytelling medium. My research shows …

The Othered Mothers: Monstrous Motherhood In Dracula, Dawn, And Nightbitch, Makay C. Walsh

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the monstrous mothers in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), Octavia E. Butler’s Dawn (1987), and Rachel Yoder’s Nightbitch (2021). Stoker’s Dracula serves as the foundational, or “mother,” text in terms of the model monstrous mothers: Dracula and Lucy Westenra. Dawn and Nightbitch provide more contemporary examples of monstrous mothers, yet they are different enough to contrast each other: Lilith in Dawn must navigate motherhood living amongst an alien species, and Nightbitch is a stay-at-home mom who starts turning into a dog. This thesis also establishes 7 Markers of Monstrous Motherhood as a critical framework for classifying monstrous mothers. …

Global Communities: The Potential Of Street Art And The Public Space, Elena Picech

The Coastal Review

This paper highlights the significance of physical proximity and the potentiality of socio-spatial situations as tools to enrich study abroad programs. Particular attention is given to street art and the public space. While, studying on-site can be somewhat uncomfortable, it can potentially prompt unique reflections, enhance student’s learning and encourage introspection. Being on-site provides the opportunity to come into contact and to connect with the physical objects and their environment. It enables a multisensory and immersive embodied experience. Leveraging art for communicative educational activities can facilitate a participatory experience, promote critical thinking and enhance cultural understanding.

The Femme-Fatale “Bear’Ing Her Teeth: The Relation Between Women And Animals In Prosper Mérimée’S Lokis, William B. Holley

The Coastal Review

Abstract: Many French fantastic texts from the nineteenth century employ the use of a femme-fatale to highlight and underscore the dangers inherit with the female figure. This can be seen in vampires, ghosts, fairies, and other supernatural phenomena wherein a female character takes on incredible attributes. Propser Mérimée’s Lokis offers readers a tale wherein those same female figures are given traits that resemble the traditional femme-fatale, but in doing so they highlight the deadly nature of the titular half-man/half-bear creature. This paper offers a reading of Lokis which brings together an understanding of the social and political climate in which …

Educational Digital Storytelling And Intercultural Identity Management: A Case Study For Short-Term Study Abroad Experiential Learning Pedagogies, Kasey Hudak, Rachel Davidson, Elizabeth Winters

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This article provides a case study of three educational digital storytelling (EDS) projects in which researchers use intercultural identity management theory (IMT) as a framework to investigate student claims of transformation within short-term study abroad courses. Across three separate hybrid digital production and intercultural communication courses with study abroad requirements, instructors noticed a pattern of students sharing similar sentiments that they experienced significant changes in beliefs, attitudes, or identity, with some even describing being “transformed” by the course experience. Analyses of multimedia student communications revealed that conducting interviews provided a discursive way to practice IMT agency. Furthermore, planning and editing …

2024 Conference Program, Georgia Southern University

SoTL Commons Conference

Conference program for 2024

"Fulfil In Beauty My Imperfect Prayer": Mythologization In Santayana's Aesthetics Of Religion, India M. Johnson-Mccauley

Honors College Theses

This thesis addresses George Santayana’s theories of art and religion in the context of turn-of-the-century religious thought and introduces the concept of the mythologization of religion. Santayana, the Spanish-American turn-of-the-century philosopher, poet, and novelist, took a naturalist, pragmatist, and religious non-realist approach to understanding the world that prompted works regarding the nature of art, The Sense of Beauty (1896), and the nature of religion, Interpretations of Poetry and Religion (1900). Within these two works, Santayana proposes a theory of aesthetics and a theory of religion that seem to function in tandem with each other. According to his theories, art, particularly …

A More Modern Prometheus: What Frankenstein Tells Us About Genetic Modification, Allison M. Ambrose

Honors College Theses

Mary Shelley’s famous novel, Frankenstein, is often hailed as the first true science fiction novel. In my thesis, I use the premonitive lens towards creation of life provided in Frankenstein to evaluate the morality of genetic modification of children. CRISPR-Cas9 is quickly emerging as the most important development in reprogenetic technology of our time, and many argue for its merits as a method of designing our children. I argue against this trend of “designer babies,” specifically raising questions about the soundness of modifying non-disease traits in future children and encouraging a more cautious attitude in both the scientific and philosophical …

Queer Baltimore: An Unlikely Home For All, Anna K. Trull

Honors College Theses

At the time Baltimore’s queer community emerged, much of the country did not accept anyone who identified as gay. Appearing during the 1940s, gay bars then paradoxically expanded following the Pepper Hill raid in 1955. The thesis builds upon the work of Lucas Hilderbrand (Duke UP, 2023) and Susan Ferentinos (“Maryland LGBTQ Historic Context Study,” 2020) to argue that the physical infrastructure of gay bars and the neighborhoods that developed around them drove the creation of a public culture in Baltimore out of LGBTQ subcultures. It uses a geospatial database based on oral histories and newspaper archives to analyze neighborhoods …

Transcriptional Induction Of Immune Pathway Genes And Subsequent Antibacterial Activity In The Digestive Tract Of The Cat Flea (Ctenocephalides Felis)., Katie A. Weber

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Fleas (Order Siphonaptera) are ectoparasites that serve as vectors of several human diseases (cat scratch disease, flea-borne spotted fever, murine typhus, and plague). Typically, these pathogens are acquired through the ingestion of a host-derived bloodmeal; thus, the lumen of the gut is the first barrier encountered by imbibed pathogens. During the early stages of infection, microbes come into contact with surrounding midgut epithelial cells which trigger a series of host responses to combat local infection. Specifically, pathogen recognition leads to intracellular signaling and an increase in the production of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) via the IMD and Toll immune pathways. While …

Investigating Division Quest: A Text-Based Adventure Narrative Game For Overcoming Difficulties Of Mitosis Learning, Amanda G. Conner

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Mitosis learning is a source of struggle for many introductory biology students. Much of this difficulty stems from an overwhelming amount of terminology and moving pieces as well as the abstract nature of cellular processes. Game-based learning (GBL) has been used in other contexts to reduce cognitive load and provide relatable experiences upon which students can construct their mental models. However, commercial GBL is often expensive and difficult to align with individual instructor teaching preferences and learning objectives. In this study, we use a mixed methods approach to explore the use of a GBL tool made in Twine to overcome …

Development Of A New Green Infrastructure By Using Biochar Amended Topsoil For On-Site Stormwater Runoff Treatment, Ayesha Sadia

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This Research Project aimed to design, build, operate and maintain, and monitor a new green infrastructure (GI) using biochar-amended topsoil for on-site stormwater runoff treatment in urban areas. The project involved evaluating the removal efficiencies of pollutants from stormwater runoff such as total suspended solid (TSS), nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorous, heavy metals including lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) and oil and grease etc. from the media of biochar amended topsoil. In this Project, a full-scale Field Test Site with a total area of 500 and 1 ft depth was built to on-site treat stormwater runoff from a …

Real But Fictional: A Research Agenda Of Virtual Influencers For Brand Communications In Social Media Marketing, Lei Huang

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

With the rise of virtual influencers (VIs) and their impacts on influencer marketing, this paper proposes a future research paradigm on how to develop brand communication strategies through a novel understanding of VIs from both the consumer and company perspectives. Built on the parasocial interaction theory and the human brand theory, six propositions aim to provide research guidelines for influencer and social media marketing by leveraging the use of VIs in a brand-consumer relationship. The theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.

Diversity Of Choral Festival Literature And The Selection Process, Abigail L. Mcmichen

Honors College Theses

In music education, festival events are a chance to receive feedback from experts in the field. Often, these events have literature lists from which directors are required to choose literature for the event. With choral festivals being so prevalent in music education, the literature lists provided to choral music educators have a major impact on young singers. Literature selection can be intense for choral music educators who decide what factors to consider when selecting literature. The purpose of this study was to explore and analyze the diversity of choral literature through analysis of the Georgia LGPE list while also gaining …

The George-Anne Reflector Magazine Newsletter, Georgia Southern University

George-Anne Media Group: Newsletters & Magazines

No abstract provided.

Do Animals Deserve Moral Consideration?, Philosopher's Discussion Group

The Philosopher's Stone

• Do Animals Deserve Moral Consideration?

Diet And The Role It Plays In Cognition, Ryan S. Lavrisa

Honors College Theses

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations have calculated the effects of animal agriculture and factory farming to be responsible for generating 14.5-16.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions as well as using 70% of all agricultural land to sustain itself. Plant-based diets such as veganism and vegetarianism have been on the rise as many seek to find diets that mitigate the animal suffering and environmental impact for which animal agriculture is responsible. With the rise of these diets, it is important to understand the cognitive effects adhering to such diets can have on the body and mind, as …

How Can A Divided Self Be The Same Person: Who Is The Real Me?, Philosopher's Discussion Group

The Philosopher's Stone

• How Can A Divided Self Be The Same Person: Who is The Real Me?

The George-Anne Daily, Georgia Southern University

George-Anne Media Group: Newsletters & Magazines

No abstract provided.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities And Threats Of A Community-Based Egg Program In Rural Honduras, Lilly Karsa, Dziyana Nazaruk, G. Ramos, L. Manship, Ana M. Palacios

Health Policy & Community Health: Faculty Publications

Background

Young children living in poor rural areas in Honduras are susceptible to suffering from undernutrition. About 1 in every 4 children under age 5 have stunting. Stunting during early childhood has negative consequences on an individual's life that can have short-term and lasting effects. This study's purpose was to explore the perceptions of the mothers of children that participate in a community-based nutrition-agriculture program that offers 1 egg daily to all children ages 6 to 24 months in 13 communities. Methods

Using community-engaged methods, we implemented a SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats using a semi-structured …

The George-Anne Daily, Georgia Southern University

George-Anne Media Group: Newsletters & Magazines

No abstract provided.

Historical Inquiry Deliberation (Hid): The New Republic Lesson Plan, Rhonda Kemp Webb

Teaching Social Studies in the Peach State

The following lesson plan is an example of adapting the Structured Academic Controversy (SAC) format for engaging students in the deliberation of the multiple perspectives for a current societal issue to instead create a procedure for evaluating a historical event or decision. The sample lesson included here for engaging students in this process is entitled “Historical Inquiry Deliberation: The New Republic” and requires students to deliberate the following question:

Which of the competing visions for America’s future was the best approach for the nation at the early stage of its development in the late 18^th century?

• Manufacturing: The US …

The George-Anne Inkwell Edition, Georgia Southern University

The Inkwell

No abstract provided.

The George-Anne Inkwell Edition, Georgia Southern University

The Inkwell

No abstract provided.

The George-Anne Daily, Georgia Southern University

George-Anne Media Group: Newsletters & Magazines

No abstract provided.

The George-Anne Inkwell Edition, Georgia Southern University

The Inkwell

No abstract provided.