Digital Commons Network^™

Cultivating Community: Investigating Performances Of Community In Ecovillage Settlements, Alex Lockwood

Dissertations

This dissertation considers the subject of ecovillages, intentional ecologically-oriented sustainable communities developed in the U.S., and the different understandings of community involvement, structure, and challenges that members of these communities confront in their efforts at managing these time and labor-intensive settlements. Informed by the work of performance ethnographers and critical phenomenologists, I consider twelve interviews I conducted on-site and electronically with people living in ecovillage settlements. Taking these interviews and my own observations from on-site visits to two ecovillages as entry points, I conducted a phenomenological analysis informed by a critical phenomenological ethos of these accounts, highlighting five motifs that …

Effects Of Matching Images Of Natural And Built Environments On Delay Discounting: A Systematic Replication Of Berry Et Al. (2014), Elizabeth Fillmore

Theses

Decision making is heavily influenced by the environment around us. Berry et al. (2014, 2015, 2019) showed that viewing images of natural environments during the delay discounting task resulted in lower impulsive choice, as compared to viewing images of built environments or geometric figures. Berry et al. proposed that attentional factors could explain this effect, however, recent attempts to reproduce Berry et al.’s findings in a different laboratory have been unsuccessful (Johnson 2017, 2018, 2019). The present study tested if manipulating the participants’ observing responses towards different types of images (natural, built, and no images) modulates the effect reported by …

Beyond The Page: Multimodal Lab-Based Research And Development In Creative Writing, Matthew Jacob Gordon

Theses

This collection acts as the supporting evidence of the hypothesis that, while acting as Graduate Director of SIU’s Digital Xpressions Lab, Matthew Gordon was able to successfully provide effective support for the digital expression of collaborator’s and client's domains of knowledge while forming innovative research partnerships with academics within the SIU system and beyond. A unique form for a MFA in Creative Writing’s thesis, this collection represents the multimodal creative work a contemporary narrative designer can undertake in a single academic year when given the ability to lead a facility like Southern Illinois University’s Digital Xpressions Lab. Qualitative evidence in …

Oiko-Logic In Literature, Elias Joshua Taylor

Dissertations

My study utilizes ecocriticism, eco-Marxism, and posthumanism to discover how the sympathetic practices of both reading and ecology provide us with what I call an oiko-logic. Specifically, I read Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy, Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, and John Williams’ Butcher’s Crossing. In Gulliver’s Travels we see Gulliver as an ecological threat in every journey, and Swift says that this is because we forget ourselves and deliberately choose to not attune—sometimes even choosing destruction. For Swift, we bungle things no matter which system we try, and we create degenerative devolution despite the fact that we can help. …

Deficiency Of Adipose Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Protects Against Diet-Induced Metabolic Dysfunction Through Sexually Dimorphic Mechanisms, Nazmul Haque

Dissertations

Calorie imbalance due to high energy intake vs. expenditure is considered a major cause of obesity. Molecular mechanisms underlying diet-induced obesity remain unclear due to the complexity of disease progression. The impact of environmental factors contributing to obesity also remains poorly understood. Activation of the xenobiotic sensor, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), by obesogens may contribute to diet-induced obesity. AhR has the potential to influence lipid metabolism, insulin resistance, and the development of diabetes. Activation of AhR increases the risk of metabolic dysfunction by impairing adipose tissue function. Thus, the hypothesis was that conditional AhR depletion specifically from mature adipose tissue …

Responses To Many Anti-Aging Interventions Are Sexually Dimorphic., Andrzej Bartke, Erin Hascup, Kevin Hascup

Articles

There is increasing appreciation that sex differences are not limited to reproductive organs or traits related to reproduction and that sex is an important biological variable in most characteristics of a living organism. The biological process of aging and aging-related traits are no exception and exhibit numerous, often major, sex differences. This article explores one aspect of these differences, namely sex differences in the responses to anti-aging interventions. Aging can be slowed down and/or postponed by a variety of environmental ("lifestyle"), genetic or pharmacological interventions. Although many, particularly older studies utilized only one sex of experimental animals, there is considerable …

Responses To Many Anti-Aging Interventions Are Sexually Dimorphic., Andrzej Bartke, Erin Hascup, Kevin Hascup

Articles

There is increasing appreciation that sex differences are not limited to reproductive organs or traits related to reproduction and that sex is an important biological variable in most characteristics of a living organism. The biological process of aging and aging-related traits are no exception and exhibit numerous, often major, sex differences. This article explores one aspect of these differences, namely sex differences in the responses to anti-aging interventions. Aging can be slowed down and/or postponed by a variety of environmental ("lifestyle"), genetic or pharmacological interventions. Although many, particularly older studies utilized only one sex of experimental animals, there is considerable …

Coffeehouse Capitalism: From London To America, William “Jacob” Dunning

Legacy

No abstract provided.

The Medical History & Use Of Psychedelic Drugs, William Brock Renshaw

Legacy

No abstract provided.

Missing The Boat: Black Americans And The Struggle To Stay Afloat In A Nineteenth Century Ocean Of Ideas, Jodie Salazar

Research Papers

This paper explores the effects of various social movements on Black Americans in the nineteenth century. This examination is used as an historical background of a larger Reacting to the Past pedagogical game design set in Chicago at the time of the World's Columbian Exposition. The focus of this work explores ideological views on colonization, immigration, and citizenship, as well as the various laws and viewpoints which worked to oppress Black Americans after Emancipation.

Assessing The Generalizability Of Early Life Stress Effects On Aggression, Sophia Aaflaq, Jacob Nordman Dr.

2023

The project entitled Assessing the Generalizability of Early Life Stress Effects on Aggression aims to enhance our understanding of the intricacies of human aggression associated with childhood trauma. Early life stress is a reliable predictor of aggression in adults. Previous studies have used rodent models to establish a link between early life stress and aggression, but many of these studies employed stressors that are not commonly experienced by humans, such as foot shock. This project intends to focus on more human-relevant stressors like social isolation and social defeat that will provide a better understanding of the brain pathways of human …

Statewide Assessment Reveals Spatiotemporal Variability Of Iron In Iowa Lakes, Tania Leung, Elizabeth D. Swanner

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

The micronutrient iron has been noted to play a crucial role in regulating phytoplankton growth; however, most studies have focused on large lakes with persistent phytoplankton blooms that are known to undergo iron limitation, such as Lake Erie. Iron abundance in boreal lakes is also known to correlate with dissolved organic carbon and increased iron concentrations causing "browning." To assess the spatial distribution of dissolved Fe (DFe) in lakes throughout Iowa, a landscape once dominated by prairies, DFe was measured in surface waters of 124 lakes distributed across the state over the 2018 summer season. Thirty lakes were selected for …

Informing Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program Design And Watershed Planning: Case Study Of Streamsmart Data Analysis In The Upper White River Basin, Arkansas, Erin Grantz, Brian E. Haggard, Beng 4973/5973

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

The watershed group H 2 Ozarks founded the StreamSmart Citizen Science Program to establish baseline and long-term water quality data for the Upper White River Basin, Arkansas. StreamSmart volunteers collect water samples and conduct habitat and macroinvertebrate community assessments at >20 sites across a land use-land cover (LULC) gradient. Since 2020, H 2 Ozarks has adaptively assessed the program to ensure that the investment in water quality data meets core goals, with particular interest in planning tools and aligning expectations of volunteer effort with the level of training and support. Study objectives were to use StreamSmart data to 1) facilitate …

Resistance To Mild Cold Stress Is Greater In Both Wild-Type And Long-Lived Ghr-Ko Female Mice., Yimin Fang, David Medina, Robert Stockwell, Samuel Mcfadden, Erin R Hascup, Kevin N Hascup, Andrzej Bartke

Articles

Adapting to stress, including cold environmental temperature (eT), is crucial for the survival of mammals, especially small rodents. Long-lived mutant mice have enhanced stress resistance against oxidative and non-oxidative challenges. However, much less is known about the response of those long-lived mice to cold stress. Growth hormone receptor knockout (GHR-KO) mice are long-lived with reduced growth hormone signaling. We wanted to test whether GHR-KO mice have enhanced resistance to cold stress. To examine the response of GHR-KO mice to cold eT, GHR-KO mice were housed at mild cold eT (16 °C) immediately following weaning. Longevity results showed that female GHR-KO …

Prevalence And Distribution Of Microplastics In Oysters From The Mississippi Sound, Kendall Wontor, James V. Cizdziel, Austin Scircle, Deborah J. Gochfeld, Ann Fairly Pandelides

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

Oysters are a foundational part of their ecosystem and research has shown they are negatively impacted by exposure to microplastics (MPs). High MP levels have been documented in waters surrounding oyster reefs, and as filter feeders, oysters can ingest MPs along with their food. Here, we determined MPs (>30 µm) in oysters ( Crassostrea virginica ) from ten sites across the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Further, a subset of these samples was dissected to quantify MPs within specific tissues. Average concentrations ranged from 30.7± 11.5 to 4.7 ± 0.25 putative MPs/g wet weight (ww) of whole tissue, with sites inside …

Eclectic Musings: Extended Program Notes, Skye O'Sullivan

Research Papers

This document presents and discusses repertoire selected for the required recital for the degree of Master of Music, Vocal Performance. An overview of each piece, including historical background, as well as some harmonic and theoretical analysis are provided. Along with overview and analysis, this document discusses performance practice concepts involving the interpretive and technical challenges of each piece. The recital program includes 17 pieces by various composers set to texts in English, German, Spanish, and Italian, with composition dates spanning from the 16^th to 21^st centuries. A variety of resources including books, articles, manuscript scores, and dissertations are …

...He Loves Me Not: An Extended Program Note, Mason Rice

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Dedicated To The Life And Work Of Richard J. Bernstein Part Ii: Engagement, Dewey Studies

Dewey Studies

Dedicated to the Life and Work of Richard J. Bernstein, edited by Megan Craig and Marcia Morgan.

Part II: Engagement

Reflecting On Fifty Years Of Southern Illinois University School Of Law: Training Lawyers For The Twenty-First Century While Staying True To Its Origin, Camille M. Davidson

Southern Illinois University Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Dedicated To The Life And Work Of Richard J. Bernstein Part Iii: Critique, Dewey Studies

Dewey Studies

Dedicated to the Life and Work of Richard J. Bernstein, edited by Megan Craig and Marcia Morgan.

Part III: Critique

Sunrise Haiku Project: Learning To Trust, Diana Lynn Tigerlily

Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal

Born and raised in Illinois, I moved to the ocean during a major life transition, leaving behind the familiar: family, forest, and soil. This essay incorporates reflection, photographs, and haiku to represent sixteen months of journeying to the ocean sunrise everyday. The daily practice yielded unexpected insights, moments of deep healing, and growth. The biggest lesson for me was that no matter how thick the clouds and how strong my doubt, the sun will still rise. By witnessing the phenomenon of the sun rising everyday, I have been able to rise up through layers of self-doubt and grief, and begin …

A Daycare Artist Residency In Minusio: Aesthetic Eunuciations In Borderspaces, R. Michael Michael Fisher

Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal

This is a compilation of happenings from an artist residency at an urban core daycare and kindergarten site from July-December, 2021. The artist provides some notes on how to approach a residency, create site-specific art and work with the children, their teachers, care staff and the community surrounding the site. A newly coined concept of minusio, emerged over time and served as an invisible basis for art-care, in a sense the mirror(ing) of the gift of nurturing but also the lack of care—and offering a route to what human’s really desire, when they are not so busy and distracted …

Studio As Collage: Familiar And Strange, Alison Shields

Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal

In this visual essay, I present an artistic inquiry I created as I examine the studio as a space to dwell, a space to daydream and a prompt for the imagination. I draw from previous research about artist studios and a visual archive created of objects within the studio as I re-imagine the studio as a collage; it is a place filled with odd juxtapositions of images, artworks, ideas and space that may produce new connections and imaginings. Through presenting the studio as both subject and process, I encourage readers to embrace the strangeness within familiar places.

In The Imaginal Realm Before She Could Read: A Healing A/R/Tographic Inquiry, Barbara Bickel

Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal

This healing a/r/tographic inquiry ritually cycles through ancestral time to the present inspired by a recently found small grey book above the author’s dad’s desk—10 years after his death. This article shines light and memory onto spirit infused matrixial borderspace(s) through the co-mingling of text and image; returning to a site where text first met image in the early years of the author’s life. She is both the young dreaming artist-child and the responsible artist/researcher/teacher seeking embodied relational imaginal knowledge through the light of both image and word.

Data’S Entanglements: Artmaking As Corresponding Companion During Diffractive Analysis, Kelly Clark/Keefe

Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal

This essay invites readers into two creative correspondences that emerged during the author’s involvement in a participatory arts-based research project called Life Lines. The Life Lines project aimed at engaging a small group of young adults alongside researchers in their use of multimodal arts practices to inquire into what makes young adult identity work work the way that it does. In Life Lines the phenomenon of identity and the approaches to inquiry used to explore it were conceptualized through a material feminist framework that proposes the co-constituting nature of meaning and matter (i.e., bodies, atmospheres, and objects of …

Full Issue Artizein 2022, Darlene St.Georges, Barbara Bickel

Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal

Full issue of Artizein: Arts & Teaching Journal 2022 Volume 7 issue 1

Prodromal Glutamatergic Modulation With Riluzole Impacts Glucose Homeostasis And Spatial Cognition In Alzheimer's Disease Mice., Caleigh A Findley, Samuel A Mcfadden, Makayla F Cox, Lindsey N Sime, Mackenzie R Peck, Kathleen Quinn, Andrzej Bartke, Kevin N Hascup, Erin R Hascup

Articles

BACKGROUND: Prior research supports a strong link between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and metabolic dysfunction that involves a multi-directional interaction between glucose, glutamatergic homeostasis, and amyloid pathology. Elevated soluble amyloid-β (Aβ) is an early biomarker for AD-associated cognitive decline that contributes to concurrent glutamatergic and metabolic dyshomeostasis in humans and male transgenic AD mice. Yet, it remains unclear how primary time-sensitive targeting of hippocampal glutamatergic activity may impact glucose regulation in an amyloidogenic mouse model. Previous studies have illustrated increased glucose uptake and metabolism using a neuroprotective glutamate modulator (riluzole), supporting the link between glucose and glutamatergic homeostasis.

OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized …

Smells Like Money: A Proposal To Re-Examine The Illinois Right-To-Farm Act, Callah Wright

Southern Illinois University Law Journal

Since 1973, every state has passed a Right-to-Farm Act (“RTFA”). These Acts are in place to (1) strengthen the legal position of farmers when neighbors take legal action for private nuisance; and (2) to protect farmers from local and state ordinances that restrict agriculture production. This Note argues that Illinois’ RTFA should be amended as the statute lacks clarity on many aspects and consistency throughout the state’s circuit courts. Further, the statute is silent on many issues that other states have included in their Acts, such as zoning, damage caps, a statute of limitations, and management requirements. Three states––North Carolina, …

Determinants Of Household Expenses On Education And Health For Microfinance Borrowers And Non-Borrowers In Rural Myanmar, May Shin

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

A Review Of Equestrian Sport Injury: Does Its Prevalence Warrant More Care?, Cailey Clark

Research Papers

The aim was to investigate the overall injury trends of equestrian sport injury to determine if it is prevalent enough to warrant further medical care and scientific research. A search across four databases yielded 4559 articles and after an investigation for inclusion criteria, 17 articles were deemed appropriate for this review. Strong evidence suggested that equestrian sport athletes experience injury at similar, and sometimes higher rates, than athletes of more traditional sports like football or soccer. Most equestrian athletes reported head and neck injuries, though it was not the primary cause of the few fatalities reported. Most often, injuries were …