Digital Commons Network^™

The Politics And Ethics Of Food Localism: An Exploratory Quantitative Inquiry, Sean T. Doody

Theses and Dissertations

The local food movement has become a prominent force in the U.S. food market, as represented by the explosive expansion of direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketplaces across the country. Concurrent with the expansion of these DTC marketplaces has been the development of the social ideal of localism: a political and ethical paradigm that valorizes artisanal production and smallness, vilifies globalization, and seeks to recapture a sense of place and community that has been lost under the alienating conditions of capitalism’s gigantism. Supporters of localism understand the movement to be a substantial political and economic threat to global capitalism, and ascribe distinct, counter-hegemonic …

Courageous Solstice: Reconstructing Fairy Tales For A Black Youth Aesthetic, Tanya Boucicaut

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis interrogates the historical, philosophical, and existential implications of the Black Arts Movement and its major artists on the recurring themes of social injustice, Western hegemony, and the fight for aesthetic authenticity to reimagine fairy tales for the youth Black Aesthetic. As a personal reflection and foundational document for a larger project, this work weaves these implications through the practical application of the varied stages of program development for youth artists. This project also is a handbook that encompasses scholarly research, reflective analysis and anecdotal journal evidence. The subsequent chapters explore the theological and theatre pedagogical educational influences that …

The Entertainment Is Terrorism: The Subversive Politics Of Doing Anything At All, Joe Woods

Theses and Dissertations

When the body is observed through a certain combination of technologies, there can be subversive politics to doing anything at all. The nature of media and biopolitics has permitted for a set of systems aimed at total control of the human body; a power which can permeate all facets of life. This thesis is a collection of essays which argues that speculative fiction contains multitudes of approaches to biopolitical discourse, permitting the reader of the text to approach politics from their own set of experiences, but not allowing the political to be ignored. These chapters contain three separate but interrelated …

Heritage Hotel: A Marriage Of Heritage Tourism And Boutique Hospitality, Leah A. Embrey

Theses and Dissertations

As defined by Wai Mun Lim and Mel Endean in 2009 in their article “Elucidating the aesthetic and operational characteristics of UK boutique hotels” in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Boutique hotels have less than 100 rooms, have an individualistic and unique design, are often in historic buildings, and have highly personalized service for guests. I found that a boutique hotel that focuses on historic preservation and heritage tourism does four things. First, it respects the history of the building it is housed in, preserving as much of the original structure as possible. It also takes advantage of …

Perceptions Of The Homeless Toward Nonprofit Human Service Provider, Lequan M. Hylton

Theses and Dissertations

As the debate intensifies regarding developing remedies to meet the needs of America’s homeless, one solution is for governmental agencies to collaborate with and employ organizations from the nonprofit sector to assist with the needs of the homeless population. Included in the nonprofit sector, faith-based organizations (FBOs) have historically been a source of debate and contention in terms of collaborations with the government. However, Presidents Reagan, George H. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama have embraced the idea of including FBOs in the pool of service providers offering human services. In the Richmond, Virginia region, FBOs and nonreligious nonprofit …

Strata, Lauren Hale

Theses and Dissertations

In my mixed media pieces and sculptural books, I explore the significance of place. Place is not just a geographical location; it is a layered history that tells a story. My experiences in a specific environment and how I relate to it, study it, remember it, or imagine it drive me to create pieces. While the choices I make are influenced by my own experiences, I want to evoke feelings of familiarity, intrigue, and a sense of nostalgia.

In my process, I intuitively layer paint, printed materials, and mixed media to make a foundation for exploration. I continue to …

Examining The Effects Of Psychosocial Stress On The Hypertension Self-Management Behaviors Of African American Women, Michelle Laws

Theses and Dissertations

Hypertension is a preventable and yet major risk factor for early death and morbidity among African Americans. Compared to other women in the US, African American women continue to die earlier and more frequently from preventable and controllable chronic health conditions that are notably due to hypertension and hypertension-related illnesses. While there are multiple factors contributing to the high death rates of African American women, hypertension is one of the most common and modifiable risk factors associated with fatal health outcomes among African American women. The rate of death resulting from hypertension is more than double for African American females …

Black Feminist Discourse Analysis Of Portrayals Of Gender Violence Against Black Women: A Social Work Dissertation, Avina Ross

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored media discourse of gender violence against Black women in Black contemporary films. Four Tyler Perry films were examined using a novel, qualitative and analytical framework: Black Feminist Discourse Analysis. Discourses that were studied include, but were not limited to: portrayals of gender violence and victims, character dispositions and interactions, stereotypes, relationship dynamics as well as portrayals of race, gender, sexuality and religion. The use of new and existing controlling images based on systems of race, gender, sexuality and religion were revealed in a transitional and systemic model. Common themes across the films are provided. This research closes …

Propensity Score For Causal Inference Of Multiple And Multivalued Treatments, Zirui Gu

Theses and Dissertations

Propensity score methods (PSM) that have been widely used to reduce selection bias in observational studies are restricted to a binary treatment. Imai and van Dyk extended PSM to estimate non-binary treatment effect using stratification with P-Function, and generalized inverse treatment probability weighting (GIPTW). However, propensity score (PS) matching methods on multiple treatments received little attention, and existing generalized PSMs merely focused on estimates of main treatment effects but omitted potential interaction effects that are of essential interest in many studies. In this dissertation, I extend Rubin’s PS matching theory to general treatment regimens under the P-Function framework. From theory …

Women At The Crossroads, Women At The Forefront, American Women In Letterpress Printing In The Nineteenth Century, Dianne L. Roman Ms

Theses and Dissertations

The significant role of the female printer in the American home-based print shops during the colonial and early republic periods has been documented in print history, socioeconomic, labor, and women studies, yet with the industrialization of the printing trade, women’s presence is thought to have disappeared. Contrary to the belief that industrialization of the print shop eradicated women’s involvement in skilled employments such as typesetting, the creation of the Women’s Cooperative Printing Union in California and the creation and chartering of the Women’s Typographical Union in New York, both in the late 1860s, clearly indicate that women continued to work …

Is Your Student Fit For That College? A Study Of The Factors That Contribute To Students’ Academic Performance In College, Abdulaziz A. Alotaibi

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to expand the extent of available literature in regard to the factors that contribute to students’ academic performance in college. It focused on a neglected segment of the student population, which is Saudi Arabian students studying in the United States. This study utilized a nonexperimental quantitative research design in order to investigate the relationship between the independent variables (the characteristics of the student, the characteristics of the program, and the academic and social integration between the student and the program) and the dependent variables (degree GPA, ability to graduate within academic program time frame, …

What’S Real? What’S Not? : Reality Tv’S Effect On Relational Aggression Among Black College Women, Ashley N. Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Relational aggression, behaviors that manipulate social relationships, is a pressing issue among Black college women (Dahlen, Czar, Prather, & Dyess, 2013). As a result of experiencing and using relational aggression, Black women may experience diminished interpersonal interactions and poorer overall psychological well-being (Gomes, Davis, Baker, & Servonsky, 2009). The present study examined how Black reality television (BRTV) models relationally aggressive behaviors for viewers. According to Cultivation theory, television has the power to influence the social reality (i.e. attitudes and perceptions) of individuals who consume high amounts of television (Gerbner et al, 2002), while Identification theory suggests that deep cognitive and …

Adjustment Profiles Among Youth In Diverse Cultural Contexts: Individual, Family, And Contextual Influences, Alicia Borre

Theses and Dissertations

Recent literature has noted that not all youth who experience adverse circumstances (e.g. poverty, exposure to violence, maltreatment) end up displaying expected unfavorable outcomes (e.g. academic failure, depression, drug dependence); in fact, some youth display “resilience,” broadly understood as adaptive functioning in the face of adversity (Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000). Overall, research on resilience has offered a new approach to the study of at-risk populations, emphasizing the study of strengths, processes, and mechanisms among individuals and communities that may favor positive adaptation, rather than emphasizing deficits among those experiencing adversity (Schoon, 2012). Although resilience research has come a long …

Are Hispanics Discriminated Against In The Us Criminal Justice System?, Maria A. Eijo De Tezanos Pinto

Graduate Research Posters

Recent publications have contributed to increase the perception among Hispanics of an unfair and unequal treatment of this community by the US Criminal Justice System. One of the major concerns was the claim that Hispanics are incarcerated before conviction nearly twice as often as Whites. Unfair treatment perception by the population reduces legitimacy of police and government, and thus, it is imperative to analyze these uninvestigated allegations. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to address said allegations of discrimination against Hispanics and analyze with updated and reliable statistics whether Hispanics are incarcerated before conviction more often than Whites. There …

Film Tourism And Expectation: Using The Hallyu Wave To Model How Governments And Media Exports Influence National Image, Aishat O. Bello

UROP Posters

Film tourism encompasses the interest, investment and influence that exported media products can contribute to cultural globalization, and subsequent visitation of a nation. The Korean Wave or Hallyu wave has been studied and commended for its rapid spread and growing popularity within Asia and more recently, on a more global scale. By comparing and contrasting the methods used by the Korean government to enhance Hallyu, with several trade deals made by the US government to support Hollywood, we can see how the effects of film tourism were directed towards modifying perspectives on Korean culture. A few consequences of making trade …

Why The American Superpower Has Mediocre Educational Rankings, Madeline R. Hays

UROP Posters

Although education holds implications for economic growth, scientific progress, and political participation, the United States remains on the lower end of educational quality compared to other industrial and first-world nations. Despite substantial efforts by the American government to mend this issue, reforms have yielded minimal improvement in results. Identifying the reasons for the declining nature of US education is essential in understanding how to improve the current academic state. Why has there been a decline in education quality in America compared to other first-world countries since World War II? In order to distinguish the characteristics correlating with low-achievement in the …

[2015-12-11] Meeting Of The Academic And Health Affairs Policy Committee, Virginia Commonwealth University. Board Of Visitors

VCU Board of Visitors Minutes

Official minutes of the VCU Board of Visitors and its Executive Committee.

[2015-12-11] Meeting Of The Board Of Visitors Of Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Commonwealth University. Board Of Visitors

VCU Board of Visitors Minutes

Official minutes of the VCU Board of Visitors and its Executive Committee.

Book Review: Unlocking Minds In Lockup, June Edwards

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

Education is a powerful tool that not only opens doors within prisons, but international research would indicate education also, and more crucially, prevents men and women from re-entering those same doors back to prison. Therefore Jan Walker’s recently published Unlocking Minds in Lockup: Prison Education Opens Doors is a welcome addition to the already rich literature on this subject.

Barriers To Participation In Vocational Orientation Programmes Among Prisoners, Dorien Brosens, Liebeth De Donder, Sarah Dury, Dominique Verté

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

This study investigates the barriers to prisoners’ participation in vocational education, as well as the predictors of different types of barriers. Survey data derived from a project in a remand prison in Belgium (N=468) provided the empirical evidence for the analyses. The results indicate that facing situational and informational barriers are most common. Based on the different kinds of barriers, various types of non-participants can be distinguished and multinomial logistic regression analyses are conducted to identify in what way participants of vocational education differ from various types of non-participants. For instance, prisoners with a poor understanding of the Dutch language …

The Nature And Nurture Of Sports Performance, Blog 5, Austin Stewart

Great VCU Bike Race Book Student Blog Posts

Student blog posts from the Great VCU Bike Race Book.

Race, Gender, Sexuality, Ability, Identity And Cycling, Blog 1, Danielle Anderson

Great VCU Bike Race Book Student Blog Posts

Student blog posts from the Great VCU Bike Race Book.

The Nature And Nurture Of Sports Performance, Blog 3, Alina Nguyen

Great VCU Bike Race Book Student Blog Posts

Student blog posts from the Great VCU Bike Race Book.

Reframing New Art Teacher Support: From Failure To Freedom, Christina Hanawalt

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

In order to support new art teachers and encourage them as leaders of contemporary art education curricula, those invested in the preparation and development of beginning art teachers must examine the forces at play in new teachers’ professional lives, as well as the problems with existing support structures. In this article, I present seven perspectives on the new art teacher experience, ranging from feelings of failure, to problems inherent in preparation and induction practices, to issues of teacher identity and socialization, to the pursuit of professional agency within school cultures. I suggest readers view these perspectives as seven artworks hanging …

Failure To Be A “Real American”? → Challenging Failure: An Impetus To Shape Scholarship And Teaching, Christina Chin

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

The author reflects on personal experiences, highlighting vignettes of her perceived “failure to be a ‘real American,’” and recounts these stories through her own voice. With the hopes that her journey might inspire, inflame empathic frustrations with an inegalitarian status quo, and remind others of how important it is for us to participate in fighting for justice, she shares her experiences and developing understandings as she has learned to embrace more counterhegemonic scholarship and practices. She describes how her childhood experiences and daily life experiences as an adult have shaped her work as a researcher and teacher of art education. …

Access And Failure, Beth Balliro

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

Many art education advocates call for expanded arts offerings in schools, particularly in urban settings. These calls for greater and more equitable arts access are presented as efforts toward racial and social justice, yet often lack a vision for a culturally affirming pedagogy. Through the dialogue of the author and her former student, this article explores how more arts access, without significant pedagogical revamping, may in fact reinforce the persistent failure of urban schools to provide purposeful education, particularly for Black male artists.

Reflective Communities: Mentoring Teacher Candidates During The (In)Between Spaces Of The Practicum, Joana Hyatt

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

This article critiques traditional student teaching formats that fail to examine the social conditions of the spaces between the time of becoming and the place of being educators during practicum fieldwork. The lack of negotiable spaces for student teachers to resolve problematic situations, myths, cultural differences, and relational aspects of teaching have been documented. Exploring the methods of arts-based inquiry, a group of teacher candidates illustrated their experiences of becoming art educators by producing artwork, videos, and narratives. Student teachers then reflected on their shared roles, making other avenues of collaboration available. When the affective domains of learning to teach …

Full Issue

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

No abstract provided.

Racial Disparities And Similarities In Post-Release Recidivism And Employment Among Ex-Prisoners With A Different Level Of Education, Susan Klinker Lockwood, John M. Nally, Taiping Ho, Katie Knutson

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

Previous studies rarely examined racial disparities in post-release employment and recidivism. Finding a job is an immediate challenge to all released ex-prisoners, and often more difficult for African American ex-prisoners who typically return to economically-depressed neighborhoods upon release from prison. The present researchers conducted a 5-year (2005-2009) follow-up study in an attempt to understand racial disparities in post-release employment and recidivism among 6,394 released ex-prisoners (2,531 Caucasian and 3,863 African American), while controlling for the ex-prisoner’s level of education. Results of this study showed that African American ex-prisoners had a higher unemployment rate and recidivism rate than Caucasian ex-prisoners. This …

Commonwealth Times 2015-02-23

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.