Digital Commons Network^™

"Upside Down From The Word Go" : Kentucky's Black Farmers Speak Out On The Issue Of Land Loss., Willie Jamaal Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The decline of black farmers and black-owned farmlands is an ever worsening problem. Though their numbers neared one million at the start of the 20th century, the most recent account of black farmers states that there are only 30599 left in America (Census of Agriculture, 2007). The purpose of this study is to understand the experiences and perspectives of black farmers in Kentucky regarding factors that contribute to land loss. Participants in this exploratory study were gathered using convenience and snowball sampling techniques. Each farmer owned land in Central and Eastern Kentucky counties. This study discovered that contrary to popular …

The Impact Of School Culture, Teacher Job Satisfaction, And Student Attendance Rates On Academic Achievement Of Middle School Students., Diane Yvonne Hatchett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study focused on 760 Kentucky middle school teachers in 28 school districts across the state of Kentucky. The Pearson r was used to determine the relationship between the following variables identified in the study: (a) school culture as measured by the School Culture Triage Survey combined scores, (b) job satisfaction of teachers as measured by the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) scores, (c) student achievement scores as measured by the Commonwealth Assessment Testing Score (CATS) accountability index for each school, and (d) student attendance rates. This study utilized correlation analysis to answer questions one through six and multiple …

Feminist, Linguistic, And Rhetorical Perspectives On Language Reform, William Dorner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As people become aware that society treats women unfairly, they also perceive related shortcomings in the way that Modern English references women. For example, many have objected to the so-called generic he, the third-person masculine pronoun employed to refer to a person of unknown gender, and provided several alternatives, few of which have been widely adopted. Nonetheless, change is evident in the case of they becoming an increasingly common solution to refer to a person of unidentified gender. The intentional reform of the Modern English language, both in the past and present, has been a result of people's reactions to …

Competitive Actions Of New Technology Firms The Red Queen Effect And New Firm Performance, Robert L. Porter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The competitive strategy used by a new firm may be the most important strategy it ever employs (Covin & Slevin, 1989; Ferrier, 2001). A well-chosen and executed firm strategy is essential for a firm to realize its potential competitive advantage (Porter, 1981). A firm‘s strategic intent and resulting competitive actions are especially important when firms are new and vulnerable as they strive to learn which strategic actions help them adapt to their rivals actions and to their environment (Stinchcombe, 1965). Further, the competitive actions that new firms choose to take with rival firms affects the overall competitive dynamics of their …

A Pastoral Theology Of Congregational Care And Leadership: Nurturing Emergence, Carol P. Jeunnette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As with all bodies, congregational bodies experience challenges to their health, well-being, and ability to function as they desire. Problems in faith communities range from severe, intractable conflict to lethargy and decline, with far-ranging effects. The practice of offering pastoral care to individuals experiencing difficulties is rooted deeply in the Judeo-Christian tradition. There is, however, no explicit tradition of pastoral care for corporate congregational bodies experiencing difficulties. This dissertation draws on Bowen Family Systems Theory and its application by Edwin Friedman to congregations and leadership, in conjunction with aspects of process theology, to develop a pastoral theology of congregational care …

Deconstructing Collective Identities And Violence: Analytical Perspectives From Indonesia, Brandon Scott Sternquist

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to establish a more applied, analytical approach to analyses of collective identity and violence while providing insights into the dynamics of the regions of Indonesia considered. By focusing on two regions of Indonesia - Aceh and Kalimantan - which are populated by distinct peoples and have experienced violence in contemporary times, this study contributes to the expanding literature on the social dynamics of identity and violence. To ensure a more practical approach within the study, concepts and frameworks which have contributed to discussions of the nature of identity and acts of violence are utilized. …

Dancing Power: Examining Identity Through Native American Powwow, Kresta-Leigh Opperman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study considers how inter-tribal Indian identity formed though historic circumstances and how it is negotiated and maintained by contemporary Native Americans. Specifically, it considers identity formation and negotiation through the inter-tribal dance event, powwow. Further, it considers how and if men and women participate in this identity formation and negotiation differently. Finally, it considers how this identity is useful for urban Indian populations living outside of tribal lands and who, in some cases, have little involvement in more traditional, or tribal, settings.

Divination In 1 Samuel 28 And Beyond: An African Study In The Politics Of Translation, J.Kabamba Kiboko

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the language of divination in the HB, particularly in 1 Samuel 28:3-27--the oft-called "Witch of Endor" passage. My thesis is that much of the vocabulary of divination in this passage and beyond has been mistranslated in authorized English and other translations used in Africa and in scholarly writings. I argue that the woman of Endor is not a witch, which is a label that has a long negative social history and has often led to violence against those so labeled. The woman of Endor is, rather, a diviner, much like other ancient Near Eastern and modern African …

Constructing A Neuroscientific Pastoral Theology Of Fear And Hope, Jason C. Whitehead

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary therapeutic circles utilize the concept of anxiety to describe a variety of disorders. Emotional reductionism is a detriment to the therapeutic community and the persons seeking its help. This dissertation proposes that attention to the emotion of fear clarifies our categorization of particular disorders and challenges emotional reductionism. I propose that the emotion of fear, through its theological relationship to hope, is useful in therapeutic practice for persons who experience trauma and PTSD.

I explore the differences between fear and anxiety by deconstructing anxiety. Through this process, I develop four categories which help the emotion of fear stand independent …

Narrowing Of Curriculum: Teaching In An Age Of Accountability, Donna Kay Newberg-Long

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation made clear the need for increased accountability of U.S. public schools in 2002, there has been a trend toward narrowing curriculum in social studies and other core subjects to focus predominantly on what is tested through state exams. Concerns exist regarding the unintended consequences of curriculum narrowing on low, middle and high socioeconomic status (SES) students in public schools.

The Center on Education Policy (CEP) and National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) have been tracking the effects of NCLB since it took effect in 2002 and found that 71 percent of districts nationwide …

"In My Heart I Had A Feeling Of Doing It": A Case Study Of The Lost Boys Of Sudan And Christianity, Kathryn Snyder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While members of the southern Sudanese Dinka tribe converted to Christianity in large numbers in the early 1990s, the Lost Boys, a largely Dinka group of young men who were separated from their families during the Sudanese civil war in the late 1980s, had a distinct conversion experience in refugees camps. Using first-person interviews and participant observation with a group of Lost Boys resettled in Denver, and historical and ethnographic data, this research seeks to explain why the Lost Boys converted to Christianity and the role that it played in their identity in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, and …

Peace Makers Or Draft Dodgers: Haredi Resistance To Israeli Military Conscription, Jay M. Politzer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The haredim in Israel are an ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious group who uphold the most conservative of Jewish laws. Instead of serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as all other Israelis do, the haredim are exempted from the IDF's policy of universal conscription. This thesis proposes three hypotheses to determine why Israel's haredim do not serve in the IDF. First, the haredim do not serve in the IDF because they do not want to; second, the haredim do not serve because they hold pacifistic political opinions; and third, the haredim do not serve because Jewish religious tradition forbids military service. …

Prehistoric Sandals Of The Southern High Plains: Indicators Of Cultural Affinity And Change, Allison N. Rexroth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Perishable artifacts, such as basketry, cordage, and sandals are rare cultural materials due to the environments in which they are preserved and their inherent non-durability. Where recovered, researchers have used them to study expressed identity and trace population movements over time and space. On this premise, previously un-described sandal assemblages from Trinchera Cave, Colorado and the Kenton Caves, Oklahoma/New Mexico were age dated, analyzed, and compared to other known sandal collections throughout North America, including Franktown Cave, Colorado. The study of the rare perishables from all three caves/rockshelters on the Southern High Plains have provided a unique opportunity for the …

Linear Enamel Hypoplasia At Santa Rita Corozal, Belize, Andrew Peter Tetlow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this thesis is an analysis of a sample of dentition collected from the Postclassic Maya site of Santa Rita Corozal in Northern Belize. The goal of this study is to determine what the presence (or absence) of Linear Enamel Hypoplasia (LEH) can demonstrate about the general health (i.e. stress, disease, nutrition, and weaning age) and social status of a single subset of the Late Postclassic (900-1500 CE) Maya living at Santa Rita Corozal. Specifically, this thesis focuses on dentition of thirteen individuals from a large Postclassic platform group. The sample consists of sub-adult and adult female dentition …

Organizational Safety Culture And Idividual Safety Behavior: A Case Study Of The Turkish National Police Aviation Department, Yildirim Uryan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human related accidents in high-risk industries amount to a significant economic hazard and incur tremendous damages, causing excessive operational costs and loss of life. The aviation industry now observes human-related accidents more frequently than in the past, an upswing attributable to cutting-edge technology usage and the complex systems employed by aviation organizations. Historically, aviation accidents have been attributed to individual unsafe behavior. However, contemporary accident causation models suggest that organizational-level factors influence individual safety performance, as human-related accidents take place in an organizational context. The present study examines the formation of organizational safety culture and influence on individuals' safety behavior …

Designing Of Energy Efficient Indoor Environments Using A Localized Radial Basis Function Meshless Method, Victor Huayamave

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Around the world, the energy over consumption issue has been one of the key socio-economic and political challenges, which has drastically worsened over the last few years. Over the years engineers and environmentalists have proposed several approaches to improve energy efficiency. One is to reduce energy demand by improving consumption habits and a second approach is to introduce the use of a "greener" concept by using biomaterials in a diverse and more efficient manner in engineering construction to create energy efficient environments. This work will investigate the effects of using "green" stabilized earth materials to provide and enhance thermal regulation …

Food And Social Life In Puglia: A Comparison Family Food Worlds In Northern And Southern Italy, Jennifer Lawer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the role of food in northern and southern Italian culture. My goal is to point out the cultural differences between northern and southern Italy through the lens of food. This thesis also explains the geographical, historical and economic factors that have shaped modern Italian family food worlds. Finally, the research examines the effect of European Union food policy in Italy. It specifically focuses on whether or not the traditions of food production and consumption habits in northern and southern Italy are altered by European Union policies.

The Development Of The University Of Central Florida Home Movie Archive And The Harris Rosen Collection, Michael Niedermeyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the invention of the cinema, people have been taking home movies. The everincreasing popularity of this activity has produced a hundred years worth of amateur film culture which is in desperate need of preservation. As film archival and public history have coalesced in the past thirty years around the idea that every person’s history is important, home movies represent a way for those histories to be preserved and studied by communities and researchers alike. The University of Central Florida is in a perfect position to establish an archive of this nature, one that is specifically dedicated to acquiring, preserving, …

Growing Local: Anthropological Reflections On Current Challenges Facing Central Florida Organic Farmers, Cheney Swedlow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis considers Central Florida's emerging local food movement from an anthropological perspective. Area farmers and organizations spearheading this movement and the benefits of purchasing and consuming locally grown food are ethnographically explored. Interviews with natural and organic farmers highlight the challenges affected farmers face in creating a sustainable local food movement in the greater Orlando region. Their motivations for farming organically and the counter-hegemonic tendencies inherent in this mode of cultivating are critically analyzed. Taken as a whole, this work addresses the limitations and opportunities afforded to farmers amid the popularity of local food consumption as a social movement. …

The English Reformation In Image And Print: Cultural Continuity, Disruptions, And Communications In Tudor Art, Jessica Hoeschen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the sixteenth century, Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation generated multiple reform movements and political transformations in Europe. Within this general period of reform, political and cultural changes from the Tudor era (1485-1603) created a separate English Reformation. The English Reformation evolved from the different agendas of the early Tudor monarchs and occurred in two distinct waves: an initial, more moderate Henrician Reformation and a later, more complete Edwardian Reformation. Henry VIII and Edward VI's attempts to redefine monarchy through a new State and Church identity drove English church reform during this period, giving these religious shifts distinct political roots. Cultural …

Thomas Jefferson And The Execution Of The United States Indian Policy, Daniel Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work investigates the American-Indian policy between 1790 and 1810 through the vehicle of the American government, focusing on the 'white, sincere, religious-minded men who believed intensely in both American expansion and positive relations with the Indians.' While Indian reaction comprises an important piece of the native-white cultural encounter in the West, this study questions if scholars have the ability to address this problem in more than a very general way. In truth, each tribe was unique and different in their reaction to white legislation and settlement. There was no pan-Indian movement against settlement, and for the same reason, there …

An Exploration Of The Potentials And Limitations Of Adapting Traditional Text-Based Narrative To Interactive Technology, Said Jardaneh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Narrative is expressed in many forms, yet the reading of narrative through books may be unique in its transformative qualities. The medium of books has existed for thousands of years as a primary means of passing down and internalizing narrative from generation to generation. Are books now a dying medium in the face of ever-advancing technology in an increasingly fast-paced and technologically-dependent society? Technology now incorporates narrative into interactive environments in various ways often immersing the user in ever more realistic experiential scenarios. Yet, is something potentially lost with these advancements that can only be afforded through the time-tested method …

The Crescent And The Cross: Islamic Influence In Southern Culture, Jesse Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To a large degree, America has adopted African American culture as its own. One may hear and see African American influence in popular music, grammar, fashion and art, but rarely are the sources of these influences divined, in no small part to difficulties inherent in interdisciplinary studies. This thesis will examine the Islamic aesthetics in African American quilts. This work focuses on design and color elements and I trace Islamic influence from West Africa to the U.S. South by way of the slave trade. The original scholarship comes from in the Mississippi Delta, although this thesis also uses quilt books …

A Comparison Of Vertebral Osteoarthritis Between Archaic And Mississippian Populations And Its Relation To Subsistence Activities : An Examination Of The Burials At The Perry Site (1lu25) And Moundville (Msm) Sites, Jessica Johns

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Gis-Based Analysis Of Chickasaw Settlement In Northeast Mississippi : 1650-1840, Wendy Cegielski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Osteology Of The Chalillo Dam Archaeology Salvage Project, Upper Macal River Valley, Belize, Lenna M. Nash

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Lithic Technological Analysis Of The Nunnery Collection Bifaces From The Toby-Thornhill Site In Lauderdale County, Mississippi, Justin Peter Rego

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Rights In Flux: The Rights Of Afghan Women In Different Eras, Kelly Anne Drevitch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Have the lives of Afghan women improved since the U.S. invasion of October of 2001? Historically, the George W. Bush Administration followed past foreign governments, Afghan political parties, and Afghan regimes who also promised to "liberate Afghan women" when making the case for war or violence. Using case study methodology and feminist theory, the research compares the status of Afghan women in three eras: before the Taliban (1973 to 1995), during the Taliban (1996 to October 2001), and since the U.S. invasion (October 2001 to December 2009). By applying gender and cultural essentialism, the research concludes that these theories offer …

Political Violence In South Africa: A Case Study Of "Necklacing" In Colesberg, Sipho Mbuqe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines certain psychological dimensions and implications of political violence in general by means of a specific violent incident that took place in Colesberg, South Africa in 1985. Ms. Nokwakha Dilato was murdered by a group of people who poured gasoline over her body, placed a car tire, filled with gasoline, around her neck and shoulders, and set her alight - a practice known as "necklacing", and which became widespread during that time as a way of killing suspected or confirmed collaborators with the Apartheid regime. Three sources of data about this event were analyzed for this dissertation. First, …

Discovering The Healthcare Beliefs And Practices Of Rural Mestizo Ecuadorians: An Ethnonursing Study, Julie A. Moss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose

This qualitative ethnonursing study was to discover and understand the role of the nurse, healthcare beliefs and practices of rural mestizo Ecuadorians. Discovering these beliefs and practices will enable nurses and other healthcare workers to provide care that is acceptable, congruent in culture and health promoting.

Background

The current literature regarding Ecuadorian health practices has been limited to the study of indigenous Americo-Indian groups living in Ecuador. No studies have been conducted in the mestizo rural setting.

Research Design

An ethnonursing method developed by Leininger was used to guide this study which took place in Tosagua, Ecuador.

Conclusions and …