Digital Commons Network^™

Sojourning In The Margin: Living As Wives Of International Students, Mengchun Chiang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Whereas concerns for international students frequently appear in existing literature, little attention is paid to wives of international students (WoIS). This study aims at describing and understanding lives of WoIS in the United States as sojourners in the margin. The research begins with a literature review and an examination of theoretical frames: from the cultural shock literature, acculturative stress literature, to atheoretical studies; and from cross-cultural psychology, cultural psychology, to indigenous psychology. Methodologically, this study is qualitative in nature, utilizing interview data from WoIS. In addition to a description and interpretation of the WoIS's narratives, the study also wrestles with …

Pinning Motherhood: The Construction Of Mothering Identities On Pinterest, Kate Griffin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the new social media site, Pinterest, to uncover the processes through which mothers construct self- and public-identities. Despite being valued at over $3.8 billion dollars (Perez 2013), having an impressive user retention rate (Moore 2014), and having a highly gendered user base (Tekobbe 2013), Pinterest has been the site of limited sociological inquiry. Seventeen semi-structured qualitative interviews on mothering and Pinterest use were conducted with central Florida mothers who have a Pinterest account and at least one child between 6 months and 10 years old. Through analysis based in a grounded theory approach, three central themes emerged …

Native American Empowerment Through Digital Repatriation, Michelle L. Fitch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Following the Enlightenment, Western adherence to positivist theory influenced practices of Western research and documentation. Prior to the introduction of positivism into Western scholarship, innovations in printing technology, literary advancements, and the development of capitalism encouraged the passing of copyright statutes by nation-states in fifteenth century Europe. The evolution of copyright and positivism in Europe influenced United States copyright and its protection of the author, as well as the practice of archiving and its role in interpreting history. Because Native American cultures practiced orality, they suffered the loss of their traditional knowledge and cultural expressions not protected by copyright. By …

Feasibility Of Using Computational Fluid Dynamics For Analysis Of Flow In An Orbiting Dish., Matthew R. Purcell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The oscillatory flow provided by an orbital shaker table correlates somewhat to the pulsatile flow seen in the human vasculature. This parallel allows for the use of the orbital shaker table in a large range of biomedical research. However, the fluid dynamics is not well characterized in this system. This research employed the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package FLUENT in an effort to better understand the fluid dynamics in an orbiting dish. This work was performed at low resolution as a first attempt to examine the fluid flow characteristics. The first objective was to determine the time required to reach …

Sistahs With Voices : Influences That Affected The College Choice Of High-Achieving African American Women Who Chose To Attend A Predominantly White Institution Instead Of An Historically Black College Or University., Angela Denise Duncan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite a long struggle to gain access, African Americans have always highly valued education. Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) were established specifically to educate this group, but the integration of predominately White institutions (PWI) in the 1960s led to decreased HBCU enrollments and, thus, challenges to their continued relevance. The numerous options for higher education add to the complexities of college choice, especially for students who have various intersecting identities to consider (e.g., African American women). The purpose of this study was to discover what influenced eight high-achieving African American women who chose to attend a PWI instead of …

Cultural Interpretations Of Socratic And Confucian Education Philosophy., Wang Heng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Socrates and Confucius constitute roots of western and eastern civilization respectively, as well as represent very different cultural values and educational traditions. Because of the very limited existing literature on the study of their educational philosophies, this paper is devoted to a comparative study of their educational philosophies, attempting to examine their historical and cultural contexts and unravel their implications on the current educational practices. The method employed in the study is hermeneutics, or interpretation of the literary texts. At the same time, the study is also cross-cultural in nature. Both of the philosophers lived around 4-5th century B.C.E., but …

Comparison Of Temperamental Rating Bilingually In Ukraine Using Child Behavioral Questionnaire (Cbq): Short Form, Nelly Ostrovsky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The 2 goals of the present investigation were to 1) examine the reliability of the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire: Short Form (CBQ) in a sample of 4-7 year-old children from the Ukraine and 2) compare those children’s temperament profiles to a) one another when the form was administered in 2 different languages and b) their American counterparts from the CBQ standardization sample. Three waves of data were collected from the parents of 167 children residing in Kiev, Ukraine. Internal reliability analyses showed good internal consistency of the instrument. Comparative analyses conducted both within and between cultures showed similarities and differences across …

Beware Of Mad John: Political Theology, Psychedelics And Literature, Roger K. Green

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using the discourse of Political Theology as a mode of enquiry we can overcome a longstanding tension between aesthetics and history that characterized much of twentieth century thought. Focusing on literary and occasionally musical works from the mid twentieth century, my aim is to show how works displaying psychedelic aesthetics are important venues for political deliberation with regard to citizenship. Through affective means, psychedelic aesthetics reimagine the boundaries of liberal subjectivity through a consciousness expansion and return from that expansion. The subject who returns from a psychedelic “experience” – which can be attained in various ways – comes to ethically …

Making Sense: Rhetoric, Perception, And Materiality, Aaron P. Donaldson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation dwells on the intersections of language-use and perception. The premise is that language makes literal sense and this reality has profound implications for those Burke called "symbol-using/mis-using animals." Communication scholars have long accepted a model of communication that positions language as "constitutive articulate contact" as opposed to a discrete means of transmission (Stewart, 1994), but a great deal of work remains to be done in terms of developing the implications for individuals and their language-use.

Chapter One explores the stances embraced by rhetorical materialists struggling to describe how language matters. The first chapter fields a series of critiques …

Running Among Thorns : Perspectives On Ethiopian/United States Educational Experiences., Bruce Whearty 1952-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a qualitative exploration of the perspectives of Ethiopian immigrants to the United States who have educational experience in both cultures. By interviewing five respondents and asking them to reflect on the role that their education played in their acculturation to the United States, a series of case histories was developed. The case histories were analyzed using the Differentiated Multi-Dimensional Model of Acculturation to determine if they upheld the two predictions made by this model: 1) acculturation for any particular individual proceeds independently at different rates across three different dimensions: language, behavior, and cultural identity; and 2) acculturation …

The Historical And Cultural Meanings Of American Music Lyrics From The Vietnam War., Erin Ruth Mccoy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes song lyrics written in the United States during the country’s involvement in the Vietnam War (1945-1975) by using social, historical, political, philosophical, and cultural criticisms. The majority of this dissertation focuses on Anti-Vietnam War protest lyrics, but neutral and pro-Vietnam War stances are also recognized. This work aims to primarily discuss music written in the United States during the Vietnam War era, but does recognize greater spheres of social protest against the war that occurred abroad. This dissertation asserts that the Anti-Vietnam War movement was on to something – an ideology that war was not the answer, …

Transformations : Material Terms For Writing On Religion In Composition Classrooms., Mark Alan Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation argues for closer attention to the material conditions of student writing on religion. Writing scholars in recent years have called for the inclusion of students’ religiously inflected perspectives, values, experiences, genres, and texts in the classroom, but I argue insufficient attention has been paid to the broader social contexts in which composition students must write about religion. In the first chapter, I outline the basic principles of my theoretical approach and attempt to articulate the generalized exigency of this work in terms of our current political and religious climate. I contend that a clearer understanding of how changing …

Consider David Foster Wallace, Or Reconsidering Dfw : Literary Self-Fashioning And Slacker Genius., Michael Franklin Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the five years since he took his own life, the literary world has witnessed an explosion of interest in the late David Foster Wallace. Two posthumous books have been published; countless newspaper articles and magazine pieces have been written; and a niche of literary scholarship simply called “Wallace Studies” has infiltrated English departments across the world. Needless to say, David Foster Wallace’s celebrity has not waned. However, none of the published scholarship to date has examined the creation of the David Foster Wallace celebrity persona, a persona I call the Slacker Genius. This thesis seeks to analyze the numerous …

A Theological Inquiry Regarding The Practice Of The Eucharist In Cyberspace, Janice L. Duce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study looks at the Eucharist in cyberspace, beginning with a case study of a faith community who met with controversy after the group shared the ritual in cyberspace. Based on a qualitative study of the practice and its aftermath, the theoretical analysis includes the nature of the Internet itself and its capacity as a location for networked communities; its capacity to operate as a communication medium for a religious ritual; and the involvement of active users.

The users in this case were members of a religious community interested in preserving their Eucharist theological tradition. The first set of major …

The Hybrid Spirit Animating Chinese Pentecostals In Malaysia, Eu Kit Lim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation interrogates the assertion in postcolonial scholarship, especially from the work of Homi Bhabha that the construction and performance of hybrid identities act as a form of resistance for marginalized communities against structures of oppression. While this study supports this assertion, it also critiques how hybridity fails to address issues of unequal power relations. This has led to an uncritical use of hybridity that reproduces the very idea of static identity which its proponents claim to transcend.

Through qualitative study of Chinese members of a Pentecostal church in Malaysia, this study argues that church members engage in "unequal belonging" …

Same Fight, Different Player: An Insight Into Culture, Information Sharing, And Team Performance, Cecily Mccoy-Fisher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relations among culture, information sharing, and performance among culturally-homogeneous NATO Officer teams. Forty-eight teams participated from five countries, namely, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and USA. Teams of four participants were randomly assigned to a role and the task was an interdependent computer-based mission using an adapted version of Neverwinter Nights™ (Bioware, 2003), where they had to communicate among teammates and with non-human players to find weapons caches and other mission objectives. Not one individual had all of the information needed to perform the tasks; thus, they needed to share information with …

Narratives Of Southern Contact Zones: Mobility And The Literary Imagination Of Zora Neale Hurston And Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Kyoko Shoji Hearn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the literary works of the two Southern women writers, Zora Neale Hurston and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, based on the cultural contexts of the 1930s and the 1940s. It discusses how the two writers' works are in dialogue with each other, and with the particular historical period in which the South had gone through many social, economical, and cultural changes. Hurston and Rawlings, who became friends with each other beyond their racial background in the segregated South, shared physical and social mobility and the interest in the Southern folk cultures. They wrote fiction about the region and its …

Single Fathers And Social Support, Elizabeth Suzanne Howe-Huist

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Single fathers have, for the most part, been overlooked in research, even though the proportion of children being raised by custodial fathers has been steadily increasing since the 1970s. This exploratory study aims to understand the factors that single fathers take into consideration when deciding which types of social support to use in helping them raise their children. By analyzing the results with the concepts of social exchange theory, we can better understand why some types of support are used and why others are not. Social exchange theory states that individuals will seek interactions with low costs and high rewards. …

Gender Dynamics From The Arab World: An Intercultural Service Encounter, Marryam Khan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Arab countries strive toward the modernization and feminization of the Arab culture; however, some of these countries (i.e., Saudi Arabia) are culturally and legally governed by "sharia law", and have maintained cultural norms regarding segregation of the sexes. In order to have a better understanding of the Arab travelers to the U.S., this research focuses on the gender dynamics between the service providers and Arab customers during a service encounter. Specifically, this research examines how the same and opposite genders of service-provider and customer influence Arab customers’ emotional response (comfort), consequently their service encounter evaluation (satisfaction), and behavioral intentions (feedback …

Linking The Functional Diversity Of Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Species To Soil Carbon And The Genetics Of A Foundational Tree Species, Nicole Marie Hergott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continues to increase, leading to an enhanced interest in the potential for ecosystems to sequester carbon. Soil could have a high potential to store carbon in these forests, but there is still a great deal to learn about how carbon storage in soils is influenced by ectomycorrhizal fungi. In this symbiosis, the plant host provides the vast majority of C for fungal growth. As a consequence, ECM fungi may provide one of the major pathways for C from trees to soils. Ectomycorrhizal fungal species produce extracellular enzymes that may degrade soil carbon and may differ …

The Song We Sing: Negotiating Black Nationalism And Queerness In James Baldwin's Late Novels, Elliot N. Long

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite his exclusion from the Black Arts Movement, James Baldwin includes in his later novels many elements of Black Nationalism, including a focus on black communities, black music, Pan-Africanism, and elements of separatism. In his inclusion of queer sexuality, Baldwin pushes against the typical bounds of Black Arts writings, expanding the limits of the genre. Contrary to the philosophy of Black Nationalism, which depends upon solid definitions of blackness, heterosexuality, and masculinity, is Baldwin's tearing down of identity categories through queering sexuality, gender, and race. This thesis examines James Baldwin's late novels, which remain undervalued and under-read, in terms of …

Empowering Communities From The Ground Up: Perspectives On A Lay Mental Health Project In Post-Earthquake Haiti, Gilberte Bastien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Meme World Syndrome: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The First World Problems And Third World Success Internet Memes, Robert Chandler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis applies the theory and method of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to examine the ideological components of the First World Problems (FWP) and Third World Success (TWS) Internet memes. Drawing on analytical concepts from CDA and related perspectives, such as multimodal discourse analysis and social semiotics, the paper analyzes the visual and textual elements of a sample of the FWP and TWS memes. The paper argues that the text and images featured in the memes are ideologically salient and discursively construct oppositional binaries between “us” and “them” in terms of wealth disparity.

Textual Analysis Of The Portrayals Of The Roma In A U.S. Newspaper, Sabrina Deaton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the media portrayals of Roma in the United States by taking a closer look at ―Gypsy crime‖ articles in a purposive sample of newspaper articles. These newspaper articles give details of ―confidence‖ crimes and name the alleged perpetrators as Roma or members of the ethnic minority group commonly known as Gypsies. A textual analysis was conducted of 23 articles appearing in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel from August 16, 2011 to February 8, 2013 covering fraud charges against several members of the Marks family. This primary evaluation narrowed the initial sample to nine articles that contained references to …

Intercultural Communication In The Global Age: Lessons Learned From French Technical Communicators, Nicole Tallman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the cultural considerations American technical communicators must address when working with French colleagues and when creating technical documentation for French audiences. A review of the literature on intercultural communication theory was conducted, along with a review of the limited research on technical communication in France and the needs of French audiences. A qualitative online survey of French technical communicators was also conducted. Through this survey, French technical communicators reported on their intercultural beliefs, experiences, and practices, and information, language, and cultural needs. Survey responses were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Two main themes were developed as a …

Illegitimate Celebrity In The British Long Eighteenth Century, Melissa Wehler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the discussions about contemporary celebrities, the femme fatale, the bad boy, the child star, and the wannabe have become accepted and even celebrated figures. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, however, actors and actresses who challenged acceptable strategies for celebrity behavior were often punished by exile, debt, disgrace, and humiliation. Some performers even faced a veritable textual and historical oblivion. Illegitimate Celebrity considers the careers of Dorothy Jordan, William Henry West Betty, Edmund Kean, and Margaret Agnes Bunn, and offers a historical genealogy of "illegitimate" performers who dared to break with social convention and struggled to define …

Intracellular Delivery Of Nanomaterials For Sub-Cellular Imaging And Tracking Of Biomolecules., Krishna Kiran Medepalli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nanomaterials have many intriguing applications in biology and medicine. Unique properties such as enhanced electrical properties, increased chemical reactivity and resistance to degradation, novel optical properties and comparable size to that of biological systems have led to their use in various biomedical applications. The most important applications of nanomaterials for medicine are in drug delivery and imaging. This research focuses on utilizing the biocompatibility of single walled Carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and optical properties colloidal quantum dots (QDs) for cellular drug delivery and imaging of biomolecules. The first part of this research deals with single walled carbon nanotubes which are excellent …

An Analysis Of Hindi Women-Centric Films In India., Srijita Sarkar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My study examines women-centric cinema in India that are in Hindi. In these films women have revolted against the injustice. The content analysis of the movies (parallel and middle) focuses on representation of women-centered issues. The Parallel Cinema is serious and artistic in its representation, mainly attracting the elites, whereas, and the middle cinema is a cross between the commercial and parallel cinema, and is meant for the masses. This study compares and contrasts both types of cinema. The main implication of this thesis was that representation of women in such films encourages social change in the treatment of women …

Study Abroad In A Developing And A Developed Country: A Comparison Of American Undergraduate Students’ Experiences In Ghana And England, Maria Costa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the differences among the experiences of 7 American undergraduate students; 4 who studied for a semester in Ghana, a developing country, and 3 who studied for a semester in England, a developed country. Using phenomenology as its guiding framework, transcribed interviews were analyzed and the focal phenomenon of the experience was sought. In addition, examination of the literature suggested that study abroad in less developed countries had the potential to impact the experience of students at a deeper level because of the potential for what Jean Piaget termed constructive disequilibrium (Blake & Pope, 2008, p. 61). …

Narrative Of Modern Chinese Masculinity In Ha Jin's Fiction., Lezhou Su

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of readings of three selected novels by Ha Jin-Waiting, The Crazed, and A Free Life. These novels cover three historical periods of Contemporary China under the rule of the Communist Party in sequence-the Mao's era (1949-1976), post-Mao era (1976-1989) and post-Tiananmen Square Incident era (1989 onwards). The readings are predominated with gender issues in the literary works, particularly with the construction and representation of contemporary Chinese masculinity. Drawing mainly on the Kam Louie's theory which pins down traditional Chinese masculinity in terms of wen (literary power) and wu (physical power)-the two concepts deeply entrenched in Confucianism, the …