Digital Commons Network^™

"Live Free, Read Hard:" Mass-Market Westerns, Mainstream Readers, And The Far Right, 1970-1999, Indigo Recker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes mass-produced western novels and their readers from the years 1970 to 1999. At the end of the twentieth century, when mass market western novels were sold at a rate indicating consistent readerships, the US was seeing a rise in far-right politics with events like the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff, the 1993 WACO siege, and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. This readership, and these political movements, are the focus of this dissertation, exploring how readers situated themselves into political discourse, how political meanings embedded in mass-market fiction aligned with racial, class, gender, and regional identities in contemporary US …

Exploring The Intersectional Higher Education Experiences Of Latinx Students, Miguel A. Trujillo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intersectional experiences of Latinx students in higher education have largely gone underexplored in the literature, particularly when it comes to Latino men. The current literature treats the experiences of the Latinx community as a monolith, when there are multiple potentially impactful intersectional aspects of identity that could influence our lived experiences, such as generational status, documentation status, country of origin, and gender. This three-manuscript dissertation addresses these gaps in the literature by both conducting research that is more descriptive of our respective within-group community and by focusing on the impact that gender may play in the experiences of Latinx …

“Long Live Ear X-Tacy!”: An Oral History Study Of Rhetorics Of Nostalgia And Place., Aubrie Warner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to explore rhetorical placemaking through how people understand and construct narratives around places that no longer exist. In doing so, it examines the relationship between nostalgia and place — how rhetorical construction of place is influenced and/or informed by rhetorics of nostalgia, how our experiences influence our sense of place (past and present), and how we create continuity for ourselves in the construction and maintenance of particular narratives. This study contributes to the emerging field of rhetorics of nostalgia and places it in direct conversation with rhetorics of place and unpacks how these two are more connected …

Public Space And Well-Being: An Empirical Study Of Central Park In Old Louisville., Maryam Entezam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Urban green spaces have been receiving attention in urban planning and the health profession in the 21^st century as environmental elements that contribute to well-being. This dissertation explored the relationship between green space usage and individuals’ physical, mental, and social well-being. This empirical research focused on Central Park in Old Louisville to examine how residents use the park and whether it contributes to the well-being of residents. After exploring the existing literature, I identified four well-being indices: (1) perceived health (PHI), (2) health outcome (HOI), (3) mental well-being (MWI), and (4) social well-being (SWI). Frequent Park usage is expected …

Promotional Communication For A College Food Pantry: Findings From A Cross-Sectional Assessment Of Socioecological Variables Related To Past Use Of A Campus-Based Food Pantry., Bunny Marie Hayes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: This study examined differences between users and non-users of campus food pantry, conducted communication audit, and made recommendations for future food pantry communication. Methods: Cross-sectional twofold study, first analyzing existing intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental data to test predictors of campus food pantry usage characteristics, using inferential statistics. Secondly, conducting a communication audit that evaluates the reach of student communication. Results: Significant differences were found between users and non-users of food pantry that support hypotheses in relation to gender, age, race, class, marital status, housing type, housing description, and Pell eligibility. Findings could not support hypothesized differences in first-generation status. …

Incidence And Determinants Of Hypertensive Disorders Of Pregnancy In The Us: Hospitalization Discharge Rate For Preeclampsia, Eclampsia, And Gestational Hypertensions, 2016-2018., Kahir S. Jawad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Hypertension remains one of the most prevalent medical issues in pregnancy. It contributes considerably to maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality, making it one of the most significant public health problems. Although various epidemiological studies have been conducted over the past decades to assess the disease incidence and key risk factors associated with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, current incidence rates and trends are lacking. This is a novel and significant study because there are no current population-based incidence estimates of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and their subtypes and very few studies with the power to explore a wide range …

Using Graphic Novels To Teach Economics Content To High School Students With Extensive Support Needs., Caroline Mae Fitchett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of social studies instruction in school is to facilitate the growth of competent citizens (National Council for the Social Studies [NCSS], 2013). Despite the recognized benefit of social studies instruction, emphasis on this subject has decreased over time, and has ultimately been termed a “dispensable subject” (Fitchett & Haefner, 2010). Social studies is an even more marginalized subject area for students with disabilities (Zakas et al., 2013). Expanding the research in this area is not only necessary to improving social studies academic content acquisition but is also likely to facilitate greater independence for students post-school – and by …

Overdose Prevention Behaviors And The Rural Risk Environment Among People Who Inject Drugs In Rural Appalachia, Jody Teel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: The entire United States has felt the effects of the overdose epidemic, but rural Appalachia has experienced disproportionate overdose deaths. This variation in overdose mortality can be attributed to the risk environment for overdose in rural Appalachia. Overdose prevention behaviors are individual level behaviors that people who inject drugs can implement that may have the potential to reduce their risk of overdose, however limited research exists regarding the utilization of those behaviors. It is important to consider how the risk environment can influence the utilization of overdose prevention behaviors among people who inject drugs. Therefore, the purpose of this …

Hands-Only Cpr Education In Tarrant County, Courtnee C. Cross

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to identify the impact of in-person, hands-only CPR education for community members on their confidence and ability in performing CPR. Bystander-initiated CPR is an important aspect in the survival and outcomes of those that experience a cardiac arrest in the community. The hands-only CPR method was developed to help increase bystander-initiated CPR and improve outcomes for those experiencing a cardiac arrest at home. This project was quasi-experimental, using pretest and posttest data. Community members took the Basic Resuscitation Skills Self-Efficacy Scale (BRS-SES) before and after the hands-only CPR education video to determine how the …

Liberation And Inclusion Through The Voices Of Trans Youth: A Phenomenological Approach, Klaudia Neufeld

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary aim of this phenomenological study is to elevate trans youth voice to understand the essence of their individual and shared lived experiences within school systems designed for them to be silenced, excluded, and erased. In alignment with Eve Tuck’s desire-based research, this study is designed to counter deficit narratives of trans youth. Participants include six racially and ethnically diverse trans youth, ages 13−17 in the U.S. state of Colorado. Analyses revealed four themes: a gender-identity transition journey; navigating geography; safety and the impact of school culture; creating belonging through a coalition of community and friendship; and youth lessons …

The Impact Of The Digital Divide On Rural Community College Students, Martin Ray Sheppard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This qualitative case study investigated the perceived impact of the digital divide on rural U.S. community college students. An online survey was conducted of adult community college students at a rural community college. In addition, volunteer faculty at the same institution were interviewed through Zoom. The purpose of the student surveys and faculty interviews was to determine the impact of the digital divide on rural community college students and the ways in which these students seek to overcome the divide. This study used a theoretical framework that combined aspects of the situational theory of problem solving (STOPS) with the …

An Exploration Of Palauan Fishing Methods And Fisheries: A Study For The Conservation Of Dugongs, Mia Glover

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dugong (Dugong dugon) is an important marine mammal in Palau. However, current population dynamics are not well understood. This study aimed to connect scientific data with local knowledge by examining the social implications of changing fishing methods and their impact on dugong population dynamics in the face of climate change and fisheries commercialization. Through interviews with local fishers, it was found that destructive fishing methods like trawling and long lining have led to habitat loss and degradation for dugongs. These tactics, driven by economic factors, have disrupted the delicate balance between human activities and the preservation of dugong habitats, …

Something Wicked: Witches And Rhetorics Of Resistance, K. Scarlett Harrington

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project joins other academic conversations regarding the dynamics of power, modernity, witchcraft, and magic within the contexts of Western hegemony. Occasioned by kairotic cultural events and the reinforcement of ideologies like those found in the Dobbs decision, QAnon conspiracy, and rise of Christian Nationalism, this project contends that evaluating the potential political power residing in witchery is necessary in understanding some of the nuances of hegemonic control and resistance to oppressive authority. Predominantly following rhetorical evaluations of magic found in the works of Gunn and Covino, I maintain a non-universal methodological practice that works to understand the various instrumentality …

Goemai/Ankwei Religiosity: Understanding Indigenous Divinity In Relation To Christianity, Edward Muge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Postcolonial/decolonial thinking developed in response to modernity’s colonial logic that glorified and universalized the Western locus of enunciation, subjectivity, and history. The prioritization of Western epistemology, hierarchization of being based on race, gender, and religion, and the universalization of Western Christian religion relegated all other modes of being, knowing, and accessing the Divine to the periphery. For a long time, indigenous people have accepted the Western linear worldview that makes them the exemplars of the whites (Euro-Americans) in their primordial state of Western history and development. The goal of the Western colonial matrix of power is the subsumption of …

Restorative Playscape Design: A Phenomenological Approach To Designing Playscapes, Jennifer Bradley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation outlines the development of a phenomenological and restorative approach to playscape design. Restorative Playscape (RPD) is a phenomenologically based approach to designing children’s play environments that involves a process of attending to, noticing, and uncovering natural affordances for play and development, and making enhancements to the environment so that the affordances can experienced in their full potential and capacity to support children’s growth and development. The restorative approach involves the application of three phenomenological methods to identify the affordances of the outdoor play environment: 1) Child Guided Walks- to explore the affective and relational dimension of children’s experience …

The Conceptual Compression Of Space And Time As Intimated In The Depiction Of The Horse In China, Circa 1250 Bce-Ce 400., Robert Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the horse in ancient China, from before its domestication in the 13th century BCE to the fourth century CE. The revolutionary utilization of the mounted horse influenced contemporary concepts of time and space. The topics include the history of equid domestication in Eurasia, horse-drawn vehicles and riding, the introduction of the horse-drawn chariot from Shang China to its decline in Eastern Zhou; the rise of cavalry in China in the fourth century BCE; and the administrative, martial, symbolic and religious roles given the horse up to the Han dynasty; the early Chinese world view as dictated by …

The Impact Of Kentucky’S Medicaid Expansion On Adult Coverage And Diagnosis Of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus And Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy, The Use Of Antihyperglycemics And The Role Of Social Determinants Of Health 2011-2018., Brian Mcroberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objectives: This study analyzed the impact of Medicaid expansion in Kentucky on coverage of adults aged 19-64 and the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and the use of antidiabetic medications or insulin (antihyperglycemics) for T2DM, controlling for Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). Method: This study assembled ICD-based claims and prescription drug NDC claims from all adult residents of Kentucky enrolled in Medicaid from 2011 to 2018. Three-digit zip code (Zip-3) data was appended to each case from the American Community Survey to provide SDOH variables. Tests performed included ANOVA, decision trees, varimax rotated …

The Landscape Does Not Care It Is A Landscape: A Utopian Pessimist Journey In Kentucky., Shachaf Polakow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

These thesis and exhibition, invite the viewers to travel through different places in Central and Eastern Kentucky. The region’s landscape, like many other American landscapes, is often known to the public through the settler colonial lens—a lens that ignores Indigenous peoples’ history in the region. The work in the exhibition is a response to landscape art's history and its complicity with American settler colonialism- art that was recruited to create a new identity for the settlers and for the country from the beginning of the American Colonial Project. Landscape art was a crucial part of this effort, presenting the land …

Still Got The Blues - No Time But Here, No Place But Now: Geographies Of Art & Activism In The Work Of Clyde Woods., Jake Mace

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The fight against displacement and dispossession in the increasingly inequitable process of reterritorialization is arguably the most pressing struggle of the modern city – and it is articulated through cultural production as much as through political debate and economic development. Yet research that is at the nexus of critical, urban, and cultural studies and which explores the resistant potential of countercultural production rather than the hegemonic impact of mainstream cultural production is underdeveloped. Clyde Woods’s blues epistemology offers a guide to reading cultural production of marginalized groups as maps of meaning that offer alternative visions of the past, the present, …

Land Tenure And The Urban Institutional Politics Of Sustainability: How Sustainability "Lands" In The Relationships Between Global North And South Contexts., Lindsey Connors

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability is not simply a moral concept but is essential for human survival, and the tensions inherent in sustainable development bear repercussions that are increasingly placed onto the poor and powerless (Redclift 1987). While sustainability has become a relevant concept for urban knowledge and research especially in the global South, much of our urban sustainability knowledge is shaped by research and typologies from the global North (Nagendra et al. 2018; Parnell & Robinson 2017; Roy 2005). This dissertation considers the spatial transferability of sustainability knowledge from a relational perspective (Massey 2002). Sustainable development can be understood from this perspective as …

Understanding The Persuasive Attributes Of Twitch Advertisements: A Study On The Effects Of Current Advertisements And Sponsorships, Colleen Sharkey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research in this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of Twitch’s current advertising option, which includes mid-roll, pre-roll, and sponsored streams. It will focus on usefulness of content, brand credibility, purchase intent, and streamer credibility. Twitch has seen a surge in growth and attention in recent years, with an average of 31 million daily visitors and 1.3 trillion minutes watched globally in 2021 alone (Twitch Sales, 2022). However, despite Twitch’s growing popularity as an entertainment and entrepreneurship platform, little research has been conducted on the impact of its advertising options on brand perception. This study seeks to address this …

Geophysical, Archaeological, And Geospatial Investigations At Presidio Los Adaes, 18th Century Capital Of Spanish Texas, Robert Linam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Presidio Los Adaes (16NA16), located in present day northwest Louisiana, served as the capital of Spanish Texas for much of the 18th century. Maps and historical documents provide architectural plans for the fort and other buildings on the site but differ in the size and location of several buildings. In 2009, a geophysical survey of the site with ground penetrating radar, magnetometry, electrical resistance, and electromagnetic induction showed good preservation of architectural foundations. Visual assessment of the maps and geophysical data, information from archaeological excavations, and spatial statistics suggests that the fort was originally built as specified by the architect, …

Leadership Development In Education For Sustainable Development: Evaluation Of Higher Education Students In Sustainable Development Programs, Michelle Dzurenda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) has been working decades towards reaching Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to create peace and prosperity for people and the planet. The 2030 Agenda was created as an urgent call to action, a global partnership, and a comprehensive plan to work towards the 17 SDGs. For this study, the focus is on Goal 4- quality education and the impact of leadership on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Leadership on ESD has been a more recent topic and under researched. By making advancements in leadership on ESD there will be positive …

Profitable, Alternative Income Generation And Improved Quality Of Life Among Global Beekeepers, Chris Honeycutt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Interventions that promote alternative income generation (AIG) to address social determinants of health are associated with increased household income and improved health outcomes. Organizations have used beekeeping to address poverty and other development goals with mixed outcomes. Beekeeping presents a viable option to promote AIG. Organizations increase their risk of failing to achieve positive outcomes when beekeeping interventions are inadequate. This project aims to develop an organizational assessment tool that measures organizational position in relation to evidence-based factors for income generation and improved quality of life among global beekeepers. The assessment is organized into seven domains that correspond with PRECEDE-PROCEED …

Emancipation: Centering Black Parent Voices In The New Orleans Charter School Experiment, Nicole Moliere

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study explored Louisiana legislative charter school policies and the extent to which those policies empowered Black public-school parents in the New Orleans charter school experiment (NOCSE). Parent empowerment, the sharing of power with parents, has been a missing component both in scholarly literature and in charter school policy and implementation (Ferlazzo, 2011; Hsiao et al., 2018, Murray et al., 2013). Using semi structured interviews, the results of this study yielded three themes related to Black parent empowerment (BPE) and the public-school struggles Black parents face in an all-charter district. Based on the research findings, this study revealed that …

Emerging Tick-Borne Diseases In Northeast Tennessee, Jacob Schultz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tick populations have been immigrating into northeast Tennessee from east Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and North Carolina. Counties in states bordering northeast Tennessee harbor tick species associated with human illness. Human diseases transmitted by ticks include ehrlichiosis, spotted fever rickettsial group diseases, tularemia, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Lyme disease, alpha-gal syndrome, Heartland virus, Powassan virus, and southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI). These diseases cause morbidity and mortality in human populations and may pose a high risk to individuals, wildlife, and livestock. The Cherokee National Forest covering the east Tennessee border provides a permissible environment for ticks to immigrate and thrive. Residents of northeast …

Finding The Path To College Completion: A Qualitative Exploration Of The Experiences Of First-Generation Students At A Technical College In Rural West Tennessee, Jacquene Rainey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study focused on the experiences of first-generation students attending a technical college in rural West Tennessee. The results of this study may identify barriers faced by students from these special populations and may also provide insight into the support systems that motivate these students to persevere. Although significant research has been conducted on first-generation and underrepresented students attending community colleges and four-year universities, there is a gap in the published literature pertaining to the lived experiences of students attending technical colleges, especially those living in rural areas.

First-generation college students face many challenges as they …

Foundation Of Empire In The Tudor Era: Further Explorations Of The Northeast And Northwest Passages, Richard H. Lloyd Iii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The British Empire is often traced back to the late sixteenth century and Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation, but Tudor monarchs had been eyeing expansion beyond Britain long before Drake. John Cabot, commissioned by Henry VII in the late fifteenth century, became the first European to step foot in the Americas in five centuries. Half a century later, adventurers like Richard Chancellor and Sir Hugh Willoughby sought a possible Northeast Passage to Asia, interacting with the Sami and Russians along the way. These expeditions and others like them, funded by the English monarchy and merchants, aimed to expand the kingdom’s economic …

Extracting Topography From Historic Topographic Maps Using Gis-Based Deep Learning, Briar Pierce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historical topographic maps are valuable resources for studying past landscapes, but they are unsuitable for geospatial analysis. Cartographic map elements must be extracted and digitized for use in GIS. This can be accomplished by sophisticated image processing and pattern recognition techniques, and more recently, artificial intelligence. While these methods are generally effective, they require high levels of technical expertise. This study presents a straightforward method to digitally extract historical topographic map elements from within popular GIS software, using new and rapidly evolving toolsets. A convolutional neural network deep learning model was used to extract elevation contour lines from a 1940 …

Selecting Classroom Grading Practices: A Qualitative Study Exploring Teacher Experiences, Tallye Gass

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research was to understand the experience of selecting grading practices for a high school math or English classroom. There is no existing research related to understanding this phenomenon. This phenomenological study included three participants who were purposefully selected based on specific criteria: They must teach math or English in grades 9, 10, 11, or 12 and have at least three years of teaching experience. The participants were interviewed using videoconferencing software, and the interviews were recorded and transcribed. Open and axial coding was used to analyze the data. The theoretical framework applied for the interpretation …