Digital Commons Network^™

Re-Construction Through Fragmentation: A Cosmodern Reading Of David Mitchell’S Cloud Atlas, Beth Katherine Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A cosmodern reading of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas creates a positive vision of the future for readers through various techniques of fragmentation including fragmentation of voice, language, and time. By fragmentation, I have in mind the consistent interruption of the novel’s voice, language, and time that requires an active and aware readership. The reader’s interaction with the text makes the novel re-constructive. In fact, the global nature of Mitchell’s novel, its hopeful ending, and its exploration of the effects of globalization can be considered as a means of exploring the dynamic relationships between the characters, the reader, and Mitchell’s authorial …

A Systematic Review Of The Soricimorph Eulipotyphla (Soricidae: Mammalia) From The Gray Fossil Site (Hemphillian), Tennessee, Joshua Doby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due in part to the incompleteness of the Cenozoic fossil record in the eastern U.S., the evolution and immigration of shrews (Soricidae) is not well understood. A rich soricid fauna from the Gray Fossil Site (GFS), Washington County, TN, has enabled many new inferences to be made. There are 7 new species in 6 genera: Paenelimnoecus, “Blarinella”, Petenyia, Tregosorex, Crusafontina, and Gen et sp. nov. GFS species of the genera Paenelimnoecus, “Blarinella”, and Petenyia are the first occurrence of each genus in the New World. Tregosorex, Crusafontina, and the N.A. taxon Limnoecus all have their latest documented occurrence at the …

Toward Context-Sensitive Statebuilding For Development: State-Local Complementarity In Rural Guatemala, Matthew Thornton Klick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Developing countries emerging from conflict often feature enduring, destitute poverty amid often fast-growing economies at the national level. This dissertation explores a critical question: What accounts for variation in human development levels across similar communities in conflict-affected countries? In particular it explores how some equally poor, indigenous, highland communities in Guatemala have made advances in health and education, while others have stagnated or regressed. These results are demonstrated through a quantitative analysis of all of Guatemala’s 334 municipalities, utilizing difficult to access data from myriad sources, combined with the results of qualitative field methods – including over 250 key informant …

According To The Gospel Of Haunted Women, Judith Roney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to the Gospel of Haunted Women is a collection of seventy-five poems divided into four sections. The voices speaking within, are, indeed haunted by varying definitions. They bespeak complex, troubled emotions such as guilt, shame, and anxiety, yet work towards expressions of courage. The dead and the living are cajoled and accused, while others are provided a format through which they may be heard long after their mouths have closed. The poems are arranged in four sections. Section I, “We Begin,” consists of memoir pieces from the poet's early life. Section II, “We Speak,” is a dedicated space for …

Investigating Place In The Writing Classroom: Designing A Place-Based Course With A Local Service-Learning Component, Melissa Pompos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Drawing on literature about place-based education and service-learning, as well as three groups* perspectives about their service-learning experiences, this research describes how place (understood simultaneously as a material agent, a setting for human activity, and a factor in an individual*s situatedness) and identity (understood in terms of one*s social position) are socially- constructed concepts that impact students* writing and learning experiences. More specifically, this project presents place-based education as a teaching method that can focus and reinvigorate service-learning in a writing course. Including place-based content and service-learning projects in a writing course requires careful design and reflection. However, course design …

Organizational Complexity, Plan Adequacy, And Nursing Home Resiliency: A Contingency Perspective, Cherie Boyce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Some social and organizational behavior scientists measure resiliency through anecdotal qualitative research, i.e. personality analyses and stories of life experience. Empirical evidence remains limited for identifying measurable indicators of resiliency. Therefore, a testable contingency model was needed to clarify resiliency factors pertinent to organizational performance. Two essential resiliency factors were: 1) a written plan and 2) affiliation with a disaster network. This contingency study demonstrated a quantifiable, correlational effect between organizational complexity, disaster plan adequacy and organizational resiliency. The unit of analysis, the skilled nursing facility proved vulnerable, therefore justifying the need for a written emergency management plan and affiliation …

Examining The Impact Of Pre-K And Kindergarten Classroom Alignment On School Readiness Outcomes, Margaret Deane Franko

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored children’s experiences of instructional alignment from prekindergarten to kindergarten and analyzed the impact of those alignment experiences on children’s school readiness outcomes. The study answered the following overarching research question: Does the alignment of children’s learning experiences between prekindergarten and kindergarten impact school readiness outcomes? Three sub-questions drove the research design: (1) How do children’s prekindergarten and kindergarten learning experiences align; (2) To what extent does the alignment of early learning experiences predict children’s school readiness outcomes; and (3) Does the quality of prekindergarten classroom teacher interactions moderate the impact of any PK-K alignment effects? Using cluster …

Rhetorical Imperialism, Allison Welty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

José Donoso’s The Obscene Bird of Night is often described as a grotesque labyrinth of symbols and images representative of the Latin Boom literary moment. The novel’s purposefully ambiguous construction opens itself up to two opposing readings that reveal discrepancies and conflicts in postcolonial and globalization studies, and as such, my project consists of two papers, easily read separately or in conversation with one another. The first proposes a reading of the novel as an assertion of marginal identity onto the world stage, ultimately upholding the indigenous native as a source of strength. Here, the novel’s appropriation of the folklore …

China's Strategic Choices Towards North Korea And Iran, Kang-Uk Jung

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study tests two hypotheses. First, China cooperates with the United States only when it is able to obtain material rewards. Second, without material incentives from the United States, China straddles between the United States on one hand and Iran and North Korea on the other. My findings show that neither Structural Realism, which holds anti-hegemonism alliance, nor Constructivism, which holds positive assimilation of the nuclear nonproliferation norm explains Chinese international behavior comprehensively. My balance of interest model explains Chinese foreign policy on the noncompliant states better. The cases cover the Sino-North Korean and Sino-Iranian diplomatic histories from 1990 to …

Tracing An American Yoga: Identity And Cross-Cultural Transaction, Christa Schwind

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation looks at the creative identity of an American yoga, both rooted in its Indic origins and radically transformed in its U.S. manifestations. It traces the broad historical transactions of yoga in terms of East and West, Secular and Religious, authenticity and idealized conception, as well as provides a critical historical genealogy of Anusara and Sridaiva yoga. Furthermore, the project relates yoga to the identity, power, and knowledge dynamics of pre-modern, modern, and postmodern histories and interpretations of yoga and Tantra, multiple theoretical discourses, and the embodied practices of individuals within Indian and American contexts.

I argue that there …

Determinants Of Wind Energy Deployment: Infrastructures, Policies, Resources, Or Economics?, Marc Sydnor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the pattern of deployment of wind power across the United States, focusing on the influence of wind resources, incentives/supportive government and governance policies, supportive/confounding infrastructures, and economic factors. The effects of these factors are considered for 35 states from the year 2001 to 2012. Effects are estimated using fixed effects regression models, forward step-wise between modeling, and lead-lag models. The results indicate that demand, electrical transmission availability, and complementary generation assets, as well as the import-export of electricity are important factors in determining where wind energy deployment occurs. In addition, elevated levels of wind energy deployment are …

Rethinking The Community As Temple: Discourse And Spatial Practice In The Community Rule (1qs), Melissa P. Pula

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project is a spatial reading of the Community Rule (1QS) that examines how space is used as a response to the perceived defilement of the Jerusalem Temple and how it addresses the problems of atonement and priestly authority for a community without a physical temple. Edward Soja’s concept of Thirdspace—social space transformed by material and mental spaces—illuminates how temple, military, and judicial spaces order social and divine relationships for those who followed 1QS. In turn, this spatial practice creates a new place that enables the community to contest the Jerusalem Temple’s authority while legitimizing its own. While Edward Soja’s …

Small Town America Under The “Lights”: Contemporary Images Of Rural America In The Series Friday Night Lights, Heather K. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

What is Small Town America? The answer to this varies based on a person’s experiences. This is not always from real-world exposure, but often vicariously through television. For some, television is the only opportunity to create a perception for such areas. For others, television could reinforce or sway their perceptions of Small Town America. Therefore, a comprehension of the identity for Small Town America broadcasted through the small screen is important. This research utilized the theory of semiotics to analyze cinematography and mise-en-scene in the opening credits of Friday Night Lights to unearth the themes and overarching ideology for Small …

Pedestrian Mobility In Denver: A Mixed Methods Approach, Meghan Elizabeth Mooney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research is rooted in the bigger issues of climate change, urban sustainability, and the drive to make Denver more pedestrian centered despite sprawled conditions. More specifically, this research is driven by (1) the need for a holistic, multi-dimensional, and mixed geographic perspective of pedestrian mobility, (2) the lack of qualitative data regarding pedestrian mobility and (3) a need for a better understanding of the feedback between physical and perceived space and how this influences walking behavior. Given these motivations, I deploy a multidimensional framework for assessing pedestrian mobility in Denver’s Transit Oriented Development (TOD) sites, whereby there are two …

Becoming A State: Zionist And Palestinian Movements For National Liberation, Martin S. Widzer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the road to statehood for the Zionist and Palestinian movements. There are three components which frame this investigation: 1. social movements and the practices in which they engage that are aimed at establishing statehood for a people; 2. distinctive configurations of the international system and the manner in which both the material and ideational foundations of that system pulls units towards conformity and predictable behavior; and finally, 3. the role of agency, that is, the way in which instrumentally rational individuals attempt to push the structure in which they are embedded towards a configuration that is better …

Internationalization: Utilizing The University Museum, Adrienne Turnbull-Reilly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A review of the literature on the nature of international education in the United States reveals that although most international students want to engage socially and academically with their peers, many encounter cultural, linguistic, and institutional obstacles. Using this information to guide interview questions and format workshops, the author explored the question of how university museums can contribute to a more holistic and enriching educational experience for international students on American campuses, using the University of Denver as a case study. Findings from workshops and interviews conducted by the author reveal similar obstacles (cultural, linguistic, and institutional) when engaging students …

When Wells Run Dry: Water And Tourism Along The Western Coast Of Nicaragua, Gary Thomas Lavanchy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation uses a political ecology approach to examine the relationship between tourism development and groundwater in southwest Nicaragua. Tourism in Nicaragua is a booming industry bolstered by ‘unspoiled’ natural beauty, low crime rates, and government incentives. This growth has led to increased infrastructure, revenue, and employment opportunities for many local communities along the Pacific coast. Not surprisingly, it has also brought concomitant issues of deeper poverty, widening gaps between rich and poor, and competition over natural resources. Adequate provisions of freshwater are necessary to sustain the production and reproduction of tourism; however, it remains uncertain if groundwater supplies can …

The Effects Of Surf-Driven Development On The Local Population Of Playa Gigante, Nicaragua, Nicholas Harrison William Earhart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In many of the world's developing countries, tourism is starting to play a more important role in the improvements of the local and national economies. One of these countries that have started to view tourism as a way to alleviate poverty throughout the country is Nicaragua. With miles of beaches, large swaths of pristine rainforests and beautiful volcanoes, Nicaragua has plenty to offer to travelers from all over the world. One of the sectors of tourism that has rapidly expanded in recent years is that which caters specifically to North American and European surfing tourists, who travel to Nicaragua for …

New Middle East Cold War: Saudi Arabia And Iran's Rivalry, Tali Rachel Grumet

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The competing powers of Saudi Arabia and Iran continue to redress and reverse the strategic imbalance and direction of the Middle East’s regional politics. The 1979 Iranian Revolution catapulted these two states into an embittered rivalry. The fall of Saddam Hussein following the 2003 U.S. led invasion, the establishment of a Shi’ite Iraq and the 2011 Arab Uprisings have further inflamed tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Iran and Saudi Arabia have not confronted each other militarily, but rather have divided the region into two armed camps on the basis of political and religious ideology in seeking regional allies and …

Phytoremediation Of Metal Contamination Using Salix (Willows), Gordon J. Kersten

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abandoned hardrock mines and the resulting Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) are a source of vast, environmental degradation that are toxic threats to plants, animals, and humans. Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are metal contaminants often found in AMD. In my mine outwash water samples, cadmium and lead concentrations were 19 and 160 times greater than concentrations in control waterways, and 300 and 40 times greater than EPA Aquatic Life Use water quality standards, respectively. I tested the phytoremediation characteristics of three montane willows native to the Rocky Mountains: Salix drummondiana, S. monticola, and S. planifolia. I tested …

Influence Of Personal And State Level Variables On Perception Of State Emergency Management Network Resilience In 47 States, Victoria Jennison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emergency management coordination in the United States has fallen victim to over a century of strategies to organize, reorganize, consolidate, or decentralize disaster preparedness, planning and response. Regardless of the agency in charge at the federal level, individual citizens have been responsible for their own well-being immediately after any disaster or emergency event for more than 100 years because it takes time to mobilize and deliver aid. The system most often charged with managing that mobilization during an emergency event that exceeds the response capacity of local public safety agencies is the state emergency management network. Many entities in a …

The Ct20 Peptide As An Agent For Cancer Treatment, Rania Bassiouni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due to cancer recurrence and the development of drug resistance, metastatic breast cancer is a leading cause of death in women. In the search for a new therapeutic to treat metastatic disease, we discovered CT20p, an amphipathic peptide based on the C-terminus of Bax. Due to inherent properties of its sequence and similarity to antimicrobial peptides, CT20p is a promising cytotoxic agent whose activity is distinct from the parent protein (e.g. does not cause apoptosis). CT20p is not membrane permeable but can be introduced to cells using polymeric nanoparticles, a method that promotes efficient delivery of the peptide into the …

Evaluating Travelers Experience With Highway Advisory Radio (Har) And Citizens Band Radio Advisory System (Cbras) On Florida's Turnpike Enterprise Toll Roadways And Florida Interstate Highways, Nabil Muhaisen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis is to evaluate travelers' experience with Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) and Citizens' Band Radio Advisory System (CBRAS) technologies on both Florida Interstate Highway system (FIH) and the Florida Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) toll roads. To achieve this goal, two different survey tools were used. The first tool is a random digit dialing phone survey known as CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing). The second tool is a field survey that intercepts travelers at the Florida Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) service plazas and the Florida Interstate Highway (FIH) rest areas. HAR and CBRAS are traditional components of the Advanced Traveler …

The Relationship Between Participation In An Academic Intervention Program And Performance In Coursework For At Risk Eighth-Grade Middle School Students, Victoria Hyatt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of the research was to examine the academic intervention program implemented to address academic concerns in the middle grades in one large urban school district in central Florida. Educational leaders at all levels are concerned with the choice of one in four students who make the decision to not complete high school coursework, leaving before earning a high school diploma. The researcher examined to what extent, if any, participation in the middle grades academic intervention program affected academic success in coursework and what difference, if any, there were between academic coursework grade point averages and at-risk eligibility factors, …

The Effect Of A Metalinguistic Approach To Sentence Combining On Written Expression In Eighth Grade Science For Students Who Struggle With Literacy, Lynne Telesca

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent data indicate that less than 50% of American secondary students are able to demonstrate grade-level proficiency in reading, writing, and science (National Center for Educational Statistics [NCES], 2007, 2011, 2012a, 2012b). Secondary students* are expected to develop advanced literacy skills, especially in writing, in order to be ready for college and careers. Students are expected to develop these advanced literacy skills, within all academic subjects. In other words, they are expected to develop disciplinary literacy skills. The statistics are alarming overall, but they are particularly alarming in the area of science. Students need strong literacy skills, including written expression, …

Visual Phallacies, John Howard Cummings

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Roland Barthes wrote that only after removing all of the author's intentions and traces can a work of art truly be perceived by viewers fairly (Barthes). A viewer's perception of the world is influenced by his or her individual subjective history, which is the product of his or her own experiences. But as the author of ceramic work, my influence is ever-present. Clay records every push, pull, spank, squeeze, and poke. It fully records its physical history and as well as my actions upon it. This thesis exhibition asks the question: Can a viewer de-contextualize familiar-but-contentious subject matter and be …

Impacts Of Urban Areas On Vegetation Development Along Rural-Urban Gradients In The Upper Midwest: 2003-2012, Cole Krehbiel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Between one-third and one-half of Earth’s land surface has been directly altered by humans, with the remainder comprised of “human-dominated ecosystems” (Vitousek et al. 2008). Earth’s population has surpassed seven billion, projected to increase by 2.5 billion by 2050 in urban areas alone (United Nations 2014). The rapid urbanization of our planet drives global environmental changes in hydrosystems, biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles, land use and land cover, and climate (Grimm et al. 2008). Urban areas alter local atmospheric conditions by modifying surface albedo and consequently evapotranspiration, releasing energy through anthropogenic heat sources, and increasing atmospheric aerosols, leading to increased temperatures in …

The Biogeography And Diversity Of Termites In Southern Africa, Brianna Lind

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Termites (Blattodea: Termitoidae) are socially complex insects that are morphologically diverse and live in colonies. They represent a highly specialized form of cockroach that organizes into castes (distinct social groups including workers, soldiers, queen, etc.) that have specific roles within the colony (Eggleton 2010). Globally more than 2,600 species of termites have been described in over 280 genera and, while termites can occur in most climatic zones warmer than tundra, their greatest abundance and ecological significance is in the tropics (Kambhampti and Eggleton 2000). Termites impact many processes, including nutrient cycling, water dynamics, and soil porosity; in African savannas it …

I Have Been Somewhere: Place In The South Carolina Poems Of Nikky Finney And Kwame Dawes, Purvis L. Cornish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following thesis focuses on the role of “place” in the poems of two black South Carolinian poets, Nikky Finney and Kwame Dawes. Borrowing from cultural and humanistic geographers’ myriad understandings of place, as well as philosophers’, I examine the ways in which Finney’s Rice and Dawes’s Wisteria function as meditations on and transmutations of the South Carolina low country in both its physical and non-physical dimensions, ultimately shedding light on historically silenced and marginalized emplaced realities. I also examine how Finney and Dawes employ different strategies of emplacement and their influence on the poems’ structure and meaning. In the …

The Effectiveness Of Teaching Methods In Traditional Amish Schoolhouses In Lawrence County, Tn, Ann Marie Paley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Amish community at Ethridge in Lawrence County, Tennessee is one of a handful in Tennessee, and, with a population of 1,500 and more than ten church districts, is the largest in the South and one of the top 20 in the nation. This particular Amish community was colonized when three families led by Dan Yoder, Joe Yoder, and Joseph Gingerich moved to the area from Ohio in the mid-1940s due to problems with the establishment of their own schools. Swartzentruber Amish are a subgroup within Old Order Amish society and occupy a distinct place on the conservative end of …