Digital Commons Network^™

Distinguishing A Western Women's College: A History Of The Curriculum At Colorado Women's College, 1909–1967, Jennifer Ann Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Colorado Women's College (CWC), a private, Baptist college for women in Denver, Colorado, first welcomed students to its campus in 1909, making it one of only a handful of women's colleges in the American West, where coeducation predominated. This dissertation describes and interprets the curriculum offered at CWC in the period from 1909 to 1967. The analysis of the curriculum is divided into six eras, marked by moments of curricular change, including the College's transitions from four-year college to junior college, and back. This project distinguishes CWC as an understudied institution by placing it within the literature on the history …

Shysters, Gods And Monsters : How The Symbols Of Journalists In Film Altered Their Image In Reality, Alex Beene

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Economics Of A Young Audience, Cicely Bosley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As a theatre for young audiences' (TYA) teacher, artist, and administrator, I seek to explore where and how TYA fits into business and economic models to open a dialogue between TYA practitioners and business administration professionals. Through this qualitative study, I endeavor to foster a new language for TYA practitioners to enhance fundraising and audience development. By its own definition, TYA is a hybrid field that strives for both artistic form and educative function. With a dual focus of form and function, administrators struggle to advocate for TYA organizations within existing models. To move through this challenge, I look to …

John Dewey, Historiography, And The Practice Of History., Seth J. Bartee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

John Dewey was America's foremost authority on many of the critical issues in the twentieth century. Dewey dedicated his professional career as an expert on the major branches of philosophy.

A neglected aspect of Dewey's philosophy is his writings on historiography, the philosophy of history, and his influence on American historians. Dewey affected several generations of historians from the Progressive historians to the practical realists of today.

This study evaluates Dewey's pragmatism as a legitimate strain in American historiography. James Harvey Robinson and Charles Beard claimed Dewey as an influence. Later historians such as Richard Hofstadter and Joyce Appleby insist …

Black Female Journalists : Experiences Of Racism, Sexism And Classism In The Newsroom., Amber Genile Duke 1981-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the experiences and challenges Black female journalists encounter in the newsroom. Using oral history interviews and writings from Black female journalists about their experiences, the researcher identifies a unique set of barriers these women faced in assignments and career advancement. Black Feminist theoretical perspectives aide in understanding how the interlocking oppressions of racism, sexism and classism impacted Black female journalists on three distinct levels: personal level, group or community level and institutional level. The findings reveal Black Female journalists' personal experiences with discrimination propelled them into careers in the media. While on the job, many of them …

The Spirit Of Stuff: What I Learned When I Sold (Almost) Everything, Rachel Tamsen Perry Schrank

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following document is a report submitted in conjunction with a video project. The video is a personal documentary, filmed in Denver, Colorado and Mexico City, Mexico, which explores the spiritual connection that people have with their material objects. The report is comprised of a project proposal and a post-production report. The proposal discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the project, and offers a plan for the film's production. The post-production report discusses my filmmaking process in retrospect, reviews production problems and solutions, and includes a final schedule and budget.

Please visit my website at http://www.upupintothesky.com, or contact the author at …

The Editor, The Preface, And The Eighteenth-Century Edition: A Critical Bibliographic Study, Jessica Jost-Costanzo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Scholarly editions became entrenched as published texts during the eighteenth century. This dissertation considers the contributions of editors to their specific editions and, ultimately, the editorial project. Forty-five editions, some well-known and some obscure, are critically and bibliographically analyzed in four cross-referenced chapters. The first chapter deals with editions of autobiography and memoirs. The second chapter examines editions of women's texts. Chapter three focuses on family editions (in which the editor is a family member of the author), and the fourth and final chapter addresses colonial editions. Such a study reveals that eighteenth-century editors were interested in diverse texts. Furthermore, …

From 'Black-Eyed Girls' To The Mmu (Mujeres Methotistas Unidas): Race, Religion And Gender In The U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, Adriana Pilar Nieto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study places the stories of Mexican American Methodist women in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands within the context of the organizational history of the United Methodist Women of the Rio Grande Conference of the United Methodist Church: Mujeres Metodistas Unidas, or the MMU. It focuses on the experiences and memories of women who came into contact with the ideals imported by Anglo Methodist missionaries to the U.S. southwest immediately following the conquest of the northern half of Mexico in 1848.

In order to understand the experiences of Mexican American women in relation to the history of Methodism in the southwest, this …

Fitzgerald In The Late 1910s: War And Women, Richard M. Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes historical and cultural factors that influenced F. Scott Fitzgerald's portrayal of women in three of his early works. In "Sentiment—and the Use of Rouge, " This Side of Paradise, and "Head and Shoulders, " women act as usurpers and destroyers, infiltrating male territory and taking on traditionally male roles. Fitzgerald reacts to changes in the status of women that had been occurring since the late 1800s. But the late 1910s, when the author composed these works, witnessed a hastening of women's progress and an intensification of the male anxiety resulting from these changes. Repercussions of the war …

Pubs, Punters, And Pints: Anthropological Reflections On Pub Life In Ireland, Jason Cucchiara

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ireland is a country with a rich and unique cultural heritage. It is difficult to imagine that certain facets of Irish culture (e.g. Saint Patrick's Day, the Blarney Stone, or the Ring of Kerry) can ever be taken for granted since they are so widely recognized internationally. One common feature of Irish life that possibly warrants more scholarly attention is the public house or pub. Much has been written about pubs as quaint institutions in popular literature and fiction. Curiously, they remain largely overlooked as vital aspects of Irish culture by anthropologists and others in the social sciences. In many …

Breaking Tradition: Reaching For The Avant-Garde In Theatre For Young Audiences, Meredith Hoppe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to unearth the concept of breaking tradition in the field of Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) in the United States by applying the avant-garde theory of Arnold Aronson as a lens through which to investigate the current development of US TYA. After formulating an approach in which to negotiate the concept of the avant-garde, I draft five tenets that currently define tradition in the field of US TYA. Situating these five tenets against Aronson's theoretical framework, I examine three contemporary US TYA plays from the past two centuries: Black Butterfly, Hush: An Interview with America, and Atypical …

Tea And Sympathy: The United States And The Sudan Civil War, 1985-2005., Peter William Klein

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The specters of violence and economic insecurity have haunted the Sudan since its independence in 1956. The United States Congress has held numerous hearings on the Sudan's civil war and U.S. television news outlets have reported on the conflict since 1983. While attempting to engage the Sudan in a viable peace process, the U.S. Congress has been beset by ineffectual Cold War paradigms and an inability to understand the complexities of the Sudan civil war. U.S. television news programs, on the other hand, engaged in a process of oversimplification, using false dichotomies to reduce the conflict into easily digestible pieces. …

An Examination Of The Use Of Digital Historical Resources For The Teaching Of The Civil War In South Central Pennsylvania Public Schools, James R. Beeghley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the practices of social studies teachers in south central Pennsylvania regarding their use of digital historical resources for the teaching of the American Civil War. Teachers completed an electronic survey that examined rates of digital historical resource use for the teaching of the Civil War. After data collection, responses were examined to answer the established research questions.

Based on the findings, areas for improvement were identified and conclusions were reached that pinpoint these areas. Suggestions for effective professional development programs are also presented. After completing the study, it is clear that there is room for additional development …

"I Had Always Been Opposed To Colonialism" : President Harry S. Truman And The End Of European Colonialism., Timothy J. Pifer 1957-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a biographical and historiographical examination of Truman's rhetoric and handling of colonialism. Truman's position regarding European colonialism is a worthy topic since it facilitates the study of the United States' treatment of people in underdeveloped countries and allows insight into Truman's beliefs. The research methodology and references used for the paper include primary sources drawn principally from the Truman Presidential Library as well as numerous secondary sources relating to Truman's Presidency. The focus of analysis is on Truman and his administration's oratory and diplomatic decisions regarding colonial issues. The findings show that Truman demonstrated through both his …

Feeling Overwhelmed: The Lived Experience Of Nurse Managers., Teresa Potter England

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Multiple studies have addressed registered nurse turnover in recent years. There is little research specifically addressing nurse manager turnover. The nurse manager is addressed in current research as being in a pivotal position to affect nurse retention. Research has focused on the skills necessary for nurse managers to affect turnover; however, there is little research addressing the pressure placed upon the nurse manager as he or she struggles to maintain the nursing workforce. This qualitative study explored the lived experience of feeling overwhelmed by 6 nurse managers currently working in an inpatient hospital environment. Interviews were analyzed using a modified …

Transcending Curriculum Ideologies: Educating Human Beings Well, Kevin M. Cloninger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to consider the role of well-being in schooling. Recent advances in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, and medicine have led to a reexamination of the role of well-being in society. There is a growing body of educational theory on the subject of well-being in schools that draws on these advances (Cohen, 2006; Noddings, 2003, 2006; Ruyter, 2004; Spring, 2007). The few serious treatments on the role of well-being in education consider it from a theoretical perspective. Few if any empirical research studies in the fields of Curriculum or Educational Psychology have been conducted that …

Japanese Worldviews, Ideologies, And Foreign Aid Policy, Richard Warren Shannon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project studies the ideational factors influencing Japanese foreign aid policy. It builds on previous research in political science on perception and foreign policy decision-making, Japanese political economy, economic and technological development, foreign aid, and in anthropology on perception, worldview, and international development.

The main goal of the research is to answer the question of how Japan's historical experiences with technology, development, and foreign relations (and key leaders' views of those areas) from 1850 to 1945 have influenced current aid policies. Second, the project aims to answer whether the Japanese development concepts of "modernization," internationalization and translative adaptation accurately reflect …

Before And After 9/11: The Portrayal Of Arab Americans In U.S. Newspapers, Cherie Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research project will determine whether or not Arab Americans are portrayed as members of an out-group, in-group, or victim following the events of 9/11. This study improves upon previous research by analyzing the content of newspaper articles in USA Today, The New York Times, and The Washington Post pertaining to Arab Americans. Since the majority of research indicated the mass media has a tendency to perpetuate a negative stereotype of minorities and of Arabs, it was expected that the media would portray a negative stereotype of Arab Americans as well. The content analysis addressed the coverage of Arab Americans …

Another Forgotten Army: The French Expeditionary Corps In Italy,1943-1944, Brook White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The French Expeditionary Corps that fought in Italy during World War II was a French army, but that description must be qualified. Therefore this thesis asks two questions: how did France manage to send the equivalent of an army to Italy if French military leadership in 1943 had no direct access to French manpower resources; and the most important question since it is unique to the historical debate, why were the troops that were sent to Italy so effective once there when compared to the 1940 French army? To answer the first question, it was a French colonial army - …

Motorcycle Conspicuity: The Effects Of Age And Vehicular Daytime Running Lights, Lorenzo Torrez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that riding a motorcycle can potentially be much more dangerous than operating a conventional vehicle. There are factors inherent in driving or riding a small two wheeled vehicle, such as a motorcycle, moped or even bicycle that can potentially decrease their ability to be seen or noticed by other drivers. This disadvantage is reflected in the disproportionate over-representation of injuries and/or fatalities incurred by this particular driving group. This creates a significant problem which deserves dedicated evaluation as to causative factors and/or influential variables. The following research was conducted with intentions to investigate the topic of motorcycle …

A Kenyan Revolution: Mau Mau, Land, Women, And Nation., Amanda Elizabeth Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Kikuyu, the largest ethnic group in Kenya, resisted colonial authority, which culminated into what became known as Mau Mau, led by the Kenya Land Freedom Army. During this time, the British colonial government imposed laws limiting their access to land, politics, and independence. The turbulent 1950s in Kenyan history should be considered a revolution because of its violent nature, the high level of participation, and overall social change that resulted from the war.

I compared many theories of revolution to the events of the Mau Mau movement. Then, I explained the contention for land in the revolution, the role …

Molecular Interactions Between The Wilms' Tumor Transcription Factor And The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor During Nephrogenesis And Its Impact On Fetal Programming Of Renal Disease., Adrian Nanez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Embryonic development requires the orchestration of temporally precise genetic events that culminate in the formation of a complete organism. The molecular mechanisms responsible for ontogenesis are regulated by environmental and somatic factors in utero that activate or repress the expression of numerous genetic elements resulting in fetal programming of adult diseases. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is an important nuclear transcription factor both during embryogenesis and throughout maturity in multiple organisms. Building upon interesting studies establishing a direct, novel link between AHR and post-transcriptional regulation of the Wilms' tumor suppressor ( WT1 ) gene, the overall goal of the project …

The Cracks In The Golden Door: An Analysis Of The Immigration Policy Of The United States Of America, 1882-1952., Brian David Fouche

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since its founding, the economic opportunities and quality of life present in the United States of America have drawn millions of people across the oceans to seek out a better existence for themselves. America's Founding Fathers believed that the country needed as large a population as possible to become a strong nation. The capitalistic economy of the new nation caused immigration to become critically important in the expansion of its manufacturing infrastructure. Once the growth of the nation's population began to exceed that of the economy's needs, the federal government attempted to limit further immigration. The government focused on restricting …

Laboratories Of Democracy And State Brownfield Programs., Jaclyn Susan Marie Opp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Public investment and interest into brownfields has increased markedly in the past two decades. However, scholarship has not kept pace with this growth. Every state in the U.S. has created a brownfields program to deal with the presence of these properties in their state. However, the mechanisms offered in these state programs to facilitate brownfield remediation and redevelopment has gone untested and underresearched. This dissertation gathered data on all fifty state brownfield programs and the related Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) enforcement and inspection data. The fifty state data was then supplemented with three state case studies using in-depth …

Effects Of Evaluative Feedback On Math Self-Efficacy, Grade Self-Efficacy, And Math Achievement Of Ninth Grade Algebra Students : A Longitudinal Approach., Deborah June Burnett Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The double-blind study used two intact ninth grade high school Algebra One classes for a total sample size of 46. Within each of the classes the participants were assigned randomly to one of three treatment groups: self-referenced feedback, social-referenced feedback, and a control group. Self-referenced feedback compared the student's performance to his or her previous performances. Social-referenced feedback compared the student's performance to that of the other students in the class. The control group did not receive comparative feedback but innocuous comments such as "study your notes before class." Six measurements of math self-efficacy, grade self-efficacy, and math achievement were …

Bringing The Home Front To The Battlefront : Mississippi Nurses During The Civil War, Laura Gillentine King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Fear, Faith And The Fatherland : The Complexities Of Prejudice In The Civil Rights Movement, Kate Medley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

African Religious Integration In Florida During The First Spanish Period, Christopher Beats

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of the unique conditions for African-descended slaves in St. Augustine, Florida, during the First Spanish Period. St. Augustine was an important garrison at a remote point in the Spanish Empire at the edge of a hostile frontier. As such, economics were less a priority than defense. Slaves, therefore, received different treatment here than in English colonies or even other Spanish colonies. Due to the threat of Protestantism, religious adherence was more important as a test of loyalty than ethnicity and slaves and freed-people were able to integrate better than in other Spanish holdings. In order …

Postmodern Feminism, Hypertext, And The Rhetoric Of Cooking Websites, Heather Eaton Mcgrane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the ways cookbooks and their rhetorical dimensions have been re-imagined using hypertext and Web technology. Using the tenets of postmodern feminist rhetoric and Web design theory, the study considers how commercial cooking hypertexts construct users' identities. Although hypertext is a potentially empowering technology, democratizing rhetoric and knowledge making practices, commercial hypertext often circumscribes agency formation and prohibits participation. Participatory, constructive hypertexts are difficult to design and costly to maintain. Of the three sites studied, Epicurious.com, BettyCrocker.com, and FoodNetwork.com, only Epicurious.com encourages meaningful communication between users and between users and designers. In many ways, Epicurious.com conceives of its …

Values As A Component Of Leadership And Their Relationship To Organizational Efficacy And Culture; An Ethnographic Study Of Leaders' Influence At A Pennsylvania Non-Profit Organization 1965-2005, Emma Lee Mccloskey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An ethnographic case study approach of a Pennsylvania non-profit organization was used to develop an understanding of leaders' values as they relate to organizational culture and organizational efficacy using testimony of organizational leaders and followers as well as organizational documents. Past Executive Directors, the current Executive Director, past Chairpersons of the Board of Directors and a random sample of Leadership Council members were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide to answer the following research questions:

How, if at all, do the values of a leader affect the organizational efficacy?

How, if at all, do the values of a leader affect …