Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring A Modern Deep Learning Technique For Wetland Mapping And Monitoring Using Worldview-2 Satellite Products, Mizanur Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wetlands play a significant role in the world’s hydrology, climate, and biodiversity. Even with the benefits and values wetlands provide to the environment, they have been undergoing loss and degradation due to natural and anthropogenic processes. To protect wetlands from loss and degradation and to restore their function, it is essential to develop a sustainable wetland monitoring system. One of the key elements of a wetland monitoring system is wetland mapping. This dissertation research developed an object-based deep learning protocol for mapping heterogeneous wetlands with many communities from a high-resolution WV-2 satellite image. To test this developed protocol, an object-based …

Motherhood: An Orphan Of American Politics A Comparative Analysis Of State Actors As Institutions, Kristina Ramskyte-Juszczak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The political geography of America is relatively unique in the world: the United States is a powerful and wealthy country, but also consists of sub-national actors that retain significant legal powers within their own borders. The political actors in America, at both this smaller level and at the larger Federal level, have uniquely strong institutional power to shape the social and civic life of their citizens. Despite their absolute significance to the survival of their societies, mothers and mothers’ rights have largely been ignored or taken second place to other political issues. As many countries in Europe and other regions …

Embodied Liminality: The Ritual-Drama Nexus In Pan-Tribal Native American Dance And Theatrical Performances, Oscar Pereira

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the intersection of ritual, drama, and liminality in pantribal Native American dance performances, emphasizing embodied liminality as a performative process shaping cultural continuity, identity transformation, and communal reinforcement.

Using an interdisciplinary methodology that integrates archival research, visual anthropology, and qualitative analysis, this study investigates three case studies: (1) the Ghost Dance movement as a liminal ritual of resistance and cultural revitalization; (2) pan-tribal powwows as sites of embodied liminality and cultural revitalization, and (3) contemporary Native American theater, analyzing theatrical plays through the lens of liminality, visual anthropology, theater and performance methodologies.

Examining embodied liminality in historical …

The Souls Of Black Ghosts: Centering Intergenerational Trauma Of Black Americans From Harriet Tubman To Beloved, Jasmine Mccray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Intergenerational trauma is being debated and researched in fields such as neuroscience and sociology, and yet many question whether one can genuinely feel the negative effects of a lived experience from a distant ancestor. This project aims to raise awareness on the attempts at erasing Harriet Tubman’s heritage through scholarship on her disability, and to highlight the presence of intergenerational trauma (as defined by Dr. DeGruy’s observations in Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome) in Toni Morrison’s Beloved. I note the ripple effects of chattel slavery in the United States seen in the consciousness and unconsciousness of Black Americans within a …

Gendered Violence And Identities: Exploring The Role Of Violence Against And Abductions Of Women In Cracking India And Lajwanti, Erin Mammel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This article argues that representations of women’s bodies as symbols of honor during the partition of India and Pakistan in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Cracking India and Rajinder Singh Bedi’s Lajwanti frame violence against these bodies, and forced conversions and marriages, as forms of dishonor among religious rivals within split territories, which attempt to uphold men’s nationalistic identities. Many scholars, such as Rachna Mehra and Rituparna Roy, have studied the displacement of recovered and rehabilitated women in these texts. There has been less scholarship, however, that explores gendered forms of violence with Hindu nationalist notions of masculinity. Through the lens of postcolonial …

The Rise And Resilience Of Women Of Color Executives In Nonprofit Organizations: A Phenomenological Study Of Systemic Barriers, Support Systems And Leadership Identity, Nicole Edwards

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of women of color executive leaders in nonprofit organizations, focusing on perceptions of systemic barriers, support systems, and leadership identity. Using a mixed-methods, phenomenological design, data were collected from 31 women of color (N = 31) through a Likert-type survey and from six women (n = 6) selected for semi-structured interviews.

Quantitative analysis revealed that perceived systemic barriers significantly predicted leadership identity (p = .013), while support systems did not. Further analysis uncovered a significant positive correlation between positional status and perceived support (r = .39, p = .050), indicating …

Materia Non Medica: Reading Disability And Medical Narratives In The Daughter Of Doctor Moreau, Jessica Elizabeth Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a close reading of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, engaging Indigenous studies and disability studies to illuminate how the novel interrogates embodiment, medical authority, and human difference. By situating the text within historical frameworks of medicine and corporeality in Mexico, and alongside speculative modes that seek to recuperate non-Western epistemologies, the analysis reveals how Moreno-Garcia reimagines the body as mutable, relational, and politically charged. The narrative’s hybrid characters and transgressive identities offer a generative lens through which to explore bodily variance, not as deviation, but as a site of possibility. Ultimately, this thesis argues …

#Tribe: A Study On Digital Tribalism In Saudi Arabia, Maha Alrehaili

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines digital tribalism in Saudi Arabia as a lens through which to explore the complex interplay between state, identity politics, and social media in an era of rapid transformation. Amidst ambitious modernization efforts under Vision 2030 and ongoing economic restructuring, the Saudi state has sought to establish a national identity by leveraging tribal heritage. This study investigates how the three major tribes, Harb, Qahtan, and Otaibah, are responding to rapid modernization through an examination of their digital presence on X (formerly Twitter).

Employing a comparative case study design and content analysis of three years of digital activity, this …

Interleukin-1 Type I Receptor Implicated In Emergence And Severity Of Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures In A Transgenic Mouse Model Of Adult-Onset, Progressive Epilepsy:, Tashi Dillon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Interleukin-1 β (IL- 1β) is a proinflammatory cytokine with proconvulsive properties that is elevated in epilepsy. The hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) buffers hyperexcitability, and deficits in granule neuron gating contribute to epileptogenesis. Excess brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may drive hyperexcitable circuit assembly, promoting a seizure-producing breakdown of the gating function. We use a transgenic mouse model of forebrain BDNF (TgBDNF) overexpression that exhibit spontaneous generalized tonic/ clonic seizures (GTCSs) at ~3 months, which progress as evidenced by prolonged periods of post-generalized EEG suppression (PGES). This is accompanied by hippocampal hypertrophy and brainstem cell loss. A strain globally lacking IL-1 …

Extracting The Future: An Analysis Of Petroculture In Apocalyptic Works, Cailey Poirier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the critique of petroculture seen in mid- and post-apocalyptic literature. Chapter One, “Parable of the Sower: A Pre-Apocalyptic World Planting Petrocultures Destiny” argues Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower critiques American petroculture by demonstrating the destruction and devastation society is heading for under current societal structures. Chapter Two, “The Road: The Crumbling Remains of Petroculture” argues Cormac McCarthy’s The Road critiques American petroculture through its infrastructural collapse. Chapter Three, “‘Covehithe’: A Weird, Post-Apocalyptic Story Birthing the Future of Petroculture” explores how China Miéville’s “Covehithe” employs magical realism to communicate a different view …

The Impact Of The Imsd Mentorship Program On Stem Doctoral Graduation Rates: An Application Of Elite Theory, Kristen Alexandria Walden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Disparities in doctoral STEM completion rates among underrepresented groups raise questions about institutional power and access in higher education. This dissertation investigates graduation rates among minority doctoral students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, comparing results at public and private universities through the lens of elite theory. Elite theory asserts that power is concentrated within small groups or institutions that influence national and institutional outcomes. Although public administration literature addresses elite power structures in universities, less research has examined how these dynamics influence graduation for underrepresented groups in doctoral STEM disciplines.

This study applies elite theory to explore …

Covid-19, Business Resilience, And Government Contracting: Did The Paycheck Protection Program (Ppp) Impact The Disaster Resilience Of Small Disadvantaged Businesses After Covid-19? The Case Of Government Contracting In The United States., Jean-Claude M. Ndongo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the disaster resilience of disadvantaged small businesses that have engaged in contracting activities with the U.S. federal government from 2018 to 2023. Federal government agencies procure goods and services from small businesses in the private sector through contracts that allow those businesses to be competitive in the market and overcome the impact of disasters on their activities. The notion of disaster resilience has traditionally focused on natural hazards like wildfires, earthquakes, tornadoes, or hurricanes; however, lately, it has been increasingly applied to diverse contexts. Business resilience to disasters refers to businesses' ability to return to their pre-disaster …

“This Generation Of Women Is Finished”: Misogyny As Social Bonding On Social Media And Patriarchal Constructions Of Femininity, Emma Mierzejewski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores online discourse between users on social media platforms, specifically Instagram, in an effort to better understand the patriarchal influence on American social culture. Users on the platform regularly write off misogynistic comments as simply “dark humor” or an extreme expression of one’s “freedom of speech.” At the same time, supportive comments are also influenced by those same misogynistic expectations. I argue that misogynistic thinking in comments and a willingness to uphold them for social bonding provides deeper insights into our society’s attitudes towards women, their roles, and conceptions of femininity in general. I conducted a content analysis …

“Thank You For Hearing Me”: Listening To Stories Of Linguicism, Caroline Asher Webb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the effects of linguicism on nonnative speakers of English who are currently studying in higher education in the United States or other English-dominant countries. Linguicism, also called linguistic discrimination, others and discriminates against people based on their oral or written language use. Rooted in master narratives of Standard English, monolingualism, and the native speaker, linguicism, unlike other forms of discrimination, such as gender or racial discrimination, is subtle and unmarked, thus permeating the consciousness of even the most well-intentioned of people.

Using a Critical Race Theory framework, the present study utilized a storytelling methodology to gather first-hand …

Hurricane Damage In The Bahamas: Leveraging Spatial Analysis To Inform Adaptive Measures For Housing Resiliency, Chia Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the transition from disaster recovery to adaptation planning in the wake of extreme climatic events, with a specific focus on housing resilience. It examines the key factors influencing successful adaptation planning and how innovative strategies can contribute to sustainable and equitable communities. The study focuses on Abaco, The Bahamas, a region devastated by Hurricane Dorian in 2019, where recovery remains ongoing, and hurricane threats persist. Given the vulnerability of The Bahamas’ low-lying geography, it is crucial to implement adaptive planning measures that consider both the physical impact of hurricanes and the need for strategic housing allocation. By …

Making Hot Chocolate: Connecting Hypersexuality And Violence Against Black American Women In 20th And 21st Century Literature, Ashlan Stewart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

African American literature in the early 20th and 21st centuries have been employed as a method of protest against the deleterious stereotyping of Ebonic (read: Black American) people in the United States, addressing and challenging the monolithic notions that define Ebonic people in life and media. In the process of expressing these protests, challengers to racist social norms utilize the Ebonic female body and image for the benefit of their personal interests through a combination of hypersexuality and violence. This thesis addresses the lack of accountability in these political lenses and assesses the ways in which authors objectify and abuse …

The Observer & The Observed, Azarakhsh Shafieikadkani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the concept of the gaze and its role in shaping identity, particularly in relation to marginalized genders, including women and non-binary individuals. Rooted in feminist and psychoanalytic theories, the research interrogates the power dynamics between the viewer and the viewed, exposing the ways in which patriarchal structures influence visual representation. Drawing from personal experiences of growing up in Iran and the complexities of immigration, the project critically engages with how societal norms manipulate identities and reinforce objectification. Through experimental photography, I distort and deconstruct the human form using materials such as hair gel on plexiglass and matte …

Investigating The Portrayal Of Native Americans In Florida’S K-12 Social Studies/History Textbooks: A Critical Content Analysis, Marisa Miceli Schnirman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Textbook bias is an enduring and contentious issue in the United States. U.S. textbooks have long been criticized for perpetuating bias and reinforcing dominant narratives that marginalize minority groups, such as members of Indigenous nations. This study confirms that biases continue to exist in textbooks and promote the harmful narrative that Indigenous peoples are people of the past. This narrative undermines the survivance (Vizenor, 1998), contributions, and very existence of Indigenous peoples. Using a critical lens, this content analysis examines the portrayal of Indigenous peoples in select fourth-grade, eighth-grade, and high school social studies and history texts used in Florida …

Cultivating Mindsets Of Persistence: Experiences Of Undergraduate Women Students In Stem Programs At A Public Research University, Etina Qirjo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), women's representation is disproportionately low across high school, higher education, and professional sectors. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the factors influencing the persistence of undergraduate women STEM students at a public university by identifying available resources, uncovering obstacles and investigating their personal experiences. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with a sample of 12 female participants enrolled as undergraduates in STEM majors at a public university. The research design chosen for the study was qualitative, focusing on stories from women’s experiences that provide an understanding of what …

Essays On Entrepreneurship And Government Policy, Abdul-Kadir Ameyaw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Government policy has long been used as a lever to stimulate entrepreneurship, yet its outcomes vary widely across contexts, prompting renewed interest in how such policies shape entrepreneurial activity. This dissertation investigates the multifaceted relationship between government policy and entrepreneurship using a two-essay framework that draws on extant literature and qualitative field data. It examines how policies not only create structural conditions but also activate symbolic mechanisms that influence individual behavior and occupational choices.

The first essay conducts a systematic review of 166 articles published in leading management and entrepreneurship journals between 1993 and 2024. It maps theoretical perspectives, methodological …

Evaluating The Implementation Of Community Schools’ Strategies To Address Post-Pandemic Student Mental Health, Dawn Gordon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research explores the systemic and structural barriers affecting the effectiveness of community schools, particularly in providing mental health services and support, with a specific focus on how principals have responded to these needs in the post-COVID-19 era. Employing qualitative methods, including focus groups with principals from schools implementing the community schools’ model, the study identifies three major themes: difficulties with lead agency collaboration and coordination with host schools, systemic and structural barriers to effective functioning, and holistic approaches to enhancing student support and well-being with mental health.

Difficulties with lead agency collaboration and coordination reveal how inadequate communication and …

Excessive Before It Begins: A Critical Analysis Of Racialized Encounters Between Police And African American Men, Lucas Goodwin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the last decade, the racial violence that plagues relations between African Americans and the police has been brought to the attention of the American public by means of cell phone video footage of police use of excessive, and at times lethal, force in encounters with African American men. The images of police brutality that have emerged in this time have outraged millions of Americans, sparking nationwide protests, as well as various social and political movements. While perspectives may abound regarding the causes and significance of such brutality, the data is clear on one thing: Police violence disproportionately harms African …

Understanding Widowhood Cultural Practices, Values, And Beliefs, Of Nigerian American Women: An Ethnonursing Study, Prisca Anuforo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Many widowhood cultural practices are detrimental to the health and well-being of widows in Nigeria. Little is known about the experiences of widowhood for Nigerian American women, their cultural practices, and how it affects their health.

Purpose: Understand widowhood cultural practices among Nigerian Americans and how these experiences may affect health and wellbeing.

Methods: The qualitative ethnonursing method was used to collect data from 25 Nigerian American widows. Data were analyzed using NVivo qualitative data manager software guided by Leininger’s four phases of qualitative analysis.

Results: Widowhood cultural practices are modified and undertaken to preserve health and honor the …

Toward Effective Interfaith Relations Between Christianity And Indigenous African Religious Tradition In The Obolo Context In Nigeria – A Decolonial Theological Approach, Jerome Etenduk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the need for effective interfaith relations between Christianity and the Indigenous African Religious Tradition (IART) in a post-colonial Obolo context in Nigeria. It explores a history of complex religious crises in Obolo and identifies that Eurocentric/colonial theological imagination constitutes a significant reason for the problematic interfaith relations in Obolo. The dominant Eurocentric/colonial theology is founded on the theoretical framework that assumes that Europe (and America) is the hubris of knowledge. It negates and discounts the knowledge systems of other people. To know, they must learn from Europe and America. In this way, European missionaries to Obolo …

Philosophical Hermeneutic Approaches To Communication Studies, David Errera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation proposes the viability of philosophical hermeneutics as a theoretical framework for communication studies. It has five chapters that each develop this argument. The first chapter provides an overview and justification for the dissertation along with a review of the historical development of philosophical hermeneutics. This provides a sense of general themes and the theoretical basis for philosophical hermeneutics. The second chapter sets out to expound on the viability of philosophical hermeneutics to inform communication research as a form of research praxis. This chapter develops the three main themes from philosophical hermeneutics that this dissertation proposes to integrate into …

How Do Expert Forensic Evaluators Do It? A Qualitative Study Exploring Forensic Evaluators’ Lived Experiences Conducting Psychosexual Evaluations Of Sex Offenders With Suspected Autism, Jessica K. Gazzola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative inquiry utilized semi-structured interviews with eight expert forensic evaluators to explore their lived experiences engaging in psychosexual evaluations of sex offenders with a suspected diagnosis of autism. The purpose of this study was to identify current best practices, principles, and challenges faced by forensic evaluators when assessing sex offenders with a suspected diagnosis of autism. The results provide a variety of autism-specific screening tools and assessments used by forensic evaluators in their psychosexual evaluation process. Four emergent themes were developed using a descriptive phenomenological approach and social constructivist framework. These themes encompass forensic evaluators’ role in conducting psychosexual …

How Scientists Can Investigate Perception: Phenomenological Foundations For Qualitative Research, Kimberly Tucker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While medicine makes visible symptoms of disease, phenomenology provides a different tool for making illness experience visible. Phenomenology offers a tool for a new kind of description and a different kind of knowledge of disease. It holds a unique epistemic power through the descriptions it generates through the application of the transcendental phenomenological method. Husserl’s method, outlined in Ideas I, provides the steps for its implementation in clinical research. This dissertation explores the application of the transcendental phenomenological method as a foundation for research on perception, with the goal of characterizing phenomenological validity as a proper goal of medical epistemology. …

“Repeat A Little:” Time And Freedom In Deleuze’S Difference And Repetition, Mine Sak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examine Gilles Deleuze’s philosophy of time as presented in Difference and Repetition and use it to construct a concept of freedom, which is notably absent in his work. I argue that Deleuze’s exposition of the three syntheses of time provides significant insights for exploring the ontological possibility and structure of freedom. Through an analysis of his theory of the three syntheses of time, I investigate the meanings of agency, destiny, and choice within Deleuze's framework. I demonstrate that free choice necessitates both involuntary and creative action. Given the apparent tension between freedom and involuntariness, I explore …

Ethical Considerations In The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Ferdinand Okafor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an ethical response to the ethical issues in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of autism. The problems that underlie the discussion are misconception about autism and Autistics. The misconception about autism and Autistics lead to misinterpretation of the neurological functioning, cognition, and the behaviors of Autistics. Consequently, it influences the approach and model of care in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of autism. Currently, the analytic approach and biomedical model of disease are applied in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of autism. The motive of the analytic approach and biomedical care is to cure autism. The consequence …

Saudi And American Students’ Motivation And Anxiety In Online Collaborative Learning In The United States, Nawal Alqarni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study aims to explore motivation and anxiety Saudi and American students in online collaborative learning environments through online courses in U.S. universities and how they relate to their academic performance.

The study utilized a quantitative approach for data collection through an online survey of 99 Saudi students and 39 American students who were enrolled in U.S. universities. The results showed that there was no significant difference in motivation scores between undergraduate Saudi students and their American counterparts. Nor was a significant difference observed in motivation scores between graduate Saudi students and graduate American students. The data also indicated …