Digital Commons Network^™

The Latter-Day Saint Reimaging Of “The Breath Of Life” (Genesis 2:7), Dana M. Pike

Faculty Publications

The creation and flood accounts in Genesis in the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament) contain variations on a phrase commonly translated “the breath of life.” This phrase additionally occurs in some uniquely Latter-day Saint materials relating to creation. After overviewing and analyzing this phrase and its meaning in the Bible, this paper then examines the occurrences of the phrase “the breath of life” in important early Latter-day Saint texts.1 The purpose of this study is to illustrate and explain how and why many Latter-day Saints have come to often employ the phrase “the breath of life,” transforming its traditional …

Humor In The Teaching Of Writing: A Microethnographic Approach, Christian F. Hempelmann

Faculty Publications

This paper presents the content of a critical thinking and writing course, along with similar courses derived from it, designed around the topic of humor and culminating in a microethnographic investigation of humor in students’ lives. The aims of the paper are threefold: to offer a general rationale for using humor in the writing classroom; to illustrate different types of potentials and dangers of such an approach; and to suggest extensions of the findings to the second-language writing classroom. The paper offers texts, writing prompts, and activities for instructors teaching classes that focus on the writing process in a first …

Evolutionary Innovation And Diversification Of Carotenoid-Based Pigmentation In Finches, Russell A. Ligon, Richard K. Simpson, Nicholas A. Mason, Geoffrey E. Hill, Kevin J. Mcgraw

Faculty Publications

© 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution. The ornaments used by animals to mediate social interactions are diverse, and by reconstructing their evolutionary pathways we can gain new insights into the mechanisms underlying ornamental innovation and variability. Here, we examine variation in plumage carotenoids among the true finches (Aves: Fringillidae) using biochemical and comparative phylogenetic analyses to reconstruct the evolutionary history of carotenoid states and evaluate competing models of carotenoid evolution. Our comparative analyses reveal that the most likely ancestor of finches used dietary carotenoids as yellow plumage colorants, and that the ability …

Relationship Of Social And Economic Factors To Mental Disorders Among Population-Based Samples Of Jamaicans And Guyanese, Krim K. Lacey, Karen Powell Sears, Tazhmoye V. Crawford, Niki Matusko, James S. Jackson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Using Proxy Records To Document Gulf Of Mexico Tropical Cyclones From 1820-1915, Robert Rohli

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Using Proxy Records To Document Gulf Of Mexico Tropical Cyclones From 1820-1915, Jordan V. Pino, Robert V. Rohli, Kristine L. Delong, Grant L. Harley, Jill C. Trepanier

Faculty Publications

Observations of pre-1950 tropical cyclones are sparse due to observational limitations; therefore, the hurricane database HURDAT2 (1851–present) maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may be incomplete. Here we provide additional documentation for HURDAT2 from historical United States Army fort records (1820–1915) and other archived documents for 28 landfalling tropical cyclones, 20 of which are included in HURDAT2, along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast. One event that occurred in May 1863 is not currently documented in the HURDAT2 database but has been noted in other studies. We identify seven tropical cyclones that occurred before 1851, three of which …

Building A Vibrant, Healthy, Growing Church, Petr A. Činčala

Faculty Publications

Research has shown healthy and vital churches are doing better than plateauing dysfunctional churches. Empirical research has also demonstrated churches can turn around. This paper also provided a list of currently used/developed tools that can help churches to grow healthier. The tools were described and evaluated for practical application.

Neo-Subordinationism: The Alien Argumentation In The Gender Debate, Matthew L. Tinkham Jr.

Faculty Publications

Over the last forty years, the debate over gender roles in the home, church, and society has unprecedentedly escalated among Evangelical Christians—including Seventh-day Adventists—due to the introduction of an alien argumentation that grounds the permanent functional subordination of women to men ontologically in the being of God. This argument, which I have termed “neo-subordinationism,” states that women are ontologically equal but functionally subordinate to men because of a prescriptive hierarchical order that exists in the immanent Trinity and is recognizable through the economic Trinity. In this Trinitarian hierarchy the Son and the Holy Spirit are said to be ontologically equal …

Our Home By The Sea: Critical Race Reflections On Samuel Chapman Armstrong’S Accommodationism Through William Watkins’ White Architects Of Black Education, Theodorea Regina Berry, Michael Jennings

Faculty Publications

The work and words presented are a reflection of the multidimensionality of two critical race scholars and their engagement with the work of Dr. William H. Watkins, specifically his seminal text The White Architects of Black Education: Ideology and Power, 1865-1954. This work will be framed similarly to the way Watkins framed his chapter on General Samuel Chapman Armstrong in this work. Our story, a critical auto-ethnographic narrative, will begin with a discussion of the historical context that frames the relationship we have with Watkins and the relationship we have with General Samuel Chapman Armstrong and Hampton Institute. Next, …

Community Research Fellows Training Hattiesburg, Ms Evaluation Report, Candace Forbes Bright

Faculty Publications

The Community Research Fellows Training (CRFT) Hattiesburg program took place between January 12^th, 2016 and May 17, 2016. This is the third Mississippi cohort of CRFT and the first Mississippi cohort outside of Jackson, Mississippi. This report reflects the implementation and evaluation of a community based participatory training (CBPR) program for community members in Hattiesburg. The report provides data on the assessment of the program’s effectiveness in promoting the role of underserved populations in research by enhancing the capacity for CBPR. In assessing the social network development of the cohort, we seek to understand effectiveness in bridging many …

Adulthood In Law And Culture, Vivian E. Hamilton

Faculty Publications

Young people today come of age in a cultural and economic milieu that prolongs their attainment of the traditional markers of adulthood. Their subjective conceptions of the transition to adulthood also depart radically from the traditional conception, with its emphasis on discrete transition events (including marriage and entry into the workforce). Instead, the modern transition to adulthood is a gradual process comprising the acquisition of general capabilities, rather than the achievement of externally constructed events. The state-established age of legal majority stands in marked contrast to this gradual and prolonged process. Not only does it categorically establish the inception of …

Geographical Analysis Of Community Resilience To Seismic Hazard In Southwest China, Xiaolu Li, Lei Wang, Shan Liu

Faculty Publications

This article presents an explorative analysis of community resilience to seismic hazard in the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake area of Southwest China. We used a regression model to analyze the impact of 13 key socioeconomic and demographic variables on community resilience in 105 counties, based on data derived from population census and provincial statistical yearbooks of China. In this research, we argue that community resilience should be measured by the change of population growth rate (Δdp) instead of population growth rate (dp) when using socioeconomic data from a fast-growing country such as China. Using Δdp as the dependent variable resulted in …

Detecting Precontact Anthropogenic Microtopographic Features In A Forested Landscape With Lidar: A Case Study From The Upper Great Lakes Region, Ad 1000-1600, Meghan L. Howey, Franklin B. Sullivan, Jason Tallant, Robert Vande Kopple, Michael W. Palace

Faculty Publications

Forested settings present challenges for understanding the full extent of past human landscape modifications. Field-based archaeological reconnaissance in forests is low-efficiency and most remote sensing techniques are of limited utility, and together, this means many past sites and features in forests are unknown. Archaeologists have increasingly used light detection and ranging (lidar), a remote sensing tool that uses pulses of light to measure reflecting surfaces at high spatial resolution, to address these limitations. Archaeology studies using lidar have made significant progress identifying permanent structures built by large-scale complex agriculturalist societies. Largely unaccounted for, however, are numerous small and more practical …

Morphological Characteristics Of The Ice Margins Of Antarctic Ice Shelf And Outlet Glacier Extracted From Icesat Laser Altimetry Along-Track Profiles, Jieun Kim, Jaehyung Yu, Lei Wang, Hongxing Liu, Haein Shin

Faculty Publications

The Antarctic ice sheet topography including elevation and slope is a key parameter for understanding ice sheet dynamics because the surface slope is a major controller of the ice flow gravitational driving stress magnitude. This study used Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) laser altimetry data to analyze the ice margin morphological parameters for 20 ice shelves and 12 outlet glaciers distributed over Antarctica. The bottom-up segmentation algorithm application effectively extracted the morphological parameters from the laser altimetry profiles. The ice shelves had an average boundary elevation of 29.5 m and a slope of 7.8°, with a decreasing surface …

Geospatial Modeling Approach To Monument Construction Using Michigan From A.D. 1000–1600 As A Case Study, Meghan L. Howey, Michael W. Palace, Crystal H. Mcmichael

Faculty Publications

Building monuments was one way that past societies reconfigured their landscapes in response to shifting social and ecological factors. Understanding the connections between those factors and monument construction is critical, especially when multiple types of monuments were constructed across the same landscape. Geospatial technologies enable past cultural activities and environmental variables to be examined together at large scales. Many geospatial modeling approaches, however, are not designed for presence-only (occurrence) data, which can be limiting given that many archaeological site records are presence only. We use maximum entropy modeling (MaxEnt), which works with presence-only data, to predict the distribution of monuments …

Learning How To Speak Like A “Native”: Speech And Culture In An Online Communication Training Program, Tabitha Hart

Faculty Publications

This article examines the oral communication training that took place in Eloqi, a virtual language-learning community. Eloqi (a pseudonym) was a for-profit start-up that built and operated a proprietary Web-based, voice-enabled platform connecting English-language learners in China with trainers in the United States. While it existed, Eloqi’s unique platform was used to deliver short, one-on-one lessons designed to improve students’ oral English communication skills. Using the ethnography of communication and speech codes theory, a theoretical–methodological approach, the author presents an analysis of the speech code, or code of communicative conduct, employed at Eloqi. This code of English logic, which Eloqi’s …

High-Resolution Spatial Distribution And Estimation Of Access To Improved Sanitation In Kenya, Peng Jia, John D. Anderson, Michael Leitner, Richard Rheingans

Faculty Publications

Background: Access to sanitation facilities is imperative in reducing the risk of multiple adverse health outcomes. A distinct disparity in sanitation exists among different wealth levels in many low-income countries, which may hinder the progress across each of the Millennium Development Goals. Methods: The surveyed households in 397 clusters from 2008-2009 Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys were divided into five wealth quintiles based on their national asset scores. A series of spatial analysis methods including excess risk, local spatial autocorrelation, and spatial interpolation were applied to observe disparities in coverage of improved sanitation among different wealth categories. The total number …

No Sweat: African American Adolescent Girls’ Opinions Of Hairstyle Choices And Physical Activity, Susan J. Woolford, Carole Woolford-Hunt, Areej Sami, Natalie Blake, David R. Williams

Faculty Publications

Background

Obesity prevalence is higher among African American adolescent (AAA) girls than among non-black girls. Lower levels of physical activity (PA) likely contribute to this disparity; this may be impacted by hairstyle concerns.

Methods

In 2011, focus groups were conducted with AAA girls 14-17 years old (n = 36) in Michigan (n = 9), California (n = 11), and Georgia (n = 16). Groups addressed perceptions of hairstyles, exercise, and relationships between the two. Groups were recorded, transcripts reviewed, and themes identified. Adolescents completed a standardized ethnic identity (EI) measure and a survey addressing demographics and …

A Nation Divided: Science, Religion, And Public Opinion In The United States, Shiri Noy, Timothy L. O'Brien

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Perceptions And Experiences Of Human Papillomavirus (Hpv) Infection And Testing Among Low-Income Mexican Women, Leith León-Maldonado, Emily Wentzell, Brandon Brown, Betania Allen-Leigh, Leticia Torres-Ibarra, Jorge Salmerón, Deborah L. Billings, Jim Thrasher, Eduardo Lazcano-Ponce

Faculty Publications

Background

HPV infection causes cervical cancer, a major contributor to morbidity and mortality among low-income Mexican women. Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing is now a primary screening strategy in Mexico’s early cervical cancer detection program (ECDP). Research on Mexican women’s perceptions of HPV and testing is necessary for establishing culturally appropriate protocols and educational materials. Here, we explore perceptions about HPV and HPV-related risk factors among low-income Mexican ECDP participants.

Methods

We conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 ECDP participants from two primary care health clinics in Michoacán state, Mexico. Interviews addressed women’s understandings of and experiences with HPV and HPV …

Math Circles: A Tool For Promoting Engagement Among Middle School Minority Males, Eugene Kennedy, Lawrence Smolinsky

Faculty Publications

This article presents results of a case study of a math circle designed for low income, minority students from an inner city middle school. The students were 6th, 7th and 8th grade African American and Hispanic males enrolled in a science, technology, engineering and mathematics focused charter school. The study focused on the impact of participation in the math circle on students and the design features of the experience that were most effective at promoting engagement and positive reactions from students. Participating students reported increases in their interests in mathematics, their confidence in their ability to tackle mathematics problems, and …

Human Library Visit., Xiaoming Xu

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Pelvic Sexual Dimorphism Among Species Monomorphic In Body Size: Relationship To Relative Newborn Body Mass, Robert G. Tague

Faculty Publications

Females have larger pelves than males among eutherians to mitigate obstetrical difficulty. This study addresses 3 issues concerning pelvic sexual dimorphism using 8 species that are sexually monomorphic in nonpelvic size: Aotus azarae, Castor canadensis, Dasypus novemcinctus, Hylobates lar, Saguinus geoffroyi, Sciurus carolinensis, Sylvilagus floridanus, and Urocyon cinereoargenteus. Using published data to compute the index of relative newborn body mass (RNBM = [newborn body mass/adult female body mass]100%) for 266 eutherian species, A. azarae, H. lar, and S. geoffroyi are characterized as giving birth to relatively large newborns and the other 5 species as giving birth to relatively small newborns. …

Collaborating With Nonlibrary Faculty For Assessment And Improved Instruction, Holt Zaugg, Curtis Child

Faculty Publications

Collaboration with other entities and individuals has long been a standard practice of libraries. Typically, these collaborations seek to reduce redundancies, save money, and support educational and research efforts. However, a new model of collaboration exists that both assists discipline-specific research practices and informs library procedures. This article reviews two collaborations between an assessment librarian and a sociology class. The collaborations are unique because the library is the focus of the collaboration, with sociology students being able to apply classroom learning in a real-world setting. Several suggestions are provided for best practices when endeavoring to use this type of collaboration …

Objective Research? Information Literacy Instruction Perspectives, Terry Dwain Robertson

Faculty Publications

Common understandings of “objective” research include values such as “factual” and “interpretive neutrality”. There is a growing consensus that the person, the “subject”, doing the research counts as much as if not more in the interpretive outcomes than the “facts” alone, and that “interpretive neutrality” is not possible.

The presentation offers an alternative framing of “objective research” as the grounded, intentional and savvy analysis of an “object” in conversation with a community of peers/experts for the purpose of creating knowledge.

Following Ferraris’ ontology, three classes of “objects” exist (1) Natural objects: exist whether or not a person notices them. Example: …

Chinese Slang, Robert L. Moore

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Measuring Community Resilience To Coastal Hazards Along The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Nina S.N. Lam, Margaret Reams, Kenan Li, Chi Li, Lillian P. Mata

Faculty Publications

The abundant research examining aspects of social-ecological resilience, vulnerability, and hazards and risk assessment has yielded insights into these concepts and suggested the importance of quantifying them. Quantifying resilience is complicated by several factors including the varying definitions of the term applied in the research, difficulties involved in selecting and aggregating indicators of resilience, and the lack of empirical validation for the indices derived. This paper applies a new model, called the resilience inference measurement (RIM) model, to quantify resilience to climate-related hazards for 52 U.S. counties along the northern Gulf of Mexico. The RIM model uses three elements (exposure, …

Islands Within An Almost Island: History, Myth, And Aislamiento In Baja California, Mexico, Ryan B. Anderson

Faculty Publications

This paper examines the persistent histories and lasting effects of the Baja California peninsula's status as an "almost island." The peninsula is almost an island in so many ways. Its reputation as an island-like entity has also ben strengthened by a longstanding myth that it was, in fact, an actual island. In many senses it was an island - isolated, remote, difficult to envision, understand, and control. Geography and climate played a vital role in all of this, but so, too, did human imagination. The author uses the concept of shima, along with discussions about the dual meanings of the …

Plant Microfossils Recovered From Dental Calculus At Casas Grandes, Mexico, Daniel King, Michael T. Searcy, Kyle Waller

Faculty Publications

Microfossil analysis is a technique used to better understand prehistoric diets. As part of a larger multinational project, we gathered and analyzed 112 samples of dental calculus (fossilized plaque) from human remains discovered at Paquimé and other sites in the Casas Grandes river valley to identify various microfossils still present in the silica matrix. With this information, we are able to better understand the flora present during ancient times and how it was used (food, processing, etc.).

Civil Liberties And Rights, Equality And The Quality Of Democracy In Greece, Constantine Danopoulos

Faculty Publications

Good quality democracy is considered one that provides its citizens with a high degree of personal freedom, political equality, and popular control over policies and public officials through the legitimate and lawful functioning of stable institutions. It is assessed through an interrelated and interconnected three dimensional scheme: procedure, content, and result. Procedure refers to the quality of governance and is assessed through the rule of law, participation, competition, and government accountability. Result involves citizen satisfaction with the quality of governance. Content is concerned with two key components: individual liberties and political and social equality. This paper will assess the quality …