Digital Commons Network^™

Managing Tribal Lands And Resources In Michigan: Tribal, State, And Federal Influence, Elise M. Crafts

Masters Theses

Michigan Indigenous Tribes, along with the State and Federal government, are key players in current environmental management programs and policy. The current relationship between these three entities is not clearly defined. Using qualitative data collected through collaborative interviews with employees and members of multiple Michigan Tribes, this study narrates the present dynamic of the Tribal-State-Federal environmental relationship. The Federal government's legal obligation to Michigan Tribes may mitigate potential tension between Tribal and Federal environmental departments, as Tribal-Federal communication is historically established by treaty. Across the country, Federal, State and Tribal departments face similar environmental concerns but the extent to which …

Across The Red Steppe: Exploring Mongolian Music In China And Exporting It From Within, Thalea C. Davis

Masters Theses

Mongolian music culture as it exists in China is a unique entity unto itself as it features a base of traditional Mongolian practice and also includes aspects of Chinese music and culture. As the world becomes more interconnected and as China continues to display a markedly Han society to the world at large, Mongolian musicians and Mongolian-music enthusiasts in China maintain and evolve their musical culture in a nebulous middle-ground between Mongolian and Han-Chinese culture. How Mongolian music culture in China came to be and its ultimate function in global society are the key questions being investigated in this thesis. …

Comic Book Fandom And Stigma Consciousness, Dennis R. Gagliardo

Masters Theses

This research project explores the concept of stigma consciousness as applied to the subculture of comic book fandom. Integrating the disciplines of social psychology and cultural studies, this study examines the dynamic and socially constructed nature of the stigma process as applied to the specific cultural form of the American comic book, while identifying and measuring several variables of potential influence on perceptions of the hierarchy of American cultural values. The purpose is to address an existing gap in the academic literature of fan studies in regards to the marginalization and stigmatization of fan cultures as experienced by the members …

Developing A Game-Theoritic Analysis Of Terrorism, Matthew A. Love

Masters Theses

My research demonstrates the applicability of game theory to analyzing terrorism through consideration of multiple examples. These examples provide a foundation upon which further research involving the application of game theory to terrorism can be explored.

My research contributes to a growing body of literature, especially since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, in which it has been argued that terrorists are rational agents and, because of that, game theory can be usefully applied to an analysis of terrorism. My research further supports this conclusion.

Location And Competitive Strategy In Retail: The Case Of Gamestop In Michigan, Karl P. Schrantz

Masters Theses

The State of Michigan offers a unique retail environment that offers a diverse arena for firms to interact and compete in. The state has many cities of different size and a multitude of retail chains that operate within them. Over the past two decades this competition has become even stiffer with the rapid growth of big box retailers. In spite of this general notion there are often the less known stories of small retailers that have been able to compete and survive big box retailing. This research aims to assess how a smaller retail chain, GameStop in this case, is …

Investigation Of The Closing Forces Involved In Re-Approximation Of The Renal Remnant Following Partial Nephrectomy, Donald M. Endres Ii

Masters Theses

Partial nephrectomy has become the preferred method of treatment in certain renal diseases, including small, peripheral tumors. However, re-establishment of hemostasis in the remaining tissue remains a challenging procedure. To better understand the forces involved in re-approximation of the renal remnant, this study measures the suture tensions reached in sliding clip renorrhaphy, as well as the ability of the tissue to support those tensions, and reviews how long suture material might be expected to survive those forces.

Three separate groups of experiments were conducted on fresh, porcine kidney tissue. Treatment groups were compared using commercially available software to compute appropriate …

Content Analysis Of British Petroleum And Tokyo Electric Power Company's Crisis Communication Messages. Comparative Analysis Of Crisis Communication Strategies, Viktoryia Abramenka

Masters Theses

This research analyzes the crisis communication messages of the two organizations British Petroleum (BP) and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). The study looks at organizations' press-releases, Facebook updates and tweets. The research looks at detecting four main themes in the companies' crisis communication messages: trust, collaboration, commitment, and interactivity. This study then goes on to look at the crisis communication strategies.

BP's 60 press releases and 70 Facebook updates along with TEPCO's 60 press releases and 65 tweets were analyzed. The findings of the research showed that BP mainly addressed the company's commitment to resolve the crisis. Additionally, the organization …

Egyptian Diasporas, Social Media, And The 2011 Egyptian Revolution: How Egyptians Living In Saudi Arabia Used Social Media During The Revolution, Maisoon O. Al-Sebaei

Masters Theses

In the last few years, the Arab world has been shifting to new technology, particularly social media, to create new connections and spaces for public engagement. This technology has opened new prospects in freedom of expression, especially in political reforms. Through the recent Arab Spring events, social media platforms have been helping cyberactivists for social changes. The 2011 Egyptian revolution is a prime example to show how social media platforms were used to ignite strikers and overthrow the autocratic regime. At the same time, the number and size of diasporas in the Middle East are increasing. Yet scholars have not …

Missing The Mark: Why Modern Efforts To Better Schools Through Standardization Aren't Working, Richard Knowlton

Masters Theses

In the thirty years of school reform that began with A Nation at Risk, and continues today with A Race to the Top, the United States has rapidly increased its reliance on a standardized “one-size-fits-all” policy in regard to modern educational reform. This report provides a review of the empirical and statistical evidence to demonstrate that despite lofty and well-meaning intentions, modern reform has done nothing to significantly advance the quality of education in America, and in many cases have had a severe negative impact—blocking real reform. Many schools, especially those in low-income areas, have become glorified test-prep centers in …

Preschoolers With Speech And Language Impairment: Case Studies From A Teacher-Delivered Phonological Awareness Program, Katherine J. Wickham

Masters Theses

Past and present research demonstrates early reading success related to phonological awareness (PA) instruction conducted individually or in small groups outside of the preschool classroom. This study investigated the effects of an explicit, intensive and teacher-delivered PA instruction for children with speech sound disorder and language impairment as part of the preschool curriculum. The investigator examined the performance of individual cases in both groups, those who received instruction and the control. Two participants in each of the experimental (E1 and E2) and control (C1 and C2) groups had standardized scores indicating deficits in speech and/or language. These children who received …

Kachin Sound Instruments Within The Context Of The Kachin Baptist Convention Of Northern Burma: History, Classification, And Uses, Walter Brath

Masters Theses

This organology identifies and describes the Kachin's sound instruments, classifies them according to the Hornbostel-Sachs' system, and considers evidence of an indigenous classification scheme. Very little research exists to date on the music of the Kachin peoples of Northern Burma. This paper cites the only known indigenous organology and is the first English language study to extrapolate evidence into an emergent classification system. This qualitative study is based on ethnographic interviews, the minimal literature available on the topic, and participant observation drawn from fieldwork conducted in the Kachin State of Northern Burma (modern day Myanmar) during the months of May …

Does God Have A Right To Judge? The Aztecs' False Worship Practices Result In God's Judgment In The Unlikely Form Of Hernán Cortés, Lisa Timmons

Masters Theses

This thesis covers religious aspects of the Aztec culture before and after the conquest of Hernán Cortés between 1519 and 1521. One aspect of this thesis details the Aztecs' history and rise to power, followed by their rapid demise at the hands of Spanish conquistadors, while the other examines the highly flawed but effective instrument used in the destruction of their sprawling Mesoamerican empire--a conquistador from Spain by the name of Hernán Cortés. At the root of this controversial topic is God's perfect justice in relation to this culture's blatant and repeated disregard for those created in His image--by all …

Ethical Ambivalence In Local Television Weathercasting: A Rossian Analysis, Vernon Keith Thompson

Masters Theses

Today’s television weathercasters are being called upon increasingly to go beyond benign weather prognostications to become the “newsroom experts” for science topics. The expectation to act as both scientists and journalists can cause ethical ambivalence (EA), a sociological condition in which, faced with conflicting norms, the subject feels that he/she is being pulled psychologically in two different directions (Jansen & Von Glinow, 1985). This thesis presents a Rossian analysis of climate change in weathercasting, a topic that captures the most important ethical tensions arising from conflicting duties within the weathercaster role, specifically: a) how might the duties of the television …

Economic Autonomy Of The Miskitu Women Of The North Atlantic Autonomous Region, Nicaragua: Do Current Development Polices Apply To Matrifocal Societies?, Ariana M. Toth

Masters Theses

This thesis provides an ethnographic investigation into the economic autonomy of Miskitu women in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region of Nicaragua. The purpose of this study is to determine whether dominant development models created by patriarchal Western powers are suited to alleviating gendered poverty disparity among the matrifocal Miskitu Indians. Surveys of Miskitu women obtained during field research, with support from relevant literature, comprise the main source of information considered. It is concluded that while dominant development models are not best suited to alleviating gendered poverty in this region, it is the overarching indigenous nature of Miskitu culture and not …

A Teacher's Journey In School Improvement And Reform, Kristi Domrase

Masters Theses

Today America‘s schools are failing to prepare its students to compete in the 21st century knowledge based economy. The work presented in this thesis addresses current and historical educational reform movements in the United States with an emphasis on why American reforms are failing to keep pace with other countries in preparing its new students for the new global economy. As a teacher in a persistently low achieving school the paper is a culmination of course studies, research, and personal experiences with the school improvement process and reform policies. What I discovered is that the current educational reforms in America …

The Rhetorical Canon Of Memory And The Assistive Use Of Mnemonics, Jonathan Bobby

Masters Theses

People often imagine at some point in their existence what it would be like to have a photographic memory. However, this mental aptitude is a misnomer, and extremely rare in humankind. What we possess from our Creator is a photographic mind. Our memory recall is based on the recognition of visual pictures that appear in our mind. The early communication theorists illustrated this recognition and described it in the fourth canon of rhetoric. Because of the advancements in information technology, memory no longer holds the significance it once did. Numerous academic texts refer to memory as the lost art of …

They Came Up Out Of The Water: Evangelicalism And Ethiopian Baptists In The Southern Lowcountry And Jamaica, 1737-1806, Samantha Futrell

Masters Theses

The Ethiopian Baptists in the eighteenth century Atlantic were not actually Ethiopians at all, but people of West African descent, traded as slaves to the southern lowcountry and Jamaica. Their identification with Ethiopia did not come from their geographic ancestry, but from a Christian heritage that they became a part of when they accepted the salvation of Jesus Christ. The evolution of this evangelical Afro-Baptist movement occurred in three stages. First, white evangelicals, like George Whitefield, carried Christianity to African American populations in South Carolina during the Great Awakening. Second, African American leaders, such as George Liele, rose up as …

Unleashing The Power Of Social Media Marketing Within Non-Profits, Through The Lens Of Social Cognitive Theory, Kerah Kemmerer

Masters Theses

While many organizations still struggle to effectively incorporate the present-day promotional framework of social media marketing, research reveals that non-profit organizations are lagging even further behind when it comes to the implementation of effective social media and interactive marketing strategies. The interactive marketing strategy model incorporates technology and media-based tactics designed to enhance marketing strategies within any industry. In this project, the primary researcher explored why non-profits are struggling to incorporate these specific strategies, and considered it through the lens of social cognitive theory. The purpose of this project was to focus on a specific non-profit organization and apply the …

Revolutionary Betrayal: The Fall Of King George Iii In The Experience Of Politicians, Planters, And Preachers, Benjamin J. Barlowe

Masters Theses

When describing the imperial crisis of 1763-1776 between the British government and the American colonists, historians often refer to Great Britain as a united entity unto itself, a single character in the imperial conflict. While this offers rhetorical benefits, it oversimplifies the complex constitutional relationship between the American periphery and the British center. Instead, the path to independence is a story of how Americans rejected the authority of each part of the central British government in turn. Americans drew a clear distinction between protesting the authority of the British Parliament and that of King George III himself. Rather than recalling …

Bound For Home: Containment And Community In Cold War America Through Shirley Jackson's "Flower Garden", Jennifer Lynne Furner

Masters Theses

This thesis is an examination of Shirley Jackson's short story "Flower Garden" and the white middle-class housewives of Cold War America. Through the policy of domestic containment, a practice to shield one's home and community from outside threats, traditional gender roles are strictly adhered to in order to achieve the greatest security. However, because of the housewife's confinement to the home, she often feels trapped, unable to express herself. This thesis argues that these women have no concept of home in Cold War America. Where home should be a nurturing, supportive environment, it is cold and harsh and oppressive, leaving …

The Age Of Consumption: A Study Of Consumer (And Producer) Behavior And The Household, Stephen A. Damm

Masters Theses

While anthropologists have often emphasized the importance of factors such as the household's age, lifecycle, and kinship within the context of the wider community, archaeologists have paid less attention to these factors. Using data from the excavations of eighteen farms in the Finger Lakes National Forest, occupied from the 19th century into the 1930s, I examine how household age influenced the consumer choices made by a sample of households and how aspects of production and consumption were prioritized within this context. By examining broad patterns in the archaeological and historic data, an age-based analysis as a young/old categorization is juxtaposed …

A Content Analysis Of Music Therapy Theses And Dissertations From 2000 To 2012 From Amta Approved Graduate Programs, Liisa G. Flores

Masters Theses

The purpose of this content analysis was to categorize, code, and analyze trends related to graduate music therapy theses/dissertations completed from the year 2000 to 2012. Information was gathered related to what American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) approved schools have graduate programs and how many students have graduated from these institutions. Research questions addressed in this study were to determine (1) who were the thesis/dissertation advisors for students, (2) what was the type of goal for the research, (3) what types of studies were completed, and (4) what populations were studied.

Results included 35 schools offering graduate music therapy degrees. …

American Beisbol: How Cultural Differences Help Explain Different Approaches To Game Playing, Derek Jackson

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis project is to examine the effect of culturally derived game strategies on the success level of players in the game of baseball. Specifically, I look at both the influence of how various Latin American cultures teach the game in order to better ensure success of players at the MLB level versus how the game is taught in the United States and Japan. In this way I develop a feedback model in which these game strategies perpetuate a cycle of enculturation that further reinforces cultural/ethnic identities. In order to accomplish this goal I look at the …

School Adult And Student Perceptions Of Bullying In Middle School: A Mixed Methods Case Study, Michelle L. Barrows

Masters Theses

This mixed-methods case study examined the perceptions of students and school adults regarding bullying at one urban middle school (grades 6-8) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Participants completed a two-part survey. Part one contained open-ended questions regarding the respondent’s experiences at the school and part two used a questionnaire from Maunder, Harrop and Tattersall, (2010) containing a set of twelve scenarios with questions asking participants to indicate whether or not it is bullying, the frequency seen in the school, and the severity if it happened to a girl or a boy. This study showed that awareness of the school district’s anti-bullying …

Information Technology Effects On Tunisian College Students; Tunisian English Majors As A Case Study, Ahmed Lachheb

Masters Theses

Tunisia has been recently in the worldwide news since December 2010. A country where the “Arab Spring” started that lead to a major political, economic and social shift in the Middle East and North Africa’s region. Change in all the country’s systems and dynamics is occurring on a daily basis during the current post-revolutionary period. However, Tunisia’s profile in academic journals and research is absent due to the lack of research work. In a country peopled with about 10 million, almost half a million students are attending 239 public and private higher educational institutions¹. Seeking higher education is …

Qualitative Exploration Of The Influential Factors That Impact Black Students Access To College, Kortney Jones

Masters Theses

The study examined the educational, psychological, and social factors both favorable and unfavorable that impact Black students access to college. Participants consisted of a combination of undergraduate and graduate students from either a mid-size or large Midwestern institution of higher education. A qualitative approach was taken through focus groups to collect data. The findings reported students have feelings of preparedness and underpreparedness for college regarding educational factors; feelings of discrimination/racism, feelings of White counterparts being better prepared, feelings of competitive motivation to excel, and feelings of unpreparedness for ACT regarding psychological factors; and lastly regarding social factors participants reported feelings …

Assessment Of Adolescents' Knowledge Of Suicide Warning Signs In Their Peers, Jennifer Larson

Masters Theses

The present study examined the knowledge adolescents have about suicide warning signs. Participants included 188 students (79% female and 21% male), 18 to 20 years old, from a Midwestern University. Participants anonymously completed an online survey. Results indicated that adolescents did not show knowledge of suicide warning signs. They also did not correctly identify suicide risk levels in three scenarios. Furthermore, direct exposure to suicide was not related to adolescents' knowledge of suicide warning signs or risk factors; however, adolescents who looked up information about suicide online were better at identifying suicide warning signs. Finally, those who had a family …

Perceived Persistence Factors For African American Students At A Predominantly White Institution, Aaron D. White

Masters Theses

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine what resources, persistence factors, and motivational factors influenced African American students matriculation at a PWI located in the Midwest. The participants in this study were six African American seniors or recent graduates of a mid-sized, four-year university in the rural Midwest. Motivation, persistence, and resources are each connected to one another and as students identified factors in each area it was evident that together they all influence the overall success, which is completing their undergraduate degree, in significant ways. The results of this study provided a personal look into areas which …

Perceptions Of International Orientation, Payge Schagemann-Jones

Masters Theses

Using qualitative methodology, the researcher analyzed the perspectives of students attending a mandatory Office of International Students and Scholars, sponsored orientation. One week after classes started, four international students and one observer were interviewed on their perceptions regarding the orientation. Themes such as cultural adjustment, understanding professors, prejudice and discrimination, academic advising, and structured entry were presented.

Teacher's Knowledge And Attitudes Regarding Grade Retention As An Intervention, Timothy G. Snodgrass

Masters Theses

Despite the research demonstrating that grade retention is ineffective for improving students' academic and social-emotional functioning, this practice continues to be used prevalently in schools. This correlational study investigated teachers' knowledge and attitudes regarding grade retention. Additionally, this study attempted to understand teachers' past retention practices based on attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control as specified by the Theory of Planned Behavior. Participants included 129 teachers. Results showed that teachers had limited knowledge of research and positive attitudes toward retention. Retention practices for the last three years were predicted by the Theory of Planned Behavior, but these variables accounted …