Digital Commons Network^™

Cultural Models Of Latino Immigrant Parent Knowledge Of Their Children's Specific Learning Disabilities, Harriet Faith Welling

Theses and Dissertations

The author investigated shared cultural models among nine Latino immigrant parents of children with specific learning disabilities aged 6-12 years old. Interview questions addressed what participants thought it meant to be educated, their descriptions of specific learning disabilities, and their reports of effective teaching methods for their children. Although many varying themes emerged from the interview data, three distinct cultural models surfaced from the data on education and disability. Implications include cultural beliefs informing IEP content, knowledge of cultural models enabling increasingly open communication between school and home, and culturally sensitive classroom instruction.

Longitudinal Association Between Self-Esteem In Adolescence And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In Older Adults: A Cohort Study, John Anthony Blue Star

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Posttraumatic-Stress Disorder (PTSD) is less common in older adults than in younger adults, and little is known about specific risk factors for PTSD in older adults. We investigated the association between self-esteem in late adolescence and PTSD in older adults. Method: Using a cohort design, 1,436 individuals who had been assessed approximately 40 years earlier in their junior and senior year of high school with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) were evaluated for PTSD using the PTSD Checklist (PCL-17). Results: Fully controlled logistic regression models indicated that lower self-esteem in late adolescence predicted PTSD in the overall sample of …

"The Aten Desires That There Be Made For Him": An Analysis Of Amenhotep Iv/Akhenaten's Temple Construction Activity Outside Of Tell El-Amarna, Megan Kathryn Paqua

Theses and Dissertations

The Amarna Period is one of the most widely studied periods of ancient Egyptian history, largely due to the wide variety of cultural material available from the eponymous settlement Tell el-Amarna, the ancient city of Akhetaten. However, there is a great deal of archaeological and textual evidence for during the Amarna Period activity outside of the city of Akhetaten. This thesis investigates the regional temples constructed by Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten throughout the course of his reign. It establishes a set of criteria to evaluate the archaeological and textual evidence for temple construction at different sites across Egypt in order to determine …

Expected Profiles And Temporal Stability Of The Look, Sierra Marie Baird

Theses and Dissertations

The LOOK is an iOS based iPad app designed to measure viewing time as an estimate of sexual interest. Participants used a 7-point Likert scale to rate 154 images based on sexual attractiveness. The images belonged to 14 differentiated gender and age categories from infants to elderly adults. Before rating each image participants were asked to complete an additional task of locating and touching a small dot found in one of the four corners of the screen. This was included to make sure that participants we attending to each image, and to add another level of information to the results.The …

A Study Of Migrant Domestic Workers In New York City And Their Fight For Equality, Heba Abdella

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis takes an in-depth look into the racialization and gendering of the job of migrant domestic labor. It explores the migrant domestic women and the organizations that represent their movement to obtain equal civil and labor rights. The thesis argues that domestic labor is a gendered occupation and is used as a tool to create and maintain hierarchies of social class, based on gender and race. The thesis investigates the cases and examples of migrant domestic labor in the United States to explore the social dynamics that take place within the new environment as well as the evolution that …

Organizing The Unorganized: Migrant Domestic Workers Labor Union Organizing In Lebanon, Farah Kobaissy

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Egyptian Presidents' Speeches In Times Of Crisis: Comparative Analysis, Dina Tawfic Abdel Fattah

Theses and Dissertations

The political speech is a bridge between politicians and the public, with most politicians seek to gain the public’s support and persuade them with their policies. In the modern era, the political speech becomes a crucial tool of Presidents’ communication with the public, particularly during domestic or international strife. Previous literature highlighted the political speeches of foreign Presidents in the U.S., Indonesia, and UK, with few studies analyzed the Arab political speeches. This study fills the gap by presenting a critique of the speeches given by three Egyptian Presidents during periods of crisis. Crisis in that context refer to "events …

Between Worlds And Thresholds: Death, The (Un)Knowable, And Reassembling The Social, Aya Walyeldin Shafik Osman Sabry

Theses and Dissertations

How does death, and the dead, shape the making of living subjectivities? How do the worlds of the dead entwine with the worlds of the living? Do the dead have an agency that engages the spaces of the living and their epistemes? Based on eight-month fieldwork during 2014, this ethnography focuses on a network of villages in Bilbeis in Egypt to analyze the sociality of death and how the social is reassembled to comprise networks among the living and the dead. By studying the everydayness of death through memories of the dead, narratives of the past, casual talks surrounding death, …

A Pill, A Cup Of Tea, And A Cigarette: Male Body In Egypt At The Age Of Viagra, Youssef Ramez Boktor

Theses and Dissertations

From disciplined self to ‘Viagra-self’ is a transition that men experience in the ‘age of Viagra’. My field work looks at how chemically enhanced sexual performance has been normalized in a specific way that signifies the deliberate control over human’s sexual performance. How the sexual relationship - in a specific socio-cultural context - becomes the most available path to seek happiness ‘inbesat’, in low priced form. The ‘Viagra-self’ learns how to invest in parts of the body in order to perform, to experience how the chemically enhanced body can proclaims control and time (sexual) performance. The Viagra-self, in the era …

Whose Downtown Is It Anyways? The Urban Transformation Of Downtown Cairo Between State And Non-State Actors, Hajer Awatta

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine how the influential state and non-state stakeholders interact, conflict and collectively shape the urban transformation of downtown Cairo. The stakeholder analysis revealed interesting positions and power levels of the influential stakeholders impacting urban transformation in downtown. It also illustrated alliances and dependencies between entities within the same stakeholder group and between state and non-state stakeholders. Collaborations between influential stakeholders in the private sector interested in establishing lobby groups to further their interests in downtown. Despite the commonalities between the interests of the state and private investors, the state prefers to maintain development …

Ultras Ahlawy And The Spectacle: Subjects, Resistance And Organized Football Fandom In Egypt, Dalia Abdelhameed Ibraheem

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on organized football fandom groups in Egypt (namely the Ultras Ahlawy- UA07) and how the individual fan is constructed and disciplined in this collective, particularly in the urban settings of Cairo. I examine the Ultras through various lenses. Firstly, the research discusses how the Ultras fans perceive nationalism, how they relate their love to the club to their love of the country and the role of nationalism in creating an imagined community of al-Ahly supporters. Second, I engage in this male exclusive group by tracing how the game is socialized as a masculine game, how the young …

Insights And Characterization Of L1-Norm Based Sparsity Learning Of A Lexicographically Encoded Capacity Vector For The Choquet Integral, Titilope Adeola Adeyeba

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to simultaneously minimize function error and model complexity for data fusion via the Choquet integral (CI). The CI is a generator function, i.e., it is parametric and yields a wealth of aggregation operators based on the specifics of the underlying fuzzy measure. It is often the case that we desire to learn a fusion from data and the goal is to have the smallest possible sum of squared error between the trained model and a set of labels. However, we also desire to learn as “simple’’ of solutions as possible. Herein, L1-norm regularization of a lexicographically encoded …

Stakeholders' Social Interaction In Requirements Engineering Of Open Source Software, Tanmay Bhowmik

Theses and Dissertations

Requirements engineering (RE) involves human-centric activities that require interaction among different stakeholders. Traditionally, RE has been considered as a centralized, collocated, and phase-specific process. However, in open source software (OSS) development environments, the core RE activities are iterative and dynamic and follow a rather decentralized software engineering paradigm. This crosscutting characteristic of open source RE can be conceptualized using the “Twin Peaks” model that weaves RE together with software architecture. Although many weaving mechanisms have been proposed in recent years, the lack of theoretical underpinning limits a mechanism’s applicability and usefulness in different scenarios. In this research, we hypothesize stakeholders’ …

The Struggle For Health In The Insurance Gap: A Cultural Model Of Treatment Seeking Among The Working Poor In Tupelo, Ms, Avery N. Mcneece

Theses and Dissertations

America’s poor face many obstacles including health disparities and limited access to affordable primary healthcare services. This study focuses on treatment seeking and knowledge of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act among the working poor in Tupelo, Mississippi, where research was conducted in 2014. The working poor cannot afford medical insurance even with government subsidies but earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, leaving them with few options. Strategies to manage acute and chronic illnesses include frequenting organizations that attempt to fill the gaps in healthcare. This thesis presents a cultural model of health-seeking among the working poor …

The "Isolated Find" Concept And Its Consequences In Public Archaeology, Jesse Morton

Theses and Dissertations

The term “isolated find” has frequently been taken as a disposable artifact category in cultural resource management (CRM). Efforts were made to empirically demonstrate the fallacy of this concept and its use, using modified field sampling strategies, the inclusion of fine screen artifact analysis, and statistical analyses. Six sites containing prehistoric occupations on Camp McCain National Guard base in Grenada County, Mississippi were reinvestigated using these methods; their datasets were expanded in terms of site size, density, function, and temporal association, which may change their eligibility status for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Fieldwork and classification based solutions …

Genetic Population Structure And Dynamics Of Nearctic Bering Cisco And Applied Mixed-Stock Analysis Of The Yukon River Commercial Fishery, Ora L. Russ

Theses and Dissertations

Bering cisco (Coregonus laurettae) are anadromous salmonids with only three known spawning populations located in the Yukon, Kuskokwim, and Susitna river drainages, respectively in Alaska. Bering cisco are actively harvested in both subsistence and commercial fisheries in Alaska. The work presented herein was a genetic study conducted on Bering cisco with three main objectives: 1) to develop genetic markers for Bering cisco; 2) to evaluate the population structure of the Yukon, Kuskokwim, and Susitna spawning aggregations and 3) to use genetic mixed-stock analysis to estimate the contributions of baseline cisco populations to the Yukon Delta commercial harvest during 2010, 2011, …

Utilizing Remote Sensing Imagery To Monitor Vegetation Change Within World Heritage Sites, Mimi Eve Hatzis

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

World Heritage sites provide a glimpse into the stories and civilizations of the past. There are currently 1007 unique World Heritage properties with 779 being classified as cultural sites, 197 as natural sites, and 31 falling into the categories of both cultural and natural sites (UNESCO & World Heritage Centre, 1992-2015). However, of these 1007 World Heritage sites, at least 46 are categorized as in danger and this number continues to grow. These unique and irreplaceable sites are exceptional because of their universality. Consequently, since World Heritage sites belong to all the people of the world and provide inspiration …

Empowerment Through Transformations In Agency-Influence Of Self Help Groups On Women's Empowerment In Rural Nepal, Shikshya Adhikari

Theses and Dissertations

Self-help groups have been considered a powerful tool in empowering women because of the various opportunities they provide women. Self-help groups have started becoming very popular in rural Nepal. My research focuses on the interpretations of men and women in rural Nepal regarding how self-help groups have influenced women's lives. Interviews with women and their husbands reveal that self-help groups have provided women with physical social mobility, increased knowledge and skills, increased their ability to speak and voice opinions, and increased their capacity to invest in their children's education. However, women have not been able to earn money through independent …

The Influence Of Perspective Taking And Empathy On Students Using The Cultural Approach To History, Victor M. Salazar

Theses and Dissertations

Challenges to teaching history have precipitated a number of teaching strategies whereby teachers have achieved mixed success. The Cultural Approach to History (CAH) has been shown to be an effective teaching strategy from its inception in the late 1960s. Advances in neuroscience revealing how the brain functions in the learning process have been proven to show that stimulating affect in students during instruction may result in a greater long-term learning outcomes than if students underwent traditional lecture-based instruction. Students using the CAH have the opportunity to take the perspective of others in addition to their engaging cognitive capabilities thus leading …

La Dialectología En México: Hacia Un Enfoque Perceptual, Newell Douglas Porter

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Application Of Social Network Analysis On Military Strategy, System Networks And The Phases Of War, Thomas S. Furman

Theses and Dissertations

The research developed in this study will utilize Social Network and Graph Theory terminology and methodology applied to groups of systems, rather than individuals within a given system, in order to shape strategic level goals. With regard to military operations, Social Network Analysis has been used to show that enemy networks and relationships can be accurately represented using weighted layers with weighted relationships in order to identify the key player(s) that must be influenced and/or removed so that a particular effect on the enemy might be realized. Social Network Analysis is therefore a significant tool concerning tactical level of operations …

Utilizing Illinois State University's Environmental Legacy And Historical Collections To Sustain A Global Future, Melissa Nergard

Theses and Dissertations

The scholarly capital of materials at Illinois State University includes numerous natural history collections from the mid-nineteenth century that hold significant research and historical value. Changes in pedagogical methods and academic leadership, however, created confusion and territorial competition in who would preserve and manage the collections. Consequently some specimens from those early collections have been both lost and forgotten. This thesis used a systems approach to track the material losses incurred when institutional support shifted in the 1870s, and the original collectors and curators left Central Illinois for national interests in Washington, D.C. Yet, historical environmental collections have become increasingly …

Elevating The Other: A Theoretical Approach To Alexander Mcqueen, Keri Rowe

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the relationship between art and fashion in order to first, justify fashion as an art form, and second, demonstrate the applicability of critical theory to the study of fashion through an examination of Alexander McQueen's Spring/Summer 2006 menswear collection, titled “Killa,” presented in Milan, Italy, in 2005. “Killa,” loosely based on William Golding's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies and its 1963 film adaptation, opens with crisp, white, tailored suits worn by neatly groomed models. Steadily throughout the collection, these tailored suits are exchanged for wide-legged, cropped shorts, and tanks in browns and beiges. By the end, …

Marriage And The City: Fatal Displacement In La Maison Du Chat-Qui-Pelote, Laurel Cummins

Theses and Dissertations

The following is a meta-commentary of the article, “Marriage and the City: Fatal Displacement in La Maison du chat-qui-pelote,” co-authored by Dr. Anca Mitroi Sprenger and myself, Laurel Cummins. The article will soon be submitted for publication, and this commentary contains an annotated bibliography of all our primary and secondary sources as well as an account of the origin of the argument and the process of writing the article. Our article is based upon an analysis of La Maison du chat-qui-pelote, a story authored by Honoré de Balzac within his seminal collection La Comédie humaine. In the …

Prototype For Zion: The Original Provo Tabernacle And The Construction Of Mormon Zion In The American West, Ryan W. Saltzgiver

Theses and Dissertations

During the winter of 2011–2012, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and Office of Public Archaeology (OPA) at Brigham Young University (BYU) conducted archaeological explorations in urban Provo, Utah. The purpose of the research was to uncover and document the extant remains of the Original or Old Provo Tabernacle (OPT; 42UT1844). The data recovered from that excavation was the impetus for the current study. Through a combination of documentary and archaeological evidence, and using Mormon theology as a lens through which to interpret the actions of nineteenth century Latter-day Saints, this thesis demonstrates the important role …

Perceptions Of Individuals With Disabilities In The Justice Systemabout Their Transition Preparation, Justine Nicole Howarth

Theses and Dissertations

This study gathered information about adults with disabilities who were served with special education services during high school and incarcerated after high school, on their job preparation plan and explored the effects of that preparation on the individual's perception of successful transition after high school. It also investigated what, if anything, could have been done in high school to prevent their entrance or continuation in the criminal justice system. Due to the difficulty in accessing this population, only three individuals were interviewed. However, the rich information provided from this study indicated that to help them live independently and successfully transition …

Teaching Culture Using E-Portfoliosin A 4th-Semester University Spanish Classroom, Ricardo Gustavo Cetz

Theses and Dissertations

The World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (ACTFL, 2014) encourage teachers to help their students use the target language to “investigate, explain, and reflect” on the relationships between cultural products, practices, and perspectives. However, while most language instructors agree that language and culture should be connected, many fail to teach culture explicitly because they are so focused on the language components of their courses. Of those who do teach culture explicitly, many either teach only about the cultural products and not the perspectives, or they teach the culture in English because of its complexity. This project explores the use of e-portfolios …

The Greco-Roman Water Catchment Theater: Identification And Distribution, Allison Nicole Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Water has always been a necessity for human beings. How individuals and populations have reacted to, adapted, and manipulated water is apparent in the archaeological record. Ancient urban water systems often utilized a number of components, including aqueducts, siphons, underground tunneling, and cisterns. This thesis proposes that Greco-Roman theaters were utilized as components of ancient urban water systems in specific environments, and that this theater type may be identified in the archaeological and literary record as a water catchment theater. The goal of my thesis was to define, describe, identify, and plot the distribution of water catchment theaters in …

Racial And Gender Differences In College Completion Among Minority Students: A Social Network Approach, Daneka Natlay Souberbielle

Theses and Dissertations

College enrollment has improved among Black and Latino students during the last several decades due partly to the influence of formal and informal mentors and increasing parental support of higher education. However, college completion for these underrepresented minority groups continues to lag behind graduation rates for White students. This research sought to examine whether pre-college relationships influence college completion. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Freshmen, this study tested the direct and indirect effects of social capital from pre-college networks, including parental capital and mentor capital, race and gender on college completion utilizing logistic regression. The results indicated …

Subsistence Strategies In The Upper Illinois River Valley: The Kuhne Site Case Study, Autumn Beyer

Theses and Dissertations

Stuart Struever's excavation of the Kuhne site, located in the Upper Illinois River Valley occurred during the start of archaeological interest in the region. The faunal remains recovered during this excavation offer a unique opportunity to understand subsistence strategies in the area during the Middle Woodland period. Using standard zooarchaeological methods, these remains were analyzed to better understand which animal species were targeted by Middle Woodland people in this region, which season(s) the site was occupied, and how bones were modified for utilitarian and other purposes. These findings were then compared to faunal assemblages from Middle Woodland sites in the …