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International Graduate Students' Experiences With Race, Racial Identity, And Racialization At Home And In The United States: A Comparative Case Study, Ashlee Amanda Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

As the number of students studying in the United States (U.S.) has risen, scholars have increasingly paid attention to multiple aspects of the international student experience. Despite a proliferation of studies generally addressing the topic of international students, few studies have explicitly addressed the ways in which international students' sense of identity may be complicated during their time living and studying in the U.S. Scholarly inquiries into how international students experience racialization and the American racial paradigm have been missing from the overall discourse around "the international student experience."

This dissertation study contributes to that discourse by examining international graduate …

An Examination Of Significant Factors Distinguishing Successful, On-Time High School Graduation Rates Among Black Males At A Large South Carolina High School, Sherry Mitchell Eppelsheimer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine what students see as significant factors that impact their successful high school on-time graduation rates, particularly among Black males in a large South Carolina high school with respect to No Child Left Behind requirements. Through a comparative case study, qualitative research methods were used to identify significant factors, supports and/or barriers to Black male success and achievement of on-time graduation. Through individual interviews and observations of a subgroup of 7 Black males between the ages of 17 to 19, commonalities emerged that led to high school graduation. A comparison using a grounded …

Some Assembly Required, Anthony Feggans

Theses and Dissertations

'Some Assembly Required' is a short story collection that explores the construction and deconstruction of identity within various fields of interest, generally hobbies or professions, and the type of people who do those professions or hobbies. It also explores dynamics of familial and romantic relationships.

Principal Leadership And School Culture With A School-Wide Implementation Of Professional Crisis Management: A Redemptive Vs. Punitive Model, Mark Thomas Adams

Theses and Dissertations

Principal Leadership and School Culture within

A School-Wide Implementation of Professional Crisis Management:

A Redemptive vs. Punitive Model

By

Mark Thomas Adams

This qualitative study investigated the nature of the relationship between principal leadership and school culture within a school-wide implementation of Professional Crisis Management (PCM). PCM is a comprehensive and fully integrated system designed to manage crisis situations effectively, safely, and with dignity. While designed primarily to assist individuals in crisis situations, much of the system is comprised of non-physical interventions in the form of crisis prevention strategies and positive reinforcement that were effective with students at all points …

Altar And Stage: Liturgical Drama In Three Theatrical Traditions, Patrick Kenneth Boos

Theses and Dissertations

This paper compares the historical, religious and political situations surrounding the origins of three important dramaturgical texts: Regularis Concordia in tenth-century England, The Natyasastra in seventh-century India, and Zeami's Fushikaden of fifteenth-century Muromaki Japan. It attempts to explore and identify the ways that their corresponding theatres have their roots in liturgical practice, and how those liturgical practices are intricately tied up in the historical and political situations in which they came to be. The fundamental qualities of theatre which I explore are five key areas in which the three traditions, surprisingly, converge as often as they diverge: in their emphasis …

The Body As Wartime Terrain: Social Control And Female Sexuality Under Military Occupation, Frances Choe

Theses and Dissertations

This project is a comparative-historical sociological analysis of the informal and formal responses to sexual contact in two WWII period cases: between French women and Nazi troops, and German women and African-American GIs. I focus on the connection between the regulation of women's bodies and cultural expectations of gender, ideas about sexuality, and racial ideology. The results of war and subsequent occupation of the defeated nation - population decline and the acute loss of male life, strained material resources and the daily concern of survival, the social psychological sense of defeat, and intimate relationships between occupiers and the occupied - …

Ruminating On Ruminants: Goats And The People Who Raise Them In South Carolina, Brianna Dyan Farber

Theses and Dissertations

In South Carolina, many farmers and homesteaders have utilized goats as an adaptive and versatile resource and component of their diversified farming operations. This thesis addresses the experiences, motivations, difficulties, and successes of people raising goats in South Carolina, in the context of sustainable agricultural practice and landscapes. Goats cohabit insecure but promising ecological, political, economic, and sociocultural landscapes with humans and other nonhuman species. These relationships can undermine and support goats as belonging in South Carolina. My participants cannot simply raise goats as a purely economic choice because they create meaningful emotional relationships with their animals. Goats can become …

Spectral Analysis Of Randomly Generated Networks With Prescribed Degree Sequences, Clifford Davis Gaddy

Theses and Dissertations

Network science attempts to capture real-world phenomenon through mathematical models. The underlying model of a network relies on a mathematical structure called a graph. Having seen its early beginnings in the 1950's, the field has seen a surge of interest over the last two decades, attracting interest from a range of scientists including computer scientists, sociologists, biologists, physicists, and mathematicians. The field requires a delicate interplay between real-world modeling and theory, as it must develop accurate probabilistic models and then study these models from a mathematical perspective. In my thesis, we undertake a project involving computer programming in which we …

Fire On The Tongue: A Collection Of Poems, Nathan Adam White

Theses and Dissertations

The Influence of Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney My relationship with poetry has been complex. I once felt that poetry, my last friend and greatest hope, had betrayed me, had shut me out and left me very alone. My pen lacked the power that poetry had promised as the last refuge of those who wished to breathe deeply, speak intimately, and inspire intensely. Others had the power to move me, but I seemed incapable of moving others; my lines lacked clarity, my phrases caused confusion. In a mood of irritable desperation I wrote these lines:

You live in the world, …

How Culture Shapes Personality: A Preliminary Study, Hing Man Amy Wong

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the relevance of a collectivistic personality attribute indigenous to the Chinese culture to non-Asian collectivistic cultures. To measure this attribute, the CPAI-2 Interpersonal Relatedness factor scales were administered to current college students who self-identified as Mexican American, Chinese American, or Caucasian. Only less acculturated Mexican American and Chinese American participants, as measured by the ARMSA-II or SL-ASIA, respectively, were included in the analysis. Although the Mexican American and Chinese American participants did not significantly differ from one another, these two groups did significantly differ from the Caucasian participants on two scales, Traditionalism-Modernity …

The Organizational Culture And Leadership Values That Impact Native American Water Utility Organizations, Carole L. Boerner

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the organizational culture and leadership values that affect successful Native American water utility organizations to find the Native American leadership values that impact these organizations. The study utilized the organizational culture assessment instrument (OCAI) and focus group interviews to identify the inherent values. Three organizations participated. The OCAI surveys were completed online, and the results averaged, plotted, and discussed with participants. The competing values plots for the organizations studied were similar among the organizations. The hierarchical culture scored higher for all three organizations and the market, adhocracy, and clan cultures all had similar scores. The common organizational …

Comparative Analysis Of Corporate Culture In A Multinational Organization, Don G. Gilman

Theses and Dissertations

This study built upon the Project GLOBE (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, & Gupta, 2004) analysis by using a Web-based version of the GLOBE Questionnaire in order to examine the extent to which the cultural values and practices of middle managers in a multinational organization vary depending on (a) their cultural background and the region in which they work, (b) whether they were a member of a recently acquired company, and (c) the number of years employed by the multinational organization. Multinational organizations face the unique challenge of operating in societies that have different sets of cultural norms, expectations, beliefs, and …

Overcoming The Industry Driven Barriers To The Creation Of Black Independent Film, Tara R. Jiles

Theses and Dissertations

In our society the media has presented itself as an important tool in shaping both the identities of groups and individuals. In film, and possibly more deeply in African American films, the prolonged emotional and multi-sensoral experience heightens this importance. In America, there has been a historical presence of stereotypical characters in Black film and television shows as early as the 1800s. My assertion is that African Americans who are exposed to media images with stereotypical African American characters are affected negatively in psychological and social respects. The impacts include but are not limited to self esteem issues, poor identity …

The Westernization Of Advertisements Published In Kuwaiti Newspapers From 1992 To 2012; A Content Analysis, Farah Taleb Alrefai

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the degree of Westernization in advertisements published in major Kuwaiti daily newspapers over the past 21 years (1992-2012). Utilizing a quantitative content analysis, the diffusion of Westernization into the content and form of the advertisements was analyzed. Specifically, a sample of 584 advertisements published on the front pages of AlQabas and AlWatan Kuwaiti dailies from 1992 to 2012 were examined. The advertisements were analyzed to detect the increase and/or decrease of the presence of 12 Westernization attributes. These attributes are: product/ brand origin (Western or local), Western models and or local models, …

Blue Book, Daniel Cole

Theses and Dissertations

Alain De Botton writes in The Architecture of Happiness, that “any object of design will give off an impression of the psychological and moral attitudes it supports.” Interpreting design then is done by understanding the attitudes of the designer, which either will or will not resonate with the viewer. I may consider the formal and conceptual merits of an object of design, but ultimately my attitudes determine whether the object will have resonance with me. These “attitudes” are, anthropologically speaking, values: what a person finds most good, proper, or desirable in life. Values are the key to the creation of …

I Can Be Silent And Be Saying A Lot: Teachers' Racial Literacy In A Southern Elementary School, Kimberly J. Howard

Theses and Dissertations

In order to better understand how teachers make sense of race in schools today, this ethnographic study explores the following research question: How do teachers in this school make sense of race, and how does the spatiality of the school inform this process? The study was conducted over a 14-month period in a southern elementary school and is presented as a poetic, narrative, and thematic analysis of the connections between the geographic location of this particular school and the teachers' practices, pedagogies, and conversations about race both inside their classrooms and in other school spaces. This study demonstrates how teachers' …

Native American Women Leaders' Use Of Information And Communication Technologies (Icts) For Work-Life Balance (Wlb) And Capacity Building, Crystal C. Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

Cultural preservation and revitalization; Information and communication technology; Women's leadership;

Healing Historical Trauma In Native American Communities: A Liberation Psychology Approach To Wellness, Francesca L. Parker

Theses and Dissertations

This critical analysis of the literature explores the potential of liberation psychology to address the sequelae of historical trauma in Native American communities. 21st century Native America faces significant health and wellness challenges including socio-economic disparities, interpersonal violence, substance abuse, psycho-spiritual distress, and physical health issues (Brave Heart, 2004; Dickerson & Johnson, 2010; Manson, 2000; Manson, Beals, Klein, Croy, & AI-SUPERPFP, 2005; United States Department of Health and Human Services, 2001). The literature questions the validity of mainstream psychological science to effectively conceptualize and treat Native Americans, and calls for the identification of specific, culturally relevant interventions to increase physical …

Standing Out: The Influence Of Organizational Culture And Cultural Values On A Manager's Willingness To Meaningfully Differentiate Employee Performance, Mercedes Mcbride-Walker

Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methodology study investigates the degree to which dominant organization culture and cultural values influence a manager's willingness to differentiate employee performance for the purpose of making meaningful talent decisions. Data were collected from 26 companies and a total of 45 individual participants. The findings suggest that specific values play a significant role in influencing a manager's willingness to differentiate employee performance regardless of dominant culture. All organizations have high and low performers, yet being willing to make tough performance calls for greater talent decision effectiveness may require embodying values that are considered countercultural. We argue that these values may …

On Humor And Healing: A Qualitative Analysis Of Expressions Of Humor In Therapy With Clients Who Have Experienced Trauma, Rebecca Rutchick

Theses and Dissertations

From a positive psychology perspective, humor can be viewed as an adaptive strength, an important aspect of holistic health, and a potentially beneficial coping mechanism in the face of stressful or traumatic events. Existing research generally supports the idea that individuals can manage threatening situations by turning them into something that can be laughed at, although the effectiveness of such humor use is dependent on contextual factors and the specific forms of humor that are used (e.g., aggressive versus benign humor). However, there is minimal research on how trauma survivors actually express humor in therapy, particularly in the context of …

The Function Of A Middle Woodland Site In The Central Illinois Valley: A Ceramic Study Of Ogden-Fettie, Montana L. Martin

Theses and Dissertations

Ogden-Fettie is a Middle Woodland Havana-Hopewell mound group in the Central Illinois Valley. Fv196 is the midden area near the largest mound. The function of Fv196 was in question, because it does not conform to the settlement and function models that have been applied to other sites. The ceramic collection from Fv196 was typed and categorized into categories based on perceived function, either habitation or ceremonial. The majority of the pottery belonged to the Havana series, which is traditionally considered habitation pottery; however, many of the Havana sherds were decorated indicating a ceremonial function. The highly decorated pots showed the …

Photography As A Spiritual Technique, Laura Elizabeth Garza-Meza

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to compare the spiritual benefits of practicing photography to the spiritual benefits of practicing prayer, meditation and yoga. Benefits noted were divided into the 4 dimensions of being human: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. The study considers Mexican leaders' perceptions of photography as a spiritual practice. A total of 105 Mexican leaders answered surveys. Of the 105 leaders, 14 were professors, 30 were entrepreneurs, 46 were business executives and 15 were students and homemakers (listed as "other") varying in ages from 21 to over 61. The design of this study is descriptive, while the …

The Role Of A Facilitated Online Workspace Component Of A Community Of Practice: Knowledge Building And Value Creation For Nasa, Bradford Thomas Davey

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of an online workspace component of a community in the work of a community of practice. Much has been studied revealing the importance of communities of practice to organizations, project success, and knowledge management and some of these same successes hold true for virtual communities of practice. Study participants were 75 Education and Public Outreach community members of NASA's Science Mission Directorate Earth Forum. In this mixed methods study, online workspace metrics were used to track participation and a survey completed by 21 members was used to quantify participation. For …

Professional Conversations About Race, Culture And Language In Early Childhood Literacy Education: An Administrator's Journey, Sabina Maria Mosso-Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

Year after year, children of Color, speakers of languages other than English, and children of poverty are served less well in public schools then their White, middle-class peers. The lives of children from White, middle-class homes are regularly normalized as they are described by teachers, administrators, policy makers, and educational programs as those with the most worth and knowledge. In all too many settings, cultures and languages outside this narrowly-defined norm are perceived from deficit perspectives. This hierarchy perpetuates a status quo that privileges and therefore supports the success of some, while devaluing and contributing to the failure of others. …

Made In Japan: Kumi-Daiko As A New Art Form, Anna Marie Viviano

Theses and Dissertations

Japanese taiko ensemble drumming, known in Japan as kumi-daiko, is an art form that has only taken shape within the past fifty years. This new performance style involving taiko seems, on the surface, to have much in common with traditional Japanese court and theater music, regarded by scholars as the art music of Japan. Using drums that have a long history in Japan, however, does not necessarily make that ensemble part of ancient Japanese tradition. By studying the most famous groups in Japan, such as Kodo, it is easy to discern that kumi-daiko has many different inspirations, but is not …

Shifting Landscapes: The Social And Economic Development Of Aqaba, Jordan, Kimberly K. Cavanagh

Theses and Dissertations

In my dissertation, 'Shifting Landscapes: the Social and Economic Development of Aqaba, Jordan', I examine the role of the global in (re)defining the local by considering the anticipated impact of the planned large-scale urban development within Aqaba. I contend that the identities of the citizens change as the city itself undergoes `renovation' through political adjustments, globalization, tourism development, and commercialization. I argue that these transformations provide opportunities of empowerment, albeit often limited, for marginalized populations who attempt to broaden the dominant local identity by taking advantage of new economic opportunities and increasing their agency within the city. This research provides …

Taking Oaths And Giving Thanks: Ritual And Religion In Revolutionary America, Tara E. Strauch

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the early modern ritual traditions of oaths, thanksgivings, and fast days in Revolutionary America and argues that American politicians and citizens negotiated the meanings of these rituals for American citizenship throughout the Revolutionary era. Oaths of office and allegiance, thanksgivings and fast days were tools for creating a united nation, but they also posed significant challenges because of the religious and political associations inherent in such rituals. These rituals came out of early modern Europe's religious and political culture which was useful for establishing America as a legitimate European nation. As colonials on the edge of the …

The Teaching Of Reading, Writing And Language In A Clinical Speech And Language Setting: A Blended Therapy Intervention Approach, Kerrie Allen Ammons

Theses and Dissertations

With a growing body of research that supports a link between language and literacy, governing bodies in the field of speech and language pathology have recognized the need to reconsider the role of speech-language pathologists in addressing the emergent literacy needs of preschoolers who struggle with literacy and language concepts. This study contributes to the research on speech and language pathology's clinical approaches by researching a blended approach to therapy using individualized language needs with embedded emergent literacy practices to expand not only the expressive and receptive language repertoire but also the emergent literacy learning of language-delayed preschool children receiving …

"Makin' It": A Study Of First Generation College Graduates Lives Out Of Poverty, Sharla Benson-Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Scholars across various disciplines concur that poverty , especially when experienced generationally, is difficult to escape (MacLeod, 2009; Bowles & Gintis, 2002; Nieto, 2005; Corak, 2006; Sawhill & Haskins, 2008). Yet, while much is known about the existence and persistence of poverty, we know less about how and why those individuals who successfully escape poverty are able to do so (Hardaway & McLoyd, 2009).

Guided by critical social and institutional theory this qualitative study, examined the experiences of individuals who grew up in generational poverty (with parents who had no high school diploma), yet became first-generation college graduates, and entered …

Congeries In The Backcountry, James Andrew Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

The early 18th century Public Monopoly employed a unique form of labor organization to facilitate an administered deerskin trade. This study examines ethnohistoric and archaeological data as a means to evaluate subaltern laborers' participation in a commercializing colonial economy. It utilizes a practice based political-economic framework to situate their activities within the deerskin commodity chain. Activities identified through ethnohistoric research are evaluated through material and spatial analysis of the Fort Congaree, 38LX30/319, site. This trading factory and garrison played a central part in the articulation of the government deerskin trade. Material correlates of hide production, procurement, and transportation activities contextualize …