Digital Commons Network^™

Que Pedo, Where Are The Latinas?: A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Latina Representation In Two American Female Magazines And Conceptions Of Latina Self-Perception, Victoria De Jesus Mancha

Theses and Dissertations

While feminist critics like Jean Kilbourne have noted the oppressive power patriarchal advertisements can have on a women's self-perception, the majority of these critiques stem from second and third wave feminist concerns that potentially overlook the role of race and ethnicity in the construction of gendered images. Moreover, popular feminist research tends to overlook the importance of analyzing the different intersects of female social identities. Intersectional feminism, however, has been the painted as a new theoretical concept that can help feminist researchers address these different intersect. Thus, the purpose of this research project is to contribute to current feminist media …

Gaussian Quadrature Rules Over Triangular Domains, Joshua James Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we will be presenting new symmetric Gaussian quadrature rules over the triangle for orders 3, 4, 5, and 6 that have positive weights and nodes that are within the integration domain. In addition to this, we will compare these rule with those found in the literature, specifically by Witherden and Vincent [17], by computing their Lebesgue constants and determining which has the lowest. In order to accomplished these goals, we will go over the theory behind Gaussian quadrature and barycentric coordinates, the coordinate system that will be used in representing our rules. The process by which one …

Employee Well-Being As A Mediator Of The Relationship Between Perceived High-Performance Work Systems And Employee Outcomes, Albi Alika

Theses and Dissertations

This study builds upon the strategic human resource management literature to further understand the effect of high-performance work systems on employee outcomes. Despite the increasing interest in examining the relationship between high-performance work systems and employee attitudes and behaviors, the mechanisms of how these HR practices affect employees are not fully clear. As such, the current study sheds more light into this area of the HR literature by examining the mediating role of employee well-being between perceived high-performance work systems and three important worker outcomes: work effort, turnover intention, and counterproductive work behavior. The model is tested by using a …

Menaxhimi I Hipertensionit, Andris Pajaziti

Theses and Dissertations

Hyrje: Hipertensioni është sëmundja më e përhapur vdekjeprurëse e kontrollueshme në shekullin e sotëm dhe përbën një nga shkaqet më të zakonshme të kontrolleve tek mjeku i familjes dhe shtrimit në spital. Qëllimi i ketij studimi është vleresimi i krizës hipertensive, dhe komplikacioneve te saj dhe propozimin e masave për të kontrolluar këta faktorë.

Metodat: Për të realizuar këtë punim është përdorur metodologjia e rishikimit të literaturës në lidhje me menaxhimin e hipertensionit. Informacionet e paraqitura janë siguruar nga literatura të shumta shkencore kryesisht në 10 vitet e fundit në për Databaza të fushës së infermierisë.

Prezantimi dhe analiza e …

Yankee Go Home: Roci In Latin America, Vitoria Hadba

Theses and Dissertations

In 1984, at an event hosted by the United Nations, American artist Robert Rauschenberg announced his most ambitious and controversial project to date: the Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange—or ROCI. Blending primary source documents with social art history, I retrace the artist’s steps—and missteps—during the first leg of his tour through Mexico, Chile, and Venezuela. This thesis investigates the convoluted political implications of ROCI in Latin America during the transitional period in which binary Cold War politics were ebbing amidst the rise of a global free-market economy.

Vertical Transmission Of Zika Virus In An Opossum Model, Dionn Carlo Silva

Theses and Dissertations

This study will identify Brazilian ZIKV infection in the offsprings of mated, inoculated Monodelphis domestica females. Unlike non-human primates (NHP) and transgenic mice, M. domestica provides an opportunity to study ZIKV infection in a novel animal model possibly useful for in-utero studies. M. domestica has also been used in cancer and dietary research with varying degrees of success. ZIKV infection will be identified using antibody staining and in situ hybridization. The expected result of this study is that ZIKV will be identified in various tissues and reveal that ZIKV is transmitted vertically in this animal model. The significance of this …

The Backlash Of The Online-Right During And After The 2020 United States Presidential Election, Luis Roberto Lopez Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

What type of Internet memes were utilized by the Online-Right to show support to former-President Donald Trump and to delegitimize the 2020 Presidential Election? In this thesis, I argue that the Online-Right used Internet memes for two purposes. The first was to discredit and attack the election and former President Trump’s opponents. The second purpose is that the Online-Right created a cult of personality around Donald Trump with the usage of Internet memes. Most of the literature focuses on the type of groups that use Internet memes on the Internet. I focus on what type of Internet memes were used …

Transatlantic Triangulations: Genre And Traumatic Memory In The Novels Of Esmeralda Santiago And Alejandro Zambra, Amanda A. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

When a traumatic event collectively happens to a group or body of people, be that geographically, emotionally or physically, an imprint is left behind which impacts a part of a culture or society. The larger the scale of the incident, the wider the scope in terms of lives affected and memory established, which creates a new history for many.

In Alejandro Zambra’s (2011) Ways of Going Home, Zambra remembers his traumatic childhood growing up under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in war torn Chile in the 1980s. While this postmodern novel uses memory and historical perceptions from a child’s …

The Practice Of Belonging: Can Learning Entrepreneurship Accelerate And Aid The Social Inclusion Of Refugees In The United States, Jabra F. Ghneim

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the role that culinary entrepreneurship communities of practice, using Lave and Wenger's Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP) model (Lave & Wenger, 1991), can lead to better social and economic inclusion for Middle Eastern Muslim refugee chefs in Utah. The life history approach was used to construct life histories for two Middle Eastern Muslim refugee chefs in Utah who joined the Spice Kitchen Incubator (SKI) program. SKI is a community of practice funded by the International Rescue Committee to assist refugee chefs in the resettlement process. This was an exploratory study, and given the limited number of cases reviewed, …

Ndikimi I Teknologjisë Dhe Inovacionit Në Industrinë E Dizajnit Të Modës Dhe Tekstilit, Gresa Boshtraj

Theses and Dissertations

Ky punim diplome është i fokusuar në të kaluarën, të tashmen, si dhe trajton se si shihet e ardhmja e dizajnit të tekstilit dhe modës në aspektin teknologjik dhe inovativ. Si fillim trajtohet se si janë bërë avancimet në këtë fushë duke analizuar hapat nga koha primitive, ndikimin e zbulimeve përgjatë viteve. Pastaj në zhvillimin e mëtejshëm të makinerive më të specializuara për tekstile, qepje e modifikime specifike.

Qëllimi i këtij hulumtimi është që me anë të analizimit dhe shqyrtimit e të kaluarës dhe të tashmes së inovimit të teknikave, materialeve dhe makinerive të reja të tekstilit në Industrinë e …

The Last Horseman: Albrecht Dürer’S Horsemen Of The Apocalypse, Megan L. Crosby

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes Albrecht Dürer’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse through comparisons with examples from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, as well as the artist’s own numerous representations of Death. These comparisons will show the way Dürer interpreted and changed the iconography of the Four Horsemen.

The Inescapable Effects Of Discourse As Knowledge And Power: Refugee Youth’S Resistance To “The System” In Pursuit Of Higher Education, Fallon Puckett

Theses and Dissertations

Employing a Foucauldian inflected analytic framework, I examine how youth resettled in and around Unity, NC, ambivalently managed racializing discourses associated with being ‘refugee’ as they pursued access to higher education (HE). Like many scholars who are drawn to post-structuralist concepts, I understand ‘discourse’ to be a form of knowledge and power, which operates through institutions implicated in advancing forms of self-government. In my video-conferenced interviews with youth they revealed cogent interpretations of the many ways these different U.S. governmental (and some non-governmental) institutions operated in their lives as “the System.” In the particular case of refugee youth, they used …

The Robber Barons Of Show Business: Traveling Amusements And The Development Of The American Entertainment Industry, 1870- 1920, Madeline Steiner

Theses and Dissertations

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, traveling amusements such as circuses, minstrel shows and Wild West shows were the most popular forms of entertainment in the United States. This study argues that advancements in transportation and technology inspired managers of traveling amusement companies to create new business models that transformed popular entertainment from informal, local productions into modern commercial spectacles. These amusement companies were capitalist enterprises, significant not just in the cultural arena but also in the growth of American business. These amusement companies traveled nationwide on the newly expanded railroad system, sporting elaborate sets and props and …

Praying Soldiers: Experiencing Religion As A Revolutionary War Soldier Fighting For Independence, Roberto Oscar Flores De Apodaca

Theses and Dissertations

While enduring the hardships of battle, many Revolutionary War soldiers recorded more about their personal religious lives than perhaps any other single topic. They especially enjoyed cataloging events they ascribed to divine intervention, listing their daily religious routines, and commenting on first time encounters with religious others. New and extreme circumstances tested the religious preconceptions of those who enlisted in ways that they had rarely encountered in civilian life. Their religion took on new importance for them as soldiers relied on it both as an interpretive lens and as a source of stability amid a chaotic war. My dissertation examines …

Survey Of Four North American And Malaysian Theory Methods For Young Pianists, Wen Bin Ong

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to provide a content analysis and comparison between the selected theory methods by North American and Malaysian authors for the young beginning pianists (age 4 – 6). The selected North American theory methods are Prep Course for the Young Beginner and My First Piano Adventure for the Young Beginner while the Malaysian theory methods are Music Theory Made Easy for Kids and Music Theory for Young Children.

This study is comprised of four chapters, a bibliography, and an appendix. Chapter one provides a brief overview of the study, which consists of an introduction to …

“The Once And Future Audubon:” The History Of The Audubon Ballroom And The Movement To Save It, William Maclane Hull

Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyzes the history of the Save the Audubon Movement – an activist movement in the 1980s and early 1990s protesting Columbia University’s plan to demolish the Audubon Ballroom and replace it with a modern biomedical research complex. The Audubon Ballroom is best known for being the site of Malcolm X’s assassination and was a major landmark to New York Hispanic and African Americans. It takes a cultural history lens, giving special attention on the emerging hip-hop culture that became the primary voice of protest in New York City in the 1970s through the 90s. This paper begins with …

Balancing Identities: A Thematic Analysis Of The Ideology Of Professionalism And Its Effect On Stigmatized Cultural Groups, Amber Allen

Theses and Dissertations

With the recent political climate, race has been an important topic of discussion and how the systems of our society influence your movement through life based on said race. The system of interest of this thesis of that of employment and the themes of what it means to be and act professional. Traditionally, these themes are centered around whiteness and the employees’ ability to adapt to these standards placed on the organization in which they work. Using critical race theory as the theoretical lens, this thesis uses a dialogic approach to convey the stories and testimonies of members of the …

Let's Talk! An Investigation Of Parent-Child Conversations About Self-Conscious Emotions, Alexandra Marie Cooper

Theses and Dissertations

Parents play an important role in socializing children's emotion understanding. Previous research on parents' conversations with their children shows that parents emphasize different aspects of emotion contexts depending on the emotion depicted. However, there is limited research on how parents and children discuss self-conscious emotions, such as embarrassment, guilt, and shame. The current study explored the socialization of self-conscious emotions in parent-child conversations during a storybook task. One hundred and sixty-six children between the ages of 24 and 36 months were observed reading a storybook with their parent. Analyses of parent-child conversations revealed that while parent and child utterances were …

“They're Issuing Edicts And Proclamations About Your Life, And You're Expected To Follow Those": Living Up To Communicated Parental Expectations About College, Anjali Patel

Theses and Dissertations

As emerging adults transition into adulthood, continued parental involvement and shared messages from parent to child creates a context ripe for research. Unrealistic and demanding messages about expectations from parent to emerging college student have the potential to harm the college students’ perceptions of their own college experiences. While research into the positive impacts of parental involvement has exemplified many constructive outcomes for the emerging adult, little research has discussed how parental overinvolvement, overparenting, and control may lead to parental messages about expectations for emerging adulthoods in their college years that may alter the students’ college experiences and perceptions of …

Material Witnesses: Deconstructing Networks Of Credibility And Objectivity In Medical Narratives From Mary Toft To The Contraceptive Pill, Krista Elizabeth Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I argue that to better understand the tangled, embedded human and nonhuman subjects and how their testimonies function in western medical history, we need to first understand their erasure. By using relationality as a reading method, I break apart who and with whom individuals make medical decisions by considering what constitutes evidence. In the Mary Toft case, expert witnessing informs the ways in which a reader trusts what the narrator claims. The medicolegal conventions of courtroom testimony shape the ways in which medical men wrote their pamphlets. These men shore up their credibility through descriptions of nonhuman …

Evaluating The Impact Of Culture On Customer Satisfaction For Fms Projects, Yaquari A. Adams Ii

Theses and Dissertations

The cost, time, and quality pillars of the iron triangle in project management are often considered the most important factors for managers to consider when striving to achieve project success. However, recent literature suggests customer satisfaction and end-user benefit are the most important elements to prioritize during project development. This research analyzes the Air Force Security Assistance Center Construction Division and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) joint construction operations in relation to two Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) knowledge areas, project stakeholder management and project risk management. Project stakeholder management is addressed by identifying the relationship between cultural competency and …

The Globalgothic Vampire: Application Of And Benefits For The English Studies Model, David Lawrence Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation utilizes canonical vampire texts interlaced with pop-culture story-worlds and international cultural remediations to demonstrate the flexibility of the Globalgothic as a viable and valuable research lens to facilitate skills-based learning in undergraduate students by utilizing each of the four branches of the English Studies Model; literature, linguistics, rhetoric, and pedagogy. For this dissertation, I will be using the term Globalgothic as suggested by Glennis Byron. The focus of this literary lens is not merely to look at the conventions traditionally associated with the gothic genre, such as crumbling houses, a sense of foreboding, dark omens, and damsels in …

Quality And Simplicity: Rebecca Salsbury James, Folk Art, And Modernism In The United States, Caroline Seabolt

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the work of Rebecca Salsbury James and its contributions to the development of interwar modernism in the United States. Using mediums traditionally employed by folk artists, reverse painting on glass and the colcha stitch, James expressed her interest in quality and simplicity with a proto-feminist sensibility.

The Impact Of Parental Involvement On Adolescents’ Academic Achievement In Nigeria, Atinuke Ayeni

Theses and Dissertations

Parental involvement in education remains important for supporting educational achievement in adolescents. The purpose of this ex-post facto study was to evaluate the impact of parental involvement a multidimensional construct, on mathematics achievement in adolescents (9th graders) in Kwara State Nigeria. The study also evaluated the relationship between social capital, parental involvement and two motivational constructs, the growth mindset and learning goals. A total of 280 students in their third year of Junior secondary school in Kwara state Nigeria, participated in the study. The study was conducted using a 46-item survey of parental involvement administered once to students who volunteered …

Queerstory Of Recovery: Literacy And Survival In A.A., Danielle Bacibianco

Theses and Dissertations

By studying A.A.’s prescribed qualification narrative device, examining literacy studies that continue to circulate A.A.’s narrative model, analyzing LGBTQIAP+ qualifications published through A.A.’s literary press, and exploring A.A.’s deeply hidden history of its Queer members, I identify how Queer members learn how to tell their qualifications within the confines of the program’s cisheteronormative history and are forced to conceal their identities for the sake of preserving the A.A. redemption story. I argue that there is a difference between narrative telling and recovery storytelling: that while most recovery literacy narratives are crafted and occur in church basements, where A.A.’s rhetorical prescriptiveness …

The Semantic And Acoustic Voice Features Differentiating Neutral And Traumatic Narratives, Yosef Shimon Amrami

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a quantitative and qualitative exploration of how one linguistically communicates emotions through an autobiographical narrative. Psycholinguistic research has affirmed that linguistic features of a narrative, including semantic and acoustic features, indicate a narrator’s emotions and physiological. This study investigated whether these linguistic features could help differentiate between trauma and neutral narratives and if they can predict autobiographical narratives’ subjective trauma ratings (STR). Qualitative analyses of the positive and negative evaluative statements were also conducted, which indicated the narrators’ thought processes during recall. Twenty-two Spanish-English college students participated in this study and narrated both traumatic and neutral narratives. …

Exploring How Faculty Motivations And Professional Development Strategies Influence Digital Literacy Practices In A Study Abroad Program In Italy: A Case Study, Paolo Bartolini

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study research was to explore the multifaceted motivations, perceptions and attitudes that influence digital literacy practices in a small group of study abroad faculty and how professional development can help inspire them to act to innovate their digital literacy practices within a study abroad context. The role of study abroad programs in the U.S. has grown significantly in recent decades. As the number of students participating in these programs continues to increase, so have questions about the role of digital literacy practices in foreign education. Digital literacy embodies a way of learning that focuses …

Exploring Efficacy Of An Anti-Malarial Nanomedicine In Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment, Vineela Parvathaneni

Theses and Dissertations

New drug and dosage form development faces significant challenges, especially in oncology, due to longer development cycle and associated scale-up complexities. Repurposing of existing drugs with potential anti-cancer activity into new therapeutic regimens provides a feasible alternative. In this project, amodiaquine (AQ), an anti-malarial drug, has been explored for its anti-cancer efficacy through formulating inhalable nanoparticulate systems using high-pressure homogenization (HPH) with scale-up feasibility and high reproducibility. A 32 multifactorial design was employed to better understand critical processes and formulation parameters so as to ensure product quality with improved anticancer efficacy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Optimized AQ loaded …

Double-Coated Biodegradable Poly (Butyl Cyanoacrylate) Nanoparticulate Delivery Systems For Brain Targeting Of Doxorubicin Via Oral Administration, Neeraj Kaushal

Theses and Dissertations

Primary brain cancer cells grow within the brain or cancer cells can metastasis from different site of the body into brain. The major hurdle in the treatment of brain cancer is the presence of blood-brain barrier (BBB). Additionally, acquired multidrug-resistant (MDR) impedes the success of long-term chemotherapy. Therefore, the objective of this investigation is to evaluate the brain targeting potential of orally administered poly(butyl cyanoacrylate) nanoparticulate delivery systems (PBCA-NPDS), double-coated with Tween 80 and polyethylene glycol (PEG) 20000 for brain delivery of doxorubicin, that does not cross the BBB by itself. And, evaluate the MDR reversal potential of PBCA-NPDS. Doxorubicin-loaded …

Multilevel Item Response Theory Analysis Of The Anger Regulation And Expression Scale: A Cross-Cultural Study Of Anger In Youth, Tovah Weinrib

Theses and Dissertations

Anger research among youth is increasingly recognized as an important area to inform guided intervention for children and adolescents with clinical levels of anger. However, most psychometric assessments, including measures of anger, are developed in the United States and are based in Western culture, potentially limiting their efficacy when applied internationally. The Anger Regulation and Expression Scale Short Form (ARES-S) is a comprehensive self-report assessment of the expression and regulation of anger in youth which has been used in research across numerous countries. Using a Multilevel Item Response Theory (MLIRT) approach, we analyzed country specific modulation of the expression of …