Digital Commons Network^™

Brava & Gloria: A Mexican Counterstory Screenplay, Jose David Garcia Gilling

Theses and Dissertations

“Brava & Gloria: A Counterstory Screenplay” is a thesis work which combines the theoretical aspects of Latinx representation in films with a full-length, feature film screenplay. In this work I use speculative fiction aesthetics to address the matter of representation and I create a version of how I would like to see Latinxs represented on screen. The story of “Gloria and Brava” is a medium to achieve this. Even though it does not mimic my personal experience as an immigrant, the core of the story is my family’s and my own experience as a Latino in the United States. Consequently, …

Ojos Vendados: An Ethnographic Approach To Understanding How Immigration Status And Language Influence The Identity Of High School Students In The Rio Grande Valley, Ariana Garza

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined oppressive factors Mexican immigrant students, or children of Mexican immigrants, face throughout their lives in RGV. These factors, which are termed “blindfolds” throughout this paper, can have a great impact on these students’ identity. The purpose of this study was to expose students to the blindfolds give them an opportunity to remove them and move past the oppressive measures that may have shaped how they are.

Knowing the implications of these stereotypes can explain why students may choose to be certain ways or do certain things. We can use this information to our advantage as educators of …

The Effects Of Family Stressors On Depression In Latino Adolescents As Mediated By Interparental Conflict, Jenny Carolina Mondragon

Theses and Dissertations

Extensive literature suggests that Latino youth experience higher levels of depression when compared to youth from other ethnic backgrounds yet relatively little is known regarding why this particular population is especially susceptible to depression. This study focused on family level stressors and the link between interparental conflict and adolescent depressive symptoms in Latino families. The sample consisted of 400 girls and 290 boys, they were distributed into four groups based on gender and family structure. Written surveys were completed in their respective English classes measuring the aforementioned variables. Results indicated a significant relationship across all four groups between family stressors …

"Sure It's Foreign Music, But It's Not Foreign To Me" Understanding K-Pop's Popularity In The U.S. Using Q Sort, Janice Kim Cho

Theses and Dissertations

Korea has become a strong influencer of global popular culture. With a handful of Korean celebrities entering mainstream U.S. pop music, Hallyu, the Korean Wave, has been growing tremendously in popularity. Following this global trend, American audiences are increasingly tuning into K-pop. The current study uses Q-sort methodology to investigate the motives, opinions, and attitudes of American fans of K-pop, specifically to find what drives people to seek music whose roots lie in an unfamiliar cultural landscape. Study results show that non-Korean K-pop fans in the United States fall into three distinct groups: the human lovers ("Honey honey, how you …

The Post-Revolutionary Roles Of Fidel Castro: A Semiotic Analysis Of Cuban Political Posters, 1959-1988, Meghan Elizabeth Payne

Theses and Dissertations

This study employs semiotic methods to identify the post-revolutionary roles of former Cuban President Fidel Castro in order to classify the transformations of his character portrayal over time. Informed by Goffman's framing theory as well as suggestions of agenda-setting and priming, this qualitative study analyzes 19 propaganda posters for communications of encoded messages. In this medium, the research explores thematic patterns of sociopolitical and sociocultural signs which add to the richness of Castro's appeal. In addition to providing a unique perspective on interrogating visual images, this study offers a better understanding of the influential power of professional design and the …

The Status Is Not Quo: Unraveling Music Videos, Gary T. Hanby

Theses and Dissertations

The Utah State Standards for media arts are general and therefore give teachers a great deal of freedom in how they present the content for media arts courses. How the teacher engages students and project assignments are left to the teacher as they walk the students through the process of making films. This thesis explores how an art teacher might use music videos to teach filmmaking techniques and engage students in the process of meaning making. My research hypothesis is that, by educating students to understand and interpret the messages they consume through media, I can help them recognize the …

Searching Infinity For Authentic Form: The Problem Of Memoir, Annmarie Lynn Dill

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a rhetorical analysis of the genre of memoir specifically examining the language used to define, describe, and critique the genre, focusing on the ways the language undermines memoir’s generic value. Since the 1990’s memoir has become increasingly popular, but lacks much academic investigation or critique into the conventions of the genre, though it has amassed much criticism. The genre’s rhetorical situation is at odds with general academic standards because inquiry must come before conclusive evaluations. To bridge this gap in scholarship, I have used methods of rhetorical criticism to analyze the definitions of memoir produced by five …

Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, A Model For Quorum Sensing At The Interkingdom Interface, Timothy Charles Haire

Theses and Dissertations

Microbial communities significantly impact the processes of the eukaryotic hosts they colonize. In many cases, symbiotic organisms both pathogenic and mutualistic coordinate their efforts through a process called quorum sensing (QS). QS is driven by low-molecular weight signals that regulate gene expression at threshold inducer concentrations, allowing phenotypic switching to be driven by cell density. These quorum sensing signals are subject to eukaryotic perception, and quorum associated phenotypes can directly influence the growth and development of eukaryotes. Eukaryotic perception of quorum sensing signals has been chiefly studied in plants, and to a lesser extent mammalian systems, yet no delineated model …

Intercultural Communicative Competence In Chinese Language Programs: Curriculum Design And Instructional Strategies, Li Cao

Theses and Dissertations

The qualitative two case comparisons study explored the effect of different curricular models and instructional strategies on increasing learners’ intercultural communicative competence in two Chinese programs at two American universities. There were five student participants and three faculty members in a Confucius Institute program in a public university and five student participants and one faculty member in a traditional Chinese language acquisition program in small private baccalaureate college. Participants were interviewed for one hour individually on curricular models, instructional strategies and intercultural communicative competence. Student participants took the CCAI assessment before their interviews. The scores of the assessment indicated that …

Containerizing Containment: The Automation And Globalization Of The National Security Waterfront, 1945-1997, John Douglas Forrest

Theses and Dissertations

After the introduction of the cargo container and related automation systems in the late 1950s, the numbers of maritime laborers who worked along the piers and aboard ship along American waterways steadily declined. In the late 1950s, tens of thousands of longshoremen and merchant mariners plied their respective trades, but the process of “containerization” reduced their numbers by nearly 70 percent by the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Department of Defense (DoD) similarly containerized and automated its cargo handling during this era. The introduction of the container also had negative consequences for defense maritime policy. Containerization of the National …

My Name Is Jing, Jing Wang

Theses and Dissertations

My Name is Jing is an essay film about my family and a commentary on the rapid changes that have taken place in Chinese society over the past five decades. The film explores personal and national memories. It shows the impact of large-scale economic and social changes on an ordinary Chinese family.

Evaluating A Chinese Adult Attachment Questionnaire Using A Taiwanese Sample, Hsin-Yao Chiu

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have taken the adult attachment instruments established in the western countries into other cultural settings. Taiwan is one of the many countries to which cross-cultural adult attachment research has been extended to, and where translated attachment survey instruments were applied. The problem with these translated measurements in Taiwan, however, is that the commonly-used instruments were not peer-reviewed, and often no reliability tests were even done, and the cultural appropriateness of these translated measurements was not evaluated. The usage and results of these instruments may therefore be questionable. The purpose of this current study is to present a Mandarin Chinese …

The Effect Of Cocoa Flavanols On Β-Cell Mass And Function, Thomas John Rowley

Theses and Dissertations

A hallmark of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is β-cell dysfunction and the eventual loss of functional β-cell mass. Therefore, mechanisms that improve or preserve β-cell function could be used to improve the quality of life of individuals with T2D. Studies have shown that monomeric, oligomeric and polymeric cocoa flavanols have different effects on obesity, insulin resistance and glucose tolerance. We hypothesized that these cocoa flavanols may have beneficial effects on β-cell function. INS-1 832/13 derived β-cells and primary rat islets cultured with a monomeric catechin-rich cocoa flavanol fraction demonstrated enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, while cells cultured with total cocoa extract, …

Forgot My Tribe: Meditations On Hip Hop And La Frontera, Arnulfo Daniel Segovia

Theses and Dissertations

This study of my life untangles threads of influence which have brought me to my present state of being. I utilize autohistoria-teoria to reflect on the processes of learning and schooling in my life, and weigh them against processes of unlearning and deschooling which I explore through hip hop ways of being – all of which are rooted in my life’s process of coming to love the Rio Grande Valley. This effort is to find solid ground to stand upon as I set off from an academic journey into civilian life with a central concern: At the individual level, how …

High Throughput Analysis Of The Penetration Of Iron Oxide/Polyethylene Glycol Nanoparticles Into Multicellular Breast Cancer Tumor Spheroids, Jonathan Robert Gabriel

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to design and optimize a system for the high-throughput analysis of multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS), and validate the system through the study of a complex biological model. The system was successfully created and optimized, allowing the histological recovery of MCTS at rates up to 90% for microarrays of 24-spheroids. Arrays of 96-spheroids were recovered at rates up to 86%. The system was used to study the penetration of 5k Da-polyethylene coated superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles (5k-PEG SPIONs) into HTB-126 breast cancer spheroids cultured to a mean diameter of 486 micrometer (± 25.2 micrometer). Results were …

Fashion In Amman New Camp: An Ethnographical Study Of Consumption In A Palestinian Refugee Camp, Ashley Fortner-Dominguez

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an ethnography conducted with the residents of the Amman New Camp (Wihdat) on their fashion consumption. Consumption is approached as a multidimensional structure that exhibits itself in common and uncommon ways of life and it also permeates people's conceptualizations of the world in which they live as well as the creation of their own identities. It therefore interacts with the fundamental elements of social life and culture, relaying a channel by which messages and meanings are exchanged or transferred. It spans over a wide range of practices and generates diverse styles for embedding people and societies into …

Strategic Advantages Of Visual Violence, Roxanne Brook Vigil

Theses and Dissertations

This research discusses the role of visual violence as it relates to non-state actors within asymmetric warfare as a form of indirect coercion, siting the logic of Thomas Schelling. It argues that irrationality, as a perception from the state actor toward the non-state actor is a rational approach in order to produce the desired fear and publicity. The amount of fear and publicity is measured by the amount of inhumanity that is presented within the visual narration and the amount of irrational hysteria that comes from the audience. In using a comparative and visual analysis, two non-state actors who utilized …

Enabling Pain, Enabling Insight: Opening Up Possibilities For Chronic Pain In Disability Rhetoric And Rhetoric And Composition, Hilary Selznick

Theses and Dissertations

In the dissertation “Enabling Pain, Enabling Insight: Opening up Possibilities for Chronic Pain in Disability Rhetoric and Rhetoric and Composition,” Hilary Selznick argues that pain is rhetorical, accessible, and communicable to those without the lived experience of chronic pain. Additionally, she argues for the necessity of considering chronic pain as a disability and not merely as a symptom of a disability. In order to make these arguments possible, Selznick crafts a political-relational-rhetorical methodology that challenges restrictive models of disability and theoretical and commonplace assumptions that pain is resistant to language. Specifically, Selznick’s methodology, which combines disability scholar and activist Alison …

Canvases Of Representation: Addressing The Cultural Politics Of Black Male Superhero Identity In Graphic Narratives, Danielle L. Cochran

Theses and Dissertations

Canvases of Representation: Addressing the Cultural Politics of Black Male Superheroes Identity in Graphic Narratives is an analytical literary mixtape dedicated to Black male superheroes Black Panther, Luke Cage, and Black Lightning. Cochran draws out how superheroes play a role in the socio-political, identity, and cultural representations Black identity. The work argues that what is not just the symbolic/cultural destruction of the Black image in popular culture but how such representations provide a template for how the Black body is actively managed, controlled, surveilled, and contained in the material world. Examining these figures through the blended genres of Afrofuturism, film, …

The Force Of Seduction: The Use Of Rape Narratives In The Plays Of Aphra Behn, Caitlyn Piccirillo

Theses and Dissertations

The English Restoration’s heightened interest in sexuality promoted the use of rape narratives on the stage. Aphra Behn, the first woman to earn her living as a playwright, used these narratives in her work (specifically in The Rover and The City Heiress) as a means of social critique.

Horizon Of Possibilities: Artists And The City In Postwar Beirut, Tatiana Mouarbes

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis narrates a history of postwar cultural production framed by urban redevelopment in Beirut, Lebanon (1989-Present). Focusing on artists engagements with the city, this thesis demonstrates how artists thought through the legacies of war inflicted upon the beleaguered city of Beirut in order to construct livable futures.

The Possibilities Of The Video Game Exhibition, Elizabeth Legere 2762328

Theses and Dissertations

This paper is an examination of video games as an artistic medium, and of their current presentation in art museums like the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as well as an attempt to come up with better modes of presentation for them within a museum space. Using a general understanding of video game theory and aesthetics, it might be possible to begin to look at solutions to the issues posed by current methods of presentation and interpretation, and to examine whether video games’ complicated aesthetic and artistic importance can be better highlighted by a new mode of display …

The Development Of Theory Of Mind And Inhibitory Processing Among 7-11 Year Old Mexican And Mexican American Children, Daniela Kuri

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the relationships among demographic factors and aspects of social and cognitive development in 130 predominantly bilingual Mexican and Mexican-American 7-to-11-year-old children residing in Mexico and the United States. Measures assessed children’s WMLS-R Picture Vocabulary, inhibitory processing, visual-spatial problem solving, and theory of mind development. Demographic information was obtained from parents. Intercorrelations among age, WMLS-R Picture Vocabulary , inhibitory processing, visual-spatial problem solving, and theory of mind (ToM) revealed that ToM related to inhibitory processing, but not with visual-spatial problem solving skills, after controlling for age. Findings suggest that cultural and other individual factors might play an …

The Mediating Role Of Relational Aggression Between Neuroticism And Couple Attachment And Relationship Quality In Long-Term Committed Relationships, Sarah Annis Eliason

Theses and Dissertations

Much of the literature regarding relational aggression in romantic relationships has focused on the behaviors and outcomes of the actor and victim independently. Additionally, the relationships studied usually cover emerging adult samples, and rarely expand to long-term committed relationships, such as cohabiting or married couples. In this paper I sought to determine if relationally aggressive behaviors in long-term committed relationships over time resulted as a function of individual predictors (e.g. neuroticism), or as a process of couple interactions (e.g. couple attachment); and how these traits directly and indirectly (through relational aggression) influenced relationship quality. An Actor Partner Independence Model (APIM) …

The Perceptual Learning Style Preferences Of Hispanic Students In Higher Education, Catherine Johnston Lui

Theses and Dissertations

This paper addresses the question of whether higher education Hispanic students of different nationalities have different perceptual learning style preferences. Independent samples t-tests findings suggest the country of origin of a Hispanic student's parents has a statistically significant relationship (n=165, p<0.0073) with student's learning style preferences. ANOVA results also identified a statistically significant relationship between SES and group learning style (p<0.004,) and between visual learning style and two factors: age (p<0.011) and family education (p<0.033).

Refugees In Urban Environments: Social, Economic, And Infrastructure Impacts, Garrett L. Jameson

Theses and Dissertations

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has estimated that in 2015 there were 21.3 million refugees worldwide; it is estimated that 1.8 million of these persons were newly displaced during 2015. As refugees leave their country to seek the protection of another nation's government, they generally flow into urban areas. The impact of this flow on cities and on the refugees, themselves, is not fully understood. This study is focused on the impact of government policy decisions on the social, legal, and economic integration of refugees within an urban environment. Investigation into this topic resulted in the development of …

On My Grind: Freestyle Rap Practices In Experimental Creative Writing And Composition Pedagogy, Evan Nave

Theses and Dissertations

My work is always necessarily two-headed. Double-voiced. Call-and-response at once. Paranoid self-talk as dichotomous monologue to move the crowd. Part of this has to do with the deep cuts and scratches in my mind. Recorded and remixed across DNA double helixes. Structurally split. Generationally divided. A style and family history built on breaking down.

Evidence of how ill I am.

And then there’s the matter of skin. The material concerns of cultural cross-fertilization. Itching to plant seeds where the grass is always greener. Color collaborations and appropriations. Writing white/out with black art ink. Distinctions dangerously hidden behind backbeats or shamelessly …

Development And Economic And Social Rights: The Bretton Woods Institutions In Egypt Post-2011, Mahinour El-Badrawi

Theses and Dissertations

Based on the hypothesis that there exists continuing tension between development and economic and social rights (ESR), where the latter end up principally skewed once they enter the development realm, this research explores why fields of development and ESR remain constantly at odds. Using Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice to define both fields and understand the continuous struggles and contradictions between them, this research argues there is a structural bias that leads to the struggle and always ends in favor of economic development targets at the expense of realization of ESR. The research begins by unpacking the development and ESR …

The Effect Of The Development And Restoration Projects On The Culture Of Marsh Arabs, Habiba Ramadan

Theses and Dissertations

In 1991, the Marsh Arabs of Iraq revolted against the government of Saddam Hussein. Hussein responded by undertaking self-declared development projects in the Marshlands, draining the region of water. Without the ability to practice traditional economic and social activities, which relied on their proximate environment, the majority of the Marsh Arab community was displaced. The project resulted in the desertification of an area nearly the size of the Aral Sea, what archeologists have described as environmental genocide. In 2003, the US government embarked on a restoration program to divert water back to the marshlands and improve the available social services …

Visual Rhetoric And Cinemas Of The Non-Western World: Mapping Cultural Identity In Gendered Images From Egyptian And Emirati Popular Film, Montiana Bahgat Ashour

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative paper explores the gendered concept of cultural identity in non-Western popular film, through a synthesized lens of visual rhetoric and cultural studies. The term non-Western is of limited presence in film scholarship, and existing literature on popular film from non-Western geographies, is primarily interested in reading a national definition of identity through the non-Western cinematic lens. Building towards an inductive process of theory building, qualitative features of interest and intensity determine the paper's purposive selection of its two film cases, which become cinematic grounds for the exploration of a cultural dimension of identity: Molasses (Êswid, 2010); Egypt, and …