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Brief Exposure To Images Of Friends Via Social Media Leads To Higher Momentary Risk For Eating Psychopathology Among College Women Who Internalize The Thin Ideal, Erin Elizabeth Murtha-Berg

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the causal effects of brief exposure to images of friends via social media on state body image satisfaction and momentary desires to engage in weight-loss behaviors among college women and the moderating influence of trait thin-ideal internalization, appearance comparison, body satisfaction, and eating psychopathology on these effects. This was a 2-phase study. Participants (N=183) completed baseline measures online before attending a laboratory appointment. During the laboratory appointment, participants completed an exercise to identify the one similar-aged, female Facebook friend with whom they engaged in the most photo-related activity recently. Participants completed measures of state body image satisfaction …

Chinese International Students In A Northwest University: Investigating Cultural Academic Learning And Teaching Preferences, Michael L. Bevis

Theses and Dissertations

As Chinese international students on American university campuses continue to rise, the importance of these institutions to accommodate the students in adapting to a different academic culture has become more critical. On a public, coeducational research university located in the Pacific Northwest, a concurrent triangulated mixed method research design was implemented to investigate cultural factors with preferred learning and teaching styles of Chinese international students along with what corroborative descriptions these students provide as effective learning experiences in American college classrooms.

The study brought attention to Chinese international students’ differing cultural values from the previous literature understanding, it supported previous …

Meaning-Making, Transcendent Well-Being, And Collective Well-Being Among First, One-And-A-Half, And Second-Generation Immigrants Of Non-European Descent, Jennifer F. Esfandi

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined differences in meaning making and collective and transcendent well-being among first, one-and-a-half, and second generation immigrants to the United States. Given the unique challenges, stressors, and acculturation tasks each generation faces, this study aimed to broaden the scope of current research that often disregards nuances of the immigration experience to contribute to our understanding of generational differences in well-being and meaning making processes. A trend was identified in which first and second-generation immigrants to the United States felt a greater sense of national belonging; whereas one-and-a-half generation immigrants felt less well-being associated with national context. First-generation immigrants …

Reclaiming Our Asian American/Pacific Islander Identity For Social Justice And Empowerment (Raise): An Empowerment Circle For East Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, And Pacific Islander College-Aged Women, Courtney Shen

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation outlines the literature and methods used to create the Women’s RAISE Circle, a culturally-specific intervention for Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) women in a university or college setting. The term Asian American/Pacific Islander women is used to indicate inclusivity of women from all of the AAPI ethnic communities. The acronym RAISE represents the rationale and purpose of the circle: “Reclaiming our Asian American/Pacific Islander Identity for Social justice and Empowerment.” Thus, the RAISE Circle provides a space for AAPI women to voice their concerns related to experiences of racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression. Included activities also seek …

Assessing The Well-Being Koreans And Korean Americans: Psychometric Validation Study For A Multidimensional Assessment Of Well-Being, Esther Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Current measures of well-being have most commonly been developed to measure well-being in a manner consistent with how it is conceptualized in individualistic, Western cultures. The Multidimensional Well-Being Assessment (MWA) was developed based on the multidimensional contextual model of well-being and is intentionally culturally inclusive. A non-random sample of 259 Koreans and Korean Americans participated in a study to examine the psychometric properties of the MWA. In addition, a number of demographic variables (e.g., gender, age, immigration status, and financial status) were evaluated to explore correlates of well-being. The MWA demonstrated robust internal consistency as well as strong validity with …

Investigation Of The Multidimensional Well-Being Assessment (Mwa) In A Sample Of African Americans, Gera Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Existing models and measures of well-being tend to be based on an individualistic, western worldview. In addition, when cross-cultural comparisons are made, diverse cultural groups within the same national border are typically not examined. The Multidimensional Well-Being Assessment (MWA) was developed because of the absence of a culturally relevant measure to assess the well-being of those whose worldview is more consistent with collectivism. Although much attention has been given to detrimental forces in the lives of African Americans, less consideration has been given to assessing well-being in this population. In this study, a nonrandom sample was used to examine the …

Patterns Of Existence: An Analysis Of The Personal Inspirations, Historical Influences, And Motivations, Julianna M. Wells

Theses and Dissertations

For my Honors Alternative to Thesis Project, I proposed to create a solo exhibition of my artwork and research the inspiration behind my paintings. I found that my influences range from the artists of the Dutch Baroque Period to the American Realist artists such as Andrew Wyeth, Winslow Homer, and Edward Hopper. I explore these ideas because I am fascinated with the mysteries of the natural world. My paintings are contemplations on personal ephemeral moments I experience. My exhibition, paper, and talk highlight the parts of my background that have influenced my artwork, my artist statement, the research I have …

Synergism Of Quercetin And Sodium Butyrate For Controlling Growth Of Glioblastoma, Matthew Alan Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), or simply glioblastoma, is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor, with a prevalence of approximately 20,000 new cases per year in the United States and a 3-year survival rate of just 2%. Quercetin (QCT) is a dietary flavonoid that can be found in common foods such as red kidney beans, cilantro, and onions. Despite little evidence showing any benefits through dietary intake of QCT, various studies show its promising anti-cancer results in vitro. In glioblastoma, QCT is able to cause significant amounts of apoptosis through a variety of mechanisms. These include activation of caspase-9 and …

Rebirth Of The House Museum: Commemorating Reconstruction At The Woodrow Wilson Family Home, Jennifer Whitmer Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

Rebirth of a House Museum traces the transformation of the Woodrow Wilson Family Home (WWFH) in Columbia, South Carolina from an eighty year-old presidential shrine to the nation’s first museum of Reconstruction. A semi-guided house tour with limited objects and grounded in a specific time and place modernized an outdated historic house museum (HHM). The house became the primary artifact, supported by a panel exhibit and five original Wilson family objects. Critical to the exhibit’s success were the docents, who also steer this manuscript via their oral histories and fill a void in public history literature. Like Reconstruction, the reinterpretation …

The Perceptions Of Students On A Cooperative, Gamebased Learning Latin Curriculum: An Action Research Study, Jason Dean Blackburn

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study describes the impact of Operation LAPIS, a cooperative gamebased Latin 1 curriculum, upon student perceptions in a large suburban high school in South Carolina. The game served as an introduction to Latin grammar, vocabulary, and the daily life of a Roman teenager for 15 Latin 1 students who participated in the study. Syntax, vocabulary acquisition, and cultural studies are essential standards-based elements of learning Latin. Students were surveyed regarding their opinions on the game’s approach to grammar, vocabulary, Roman daily life, and game-based learning in general. These surveys produced a quantitative data set that allowed the …

Evaluation Of The Regional Drug Deposition Of Nasal Delivery Devices Using In Vitro Realistic Nasal Models, Mandana Azimi

Theses and Dissertations

The overall objectives of this research project were i) to develop and evaluate methods of characterizing nasal spray products using realistic nasal airway models as more clinically relevant in vitro tools and ii) to develop and evaluate a novel high-efficiency antibiotic nanoparticle dry powder formulation and delivery device. Two physically realistic nasal airway models were used to assess the effects of patient-use experimental conditions, nasal airway geometry and formulation / device properties on the delivery efficiency of nasal spray products. There was a large variability in drug delivery to the middle passages ranging from 17 – 57 % and 47 …

Assessing Acquiescence In Surveys Using Positively And Negatively Worded Questions, Amy C. Hutton

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of acquiescence on both positively and negatively worded questions, both when unidimensionality was assumed and when it was not. To accomplish this, undergraduate student responses to a previously validated survey of student engagement were used to compare several models of acquiescence, using a priori goodness-offit statistics as evidence for model fit, in order to develop a model that adequately accounted for acquiescence bias. Using a true experimental design, undergraduate students from a variety of classes at a large, urban university were randomly assigned to one of three versions of the …

Distant Electric Vision: Cultural Representations Of Television From “Edison’S Telephonoscope” To The Electronic Screen, Ivy Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

Do inventions that exist only on paper have less credibility than functional technologies? How has the meaning and significance of audiovisual media and technology changed over time? This dissertation examines historiography and methodology for media history, arguing for an interdisciplinary approach. It addresses methodological issues in media history—media in transition, media archaeology, and film history—through an examination of television’s speculative era. It tackles moving-image history through an historical investigation of Victorian and Machine age “television”.

Because the concept and terminology of “television” changed dramatically during this period, I use the phrases “distant electric vision” and “seeing by electricity,” to define …

Exploring The Role Of Culture In Online Searching Behavior From A Cognitive Perspective, Sara Chizari

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates differences in Web search behavior from a “cultural cognition” perspective, which was introduced by Nisbett and Norenzayan (2002). To explore the impact of culture and thinking styles on searching behavior is the objective. The overarching hypothesis is that there are cultural differences in cognitive styles and that these differences may lead into different searching behaviors. The findings help search engine designers provide an adaptive navigation support to users from different cultural backgrounds and cognitive styles. The fundamental research question underpinning this research becomes what are the relationships between users’ cognitive styles and cultural background, and their Web …

El Lugar De La Memoria, Entre La Verdad Y La Emoción: Re-Lectura Del Exilio Español De 1939, Jinmei Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Drawing on the testimonial character of the memory of Spanish exile of 1939, this project contributes to the study of cultural memory, in dialogue with other scholars who examine memory in contemporary works. It focuses on the intersection of exile and memory, and demonstrates that cultural memory means a connection between collective and individual memories. The three primary works examined in this project are conceived before, during and after each author’s exile respectively, thus, they together give a comprehensive view of the massive exile of 1939: Ramón J. Sender’s El lugar de un hombre (1939), Eulalio Ferrer Rodríguez’s Entre alambradas: …

Circling The Reality Of Public Institutions Anchoring Gentrification: An E-Delphi Study Of Information, Culture, And Community Stakeholders Voicing The Way Forward In Detroit, Michigan, Celeste L. Welch

Theses and Dissertations

Information, culture, and memory centers increasingly anchor urban redevelopment projects in historically marginalized communities challenged with contemporary social and economic disparities. This dissertation situated libraries, archives, and museums within a socio-cultural context and examined the role of cultural heritage institutions in gentrification. Librarians, archivists, curators, and community advocates in Detroit, Michigan shared their viewpoints and experiences of gentrification in a legacy city. Using a modified Delphi process, the e-Delphi panel explored the need for assessing policy, service delivery, and programming in a city of color at-risk to gentrification-induced displacement.

This mixed research study used a concurrent triangulation design. A panel …

Finding Voice, The Body Speaks: Original Work And Counter-Hegemonic Performance And Practice, Matthew Paul Thornton

Theses and Dissertations

Graduate study in theatre has allowed me to understand my work as an artist and educator from a critical academic perspective. I have researched Butoh as a model for original work that employs multiculturalism against hegemonic control of personal identity. From my own training experience, I am recognizing Capoeira, Contact Improvisation, and Devising processes (co-creation or collaborative creative process in dance) as counter-hegemonic forms and techniques that share a physical/philosophical emphasis on communal engagement, improvisation, circularity and repetition. Looking at them together provides points of intersection for me to examine them as an artist, while posing questions for cross-cultural investigations. …

Designing For Divorce: New Rituls And Artifacts For An Evolving World, Yang Soon Ju Ms.

Theses and Dissertations

Our interactions with objects build cultural codes, reflecting lifestyles, values, and identities beyond functional expectations. With open connectivity in the contemporary consumer environments, we have access to homogenized material cultures not only for daily activities but also for ceremonies and rituals to mark important events, such as birth, marriage, and death. What will happen to our cultural codes and diverse traditions when various cultural norms meet, exchange, clash, hybridize, and evolve?

In this research, globalized material cultures were investigated to discover metaphoric comparisons, to formulate conceptual frameworks, and to develop informed design, which can address evolving cultural conditions appropriately, in …

Yi, Observational Documentary Aesthetics, And The Identity Politics Of Transcultural Migrancy, Jiacheng Xu 4159187

Theses and Dissertations

There is a moment in Edward Yang’s acclaimed film Yi Yi (2000) in which a young boy in a conversation with his father observes that he cannot see what his father sees and that his father cannot see what he sees, prompting two questions: “How can I know what you see?” and “Can we only know half of the truth?” Unable to provide adequate answers, his father instead offers his son a camera. Later in the film, the same boy presents his uncle with a picture he took of the back of his head. When asked why, the boy responds …

Ineffable: Latency In Symbolic Languages, Sirah Yoo

Theses and Dissertations

The design process demands comprehensive knowledge of visual signs and symbols with a focus on visual literacy; it is related to visual syntax, semantics, and the pragmatics of contexts. My work is an interdisciplinary investigation into how designers integrate polysemantic signs into their design process for particular and highly individualized audiences. By analyzing the role of signs in specific contexts across the spectrum of arts, society, literature, and semiotics, a designer's understanding of the cyclical nature of interpretation and reinterpretation in complex environments creates an avenue for cultivating a new schema that provides further levels of interpretations and different access …

Las Metamorfosis De Jordi Grau. Cine, Crítica Social Y Transformación Cultural En España (1962-1976), Hugo Pascual Bordón

Theses and Dissertations

This project focuses on the cultural transformation taking place in Spain in the period between 1962 and 1976, examined through the works of filmmaker Jordi Grau (Barcelona, 1930). This research invites the opportunity to assemble a cultural study that includes subjects such as national identity, realist film aesthetics, avant-garde films, and horror films. In addition, it observes some of Grau’s work in conjunction with gender studies and pop culture.

The thesis of this project is that Jordi Grau directed films encompassing different genres in a short period of time; all while assuming and adapting to the changes of his sociopolitical …

Walking In Beauty: Responsive And Responsible Health And Healing Among Virginia American Indian People, Amy J. Prorock-Ernest

Theses and Dissertations

Little is systematically known about the collective health and well-being of Virginia American Indian people. This study sought to explore the meaning of health and healing among Virginia American Indian people in the context of a reservation-based, non-federally funded health clinic. Using an emergent approach to qualitative research grounded in a constructivist inquiry paradigm and guided by Indigenous research principles, a total of 24 in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 American Indian service-users of the Clinic. Through an inductive thematic analysis of participant stories, a framework for understanding responsive and responsible health and healing was derived. The framework includes …

Negotiating Desire: Resisting, Reimagining And Reinscribing Normalized Sexuality And Gender In Fan Fiction, Charity A. Fowler

Theses and Dissertations

Fan studies has examined how fan fiction resists heteronormativity by challenging depictions of gender and sexuality, but to date, this inquiry has focused disproportionately on slash, to the exclusion of other genres of fan fiction. Additionally, scholars disagree about slash’s subversive effects by setting up a seemingly stable dichotomy—subversive vs. misogynistic—where one does not necessarily exist.

In this project, I examine multiple genres of fan fiction—namely, slash arising from bromances; femslash from female friendships; incestuous fan fiction from dysfunctional familial relationships; and polyamorous fics. I chose fics from four televisions shows—NBC’s Revolution, MTV’s Teen Wolf, the CW’s The …

The Justification Of Prejudice Toward Childfree Women, Annalucia Bays

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research suggests that women without children are perceived negatively by others and experience adverse outcomes in various settings. This study investigated psychosocial justifications of prejudice toward childfree women. Participants (N = 891) completed measures of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), the internal (IMS-S) and external (EMS-S) motivations to respond without sexism, and prejudice toward childfree women (i.e., perceived disadvantages of being childfree, evaluations of childfree women, and perceptions of childfree women’s warmth). Most participants also completed one or more justification measures of hostile sexism (HS), benevolent sexism (BS), gender-specific system justification (GSSJ), and femininity ideology. Results indicated that greater RWA …

Lewis Baltz: Discovering Park City, Susan H. West

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the contextual framework of Lewis Baltz’s portfolio Park City, demonstrating that he was operating in an artistic space informed by both predecessors in the field of photography and responsiveness to the latest advances in art by his contemporaries, particularly in Minimalism and Land Art.

Mental Illness In Starkville, Ms: A Cultural Consensus Analysis Of The Public Conceptions Of Mental Illness, Curtis Andrew Kennett

Theses and Dissertations

Mental illness is a complex phenomenon that is social and psychological as well as biological. But since the creation of the DSM-III in the 1980s, the landscape of mental health research and treatment in the United States has been heavily influenced by the biomedical model. The thoughts and beliefs of the lay public about mental illness are often ignored despite the push for greater cultural understanding among biomedical professionals. This disconnect, coupled with the poor mental health infrastructure, has left Mississippi with an inadequate ability to help Mississippians address mental illness. This research uses cognitive anthropological methods and biocultural theory …

An Examination Of How Ratings Of Airlines Are Effected By Different Types Of Information: A Mediation Analysis, Abdullah Selim Ozyurek

Theses and Dissertations

Many dynamics directly or indirectly influence the decision-making process. An individual’s demographic features, such as gender, country of origin, and emotions are some of the dynamics. In the aviation domain, air passengers purchase their air travel tickets under those dynamics. The purpose of this study was to determine if the airline type, gender of participants, and participants’ country of origin had an effect on ratings of an individual’s perception of safety and willingness to fly, and which emotions had a mediating effect on this relationship. The study included Lufthansa Airlines and Turkish Airlines from Europe. The affect was the participants’ …

Correlates Of The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (Mmpi-2-Rf) Scores For Asian Indian College Students, Saloni Taneja

Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate empirical correlates of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) for Asian Indian college students using the NEO Five Factor Inventory-3, College Maladjustment Scales and Measures of Psychosocial Development. The study utilized an Asian Indian college student sample (N=48) from a private university in Florida. Pearson Product Moment correlations were computed to establish correlates of the MMPI-2-RF scale scores. Overall, a large number of significant correlates with large effect sizes were found across the three measures. Some correlates found in the study provided an expansion for the interpretation of the MMPI-2-RF scales for Asian …

The Heart Of The Home: Developing The Modern Kitchen In Little Rock's Boyle House, Danielle T. Butler

Theses and Dissertations

In 1922, kitchens in Arkansas looked quite a bit different than they do today. In this same vein, Arkansas kitchens were very different from other contemporary examples on the East coast that have been studied as an archetype for kitchen development nationwide. This project was designed to serve as a primary example of the changes in kitchens in Arkansas. Entitled The Heart of the Home, the project consisted of a tour that featured the kitchen of the Boyle House at 2020 Arch Street. The tour focused on the changes in the Boyle House kitchen from the construction of the home …

Braving Shame: The Rhetoric Of Bravery In Contemporary Women's Memoir, Debra Gayle Parker

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation interrogates the rhetoric of bravery as a culturally-infused way of hearing certain kinds of personal narratives. As a cultural rhetoric, “bravery” has deep roots in masculine militaristic ideology in which cowardice, courage, and shame are conceptually linked to a sense of duty. The memoir industry represents one environment that archives what is valued as brave writing. As rhetoric precariously at work in the memoir industry, this dissertation investigates the cultural assumptions that drive literary bravery as it is used to assess contemporary memoirs, particularly memoirs written by women. Braving Shame invokes a new brand of bravery—one that de-emphasizes …