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Men, Women And Witchcraft: The Feminist Reclamation Of The Witch In The Modern Horror Film, Brian Joseph Hadsell Aug 2020

Men, Women And Witchcraft: The Feminist Reclamation Of The Witch In The Modern Horror Film, Brian Joseph Hadsell

Theses and Dissertations

The witch as a figure possesses a powerful and enduring legacy in Euro-American culture; she is both a victim of patriarchal persecution and the natural enemy of a deeply-gendered society. Recent horror films that employ the witch, however, have generally done so in the form of reclaimed feminist icon: a violently retributive figure avenging the wrongs done to women both past and present. The purpose of this research is to provide insight about our acutely gendered society and culture in the times during and preceding the #MeToo movement through a semiological analysis of three recent horror films that center on …


Relationship Of Posterior Intracranial Venous Structures In Homo Sapiens And Handedness, Brianne Finley Aug 2020

Relationship Of Posterior Intracranial Venous Structures In Homo Sapiens And Handedness, Brianne Finley

Theses and Dissertations

The transverse sinus spans the endocranial surface of the occipital bone and ultimately transmits deoxygenated blood to the sigmoid sinus and jugular vein en route to the heart. This paired sinus tends to be more defined on either the left or right side in human crania. Left and right dominance, or the use of one side of the body more than the other, leaves traces on the human skeleton. Methods to determine handedness upon examination of various elements of the human skeleton mostly focus on the use of the extremities, while little research exists examining the skull for evidence of …


Predicting Collaboration: Risk, Power, And Dependence In The Gulf Of Maine, Derek A. Katznelson Aug 2020

Predicting Collaboration: Risk, Power, And Dependence In The Gulf Of Maine, Derek A. Katznelson

Theses and Dissertations

Collaboration among natural resource organizations and users is touted by researchers as an effective approach to managing common pool resources. To understand how collaboration works, previous studies in organizational theory have identified three variables: power, dependence, and risk. Relationships between actors can be represented by these qualifications of resources or threats and may predict if those relationships are in conflict or asymmetric in power. In this study, the Gulf of Maine transboundary fishery management network relied upon a dyadic influenced survey to quantitatively capture the perception of communication ties between organizations. Four kinds of dependence and three types of risk …


Two Sides Of The Same Coin: Essays Investigating The Founder And Backer Dynamics Of Crowdfunding, Ruben Ceballos Aug 2020

Two Sides Of The Same Coin: Essays Investigating The Founder And Backer Dynamics Of Crowdfunding, Ruben Ceballos

Theses and Dissertations

Crowdfunding provides the opportunity for entrepreneurs to acquire capital for their projects by utilizing a platform that allows the masses to provide funds towards the completion of the project. Thus, it can be looked at as two sides of the same coin. On one side you have the entrepreneurs seeking the funds otherwise known as founders, and on the other are those that provide the funds also known as backers. The purpose of this study is to investigate what factors lead to founders successfully attaining their funding, what motivates backers to support the projects, and whether the founders can deliver …


Analysis Of The Role Of Dnaa Recognition Site Position In Directing Assembly Of The Pre-Replicative Complex In Escherichia Coli, Christopher Aaron Czerwonka Aug 2020

Analysis Of The Role Of Dnaa Recognition Site Position In Directing Assembly Of The Pre-Replicative Complex In Escherichia Coli, Christopher Aaron Czerwonka

Theses and Dissertations

Prior to initiating new rounds of DNA replication, all cells assemble pre-replicative complexes (pre-RC) consisting of initiator proteins and regions of DNA termed origins of replication. In the bacterial model system, E. coli, multiple copies of the initiator protein, DnaA,assemble into a complex with the unique chromosomal replication origin, oriC, to produce a pre-RC that unwinds the DNA helix, preparing the origin for the new replication forks. Nine base pair (bp) low affinity DnaA recognition sites are distinctly arrayed in each half of oriC and both arrays are bounded by high affinity recognition sites. Although it is known that DnaA …


Airline Brand Experience Passengers’ Perceptions Of The Big Three Carriers In The United States, Sarinthree Udchachone Aug 2020

Airline Brand Experience Passengers’ Perceptions Of The Big Three Carriers In The United States, Sarinthree Udchachone

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to observe passengers’ perceptions about brand experience research in the airline industry by applying a transcendental or descriptive phenomenological methodology designed to evaluate interview transcriptions and organize derived knowledge into defined themes. The NVivo program was utilized to analyze data from textual transcriptions. The experiences of passengers of the Big Three United States legacy carriers, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, were described. The participants comprised three couples and seven individuals, all frequent-flyer members of the Big Three carriers and their partnering global airline alliances. The researcher-constructed instrument was used for …


The Utilization Of Artificial Intelligence In Online Advertising And Its Perceived Effectiveness, Nouran Tahoun Jul 2020

The Utilization Of Artificial Intelligence In Online Advertising And Its Perceived Effectiveness, Nouran Tahoun

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the utilization of Artificial Intelligence in online advertising process and the impact of using AI each stage in that process with the overall perceived effectiveness. It also provides a better understanding of the magnitude of using AI in the four stages of advertising online: namely consumer insights, ad creation, media planning and buying, and finally ad evaluation. Process model of AI utilization in online advertising is the conceptual model of the study, which is developed from the previous literature. A triangulation methodology is implemented to enhance the credibility of the research study and leads to a more …


Determination Of The Summer Origins Of American Kestrels ( Falco Sparverius ) Wintering In Northern And Central Illinois, Taylor P. Joray Jul 2020

Determination Of The Summer Origins Of American Kestrels ( Falco Sparverius ) Wintering In Northern And Central Illinois, Taylor P. Joray

Theses and Dissertations

The seasonal and interannual movements of the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) are not fully understood. Although one of the most widespread and abundant raptors found in North America, information on where many populations summer and overwinter is lacking. We used stable hydrogen isotope values obtained from feathers (δ2Hf) of known origin to create age-specific calibration functions for juvenile and adult American Kestrels. We then used these calibration functions to determine the most likely summer origins of the American Kestrels that wintered in northern and central Illinois during 2015-16, classified these individuals as year-round residents or wintering migrants, and validated these …


Political Violence In Bangladesh: Explaining The Role Of State, Zunaid Almamun Jul 2020

Political Violence In Bangladesh: Explaining The Role Of State, Zunaid Almamun

Theses and Dissertations

Violence has been an integral part of the politics of Bangladesh since after its independence. The government has used the coercive apparatus of the state in order to confront the political opponents and the dissenters. Irrespective of the type of regime and political parties in power, the state always perpetrated violence against its citizens. On the one hand, the government used the law enforcement agencies, and the specialists of violence relied on coercion against the citizens, on the other hand, various groups appeared as the affiliates of the government in perpetrating violence. However, the nature of violence changed over time, …


“When Two Elephants Fight, It’S The Ground That Suffers ”: A Neo- Marxist Rhetorical Deconstruction Of The United States’ Rhetoric Of Power In Resistance To United Nations Treaties, Divine Narkotey Aboagye Jul 2020

“When Two Elephants Fight, It’S The Ground That Suffers ”: A Neo- Marxist Rhetorical Deconstruction Of The United States’ Rhetoric Of Power In Resistance To United Nations Treaties, Divine Narkotey Aboagye

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I present a Gramscian rhetorical reading of American antagonism to the International Criminal Court, a crucial agency of the UN. I probed the rhetoric of power in resistance concerning the discourse of international treaties by showing how both the United States and the United Nations have become global hegemons. From the foregoing, I uncover American resistance to the constitutive force of United Nations treaties by paying attention to post-Cold War American presidents. By using a neo-Marxist lens and analyzing a key foreign policy accord – the International Criminal Court – that spans the presidencies of Clinton, Bush, …


By Your Powers Combined: Heroic Solutions To Climate Catastrophes In The Fifth Season, Avengers: Infinity War, And Horizon: Zero Daw N, Kematat Matthew Medrala Jul 2020

By Your Powers Combined: Heroic Solutions To Climate Catastrophes In The Fifth Season, Avengers: Infinity War, And Horizon: Zero Daw N, Kematat Matthew Medrala

Theses and Dissertations

Popular entertainment has become concerned with addressing issues of climate catastrophe in order to reflect the real concerns of its audience. Because these media narratives are produced by wealthy institutions that reach millions of people, it is vital to understand what these stories say about the causes of existential crises and their presented solutions. This thesis applies an ecocritical approach informed by environmental justice theorists and Marxist theory in order to analyze what a contemporary popular film, videogame, and novel have to say about addressing an oncoming ecological crisis. This analysis reveals that mass death among the disempowered is considered …


As Good As Woke? : Mutuality And Third Spaces In A Guatemalan Volunteer Tourism Organization, Hannah Gdalman Jul 2020

As Good As Woke? : Mutuality And Third Spaces In A Guatemalan Volunteer Tourism Organization, Hannah Gdalman

Theses and Dissertations

It is estimated that as many as 10 million individuals participate in international volunteering projects annually (McGehee, 2014). Since its rise in the late nineties and early aughts, voluntourism has drawn the attention of academic and non-academic audiences alike, who have warned of the perils of exploitation, commodification, and white saviorism. This study conducts an issue-focused analysis to examine the extent to which the voluntourism experience has evolved into one of mutuality rather than cultural hegemony. Sixteen semi-structured interviews and participant observation were conducted at a longstanding Guatemalan voluntourism site. Wearing & Wearing’s (2006) Third Space interactive cultural tourism framework …


Perceptions Of A Small Midwestern Food Cooperative: A Case Study, Rebecca Forsythe Jul 2020

Perceptions Of A Small Midwestern Food Cooperative: A Case Study, Rebecca Forsythe

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to illuminate how individuals form perceptions of cooperatives, specifically of Green Top Grocery, a cooperative located in Bloomington Illinois, using the Bourdieu-sian habitus and notions of capital as a frame. Green Top Grocery suffers from fiscal instability since they opened in 2017. They also struggle to gain support of lower income individuals, a key demographic they sought to help since their inception based on their stated values. By conducting qualitative interviews of three sample groups: Green Top Grocery board members and leadership, local food access experts, and West Bloomington residents, and non-participant observations, this …


Status Of Social Studies Within One Georgia School District, Tonya Fields Pinckley Jul 2020

Status Of Social Studies Within One Georgia School District, Tonya Fields Pinckley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this causal-comparative research was to examine whether differences exist between the time allotted for delivering content, the time allotted for lesson planning, the time allotted for student assessment, instructional perceptions regarding mandated testing, perceptions regarding pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), level of ease of planning, level of understanding of Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE), level of understanding of the teaching-assessment cycle, and usage of the system provided pacing guides within public elementary schools in one Georgia school district across the content areas of ELA/reading, mathematics, science, and social studies. The research also examined the differences in instructional strategies …


Campbell’S Chicken Noodle Soup™ And Saltine Crackers: A Milpero’S Autoethnographic Study Of Struggle And Success In Life And In Education, Ernesto Cantu Jul 2020

Campbell’S Chicken Noodle Soup™ And Saltine Crackers: A Milpero’S Autoethnographic Study Of Struggle And Success In Life And In Education, Ernesto Cantu

Theses and Dissertations

The state of Texas has close to 3,000 colonias, with most of them found along the Texas/Mexico border (“Colonias in Texas,” n.d.) and the most citizens of any state living in colonias. I grew up in a colonia in South Texas called Las Milpas, located in Pharr, Texas. Colonia children are often stigmatized and marginalized. This autoethnographic study is a look into my life as an educator and the social and cultural factors that have contributed to my survival and success. As a child, I lost both my mother and father. I was fortunate that my oldest …


Building Food Democracy In The Rio Grande Valley: Exploring The Relationship Between Civic Agriculture And Civic Engagement, Allison P. Kaika Jul 2020

Building Food Democracy In The Rio Grande Valley: Exploring The Relationship Between Civic Agriculture And Civic Engagement, Allison P. Kaika

Theses and Dissertations

Civic engagement is an important indicator of social capital in a community. The foundation of a strong democracy is dependent on citizens willingness and ability to engage. To further understand these drivers of social network building, this study utilizes the theory of civic agriculture to measure the impact of food procurement systems on civic engagement. A survey of over 400 residents in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas measures how involvement in local food systems impacts a participants’ contribution to and perception of his or her community, while considering important third factor variables that also influence food procurement …


Place-Making Through Performance: Spoken Word Poetry And The Reclamation Of “Chocolate City”, Tiffany Marquise Jones Jul 2020

Place-Making Through Performance: Spoken Word Poetry And The Reclamation Of “Chocolate City”, Tiffany Marquise Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Predominantly situated in an area formerly known as Black Broadway, my research is based on long-term immersion in the District’s network of Spoken Word poetry and poets. Specifically, I focus on two key sites that offer contrasting depictions of open mic culture: Busboys and Poets, a D.C.-based chain located in several well-known neighborhoods undergoing gentrification, and SpitDat D.C., a grassroots (and often displaced) movement known as the area’s longest running open mic series. At these venues, many artists – especially native and long-term residents of the area – illustrate the Black experience along with a fascinating correlation between place, performer, …


Temporal Differences In The Emission And Atmospheric Dispersion Of Particulate Matter From Waste And Drinking Water Treatment Facilities, Abdulmalik Alsaif Jul 2020

Temporal Differences In The Emission And Atmospheric Dispersion Of Particulate Matter From Waste And Drinking Water Treatment Facilities, Abdulmalik Alsaif

Theses and Dissertations

Many countries encounter a growing shortage of water, and the reuse of treated or untreated wastewater is their main source. Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) are mainly designed to remove organic nutrients, large solids, and chemical substances. There are some possible issues regarding WWTPs that are close to residential areas around the world. One of the environmental effects from WWTP that might cause air pollution would be the emission of toxic chemical gases and microorganisms via aerosols that transport bacteria as well as viruses and fungal spores which can be harmful to human health. Therefore, particulate matters (PM) and metrological parameters …


Immigrant Belonging In Belgium: Laws, Localities, And Living Together, Samuel P. Nielson Jul 2020

Immigrant Belonging In Belgium: Laws, Localities, And Living Together, Samuel P. Nielson

Theses and Dissertations

Nationalism is rising in Europe and the world. Much of it responds to massive migration, with nationalistic Europeans vocalizing their belief that immigrants do not “belong” in their countries. Many states respond to this influx of people and rising antiimmigrant sentiment by creating laws demanding immigrant “integration.” Yet a clear understanding of what defines “integration” remains elusive. So too does an understanding of how laws aimed at immigrant integration influence relationships between immigrants and local citizens, institutions, and spaces. This research addresses both of these points in Belgium, a politically and culturally fractured country that serves as a microcosm of …


Spatio-Temporal Modeling Of Earthquake Recovery, Sahar Derakhshan Jul 2020

Spatio-Temporal Modeling Of Earthquake Recovery, Sahar Derakhshan

Theses and Dissertations

The recovery process after a major disaster or disruption, is impacted by the inequality of risk prior to and post event. In the past decades there has been few efforts to model the recovery process and the focus is mainly on staged models (i.e. emergency, restoration, and reconstruction). The overarching research question asks how a non-stage-like model could apply to the recovery process. This study poses three broad questions: 1) what are the indicators suitable for monitoring the recovery process; 2) what are the driving factors of differential recovery trends; and 3) what are the predicted development trajectories for communities …


African, Know Thyself: Hip-Hop Pedagogy, Epistemic Disobedience, And Youth Engagement In West Africa, Noella Binda Niati Jul 2020

African, Know Thyself: Hip-Hop Pedagogy, Epistemic Disobedience, And Youth Engagement In West Africa, Noella Binda Niati

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation was a 23-month comparative case study of Y’en a Marre, a civic organizing movement based in Dakar, Senegal and FESCI, a student organization in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. This study investigates the ways in which these organizations view Hip-Hop and its pedagogical utility as a means to encourage socialization, promote authenticity, and foster leadership. Through Hip-Hop, young people are drawn to a cultural expression that reflects the social, economic, and political realities of their lives speaking to them in a language and manner they understand. This is critical given sub- Saharan Africa’s tremendous youth population and their potential impact …


The Beast And The Revival Of Rome: Mussolini And Rome In The Premillennial Imagination, Jon Stamm Jun 2020

The Beast And The Revival Of Rome: Mussolini And Rome In The Premillennial Imagination, Jon Stamm

Theses and Dissertations

Premillennial dispensationalism became immensely influential among American Protestants who saw themselves as defenders of orthodoxy. As theological conflict heated up in the early 20th century, dispensationalism’s unique eschatology became one of the characteristic features of the various strands of “fundamentalists” who fought against modernism and the perceived compromises of mainline Protestantism. Their embrace of the dispensationalist view of history and Biblical prophecy had a significant effect on how they interpreted world events and how they lived out their faith. These fundamentalists established patterns of interpretation that in the second half of the 20th century would fuel the emergence of a …


Analysis Of Performance Measures Of Traffic Incident Management In Utah, Mitchell Gregory Hadfield Jun 2020

Analysis Of Performance Measures Of Traffic Incident Management In Utah, Mitchell Gregory Hadfield

Theses and Dissertations

In 2009 the Federal Highway Administration published a report regarding a Focus States Initiative that had been conducted with 11 states to discuss the development of national Traffic Incident Management (TIM) standards. Performance measures were defined, and a national TIM dashboard created, but very little data has been added to the dashboard since. In this research study, performance measures of the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) TIM program were analyzed. Data availability was first assessed to determine whether these performance measures could be calculated. It was determined that crash response data available from the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) could be …


Does Disassociation From The Majority Religious Affiliation Affect Community Desirability?, Alex Nicholas Andre Jun 2020

Does Disassociation From The Majority Religious Affiliation Affect Community Desirability?, Alex Nicholas Andre

Theses and Dissertations

How do predominantly religious rural communities influence members who are not associated with the dominant religion? Does disassociation with the majority religious affiliation impact community desirability? Current community literature has shown that religious affiliation identification can influence community sentiment (Jennings and Krannich 2013; Kan and Kim 1981; Stinner, Van Loon, Chung, and Byun 1990; Mattarita-Cascante, Stedman, and Luloff 2010) while other studies suggest the possibility of either mixed or inconclusive results (Adams 1992; Andrews 2011; Flagg and Painter II 2019; Reitz, Banerjee, Phan, and Thompson 2009). Using data from the Rural Utah Community Study in 2017, the current study will …


Dyslexia Beyond The Word: An Ecological Study Of Specific Reading Disorder, Benjamin T. Carter Jun 2020

Dyslexia Beyond The Word: An Ecological Study Of Specific Reading Disorder, Benjamin T. Carter

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation discusses the effects of dyslexia on reading behavior and cognition. It does so by first outlining the overall incidence of dyslexia, providing current definitions, giving a history of scientific inquiry and discussing relevant contemporary research. Thirteen different analyses are then discussed (ten a priori and three post-hoc). Individuals with dyslexia were found to have increased fixation duration, first run dwell time, total dwell time, and refixation probability. The dyslexia group was also highly sensitive to lexical predictability. Within the reading network, the BOLD response was depressed in dyslexia during reading in the following regions: the left medial and …


A Religious Space As A Place For Migrants In Cairo, Alexsa Macdowall May 2020

A Religious Space As A Place For Migrants In Cairo, Alexsa Macdowall

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study is an international, English speaking Anglican congregation that worships in Cairo, Egypt. Through participant observation and in-depth interviews, fifteen congregants of varying nationalities and backgrounds were interviewed in order to understand how the church is a place of meaning for them, as migrants. By this congregation being the focus of study, this thesis contributes to migration research by being a non-ethnic pathway of study, religion, and it contributes to research conducted in the Global South. Findings and observations are understood primarily through the theoretical framework of space and place provided by Yi-Fu Tuan. Place making …


Nitrate Transport In The Unsaturated Zone, Patience Bosompemaa May 2020

Nitrate Transport In The Unsaturated Zone, Patience Bosompemaa

Theses and Dissertations

Abundance of nitrate in the soil is a basic issue in agricultural land-use regions, causing eutrophication and pollution of water bodies. The study focuses on the role of a saturated buffer zone (SBZ) to remove nitrate from the groundwater resulting from agricultural activities. The study area is herbaceous SBZ located in central Illinois (40.614382ºN, -89.023542ºW), which lies between a stream and a farm located upgradient. The SBZ has been outfitted with an agricultural runoff treatment system that diverts tile drainage into the subsurface of the SBZ rather than discharging into the stream. Within the SBZ three experimental areas composed of …


Time Machine Research And Approach, Tarek Bouraque May 2020

Time Machine Research And Approach, Tarek Bouraque

Theses and Dissertations

Time Machine is a hybrid documentary that explores the logics of enslavement, colonialism, eurocentrism and their interconnectedness in our globalized world. Mustapha Azemmouri, born in 1502, undertakes a journey to the 21st century to recount his own story of enslavement and exploration, and reflects on a collective puzzle of 500 years of hidden history.


Sacred Blood And Burning Coal: The Garnet Carbuncle In Early Medieval Europe, Sinead L. Murphy May 2020

Sacred Blood And Burning Coal: The Garnet Carbuncle In Early Medieval Europe, Sinead L. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations

The social and religious symbolism of garnets are examined in the context of the Merovingian period. Garnet jewelry was worn by early medieval Christians as symbols of their faith, and after death garnets took on additional religious significance.


Mapping Ecological Futures: Toward A Cartography Of Climate Justice, Timothy C. Lau May 2020

Mapping Ecological Futures: Toward A Cartography Of Climate Justice, Timothy C. Lau

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of climate justice importantly reveals the uneven impacts of climate change. However, existing attempts at mapping climate justice are dominated by nation-state-based approaches, which fail to capture the sociospatial complexity of climate injustice. To address that gap, this thesis explores climate justice through the lens of critical cartography.