Digital Commons Network^™

Disparities In Moldovan Place-Identity A Product Of Systemic Stratification, Robyn Savacool

Theses and Dissertations

Place-identity is a concept that examines the corresponding relationship between the self and space. Much work has been accomplished on this topic in environmental psychology and geography, but sociological research on this concept is scarce. This project employs reflexive participant photography, qualitative methods and an analytical framework derived from place-identity theory to research the affect of socioeconomic status on place-identity in the Republic of Moldova. Socioeconomic status consists of four sub-variables - parents's professions, formative loci and experience from formative loci - which further represent class-status and community-society constructs, respectively. These constructs were compared to assess the predominate variables in …

Stream Energy Impacting Sediment Transport Through Low-Gradient Agricultural Streams, Paula Jane Pryor

Theses and Dissertations

Water quality can be severely impacted by increased sediment transport, particularly agriculturally-dominated systems like those found in central Illinois. Many low-gradient sediment studies focus on the fine material transported in suspension. However, coarse-material transport can be equally important for understanding sediment loads to surficial reservoirs for local drinking water. To address a general gap in knowledge of coarse-sediment transport through agricultural streams, seasonal changes and watershed differences in sediment transport were examined in a low-gradient system. This was accomplished through the installation of bedload traps, scour-fill markers, and bank erosion pins at two streams, Six Mile Creek and Money Creek …

The Effect Of Prompt Accent On Elicited Imitation Assessments In English As A Second Language, Jacob Garlin Barrows

Theses and Dissertations

Elicited imitation (EI) assessment has been shown to have value as an inexpensive method for low-stakes tests (Cox & Davies, 2012), but little has been reported on the effect L2 accent has on test-takers' ability to understand and process the test items they hear. Furthermore, no study has investigated the effect of accent on EI test face validity. This study examined how the accent of input audio files affected EI test difficulty as well as test-takers' perceptions of such an effect. To investigate, self-reports of students' exposure to different varieties of English were obtained from a pre-assessment survey. A 63-item …

Exploring Family Heritage And Personal Space To Find Meaning And Content In Student Art, Rebecca Link Wilhelm

Theses and Dissertations

As an art educator, I found student art lacking in meaning and students lacking personal engagement. I sought a way to engage students in more meaningful art-making in the classroom by exploring family heritage and personal spaces. This case study searched the family heritage and personal spaces of students in a junior high art class to engage students and find deeper meaning and context for student art-making. The research was informed through an arts-based inquiry with a/r/tographic influence. It was a qualitative inquiry, mining the familiar for development of a curriculum rich in context and personal significance for students. This …

Art From The Macchiaioli To The Futurists: Idealized Masculinity In The Art Of Signorini And Balla, Melissa Ann Bush

Theses and Dissertations

Beginning around 1850, Italians found themselves in the midst of an identity crisis. Europeans in France and England had surpassed Italians in terms of political, economic, and social progress. Italians seemed trapped in the past, clinging to their magnificent artistic heritage. However, new cultural and social movements were on the rise in Italy that attempted to throw off the domination of other European entities and forge a promising future for Italy. The Macchiaioli, a group of Italian modern artists who painted from 1853 to 1908, were the first group to address contemporary social issues such as class struggle and national …

Population Structure, Genetic Diversity, Geographic Distribution, And Morphology Of Two Boechera (Brassicaceae) Parental Species (Boechera Thompsonii And Boechera Formosa) And Of Their Resultant Hybrid Boechera Duchesnensis, Christina Elizabeth Fox Call

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Over the relatively short period of its evolutionary history, Boechera (Brassicaceae) has undergone rapid radiation that has produced 70+ morphologically distinct, sexual diploids. However, reproductive isolation has moved more slowly than morphological divergence in this group and the diploids appear to hybridize frequently where they coexist. Boechera duchesnensis appears to be the result of hybridization between its putative parents Boechera thompsonii and Boechera formosa. Objectives: The objectives of this study are to (i) analyze and document genetic diversity patterns in the population structure, - including allelic and heterozygosity frequencies - of B. thompsonii and B. formosa …

Spatial Organization Of Lithic Technology At The Mather-Klauer Lodge Site: A Terminal Woodland Occupation On Grand Island, Michigan, Andrew L. Mallo

Theses and Dissertations

The Mather-Klauer Lodge site is a Terminal Woodland (c.a. AD 600- AD 1600) occupation of the west side of Grand Island, Michigan, where Echo Creek empties into Lake Superior. Excavations by Illinois State University field schools and the Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group identified a buried, compact, greasy living surface containing four hearth features, a storage pit, and over 20,000 pieces of lithic debitage. Analysis of the lithic assemblage shows that the organization of lithic technology at the Mather-Klauer Lodge site utilized the bipolar reduction technique to reduce locally available quartz cobbles with the goal of producing flakes of various shapes …

The Effects Of Tile-Drain Input On A Low-Gradient Agricultural Stream In Central Illinois: Using A Thermal End Member Mixing Model And A Statistical Analysis Approach, Zachary David Kisfalusi

Theses and Dissertations

Tile-drains remove excess water from agricultural fields and channel it directly to the nearest surface water body decoupling the system from the natural flow paths. One way to measure the effects tile drains have on streams is to monitor the thermal energy both upstream and downstream of the tile input. In the temperate climate, a stream’s thermal signature experiences large fluctuations seasonally along with small diurnal changes. In contrast, groundwater temperature does not show these small-scale changes, and the seasonal changes are often muted and lagged in comparison to surface water. This project aimed to quantify any thermal change to …

The Role Of China’S Overseas Special Economic Zones In Economic Development, Salah Eldin Mohamed Ibrahim Elrashidy

Theses and Dissertations

The Chinese overseas SEZs came to offer a courageous, interesting model of economic development that, if successful, will generate favorable economic outcomes that extend not only to the hosting county but also to the country providing the investment opportunity. Indeed, this model has demonstrated some miraculous results inside China, driving the economy to unprecedented altitudes of growth. Nevertheless, little evidence has been set forth to display the ability of Shenzhen model to stimulate similar triumphs outside of China. To prove its validity as an effective tool, rigorous investigation needs to be put in place to assess the performance of the …

Cyber-Activism: Engendering Political Subjects Within New Logics Of Resistance In Contemporary Egypt And Yemen, Fatma Abdulmalik Mansour

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to study cyber-activism as a new social phenomenon in the context of the Arab revolutions particularly in Egypt and Yemen from two different perspectives. The first one is a global perspective in which I intend to situate this new social phenomenon called “cyberactivism” in its spatial-temporal context in order to explore the following questions: What are the possibilities and the limitations of cyberactivism as a new site of resistance particularly in the context of Egypt and Yemen? To what extent can cyberactivism challenge the dominant logics which enabled the emergence to these possibilities within …

Primary Education Reforms Targeting Marginalized Groups: The Role Of Local Non-Governmental Organizations In Slum Areas In Cairo, Faiza Alaraji

Theses and Dissertations

The Egyptian government has implemented different educational programs targeting marginalized groups in Egypt over the years. Primary education reform plans are a priority for decision makers in both developed and developing countries. Many governments paid serious attention to implement successful strategies targeting marginalized groups in their societies. The study examined in depth educational reforms strategies in the selected developed and developing countries. Special attention was devoted to examining the role of NGOs in many developing countries like Ghana, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Civil organizations have added valuable contribution and rich experience to the field of education, especially through informal education programs …

The Evolution Of Armed Non-State Actors: The Case Of Iraq, Ahmed Samra

Theses and Dissertations

This paper will seek to analyze and gauge to what extent have armed Non-State Actors evolved in the current international system, as well as how these groups have developed their power and ambition to rival and challenge the states they exist within and also influence other states around them. Using the classical Realist definitions for power and actors in international relations an analysis will be conducted to understand the whether states have a monopoly on power in the current international system. From a classical Realist perspective disagreements within the state are corrected when policy is being developed to reflect a …

Climate Change And Food Security In Egypt, Laila Yassin

Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the climate change impact on food security with a focus on the agricultural sector and the food production system in Egypt. And, it examines how consistently can policies manage to reduce climate change effects on Egypt’s food security through qualitative research conducted through in depth interviews with ex-perts in the field. Egypt is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change risks. The agricultural sector is one of the affected sectors; this sector is very critical for Egypt’s national and food security since it shapes 17% of its GDP, 40% of its …

Lacking A Self(Ie): "Apps" Of Desire In Virtual Cairo, Fernando Revelo La Rotta

Theses and Dissertations

This project explores through an unconventional assemblage of methods and theories the role of selfies in the contemporary process of subjectivation. Relying on an ethnographic methodology, Lacanian psychoanalysis, and queer theory, this project explore three virtual spaces where selfies live (Instagram, Tinder, and Grindr) and how selfies circulate through the circuits of desire facilitated by the technological interface. The goal of this project is to remind us that there is no essential self and to question such an assumption in any project. Therefore, this project is not invested in discovering the truth about ourselves, the other, or a specific imagined …

Analysis Of The D1s80 Vntr Locus Polymorphism In The Nubian Population, Soha Rabie Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

D1S80 (1p35-p36), variable Number of tandem repeat (VNTR,) is a minisatellite molecular genetic marker. It is known by its high polymorphism that makes it a powerful marker in the forensic applications, paternity testing, and evolutionary studies. Hypervariable D1S80 locus has been applied to study the genetic structure of the Nubian population in Southern Egypt. PCR has been applied for repeats amplification and analyzed on 2% agarose gel. 75 genotypes and 36 alleles with their frequencies were detected for 105 unrelated individuals. Allele 27 has the highest frequency 0.119% followed by allele 26 with frequency 0.09%. Heterozygosity was calculated as 0.69%. …

Memories And The Everyday: An Ethnography Of A Polish-Egyptian Family, Ola Kamal

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is premised on autoethnographic research in mapping and tracing the social. The thesis suggests and explores the elements of the past playing a role in the construction of the subject throughout the everyday, allowing for various ways for creating oneself and reassembling one’s paths. The thesis reflects on the workings of memory and constructions of narratives in creating the social. My case study is my family, which is a Polish-Egyptian family. The main concepts in my autoethnography center around the issues connected to the intertwined relation between the past, present and future, the everyday, and subject formation. Through …

Radicalization Of Zaydi Reform Attempts, Maysaa Shuja Al Deen

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is studying the development of the Zaydi doctrine in order to understand the reasons of emerging the Zaydi radical group, the Houthis. The studies about Zaydism are few, since it is a doctrine that only exists in Yemen, so it is considered a doctrine of a minor group. The studies about the contemporary Zaydism are much fewer, which leads to misunderstand the Houthi phenomenon. Zaydism has a long history in Yemen and the Zaydi Imamate controlled Yemen or the northern parts of Yemen for hundreds years. Therefore, the overthrow of the Imamate in 1962 and the establishment of …

Resurrecting Eden: Inaugural British Narration And Policy Of Iraq, Timothy Kennett

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines Britain's use of technology in developing Mesopotamia. British imaginations of Mesopotamia as Eden or El Dorado, reified by a multiplicity of travel literature,archaeological digs, and geographic societies, formed the first half of a violent dialectic that granted divine right and responsibility to the British. Instead, colonialists claimed that Mesopotamia's inhabitants squandered its primordial potential through neglect and mismanagement. These justifications fueled British attempts to develop Mesopotamia, irrigation engineers designing floodgates for the Tigris and Euphrates while agriculturalists created new strains of wheat that would flourish in its climate. But technology was more than development. It formed the …

The Microbiome Of The Egyptian Red Sea Proper And Gulf Of Aqaba, Ghada Alaa El-Din Mustafa

Theses and Dissertations

The Red Sea is one of the most unique environments worldwide. It possesses a unique geography, physical, chemical and biological characteristics. It encounters several ecosystems articulating with each other, these include, corals, mangroves, algae, fisheries, invertebrates and microbiota of each one of these along with microbiota of the Red Sea waters and sediments. Studying the collective microbial communities of the Egyptian Red Sea coastal sediments have not been reported before. In regards to the severe pollution impacting the different Red Sea ecosystems, sediments samples have been collected from different impacted sites. The selected sites included 1- four ports for shipping …

Ethnography On The Return Of Professional Egyptian Female Migrants From The Gulf Cooperation Council, Nerida Mackey

Theses and Dissertations

International labor migration is one of Egypt’s economic development strategies, averaging an estimated twenty-two billion dollars in remittances in recent years, according to Egypt Daily News (Al-Aees, 2015). Although the participation of Egyptians in international migration for the purpose of work has mainly been dominated by men, there is a substantial handful of Egyptian women who independently participate in these migration flows. The Feminization of migration is still an unexplored and relatively new phenomenon in Egypt. Much of the discourse on Egyptian international labor migration has focused on men. Research on the effects of the women left behind by migrant …

Trauma And Human Objecthood, Leslie Kelman

Theses and Dissertations

I am processing recent traumatic personal content in multiple media. This investigation dovetails with the work I was conducting previously, that of contemplating humans as objects continuous with their environment. This represents a reduced position in the biological hierarchy for humans, or a rejection of the hierarchy itself.

Surficial Geology And Provenance Of Glacial Deposits Of The Saybrook 7.5 Minute Quadrangle, Mclean County, Illinois, Ellyn S. Rickels

Theses and Dissertations

The glaciated landscape of much of Illinois is a product of the most recent glacial episode, which is characterized by a series of end moraines composed predominantly of till and deposited by ice flowing into Illinois from the east and northeast around 20,000 years before present time. Two separate projects were completed as part of this thesis to better understand the surficial geology and the source areas of glacial sediment in central Illinois: the creation of a surficial geologic map of the Saybrook 7.5 Minute Quadrangle and a provenance study of granitic clasts from two moraines in the area.

A …

If She Isn’T Working Miracles, What Is She Doing On The Battlefield?, Alex Matzke

Theses and Dissertations

The images included in my thesis work reflect my experience growing up with military propaganda—pictures of cheerful white women in pearls as part of my rural middle American landscape. I do not name the oppressor because I am not here to pick at the thorns, but to get to the root of the oppression. These are some of the servicewomen I’ve met. Their stories parallel but cannot encompass the private experiences of all service women. I am grateful for their generosity; without them there would be no pictures.

The battle for equality is much older than Rosie the Riveter but …

Fragmented Places, Saulat Ajmal

Theses and Dissertations

My work is about an inner struggle, which stems from the shifting nature of my own identity being constantly displaced and re-imagined. My paintings and performances are propositions for a utopic world. They offer a place for identity to rest and are defined through ritualistic movements, which are inescapably mine. While I work in several mediums including paintings, performance, installation and sculpture, this thesis paper is an exploration of the work I have produced specifically over the last six months

Assessing Individual Transit Vulnerability To Nuisance Flooding In The Charleston, Sc Area, Sumathee Selvaraj

Theses and Dissertations

Minor coastal flooding, also known as nuisance flooding, is projected to be more frequent due to relative sea level rise. Nuisance flood events in Charleston have resulted in various social impacts caused by road closures, traffic disruptions, and economic losses. This thesis presents research conducted to understand the dimensions of individual transit vulnerability to nuisance flooding and how transit vulnerability will be affected by increased extents of nuisance flooding driven by rising sea levels and heavy rainfall. Mixed methods were used to conduct this research in Berkley, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties, South Carolina. An electronic, in-person survey was administered at …

Articulating The Balance Of Power: Comparing The Relative Weights Of Human Capital Resources And Organizational Capabilities, Michael D. Ulrich

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have argued the importance of human capital to organizations for many years. Recent theoretical developments have distinguished between human capital, which is owned by individuals, and human capital resources, which are available to units for performance and competitive advantage. This distinction calls attention to different types of human capital, generic or specific. Studies have found positive unit-level effects emanating from both human capital resource types yet few studies have considered multiple types simultaneously, making it challenging to know which has greater explanatory power. Additionally, studies have also not considered the impact of organizational capabilities in conjunction with human capital …

Program, Partnership, And Resource Management: Success Principles For Churches That Have Programmatically And Financially Successful Nonprofit Organizations, Charles Dorsey

Theses and Dissertations

Church affiliated Human Service Organizations (CAHSOs) are drastically understudied. Consequently, the experience of their executive leaders is understudied. Information on CAHSOs and the experience of their executive leaders is often blended into general faith- based organizational research. Yet, CAHSOs play a vital role in the United States and abroad. CAHSOs are responsible for the social welfare of millions of indigent people in suffering communities. These organizations provide housing to the homeless, food to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and educational programing to at-risk youth, among many other things. These organizations, however, only function because of the expertise and work …

Global Leadership: Strategies And Practices To Develop Intercultural Skills, Edward Van Luinen

Theses and Dissertations

Globalization is a transformational change phenomenon that is significantly and rapidly impacting today’s organizations, leaders, and people. In turn, the role of the global business leader has become quite complex, and Fortune 500 organizations are facing a dearth of global leaders capable of addressing today’s business leadership challenges. In response to this challenge, one particular strategy for developing global leaders focuses on building intercultural skills. However, given the complexity of their roles, global leaders may face difficulties in developing these skills. By first acknowledging these obstacles global leaders can then, through their work, develop effective strategies and practices in the …

African American Gay Male Entrepreneurs: A Study Of Enabling And Inhibiting Factors Impacting Entrepreneurial Success, Floyd H. Hardin Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Minority and Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) businesspersons are carving out for themselves leadership roles in the world of business as entrepreneurs and CEO’s. As they are experiencing much success, and are sought after to help provide unique and necessary perspectives regarding best practices in the areas of inclusion, diversity and strategic planning; they are yet underrepresented in mainstream media and in the business community. This qualitative study explores the enabling and inhibiting factors that select African American Gay Male Entrepreneurs (AAGME) experience throughout their career and ascent into entrepreneurship. The qualitative research includes interviews from ten African American …

International Policy Experience: Short-Term International Travel Courses In Structured Degree Programs, Kirk Marshall Clayton

Theses and Dissertations

This descriptive quantitative research examined 7 years of data to find what are the benefits, challenges, and outcomes of short-term international travel courses in a structured degree program in the organizational leadership, doctoral program at Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology from 2007 to 2014. While there is currently a plethora of study abroad research, most of the existing research explores semester or academic-year programs. Very few studies have investigated shorter durations or students’ perceptions and experiences during these programs or their experiences with, self-identified encounters during these courses. This study aimed to alleviate the dearth of information. …