Digital Commons Network^™

An Other Word For It Is Us, Aca Carle

Theses and Dissertations

I am contemplating language and animacy; their enmeshment with each other and their connective fibers between beings. My art follows from the belief that animacy is inherent in matter and that language is inherent in animacy.

“Only by affirming the animateness of perceived things do we allow our words to emerge directly from the depths of our ongoing reciprocity with the world.” (Abramb 56)

College-Age Female’S Wishful Identification And Homophily With A Media Figure Using High Versus Low Amounts Of Glottal Fry, Erin Meyer Logsdon

Theses and Dissertations

Glottal fry (GF) is the lowest range of pitches of three speaking registers and is not commonly used throughout conversational speech; however, scholars suggest that GF may be used in modern conversational speech more so than in the past. Thus, there has been increasing interest as to how this register is perceived by listeners. To date, research has been inconclusive as to whether this register is viewed positively or negatively. Further, it is unclear whether its use in media may affect how college-age women connect with and consume media containing it. Thus, this study aimed to determine how college-age females …

African Refugee Students' Access To Higher Education: Exploring Their Challenges In Egypt, Hagar El Sayed Younes

Theses and Dissertations

Higher education is very crucial to the development of individuals and societies alike. Higher education empowers refugees to become self-reliant and agents of change instead of being passive recipients of grants or assistance. Today, more than ever, it is probable that refugees face many challenges to access higher education given Egypt’s restrictive enrollment policy, refugees’ dire economic and social situations, the diminishing durable solutions which can permanently solve refugees’ situation such as voluntary repatriation, resettlement, and local integration; and finally, the reluctance of donors to fund higher education programs. Therefore, this research attempts to explore the challenges facing African refugee …

Young People Transitioning Out Of Alternative Care In Egypt: Aftercare Challenges Faced By Non-Profit Organizations And The Way Forward, Mai Amr Abdel Hafez

Theses and Dissertations

Young people raised in Care homes face many challenges after they reach 18 years old and have to leave these care homes to be independent and integrate with society. Minimal research is conducted in Egypt on this topic; thus, this study is presented to fill this research gap by answering these research questions: What were the biggest challenges faced by the care leavers? And how can the government and the non-profit sector support in decreasing these challenges? The purpose of the study is focused on the effectiveness of care homes in preparing young people for aftercare and how to provide …

Printing Devotion: Sufi Books And Their Transregional Networks In An Age Of Print, Mariam Elashmawy

Theses and Dissertations

The production of printed books in the Muslim world is a story that encompasses an array of actors, spanning centuries, and taking place in remote, yet connected locales. This thesis provides an intellectual history of Ṣūfī print production of Islamicate mystical works in the nineteenth-twentieth centuries by examining three overlapping genres: poetry, Ṣūfī histories (hagiography), and litanies (aḥzāb). Texts such as the Dīwān of devotional poetry by Ibn al-Fāriḍ (d. 632/1234), the litany of Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shādhilī (d. 656/1258), Ḥizb al-baḥr, and Rashaḥāt ʿayn al-ḥayāt, a history of the Naqshbandiyya order by Fakhr …

Extractive Text Summarization On Single Documents Using Deep Learning, Shehab Mostafa Abdel-Salam Mohamed

Theses and Dissertations

The task of summarization can be categorized into two methods, extractive and abstractive summarization. Extractive approach selects highly meaningful sentences to form a summary while the abstractive approach interprets the original document and generates the summary in its own words. The task of generating a summary, whether extractive or abstractive, has been studied with different approaches such as statistical-based, graph-based, and deep-learning based approaches. Deep learning has achieved promising performance in comparison with the classical approaches and with the evolution of neural networks such as the attention network or commonly known as the Transformer architecture, there are potential areas for …

Policy Effects On New York City Early Education Centers: Ecological Case Studies, Maria S. Mavrides Calderon

Theses and Dissertations

NYC’s universal Pre-K (PKFA) was implemented through New York Early Education Centers (NYCEECs) and public schools, without considering compensation parity across settings. This study investigates the impact of unequal compensation policies on the experiences of directors, teachers, and parents affiliated with NYCEECs, and how they compare or contrast with the policymakers’ discourse around those policies. While other studies have investigated the PKFA implementation (Akaba et al., 2019; Falk & Souto-Manning, 2020; Fuller & Leibovitz, 2021a; Reid et al., 2019), none have privileged the ecology of those working at and attending NYCEECs. Through critical policy analysis, this study utilized Bronfenbrenner's (1979) …

Two, Pair: A Modern Menaechmi, Jacob L. Horn

Theses and Dissertations

Combining tools of faithful translation and liberal adaptation, I have modernized Plautus’s Menaechmi with the aim of recreating the spirit of Plautine comedy for a present-day viewer, focusing on playability. This dramaturgical process is documented in an introductory essay and text annotations, revealing key choices, theoretical considerations, and conceptual concerns.

"Nothing ‘Personal’ To Lose": Alice Notley’S “I” And The Poetics Of Encounter In Disobedience, Christina T. Baulch

Theses and Dissertations

Though the lyric-I has often been perceived as an isolated ego, Alice Notley's "I" in her long poem Disobedience (2001) necessitates plurality through what I call a "poetics of encounter." In response to the 1978 Language poetry manifesto "Aesthetic Tendency and the Politics of Poetry," and to the larger well-rehearsed debate about vocal homogeneity and persona centrism in poetry, this paper argues that Notley's poetics of encounter brings the "I" of Disobedience into continual and complex conversation with material history, politics, and mass culture, thus situating it within, and not sequestered from, the world and its mediation.

I Just Work Here, Carrie Rudd

Theses and Dissertations

Via an in-depth analysis of the artist’s works and the material, social, and historical possibilities of Painting, the following paper investigates the myriad approaches for Painting to communicate complex ideas both physically and psychologically.

Cultural Wealth: A Legacy To Actualize College Goals And Aspirations For Black First-Generation College Students From African Or Caribbean Immigrant Homes, Amina Gordon

Theses and Dissertations

National data reveals that college access is most challenging for traditionally underrepresented students, including minoritized, first-generation college attendees and students from low-income families (Gibbons & Borders, 2010). The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how Black first-generation college students (FGCS) from African or Caribbean immigrant families capitalized on Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth (CCW) to create and pursue college goals and aspirations. Participants were recent graduates from a suburban school district outside of the metropolitan area on the east coast and who were enrolled in their first or second year in college. The researcher answered the main research …

Invisible Doesn't Mean Inactive: Perspectives And Recommendations Of An Arabic Speaking Community On Parental Involvement And Cultural Responsiveness, Aziz Elabida

Theses and Dissertations

An extensive body of research has established the positive impact that parental involvement has on student academic, social, and emotional performance and well-being. These benefits are, however, not enjoyed by all students due to a string of logistical, communicative, perceptual, and cultural obstacles. The purpose of this study is to investigate the phenomenon of parental involvement as perceived and practiced by Arabic speaking parents in American public schools. This research is guided by the six typologies of Epstein’s parental involvement model (1995, 2007, and 2012) and Khalifa’s four strands of culturally responsive school leadership (2016). Through a descriptive single case …

The Lived Experiences Of Second-Generation Nigerian Male College Graduates On Educational Attainment: A Narrative Research Study, Anthony Seriki

Theses and Dissertations

This narrative research study design was conducted to explore second-generation Nigerian males' perceptions of how family heritage influences college success. The streaming of immigrants from the continent of Africa has led to an influx of foreign-born Backs in schools in the United States. Many second-generation Nigerian youths in schools nationwide are from immigrant backgrounds, partly because of the streaming of immigration from the continent of Africa. The experiences in education from Black immigrant children from Africa, specifically Nigeria, have been understudied. This study captured the first-hand account of how second-generation Nigerian males navigated the United States educational system and how …

A Case Study: Determining Factors On Student Persistence In A Community College Spanish Program, Kristin Ea Peters

Theses and Dissertations

World language study exposes students to more than just language; they are also exposed to different cultures. After graduating, students will be exposed to different languages and cultures in the workforce, and they must be prepared. Students often leave their language of choice after the one or two semester course requirement; it takes more than those one or two courses for students to gain the cultural and linguistic skills needed to succeed. Institutions must start to convey the importance of those skills in order produce culturally aware and global students. Student placement, student motivation, and classroom pedagogy all contribute to …

No Family Left Behind: Nontraditional Methods Of Communication As A Tool For Equitable Family Engagement, Robin Ransom

Theses and Dissertations

Legislation outlined in ESSA (2018) pushes schools to address the needs of the diverse populations within the school community as well creating a place for equitable family engagement. This study focuses on the family rather than the parent. Due to changes in family dynamics it is necessary to incorporate not just the parent but all members of a student’s household who contribute to the academic, social, and emotional well-being. In light of the immediate halt to the educational arena as the world was faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, educators and administrators were forced to think of new ways to engage …

Controlling For Developmental Language Differences In Spanish-English Learners: A Comparison Of The Ortiz Picture Vocabulary Acquisition Test And Woodcock Muñoz Language Survey-Third Edition, Amanda Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in the vocabulary knowledge of Spanish-speaking English Learners (ELs) when controlling for developmental language norms. This research was essential given the multitude of literature indicating the connection between vocabulary skills and later academic success and the substantial achievement gaps between ELs and English Speakers (ESs). Considering the different normative standards in the Ortiz PVAT and WMLS III English, where the former includes bilingual, exposure-based norms, and the latter does not, this study evaluated the vocabulary knowledge of 27 Spanish-speaking ELs between the ages of 5 and 11 …

Clinical Adaptations Of Cognitive Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, And Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy As A Result Of Culture And Language, Rebecca Wade

Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive Behavioral Therapies are frequently used and highly effective; however, most of the research is conducted on Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) populations who are relatively homogeneous. The present study evaluated the use and adaptations of Cognitive Therapy (CT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) based upon WEIRD status, language, and cultural values as measured by Hofstede's country comparison (2021). In a survey, therapists worldwide (n=121) reported their use and adaptation of the techniques within their therapeutic orientation. Although no significant differences were found between WEIRD or language groupings specific to CT, CBT, or …

Norm Sample Stratification And Socioeconomic Status: Examination Of Language Development Across Education And Income, Gavriel Franco

Theses and Dissertations

The norm samples that are developed in Westernized countries are typically created using a routine process in test development that involves stratification of a range of independent variables. However, this method of creating norm-referenced samples may be discriminatory against individuals from low SES backgrounds since sampling across the full range of SES invariably results in an “average” that characterizes middle-SES individuals best. Because SES is generally stratified by category, according to U.S. Census demographics, any such sample developed in this manner is likely to be appropriate only for individuals within the “average” SES range. The literature contains a wealth of …

The Language Acquisition Of Ell Students: Understanding The Relationship To Teaching Model And Student Demographics, Suahuil Valerio

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study evaluated how teaching models for language acquisition—the Integrated, the Stand-Alone and the Mixed Model—and student characteristics—gender and disability status—relate to growth in language skills among ELL students. In this study, the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test scores of the elementary school children in 3rd and 4th grades were analyzed from one school district in New York. During the 4th grade school year, ELL students received instruction via the Integrated Model, the Stand-Alone Model, or the Mixed Model, as such the 3rd grade scores served as a baseline while the 4th grade scores …

The Stereotype Threat Experiences Of Men Of Color Persisting In Community College, Robert E. Cortes

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative narrative analysis was to explore how men of color have experienced stereotype threat in their lives and used community cultural wealth to manage stereotype threat and achieve academic success while persisting at a large urban community college. Racial tensions have manifested through blatant acts of racism, discrimination, and microaggressions across college campuses, threatening students of color who are marginalized and targeted. In consideration of the success of men of color attending community colleges in the United States, there is vast inequality and inequity when comparing their graduation, persistence, and retention rates to their White counterparts. …

Global Mindedness Of Superintendents: A Phenomenological Study Of Globalization And Its Implications For Education, Lauren Kate Dimartino

Theses and Dissertations

Globalization has quickly woven its way into every aspect of our economic, technological, and social lives. It is only natural that the educational system transforms into a globally competent powerhouse. We must hold our educational system accountable for creating quality education based on equity and realistic policies. With skilled leaders creating school districts that can compete, thrive, and communicate in the global community, we must work to nurture future generations that can maneuver and excel in the 21st century. The purpose of this research is to analyze the global mindedness of educational leaders, specifically superintendents, and to explore the future …

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy In Pre-Service Teacher Preparation Programs, Kerri Durante

Theses and Dissertations

This descriptive multi case study will describe practices in teacher preparation programs in two urban universities to support Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) for teachers in the training programs in one of the most diverse cities in America and the outcomes of these practices. Recent alumni, faculty, and administrators of the selected universities were recruited to participate in this study to share their perceptions of CRP as it occurred for them in their course work, syllabi, and assignments while enrolled in the programs. This study will provide an in-depth analysis to explain the current use of CRP in practice, adherence to …

The Effects And Impact Of Interdisciplinary Teaming On Teacher Practices And Efficacy, Lisa Depaola

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects and impact of interdisciplinary teaming on teacher practices and efficacy. This study revealed the perspectives of eight 7th and 8th grade teachers, who teach one of the core disciplines (English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies) and the school principal by interviewing them for this case study in an Essential Elements School-to-Watch in Nassau County, New York. It included perceptions from the other 7th and 8th grade teachers on interdisciplinary teams through focus groups and observations during team meetings. Document analysis was performed on artifacts that were collected during …

Teachers’ Perceptions, Views, And Practices Of Providing Feedback For English Learners In Kindergarten Through Second Grade During Reading Instruction, Michelle Cerbone

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the perceptions and practices of teachers providing effective feedback for early elementary-aged English Learners during reading instruction. The participants in this study were 9 elementary teachers who had English Learners in their class during reading instruction, from suburban school districts in the northeastern region of the United States. Guided by Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (1978), in which learning occurs by interactions between teachers and students, the teacher mediates learning through social interactions with the use of learners’ Zone of Proximal Development (Lantolf & Thorne, 2006; Lantolf & Beckett, 2009). This study is …

Cracking The Code To Effective Marketing In Higher Education: A Case Study Of Recruitment And Retention Of First-Generation, Latinx Community College Students, Manuel L. Romero

Theses and Dissertations

Marketing strategy involves selecting a target market and determining the desired product positioning to attract the desired customers (Silk, 2006). Recently, community colleges have seen a decrease in student enrollment. In some cases, this was brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic; in other cases budget constraints have posed challenges to community colleges and their recruitment marketing efforts. Successful advertising involves a marketing strategy where the student is considered the customer (Guilbault, 2017) and creative “edvertising” (DiMartino & Jessen, 2018) campaigns entice students to select one college above other competitors. With a growing Latinx population in the United States, college recruitment …

Secure The Black, Brown, And Gifted: Examining Teacher Perception Of Giftedness In High- And Low-Poverty Schools, Laurie Diane Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to analyze the effect of school socioeconomic status, presence of gifted programs, and teacher’s ethnicity on teachers' perception of their students’ potential, giftedness identification, and administrative support in a suburban school system with a high representation of minorities and students who are culturally, linguistically, economically diverse. The participants in the current study consist of 293 teachers selected from a suburban school district located nearby a large metropolitan city in the northeastern part of the United States. The survey used in this study is a 47-item online instrument adapted from the Snapshot Survey of …

Teachers As Leaders: A Case Study Of Technology Implications Within An Elementary School, Dana Schillinger

Theses and Dissertations

The utilization of technology in the elementary classroom is becoming increasingly vital in a global society. Teaching during the Coronavirus pandemic has had a profound impact on all educators. As a result of the crisis, instructors worldwide had to quickly adapt and shift to a new way of teaching both remotely and in person. Educators were asked to transition, create, and implement online teaching due to school closures with no choice but to teach online even if they did not feel properly prepared to do so, or formerly had little training in online teaching (Hechinger et al., 2020). Teaching during …

The Perceptions Of School Building And School District Leaders’ Culturally Responsive Leadership Practices And Discipline Actions, Equasia Yard-Jean

Theses and Dissertations

It is important for school leaders to understand how students who identify as belonging to specific races, ethnicities, or cultures experience school climate. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the perceptions of school leaders on their culturally responsive leadership (CRSL) practices and discipline actions. This study focused on the perceptions of 142 school leaders (Principals and Superintendents) who work in public schools in New York State. The sample consisted of school building and district leaders who work in elementary, middle, and high school settings in urban, suburban, and rural communities. The study was conducted utilizing the Culturally …

Climbing The Broken Ladder: A Narrative Exploration Of How Racially And Economically Minoritized Students Successfully Navigate The College Pathway, Sugeni A. Pérez-Sadler

Theses and Dissertations

Sixty six years after Brown v. Board of Education’s (1954), disparities in educational opportunity and outcomes continue to be a major civil rights issue that threatens the well-being of our society (Chetty et al,., 2018; Farmer-Hinton, 2008a). Despite the often-explored systemic barriers and oppressive forces, many do enroll in college and persist (Harper et al., 2018). This research applied the frameworks of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth Model (CCW) to explore the barriers low-income Black and Latinx students face in accessing higher education and examine what these students might have in the way of personal assets …

Masculinity, Identity, And Performance In Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway And The Waves, Shannon M. Connors

Theses and Dissertations

By examining the male characters in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and The Waves, this thesis seeks to explore the ways in which Woolf provides feminist commentary on masculinity, identity, and performance. In focusing on how these characters express emotion and perform masculinity, the novels highlight the ways in which men are expected to act as opposed to how they feel. This is seen in the interactions between Woolf’s characters as she showcases relationships between men and women, as well as those men have with each other. In Mrs. Dalloway, Peter Walsh and Richard Dalloway both perform masculinity by expressing their …