Digital Commons Network^™

Evidence For A Typology Of Christ In The Book Of Esther, L. Clayton Fausett

Theses and Dissertations

Initially the Esther text was disputed and discarded by the early Church fathers. More recently in the 20th and 21st centuries Christian scholarship has dramatized, distorted, culturalized, feminized, or even politicized it. Indeed, the book has scarcely been defined as divine or devotional. While it has received condemnation from scholars, theologians like Martin Luther concluded that it would be best eliminated from the canon altogether. This thesis seeks to bring the text of Esther back into consideration for valid Christological interpretation by presenting evidence of a typology of Christ as exhibited in God's plan of salvation. In making such an …

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 …

A Comparative Study Of Principals' Perceptions Of Bilingual Education In School Districts In South Texas, Enrique H. De La Cruz

Theses and Dissertations

At a time when school leaders are held accountable for academic achievement and student growth, this study served to inform school leaders, who implement bilingual education programs, on the influence their perceptions have in their students’ academic success. This study examined and described elementary principals’ perceptions about bilingual education in a district implementing an early-exit bilingual program and in a district implementing a dual language bilingual program and its effectiveness to help ELLs achieve academic success. The study focused in determining if elementary principals’ perceptions were a function of their bilingual proficiency or language discourse, level of academic knowledge of …

Diffusion Of Falsehoods On Social Media, Kelvin Kizito King

Theses and Dissertations

Misinformation has captured the interest of academia in recent years with several studies looking at the topic broadly. However, these studies mostly focused on rumors which are social in nature and can be either classified as false or real. In this research, we attempt to bridge the gap in the literature by examining the impacts of user characteristics and feature contents on the diffusion of (mis)information using verified true and false information. We apply a topic allocation model augmented by both supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms to identify tweets on novel topics. We find that retweet count is higher …

The Wind Still Blows: Poems, Sarah Alicia Solis

Theses and Dissertations

The Wind Still Blows: Poems is a collection of autobiographical poems and lyric essays that explore my journey with faith. This collection reveals the life of a young woman learning to meld Chicana feminist ideas and Christian belief. With regards to this introduction, the first-person “I” will be used to denote specific craft choices and critical frameworks that I, the writer, used within the collection, and third-person references to “the speaker” refer to the constructed narrator described in the poems. In this collection, the speaker offers up a history with anxiety disorders, fraught relationships with male figures, developing into an …

Autoethnography: A Self Reflection Of The Benefits In Attending A T-Stem High School, Adriana Garza

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this autoethnography is to analyze the benefits I obtained as a bilingual, first-generation, Hispanic student by attending a STEM high school. PSJA Thomas Jefferson T-STEM Early College High School provides an Early College experience as well as a Bilingual STEM environment in a district located at La Frontera. This autoethnography uses two techniques to collect data: artifacts and reflective journals. As the researcher, I self-reflected and analyzed my own success story which will be viewed through a Narrative Inquiry lens to answer two questions 1) to what extent has the STEM model/ curriculum influenced my academic …

Distinguishing Passive From Mp2-Marked Middle In Koine Greek, Andrew Charles Lamicela

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to answer the question, How can one determine whether an MP2-marked (traditionally “passive”) verb in Koine Greek is semantically passive or middle? MP2-marked verbs in the New Testament and Septuagint were analyzed in order to determine what factors indicate passive or middle in each case. This thesis argues that both lexical and contextual factors play a role in the determination. Lexical factors include whether the verb has agent-oriented components of meaning, how likely the event is to occur spontaneously, and whether the verb tends to have a subject that is both agent and patient. Contextual factors include …

Information Structure In Soumraye (Somrai), An Eastern Chadic Language, Emily Ruthann Miller

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the information structure of Soumraye, also known as Somrai (common alternative spelling: Soumray; ISO: SOR; autonym: Chibne, Chibné or Shibne), a largely unstudied Eastern Chadic (Afro-Asiatic) language of Central Chad (Eberhard et al. 2020). Analysis is based on four fiction and two non-fiction narratives as well as part of an expository text and some previously published proverbs. I primarily use a framework from Lambrecht (1994). The default information structure of Soumraye is topic-comment or presupposition-focus. The construction for marked topic, or topicalization, consists of a preposed noun phrase ending with the topicalization particle da. Da's …

Perception And Production Of Nanning Mandarin Fourth Tone, Julie Flaming

Theses and Dissertations

Local varieties of Mandarin Chinese have been underdocumented. This study focuses on Mandarin high falling fourth tone (T4), as pronounced in connected speech by four female speakers native to Nanning City and its surrounding areas, in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Surface forms of T4 and the high level tone (T1) often exhibit minimal difference, most likely due to the strong Cantonese influence in the area. I compare the pronunciation of T4 in multiple environments to the predictions about Standard Mandarin T4 surface forms in those same positions. Nanning T4 is flatter overall than Standard Mandarin T4 in all positions, with …

The Categorization Of Ideophone-Gesture Composites In Quichua Narratives, Maria Graciela Cano

Theses and Dissertations

Ideophones are “marked words that vividly depict sensory events” (Dingemanse, 2009, p. 1). They often occur with gesture, but the link between the two is not yet fully understood. McNeill (1992) and Streeck (2008) have proposed classification schemas for gesture, and Nuckolls (2019) is developing a framework for the categorization of ideophones. This thesis categorizes ideophone-gesture composites using a combination of all three of these frameworks. I used data from Quechua RealWords, an online video corpus of 221 ideophones of Pastaza Quichua elicited by students and faculty at the Andes and Amazon Field School in Ecuador. I analyzed video clips …

An Exploration Of Mental Contrasting And Social Networks Of English Language Learners, Adam T. Pinkston

Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on how applying MCII, a wish-fulfillment and goal-setting method researched by Gabriele Oettingen, benefits the quantity and quality of English language learners' (ELLs) social networks while participating in a study abroad program in the United States. This is done by instructing participants in the use of MCII, giving them weekly reminders on that instruction and the goals they set, and by measuring change from beginning to end. Analyzing the social networks of 36 English language learners at an intensive English program (IEP) after 14 weeks of instruction shows that the ELLs displayed growth in the number of …

Mental Contrasting With Implementation Intentions To Lower Test Anxiety, Asena Cakmakci

Theses and Dissertations

Learning a language can induce anxiety among students. In addition, students can feel anxious when it comes to being tested on their language skills. Studies of goal attainment among health patients, students, and others have shown that self regulation through the model of Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions (MCII) can help participants reach their goals. In the current study, we sought to determine whether MCII could help learners better cope with anxiety when being orally examined in a second language. Specifically, we examined whether practicing MCII would lead to reductions in language test taking anxiety over time. We compared the …

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 …

Comparing Verbal And Spatial Working Memory In Monolingual And Bilingual Speakers, Rosaury Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

The bilingual advantage has been demonstrated in different domains of cognitive functioning, especially executive functioning. Compared to other domains of executive functioning, the impact of bilingualism on working memory in children and adults has received relatively little attention. Moreover, research on the bilingual advantage in young adults has produced mix results in tasks where working memory is required. The present study examined whether bilingual expertise yielded different results depending on the working memory task. The present study included 54 participants, 44 identified as female and 10 identified as male. Spatial working memory was measured using the computerized spatial span task …

The Classification Accuracy Of A Dynamic Assessment Of Language In Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Children When Using Response To Intervention As A Measure Of Language Ability, Yuberkys Fryer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which modifiability ratings and gains in narrative language, made through intervention over time with culturally and linguistically diverse children, aligned with the results of a diagnostic dynamic assessment of language. This study also examined the sensitivity and specificity of the dynamic assessment when response to language intervention was used as the primary indicator of language disorder (LD). A total of 32 culturally and linguistically diverse students from an elementary school in Utah participated in this study, with 17 students with LD and 15 students without LD. Students were administered …

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 …

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 …

Narrative Language Among Mothers With The Fmr1 Premutation And Mothers Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sara Mousavi

Theses and Dissertations

Difficulties with pragmatic language are known language traits among women with the FMR1 premutation and within the broad autism phenotype (BAP). Our study investigated the narrative cohesion and story grammar organization of spontaneously generated stories produced by mothers with the FMR1 premutation, mothers of children with ASD, and mothers of typically developing children. No group differences were observed in story grammar, overall quality, or frequency of use of temporal devices. But both the mothers of children with ASD and mothers with the FMR1 premutation committed reference errors at a significantly higher frequency than mothers in the control group. This study …

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, …

Complex Syntax Acquisition In Children With Hearing Loss, Marissa Castaldo

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this language sample analysis was to describe complex syntax development in children with hearing loss over the preschool years. The current study addresses the following relevant research questions: Do children with hearing loss have increased performance over preschool years on broad measures of complex syntax? and What are the developmental trajectories on complex syntax in children with hearing loss?

Methods: 9 children with hearing loss participated in a 12-minute language sample following the Hadley Protocol (1998). Each child was tested at age 4 and then again in 6-month intervals until they turned 6. These children with …

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 …

Culture In The Classroom: A Study For Strategies For Bridging Classroom Divides, William Rolison

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how teachers perceive the impact of socioeconomic class and culture on student/teacher interactions and to identify specific strategies that may be implemented to bridge cultural divides between students and teachers. To do this I employed a qualitative action research design incorporating semi-structured interviews, recorded dialogue, and researcher generated questionnaires. Together with two collaborating teachers, I examined teacher views of sociocultural influences on student/teacher interactions and identified cross-cultural strategies to implement in bridging sociocultural divides between students and teachers.

Study participants reported that participation in interviews and group dialogue made them more aware …

Aesthetic Activisms: Language Politics And Inheritances In Recent Poetry From The U.S. South, Sunshine Dempsey

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation, Aesthetic Activisms: Language Politics and Inheritances in Recent Poetry from the U.S. South, is to illustrate how four contemporary poets incorporate and adapt literary forms and linguistic structures to emphasize the exclusionary systems of language that undergird accepted southern cultural practices. Aesthetic Activismslooks at four poets, Natasha Trethewey, Fred Moten, Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, and C.D. Wright, who challenge concepts of regional literary inheritances that refuses to recognize a broad plurality of voices and histories.

Aesthetic Activisms focuses on poets whose work re-orients, or centralizes, marginalized experience through form and content, resisting essentialist …

Understanding The Intercultural Motivators That Encourage Adult Basic Education Esl Students To Pursue General Education Opportunities, Nelecia Renetha Murrell

Theses and Dissertations

Per internationalization, the world of Adult Basic Education (ABE) has exponentially increased within the last decade (National Center for Statistics, 2015). Subsequentially, the Adult Basic Education (ABE) English as a Second Language (ESL) student population has experienced a huge upsurge nationwide. However, the students who have the English language proficiency to expand their academic and vocational skills by taking General Education classes (GenEd) are underrepresented in GenEd courses. Research posits ESL students are more apt to accomplish their academic and professional aspirations if their teachers employ interculturally competent (ICC) practices in the classroom. Nonetheless, Adult Basic Education (ABE) educators are …

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 …

Identity Construction Among L2 Writers In An Egyptian University, Duaa Zein Abousaeed

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore how students in an undergraduate language program represent their identities in L2 writing. The study investigates the effects of gender on ways of constructing identities in L2 writing and examines the relationship between overall L2 writing quality, identity features using both qualitative and quantitative research. A convenience sample of two English teaching Egyptian professors and 115 randomly-selected Egyptian male and female students in a public university participate in this study. Interviews with two professors who have different years of teaching experience are administered. The researcher also assigned students a writing task to …

Students' And Teachers' Perception Of Rapport Management Strategies Used By Teachers, Lobna Sherif

Theses and Dissertations

The present comparative study explores the perceptions of both students and teachers towards rapport-building behaviors, including the similarities and differences in their respective perceptions of such behaviors. Previous research posits that building rapport in classrooms has been correlated with deeper student engagement and higher motivation towards the course, thereby enabling students to enjoy the learning process itself. An array of rapport- building strategies has been explored, including learning students’ names, showing respect towards the students, and using humor in the classroom. A total of 129 students and 51 teachers filled out a perception questionnaire consisting of 26 teacher traits and …

Applying Psychological Reactance Theory To Intercultural Communication In The Workplace: Dealing With Technological Change And Tolerance For Ambiguity, Oumaima Boulhna

Theses and Dissertations

Psychological reactance theory has yet to be applied to intercultural and cross-cultural communication, at least not to a sufficient extent. This study conducted a cross-cultural examination of psychological reactance in intercultural workplace communication situations. Using the theoretical framework of psychological reactance as well as the constructs of intercultural sensitivity and tolerance for ambiguity, this study expanded applications of PRT for technological change messages in the workplace. The present study extended the previous applications of psychological reactance theory and found a significant cross-cultural variation for trait reactance. The results also revealed that tolerance for ambiguity was negatively related to trait reactance, …

The Experiences Of First-Generation Master's Students, Dominique A. Pierson

Theses and Dissertations

First-generation college students are a heavily researched student population who are represented as being first in their family to go to college and graduate. Scholars suggest there are many barriers impacting their college accessibility, affordability, retention, and overall success, therefore, have called for specific services and interventions of support within higher education to help first-generation students persist. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of first-generation students who do persist and pursue advanced educational aspirations. Specifically, first-generation master's students are the subject of this phenomenological study designed to explore the experiences of eight students through one-on-one interviews. …

Minor Subjects: Power And Inequity In Children's And Adolescent Literature, Wesley Jacques

Theses and Dissertations

In this project, I examine theoretical parameters of what has historically been considered American children’s and adolescent literature to further complicate its subject matter. The importance of reconsidering subjects is upheld here as key to challenging longstanding cultural and political inequities in the reading and teaching of literature broadly. Nonetheless, as this project contends, children’s and adolescent literature as a discipline is uniquely positioned to examine political power and challenge major power structures, not in spite of its presumed minor position in academic and literary discourse, but largely because of it. Thus, what follows is an inquiry into contemporary theories …