Digital Commons Network^™

Another Time, Another Place: The Truth Of Silence In J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace, Sara T. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations

Through Lucy’s rejection of the criminal justice system, Coetzee's Disgrace operates as an allegory for the failure of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to provide individual justice and reparations to victims of Apartheid.

Straight White Men's Geosocial App Preferences: Exploring The Effects Of Race, Sean Aaron

Theses and Dissertations

Geosocial apps on mobile phones use location data to introduce many young adults to other people to initiate various types of relationships. This study examined how established racial preferences affect Straight White Men's (SWM) selection decisions of potential partners in a pseudo-geosocial app when controlling for age, attractiveness, and other profile factors of potential matches. A sample comprising exclusively of SWM was selected because historically, this demographic has benefited most from gender and racial inequalities (Thompson, 2009), and they make up the largest portion of people in interracial relationships in the United States (Livingston & Brown, 2017). We found that …

When Clients Who Got Worse Believe They Got Better: A Qualitative Analysis Of Oq-Deteriorators Reporting Improvement In Therapy, Eric Alexander Ghelfi

Theses and Dissertations

A recent study highlighted discrepancies between qualitative client self-reports of outcome and OQ-45 reports. Specifically, only 8.8% of clients who deteriorated during a course of therapy based on the OQ-45 perceived that they had deteriorated, while 50% of these clients perceived that they had improved in therapy (Top et al., 2018). This phenomenon, where different means of tracking outcomes yield divergent results, has been called “paradoxical outcome.” The trend suggests that the most advanced forms of tracking psychotherapy outcomes might not detect important facets of outcome from the perspective of psychotherapy clients. The current study is a qualitative investigation of …

Democracy In China Since Tiananmen: Elite Choice In Historical Context, Agustin Clayton Miranda

Theses and Dissertations

Why has the modern Peoples Republic of China not democratized? Since the late 20th century, scholarly consensus has acknowledged a process of waves of democratization occurring globally since the early 19th century, and yet the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has remained mostly unmoved and aloof to these changes. This work seeks to understand why the PRC has not democratized since the opening-up of the nation and its markets under Deng Xiaoping after Mao. To answer these questions on democratic resistance the work highlights the evolving logic of the PRC’s system and its leadership since the 1980s. As I argue, …

The Effects Of Engineering Discipline Depth And Specificity On Occupational Alignment, Graduate School Decisions, And Engineering Identity, Jenna Lynn Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Retention of engineering students to graduation and career is important business for both United States (U.S.) industries and engineering education institutions alike. Industries need competent engineers dedicated to working in the field of engineering beyond graduation in order to achieve business success and national economic growth, while engineering education institutions need retention to graduation to achieve their own business goals. This dissertation took a three-pronged approach to identifying relationships between depth and specificity of engineering and response factors related to graduation and career retention of engineers. Occupational alignment, graduate school decisions, and engineering identity were evaluated for relationships with specificity …

Warning! Explicit Material: The Effects Of Adolescent Pornography Use On Risky Sexual Behavior Over Time, Emily Jensen-Schvaneveldt

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the longitudinal effects of adolescent pornography trajectories on risky sexual behavior, as well as predictors of pornography trajectories. Data was taken from Waves V-X of the Flourishing Families Project, which included a sample of 463 families. A zero-inflated Poisson growth mixture model was run to determine class participation and growth trajectories. Findings revealed that gender and religiosity significantly predicted class participation, and class participation significantly predicted risky sexual behavior. While this study did have limitations, this study adds to the previous literature by examining adolescent pornography trajectories over an extended period of time.

Student Retention And Persistence In Certificate-First Programs, M. Troy Martin

Theses and Dissertations

This research explores the effect that earning professional certificates has on student confidence, motivation, and persistence. For this study, the focus is the student motivation and persistence of nontraditional students who seek to earn a bachelor's degree despite considerable obstacles and challenges. Specifically, this study evaluates the matriculation rates between two cohorts of students who participated in the online PathwayConnect program. The first cohort was encouraged to complete the program and apply for an online bachelor's degree program at BYU-Idaho. The second cohort was also encouraged to apply to an online program, but only after earning a professional certificate in …

Religious-Based Programming And Reentry Success: An Examination Of Spirituality And Its Effects On Post-Release Engagement, Employment, And Recidivism, Allie C. Bosi

Theses and Dissertations

This study uses data from HopeWorks, a Christian, faith-based vocational program inside the Shelby County Division of Corrections in Memphis, Tennessee, to examine factors affecting reentry success. Specifically, this research examines how spirituality - using measures that assess both spirituality (measured at the end of the program) and change in spirituality (measured as the difference between pre- and post-program measures of spirituality) - affects released offenders' reengagement with the program, ability to obtain employment, and ability to refrain from reoffending.

Synoptic-Scale Differences In The Characterization Of High-Shear Low-Cape Tornado Outbreaks In The United States, Maximilian Magness

Theses and Dissertations

High-Shear Low-CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy) (HSLC) Tornado Outbreaks (TOs) are a specific subset of TOs that occur each year, primarily East of the Rocky Mountains. This study looks to define HSLC TOs with the use of quartiles of the most supported shear and CAPE measure, create a climatology of HSLC TOs, and to give a better description of the synoptic-scale patterns associated with HSLC TOs. Statistical analysis of quartiles and inner quartile range (IQR) were conducted to see which is the best measure. Ultimately, Mixed-layer CAPE (MLCAPE) and 0-3km shear were used due to past support and were used …

Disability In Lee Han's Social Integration Films, Dasom Han

Theses and Dissertations

The thesis examines four films by Lee Han—Wandeugi (2011), Thread of Lies (2013), A Melody to Remember (2016) and Innocent Witness (2019)—that highlight disability problems in contemporary South Korea. While exposing the prejudice against and misunderstanding of people with disabilities embedded in society, these motion pictures promote social integration through development of trusted relationships and effective communication within familial structures. The representations of disability indicate that the cinematic images of exclusion can reinforce disabled characters' marginalized identity and promote inclusive efforts among the viewer at the same time. Through textual, cultural, theoretical analysis, it is argued that the films progressively …

How Are Police Lineups Represented In Popular Crime Shows In The U.S.A? An Examination Of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Luis Fernando Chavarria

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to explore police lineups as portrayed in crime-related TV shows in the U.S.A, such as Law & Order: SUV. The data used is from 25 episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The methodology used for this study is grounded theory and content analysis. results of the study by themes which are: DNA evidence, police lineups, and lineups used in court. From these themes codes were further highlighted and noted. Based on the episodes for the show and real-life lineup procedure practices, there were inconsistencies about clothing, physical characteristics of suspects, incorrect lineup …

A Phenomenological Collective Case Study Of Mexican American Gifted Dropouts In South Texas, Albert Irlas

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the shared experiences of formally identified gifted Mexican American students that decided to drop out of high school in the south Texas region. The researcher utilized a phenomenological collective case study approach that investigated the influences that led gifted learners to drop out of high school via a series of semi-structured interviews that collected and analyzed the shared narrative data (Creswell, 2013; Degand, 2015; Seidman, 2014). Prevailing studies have found that Mexican American gifted learners are more likely to live in economically depressed communities, more likely to suffer from linguistic and cultural …

I Buy Less When Others Suggest: Impact Of Personal Relative Deprivation, Temporal Discounting, Social Norms And Store Reputation On Food Over-Acquisition, Swapnil Saravade

Theses and Dissertations

Food over-acquisition has shown to have detrimental consequences such as food over-consumption, food waste, obesity, and greenhouse effects. Extant literature has typically focused on food over-consumption, with little explanation of its precursor, food over-acquisition. The current thesis situates the research in grocery retail and examines why people over-acquire food. Further, which interventions can marketers develop to mitigate food over-acquisition and in which grocery stores would those be effective? The present dissertation approaches this issue by drawing concepts from two disciplines, sociology, and behavioral economics. Through five studies, the current thesis shows that when people feel relatively food-deprived, they tend to …

Hawkish Or Dovish: The Effect Of Female Ceo Leadership On Strategic Conformity, Organizational Innovation And Strategic Change, Hazel Husne Dadanlar

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. female labor market participation rate has significantly improved in the last 50 years (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007). Along with the broader female labor participation rate, the level of female representation at the executive and director-level positions has shown some improvement in the last 24 years, albeit at a much slower pace than it has been in recent years (Pew Research Center Report, 2018). For example, while the number of female Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) leading Fortune 500 companies was zero in 1995, it rose by 7.4% by 2020. Despite some improvement, a mere 7.4% increase …

Two Essays On Corporate Finance, Md Noman Hossain

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two essays on corporate finance. In my first essay, we investigate whether and, if so, how the information disclosure preferences differ systematically between Republican CEOs and Democrat CEOs in the context of management earnings forecasts. We find that Republican CEOs tend to prefer a less asymmetric information environment than Democrat CEOs, and thus make more frequent, timelier, and more accurate disclosures than Democrat CEOs. Results using the propensity score-matched sample and the difference-in-differences analysis show that our results are unlikely to be driven by potential endogeneity. Our results are robust to controlling for various CEO characteristics, …

Physical Health As A Predictor Of Change In Self-Reported Presenting Problems In Couple Therapy, As Mediated By Emotional Regulation, Janette J. Driscoll

Theses and Dissertations

Recent literature in couple therapy has demonstrated the effects of physical health on some common presenting problems; however, few studies have considered progress as a construct on its own, irrespective of client-identified presenting problem. The current study used an Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediated Model to determine the connection between each partner's physical health and their own and their partner's self-reported progress in couple therapy, mediated by each partner's emotional regulation. Physical health was measured every four sessions using the Health-Related Quality of Life scale, and progress was measured by the Presenting Problem Progress Questionnaire given each time a couple attended therapy. …

"It's Like Being Pulled In Two Directions": Experiences Of Transgender Latter-Day Saints, Morgan Monet

Theses and Dissertations

This study qualitatively examined the experiences of transgender individuals who also identify as active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (N=10). Researchers took an interpretive phenomenological approach to elicit factors which allow trans Mormon folks to hold their apparently conflicting religious and gender identities simultaneously (and the consequences of doing so). Overall, we aimed to answer the broad question, “what is it like to be transgender and Mormon?” Following a process of semi-structured interviews, transcription, and coding, the broad categories which seemed to connect many elements of the trans/Mormon experience were 1) a sense of being …

Parent Anxiety, Parental Psychological Control, And Adolescent Anxiety: Mediation And Bidirectional Relationships, Iesha R. Gibbons

Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety is the most common mental health diagnosis for adolescents. Among important etiological factors are parent anxiety and parenting behavior, which can increase anxiety in adolescents. Adolescent anxiety can also act as a source of stress for parents that then increases parent anxiety and negative parenting behaviors. Using the Family Stress Model, this study aims to examine the longitudinal and bidirectional relationship between parent and adolescent anxiety with parental psychological control acting as a mediator. Structural equation modeling was used to examine these relationships across five waves of data for 457 families. Adolescents (51.86% female, mean age 13.34 at wave …

The Relationship Experiences Of Male Survivors Of Sexual Abuse: A Qualitative Analysis, Jordan Grant Gibby

Theses and Dissertations

Although the experience of sexual abuse is quite common among men, particularly among those in clinical populations, relatively little research has been done specifically with male survivors and the impact of abuse in their lives. More specifically, the impact of sexual abuse on male survivors' relationship dynamics has been underdeveloped in the research literature. Untapped online data can help illuminate these relationship dynamics, providing insight to clinicians for improved couple and family treatment. Through qualitative analysis of data from online discussion boards at MaleSurvivor.org, the present study examined the ways in which male survivors of sexual abuse described dynamics of …

Cross-National Analysis Of Mothers' Occupational Status In Germany And The United States: Before And After Germany's Work-Family Policy Changes, Paige N. Park

Theses and Dissertations

In many OECD countries, women are underrepresented in the highest status, highest paying positions and overrepresented in the lowest status, lowest paying positions. One potential reason for this inequity is the "motherhood penalty," where women with children face more roadblocks in hiring and promotions. This research investigates occupational segregation among mothers and fathers and analyzes whether gender gaps in occupational status are more extreme for immigrant populations. Using data from the Luxembourg Cross-National Data Center, I compare changes in gender occupational segregation from 2000 to 2016 in Germany and the United States among immigrant and native-born parents. Multinomial logistic regression …

Pinpointing Pornography's Effects: Paring Off The Influences Of Masturbation, Sexual Desire Discrepancy, And Sexual Engagement In Heterosexual Dyads, Brady C. Eisert

Theses and Dissertations

Pornography has increasingly become a hot topic of discussion in the United States, likely due to its increasing rate of consumption. Recent scholarship has indicated the need to account for factors such as masturbation and sexual desire discrepancy when conducting pornography research. The current study isolated the influence pornography use had on those in heterosexual romantic relationships (N=713 couples) by parsing out the effects of sexual desire discrepancy and masturbation. This was done by using a series of nested actor-partner interdependence models (APIM) to see how the relationships between pornography use and sexual satisfaction changed in each model. Masturbation and …

Phenomenal Women And Their Sexualization In Media, Tyvon Devontae Lesure

Theses and Dissertations

This documentary thesis deconstructs the representation of women in media and culture. Women’s sexuality is explored, presenting a deeper understanding of contemporary discourse regarding hyper-sexualization. The film maintains a feminist approach by offering primacy to various women and their unique experiences. A more complex understanding of different perspectives provides a greater outlook on the entire concept of sexualization. Furthermore, this documentary interacts with culture and media as means to understanding the hyper sexualization of womanhood. The documentary certifies that womanhood is not a monolithic experience. Finally, it is argued that women should be in control of the various narratives pertaining …

The Expression Of Gender Equality In Three American Narratives The Slum, Sab And Beloved, Yasmin L. Shariff

Theses and Dissertations

The pages to follow examine literary representation of people of color, particularly women, in regards to racial and gender equality in a nineteenth century hemispherically American context. The Slum (1890), Sab (1841), and Beloved (1987), though from different countries, and time periods, present a continuum of the intersectional struggle for equality in the ongoing narrative of the Americas hemispherically. “American” and “Hemispherical” refers to North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean in a political and sociological sense. These novels are set side by side to highlight the historical and societal similarities. The characters in this literature reflect American …

The Mythology Of Grotesque Women In The Short Stories Of Rosario Ferré And Elena Garro: "It's Not Me, It's You, Yomira Jatzin Varela Guadiana

Theses and Dissertations

The short stories of Latin American writers like Rosario Ferré and Elena Garro are molded by the frameworks in which they have been constructed. Literature, far from being disconnected by the impositions of borders, geographical or otherwise, remains allied to the frameworks and ideologies that paved the way to its inception. In particular, countries in what is known as the Global South share parallel histories and are thus linked by the structures they have in common. The literature of the U.S. South is connected not merely to the nation itself but to other entities outside of it like the Caribbean …

The Significance Of Significance: Decolonizing Cultural Resource Management Practices In The Upper Midwest, Justin Allen Woods

Theses and Dissertations

Indigenous communities across the United States were coerced and tricked into signing treaties that ceded significant portions of their ancestral lands. This land holds cultural value to the tribal members, however academics and archaeologists who do not often shared these values analyze these landscapes to determine their cultural and historical significance, a decision-making process mandated by federal and often state law that has important economic, political, and social consequences. This paper analyzes examples from one context, cultural resource management (CRM) projects in the Northern Great Lakes Region of Wisconsin, Michigan, North and South Dakota and Minnesota, as a case study …

Detecting Remnants Of The Past: Archaeo-Geophysical Prospection Of Fremont Sites In Southern Utah Valley, Jacob P. Jepsen

Theses and Dissertations

The variable contexts of Fremont habitation sites in Utah Valley often make identification of those sites very challenging for archaeologists. Pit houses and other structures throughout the valley are frequently in plowed fields or other disturbed contexts that obscure their more exact location and nature. The application of geophysical technologies at archaeological sites throughout the world, including in North America, has proven to be an effective means of subsurface archaeological survey. However, geophysical techniques have been underutilized in Fremont archaeology. This paper reports on the employment of two geophysical methods, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and fluxgate gradiometer surveys, at three known …

Methodological Considerations And Use Wear Analysis Of The Late Archaic Sites Of Duck Lake And Popper From Grand Island Michigan, James William Hill

Theses and Dissertations

This project analyzed use wear on 100 artifacts recovered from two Late Archaic sites located on Grand Island, Michigan, Duck Lake and Popper. I have divided my project into three phases. The first phase involved a simple presence/absence study of microwear on a sample of informal and formal tools from Grand Island. The goal of this phase was to create a replicable methodology and scoring method for the different types of wear identified in the Grand Island assemblage. The second phase involved several tasks. Initially, I reconstructed several tools from quartz, quartzite, and chert from Grand Island and then used …

Queering Genre And Joy: Reclaiming And Navigating Queerness Through Hybridity, Rebecca Meier

Theses and Dissertations

Throughout my experience in English education, queer texts and queer interpretations of texts have often been denied to me in favor of upholding more canonical and more cis-heteronormative works and analyses. This delayed my ability to write through my gender, sexuality, and overall queer identity, because I had no literary references to take inspiration from. The ways in which I played with genre and form in my work were discouraged because I was taught that my writing would not be taken seriously in academia if it did not represent the “official” literary canon. By melding together memoir, theory, poetry, and …

Incorporating Black Voices And Perspectives Into U.S. History Curricula Within Small, Rural Midwestern Schools, Jay Ryan Lawler Jr

Theses and Dissertations

In the highly polarized American political climate, teachers are facing immense pressure from legislators, community members and administration that impacts their decisions regarding what and how to teach certain topics perceived as controversial. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which public high school teachers in small, rural Illinois schools incorporated Black voices and perspectives into their curricula to meet the requirements set out by the Illinois General Assembly in HB 0246. This study also aimed to understand what pedagogical methods are used when incorporating those voices and perspectives, along with the challenges that accompany teaching …

Roli I Përkrahjes Në Shëndetin Mental, Lirjeta Mahmuti

Theses and Dissertations

Shëndeti ynë mendor ndikon drejtpërdrejt në mënyrën se si mendojmë, ndjejmë dhe veprojmë gjithashtu ndikon në shëndetin tonë fizik.

Për të gjithë individët, shëndeti mendor, fizik dhe social janë fillesa jetësore dhe të ndërthurura të jetës. Ndërsa kuptimi ynë për këtë marrëdhënie rritet, bëhet gjithnjë e më e qartë se shëndeti mendor është thelbësor për mirëqenien e përgjithshme të individëve, shoqërive dhe vendeve. Në të vërtetë, shëndeti mendor mund të përkufizohet si një gjendje e mirëqenies që u mundëson individëve të realizojnë aftësitë e tyre, të përballen me streset normale të jetës, të punojnë në mënyrë produktive dhe të frytshme …