Digital Commons Network^™

Life At The Margins: Regional Inequality In Tunisia And International Migration, Hiba Belhadj

Theses and Dissertations

Drawing on De Haas’s (2021) argument on migration as a function of people’s aspirations and capabilities, this research examines how regional inequality in Tunisia – affecting both aspirations and capabilities – impacts and shapes the opportunities and outcomes of migration. Building on De Haas’s migration typology, this research will argue that people from marginalized regions undertake “precarious migration.” For this group of migrants, precarity is employed to explain not only their migration but also their employment and livelihood conditions at home. Those from developed regions undertake “free” or “improvement” migration. In a further step, the research examines how these different …

Invisibility And Dis-Identification Of Algerian Women: Feminist Jurisprudence Eyes On The Legal Provisions Related To Personal Status And Criminal, Sophia Lina Meziane

Theses and Dissertations

Much of the debate around women’s rights in legal systems focuses on the increase of protection as a legal mechanism for approaching and guaranteeing gender equality. Yet, what extensive or comprehensive analysis has been done on how effective such laws are when applied? This thesis discusses the extent to which a feminist legal theory, separate and distinct from the patriarchal legal system, can demonstrate how an Islamic or Napoleonic order is conceptually another male rationality. While one could possibly identify inefficiencies of laws proclaiming equality and protection for women, the context of the question is inevitably entrenched in the very …

The Making And Unmaking Of Urban Citizenship In The Maspero Triangle, Nadine Abd El Razek

Theses and Dissertations

Cairo is undergoing a moment of sharpened exclusion and inclusion, with the city’s residents of informal settlements disproportionately experiencing displacement and abrupt interruptions to their social fabric to make way for investment opportunities. In pursuit of achieving the status of a global city, the Egyptian state has effectively widened its practice of structural violence, in order to accumulate capital through dispossession. In the process of doing so, the state has problematized the contested status of urban citizenship, disenfranchising the urban dwellers of Cairo from their right to the city. Following the temporal shifts in the negotiation for urban citizenship, the …

Education And Authoritarian Consolidation In Egypt Post 2013, Rola Tarek

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines how educational changes in school textbooks during a moment authoritarian rebuilding aim to politically demobilize students. This paper investigates how education is a sphere of influence for politics, and how authoritarian consolidation efforts manifest themselves in public and religious education. Focusing on the curricular and textbook changes in Egypt, and using secondary and primary sources the study traces the changing nationalist and religious narratives and how it aids in authoritarian rebuilding.

Modest Aspirations: Day Dreams, Frivolity, And Digital Lives Of Public College Girls In Lahore, Pakistan, Anam Khan

Theses and Dissertations

This project was conceived out of a policy announcement in 2016 where the Higher Education Commission Pakistan announced that the two-year colleges were to be phased out and eventually eliminated. In doing so, the notice suggested that they will be replaced by programs modeled around the United States community college and called Associate Degrees. This ongoing development formed the basis of my research as for many gender and class minorities, these programs are the only option for post-secondary education in a country where many do not have the privilege to go to college. I aimed to analyze the kind of …

On The Balcony, Beyond “Balconearing”; Perception Of Cairene Women, Behind The Curtains., Rowida Magdy Al-Gebeily

Theses and Dissertations

This study sheds light on the significance and role of threshold spaces as means of accomplishing sociocultural needs, restoration and wellbeing in the residential environment. Understanding the function and uses of these spaces allows us to appreciate their benefits that are often neglected. The research particularly focuses on the social dimension of one fundamental threshold space; the Cairene balcony. It is an integral space that provides a valuable connection to the outside, and its importance in the development of urban living is widely recognized. If carefully designed to meet the residents’ needs and demands, they can promote a better quality …

The Impact Of Egypt's Mega Events On Egyptians' Public Mood, Nouran Abass

Theses and Dissertations

The study aims to study the Impact of Egypt's Mega Events on Egyptians‟ Public Mood. Egypt organized two Mega Events in 2021: The Pharaohs‟ Golden Parade and Luxor Sphinx Avenue. The study also examines the impact of the two Mega Events on the Egyptian Identity. While the two Mega Events targeted Egypt's external publics to attract tourists to Egypt, the study attempts to assess the impact of the two Mega Events on one of Egypt's internal publics; the Egyptians. Depending on the concept of “Social Listening” as a theoretical framework, the study examines the possible ways the Egyptian government can …

Workplaces Disrupted: Exploring The Psychological Well-Being In Egyptian Office Spaces Post-Covid, Mirna Raafat

Theses and Dissertations

Triggered by public concerns over office workplace physicality after the COVID-19 pandemic, this research sheds the light on the expected future office space redesign in relation to the employees’ emergent habits while working from home. The purpose of this study is to assess the latest working experience which took place outside of its normal habitat and is supposed to change the trajectory of office design. Therefore, this research provides a better understanding of the emergent habits caused by the long-term lockdown of the pandemic and the modifications expected to take place in the post-COVID-19 offices to suit the stakeholder’s needs. …

National Policies To End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting In Egypt: An Analytical Review, Nada Ghanem

Theses and Dissertations

Egypt has a high prevalence rate of practicing female genital mutilation/cutting on a national scale that requires continuous interventions till the practice is abolished. This thesis discusses the policies of the government of Egypt to end FGM/C using qualitative methods based on desk review and in-depth interviews with government and non-government experts in the field. The thesis explored the global and national historical contexts on the social and political levels to comprehend the complex roots of the practice within the society and the evolution of the political stance towards it. The main pillars constructing the Egyptian policies towards ending FGM/C …

Perceptions Of The Culinary Art Community On Their Higher Education Programs In Egypt: The Way Forward, Kadria Ali Abdel Motaal

Theses and Dissertations

Culinary art education used to have a narrow focus that forgoes its richness and ignores its infiltration into economic, political, and cultural aspects within society. Recently the world witnessed an evolution in this field of study as it reached tertiary education institutions. However, in Egypt, culinary art studies are integrated into hospitality education and are still confined to a shallow concept. This study aimed to explore the perception of the culinary art community in Egypt on their higher education programs from a sociocultural perspective. It also explored the possible new frameworks, and core competencies to improve culinary arts higher education …

Safety Behind The Computer Screen: Gauging Public Perceptions About Teacher Student Sexual Abuse, Kilby E. Raptopoulos

Theses and Dissertations

Female sex offenders are often portrayed in the media more leniently than male sex offenders, which could influence the way the public perceives these offenders. Further, the media is not always accurate in how they portray sex crimes either which can translate to misconceptions among the public specifically regarding sex offenders. The purpose of this research was to explore media coverage of teacher student sexual abuse in relation to the public’s reaction to these news stories. The current study utilized news stories to analyze reader comments on a news website to understand 1) how teacher sex offenders are portrayed, 2) …

Determinants Of Democratic Regression: The Case Of Tunisia, Bassant Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

On the 25th of July, 2021, the Tunisian president Kais Saied dissolved the cabinet and froze the parliament. These decisions were the first among a series of ensuing measures which curtailed the progression of the nascent Tunisian democracy. This thesis aims to unfold the causes underlying Tunisia’s current democratic regression. It finds that the interplay between institutional, economic, regional and international factors represented an immense challenge to Tunisian democracy. By situating theories of democratic backsliding in the context of the Arab region, the thesis argues that institutional lacunas, military professionalism, expansion of corruption networks and dynamics of regional rivalry have …

A Structural Examination Of Organizational Justice, Self-Legitimacy, Employee Engagement, And Civic Engagement In Police, Mary Isis Wuestewald

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, the concept of police self-legitimacy has spurred research interest. Several studies have demonstrated beneficial outcomes associated with officers who are confident in their own authority. The current dissertation builds on this emerging area of study by examining the influence of organizational justice on police self-legitimacy, as well as self-legitimacy’s impact on employee engagement and civic engagement in police officers. Survey data were gathered from a sample of 1,391 officers from variously sized agencies across seven regions of the United States. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. The results indicate that organizational justice is a key component …

Is State Feminism The Key To Gender Equality?, Nadine Mohamed Kamaly

Theses and Dissertations

“The male point of view forces itself upon the world as a way of apprehending it. Perspectives from the male standpoint enforces a woman's definition, encircles her body, circumlocutes her speech, and describes her life” (Mackinnon, 1983, 636). How the world views women is sometimes out of their hands. Ogasawara (1999) explains that “there is a multiplicity of socially acceptable images of Japanese women today” (pg.87). Throughout this thesis, I will explore the several, but limited, images that Japanese society has rendered acceptable for women. I will also examine how Japanese State Feminism aims to give women the opportunity to …

Measuring Citizens’ Acceptance And Usage Of E-Government Services: Applying The Technology Acceptance Model (Tam) In Egypt, Rana Khamis

Theses and Dissertations

The significance of public services delivery has been realized by all governments worldwide. An overarching tool to enhance government productivity and enabling citizen-centric public services, especially in developed countries, has proven to be the electronic government (e-Government).

While many scholars focused on the supply side of e-government, few researches studied e-government adoption from the citizens’ perspective. To contribute to filling this research gap, this study aimed at measuring the perceptions of citizens towards the adoption of e-government services in Egypt. Using Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the main objective of this research was gaining a better understanding of the factors affecting …

A Captive’S Subjectivity, Rebeca J. Blemur

Theses and Dissertations

The project discusses the effects of Haiti’s colonization as the space transitions from Hispaniola to Saint-Domingue and later to the free state of Haiti. This is done by studying the concept of the right to conquest and the absurdities that exist around the first appearances of international law. The project focuses on the pre-revolutionary period starting around the 1750s, the revolutionary period that began in the 1790s, the French oligarchical class’s attempt for social equality, and the war for ultimate colonial conquest between the French, Spanish, and British. The project will display how legally objectifying a human being manifests subjects …

The Organization Of Islamic Cooperation (Oic): Opportunities And Challenges For Practicing Culturally-Sensitive Mediation In Intra-Muslim Conflicts, Nirvana Ahmad

Theses and Dissertations

Established in 1969, the OIC sat a unique paradigm in the international order as an intergovernmental organization that claims a religious identity and mandate: working for Muslim unity and interests. In that pursuit, it has assumed the function of the peaceful settlement of disputes as one of its primary roles. Over half a century of its existence, not only did the OIC drift away from its founding principles and commitments; it is now condemned for turning into an arena for polarization among Muslims, where unchecked geopolitical competition has aroused rampant violence of all sorts.
The literature on the OIC extensively …

The Family Values: Is It Really About The Family? Analyzing The Family In The Egyptian Discourse Through A Sociological Lens, Taher Sabala

Theses and Dissertations

The Egyptian state has put on its shoulders the responsibility of protecting the family and its values. But how this family, in a massive society like Egypt, can be defined? In this paper, I argue that it has never been about protecting the family. However, it is an attempt to shape the citizens into small separate hives which give the State the power to gain access to the intimate details of its citizens’ lives through which they can be easily monitored, managed, and controlled. By analyzing Michel Foucault’s work on government, power, sexuality, and family, I travel through a historical …

Revolution In Cuba And Iran: Toward A Unified Theory Of Analysis, Mason Sims

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to fill a small gap in the study of revolution through unifying approaches and theories utilized to explain the complex social phenomenon. To facilitate this, a large portion of the work focuses on revolution literature which has been chosen to represent authors from the earliest generations covering the subject to the more recent. In compiling and reviewing these works, it can be seen that there exist common lines of not just explanation, but also a continuous series of critiques resurfacing within each generation. Within this compilation lies the roots of the theory presented in this thesis, that …

What Is A Child? The Conception Of Childhood Viewed Primarily Through The Funerary Culture From The Predynastic Era To The Middle Kingdom, Courtney Mcrae

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses an interdisciplinary analysis of the theories involving cultural ideas of childhood, as well as archaeological approaches to studying the funerary material culture related to children, in an attempt to determine the role of children in ancient Egypt. To achieve this, the author examines grave goods in relation to child burials from the Predynastic (5000-3200 BC) to the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC) to examine the correlation between funerary material cultures with different stages of childhood. The author used these time periods in order to properly conduct an in depth analysis of early Egyptian culture. The author also analyzes …

Community Detection Via Persistent Homology Surfaces, Abigail Jenkins

Theses and Dissertations

Network science continues to be an area of growing interest. In this thesis we introduce new methods of analyzing the structure of networks through the use of persistent homology. We propose the notion of a network's persistent surface, which allows us to visualize a vertex's relation to the whole network from a purely homological point of view. We further introduce a method of persistent surface community detection that finds vertices that play the same structural role in the network. We describe how these concepts provide the basis for an equivalence class among the vertices of a network, and provide many …

How Do Differences In Giving And Receiving Social Support Predict The Frequency Of Substance Use And Polysubstance Use Among Those Who Use Opioids, Afifa Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

Little is known about the association between giving and receiving social support and substance use frequency. This study investigates how social support can predict substance use and polysubstance use in adults who use opioids and other substances. Survey data demonstrated significant associations between giving emotional support and heroin use frequency.

Children And The Cold War: Race & Hypocrisy Amid Fear Of Nuclear War, Richard D. Mctaggart Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

During the Cold War, American propaganda centered the wellbeing of the child in its messaging warning of atomic attack at the hands of the Soviet Union. However, despite American claims that all children were valued by the United States, this was proven untrue by its unequal treatment of Black children.

A Place Under The Sun, Maya B. Baran

Theses and Dissertations

Maya Baran’s work reflects on how light, nostalgia, and photography allow her to look at the past and ask questions about the human experience, intimacy, temporality, societal and personal journeys. looking back through time at things that become present when photographed, Baran looks at the scientific, metaphysical, and human.

Impact Of On-Campus Childcare On Student Parent Success In A Community College Setting, Jessica Dillon

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examines the impact of on-campus childcare on student parent success. Researchers believe the role stress they experience while balancing their responsibilities as students and parents, combined with their increased likelihood of experiencing financial stressors relative to their peers, impact their success outcomes. Supports like on-campus childcare and financial assistance have both shown positive impacts on student parent success but more research is need to understand their combined impact on student parent success. This study used ex post facto data from n=10785 students that were enrolled in at least one class at New York Community College in fall …

Educating Business And Management Students: Using A Critical Management Lens To Learn From Chattel Slavery, Linda L. Ridley

Theses and Dissertations

The value of business school pedagogy has received increased attention in recent years (Delgado and Stefancic, 1992; Giacalone and Wargo, 2009; Podolny, 2009; Grier & Poole, 2020; Prieto & Phipps, 2021). This qualitative study examined the ability of higher education business faculty to include chattel slavery in the history of American business (Katznelson, 2005; Baptist, 2014;). Traditionally, the fundamentals of management teaching have been aligned with the belief that conventional management theories were developed separate and apart from the institution of chattel slavery and the management of race (Aufhauser, 1973; Cooke, 2003; Blackmon, 2008; Roediger & Esch, 2012). An interpretivist …

Reclaiming Power. Activating Black Middle-Class Mother Engagement In The Committee On Special Education, Kellie M. Ramsey

Theses and Dissertations

From conversations in school hallways, to SEPTA meetings, to parking lots and church benches, Black middle-class parents have engaged in talk of disillusionment with the IEP development process for their special needs child. Previous literature has provided limited insight into the navigational capital of Black middle-class parents in the special education system. This author interviewed Black middle-class parents who felt overwhelmed by the IEP development process and came to utilize their cultural capital (Yosso, 2005) to overcome systemic barriers to their active engagement in the CSE (Ladson-Billings, 1995) and to explore opportunities they have had for positive interactions. Findings of …

Adult English Language Learners’ Experiences Of Online Learning And Motivations For Persistence During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Patricia F. Searby

Theses and Dissertations

The unprecedented shift to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic presented a unique opportunity to research adult English language learners’ lived experiences of online learning and motivations for persistence. With the growing trend of offering online learning to adult learners and concerns over the high attrition rates associated with this method (Nagel, 2009), it is critical to analyze adult English language learners’ lived experiences of online learning and motivations for persistence to inform pedagogical practices that will promote learner retention in online formats. The purpose of this study was to extend the current research through the lens of self-determination theory …

The Effectiveness Of College Readiness College Preparatory Programs For Low-Income Teenagers, Leah Heartfield

Theses and Dissertations

High school students from low-income backgrounds experience academic under-preparedness, financial distress, and socialization challenges when entering college. For these students, challenges may begin in the K-12 setting, where this population is more likely to face limitations in college counseling, lack highly qualified teachers, and have limited access to college programs. First generation college students are less likely to pursue and persist in higher education than their peers with different backgrounds (OECD, 2012). Because of this, low-income students may seek out or be invited to join supplemental programs, including summer bridge and afterschool programs, to help them become college ready. The …

Hidden In Plain Sight: A Descriptive Case Study Analysis Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Post-Traditional Remedial Learners And Their Determinants Of Student Success, Pamela V. Eatman-Skinner

Theses and Dissertations

The Post-Traditional Remedial Learner in higher education is a student constituency that has historically been Hidden in Plain Sight and strikingly absent from substantive discussions that foreground their lived experiences, relevance, and success in post-secondary education. Though physically present on campus and numerically significant within the academy, they are not recognized as an influential and consequential student demographic. The juxtaposition of their presence, specifically within the community college setting, and absence in the literature calls our attention to one of higher education’s most perplexing omissions. This study's purpose is to explore the lived experiences of Post-Traditional Remedial Learners (PTLs) in …