Digital Commons Network^™

“Drink The Kool-Aid, She Said ”: Female Villiany And Agency In Peoples Temple, Courtney Paige Smith

Theses and Dissertations

The responsibility for several hundred people drinking the Kool-Aid in Jonestown, Guyana, has typically been solely attributed to Jim Jones, the co-founder of the Peoples Temple movement. However, recent documentaries have shifted this representation to focus on all involved in the Peoples Temple. In this thesis, I use rhetorical analyses tactics through a critical feminist lens to examine the agency and villainy present in these mediated depictions of women in Peoples Temple. Mediated texts of the Peoples Temple included the 2018 Hulu documentary Jonestown: The Women Behind the Massacre, the 2018 AMC docuseries Jonestown: Terror in the Jungle, In Defense …

Life After Sports: A Career Transition Program For Graduating Collegiate Student-Athletes, Melvin Sangalang

Theses and Dissertations

The Life After Sports program is an initiative designed to help graduating collegiate student-athletes transition out of college sports and into post-sports life. The program is designed with four main learning objectives: (1) support participants in planning and preparation through effective goal setting to facilitate growth and behavior change beyond sport (2) create a balanced self-identity as early as pre-retirement (3) enhance awareness and confidence in transferring life skills learned from college sport, and help participants identify opportunities and support for transferring these life skills and (4) serve as a reminder of an ongoing social support network to reinforce their …

An Exploration Of Team Cohesion In Collegiate Esports Contexts, Kenneth Thomas Kresina

Theses and Dissertations

As the esports industry approaches adolescence, research on esports environments is only beginning. Despite the plethora of work done on team cohesion and coaching in traditional sports (e.g. Carron et al., 1985; Gardner et al., 1996, Pescosolido & Saavedra, 2012), current esports coaches are ill-equipped to lead and mentor a team of young adults. The present study aims to lay the groundwork for exploring team dynamics in esports through a team cohesion lens. A qualitative approach featuring semi-structured interviews from individual collegiate esports players across a variety of university-affiliated teams was adopted to explore players’ perceptions regarding their team environment …

No Such Thing As Nappy, Alan Roosevelt Atkins

Theses and Dissertations

This supportive statement examines how my upbringings influenced my cultural and societal perspectives and how I strive to challenge perceptions of race, history, and culture through my artwork. I include representations of people from various diasporas in drawings, prints, and animations to speak to the global reach of colorism and Eurocentrism. Influenced by the DIY nature of punk art and the urgency of protest art, I utilize materials such as Sharpies, fabric markers, collage, and cardboard. Use of cardboard suggests commercial exchange and the physical movement of goods from one place to another, as well as modern throw-away culture. Parallels …

Selectively Remembering Properties Of A Person-Probe-Surface System, Maisha Tahsin Orthy

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has shown that people can perceive many geometric and functional properties of a probed surface and the probe itself. They can also perceive these properties across a wide variety of circumstances. Research on the ecological approach to remembering found that people remember a given property of a hefted or wielded object to the extent that they detect the invariant patterns that support perceiving that property. The present study investigated two hypotheses: (1) if perceiving two different properties of that system requires detecting different (but related) invariant patterns in mechanical stimulation, then a person who perceives only one of …

Settlement Of Industrial Disputes Through Conciliation Machinery - A Critical Comparative Analysis Based On Singapore Model, Sangeetha S

Theses and Dissertations

In the current global scenario, where a developing country like India is still in the path of progression towards economic objectives the base of which lies in designing the industrialisation strategy and the industrial policy promoting industrial harmony, the need for restructuring the dispute resolution machinery keeping pace with global requirements is the need of the hour. In the wake of the New Economic Policy introduced in 1991, time had come for labour policies to synergistically relate to the industrial policies so that both move in a unified direction rather than the opposite directions.

The transition from the old labour …

Dragging Us Together: Exploring Media Representations Of Drag As Coalition Building And Queer Resistance In We’Re Here, Grace Elizabeth Pizzini

Theses and Dissertations

After decades of being either silenced or portrayed in a villainous perspective, LGBTQ+ individuals are beginning to see more representation on television including shows that feature drag performers. While previous shows such as RuPaul’s Drag Race and Dragula have been released for several years, We’re Here offers a new and unique approach to portrayals of drag on television by omitting the competitive aspect of the prior two shows. Analysis reveals that We’re Here highlights drag as a political tool that can both resist hegemonic standards and create community amongst participants and audience members. A critical lens reveals implications for racialized …

Performance Of Pennycress In Some Illinois Cropping Systems, Rashmi Dangol

Theses and Dissertations

Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense), a member of the Brassicaceae or mustard family, is an emerging winter oilseed crop being developed as a cash cover crop in summer annual row cropping systems. This crop can be grown in the Corn Belt, sandwiched between corn and soybean crops without causing a yield or ecosystem penalty, and pennycress has the potential to produce biofuel. Although it can be used as a feedstock and to produce biodiesel, little is known about the best agronomic management practices. The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth and performance of pennycress in rotation systems when this …

Analysis And Critique Of Character Creators In Role-Playing Video Games Towards A More Inclusive Gaming Environment, Ellie Parvin

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the social progress seen across the United States, video games still cater to white cisgender men ages 18-34 (Entertainment Software Association). Since the release of Ultima I and Wizardry, the first games that popularized role-playing video games (RPVGs) (“History of Western Role-Playing Video Games”), in 1981 (“Ultima (Series)”) (“Wizardry”), the genders players have to choose from are typically limited to the extremes of the gender spectrum, man and woman. The first RPVG to include a character creator with options outside the gender spectrum extremes was 7th Dragon III Code: VFD (Shaw, “Gender in 7th Dragon III Code: VFD”), an …

Cyberbullying Among College Students, Gifty Yaa Asiamah

Theses and Dissertations

There is an epidemic of cyberbullying in higher education, impacting college students. The purpose of this study is to examine cyberbullying among college students. The incidence and awareness of cyberbullying in a college sample shed further light on the issue and explored college students' experiences with the phenomenon. A mixed-methods analysis was conducted on 278 college students from Illinois State University. Results showed that 44.8% of students had experienced cyberbullying, with females being more likely to be victims, international students, and those of sexual orientation being more likely to experience cyberbullying. According to the data, the most prevalent social media …

Self-Objectification And Disordered Eating: The Role Of Fathers, Aleena E. Mangold

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine the links between disordered eating and body/weight related comments and messages from fathers through the lens of objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). The specific role of fathers in shaping their daughter’s disordered eating behaviors has not been examined sufficiently. I hypothesized that self-objectification would be associated with messages from fathers about dieting and appearance. I also hypothesized that the relationship between fathers’ messages and their daughter’s disordered eating behaviors would be mediated by self-objectification. Participants completed an online survey which measured perceived messages/pressures from fathers, self-objectification, and disordered eating behaviors. …

Migration And The Life Course: A Case Study Of African Female International Graduate Students At Illinois State University., Vivian Yawson

Theses and Dissertations

The number of graduate and undergraduate students from Africa in the United States (US) is rapidly increasing as Sub-Saharan Africans are among the fastest-growing foreign-born population in the US. Migration represents a significant turning point in individuals’ lives. Despite the growing body of research on international students in the US, there remains a gap in understanding the educational experiences of African students from a life course perspective. This study seeks to address this gap by examining student migration through the lens of the life course framework, leveraging current trends and patterns in international migration. Drawing on qualitative techniques, specifically narrative …

School Psychologist's Tiered Social-Emotional Recommendations In Response To Data Gathered From Social-Emotional Screening, Audrey Anita Andersen

Theses and Dissertations

Universal school-wide social-emotional screeners identify at-risk students with social-emotional behavior problems (Romer et al., 2020). Identifying such students alone cannot prevent these social, emotional, and behavioral concerns from becoming problematic. However, data gathered from social-emotional screening can guide the development of strategies, supports, interventions, and progress monitoring students at risk across all tiers (Yates et al., 2008), leading to the prevention of social-emotional and behavioral problems from turning maladaptive (Humphrey & Wigelsworth, 2016; Walker et al., 2004). A school district in the Mountain West area of the United States developed a screening survey that addresses school climate, culture, and connectedness …

Who Will Save Diversity? Ethics And Effectiveness In Equity, Diversity, And Inclusion Implementation, Ebuka Okoli

Theses and Dissertations

The Supreme Court of the United States decision on race-based affirmative action policies in higher education has impacted equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) programs in higher education institutions (Gonzales, 2023; Singh, 2023; Opie & Washington, 2023). This study explores the challenges higher education institutions face when communicating and implementing EDI programs. Other studies have shown that diversity programs can be developed using ethical frameworks (van Dijk et al., 2012; Gotsis & Kortezi, 2013; Wallace et al., 2014). This study examined if ethical frameworks like deontology, utilitarianism, virtue ethics, and ethics of care are adopted in diversity programs of higher education …

“I Can Do This Leadership Thing! ”: Training And Female Leaders' Perception Of Self-Efficacy In Higher Education, Omolola Lasisi

Theses and Dissertations

Self-efficacy is an essential factor needed for leadership success. Leaders with high levels of self-efficacy effectively guide their followers, have more opportunities for career growth, and achieve leadership success. Female leaders reportedly have lower levels of self-efficacy than their male counterparts. Training has however been reported to contribute positively to improved levels of self-efficacy. This study therefore explores the impact of training on female leaders’ self-efficacy specifically in higher education using three research questions. A total of 21 interviews were conducted with female leaders who occupy different administrative positions across public and private institutions. The interviews were analyzed using thematic …

Polyphony: Multitudes Of Vietnamese National Identity Through Experiential Documentation Of Marketplaces, Jade Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations

The exhibition Polyphony brings together photographs from Trades of the Street and Commere(d) Culture, two documentary series portraying Vietnamese marketplaces and businesses across multiple cities in Việt Nam and the United States respectively to provide a cross-cultural and multisensorial perspective on how commercial practices and establishments represent Vietnamese culture and national identity. The market provides insights into Việt Nam’s multilayered history, struggles, ways of living, sense of community, and its vibrant soul and culture. The combination of these two series and the sequencing of the exhibition utilizes the relational nature of photography, which allows new meaning to emerge from a …

Calhoun’S Shadow: Memory, Identity And The Commemorative Landscape In Charleston, South Carolina, Alex Silverman

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis probes the nature of Southern identity from the perspective of the commemorative landscape that embodies and perpetuates it. By examining one of South Carolina’s oldest monuments, a statue of John C. Calhoun formerly located in the symbolic center of Charleston, I aim to elucidate the role it played in amplifying the social, political, cultural and historical forces which conspired to define Southern civic identity. I also seek to understand the counterforces that continually resisted the monument and what it stood for, ultimately leading to its downfall.

With Love & Rage: A Self Portrait Of Borderline Personality Disorder, Sarah Eckstine

Theses and Dissertations

With Love & Rage: A Self Portrait of Borderline Personality Disorder analyses how I use the act of taking self portraits to materialize emotions through photographic means. When I experience intense emotions symptomatic of borderline personality disorder, positive or negative, their onset is routinely sudden and overwhelming; what follows is an impulsive desire to photograph myself to archive the present before the emotions shift or return to stable levels.The Rage images document the emotional aftermath of a sexual assault and rape; anger and depression, by using a red-scale film to emphasize both confrontational and dissociated body language. The Love images …

Gt-Ches And Dycon: Improved Classification For Human Evolutionary Systems, Joseph S. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this work is to rethink the process of learning in human evolutionary systems. We take a sober look at how game theory, network theory, and chaos theory pertain specifically to the modeling, data, and training components of generalization in human systems. The value of our research is three-fold. First, our work is a direct approach to align machine learning generalization with core behavioral theories. We made our best effort to directly reconcile the axioms of these heretofore incompatible disciplines -- rather than moving from AI/ML towards the behavioral theories while building exclusively on AI/ML intuition. Second, this …

Identification Of A Novel Target For Declustering Supernumerary Centrosomes In Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Priyanga J

Theses and Dissertations

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) confers considerable interventional challenge owing to its massive heterogeneity, aggression and metastatic prowess. These facets are attributed to chromosomal instability (CIN), a feature consequent to TNBC cell’s ability to harbor more than two centrosomes (supernumerary centrosomes; SNCs).

In principle, if a normal cell possesses SNCs, uneven pull forces are generated consequent to multipolar spindle, which activates cellular surveillance. This ensures error-free mitosis by either repairing the error or, in an irreparable condition, driving cells to death. This averts the possibility of aneuploidy (fundamental to tumorigenesis).

Unfortunately, TNBC cells, despite harboring SNCs, have devised a survival strategy …

Development Of N-H N-Heterocyclic Carbene Pd Catalysts For Cross-Coupling Reactions In Organic Synthesis, Rachel Nicole Owens

Theses and Dissertations

The use of N-H N heterocyclic carbene ligands (NHC's) in organometallic chemistry has become a field of interest due to their unique properties that lead to new and interesting reactivity. The hydrogen on the nitrogen of the NHC can be deprotonated, creating an anionic species, or it can participate in hydrogen-bonding with different substrates. In this work we will explore the unique reactivity of N-H NHC palladium complexes in different cross coupling reactions, including the Suzuki-Miyaura and Heck reactions. Our work demonstrates that N-H NHC complexes of palladium can be accessed from 2-phosphinoimidazole ligands via non-oxidative insertion of the palladium …

Preventing Orthopedic Implant Associated Biofilm Infections Using Transition Metal Complex Laminated Bioactive Implants, Sowndarya J

Theses and Dissertations

Orthopedic implants are medical devices employed to repair the damaged structure and function of an injured musculoskeletal system. It helps millions of people suffering from bone fractures and arthroplasty. The increased use of orthopedic implants has given rise to implant-associated biofilm infections. Biofilm-mediated Implant-associated osteomyelitis (IAO) is a major concern in the medical field, wherein the treatment involves debridement, administration of antibiotics and removal of implants leading to increased cost of treatment.

The keystone bacterial pathogens involved in orthopedic implant-associated infections are Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumannii which are members of the ESKAPE pathogens. A. baumannii has gained resistance against …

Concurrent Validity And Reliability Of The Vertical Jump And Standing Broad Jump Tests In Youth, Isaac Faamoe

Theses and Dissertations

Muscular power is an important component of fitness with implications for bone health, explosiveness in movements, and predicting long-term health outcomes. However, the literature is scarce concerning commonly used muscular power field tests among youth, including vertical jump (VJ) and standing broad jump (SBJ). PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between VJ and SBJ. METHODS: Approximately 540 students (9-14 years of age) in grades 4-8 participated in the testing of the VJ and SBJ. Pearson correlations were used to evaluate relationships between jump variables and intra-class correlations (ICC) were used to examine the consistency of the relationship between the VJ and …

Effects Of Individual Quality On Reproduction: Investigating Double Brooding And Egg Pigmentation In House Wrens ( Troglodytes Aedon ), Lauren Marie Leischner

Theses and Dissertations

Some species produce two broods in a season to maximize reproductive success; however, in species such as the house wren (Troglodytes aedon), not all individuals produce a second brood. We completed a cross-fostering experiment and examined the effects of individual characteristics on the probability of producing a second brood using breeding records from a long-term dataset. There was little evidence that the individual traits we examined affected the production of a second brood. However, the production of a second brood was significantly repeatable, indicating that individual characteristics have a substantial effect on the likelihood of producing a second brood. Eggshell …

The Effects Of Diesel Exhaust Particle Exposure On Adipos Mitochondrial Bioenergetics And Inflammation, Cali Elizabeth Warren

Theses and Dissertations

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) constitutes a significant component of ambient air pollution that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders, including insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Among PM2.5 constituents, diesel exhaust particles (DEP) are prevalent particulates that infiltrate the bloodstream to drive systemic pathologies. The purpose of this study was to characterize the metabolic response of adipose tissue to DEP. We aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding by exploring mitochondrial bioenergetics, characterizing the inflammatory marker profile, including adipokines, and conducting a detailed histological analysis of adipocytes to provide valuable insights to the evolving understanding of the intricate …

Reimagining Rural Readiness: Examining The Challenges Of The Rural Working-Class In Education, Todd Dugan

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT Rural students comprise nearly half of all students enrolled in public schools in the nation. With increasing amounts of students living in poverty, rural school districts are combatting many issues but with less resources than urban and suburban school districts. In addition, new Federal and state regulations continue to be enacted, sometimes to the detriment of students from rural working-class backgrounds. The research design consisted of a collection of memories from the author, who grew up in a rural working-class family and spent a career teaching and leading schools from this demographic, in an autoethnographic journal narrative format. To …

A Woman Alone: Aphra Behn And The Symbolic Power Of Widowhood, Gillian Kathleen Genardo

Theses and Dissertations

Seventeenth century playwright, Aphra Behn, is often considered one of theatre’s “greats,” as her plays are still widely discussed and produced. Interestingly, all contemporary scholars really know about Behn is her career, for her early life still remains a patchwork of possible theories. One such theory is that she never actually married. Instead, she may have invented a husband and faked his death in order to use the benefits of widowhood to build herself a respectable life as a “woman alone.” This research project is interested in Behn’s potential subterfuge. In what way might Aphra Behn have felt about widowhood …

A Global Health Crisis And Its Effects On Teaching Online At A Midwestern Institution, Kari Mcmullen

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined faculty experiences and perceptions regarding online education during the COVID-19 global health crisis. An online survey was assessed for content validity using a team of faculty experts in online teaching and learning. It was administered to a convenience sample of faculty at a Midwestern university. Of the 963 faculty who were surveyed, 98 returned the survey, a return rate of about 10%. The analysis of faculty experiences indicated that faculty adopted new pedagogical practices into their curriculum, specifically problem-based (18.37%) and self-paced learning (5.31%). Additionally, faculty adjusted assessments (42.86%), modified instruction (39.80%), and changed assignment due dates …

Programs And Services That Contribute To African-American Males' Academic Success At Predominantly White Institutions, Aaron Posey

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation shines a light on the indomitable spirit of African American male students, who exhibit remarkable resilience despite facing persistent challenges such as underrepresentation, academic underachievement, and racial and socioeconomic disparities. It delves into the critical role of programs and services in promoting academic success at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). The study explores how targeted institutional support mechanisms can further bolster their retention, engagement, and graduation rates. It conducts a comprehensive review of existing literature and a quantitative analysis of survey data collected from students at Midwestern PWI to understand the key factors influencing their academic journeys. The research …

Do Gaps Exist Between Preschool And Kindergarten Teachers Regarding Phonological Awareness Knowledge, Carrie Sharp

Theses and Dissertations

The quantitative methods study examined and compared the knowledge of phonological awareness between preschool and kindergarten teachers. A multiple-choice knowledge survey was utilized to determine levels of understanding between the two groups of teachers. The knowledge survey consisted of questions pertaining to definitions of phonological awareness terms and phonological and phonemic awareness tasks. Personal information about literacy trainings the participants had attended and instructional time spent on phonological awareness activities were also included in the knowledge survey. The purpose of the study was to determine if gaps existed between the preschool and kindergarten teachers.