Digital Commons Network^™

Madonna Inn: A Hotel In Context, Galadriel Bree Highhouse

Master's Theses

This paper examines the political, economic and social influences that contributed to the development of the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. I provide a brief history of the hotel industry and place the Madonna Inn within the historiography and argue that the nexus of three elements in the 1950s and 1960s led to the growth and popularity of the Madonna Inn: fear of nuclear war, growth of the middle class, and the rise of automobile culture in America.

The Redesign Of Mechanical Engineering 574: An Exploration In Deductive And Inductive Methods, Alyssa Janae Walker

Theses and Dissertations

Changes in the engineering industry have motivated the redesign of engineering curriculum in recent years. This report documents the redesign of Mechanical Engineering 574, a graduate course in engineering offered at Brigham Young University. The redesign was divided into four phases and used a design narrative to report the design process. Research conducted by the instructor and designer informed the main content of the course. Although the course originally used mainly deductive methods of instruction, by the final phase of the project, the instruction evolved to be primarily inductive in strategy.

Cultural Psychology Of African Americans, James M. Jones, Santiba Campbell

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

The cultural psychology of African Americans involves the evolution of African patterns of thought, feeling and behavior and their utilization as adaptive mechanisms in a context of racism and oppression. Assumptions about cultural psychology as the intersection of psyche and culture, and African American psychology as the multidimensional response to dehumanization and psychic conflict are discussed. Time, Rhythm, Improvisation, Orality, and Spirituality (TRIOS) are proposed as psycho-cultural mechanisms of adaptation, innovation, and psychological control for African Americans. Sources of variability among African Americans (both psychological and societal) are a basis for black subcultures within Black Culture. TRIOS is offered as …

Avoiding Engagement With 'Invisibles:' Religious Issues And The Field Of English Education, Robert Bruce

All Dissertations

This study used content analysis of selected documents representing the three dimensions of the field of English Education (curriculum, teacher preparation and development, and research) to ascertain how the field was responding to the larger societal problem that religious intolerance and ignorance pose, especially given the growing religious diversity of American society. Data from the documents were classified into four categories derived from various proposals for the incorporation of religious issues into the public school curriculum: religious literacy, religious concerns related to personal development, religious aspects of multiculturalism, and religious issues related to improved civic engagement.
The documents related to …

A Theoretical Approach To Legitimizing Collaboratively Constructed Knowledge: A Content Analysis Of Wikipedia Science Articles Based On Accidental Collaboration, James Patrick Hutchinson

Dissertations

This study involved an analysis of 147 Wikipedia science articles using content and social network analysis to explore authorial relationships between articles and test a theoretical approach to using accidental collaboration as a tool to legitimize collaboratively constructed knowledge. Contrary to Wikipedia’s tagline of “anyone can edit,” this study found that articles had a small number of prolific contributors and that these contributors had educational background and edit history suggesting they were knowledgeable about the topics to which they contributed. Results also showed that articles found via accidental collaboration tended to be scientific in nature and often had direct subject …

Have Introduced Brown Trout (Salmo Trutta) Affected Native Aquatic Vertebrates In Western United States Streams?, Nora K. Burbank

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The introduction of exotic species to areas outside of their native range is one of the greatest threats to the biodiversity of native freshwater organisms. Exotic species have outcompeted native species for resources such as food and shelter, and in some cases these interactions have resulted in local extinctions or reductions in abundance of those native species. Brown trout are native to Eurasia, but have been introduced to much of the rest of the world, including the United States. In some parts of their introduced range, brown trout have substantially reduced the abundance and home ranges of some native fish …

Using Species Distribution Models To Assess Invasion Theory And Provide Management Recommendations For Riparian Areas In The Eastern Columbia And Western Missouri River Basins, Diane R. Menuz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Globalization has created opportunities for plant and animal species to be transported to novel ecosystems. A subset of these species become invasive species, which are able to persist and spread rapidly to become influential components in their new ecosystems. Invasive species are often able to out-compete co-occurring native species and can alter fundamental ecosystem properties, such as soil nutrient availability or time between wildfires in a region. The United States is estimated to lose $34 billion per year to invasive plant species through costs to control unwanted species and lowered crop and forage production.

We used statistical models to better …

The Application Of The Death On The High Seas Act (Dohsa) To Commercial Space Flight Accidents, Jeffrey Robert Kuhns

Journal of Space Law

No abstract provided.

A Landscape Approach To Late Prehistoric Settlement And Subsistence Patterns In The Mojave Sink, Tiffany Ann Thomas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The environment of the Late Prehistoric period (1200 A.D. to Historic Contact) Mojave Sink was wetter than modern conditions. The settlement and subsistence patterns of the occupants of the region during this period were driven by the availability of water, subsistence resources, raw material sources, and tradition. These people utilized the regional landscape based upon the seasonal availability of these resources. Supplemental agricultural production has been proposed for the Mojave River Delta due to the more favorable environmental conditions of this period. If agriculture was being practiced it would have affected the regional land-use patterns. For this thesis I propose …

Sensitivity Analysis On Mapping Evapotranspiration At High Resolution Using Internal Calibration (Metric), Venkata Naga Ravi Kumar Choragudi

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mapping EvapoTranspiration at high Resolution using Internal Calibration (METRIC) is most widely used to quantify evapotranspiration (ET) spatially and temporally. It is essential to inspect the model’s response to errors in various parameters used in the model. Landsat 5 images from May 30 2009, July 1 2009 and a Landsat 7 image from September 27 2009 are used in this study. Fourteen different fields composed of Corn, Soybeans, Alfalfa are randomly chosen for each crop type.

Two kinds of errors are addressed in this study. One, with the errors that are transferred and potentially compensated by calibration (Global error) and …

The Urban Fabric Of The Great Plains, Andrew Becker

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

To most Americans the Great Plains region of North America is mysterious place. There are disagreements when defining its limits, and some people just refer to it as the Midwest. The Great Plains has been a place under an ocean, a place under glaciers, and a place on fire. It was once dubbed “the Great American Desert,” but is now known for its agricultural viability. The Great Plains sparks imagination because it is so massive and was one of the final frontiers for Euro-American settlement. The Great Plains is seen as a rural place but the majority of the region’s …

Gendered Livelihoods And The Politics Of Socio-Environmental Identity: Women’S Participation In Conservation Projects In Calakmul, Mexico, Claudia Radel

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

A livelihoods approach positions individuals, situated within households, as active agents within processes occurring at various scales. Environmental conservation efforts represent one such process with direct implications for local sustainable livelihoods and the gendered nature of livelihood strategies. In this article, I examine collective processes of socio-environmental identity construction as gendered sustainable livelihood strategies, articulated in and through the activities of women's agricultural organizations in communities bordering the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in rural southern Mexico. I present group histories and visual evidence from group activities – adapted from participatory rural appraisal (PRA) methodology – to highlight two important concepts. These …

Sequence Stratigraphy, Distribution And Preservation Of Organic Carbon, And Reservoir Properties Of The Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale, Of The Central Appalachian Basin; Northern West Virginia And Southwestern Pennsylvania, Roy L. Sexton Iv

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale of the central Appalachian basin is an unconventional resource play with approximate aerial extent of 34,000,000 acres (137,000 km²), and an estimated 84 trillion cubic feet (2.4 trillion m³) of recoverable natural gas and three billion barrels of recoverable natural gas liquids. Advances in drilling and completion technology have enabled economic production of hydrocarbons from the Marcellus. Despite increased exploration and production of the formation, uncertainties remain regarding controls on spatial and stratigraphic variations in reservoir properties such as total organic carbon (TOC), mineralogic composition, and authigenic components. Additionally, there is a lack of understanding …

Hydroclimatic Variability In North-Central Mongolia As Inferred From Tree Rings, Caroline Leland

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The influence of increasing temperatures on hydrologic regimes across Mongolia is difficult to evaluate from a spatial perspective, particularly at fine resolutions. Therefore, networks of tree-ring chronologies are a valuable means of assessing regional and local variability in hydroclimate while placing recent moisture trends in a historical context. Tree-ring data are particularly useful in Mongolia, where instrumental records are spatially and temporally limited. Here, I present two chapters that are essentially related and complement one another. The first chapter seeks to identify tree-growth anomaly regions (i.e. inferred hydroclimatic regions) across north-central Mongolia based on a network of 21 tree-ring chronologies. …

Sequence Stratigraphy, Depositional Environments, And Regional Mapping Of The Late Devonian Interval, Upper Three Forks Formation, Sanish Member, And Lower Bakken Shale, U.S. Portion Of The Williston Basin, Steven A. Sesack

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cores of the Late Devonian upper Three Forks, Sanish, and lower Bakken units from eight wells were examined and described at the North Dakota core depository. Core descriptions, wireline log correlation and mapping, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) data were integrated to recognize seven facies: The Three Forks D and the (600-900API) lower Bakken Shale, four facies belonging to the Sanish, and a basal siltstone facies assigned to the Lower Bakken. Facies identified were then grouped into separate systems tracts based on the identification of several significant sequence stratigraphic surfaces.;The four facies identified in the Sanish include: Facies A, a dolomitic …

Development Of Soil Lead And Tree-Ring Methods For Characterizing Atmospheric Deposition Gradients And Subsequent Tree Growth Responses, Bradley P. Breslow

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Atmospheric deposition of pollutants and nutrients can have a range of effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Despite its ecological importance, it remains a challenge to model patterns of deposition across complex terrain and also to assess how forest ecosystems are reacting to chronic inputs of atmospheric deposition. I measured the lead (Pb) content of forest soils adjacent to atmospheric deposition monitoring stations throughout the central Appalachian Mountains to examine how well patterns of soil Pb relate to regional patterns of inorganic nitrogen (N) deposition. While I found no significant relationship between organic soil Pb content and N deposition, I …

Living Cities: The Integration Initiative In Cleveland, Ohio - Greater University Circle Community Wealth Building Initiative: Year One Formative And Summative Evaluation Report, Ziona Austrian, Kathryn W. Hexter, Candi Clouse, Matt Hrubey

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Visualizing Social Studies, Sarah Christine Larsen

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the benefits of incorporating visual learning methods into high school social studies curricula through a thorough examination of the history of the study of intelligence and learning, focusing on several studies that made significant contributions. From my personal experience throughout school, I have observed that many of my peers appear to be visual learners. While I myself am an auditory learner, I believe that, due to the large amount of visual stimulation students are exposed to in American society, most students respond best to visual styles of teaching. This thesis will investigate …

Colonia Population And Housing Estimation [Dataset], Daren Ruiz

BBER Publications

Colonias are small, under-represented communities often characterized by poor socioeconomic conditions. There are 142 HUD-designated colonias in southern New Mexico. There is a great need for information on colonias: government agencies and community planners want to improve infrastructure and allocate resources to serve colonia populations. As part of the effort to compile information about colonias, the UNM Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) developed a technique for tabulating U.S. Census Bureau data for colonia geography. This article explains the technique, demonstrated by an estimated population and household count for the Rancho Grande colonia in Catron County. Location coordinates for …

A Phenomenological Study Of “Organizational Development Targeting Diversity” In A Nonprofit Human Service Organization, Christopher Henry Hinesley

Education Doctoral

This study explores the experiences of non-profit human service staff members engaged in “organizational development targeting diversity” (ODTD) for two years or more. This term was adapted by combining concepts in workforce diversity management (Cox, 1993; Ely & Thomas, 1996) and intra-organizational oppression (Fine, 1996; Hyde, 1998). Drawing upon Crenshaw’s (1989) theory of intersecting oppressions stemming from race, class, and gender stratification, the experiences of staff members in a nonprofit human services organization provided a window into an organization attempting to address its use of power and how to model empowerment for a disempowered clientele. This study was conducted using …

The Mexican Identity And Music: Audioscapes And The Transnational Death Metal Band Brujeria, Michael D. Mena

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The California-based Mexican-American “activist” metal band Brujeria, uses a powerful, yet conflicting, blend of nihilism, anarchism, and racism with a dose of hyper-patriotism in its attempt to convey the voice of oppressed Mexicans on both sides of the border. While it is uncertain whether or not Brujeria is intentionally political, their live performances and song lyrics are highly critical of both the U.S. and Mexico regarding immigration policy, border-crossing, and other issues which have resonated among an international audience. In this paper I explore the conflicting notions of space, performativity, binationality and U.S. Mexico relations within the context of Brujeria …

Systematics, Phylogenetics, And Biogeography Of Early Mississippian Camerate Crinoids Of The Nunn Member, Lake Valley Formation, In South-Central New Mexico, Elizabeth C. Rhenberg

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Lake Valley Formation has long been known for the crinoids that are abundant in the formation. The crinoids were noted in the first descriptions of the formations in the late 1800's, but there has never been a comprehensive study done on the crinoids and as a result there is no complete list of crinoids that existed in south-central New Mexico during the Early Mississippian. Although all subclasses of crinoids are found in the Nunn Member, it is the camerate crinoids that dominate the fauna and will be the focus of this study. Most of the specimens studied came from …

Modeling Multichannel Home Video Demand In The U.S. Motion Picture Industry, Anirban Mukherjee, Vrinda Kadiyali

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The U.S. motion picture industry has become increasingly reliant on posttheatrical channel profits. Two often-cited drivers of these profits are cross-channel substitution among posttheatrical channels and seasonality in consumer preferences for any movie. The authors use a differentiated products version of the multiplicative competitive interaction model to investigate these two phenomena. They estimate the model using data from 2000 and 2001 on two posttheatrical channels in the U.S. market: purchase and rental home viewing channels. Contrary to expectations based on business press commentary, after controlling for seasonality and movie attributes, the authors find low cross-channel price and availability elasticity for …

Cognitive Agendas And Legal Epistemology, Danny Marrero

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The domain of legal epistemology is defined from two alternative perspectives: individual epistemology and Social epistemology. Since these perspectives have different objects of evaluation, their judgments privilege and exclude different sets of information. While methodological individualism is concerned with justified beliefs of individual knowers, the Social angle focuses on the institutional conditions of knowledge. I will show that the information that is respectively excluded by both the individual and the Social concepts of legal epistemology weaken their respective evaluations. With this in mind, I will explore one new option of defining legal epistemology. This alternative is more comprehensive, in the …

The Effects Of Scheduling On Criterion-Referenced Assessments In Arkansas High Schools, Sheila Marie Trinkle

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the differences in achievement on the end of course assessment in Geometry and the Grade 11 Literacy exam administered to students in Arkansas during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years. The three main types of scheduling are the traditional schedule with seven or eight periods; the A/B, or the alternating block; and the 4 x 4, or accelerated block. The traditional was utilized by 90% of schools in Arkansas during this time frame. The A/B block and 4 x 4 block were used almost equally, each representing approximately 5% of Arkansas schools. …

Army Transformation: What Does It Mean?, David Jerome

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The way in which senior U.S. Army leaders such as the chiefs of staff define transformative change is important, especially if the meaning of that term is to be interpreted as originally intended by Army field grade officers. An Army chief of staff is responsible for creating a vision and establishing goals for the future, and field grade officers are responsible for pursuing that vision and those goals by implementing objectives that endeavor to arrive at the desired ends. By using both qualitative and quantitative methods, this research analyzes what each of the three chiefs of staff, who have served …

Islands And Swamps: A Comparison Of The Japanese American Internment Experience In Hawaii And Arkansas, Caleb Kenji Watanabe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Comparing the Japanese American relocation centers of Arkansas and the camp systems of Hawaii shows that internment was not U\universally detrimental to those held within its confines. Internment in Hawaii was far more severe than it was in Arkansas. This claim is supported by both primary sources, derived mainly from oral interviews, and secondary sources made up of scholarly research that has been conducted on the topic since the events of Japanese American internment occurred. The events of Japanese American Internment in Hawaii and Arkansas are important to remember because they show how far the American government can infringe on …

A Delayed Birth Of Freedom? Public School Graduates' Perceptions Of School Choice Viewed Through The Pragmatic Lenses Of The American Ideal, Donald B. Porter

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study was conducted to identify public school graduates perceptions regarding school choice options and their preparedness for success after high school. This is accomplished by presenting a historical and contextual overview of education as it specifically relates to low socioeconomic and minority populations. It analyzes governmental controls that may serve to restrict access to a quality education. This study seeks to promote equity through education as viewed through a social justice perspective. While governmental mandates, societal changes, and legal remedies have evolved and shaped America's education history, it has yet to fully empower parents and guardians to freely choose …

Speaking The Unutterable: White Teachers And Black Children, Amy Rene Dalton

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study explores the experiences of four White teachers teaching in a high-minority school in Macon, Georgia. Emily, Deanna, Richard, and I have crossed racial boundaries to establish successful teaching careers as White teachers working with Black students. Using a curriculum of place (Casemore, 2008; Kincheloe & Pinar, 1991; Whitlock, 2007) and the combined methodologies of personal-passionate-participatory inquiry (He & Phillion, 2008) and portraiture (Lawrence-Lightfoot & Davis, 1997) I explore these experiences. The key research issues are: why do these teachers remain at this school and why are they successful when other White teachers are not. This inquiry draws upon …

From Facebook To Gradebook: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Teen Use Of Social Networking Sites And Academic Achievement, Melody Dickerson Swang

Dissertations

No abstract provided.