Digital Commons Network^™

Planting Seeds Is A Metaphor: Being Agrarian, Agricultural Activism, And Emergent Identity In New Mexico, Elise Trott

Anthropology ETDs

In recent years, small-scale agriculture and acequia (traditional ditch irrigation) practices have become a significant locus for the goals and agendas of multiple stakeholders in New Mexico, attracting political, scholarly, and popular interest from a wide variety of groups and individuals. For this reason, local acequieros (acequia irrigators) and farmers are constantly engaged in processes of boundary-making, identity formation, and negotiation over the limits, claims, and goals of their involvement in agricultural activism, as well as the involvement of others. This thesis addresses the content, meaning, and implications of the strategic identity formation and boundary-making practices of one organization at …

Florentine Palaces, Costly Signaling, And Lineage Survival, Michael K. Church

Anthropology ETDs

My dissertation evaluated whether the palaces built in Florence, Italy during the Renaissance are a form of costly signaling. Costly signaling theory was developed to explain why organisms have attributes and behaviors that appear to defy basic Darwinian logic by having costs that are not offset by obvious benefits. The theory proposes that such attributes and behaviors persist because they are reliable signals of information about the signalers. Signal audiences use the information content of signals to rank signalers and to modify their interactions with signalers in ways that benefit signalers. These interactions can involve mate choice, predation avoidance, status …

The Monastic Ideal And The Glorified/Spiritual Resurrection Body: An Exercise In Speculative Theology, Aaron Raverty Osb

Obsculta

An imaginative exploration of the possible attributes of the glorified, spiritual, postresurrection human body in the Christian tradition (see 1 Cor 15:35-50), by integrating Scripture, gender studies, monastic spirituality, and patristic theological sources.

Sex Estimation From The Clavicle: A Discriminant Function Analysis, Megan Kathleen Cleary

Theses

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF MEGAN K. CLEARY, for the Master of Arts degree in ANTHROPOLOGY, presented on MARCH 28th at 8am, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale TITLE: SEX ESTIMATION FROM THE CLAVICLE: A DISCRIMINANT FUNCTION ANALYSIS MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Gretchen R. Dabbs The development of methods for sex estimation using postcranial remains other than the os coxa is imperative for physical anthropology to improve the reliability of biological profile estimates in cases of incomplete and/or fragmentary skeletal remains. As the last skeletal element to complete fusion, the clavicle has the longest period of time to develop sexually dimorphic …

Big Blue And You: An Interdisciplinary Look At Science And The Ocean, A Students Teaching Students Course, Megan M. Nepshinsky, Alexa Kretsch, Benjamin Negrete

Senior Honors Projects

This class is the second project under the new Honors Program initiative, Students Teaching Students (STS). STS was brought to URI and implemented by Bridget Griffith as part of her Senior Honors Project in 2011. Students apply in their Junior year to design, research, and teach an honors course on a topic about which they are passionate. The STS program allows motivated honors students to have a unique opportunity to lead a class as student professors. This allows students a freedom of creativity on the topic, assignments, and teaching style. Drawing on our own experiences, we were able to create …

Varieties Of Deer Imagery: Gender And Cosmology In Prehistoric Belief Systems Of Central Asia And South Siberia., Luke Champouillon

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the Altai Mountains of far-western Mongolia near the convergence of China, Kazakhstan, and Russia, the Biluut Rock Art Complex contains over 9,000 petroglyphs. Hundreds of associated archaeological features including stone mounds and different types of standing stones are also present. Perhaps most crucial to connecting Biluut rock art with these features are deer stones, found not only here, but also throughout northern and central Mongolia, the larger Altai region, and Central Asia. These monuments bear important connections to khirigsuurs, Bronze Age burial mounds of stone encircled by ringed “fences”. Stylized “Mongolian deer” engraved on the classical type of deer …

An Interdisciplinary Study Of Modern-Day Slavery: Human Trafficking, Margaret Ruiz

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This project uses a multidisciplinary approach to analyze different forms of modern-day slavery, with a focus on sex trafficking. More specifically, it examines how historical slavery has transformed into modern-day slavery and it illuminates similarities and differences between historical slavery and modern-day slavery. In my work, I also studied the underlying causes of modern-day slavery, by analyzing various factors that affect slavery. Lastly, my work examines the existing legal and political instruments that confront and combat slavery. Finally, in this project, I reflect and discuss the lack of effective programs that work towards the reparation of victims.

I came up …

The Grissom Site (45kt301): A Review And Synthesis Of Investigations And Exploration Of The Site's Research Potential, Holly Ann Cecilia Shea

All Master's Theses

The Grissom site (45KT301) is a multi-component archaeological site in northeast Kittitas Valley excavated by Central Washington State College from 1967-1971. The site is significant because it is one of few scientifically excavated upland sites in the Columbia Plateau and likely represents part of Che-lo-han, the intergroup gathering of Plateau cultures known to occur annually in the Kittitas Valley. Furthermore, the Grissom site collection is a rehabilitated archaeological collection and, therefore, provides a cost-effective way to explore research questions while still gaining new knowledge about the past. Excavations at the site produced 13,622 catalogued bags of pre-contact and historic artifacts …

Distant Neighbors: Negotiating Space And Urban Development In A Southern Mississippi Community, Kelly Jo Davila

Master's Theses

Through a case study in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, this research explores the need for cultural competence in urban economic development of neighborhoods. I place at the forefront the need for a collective community voice in the discussions and negotiations of future development, and argue that a lack of that voice has contributed to stunted economic growth.

In addition, through this case study I demonstrate that there may be systems in place intended to "solve" the problem of economic underdevelopment, but in reality only perpetuate the lack of economic growth. In this case, a reliance on the local bus system has made …

East Of The Tracks: Grassroots Environmentalism In South Mississippi, Heather Kay Sanchez

Master's Theses

Environmental justice literature challenges the disparity and oppression regarding the quality of life associated with residential environments among communities of color. Recent disasters, such as hurricane Katrina, the Tennessee coal sludge disaster (December 2008), and the BP Oil Spill (2010) have garnered visibility for environmental issues, particularly in the south. Nevertheless, the topic has largely been ignored in Mississippi among academia, many advocacy groups, and at the state level despite the emergence of several community based grassroots environmental groups throughout Mississippi in recent years. From Columbia, to Crystal Springs, to Hattiesburg, a coalition of environmental groups is forming with Hattiesburg …

Career Choices And The Influence Of Third Culture Kids On International Relations, Morgan Byttner

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

In a study of approximately 258 third culture kids (TCKs), I examine the effects that TCKs have on the field of International Relations through their educational, career, and lifestyle choices.

2012 May 1, Faculty Senate Minutes, State University Of New York At Cortland

Minutes

Faculty Senate Minutes No. 1, May 1, 2012

The Campaign For Fair Food : Reflective Action To Change The World, Amanda Sliby

USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

No abstract provided.

Zapatista Materiality Disseminated: A Co-Construction Reconsidered, Ilse Biel

Anthropology ETDs

In this study, I explore two central examples of Zapatista material culture, the Zapatista mask and the souvenir muñecas zapatistas [Zapatista dolls], as they become plot lines in the co-constructed encuentro that shapes the Zapatista concept internationally leading to a false image of Zapatista homogeneity. Taking on their own dynamic substance that frequently is dislodged from the context of the people they appear to represent they become indicative of the discourse about the Zapatistas, one that does not necessarily originate in the activities of the Zapatistas. I suggest that, within the broader encuentro process between Zapatistas and non-Zapatistas, the Zapatistas …

A Theoretical Relationship Between Guardianship And Techniques Of Neutralization: A Qualitative Analysis Of Digital Piracy, Christopher D. Davies

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research is a qualitative analysis of digital piracy at the height of Napster in 1999. The findings support the notion that technology has given rise to several new techniques of neutralization. In some cases these techniques are completely new and in others they are 21st century updates to traditional techniques. Furthermore, this research uses forum posts from USENET to determine that guardianship as created by Cohen and Felson's Routine Activities Theory is uniquely connected to neutralization based on two unique guardianship qualities, authority and capacity.

Design Variables Of Attraction In Quest-Based Learning, Charles Christopher Haskell

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Critics of the American education system point to student boredom, lack of personalized and relevant instruction, and a deficit of 21st century skills as challenges to producing productive citizens of a modern, digital society (Barab et al., 2009; Eccles & Wingfield, 2002; Ketelhut, 2007; U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology, 2010). Digital learning, including game-based approaches, offers opportunities to bring about meaningful, engaging, individualized learning (Barab & Dede, 2007; Gee, 2005; Squire, 2003). Quest-based learning is an instructional design theory of game-based learning that focuses on student activity choice within the curriculum, which offers promising pedagogical possibilities in …

Investigation Of Histomorphometric Values In An East Arctic Foraging Group, The Sadlermiut, Joseph Kenneth Purcell

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

A sample of second metacarpals (n=78) obtained from the Sadlermiut, Inuit (1285-1903 A.D.), a genetically isolated East Arctic foraging group, was analyzed histologically in this study. The Sadlermiut subsisted nearly exclusively on small marine mammals and fowl. Based on known adaptations to a cold environment, a high level of physical activity, and a diet high in protein, it was predicted that Inuit bones would show elevated levels of cellular activity. The size and density of secondary osteons in the Sadlermiut are used in this study to compare their bone metabolic processes with known data from a sample of Euro-Canadian metacarpals …

The New Jim Crow And Administration Of Justice: An Investigation Of Change Through Race And The Disciplinary Mode, Patricia Ann Franklin

Theses (Pre-2016)

This thesis focuses on the meaning and definition of the Jim Crow law and its contemporary meaning and application to administration of justice in the United States. The Old Jim Crow accentuated the segregation of African Americans, who were treated "separate but equal" by race and the penal process. The New Jim Crow represents police brutality, white supremacy, the disregard of the 14th Amendment for some minorities, and the devastating replacement of Jim Crow with the massive incarceration of black people. This evaluation will also explain the historic emergence of the Jim Crow law as well as its compatibility with …

University Of Central Florida Undergraduate Catalog, 2012 - 2013, University Of Central Florida

UCF Catalogs

No abstract provided.

University Of Central Florida Graduate Catalog, 2012 - 2013, University Of Central Florida

UCF Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Day To Day Change Making: The Transformative Potential Of Dumpster Diving, Elizabeth Emery Donovan

Pomona Senior Theses

This paper investigates the potential of dumpster diving as a tactic of the freegan movement. The goal of the freegan movement is the realization of a postcapitalist world. I first investigate the scope, legality and demographic of dumpster diving in the U.S. I then contextualize dumpster diving within the history of waste, consumerism and excess in the U.S. since the beginning of the 20th century. I conclude by assessing the viabaility of freegan dumpster diving as a transformative tactic in light of its inaccessibility to various individuals as a result of their race and class. I ultimately argue that freeganism …

47th International Congress On Medieval Studies, Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University

International Congress on Medieval Studies Archive

The printed program of the 47th International Congress on Medieval Studies (May 10-13, 2012), including the Corrigenda.

Using The Learners-As-Ethnographers Approach To Enhance Intercultural Learning Among American College Students Learning Chinese As A Foreign Language, Minhui M. Lu

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Cross-Cultural Contact On Ship Island, Mississippi: An Analysis Of The French Warehouse Site Ceramic Assemblage From An Aboriginal And Engendered Perspective, Barbara Thedy Hester

Master's Theses

This thesis is a study of the Aboriginal ceramics recovered from the French Warehouse site (22HR638 or GUIS 98) located on Ship Island, a barrier island in the Mississippi Sound. The goals of the thesis are to determine both the regional source(s) of the pottery and date(s) of site occupation by identifying temper agents and ceramic types and varieties. It also seeks to determine the nature of site use by analysis of vessel form and function. Two scenarios are explored. If the ceramic vessels are of homogeneous forms, then they are likely products of trade alone. However, if they are …

Ethnic Disparities In Prenatal Care Utilization In Vietnam, Ha Ngoc Trinh

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Prenatal care is credited with reducing neonatal, perinatal, and maternal mortality and morbidity. The main purpose of the thesis is to examine the ethnic disparities between majority and ethnic minority women in prenatal care usage. The thesis also analyzes the effects of age, education attainment, female employment, and region on prenatal care utilization in Vietnam. I employ the Demographic and Health Survey 2002 in Vietnam. Descriptive statistic and logistic regression are the two statistical tests employed in this research. Results exhibit evidence of ethnic disparities in type of prenatal care utilization. Although ethnic minority women are likely to enter prenatal …

Where's The Justice? A Review Of The Local Food Movement Through A Reflexive Lens, Colyn Kilmer

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

As the local food movement has gained momentum over the past several years, so too has it garnered critiques from academic scholars. This literature review identified academic critiques of the local food movement. These critiques were organized into four general categories. A fifth category, reflexivity, was identified, which functioned as both a critique and a way to address the other four categories of critique. This review paired the four categories of academic critique with ways in which several academic scholars suggested reflexivity could be used to resolve these critiques. This review was designed to give scholars, practitioners, and consumers associated …

Factors Affecting Social Attainment Among Individuals: Evidence From The National Educational Longitudinal Study 1988-2000, Michael Foleng Ndofor

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study draws from extant literature on social attainment to examine what factors affect the attaining of higher incomes, education, and occupational ranks. Research on five distinct factors is examined and analyzed using a sample of about 6,000 students from a national longitudinal study across the United States between 1988-2000 as they transitioned from eight grade through high school and into the labor force: (1) background characteristics: household type, race, and gender, (2) social capital, (3) cultural capital, (4) academic ability, and (5) parental social class. The results revealed that these factors affect social attainment. I also examined if parental …

A Preliminary Investigation Comparing Craniofacial Metric Measurements And 3d Virtual Measurements, Christopher Todd Kowalczyk

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The development and advancement of new laser scanning techniques enables the capture of 3D imaging which can be quantitatively assessed for use on the human skull. I used a Polhemus Fast Scan Scorpion scanner to scan 8 skulls and evaluated the standard 24 metric measurements in Delta analysis software in comparison to standard metric measurements. The scanned measurements were then compared to the standard metric measurements using the same landmarks. Of the original 48 measurements, 33 (68.75%) fail to reject the null and 10 (20.83%) reject the null with the remaining 5 (10.41%) being unknown due to n=1 because of …

Home Field Advantage: Sprint Sensitivity To Ecologically Relevant Substrates In Lizards, Clint Edward Collins

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Effectively moving across variable substrates is important to all terrestrial animals. Much attention has been given to the effects of different substrates on locomotor performance in an attempt to link ecology and morphology. Sprint sensitivity is the decrease in sprint speed due to change in substrate. This study measures sprint sensitivity to substrate rugosity among six lizard species that occupy rocky, sandy, and/or semi-arboreal habitats. Lizards that use rocky habitats are less sensitive to changes in substrate rugosity, followed by arboreal lizards, and then by lizards that use sandy habitats. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that using rocks is highly correlated with …

Development And Evaluation Of A Mouse Neocortical Cells Neurodevelopment Assay To Assess The Effects Of Pyrethroids, Stephanie I. Savino

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Pyrethroid insecticides have been used for more than 40 years and account for 25% of the global insecticide market with household, agricultural and public health applications. With increasing use of pyrethroids over recent years, human exposure to these chemicals is likely. The acute toxicity of pyrethroids to mammalian adults has been documented as moderately toxic by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. However, little evidence is available regarding the potential toxicological effects of pyrethroids on mammalian neurodevelopment. In this study, a neurodevelopment assay was developed for future investigation of potential pyrethroid effects on the neuronal development of Mus musculus neocortical cells.