Digital Commons Network^™

The Real Virtual World: Connectivity And Techno-Mediation In The Lives Of College Students, Alecea Standlee

Sociology - Dissertations

This dissertation examines the way in which techno-mediated communication technologies, such as social media, text messaging, and virtual communities are used to negotiate, establish and maintain interpersonal relationships among college students. Using in-depth interview and online participant observation, I explore the relationship between technological communication and social behavior, interpersonal relationships and social networks. I focus on three broad questions: how do developments and structures of technological communication allow for the emergence of new social expectations and behaviors in the realm of connectivity and social interaction? How do individuals experience social pressures for connectivity and how do such pressures shape relationships? …

United States Sophistry On The Palestinian Resolution For Statehood, Marc James Mason

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This project examines the rhetorical devices and practices used by the Obama Administration to express and construct opposition to the Palestinian Authority’s statehood bid. This study focuses on uncovering the ideology embedded within President Obama’s Speech to the United Nations General Assembly during the opening of the 66th Session. By conducting an ideology rhetorical analysis of this text, this examination will uncover the reasoning that Obama deploys to make sense of and define the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and more specifically, the Palestinian bid for statehood. This ideology has contributed to the perpetuation of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories; thereby, …

Finding Multi-Centers: Using Crowd-Sourcing Technologies To Define Communities Of Landscape Architecture, Geoffrey Taylor

All Theses

This paper presents findings from website-based analytics identifying social and geographic topic hotspots within the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design. Three crowd-sourced surveys are utilized to record thousands of user's topic interests and pinpoint locations on a global scale. Topics include projects, research, visualization, sustainability, and competitions within architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design. The surveys also identify user locations, topics of interest, day and time of contact, social sharing, and user demographics. The goal of the research is to understand the online social structure and responses of groups involved with developing the built environment. These professionals …

Tripping With Stephen Gaskin: An Exploration Of A Hippy Adult Educator, Gabriel Patrick Morley

Dissertations

For the last 40 years, Stephen Gaskin has been an adult educator on the fringe, working with tens of thousands of adults in the counterculture movement in pursuit of social change regarding marijuana legalization, women’s rights, environmental justice issues and beyond. Gaskin has written 11 books about his experiences teaching and learning with adults outside the mainstream, yet, he is virtually unknown in the field of adult education. He lists his religion as hippy; he is a member of the Counterculture Hall of Fame (inducted 2004), a convicted felon, a United States Marine, a Korean War combat veteran, and a …

Public Parks And Private Ideologies: Building Nineteenth-Century British National Identity Through Landscape, Laura Swaim Witherington

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project examines how nineteenth-century landscape theories shaped national identity and were influenced by it. Predominant is an investigation of how the desire for a more egalitarian class structure underlies the changes in British landscape design from an attachment to classical exclusivity through pastoral tropes to a limited acceptance of middle and working classes within public landscapes that represented patriotic values. Although poetic works inform the study, novel-length fiction and non-fiction prose and periodicals are also a primary source of consideration. Novels demonstrate how fictional geography generates the constructs of national ideology, and although canonical works typically referenced in studu …

Anthropology Of Family Business: Ten Desiderata. In Proceedings, United States Association For Small Business And Entrepreneurship, 27th Annual Conference, Alex Stewart

Management Faculty Research and Publications

For anthropology to realize its potential for contributing to family business, what would it be like? I would emphasize 10 desiderata. These are: (1) familiarity with relevant ethnographies; (2) knowledge about kinship studies; (3) focus on important questions; (4) alertness to sources of solidarity and of conflict; (5) knowledge about human variation and possibilities; (6) attention to wider contexts; (7) systematic comparison; (8) attention to lived experiences; (9) cross-disciplinarity; and (10) methodological soundness. For these 10 properties, I outline key elements, suggest readings, and argue for their importance by considering the consequences if they were not included.

The Face Of Extinction: Are Charismatic Species More Vulnerable To Endangerment?, Andrée M. Brisson

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Conservationists have suggested extinction is non-random; some species are more prone to extinction than others. Multiple traits (e.g., large bodied, long-lived, slow-reproducing, migratory, habitat and/or dietary specialists) have been cited as contributing to the endangerment of species. Due to global anthropogenic demand for wild species (e.g., sport, trade, fashion, medicine, religion, food), I propose charisma as an additional trait of endangerment. This predicts charismatic species are more often targets of direct exploitation than less charismatic species, and that global demand will continue to increase with world population and development. These species represent our most iconic and animated organisms. I quantified …

Story Lines Moving Through The Multiple Imagined Communities Of An Asian-/American-/Feminist Body, Athia Choudhury

HIM 1990-2015

We all have stories to share, to build, to pass around, to inherit, and to create. This story - the one I piece together now - is about a Thai-/Bengali-/Muslim-/American-/Feminist looking for home, looking to manage the tension and conflict of wanting to belong to her family and to her feminist community. This thesis focuses on the seemingly conflicting obligations to kinship on the one hand and to feminist practice on the other, a conflict where being a good scholar or activist is directly in opposition to being a good Asian daughter. In order to understand how and why these …

Evaluating The Psychometric Properties Of The Aggressive Driving Behavior Questionnaire (Adbq), Ajla Gurda

HIM 1990-2015

A principal axis factor analysis with promax rotation yielded four factors, or joint variations between the 20 items, that were inter-correlated with eigenvalues greater than 1. The ADBQ was also found to have high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .86). The four factors were used to form four subscales of aggressive driving behavior that included anger/aggression, speeding/minor infractions, overt expression, and judgment of other drivers. The four subscales were found to correlate with self-reported biographical and driver history data, as well as, gender differences across scales. Additional analyses were conducted using data from the present sample from the University of …

Towards Self-Emancipation In Ict For Development Research: Narratives About Respect, Traditional Leadership And Building Networks Of Friendships In Rural South Africa, Kirstin Krauss

The African Journal of Information Systems

In this paper, the author contends that if the outsider-researcher involved in Information and Communication Technology for Development really wants to make a difference and honestly address the emancipatory interests of the developing community, social transformation will have to occur on both sides of the “development divide.” This statement implies both an understanding of the researcher’s own ethnocentrism, prejudice, assumptions and inabilities as well as local concerns, needs, expectations and realities. Using critical social theory as a position of inquiry and learning from the enculturation phases of critical ethnographic fieldwork in a deep rural part of South Africa, the paper …

Chinese Soft Power: The Role Of Culture And Confucianism, Meng Meng

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Soft power, a term coined by American scholar Joseph S. Nye in the early nineties, has been widely used in the academic and political arenas. This paper attempts to analyze soft power from Chinese perspectives. By thoroughly examining official documents, scholarly writings, news reports, and various related websites, I hope to address the following questions: how do Chinese scholars interpret soft power? What is soft power with Chinese characteristics? How does China wield its soft power? What is the importance of soft power? What are the results of Chinese soft power building? And finally, is it a zero-sum game competing …

May 2012 Commencement Program, Bowling Green State University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Mother Knows Best: The Rhetorical Persona Of Michelle Obama And The "Let's Move" Campaign, Monika Bertaki

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Some first ladies are often condemned for being too involved with the presidents' power in politics while other first ladies find themselves condemned for the lack of involvement. First ladies, it seems, are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Consequently, Michelle Obama faces rhetorical problems that in some respects are similar to those of previous first ladies and in other respects are quite different. Along with the criticisms encountered by previous presidential wives, Obama faces the stereotypes African American women have endured since the inception of the nation. Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign serves as a rhetorical …

Leyendo Al Incoherente Jules Lévy, Victor Lope Salvador

Teatro: Revista de Estudios Escénicos / A Journal of Theater Studies

El presente trabajo es un estudio de un texto que puede ser considerado como un manifiesto de la incoherencia publicado por Jules Lévy en 1885. El método empleado es el del análisis textual promovido por Jesús González Requena consistente en el detallado deletreamiento del escrito. A partir del análisis podemos considerar la incoherencia como un movimiento con rasgos tanto del romanticismo como de la vanguardia.

Vanguardias Históricas Y Lenguajes Artísticos En El Mundo Occidental Contemporáneo: Aspectos Teóricos, Ángel Berenguer

Teatro: Revista de Estudios Escénicos / A Journal of Theater Studies

La propuesta de este trabajo se sitúa en el plano de los estudios culturales, dado el enfoque plural desde el que estudiamos la génesis de los lenguajes artísticos. El modelo teórico que utilizo aquí está en varios trabajos anteriores en los que el acercamiento filológico había dejado ya de ser eficaz, y lo sustituí por el modelo Motivos y estrategias. Precisamente, en mi opinión, fueron los lenguajes vanguardistas que estudié en mis primeros años de investigador, los que me dieron la posibilidad de intentar integrar lo que Lucien Goldman llamó la “creación cultural”, y que yo he procurado aclarar en …

Disyuntivas De La Vanguardia Hispanoamericana En Las Revistas De Vicente Huidobro, Antonio Guijarro-Donadíos

Teatro: Revista de Estudios Escénicos / A Journal of Theater Studies

El objetivo principal de este trabajo es ahondar en el proyecto de contribución al proceso y desarrollo internacional del programa de la vanguardia de Vicente Huidobro (1893-1948) proponiendo un modo de estudio centrado en un corpus de obvio interés y, sin embargo, descuidado por la crítica: sus revistas.

El Discurso De La Vanguardias En El Teatro Venezolano (1900-1930), Luis Chesney-Lawrence

Teatro: Revista de Estudios Escénicos / A Journal of Theater Studies

En este ensayo se presentan los principales actores de la vanguardia teatral venezolanos entre los años 1900 y 1930, período difícil para la cultura nacional, pero que sin embargo produjo insospechados documentos nuevos sobre la creación teatral. Siguiendo una metodología de A. Berenguer (2007), se examinan el novedoso movimiento del modernismo teatral así como las principales revistas y dramaturgias renovadoras de este período.

Motivos Y Estrategias Del Impresionismo, El Expresionismo Y El Cubismo, José Alberto Conderana Cerrillo

Teatro: Revista de Estudios Escénicos / A Journal of Theater Studies

Estudio de las primeras vanguardias centrado en un motivo común, la inestabilidad de lo real, generador de estrategias artísticas diferenciadas desarrolladas a través del Impresionismo –“visión original”-, el Expresionismo –“lógica de la sensación”- y el Cubismo –“visión simultánea”, “conquista de la ubicuidad”-.

Intellectual Property, Traditional Knowledge, And Biodiversity In The Global Economy: The Potential Of Geographical Indications For Protecting Traditional Knowledge-Based Agricultural Products, Teshager W. Dagne

PhD Dissertations

The relationship between international regimes regulating intellectual property, traditional knowledge and biodiversity has received much attention in recent times. Of the many complex and controversial issues in contemporary international legal discourse on this matter, the protection of traditional knowledge (TK) stands out as a significant challenge. Choices abound in the search for modalities to regulate rights to use and control TK systems and their underlying biodiversity. In recent times, the protection of geographical indications (GIs) has emerged as an option for protecting TK. Despite the considerable enthusiasm over it, there is appreciable research dearth on how far and in what …

Journey: Students' Perspectives On Studying Abroad, Rachel Tjornehoj

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

How can I share my entire study abroad experience in a short article? With all of the photos, stories, challenges, new experiences, comparisons and travels from a year abroad, it can’t be done. In a series of short articles, however, it is possible to catch a glimpse of all of the opportunities available when one decides to study abroad. For “Journey” magazine, I compiled stories from a variety of students’ study abroad experiences to show the diverse opportunities and possibilities available through study abroad. As more and more students study abroad and travel to new countries, the range of possibilities …

Chinese International Students' Cross-Cultural Adaptation And Online Communication, Chen Wei Wu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explored Chinese international students' computer mediated communication with both Americans and Chinese during their studying in the U.S. based on a Cross-Cultural Adaptation theory. The specific purpose of this study was to test five theorems of the theory with a sample of Chinese international students and to explore how Chinese international students' intercultural transformation, adaptive personality, host communication competence, and their interpersonal and mass communication with both host and ethnic groups associate together.

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.

On Provisionality, Dave Colangelo, Alex Fraser

School of Film Faculty Publications and Presentations

Brief essay which discusses the works of four artists shown in the "Everything and Nothing" exhibition, and places them in an historical, cultural, technological and artistic lineage.

Note: At the time of writing, Dave Colangelo was affiliated with N/A, an art and design collective dedicated to project and event‐based cross‐pollination.

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 Comparison Of Principals’ And Parents’ Perceptions Of Family Engagement In Schools, Karen Ash Frost

Dissertations

In an age of educational accountability, the ability of a school leader to create a strong community partnership with parents is not only seen as important, but vital for improving school success School leaders are expected to create an atmosphere conducive for student learning and parent involvement. In order to build a school where families are engaged and eager to participate, the principal must strive to understand what parents think about family engagement in schools, and compare it to their own perceptions in order to create a strong partnership.

The purpose of this study is to compare principals’ and parents’ …

Humor Me To Heaven: Humor's Redemptive Role In The Works Of Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor, And Marilynne Robinson, Stephanie Johnson

Masters Theses

Humor is the topic of many psychological, social, and cultural studies, but this project examines humor under a new lens. Humor's unique qualities explored in this study prove that humor is capable of more than just causing laughter; the nature of humor allows it to unveil truths about humanity, both spiritual and physical, through exposing man's flaws. This quality is especially important to consider when analyzing humor in the context of literature, in which humor also works as an aesthetic element. This study searches several short stories by Eudora Welty and Flannery O'Connor along with Marilynne Robinson's Gilead to reveal …

The Word And The World: The Activist Spirit In American Literature, 1968-1998, Jason M. Stupp

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In The Word and the World: The Activist Spirit in American Literature , 1968-1998, I argue that some American authors confronted what Audre Lorde calls the "triumphs and errors" of the 1960s by producing literature that conceptualizes methodologies of resistance within sustainable models of community organization. Instead of succumbing to the inherent cynicism of the postmodern era, this literature encourages readers to adopt activist practices and to remain vigilant against oppressive government actions that intrude on civil liberties. Referring to selective works by Thomas Pynchon, Don DeLillo, Norman Mailer, Charles Johnson, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and Lorde, among others, I …

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.

Book Reviews, Parameters Editors

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Identification And Characterization Of Distinct Populations Of Clonogenic Bone Marrow Stromal Cells Capable Of Transferring The Hematopoietic Microenvironment In Vivo And Supporting Lt-Hscs In Vitro, Colby Suire

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Bone marrow (BM) stromal cells are ascribed two key functions, 1) stem cells for non-hematopoietic tissues (MSC) and 2) as components of the hematopoietic stem cell niche. Current approaches studying the stromal cell system in the mouse are complicated by the low yield of clonogenic progenitors (CFU-F). Given the perivascular location of MSC in BM, we developed an alternative methodology to isolate MSC from mBM. An intact ‘plug’ of bone marrow is expelled from bones and enzymatically disaggregated to yield a single cell suspension. The recovery of CFU-F (1917.95+199) reproducibly exceeds that obtained using the standard BM flushing technique (14.32+1.9) …