Digital Commons Network^™

Taking Oaths And Giving Thanks: Ritual And Religion In Revolutionary America, Tara E. Strauch

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the early modern ritual traditions of oaths, thanksgivings, and fast days in Revolutionary America and argues that American politicians and citizens negotiated the meanings of these rituals for American citizenship throughout the Revolutionary era. Oaths of office and allegiance, thanksgivings and fast days were tools for creating a united nation, but they also posed significant challenges because of the religious and political associations inherent in such rituals. These rituals came out of early modern Europe's religious and political culture which was useful for establishing America as a legitimate European nation. As colonials on the edge of the …

The Westernization Of Advertisements Published In Kuwaiti Newspapers From 1992 To 2012; A Content Analysis, Farah Taleb Alrefai

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the degree of Westernization in advertisements published in major Kuwaiti daily newspapers over the past 21 years (1992-2012). Utilizing a quantitative content analysis, the diffusion of Westernization into the content and form of the advertisements was analyzed. Specifically, a sample of 584 advertisements published on the front pages of AlQabas and AlWatan Kuwaiti dailies from 1992 to 2012 were examined. The advertisements were analyzed to detect the increase and/or decrease of the presence of 12 Westernization attributes. These attributes are: product/ brand origin (Western or local), Western models and or local models, …

An Alternative Path: The Intellectual Legacy Of James W. Carey, Matthew Ross

Theses and Dissertations

The following is an inquiry into the intellectual Legacy of James W. Carey. This study locates, classifies and critiques the three most salient currents of his work: (1) His critique of the intellectual history of mass communications and the positivism of the media 'effects tradition,' (2) his North American cultural studies alternative to the dominant ways of knowing in his discipline, (3) and his technological criticism. All three of these currents are discussed and evaluated in terms of Carey's contribution to the discipline. While Carey was neglectful is his analysis of institutions and issues of political economy, the author argues …

Spectral Analysis Of Randomly Generated Networks With Prescribed Degree Sequences, Clifford Davis Gaddy

Theses and Dissertations

Network science attempts to capture real-world phenomenon through mathematical models. The underlying model of a network relies on a mathematical structure called a graph. Having seen its early beginnings in the 1950's, the field has seen a surge of interest over the last two decades, attracting interest from a range of scientists including computer scientists, sociologists, biologists, physicists, and mathematicians. The field requires a delicate interplay between real-world modeling and theory, as it must develop accurate probabilistic models and then study these models from a mathematical perspective. In my thesis, we undertake a project involving computer programming in which we …

"Heritage To Horizons": The History Of The 1977 International Women's Year Conference In South Carolina, Caitlin Marie Mans

Theses and Dissertations

In 1977, 800 South Carolinians came together in the state's capital of Columbia for a meeting called 'South Carolina Woman: Heritage to Horizons.' It was one of fifty-six state and territorial meetings held as part of the United States' celebration of International Women's Year (IWY.) These meetings culminated in the National Women's Conference held later that year in Houston, Texas. IWY was a federally-funded initiative to enable American women to discuss their concerns and make recommendations for national policy. It was an outgrowth of a United Nations program to advance the status of women worldwide by encouraging each nation to …

The Body As Wartime Terrain: Social Control And Female Sexuality Under Military Occupation, Frances Choe

Theses and Dissertations

This project is a comparative-historical sociological analysis of the informal and formal responses to sexual contact in two WWII period cases: between French women and Nazi troops, and German women and African-American GIs. I focus on the connection between the regulation of women's bodies and cultural expectations of gender, ideas about sexuality, and racial ideology. The results of war and subsequent occupation of the defeated nation - population decline and the acute loss of male life, strained material resources and the daily concern of survival, the social psychological sense of defeat, and intimate relationships between occupiers and the occupied - …

Inequality And Opportunity At Themsa-Level: Investigating Place As A Structure Of Inequality Shaping Mobility And Earnings, Colby R. King

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how the new urban economy has transformed the structures that impact individual earnings opportunities across place. Using data from the 1990 and 2000 Census, this study is based on two multi-level data sets, each reporting characteristics for approximately 2 million individuals nested within more than 200 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). This study examines how inequality varies across MSAs in the US. Associations between MSA-level characteristics, including proportion of employment in new economy sectors, earnings, educational attainment, and inequality, are tested. Strong evidence is found demonstrating strong and statistically significant correlations between new economy indicators and MSA-level inequality, …

The Parasitic Oligarchy? The Elites In Trinidad And Tobago, Alison Mc Letchie

Theses and Dissertations

The existence of an elite class within societies is often a topic of research in the study of inequality of power and influence. Researchers, however, acknowledge that the nature and composition of the elite varies. Trinidad and Tobago, with its colonial history and diverse population has had to confront issues surrounding access to power by various groups within the society. One driving force of the 1970s Black Power Revolution was the practice of color discrimination in the banking industry. Informed by Mills' (1956) elite theory and rooted in Beckford's (1972) economic theory, this project surveys the elite of Trinidad and …

Ruminating On Ruminants: Goats And The People Who Raise Them In South Carolina, Brianna Dyan Farber

Theses and Dissertations

In South Carolina, many farmers and homesteaders have utilized goats as an adaptive and versatile resource and component of their diversified farming operations. This thesis addresses the experiences, motivations, difficulties, and successes of people raising goats in South Carolina, in the context of sustainable agricultural practice and landscapes. Goats cohabit insecure but promising ecological, political, economic, and sociocultural landscapes with humans and other nonhuman species. These relationships can undermine and support goats as belonging in South Carolina. My participants cannot simply raise goats as a purely economic choice because they create meaningful emotional relationships with their animals. Goats can become …

Same Law, Different Day: The Last Thirty Years Of Wage Litigation And Its Impact On Low-Wage Workers, Nantiya Ruan

Scholarly Works

There can be little doubt that actions to recover lost wages from employers have increased dramatically in the last thirty years. Since the 1970’s, American workers have become subject to a “24/7 marketplace workweek.” Off-the-clock work, misclassification, contingent jobs, and wage theft have become far more prevalent in the last three decades. A few snapshots in time reflect this trend. In 1997, some 1,600 wage suits were filed in federal court. In 2007, just ten years later, the number of wage suits jumped to 7,310. In just one year, 2006-2007, the number of filed wage cases increased by 73 percent. …

Harmonization Of Procedure: Theory And Practice, Thomas O. Main

Scholarly Works

Review of Kramer & Rhee, Civil Litigation in a Globalizing World (2012).

The Significance Of Pentateuchal Tithing As A Legal Instruction For The 21st Century Reader, Miracle Ajah

The Asbury Journal

So much debate has arisen as to whether or not the obligation to tithe was bound to the Old Testament and Judaism, or applied to the contemporary Christian Church. This paper seeks to answer the questions about how we can understand and apply the Old Testament datum to the contemporary church in Africa; how we can define our relationship to God’s covenant revealed in the Old Testament in the light of our New Testament experience; and the significance of Pentateuchal tithing as a legal instruction for the 21st Century reader. Discussions were done under the following headings: The Pentateuchal tithing …

Book Reviews, Ruth Anne Reese, Dale F. Walker, Randall Hardman, Robert A. Danielson, Brian Yeich

The Asbury Journal

Understanding Biblical Theology: A Comparison of Theory and Practice
Edward W. Klink III and Darian R. Lockett
Grand Rapids: Zondervan
2012, 193 pp. paper, $17.99
ISBN: 978-0310-49223-8
Reviewed by Ruth Anne Reese

Prepositions and Theology in the Greek New Testament
Murray J. Harris
Grand Rapids: Zondervan
2012, 304 pp. cloth, $42.99
ISBN: 978-0310-49392-1
Reviewed by Dale F. Walker

The New Testament: A Historical and Theological Introduction
Donald Alfred Hagner
Grand Rapids: Baker Academic
2012, 896 pp. cloth, $49.99
ISBN: 978-0-8010-3931-7
Reviewed by Randall Hardman

Contextualization in World Missions: Mapping and Assessing Evangelical Models
A. Scott Moreau
Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications …

Avian Scavenging, Mummification, And Variable Micro-Environments As Factors Affecting The Decomposition Process In Western Montana, Teresa Ann White

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this research study was to empirically study the temporal order of events of postmortem changes in Missoula, Montana utilizing pig (Sus scrofa) cadavers as human proxies by documenting postmortem changes and rate of soft tissue decomposition of three pigs over the course of one year and 19 days. The data from this study will be compared and contrasted to studies that have occurred elsewhere. A full understanding of the postmortem changes and rate of soft tissue decomposition in this area will help forensic anthropologists better understand why the postmortem interval (PMI) may be different in western Montana …

The Shadow Of Polaris: Understanding Sound And Place, Burke Travis Jam

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Jam, Burke, M.F.A Spring 2013 The Shadow of Polaris: Understanding Sound and Place Chairperson: Associate Professor Brad Allen The Shadow of Polaris examines perception, perspective, and place. My research investigates a critical theory of sound as phenomenon and art object. The phenomenon of sound informs our perception and perspective of place. It articulates questions about how we experience and interact with the physical world. My intention is to create an experiential understanding of the physical and, more specifically, the natural world. Nature’s ephemeral cycles are symbiotic with the human experience of life. Examining this relationship illuminates how we perceive, experience, …

Identity Crisis And The Emergence Of The Picaresque In Literature From Early Modern Spain And Twentieth Century Argentina, Mary Johnson Shepherd

Theses and Dissertations

The picaresque genre and character appeared in what is considered the first modern novel, Lazarillo de Tormes, which was published anonymously in 1554, when Spain was on the cusp of a slow transition out of feudalism. The pícaro has continued to appear in literature across regions and epochs. This thesis looks at the socio-ideological factors that give birth to picaresque identity and behavior, as well as the verisimilitude of fiction in relation to reality. The first part of this study is dedicated to the Spanish picaresque tradition and focuses on the universal qualities of the literary figure and genre, as …

The Indian Removal Debate And The Rise Of Partisan Identity In The Age Of Jackson, Benjamin Greene

Theses and Dissertations

The election of Andrew Jackson to the presidency in 1828 coincided with the rise of the nation's "second party system." The divide which emerged between Jacksonian Democrats and their opposition party, the Whigs, is generally accepted as marking the origin of an American political culture defined by a partisan divide. Political historians of the period have often focused on the key divisive issues: South Carolina's nullification agitation, the Bank Crisis, and working class identity politics have been most often featured in this scholarship. The Indian Removal Debate has generally been examined as ancillary to these partisan developments, an after-effect for …

Building Morale In A Soldier Town: Home Front Women And The Gi In Columbia, South Carolina, 1941-1945, Jessica Kathleen Childress

Theses and Dissertations

As the United States mobilized for war in 1941, cities and towns across America, especially those closest to military bases, were faced with an unprecedented influx of soldiers, airmen, and sailors. To cope with these waves of servicemen in their off-duty hours, particularly to provide for wholesome entertainment and lessen the emotional weight of wartime, Columbia, South Carolina solicited participation in morale-building programs from its residents. Community leaders recognized their responsibility for funding programs and providing buildings to meet the soldiers' recreational needs, but they relied on women's organizations and female students to build morale through meaningful social interactions with …

The Role Of Gender In Intergenerational Transmissions Of Education And Occupational Promotion, Si Wang

Theses and Dissertations

While several studies have suggested the importance of maternal schooling to children's outcomes during childhood, less is known about the role when the child is older. In the first chapter, I estimate the relationship between maternal education and children's college attendance. After developing a theoretical model to consider the transmission of education across generations, I use the NLSY79 Child and Young Adult Surveys for empirical analysis. College proximity is used as an instrument for mother's schooling. All else equal, results suggest that maternal schooling significantly increases a child's probability of attending college by about 2 to 3 percentage points. The …

Uncovering The Structures In Ecological Networks: Multiple Techniques For Multiple Purposes, Peng Gao

Theses and Dissertations

Ecosystem structure and function are the product of biological and ecological elements and their connections and interactions. Understanding structure and process in ecosystems is critical to ecological studies. Ecological networks, based on simple concepts in which biological and ecological elements are depicted as nodes with relationships between them described as links, have been recognized as a valuable means of clarifying the relationship between structures and process in ecosystems. Ecological network analysis has benefited from the advancement of techniques in social science, computer science, and mathematics, but attention must be paid to whether the designs of these techniques follow ecological principles …

Here, We Are Walking On A Clothesline: Statelessness And Human (In)Security Among Burmese Women Political Exiles Living In Thailand, Elizabeth Hooker

Dissertations and Theses

An estimated twelve million people worldwide are stateless, or living without the legal bond of citizenship or nationality with any state, and consequently face barriers to employment, property ownership, education, health care, customary legal rights, and national and international protection. More than one-quarter of the world's stateless people live in Thailand. This feminist ethnography explores the impact of statelessness on the everyday lives of Burmese women political exiles living in Thailand through the paradigm of human security and its six indicators: food, economic, personal, political, health, and community security. The research reveals that exclusion from national and international legal protections …

Portland, Oregon's Long Hot Summers: Racial Unrest And Public Response, 1967-1969, Joshua Joe Bryan

Dissertations and Theses

The struggles for racial equality throughout northern cities during the late-1960s, while not nearly as prevalent within historical scholarship as those pertaining to the Deep South, have left an indelible mark on both the individuals and communities involved. Historians have until recently thought of the civil rights movement in the north as a violent betrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s vision of an inclusive and integrated society, as well as coinciding with the rise, and subsequent decline, of Black Power. But despite such suppositions, the experiences of northern cities immersed in the civil rights struggle were far more varied …

An Examination Of Significant Factors Distinguishing Successful, On-Time High School Graduation Rates Among Black Males At A Large South Carolina High School, Sherry Mitchell Eppelsheimer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine what students see as significant factors that impact their successful high school on-time graduation rates, particularly among Black males in a large South Carolina high school with respect to No Child Left Behind requirements. Through a comparative case study, qualitative research methods were used to identify significant factors, supports and/or barriers to Black male success and achievement of on-time graduation. Through individual interviews and observations of a subgroup of 7 Black males between the ages of 17 to 19, commonalities emerged that led to high school graduation. A comparison using a grounded …

Diffusion Of Csr In Global Business Networks: An Embeddedness Perspective, Valentina Marano

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the role of firm embeddedness in its global business network, relative to the adoption of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices. Global business networks refer to the nexus of inter-firm and intra-firm relationships, in which focal actors are engaged. These networks are focal firm specific, span multiple countries and involve different types of economic relationships between the focal actor and its business partners. This study argues that global business networks affect a focal organization's CSR adoption decisions, since they provide access to resources and information and also channel CSR-related institutional influences from the various countries where the focal …

A Veterinary Science Initiative: An Analysis Of Impact And Future Directions For Humane Education And Collaborative Partnerships, Brittany Watson Tisa

Theses and Dissertations

Humane education research is limited in its scope and structure and this has led to its inability to find a place in standard curriculum. As resources become scarcer for school districts and shelters, proving efficacy of programs is essential for successful partnerships and program achievements. VSI: Veterinary Science Initiative is a program developed by the education team at the Charleston Animal Society as a model for cooperative education between shelters, veterinarians, and other private organizations to collaborate with local school districts, while also conducting research about how this curriculum benefits student knowledge, organizational awareness, and community engagement.

Public Intellectuals: Styles, Publics, And Possibilities, Matthew David Kay

Theses and Dissertations

The status of the public intellectual is debated continuously in the United States, but what is not up for debate or theoretical examination is how public intellectual practice is mediated between style and publics. To that end, this study examines three public intellectual figures: Saul Alinsky, Noam Chomsky, and Robert Reich. Each examination analyzes and describes particular public intellectual styles — performances of culture — which trace three dominant public intellectual practices. These styles contain, invite, and deploy certain publics to engage with the public intellectual and vice versa. First, the study is a theoretical engagement with public intellectual practice …

"The Hollow Men": Divorce And Manhood In The Novels Of Howells, James, And Wharton, Melissa Pluta Parker

Theses and Dissertations

This project examines the relationship between divorce and masculinity as presented in several realist novels written around the turn of the century, including A Modern Instance by William Dean Howells, What Maisie Knew by Henry James, and The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton. It looks closely at how divorce, which saw a dramatic rise between the years 1880 and 1920, seemingly threatened an elite version of manhood that was already on the decline at this time, a version of manhood increasingly viewed within society as weak and effeminate and one represented in each of these novels by a …

Childish Figuring: The Child As Symbol And Actor In Lillian Smith's Killers Of The Dream And James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, Katherine Eveline Upton

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I examine the presentation of the child in James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men and Lillian Smith's Killers of the Dream as part of a rhetoric of growth. Both Agee and Smith present southerners as psychologically immature due to their traumatic childhood experiences of sexism, racism and poverty. Childhood is a recurring theme in both texts. Agee and Smith present childhood as a biological, developmental stage and a metaphor for growth in their texts. The child is a real, contextually-specific figure, drawn from Agee's and Smith's observations of children in Depression-era society. Images of children's …

Does Human Genetic Diversity Affect Net Productivity?, Breyon Jontae Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Quamrul Ashraf and Oded Galors' (2013) study, "The `Out of Africa' Hypothesis, Human Genetic Diversity, and Comparative Economic Development", seeks to explain cross-country variations in economic development, particularly per capita income, through variations in human genetic diversity. Their analysis depends on two fundamental assumptions; genetic diversity's positive effect upon technological productivity and its negative effect upon social capital. This study tests the validity of the results presented by Ashraf and Galor. Specifically, this study seeks to test whether or not the hump-shape relationship observed between income per capita and predicted genetic diversity is validated. Our empirical work supports their findings.

The Shadow Of Consumption - How The Anticipation Of Active Use Serves As A Solution To The Public Good Dilemma, Michael Hahn

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.