Digital Commons Network^™

Pathways Of Activity: Lessons From Dominican College Students, Monika L. Son

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

High attrition rates among Latino students have long been identified as a major problem in college. Few attempts have been made to understand the normative developmental experiences among this population. This study, based on a study of lives, a narrative approach, examines the experiences of urban Dominican-American college students. Their strategies for effectively navigating a wide variety of contexts (e.g., school, work, family, and neighborhood) are analyzed, and implications for their educational efforts are examined within a developmental framework. Gender disparities and immigrant processes are also explored.

Two part interviews were completed with eleven participants. The first interview was semi-structured …

Pathways To High-Lethality Suicide Attempts, Megan Schaffer Chesin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to develop a model of the trajectory to high-lethality suicidal behavior for individuals with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). An increased number of previous suicide attempts, substance use immediately prior to the attempt, and objective planning were proposed to lead directly to an attempt of higher lethality. Meanwhile, aggression and impulsivity were hypothesized to lead indirectly, through their association with past suicidal behavior, to a higher lethality attempt. Path analysis revealed a revised model that applied only to individuals with BPD. In this final model, impulsivity was found to be …

Ladakhi Traditional Songs: A Cultural, Musical, And Literary Study, Noe Dinnerstein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the place of traditional songs in the Tibetan Buddhist culture of the former Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh. I look at how Buddhism and pre-Buddhist religion informed the texts and performance contexts of traditional songs, and how Ladakhi songs represent cultural self-images through associated musical, textual, and visual tropes. Many songs of the past, both from the old royal house and the rural Buddhist populations, reflect the socio-political structure of Ladakhi society. Some songs reflect a pan-Tibetan identity, connecting the former Namgyal dynasty to both the legendary King Gesar and Nyatri Tsangpo, the historical founder of the Tibetan …

Reconciling Life Balance: A Grounded Theory Study Of Overcoming Failure, Kathleen Karsten

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Academic failure has been described as endemic in nursing education. Although, associate degree nursing programs graduate the largest number of nurses each year, the on-time graduation rate is 59%. Every semester students fail nursing courses and are required to successfully repeat the course before they can progress in the nursing program. Students who re-take a failed course are often called "repeaters." This qualitative Grounded Theory research explored the process of overcoming failure and becoming a successful student repeater. This emergent mode grounded theory study applied qualitative analysis techniques to prospectively verify and refine this emergent concept by delineating dimensions embedded …

Energy Of The Quasi-Free Electron In Repulsive Atomic And Molecular Fluids, Yevgeniy Lushtak

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The ability to predict accurately the energy V₀(ρ) of the quasi-free electron along the entire density (ρ) range of a supercritical fluid has applications in determining the ideal thermodynamic conditions for chemical reactions involving charged species. The previously established field ionization method of extracting V₀(ρ) from the fluid density dependent shift Δ(ρ) in the ionization energy of a dopant molecule has led to the discovery of a novel effect on V₀(ρ) occurring near the critical isotherm of the fluid. Unfortunately this method has limitations in determining V₀(ρ) in fluids with low critical …

Cafeteria, Commissary And Cooking: Foodways And Negotiations Of Power And Identity In A Women’S Prison, Amy Brooks Smoyer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study uses foodways theory to build knowledge about the lived experience of incarceration by analyzing women’s narratives about prison food and eating. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 formerly incarcerated women in New Haven, CT. The interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed. Findings explain the different ways that inmates collect, prepare, distribute and consume food, and the centrality of these activities to incarcerated life. By shedding light on these daily routines, the world of prison life comes into greater focus.

Thematic analysis of the data further illuminates the prison experience by suggesting the positive and negative ways that food …

Scaling Food Security: A Political Ecology Of Agricultural Policies And Practices In Bukidnon, Philippines, Ryan Ehrhart

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Debates over food security strategies in the Philippines have pitted the neoliberal paradigm of trade liberalization, export cropping, and chemical and biotech agricultural methods against the food sovereignty paradigm of protectionism, staple cropping, and sustainable agriculture methods.

The Philippine government has long pushed for yield increases of staples. However, there has been dissonance between governmental desires for rice self-sufficiency and pursuit of a more export-oriented agricultural economy. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank, and the World Trade Organization have pressured the government of the Philippines to adopt various tenets of neoliberalism (trade liberalization, privatization, deregulation, …

Who Governs The Internet? The Emerging Policies, Institutions, And Governance Of Cyberspace, Robert J. Domanski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There remains a widespread perception among both the public and elements of academia that the Internet is "ungovernable". However, this idea, as well as the notion that the Internet has become some type of cyber-libertarian utopia, is wholly inaccurate. Governments may certainly encounter tremendous difficulty in attempting to regulate the Internet, but numerous "architectures of control" have nevertheless become pervasive. So who, then, governs the Internet? Our contentions are that the Internet is, in fact, being governed; that it is being governed by specific and identifiable networks of policy actors; and that an argument can be made as to how …

Hermeneutics And The Methods Of Oral Bible Storytelling For The Evangelization And Discipleship Of Oral Learners, Jennifer Jagerson

Great Commission Research Journal

The methods of oral Bible storytelling are expanding in influence for proclamation of the Gospel, discipleship, and church planting on the mission field. Such strategies are essential to reach those from primarily oral cultures where few have strong skills in literacy. As these methods are implemented, it is of critical importance to insure that they equip nationals with the fundamental skills of biblical interpretation. The author will demonstrate that at the level of proclamation and early discipleship, oral methods are able to effectively empower non- and semi-literates in the practices of robust inductive Bible study of the narrative texts of …

About The Great Commission Research Network, Alan Mcmahan

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Down To Earth Ethics: Exploring Relation And Environmental Responsibility, Matthew Gowans

Dissertations

This dissertation is aimed at exploring the question of direct engagement with the natural world as a way of establishing certain moral and ontological truths, particularly those connected to our current environmental struggles. Contrary to the wave of much of modern Western thinking, Albert Schweitzer, Martin Buber and Aldo Leopold demonstrate an ethics that is relational in nature, action oriented, and bound up in inexpressible wonder. Consequently, these thinkers are also critical of a world which bases the whole of reality solely on the logic of rational investigation and the material facts of science. The heart of ethical responsibility in …

An Investigation Of Chinese Graduate Student Understanding Of Academic Integrity In U'S Higher Education, James E. Hammerschmidt

Dissertations

Recent studies suggest that plagiarism in U.S. higher education may be more of an issue among Chinese graduate students. When Chinese graduate students are accused of plagiarizing an implicit assumption often exists that poor language skills or lack of integrity may be the cause. The failure to consider cross-cultural issues in learning may have led to these views. An examination of previous learning experiences in the Chinese graduate student's home country was needed in order to obtain a deeper understanding of how culture enters into their understanding of academic dishonesty. This study seeks to a.) explore the understanding and meaning …

Binge Alcohol And Recovery After Traumatic Brain Injury, Ian Vaagenes

Dissertations

An estimated 275,000 Americans are hospitalized following a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year, 80,000 of whom develop a long-term disability. The factor that places one at perhaps the greatest risk of suffering a TBI is alcohol intoxication. 30-50% of TBI sufferers have a blood alcohol level above .08 mg/dl at the time of injury, the legal limit in most U.S. states. In fact, the presence of alcohol at the time of TBI more than doubles the risk of a repeat head injury in the two years following the injury. Given the large population of TBI sufferers with alcohol intoxication …

¿Déjalo Descansar? The Parental Bereavement Experience Of Mexican Migrant Mothers, Illeana Gomez

Dissertations

"Déjalo descansar, no le llores" - "Let them rest, don't cry for them" is an expression Mexican mothers often hear after the death of a child. While accepted as a culturally polite means of expressing condolence, the phrase nonetheless can have a detrimental effect on the parental bereavement experience of these mothers. Through the use of focus groups, 22 Mexican migrant mothers were interviewed to better understand the role that imperatives such as "Déjalo descansar" and other prescribed beliefs, rituals, and customs play in their bereavement experience. From the five focus groups conducted in this qualitative study, participants reported that …

Preserving The Bond: Child Welfare Professionals' Perspectives On The Opportunities And Challenges Of Parent-Child Visitation, Lina M. Munoz

Dissertations

The foster care system was designed to be a temporary placement for children when their parents are unable or unwilling to provide proper care and supervision. A permanency plan must be established for all children in care, stating clear goals for a permanent living arrangement to facilitate the child's reunification with his/her family. The current Illinois Child Welfare Practice Model promotes a family-centered, trauma-informed, and strength-based practice approach when providing child welfare services to families in foster care with the caseworker serving as the primary vehicle for facilitating change.

This study explored how this child welfare practice model is reflected …

The Civilian And The War On Terror: Do Norms Shape Strategy?, Sherri Replogle

Dissertations

Despite a growing research agenda centered on issues of civilian immunity, it remains unclear what effect norms protecting civilians have on state behavior, especially democracies. This study asks when and how the civilian immunity norm (CIN) matters, specifically examining how it alters short term strategic choices and even long term doctrines.

Employing a constructivist approach to examine shifting attitudes toward civilians within the military during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, this study argues that democracies will choose strategic outcomes that strengthen compliance with the CIN when they see the constraining normative environment as a key part of the strategic environment. …

Opening The Black Box: Understanding Adult Inpatient Falls, Laura M. Rogers

Dissertations

Within the United States, falls are the largest category of adverse events reported in hospitals. Injuries associated with falls include increased costs, extended length of stays, increased mortality and morbidity, and liability to hospitals. The purpose of this study was to discover, describe, and systematically analyze universal and diverse care meanings and expressions of adults experiencing a fall while hospitalized. The research was conceptualized with the ethnographic theoretical framework of Culture Care Diversity and Universality (Leininger 2001, 2006). Data collection took place in a large academic medical center, over a five month period and included 24 participants: eight adult inpatients …

A Qualitative Study Of Stakeholder Perceptions In Early Childhood Intervention Partnership, Ruth Schumacher

Dissertations

The first three years of life are a period where significant growth occurs in all areas of development to prepare infants and toddlers for further learning. Early experiences and relationships impact that early cognitive development. As the literature suggests, the greatest opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and decrease the achievement gap is to intervene early with at risk young children and families. In order to promote resiliency, it is imperative that children have at least one adult who is a consistent and reliable figure in their lives. Early childhood intervention programs serve to empower parents to meet that …

The Costumed Catholic: Catholics, Whiteness, And The Movies, 1928 - 1973, Albert William Vogt Iii

Dissertations

Abstract

This dissertation examines the impact movies had on the place of Catholics of European descent in mainstream white America. Most scholars who study the history of Catholic populations in this country assume that they attained whiteness at some point. Whether with the Irish in the late nineteenth century, or more generally when urban parishes began the move to the suburbs post-World War II, the historiography claims that Catholics earned white status. However, an analysis of twentieth century American film complicates the historiography of Catholicism. A set of negative stereotypes, instead, have colored the presentation of the religion in cinema …

Organizational Constraints And Supports For Psychosocial Care Of Ethiopian Children At Risk: The Case Of Services In Addis Ababa, Daniel Hailu

Dissertations

The dissertation describes from an institutional perspective psychosocial support services being provided to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. Despite the presence of sufficient but fragmented legal, policy and strategic framework, Ethiopia's social protection landscape has suffered from a historic dearth of interventions that address psychosocial risks and vulnerabilities. Over the past decade and half, however, psychosocial support services to OVC have been slowly defused into the Ethiopian society as elements of programming for care and support to the population. Consequently, there currently exists diversity in the types of psychosocial risks and vulnerabilities that interventions prioritize …

Psychotherapist Understanding Of Genital Self-Mutilation Amongst Male To Female Transsexuals, Michael Robert Kenney

Dissertations

Self-mutilation of the genitals is a complex phenomenon that can provoke strong countertransference reactions amongst mental health clinician. Transsexuals who engage in self-inflicted mutilation of the genitals face a potentially increased risk of alienation from healthcare providers due to marginalization and lack of understanding by treating clinicians. Frequently, assumptions are made regarding the motivation for the behavior that fails to take into account the complex interplay between contributing psychological, social, and environmental forces.

This qualitative study explored the experience of four psychotherapists who had encountered the behavior in their work with transsexual clients in order to gain a more accurate …

Relations Among Endogenous Attention, Executive Functioning, And Global Assessment Measures In Toddlers And Preschoolers Born Full-Term And Preterm, Nancy Wyss

Dissertations

Infants born prematurely now represent about 12% of all live births in the United States and are at risk for numerous developmental issues. For example, children born preterm are at an increased risk (2-3 times greater) for later attentional problems. With the high rate of attentional issues in later childhood, it is crucial to assess young children born preterm with a valid measure. Currently, global assessments are commonly utilized in neonatal follow-up programs as a broad-based assessment of children born preterm. However, they are often poor predictors of later functioning. There are many different components of attention, and experimental tasks …

Reconciling The Migratory Bird Treaty Act With Expanding Wind Energy To Keep Big Wheels Turning And Endangered Birds Flying, Robert J. Martin, Rob Ballard

Animal Law Review

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) has proven invaluable in minimizing the destruction of the 240 avian species listed by its enforcement agency, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), as “endangered or threatened” or “birds of conservation concern.”Recently, however, the Act is faced with a new challenge: How can it continue to achieve its objective when a highly desirable domestic source of sustainable energy—wind power—is experiencing unprecedented growth? Ever-larger wind projects propelled by giant turbines have become a serious danger to the existence of migratory birds and their natural habitats. Yet most policy makers strongly welcome and support …

Saving Apes With The Laws Of Men: Great Ape Protection In A Property-Based Animal Law System, Alexandra B. Rhodes

Animal Law Review

This Note evaluates the methods advocates have taken toward furthering great ape protection in the United States (U.S.). Many animal advocates argue that abolishing animals’ property status is essential to establishing effective protections; nonetheless, it will take time for our society to accept the concept of legal personhood for animals. Therefore, this Note suggests that for the time being, great ape protection should be framed in a human context, to protect animals within the existing, property-based animal law system. In general, this Note provides background on the property status of animals in the U.S., specifically analyzes the legal status of …

A Slave By Any Other Name Is Still A Slave: The Tilikum Case And Application Of The Thirteenth Amendment To Nonhuman Animals, Jeffrey S. Kerr, Martina Bernstein, Amanda S. Schwoerke, Matthew D. Strugar, Jared Goodman

Animal Law Review

On its face, the Thirteenth Amendment outlaws the conditions and practices of slavery and involuntary servitude wherever they may exist in this country—irrespective of the victim’s race, creed, sex, or species. In 2011, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, on behalf of five wild-captured orcas, sued SeaWorld for enslaving the orcas in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment. The case presented, for the first time, the question of whether the Thirteenth Amendment’s protections can extend to nonhuman animals. This Article examines the lawsuit’s factual, theoretical, and strategic underpinnings, and argues that the district court’s opinion ultimately dismissing the suit failed …

Bullhooks And The Law: Is Pain And Suffering The Elephant In The Room?, Trevor J. Smith

Animal Law Review

In the United States, violent use of “bullhooks”—sharpened, steel-tipped rods—on captive elephants at carnivals, circuses, and zoos is all too routine. Yet animal-welfare advocates struggle to protect elephants from the (mis)use of bullhooks under the current regulatory regime. At the federal level, advocates cannot consistently rely on either the Animal Welfare Act or the Endangered Species Act, due to these statutes’ narrow provisions, standing limitations, and inconsistent enforcement. State animal-protection laws are equally deficient, as only two states have defined suffering and abuse clearly enough in their statutes to enable effective prosecution of elephant mistreatment, and plaintiffs in even these …

2012 State Legislative Review, Laura Hagen

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

2012 Federal Legislative Review, Carolyn Greenshields, Kimberly White Laduca

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

Twenty Years And Change, David Favre

Animal Law Review

This Introduction provides an overview of the evolution of animal law over the past twenty years, demonstrating how changes in the law, social awareness, and legal education have directly affected this field. This Introduction describes both the positive and negative changes that have taken place, from the banning of dogfighting and cockfighting by federal law and some state laws; a spread in voter-adopted legislation providing for the protection of agricultural animals; and movements to reduce the use of chimpanzees in animal research; to the limitations of the Animal Welfare Act; changes in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) policy …

Meat Labeling Through The Looking Glass, Bruce Friedrich

Animal Law Review

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates meat labeling under the statutory authority of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA). The FMIA’s labeling preemption clause prohibits labeling requirements beyond federal requirements, and would thus preclude state causes of action on the basis of deceptive labels that were properly approved under federal law. Through the eyes of Kat, a hypothetical consumer concerned with the origins of the meat she purchases for her family, this Article argues that consumers should be able to pursue state law claims based on fraudulent animal welfare labels on packages of meat. This is true for …