Digital Commons Network^™

Political Economy Of Vietnam: Market Reform, Growth, And The State, Joshua M. Steinfeld, Khi V. Thai

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Gay For Play: Theorizing Lgbtq Characters In Game Studies, Marc A. Ouellette

English Faculty Publications

Despite, and perhaps because of, popular press reactions to stereotypical depictions of beefy boys and busty babes in video games, the realm of gender, sex, and sexuality remains a lacuna in the emerging field of game studies. Of particular interest is the notion of performance and the ways this impacts both on gender and on game play. The combination might be expected to offer a very interesting way of approaching LGBTQ characters in digital games, especially given the recent inclusion of such characters in some popular and well-studied game franchises, including Grand Theft Auto (Rockstar 1997-present), Jade Empire (BioWare 2005-08) …

你吃了吗? Have You Eaten?: Using The Westernization Of Chinese Food To Explain The Transformation Of The Chinese Identity In America, Molly Young

Senior Independent Study Theses

This thesis explores the changing Chinese American identity through the changes to Chinese food. Understanding one's identity is a difficult task because of its abstract nature; using a concrete element such as food, makes this task far easier. This method of using food to describe the Chinese American identity is especially helpful because of the importance placed on food in Chinese culture. For the Chinese, food is central to their identity because it is believed that the correct intake of food achieves a balance in one's life. It is also helpful, because the Chinese restaurant in America is a common …

A Note On Zane Grey's Lewis Wetzel, Kenneth Estes Hall

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: Zane Grey presented to readers of his early Frontier Trilogy1 a version of the frontiersman type in Lewis Wetzel, the famed Deathwind, scourge of Delawares and Shawnees in the Ohio Country.

The Emotionally Supportive Sister-Soldier: How The United States Military Values Normative Femininity And Devalues Nonconformist Servicewomen, Kristal Marie Gray

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Women need to be vigilant about the rights and strides they have gained to be sure they are not circling back to feed an oppressive system. Women may be serving in the military but they are filling specific roles as the feminine presence within the ranks. Women are gendered and sexualized from the day they swear in. My research gives valuable insight into the world of the military and how much emphasis is placed on conforming. I explain how servicewomen are expected to act and then interview eleven servicewomen to see if they are behaving according to the military (and …

Pecover V. Electronic Arts, Inc.: Should Exclusive Licensing Agreements Made By Madden Nfl's Publisher Be Sacked By The Sherman And Cartwright Acts?, Robert T. Sharkey

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal (1994 - )

No abstract provided.

Utilizing Cyber Espionage To Combat Terrorism, Gary Adkins

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The world has effectively exited the Industrial Age and is firmly planted in the Information Age. Global communication at the speed of light has been a great asset to both businesses and private citizens. However, there is a dark side to the age we live in, where terrorist groups are able to communicate, plan, fund, recruit, and spread their message to the world. The relative anonymity the internet provides hinders law enforcement and security agencies in not only locating would-be terrorists but also in disrupting their operations. The internet is a loosely knit group of computers and routers and is …

Rare Earth Element Geochemistry Of The Sierra Blanca Laccoliths, Texas, Amed Gomez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Strategic Shift: Appraising Recent Changes In U.S. Defense Plans And Priorities, Richard L. Kugler, Linton Wells Ii

Books and Book Chapters

This paper examines major changes in U.S. defense plans and priorities that the Department of Defense (DOD) has issued through high level strategy and other guidance documents during 2012 and the beginning of 2013. It recommends that DOD “double down” in its pursuit of globally integrated operations through joint force integration in the context of the Capstone Concept for Joint Operations and the cross-domain synergy needed to operate effectively in the face of sophisticated adversaries.

The Effects Of Charismatic Leadership And Religion On Decision Making, Brandt A. Smith

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

We examined the effects of leadership and religious priming on decision-making in a resource allocation task involving a decision between funding hydro-fracture mining research and/or solar energy research. We found strong main effects for charismatic v. non-charismatic leadership, and for religious priming v. non-religious priming. Further, we found a significant interaction in that the effects of religious priming on economic decision-making in a resource allocation task was stronger in the non-charismatic condition than in the charismatic condition. Implications of this research and recommendations for future studies are discussed.

Adsorption Of Arsenic, Chromium, And Uranium From Saline Water On Clinoptilolite And The Treatment Of The Spent Regenerant By Duffusion Dialysis, Mutiu Olaitan Tanimola

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Among various water purification and recycling technologies, adsorption is a fast, inexpensive and universal method. The development of low-cost adsorbents has led to the rapid growth of research interests in this field. The objective of this present study is the optimization of process parameters in adsorption of arsenic, chromium and uranium ions. The adsorption behavior of natural zeolite (clinoptilolite) has been studied in order to determine its applicability in treating water containing arsenic, chromium and uranium. The multiple adsorption of arsenic As (V), trivalent chromium Cr (III)] and uranium (VI) on natural zeolite (clinoptilolite) in single component and multiple component …

Sarah Palin And The Media During The Elections, Angelica Olmos Urbina

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to analyze former candidate Sarah Palin's portrayal by the media during the 2008 political campaign for vice-president of the United States. Through media framing, political communication, politics and the media, the study will present a qualitative study on her portrayal through two different media sources. The presidential elections of 2008 involved two women, a first in American history, and made waves for varying reasons. The purpose of the study is to build a greater understanding between the unique relationship between the media and political candidates.

Determinants Of Condom Use And Hiv Prevention Among East-African Immigrants In Minnesota, Mahamud Ahmed

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

your words

The Threat Of Domestic Bioterrorism: Fact Or Fiction, Stacy M. Langston

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The threat of a domestic bioterrorist attack can be a daunting issue to cover. Using the analytic technique What If? Analysis a scenario was created for a domestic bioterrorism attack in Houston, TX. Indicators were developed to determine how to mitigate and respond to the attack. Recommendations were provided following the attack that can be used to prevent future attacks that were conducted in the scenario. Having a hindsight view of an attack is the best way to prevent and respond to the attack.

Analyzing The Effectiveness Of Al Qaeda's Online Influence Operations By Means Of Propaganda Theory, David K. Lyons

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis sought to explore the use of propaganda by al Qaeda through the lenses of established propaganda theorists and theories. Through analyzing former al Qaeda releases and case studies in the context of propaganda theory this thesis established a clearer understanding of the effectiveness of al Qaeda's propaganda. After analyzing the propaganda and case studies it was discovered that the rate of those engaging in attacks based on al Qaeda's online influence operations is insignificant. The concerns that al Qaeda is recruiting numerous individuals to engage in attacks based on its online propaganda operations might be overstated and while …

"Operation Stone Garden": A Case Study Of Legitimation Of Violence And The Consequences For Mexican Immigrants In Chaparral, New Mexico, David Haller Mckenney

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

While globalization is widely theorized in terms of apolitical trans-border flows, this paper argues that the so-called "War on Terror," the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the so-called "War on Drugs" have legitimated the use of violence and aggression. This includes criminalization, closure, containment and deportation directed at trans-national flows of immigrants. Immigrants have become conflated with terrorists, drugs, crime and contamination as a generalized "other," to use Simmel's terms; they are typed as suspicious and dangerous strangers. From this perspective I suggest that the rise of contemporary security regimes or "the mobility regime" that emerged well before the …

Developing A Sustainable Ecotourism Foundation In Indonesian National Parks Using Cross-Cultural Adaptation And Communication Framing, Adriana Salas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Previous research on ecotourism in Southeast Asia has focused on its positive and negative effects for conservation. However, the focus in this particular study is to look at what it takes to run a successful ecotourism site in four diverse areas in Indonesia using communication elements like cross-cultural adaptation and communication framing. Communication should be used as a baseline for a successful site and should be used as the most useful tool to address issues and challenges in ecotourism project development.

A successful ecotourism site must carefully look at how their ideas and programs are framed. Ecotourism must also create …

Breaking The Mexican Cartels: A Key Homeland Security Challenge For The Next Four Years, Carrie F. Cordero

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Although accurate statistics are hard to come by, it is quite possible that 60,000 people have died in the last six-plus years as a result of armed conflict between the Mexican cartels and the Mexican government, amongst cartels fighting each other, and as a result of cartels targeting citizens. And this figure does not even include the nearly 40,000 Americans who die each year from using illegal drugs, much of which is trafficked through the U.S.-Mexican border. The death toll is only part of the story. The rest includes the terrorist tactics used by cartels to intimidate the Mexican people …

Investigation Of Craniofacial Morphological Variation At Sully (39sl4), Elizabeth Rose Agosto

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study utilizes a theoretical framework of modern quantitative population genetics to identify factors contributing to the morphological variability between multiple, geographically distinct burial areas associated with the Sully village site (39LS4) in the Middle Missouri region of South Dakota. In particular three burial areas at Sully (A, D, and E) provide adequate samples for assessing intra-site variation. It has been a long-held belief that the observed morphological variability between burials areas is due to temporal sequencing; however, this explanation lacks hard craniometric and archaeological support. This study reassesses the assumption of temporal sequencing through the investigation of post marital …

Mastering The Patrol: A Look At The Importance Of Training For American Pilots In The Battle Of The Atlantic, Ethan M. Feinstein

Senior Independent Study Theses

This thesis studies the role of training in the Allied victory in the Battle of the Atlantic. I argue that training played a significant role in this decisive battle in World War II. I detail the different stages of training for both the Navy and Army Air Force.

Re-Framing The Slaughter: Remembering The Rwandan Genocide, Jordan C. Broutman

Senior Independent Study Theses

This project looks at both official and silenced discourse pertaining to Rwandan genocide remembrance. I look specifically at discourse at museums, memorials, memoir, and film. I argue that the Rwandan state exists in the midst of a political conflict that has produced dual memories of victimization. While the genocidal violence inflicted on Tutsi should be commemorated as uniquely cruel and inhumane, many Hutu experienced similar acts of genocide in the 1972 Burundian genocide and in eastern Congo at the hands of the Rwandan Patriotic Front. The Rwandan state faces the challenge of rebuilding in a context in which both sides …

On Performance Of Gpu And Dsp Architectures For Computationally Intensive Applications, John Faella

Open Access Master's Theses

This thesis focuses on the implementations of a support vector machine (SVM) algorithm on digital signal processor (DSP), graphics processor unit (GPU), and a common Intel i7 core architecture. The purpose of this work is to identify which of the three is most suitable for SVM implementation. The performance is measured by looking at the time required by each of the architectures per prediction. This work also provides an analysis of possible alternatives to existing implementations of computationally intensive algorithms, such as SVM. Some performance improving methods were proposed and examined for the given DSP and GPU architectures

The 4-class …

A Robust Linear Dynamic Positioning Controller For A Marine Surface Vehicle, Thomas P. Derensis

Open Access Master's Theses

The autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) owned by the University of Rhode Island currently uses a PID controller that is insucient for its maneuvering goals. The goal was to develop a robust linear controller based on state space dynamic positioning models that is able to follow a given path with minimal error in the presence of environmental disturbances and model perturbations. A controller was designed for the linear Cybership II model in MATLAB and then tested in Simulink with these disturbances on a nonlinear Cybership II model. The linear controller uses a feedfoward inverse lter to follow a desired elliptical path …

A Haunting, Zachary Goetz

Theses

"A Haunting" explores the possible existence of supernatural entities and visually renders my personal encounters with spirit presences through poetry, sculpture, painting, performance, and video. My thesis work does not attempt to answer questions about these experiences, but instead provides visual impressions of them. I use the human figure to illustrate the dichotomy between presence and absence. The physicality of presence is referenced though the use of metals and the qualities of absence through the incorporation of gauzes and sheer fabrics. This body of work also explores the connotations and undertones attached to a figure or effigy when it is …

Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division Engagement Systems (G) Department Development Of A Plan To Maintain, Expand, And Create Corporate Knowledge, Luis J. Rodriguez

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation presents the implementation of an organizational study in a technical organization that provides basic information for proper decision making to establish, continue, nurture, modify, transfer or terminate a Knowledge Management (KM) practice. Different aspects of an organization influence the capability to create and retain knowledge. Understanding the factors and the environment of the KM problem in an organization is essential for a successful plan and execution of knowledge creation, transfer and retention. The study purpose was to describe the contextual situation of the organization in terms of Human, Structural and Relational Capital; identify critical knowledge for the organization …

Is The Motherist Approach More Helpful In Obtaining Women's Rights Than A Feminist Approach? A Comparative Study Of Lebanon And Liberia, Crystal Marie Whetstone

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The theory that women gain rights during the social upheaval of war has not held universally. While the debate has traditionally centered over women's participation in fighting and entry into the workforce this paper explores the topic from the form of mobilization, motherist or feminist, that women's organizing takes during war through the use of a longitudinal, comparative study of Lebanon and Liberia. Lebanese women's organizations overwhelmingly employed motherist mobilization and tackled practical gender interests that made no attempt to end women's subordination. In contrast, during the Liberian civil war women's groups were more apt to focus on strategic gender …

Political Party Transitions In Post-Conflict States: How Political Parties Reacted And Adapted During Democratic Transitions In Cambodia, El Salvador And Mozambique, Rachel L. Miller

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This study argues that political parties in the post-conflict period are adaptable to and capable of changing roles as states transition to peacetime settings. In the aftermath of war in El Salvador, Cambodia and Mozambique and during a democratic transition, changes in political party structures and attitudes, and the influence of external actors emerged as significant factors in the way political parties adapted. National and international political contexts, ideological differences and war time political party origins played a part in incumbent and insurgent political parties' behaviors and electoral successes in the aftermath of war, which has ultimately affected the democratic …

John Brown, Martyer For The Cause Of The Blacks: John Brown, The Haitian Revolution, And The Death Of American Slavery, Wes Trueblood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Haitian Revolution changed John Brown to a degree not recognized by scholars. Brown lived in an America largely shaped by the revolt, and it is no surprise that it shaped him as well. While preoccupied with debt, Brown did not consider the Haitian Revolution at length. Released from debt in 1842, however, Brown began reflecting on the revolt and, consequently, on his pacifism. Brown could not reconcile the two. Less than five years after his insolvency Brown had abandoned pacifism, and, in 1847, he revealed to Frederick Douglass that he planned to employ the bloody lessons of the Haitian …

The Wright Lawsuit, David Freiwald

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

While the flights of the Wright brothers over a century ago have enshrined their names in aeronautical history, only slightly less important are the lawsuits brought forth by the brothers in defense of their invention. From 1906 to 1917 the Wright brothers maintained a successful stranglehold on the development and production of the airplane in the United States. This paper examines that history, the ensuing litigation, and the impact that the Wright brothers actions had upon the readiness of the U.S. in World War I.

Religious Politics: An Individual Level-Examination Of The Political Implications Of Faith In Brazil, Thatianne A. Moreira

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although Brazil is, historically, a catholic country, the Catholic Church is losing its members to the Protestant churches, mainly Pentecostal ones. Between 1940-2010, the number of Protestants increased from 2.6% to 20.2%. On the other hand, between the same period, the number of Catholics decreased from 95% to 68.5%. One of the consequences of this shift in the religious marketplace has been its impact in the political realm; more specifically, in the number of political candidates that have identified themselves as evangélicos. The presence of evangélicos in power seems to be the most studied facet of the growth of Pentecostalism …