Digital Commons Network^™

Transcending Borders: Mexican Experiences With Migration, Race And Identity, 1910-1965, Marissa Nichols

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

From Goal-Striving To "Right Intention": A Grounded Theory Analysis Of Interviews With Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Participants, Julia E. Field

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) helps people to manage stress reactivity through contemplative practices such as meditation. The creator of the program, Kabat-Zinn (1994), defines mindfulness as “paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally” (p. 4). Shapiro et al. (2006) clarified this definition as consisting of three mechanisms of mindfulness. In particular, their mechanism “intention” captures Kabat-Zinn’s phrase “on purpose.” Historically, mindfulness practices were intended to cultivate compassion and insight; thus, practitioners’ intentions need to be included in a psychological model of mindfulness (Shapiro & Schwartz, 2000). In keeping with their approach, this project …

Why The Arts?, Theresa Girardi

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of arts integration within a PreK classroom in Northeastern Massachusetts. A single observation took place over the course of three hours within a PreK classroom of a childcare program that advocates for the integration of the arts. Nine students and one lead teacher were observed. One lesson was observed and assessed according to an arts integration checklist that looked for observable displays of arts integration within the lesson. In addition, an interview was conducted with the program director. The study found that the teacher met objectives across two content areas, …

The Construction Of Ethnoreligious Identity Groups In Syria: Loyalties And Tensions In The Syrian Civil War, Eliott Rousseau

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The ongoing civil war in Syria is characterized by its inherent complexity, often leaving non-Syrian onlookers and geopolitical stakeholders confused and fatigued. In a war with such a high human toll—refugees hemorrhaging from Syria’s borders, the death toll ever-climbing, and a generation of children growing up with the fighting—there is no room for mystification. This research project contextualizes the Syrian Civil War using anthropological concepts of religion and ethnicity. The ways in which religion and ethnicity help construct identity and group loyalty among Syria’s diverse population are examined. In particular, the role of membership in specific identity groups in creating …

Teacher Perceptions And Implementation Of Positive Behavior Support In Urban Language Immersion Schools, Jeffrey Joseph Pauls

Dissertations

Teachers at every level of schooling recognize the need for establishing a positive learning environment. Creating this type of classroom is a worthwhile but elusive goal due to ineffective approaches to managing student behavior. This is a common challenge for teachers and schools of every kind and every level but may be magnified for schools with specialized missions, such as language immersion schools. This dissertation examines teacher perceptions of a classroom management and behavior support system called Positive Behavior Support, or PBS, specifically within urban language immersion schools. Research questions explored include: 1) In what ways do teachers at urban, …

Dean's Spotlight May 12, 2014, Seattle University School Of Law Dean

Dean's Spotlight

No abstract provided.

Group Productivity In Varying Communication Mediums: Testing Face-To-Face And Virtual Interaction, Jessica Walker

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

Research in the field of industrial organizational psychology identifies key factors that affect team productivity in the workplace. One such critical factor is communication mode and the integration of technology into work interaction. Using an experimental design modeled after Straus and McGrath's 1994 study on productivity when using face-to-face (FTF) and chatroom communication, this study focuses on a Deaf population and adds computer-mediated video communication. Fourteen groups of 3-5 participants were each assigned one of the three nodes of communication and given three timed tasks to answer together. At the end, participants filled out an individual survey reflecting upon the …

Order Of The Major Constituents In Sign Languages: Implications For All Language, Donna Jo Napoli, R. Sutton-Spence

Linguistics Faculty Works

A survey of reports of sign order from 42 sign languages leads to a handful of generalizations. Two accounts emerge, one amodal and the other modal. We argue that universal pressures are at work with respect to some generalizations, but that pressure from the visual modality is at work with respect to others. Together, these pressures conspire to make all sign languages order their major constituents SOV or SVO. This study leads us to the conclusion that the order of S with regard to verb phrase (VP) may be driven by sensorimotor system concerns that feed universal grammar.

Dialoging About English Learners: Preparing Teachers Through Culturally Relevant Literature Circles., Amy J. Heineke

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

In this paper, I describe how culturally relevant children’s literature allowed teachers and teacher candidates to explore the lived realities of diverse students. Through my qualitative investigation of 23 literature discussions of undergraduate and graduate students across five academic semesters, I found that texts written by culturally and linguistically diverse authors gave participants new ways to articulate ideas and beliefs about English learners. I discovered specific factors that opened or closed opportunities for dialog and learning in literature circles, including implementation of reader response strategies and various participant groupings. Results hold implications for preparing and supporting teachers to recognize and …

A Methodological Framework For Projecting Brand Equity: Putting Back The Imaginary Into Brand Knowledge Structures, George Rossolatos

The Qualitative Report

The aim of this paper is to outline a methodological framework for Brand Equity planning with structuralist rhetorical semiotics. By drawing on the connectionist conceptual model of the brand generative trajectory of signification (Rossolatos 2013a, 2013g) it will be displayed in a step-wise fashion how a set of nuclear semes and classemes or an intended semic structure that underlies manifest discursive structures may be projected by its internal stakeholders (i.e., a brand management team, an account planning team or a marketing research team) with view to attaining differential brand associations. The suggested methodological framework focuses on the strength and uniqueness …

Evaluation Perceptual Separation In An Pilot System For Affective Composition., Eduardo R. Miranda, Duncan Williams, Alexis Kirke, Ian Daly, Etienne B. Roesch, James Weaver, Slawomir J. Nasuto

School of Art, Design and Architecture

Research evaluating perceptual responses to music hasidentified many structural features as correlates thatmight be incorporated in computer music systems foraffectively charged algorithmic composition and/or expressive music performance. In order to investigate thepossible integration of isolated musical features to such asystem, a discrete feature known to correlate some withemotional responses – rhythmic density – was selectedfrom a literature review and incorporated into a prototypesystem. This system produces variation in rhythm densityvia a transformative process. A stimulus set created usingthis system was then subjected to a perceptual evaluation.Pairwise comparisons were used to scale differences between 48 stimuli. Listener responses were analysed withMultidimensional …

Deafdigest: Blue Edition, May 11, 2014, Barry Strassler

DeafDigest Blue 2014

No abstract provided.

Deafdigest: Gold Edition, May 11, 2014, Barry Strassler

DeafDigest Gold 2014

No abstract provided.

2014 May 10-11

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Being, Narrative, And Ethics: A Hermeneutical-Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Ontology Of Ethics, Paul Lucas Goldberg

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

In Being and Time, Heidegger articulates his understanding of the ontological difference and the Being of the human-like entity, or Dasein. Dasein’s Being, as existential, consists in the care structures of projection, thrownness, and fallenness, the unitary meaning of which is grounded in the ecstatical temporalizing modes of future, Present, and having-been. However, despite his deeply insightful ontological analysis of human Being, Heidegger rejects ontical ethical manifestations of the human as constitutive of Dasein. We claim that this neglect is the result of his initial focus on fallenness as one of Dasein’s constitutive ontological structures. Thus, we seek to re-Interpret …

Lion And Livestock Conflict In The Amboseli Region Of Kenya, Gabriela Schieve Fleury

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

African lion populations are in decline through much of Africa, however the problem is particularly acute in Kenyan Maasailand where local Maasai are spearing and poisoning lions at a rate that is unprecedented. The struggle to find a common ground for humans and lions are ongoing. Many rural communities in Kenya are almost completely dependent upon livestock farming for their livelihoods and pastoralists often resort to killing big cats and other predators in order to protect their livestock. In order to fully understand the phenomenon of big cat and livestock conflict, it is also important to recognize the foundations embedded …

University Of Southern Maine Commencement Program 2014, University Of Southern Maine

Commencement Programs

University of Southern Maine commencement program, 2014

Saturday, May Tenth, Two Thousand and Fourteen

Address by David Shaw , founder of IDEXX Laboratories

Linguistic Support For Non-Native English Speakers: Higher Education Practices In The United States, Norman W. Evans, Maureen Snow Andrade, K. James Hartshorn

Faculty Publications

Higher education institutions in English-speaking nations host significant populations of non-native English speakers (NNES), both international and resident. English language proficiency is a critical factor to their success. This study reviews higher education practices in the United States related to this population. Findings indicate weaknesses in how institutions identify NNES, measure their English language skills, and track their success. These issues must be addressed to support the needs of this population, fully benefit from their contributions, and achieve educational parity.

University Of Mississippi 161st Commencement, 2014, University Of Mississippi, Daniel W. Jones, Morris H. Stocks, Phil Bryant

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Eritrean Resettlement In Indianapolis, John Andrew Traylor

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This project has been designed to look into the challenges of resettlement for Eritreans moving to live in Indianapolis. The discussion of this work follows the footsteps of research on refugee resettlement by asking and responding to some of the common questions surrounding resettlement: why choose to resettle; what is a refugee'S initial response to entry into a host country; what is the resettlement process like; how does a refugee cope with their resettlement difficulties; and what are the prospects for future generations? This work will provide answers to these questions by analyzing the case of three resettled immigrants living …

Language Development Of Bilingual Russian/English Speaking Children Living In The United States: A Review Of The Literature, Jeanette D. Grosman

Honors Theses

The number of bilingual speakers in the United States is increasing. Children in particular provide unique contributions and challenges to the English-speaking communities in which they live. Various aspects of the young bilingual population have been studied, including an emphasis on the communicative abilities and trends of such children. However, there is a paucity of research regarding communication of bilingual Russian/English-speaking children. The purpose of this project is to review the existing literature on the language development of bilingual Russian/English-speaking children as compared to that of monolingual English-speaking children to establish grounds for further research about this increasing population. The …

Effects Of Multiple Exemplar Instruction On The Emergence Of Derived Relations In Children With Developmental Disabilities, Bridget E. Munoz

Honors Theses

Multiple Exemplar Instruction (MEI) was evaluated, as an instructional protocol, on its effectiveness of establishing derived tact relations (B-A) in three children with developmental disabilities. Educationally relevant stimuli in the form of constellations were used as stimuli in this study. Following assessment of current listener (A-B) and tact relations amongst participants, listener training was implemented in which participants were asked to “Point to” a dictated constellation out of four choices. Participants needed to respond with 88% accuracy in order to be tested on tact relations. In the event that participants failed tact test probes, Multiple Exemplar Instruction was introduced. Results …

"Don’T Call Me A Pothead!" A Qualitative Study Of High Achieving Marijuana Users, Katrina Chanel Miles

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

No abstract provided.

Conflict On The Mesa: Assessing Defensibility Of Plaza-Oriented Villages In The Salinas Pueblo Province, New Mexico, Daniel Mark Sumner

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Previous archaeological investigations of plaza-oriented villages in the Salinas Pueblo Province investigated the reasons people may have aggregated in these larger towns. The threat of warfare and the need for defense is one possible explanation for the construction of plaza-oriented villages, whose layout is seemingly intended to limit access. This thesis further assesses the defensibility of these sites using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The use of a GIS approach offers an opportunity to evaluate the potential for line-of-sight communications and inter-visibility between the plaza pueblo villages on Chupadera Mesa, factors which influenced their ability to signal allies and anticipate attack. …

Love And Marriage: Domestic Relations And Matrimonial Strategies Among The Enslaved In The Atlantic World, Tyler Dunsdon Parry

Theses and Dissertations

"Love and Marriage: Domestic Relations and Matrimonial Strategies Among the Enslaved in the Atlantic World" argues that the cultural and sociopolitical dimensions of slave marriage were primary issues for diasporic Africans, abolitionists, and proslavery apologists whose lives were intertwined by the cultural and economic connections that framed the Atlantic World throughout the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. Through analyzing the interplay between legislation, cultural practice, and political discourse in the early periods of colonial slavery, I first show how matrimonial patterns from Atlantic Africa and Britain were re-imagined by diasporic Africans enslaved in Bermuda, the British West Indies, and colonial …

"Transforming Care Through Disruptive Design": Incorporating A Midwifery Model Of Care Into Obstetric Practices, Lauren Marsh

Senior Theses

Maternal and child health outcomes in the United States are far poorer than in other industrialized nations. To improve women’s experiences with the maternity care system, nurse-midwife Sharon Schindler-Rising developed the CenteringPregnancy (CP) group model of prenatal care (PNC). Research comparing CP with ‘traditional’ one-on-one PNC has found that implementing CP results in decreased rates of preterm birth and low birth weight, increased rates of breastfeeding, and improved outcomes for women who typically experience health disparities, including African Americans. Documented success of the model in the Greenville Health System convinced the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services of …

A Case Study In How French Teachers Understand Purpose In Educating Immigrant Students, Dana Doggett

Senior Theses

The purpose of the study was to comprehend how two French teachers understood their roles in teaching immigrant students. To achieve this goal, I observed classes at a middle school in Pau, France over the course of three months. I recorded extensive field notes and conducted two in-depth interviews with both of the teachers I observed. After returning to the United States, I coded my notes, identifying and analyzing patterns in the data. Among other conclusions, I discovered that these teachers emphasized students’ individual identities, including their diverse national and cultural backgrounds, while at the same time pushing the students …

Exploring Obstacles To Perinatal Care-Seeking Behavior In Women Of Rural Odisha, India Using A Community Based Participatory Research Approach, Sarah Law, Runjhun Bhatia

Senior Theses

This project resulted from collaboration between USC student organization GlobeMed and the Alternative for Rural Movement (ARM), a non-governmental organization in Odisha, India. Rajendra Rana, the head of ARM, expressed the need to delineate the factors underlying the tendency of rural Odishan women to deliver with unskilled birth attendants as opposed to institutionally. A literature review was conducted to explore possible economic, cultural, and social factors. During five weeks in Odisha, discussions with women's groups, community health workers, and ARM staff members built on the literature review. A preliminary survey and plan for its dissemination were developed. The community based …

Speech-Language Pathologists In The Natural Environment, Brookelyn E. Brown

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

The Neural Representation And Behavioral Detection Of Frequency Modulation, Daniel Elliott Shearer

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Understanding a speech signal is reliant on the ability of the auditory system to accurately encode rapidly changing spectral and temporal cues over time. Evidence from behavioral studies in humans suggests that relatively poor temporal fine structure (TFS) encoding ability is correlated with poorer performance on speech understanding tasks in quiet and in noise. Electroencephalography, including measurement of the frequency-following response, has been used to assess the human central auditory nervous system’s ability to encode temporal patterns in steady-state and dynamic tonal stimuli and short syllables. To date, the FFR has been used to investigate the accuracy of phase-locked auditory …