Digital Commons Network^™

Technology And The Intersection Of Science And Humanities: Supporting Innovation, Creativity, And Hands-On Learning, Veronica Armour, Danielle Mirliss

Emerging Learning Design Conference

Concurrent Session A

The Why And Where Of Big History: Building A Program, Mojgan Behmand

Office of Academic Affairs

The goals of our First Year Experience program are aligned with our institutional mission, our core values, and the goals of our General Education program. The program is designed to promote:

1. recognition of the personal, communal, and political implications of the Big History story;
2. critical and creative thinking in a manner that awakens curiosity and enhances openness to multiple perspectives; and,
3. development of reading, thinking, and research skills to enhance one’s ability to evaluate and articulate understanding of one’s place in the unfolding universe.

Assessing Unique Core Values With The Competing Values Framework: The Ccvi Technique For Guiding Organizational Culture Change, Anthony John Santoriello

Dissertations and Theses

Extensive research suggests organizations have unique guiding principles, called core values, which play a central role in strategic decision making, sustaining high-performance cultures, and guiding organizational culture change. Although the Competing Values Framework (CVF) has been widely used to identify a standardized set of core values, it has not been used to identify unique core values at a given organizations. Unique core values help to distinguish organizations and drive market success.

The present research focused on development of a technique to extend the application of the CVF to identify the core values unique to a given organization. The CVF-based Core …

Service-Learning As Pedagogy For The Study Of Art And Community, Suk Mun, Sophia Law

Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Service-Learning 亞太地區服務研習會議

The study of art in higher education has long focused on art history and practice, masters and masterpieces. Art, in its fund amental sense, is a language written in images that applies to all, not just to the talented and privileged. It has a close relationship with and considerable influence on the development of both individuals and communities. Art and Well Being, a programme elective offered by the Department of Visual Studies at Lingnan University, investigates the intrinsic nature of art as a language for expression and communication. It provides students with a new perspective on seeing art, provoking an …

The Transformation Of Tibetan Identity, Mang Jia

Senior Theses

After the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1951, Tibetan identity began to secularize, shifting from a more traditional religious to a more explicitly political identity. The few studies that focus on the secularization of Tibetan identity, even if only secondarily, claim that it is either a compulsory product imposed by the reinforcement of modernization by the Chinese authority or a voluntary product through younger generations of Tibetans’ internalization, primarily through schooling, of the Chinese colonization ideology. Either way, those scholars of Tibetan studies treat the secularization of Tibetan identity as a form of cultural assimilation or deterioration of Tibetan identity. …

Western News, May 28, 2015, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Survey confirms BTR Park is huge success; Summer events mark WMU’s return to Fort St. Joe site; Dining hall project to close part of Ring Road, groundbreaking set; WMU inventors win Lemelson-MIT ‘Cure it!’ prize; On Campus with Drew Martin.

The Role Of Gender In Sex Trafficking, Katelyn Henson

Senior Theses

Human trafficking, or trafficking in persons (TIP), is a crime where people profit from the exploitation of others through some form of labor (Polaris, 2015). In the U.S., the three most common forms of TIP are sex trafficking, domestic trafficking and agricultural trafficking (Human Rights Center, 2007). This study specifically focuses on the system of domestic sex trafficking and uses gender theory to explain its perpetuation. In order to explore how individuals’ gendered identities affect sex trafficking, and to explore how these identities affect the perpetuation of this crime, four survivors of sex trafficking and one law enforcement official were …

Performing Genders: A Study Of Gender Fluidity, Nicholas Jkmk Coney

Senior Theses

The subjective quality of identity and the relativistic nature of gender bemuse and attract social scientists. In this study I combine both topics by examining gender fluidity – an inconsistent gender identity – within the framework of Western ontology. Within my informants’ narratives I identify what I term feelings of gender as feelings that influence how people perceive and interact with their bodies. Gender fluidity entails a constant yet inconsistent fluctuation of those feelings. Furthermore, I found other important elements that may have influenced my informants' understanding of their gender identities and bodies: upbringing, previous relationships and interactions, communities, and …

Summer Ii | Want To Know If You Have Neanderthal Dna?, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

African American Doctoral Scholars’ And Fellows’ Professional Development Mentoring Experiences Toward Higher Education Professorship, Crystal J. Bryant, Adriel A. Hilton, Patricia A. Green-Powell

Journal of Research Initiatives

This research examined the professional development mentoring experiences of African American doctoral recipients who participated in the Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB) Doctoral Scholars Program or the McKnight Doctoral Fellows (MDF) Program, and are currently employed as faculty at an American college or university. The purpose of this research was to identify the types of professional development mentoring opportunities that assisted SREB and MDF program graduates in their transition into the professoriate, and to determine if race or gender of the faculty mentor played a significant role in their preparedness for the teaching, research, and service tasks required of faculty. …

The Erosion Of Coastal Sediment And Regeneration Of Rhizophora Mangle Following Anthropogenic Disturbance On Turneffe Atoll, Belize, Heather Lyn Hayden

Dissertations and Theses

As communities and managers become aware of the long-term impacts of mangrove loss, estimated at 1-2% per year, interest in sediment erosion and mangrove rehabilitation has increased substantially. In this thesis project I 1) examine erosion rates within coastal fringing Rhizophora mangle ecosystems following mangrove clearing and compare these rates to accretion rates in intact mangroves; and 2) investigate the abiotic factors influencing mangrove seedling survival and regeneration of naturally colonizing R. mangle, in historic mangrove habitat after anthropogenic clearing.

Differences in erosion were compared between patches of open-coast intact and anthropogenically cleared R. mangle to quantify the sediment trapping …

Plague Inc: Distribution Of Health Resources In The Modern World, Allison Rump

Honors Theses

Due to the ever increasing connectedness of our world, disease can spread faster than ever before. Therefore global health care is a pressing issue in the modern world. The Ebola epidemic of 2014, which infected an unprecedented number of people, was reminder of not only of human fragility but of the state modern medicine, especially when deployed in economically developing areas. Not only is medicine about the science and treatment of disease, it also is about economics and the ability to pay for treatment. This can manifest in many forms, for the Ebola epidemic there often were not enough equipment …

Ancient Magic And Modern Accessories: A Re-Examination Of The Omamori Phenomenon, Eric Mendes

The Hilltop Review

This paper consists of a comparison of omamori (religious amulets) disseminated by Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines from various regions of Japan, focusing on a cross-examination of those offered in the early 1980`s with contemporaryomamori. Through their nearly innumerable variety of forms and functions, these amulets are a clear representation of both the power of the public to dramatically alter an established religious object, as well as these religious institutions` ability to re-appropriate such alterations for their own benefit. Omamori are organic objects, constantly changing with the negotiation of the needs, concerns, conceptualizations and aesthetic tastes of the …

The Human Ecology Dialectic: Culture As A Behavioral Adaptation, Marcia S. Taylor

The Hilltop Review

Contrary to popular thought, which implicated the disengagement of Marx from anthropological theory, his dialectical concept will be applied to explain human ecology in a Boasian historical particularism milieu. Environmental conditions will be the common denominator for the Darwinian biogeography theory, intertwined with the cultural adaptation theory of Boas within the Human Ecology Dialectic (Taylor, 2014). Anthropologically, in a biological context the theories will explain the behavioral adaptation process demonstrated culturally by the prehistoric ancestors of the Inuit of the Canadian Central Arctic in their development and essential engagement in the creation of art; a pursuit that became a cultural …

Reproductive Genetics: Desired Genes, Gendered Ethics, And Eugenic Echoes, Marykate K. Bodnar

The Hilltop Review

Present knowledge of genetics and assisted reproduction make fertile ground for a new type of eugenics: reproductive genetics. Proponents of reproductive genetics aim to separate these techniques from the problematic and negative connotations associated with historical eugenic policies by claiming them as part of the liberal eugenic movement. In-vitro fertilization (IVF), the market for sperm and eggs, and prenatal genetic testing allow conscious decision-making regarding the potential genetic make-up of children. Decisions are made in a gendered and politicized environment, shaping understandings of genes, eggs, and sperm around stereotypes and ideal social norms. In choosing “desirable” characteristics, whatever they may …

Notes From The Editor, Rebecca Straple

The Hilltop Review

No abstract provided.

The Hilltop Review, Vol 7, No 2, Spring 2015

The Hilltop Review

The complete spring 2015 issue of The Hilltop Review, Western Michigan University's journal of graduate research.

Report On The Sacred Heart University Participation In The Ace Internationalization Laboratory By The American Council On Education Peer Review Visit Team February 25-27, 2015, American Council On Education Peer Review Visit Team

Global Engagement Publications

This report is based on a visit to Sacred Heart University (SHU) by an American Council on Education (ACE) peer review team on February 25-27, 2015. This report also draws upon the document Internationalization Self-Study (December 2014) provided to the peer review team in advance.

Cultural Competence Among Nursing Faculty, Colleen Marzilli

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

Research of culture and cultural competence in nursing faculty is vitally important when considering the state of the United States health care system and health disparities that can be reduced through culturally competent care. Recent studies address cultural competence among nurses, but there is limited information exploring cultural competence in nursing faculty. A concept analysis of "cultural competence" using Rodger's method further established the need to examine cultural competence from the perspective of nursing faculty, who are responsible for educating future nurses in culturally competent care. The purposes of this study were to determine the level of cultural competence in …

Ecomusicology: Back To The Roots Of Sound/Music And Environmental Sustainability, Tiffany Challe

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

We are currently living in the midst of a global warming crisis, and running against the clock to counter the rapid depletion of natural resources in an increasingly technology-run world. The first step toward sustainability is to care for our world that is full of vibrant ecosystems and that we must work together to preserve. While the visual arts have served as a cogent platform for the environmental movement, this paper will argue that sound and music have been vastly overlooked in sustainability topics. Place-making music can capture a place's unique spirit and connect listeners with their local ecologies. Therein …

Nepantla And Ubuntu Ethics Para Nosotros: Beyond Scrupulous Adherence Toward Threshold Perspectives Of Participatory/Collaborative Research Ethics, Monique Antoinette Guishard

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Participatory Action Research (PAR) refers less to a method and more to a continuum of approaches to collaborative inquiry. Within PAR, ideally, some phenomenon has been identified as a mutual area of concern to researchers and community members; working together they design, conduct, analyze, and disseminate the findings of a shared piece of research and coordinate action(s) aimed at using research to redress injustice. If PAR is embraced holistically boundaries inevitably blur as research team members become enmeshed in each other's lives. This blurring while momentous can give rise to ethical quandaries that IRB centered research ethics are inadequate to …

Civil War Incentives, Identities, And Group Allegiances In Syria's Contested Provinces: A Case Study On Civil War, Hilary Weitze

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project seeks to answer the following questions: Why did the 2011 Syrian Revolution transition into a civil war? What contributed to the popularity of rebel efforts in the countryside? This case study on the Syrian Civil War begins by characterizing key events in the current civil war setting in order to characterize the nature of participation on the insurgent side of the conflict. Further, this project sets out to identify key events and actors in their respective geographic and demographic frameworks in order to identify the nature of participants and their respective characteristics. I will ultimately draw a connecting …

"Young Men Of The Stones": Gendering The First Palestinian Intifada, Karen Lauria

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The First Palestinian Intifada (1987 - 1993) began on December 9, 1987 with riots protesting the killing of a young Palestinian man by the Israeli Defense Forces. The riots quickly grew into a much larger grassroots uprising -- Intifada -- against Israeli occupation. In the following weeks and months, the Occupied Territories were engulfed in waves of protests, demonstrations, boycotts, and other acts of civil disobedience, which continued until 1993. Although Intifada protestors represented a cross-section of Palestinian society, encompassing both old and young, male and female, a single, particular masculine trope soon came to dominate-that of young male activists …

Rebellion Under The Palm Trees: Memory, Agrarian Reform And Labor In The Aguán, Honduras, Andres Leon

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

On December 9, 2009, the Unified Peasant Movement of the Aguán (Movimiento Unificado Campesino del Aguán; MUCA) occupied over 20,000 hectares of oil palm covered lands in the Aguán region in the Honduran northern coast. This was the latest, and probably most dramatic, chapter in the region's tumultuous recent history. This dissertation explores this history and the process of creation of the Aguán region from the perspective of a set of impoverished peasant families that migrated from different parts of Honduras towards the Aguán from the 1970s onwards, in search of a better present and future.

It asks about the …

Corruptions, Imitations, And Innovations: Tropes Of Ibn Taymiyya's Polemics, Faris Al Ahmad

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Most of the Mamluk theologian Taqī al-Dīn Ahmad ibn Taymiyya's opinions had a polemical nature. This paper traces certain common tropes of Ibn Taymiyya's polemics such as tahrīf (corruption), taqlīd (imitation), and bid`a (innovation) that he repeatedly used in some of his judgments that targeted Christians, Jews, Sufis, mutakallimūn, philosophers, and Nusayris. The paper argues that what connects all of these groups in Ibn Taymiyya's polemics is the tropes of corruption, imitation, and innovation that he identified in their thought and practice. When investigating Ibn Taymiyya's polemics within the broader array of religious polemics, a consideration of his commentaries …

Narratives Of Interiority: Black Lives In The U.S. Capital, 1919 - 1942, Paula C. Austin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation constructs an urban, social and intellectual history of poor and working class African Americans in the interwar period in Washington, D.C. Although the advent of social history shifted scholarly emphasis onto the "ninety-nine percent," many scholars have framed black history as the story of either the educated, uplifted and accomplished elite, or of a culturally depressed monolithic urban mass in need of the alleviation of structural obstacles to advancement. A history of the poor and working class as individuals with both ideas and subjectivity has often been difficult simply because there are limited archival sources.

"Narratives of Interiority" …

Luti Masculinity In Iranian Modernity, 1785-1941: Marginalization And The Anxieties Of Proper Masculine Comportment, Robert Joseph Bell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper offers a genealogy of changing conceptualizations and performances of masculinity in 19^th and early to mid-20^th century Iran, and examines in particular a unique group of masculine subjects known as the lutis. The first component of the analysis traces the historical lineage of these lutis, situating their emergence out of Persian Sufi brotherhoods, bandit clans ('ayyar), and guild-like organizations (futuwwa) from the period of the 15th to the 19th century CE. This section provides an account of the most pertinent and distinguishing rites, attitudes, and practices of the …

Archiving The City: A Guide To The Art Of Urban Interventions, Olatokunbo Adeola Enigbokan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The topic of this dissertation is the development and exploration of alternative methodologies for understanding and relating to everyday urban experience. The project is a psychogeographical exploration of methodologies used in contemporary art and architectural practice to create street-level "urban interventions." For the purposes of this study, urban interventions are defined as actions, performances, installations and objects created by artists, and or activists and sometimes architects, and inserted into, or responsive to, everyday urban environments, usually taking place outside of official art spaces, such as museums and galleries. In most cases these interventions are unexpected, express a "do-it-yourself" aesthetic and …

Growing Up Online: Identity, Development And Agency In Networked Girlhoods, Claire M. Fontaine

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Young women's digital media practices unfold within a postfeminist media landscape dominated by rapidly circulating visual representations that often promote superficial readings of human value. Meanwhile the dominant framing within educational policy and practice of digital media literacy insufficiently captures young people's motivations for engaging in multimedia production, online gaming and blogging. In addition to using digital media for social purposes, and to navigate dimensions of social difference like race, class and gender, working class young women of color also use digital media to develop internal awareness of their selves. The processes of documenting the self, reflecting on the documented …

To Be Or Not To Be A Math Person: Math Identity Dissonance In Ninth Grade Students, Noah Samuel Heller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

What student-level variables (e.g., demographic, attitudes toward math, attitudes toward school, and prior math achievement) affect the construction of a dissonant math identity? Research shows that the number of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) occupations is growing twice as fast as all other industries. Further, math achievement, more than any other academic factor, determines whether students have access to STEM majors in college and thus pursue STEM careers. Concomitantly, numerous studies have shown that the ways in which students identify with mathematics have a profound impact on their immediate performance and future decisions to pursue math and math-related majors …