Digital Commons Network^™

Meetup And Social Capital: Building Community In The Digital Age, Danielle Vaughn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In order to understand the complex relationship between new media and social capital, this thesis explores the lived experiences of individuals who are actively seeking some form of connection through MeetUp.com. Through participant observation, critical discourse analysis, and semi-structured interviews, the findings of this research illuminate the myriad ways in which participation with new media platforms intersects with individuals’ psychosocial well-being through the formation of social capital. While social capital has traditionally been thought about in terms of its different forms, and different benefits, this research furthers the literature by demonstrating that the values of social capital are not limited …

Perceptions Of School Reform In A Post-Nclb World: A Cathartic Recovery Of The Purpose And A ‘Shining-Through’ Of The Spirit Of Education, Timothy Arkell Price

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study used a Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology to understand the varying perceptions held by different stakeholding groups (state legislators, superintendents, building administrators, teachers, and parents) about No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and other related reform efforts such as the Common Core. 12 participants from these five stakeholding groups were purposefully chosen, all from the state of Idaho, and in-depth interviews were performed, parsed out into three phases to inductively invite themes and categories for inquiry. Following each interview, a socio-semiotic analysis was performed using participant language in an integrated effort to identify deeply held beliefs and perceptions of school …

Dialogic Constructions Of Monogamy: The Discursive Struggles Of Mono-Normativity And Mono-Realism, Stephanie K. Webb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through the lens of relational dialectics theory (RDT; Baxter, 2011), this study examines the various discourses of monogamy and works to understand how monogamy is granted power through communication. Data for the study was gathered via qualitative surveys. A contrapuntal analysis identified two competing discourses: (1) the discourse of mono-normativity and (2) the discourse of mono-realism. The discourse of mono-normativity is taken for granted as the ordinary way to conduct romantic relationships. As such, it is granted power and idealized. The discourse of mono-realism disrupts the discourse of mono-normativity, as it challenges the idealization of monogamous romantic relationships. The discourses …

Feel-Good Giving: The Mythic Construction Of Generosity In Millions, Grace Y. Chiou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The question of what generosity is and how it is practiced in relation to the neoliberal contexts of late capitalism has emerged as a subject of interest across a variety of fields. Instead of placing emphasis on the recipient and the cause or structural inequalities contributing to the need for generosity, new practices of giving have appeared on a variety of media platforms and have been performed by a host of celebrities, sports figures, and politicians that emphasize the giver's moral goodness.

By using a critical cultural studies approach, this dissertation demonstrates that in the visual culture of humanitarianism representations …

Imagining The Scandal Of The Cross With Graphic/Novel Reading, Elizabeth Rae Coody

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For countless adherents to the Christian tradition, the Cross functions as a symbol of divine power. For the earliest Christians, however, this overwhelmingly positive valuation of crosses would have been unintelligible. Living under Roman rule, their immediate understanding of crosses would have been as instruments of execution and thus symbols of the power and victory belonging to a foreign empire rather than to the Lord they worshipped. For them, the crucifixion was a traumatic event in which the Messiah died shamefully. It is for these reasons that the scandal of the Cross is a prominent theme in the New Testament, …

Fact Book 2015-16, Western Michigan University

Western Michigan University Fact Books

• General Information
• Enrollment Information
• Institutional Comparison
• Student Information
• Faculty Information
• Budgets and Resources

"Repairs Are Pending": A Mixed Methods Investigation Of The Effects Of No Child Left Behind On Rhode Island's Public School Libraries, Laurie Anne Dias-Mitchell

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout history, free public and school libraries have been symbols of freedom and democracy, of equitable access to cultural, intellectual, and technical resources. Since the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001, there have been only a narrow cluster of studies on the importance and impact of school libraries. This mixed-methods study explored the unintended impacts of No Child Left Behind on Rhode Island’s public school libraries and a potential framework for sustainability from the perspectives of the state’s school library leaders regarding the viability of school libraries in an era of high-stakes testing and accountability and a narrowing …

Ua45 2015-2016 Four-Year Degree Paths, Wku Registrar

WKU Administration Documents

An addendum to the 2015-2016 Undergraduate Catalog

The purpose of the Four-Year Degree Path is to assist undergraduate students in determining a timeline for completion of their undergraduate degree program. Each path displayed within this website provides students with the anticipated order in which a degree would typically be completed in a timely fashion at Western Kentucky University.

The Degree Paths show appropriate timing and spacing of general education, core course requirements, elective suggestions, prerequisites and displays how each of these requirements may be met during a four-year time frame.

The Degree Path is simply a guideline and might not …

Janet Bennion, Polygamy In Primetime: Media, Gender, And Politics In Mormon Fundamentalism, Reviewed By Megan Goodwin

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of The Induced Compliance Paradigm On Emotions During Inter-Group Conflict, Roi Edelstein, Yigal Rosen

Peace and Conflict Studies

The existence and intensity of a conflict are dependent in part on the attitudes and emotions of an individual. Previous studies demonstrated the effectiveness of creating cognitive dissonance in order to change attitudes towards out-group members. The current study examines the ability to decrease negative emotions and to increase the empathy in a conflict situation through the induced compliance paradigm. An experiment was performed on 60 Jewish students in Israel regarding the context of the conflict between Jewish and Arab-Israeli citizens in Israel. Some of the participants (n=43) performed an induced-compliance task focused on writing an essay as an Arab-Israeli …

Cooking Without Women: The Rhetoric Of The New Culinary Male, Casey R. Kelly

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

Casey Kelly's contribution to Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, Volume 12, Issue 2.

Technologies For Conducting An Online Ethnography Of Communication: The Case Of Eloqi, Tabitha Hart

Faculty Publications

In this chapter, the author describes the technologies she employed while conducting an Ethnography of Communication on Eloqi (pseudonym), a for-profit start-up company that built and operated a proprietary Web-based, voice-enabled platform connecting English language learners in China with trainers in the United States. While Eloqi existed, its unique platform not only connected trainers and students for short one-to-one English conversation lessons but also brought together the company admins, trainers, and students in a virtual community. This chapter describes the technologies that the author used to carry out the qualitative study from start to finish, including the steps of online …

Wedding Album: An Antiheterosexist Performance Text, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Historical and personal snapshots of weddings become poetic stanzas that advocate for marriage equality and for a social safety net strong enough to protect the human rights and meet the human needs of everyone, regardless of relational—or any other—status

Going Viral: A Critical, Post-Structural Exploration Of Feminist Culture Jamming As Cultural Therapeutic, Leah Boisen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using a discursive framework informed by critical theory and post-structural philosophy (particularly via the works of Michel Foucault and Judith Butler), this dissertation proposes the existence of pathology at both individual and cultural levels. Shifting away from the language of social problems, I propose that the pervasive and harmful ideology of patriarchy promulgated through discourse constitutes not just a problem, but a cultural sickness. Calling for a revised understanding of the relationship between culture and individual, and a new respect for the powerfully constitutive role of discourse, I argue that many of the common symptom patterns and problems we treat …

Militarization And Modern Gaming: An Analysis Of The Relationship Of The Military And The Video Game Industry, Steven Chapman

Online Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the influence of militarism and the military itself in modern video gaming. The military's involvement includes developing its own, free of charge, video game title used as a recruitment tool, and training games used to desensitize new soldiers. Surrounding this direct involvement is a massive gaming industry that markets war and killing in the execution of the former in a "realistic" yet intensely glorified manner. The macro-cultural and societal implications of this phenomenon are explored.

2014-15 Annual Report, University Center For The Humanities

University Center for the Humanities Events

The mission of the Center is to recognize and support the humanities at Western Michigan University. As a gathering place for dialogue, the Center acts an incubator for the exchange of ideas among faculty, emeriti, alumni, undergraduate and graduate students, and people in the wider community. Through the understanding of diverse cultural, professional, political, and intellectual landscapes, we nurture engaged and vital academic life.

On Interculturality And Intercultural Communication Competence, Xiaodong Dai, Guo-Ming Chen

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Intercultural communication competence (ICC) has been examined from diverse perspectives in recent decades. Although scholars generally agree that ICC consists of affective, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions, there is no consensus about what it means to be interculturally competent. In addition, while the cultural process has been emphasized by many scholars in theorizing ICC, the focus continues to be on the acquisition of cultural knowledge, rather than how cultures interact and how this dynamic process shapes ICC development. In this paper we highlight the dynamic cultural process by conceptualizing ICC from the perspective of interculturality. Interculturality embodies the multiple connections between …

We Have Found Water: Patriarchal Paradigms For Cross - Cultural Mission, A. H. Mathias Zahniser

Papers

No abstract provided.

Deterritorializing Disciplinarity: Toward An Immanent Pedagogy, Christina Nadler

Graduate Student Publications and Research

This article speculates on the pedagogical consequences of deterritorializing disciplinary knowledge. I suggest a move from knowledge as discipline to knowledge as an emergent potential of a field. Through this move, I propose an immanent pedagogy, based on the work of Deleuze and Guattari, in which students and teachers become active participants in a field of knowledge. This field is not only a way out of disciplinary knowledge but also a mechanism for students and teachers alike to critique and subvert disciplinarity. My understanding of knowledge production is based on the ontological and immanent capacity of students to learn and …

Mechanisms For The Association Between Traditional Masculine Ideologies And Rape Myth Acceptance Among College Men, Catherine J. Lutz-Zois, Karisa Ann Moler, Mitchell Brown

Psychology Faculty Publications

We explored mechanisms for the relationship between traditional masculine ideologies and rape myth acceptance. We hypothesized that locus of control would serve as a mediator for victim precipitation rape myths, while negative attitudes toward women would serve as a mediator for victim masochism and victim fabrication rape myths. Using a sample of 100 male college students, the results indicated that negative attitudes toward women mediated the relationship between traditional masculine ideologies and all three types of rape myths, but locus of control did not serve as a mediator for any. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Evolutionary History Influences The Salinity Preference Of Bacterial Taxa In Wetland Soils, Ember Morrissey, Rima B. Franklin

Biology Publications

Salinity is a major driver of bacterial community composition across the globe. Despite growing recognition that different bacterial species are present or active at different salinities, the mechanisms by which salinity structures community composition remain unclear. We tested the hypothesis that these patterns reflect ecological coherence in the salinity preferences of phylogenetic groups using a reciprocal transplant experiment of fresh- and saltwater wetland soils. The salinity of both the origin and host environments affected community composition (16S rRNA gene sequences) and activity (CO2 and CH4 production, and extracellular enzyme activity). These changes in community composition and activity rates were …

Friendship As Method, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

“Friendship as Method,” appendix of the book In Solidarity: Friendship, Family, and Activism Beyond Gay and Straight (Routledge 2015), overviews the author's approach to and philosophy of research. She defines friendship, posits it as a kind of fieldwork, and lays the methodological foundations of friendship as method. After arguing that friendship as method involves researching with the practices, at the pace, and in the natural contexts of friendship, the author describes this approach’s strengths and considerations for both researcher and participants. To learn more, visit the book's website: http://www.insolidaritybook.com.

Build A Bridge Out Of Her, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

This poem uses the structure, aesthetics, and meanings of bridges to engage contemporary political and ethical challenges, including war and economic injustice.

Remembering A Cool September, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

This ethnographic short story chronicles the author’s emotional journey following September 11, 2001. After weeks of disconnection, she encounters a display of patriotism by two gay male friends, provoking her to process what it means to be both patriotic and gay in contemporary U.S. culture.

Animal Rights Is A Social Justice Issue, Robert C. Jones

Animal Rights Movement Collection

The literature on social justice, and social justice movements themselves, routinely ignore nonhuman animals as legitimate subjects of social justice. Yet, as with other social justice movements, the contemporary animal liberation movement has as its focus the elimination of institutional and systemic domination and oppression. In this paper, I explicate the philosophical and theoretical foundations of the contemporary animal rights movement, and situate it within the framework of social justice. I argue that those committed to social justice – to minimizing violence, exploitation, domination, objectification, and oppression – are equally obligated to consider the interests of all sentient beings, not …

Current Advances In The Application Of Raman Spectroscopy For Molecular Diagnosis Of Cervical Cancer, Ines Martins Ramos, Alison Malkin, Fiona Lyng

Articles

Raman spectroscopy provides a unique biochemical fingerprint capable of identifying and characterizing the structure of molecules, cells and tissues. In cervical cancer, it is acknowledged as a promising biochemical tool due to its ability to detect pre-malignancy and early malignancy stages. This review summarizes the key research in the area and the evidence compiled is very encouraging for ongoing and further research. In addition to the diagnostic potential, promising results for HPV detection and monitoring treatment response suggest more than just a diagnosis prospective. A greater body of evidence is however necessary before Raman spectroscopy is fully validated for clinical …

Graduate Catalog Of Studies, 2014-2015, University Of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Graduate School Catalog of Studies

No abstract provided.

Father's Blessing: Ethnographic Drama, Poetry, And Prose, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Following interpretivist traditions focusing on how individuals make sense of and make meaning from their lived experience, the author, a heterosexual woman, travels with a gay male friend/participant to visit his estranged father, a retired Air Force pilot and elder in the Mormon Church. The work attempts to show the dialogic construction, negotiation, and transformation of identities and relationships.

The Spectacle Of Rock And Roll Hybridity In Chiang Mai: An Ethnographic Study Of Rock And Roll-Ness In Thailand, Scott M. Walus, Nathan E. Furstenau

Iowa Journal of Communication

Rock and roll has attained canonical status in America by providing a soundtrack for the expression of individualism for the past 60 years. Its current state of stability differs from its first two decades, where novelty and possibility fueled its popularity (Cooper, 2013). In Chiang Mai, Thailand, an influx of American rock and roll has combined with local Thai culture to yield a hybrid music culture. This hybrid rock and roll culture provides the space for the possibilities of collective rebellion through a community that is uniquely Chiang Mai. This study deploys the lens of hybridity to the participant data …

Suffolk Journal, Vol. 75, No. 14, 2/4/2015, Suffolk Journal

Suffolk Journal

No abstract provided.