Digital Commons Network^™

When We Were Monsters: Ethnogenesis In Medieval Ireland 800-1366, Dawn Adelaide Seymour Klos

Master's Theses

Ethnogenesis, or the process of identity construction occurred in medieval Ireland as a reaction to laws passed by the first centralized government on the island. This thesis tracks ethnogenesis through documents relating to change in language, custom, and law. This argument provides insight into how a new political identity was rendered necessary by the Anglo-Irish. Victor Turner’s model of Communitas structures the argument as each stage of liminality represents a turning point in the process of ethnogenesis.

1169 marked a watershed moment as it began the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. English nobles brought with them ideas of centralized power. In …

Three Essays On Likability Factors, Crowdfunding, And Entrepreneurial Performance, Yuanqing Li

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I conduct three empirical studies exploring the relation between likability factors, crowdfunding characteristics and entrepreneurial performance. Together these studies integrate aspects of major entrepreneurial likability factors including liking of the entrepreneur (source attractiveness, credibility, personal traits) and liking of the message (verbal content and expression), and components of nonverbal and verbal cues. I apply computer-mediated communication (CMC) and persuasion theories, political and marketing literature to provide a more fine-grained understanding of likability on crowdfunding success. In the first essay, I study how the non-verbal cues of a crowdfunding video influence the crowdfunding success. By employing social presence …

Using Botnet Technologies To Counteract Network Traffic Analysis, Yu Fu

All Dissertations

Botnets have been problematic for over a decade. They are used to launch malicious activities including DDoS (Distributed-Denial-of-Service), spamming, identity theft, unauthorized bitcoin mining and malware distribution. A recent nation-wide DDoS attacks caused by the Mirai botnet on 10/21/2016 involving 10s of millions of IP addresses took down Twitter, Spotify, Reddit, The New York Times, Pinterest, PayPal and other major websites. In response to take-down campaigns by security personnel, botmasters have developed technologies to evade detection. The most widely used evasion technique is DNS fast-flux, where the botmaster frequently changes the mapping between domain names and IP addresses of the …

Stacked Relatives: Their Structure, Processing And Computation, Chong Zhang

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

This dissertation investigates the syntactic structure, processing effects, and computation of stacked relative clauses (RCs). Two structurally different languages are studied: English and Mandarin Chinese. The central question is to what extent the difficulty of processing a given sentence (modulo ambiguity) depends on how much working memory is required to compute its structure. The memory load is quantified by complexity metrics that are defined in a computationally rigorous fashion. The conclusion is that both memory load and memory reactivation need to be considered in building a cognitive model for language processing. Based on the grammatical function of the relativized noun …

Phonological Learning Bias In Tone Patterns, Sophia Kao

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The relationship between typological asymmetries and acquisition of phonological patterns has been a controversial topic in the field of phonology. This dissertation approaches the issue by focusing on the source of typological asymmetries involving tone patterns, and the role that typological commonness plays in the learning of patterns that are common vs. patterns that are logically possible but are rare or unattested. The target tone patterns of this study were tone elision and contour tone formation patterns, which are common strategies for dealing with tones that are stranded as a result of elision of a vowel. I provide data from …

On The Syntax Of Spatiotemporal Pps, Hisako Takahashi

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

This thesis attempts to provide new evidence for the layered PP structure through an investigation of the interaction of a layered PP structure and two syntactic phenomena in Japanese: nominal ellipsis within PPs and Nominative/Genitive Conversion in adverbial clauses headed by Ps. The proposed analyses of the two syntactic phenomena also have theoretical implications for cross-linguistic variations in nominal morphology and the locality of Case-assignment. In chapter 2, I propose that while both English and Japanese have a common three-layered PP structure consisting of Path, Place and Ax(ial)Part as proposed in the literature (Ayano 2001, Svenonius 2006, Cinque 2010, amo.), …

Imagining The Orient: Representations Of The Chinese In Modern Spanish Culture, Mary Kate Donovan

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

This dissertation examines representations of the Chinese in twentieth and twenty-first century Spanish cultural production. I argue that many internationally circulating models for representing the Chinese in the West have been re-imagined in Spanish texts in ways that respond to cultural and economic anxieties particular to modern Spain. Adopting a cultural studies approach, this project reads a wide range of texts including film, literature, television, news media, magazines, and visual culture. This project is divided into three chapters, which address the imaginary Chinese, the Chinese migrant, and the Chinese Spaniard. The first chapter focuses on the cultural legacy of representations …

The Hollow Class: African-American Class-Passing And The Popular, Whitney Martin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My project presses to include popular fiction, television, and film for serious critical consideration. To contextualize my research, I use theories that critically examine popular literature, connecting to the work of Janice Radway and Keenan Norris, and I study the African-American focus on class as explored by E. Franklin Frazier. In focusing on the popular, I highlight the everydayness of class and race anxieties. I build on Gwendolyn Foster’s work on class passing but stress racial intersections with identity performance. I rely on New Historicism and Critical Race Theory to substantiate my examination of the literature. I look at specific …

The Critical Role Of Mass Media In International Norm Diffusion: The Case Of Undp Human Development Reports, Devin K. Joshi, Roni Kay O'Dell

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

What role does mass media play in the promotion of global norms? We address this question through an analysis of Human Development Reports (HDRs) produced by the United Nations Development Programme. Although HDRs have promoted human development ideology over the past twenty-five years, little is known about how and to what extent their messages have been disseminated to the public. Addressing this gap in the literature, we examine a critical intervening factor in the process of international norm diffusion: political communication via the mass media. Highlighting the importance of framing and agenda setting, we identify four communicative mechanisms that can …

Punishing On A Curve, Adi Leibovitch

Northwestern University Law Review

Does the punishment of one defendant depend on how she fares in comparison to the other defendants on the judge’s docket? This Article demonstrates that the troubling answer is yes. Judges sentence a given offense more harshly when their caseloads contain relatively milder offenses and more leniently when their caseloads contain more serious crimes. I call this phenomenon “punishing on a curve.”

Consequently, this Article shows how such relative sentencing patterns put into question the prevailing practice of establishing specialized courts and courts of limited jurisdiction. Because judges punish on a curve, a court’s jurisdictional scope systematically shapes sentencing outcomes. …

Harding School Of Theology 2017-2018 Academic Catalog, Harding University

Harding Academic Catalogs

Academic catalog for the graduate program in Bible and religion.

The Past That Was Differs Little From The Past That Was Not: Pictographs And Petroglyphs In Cormac Mccarthys Blood Meridian Or The Evening Redness In The West, Cami Ann Dilg

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This literary analysis expands the scholarly canon concerning Cormac McCarthy’s regional writing by identifying the purpose of pictographs and petroglyphs in Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West (1985). Not only do pictographs and petroglyphs tie the narrative to place, but they create a commentary regarding the erasure of Native American histories in the United States. These images record Native American memory and presence in the landscape, and by referencing them, McCarthy confronts concepts of exposure and shame, which facilitates conversations concerning Native American genocide. A close analysis of character interaction with and scene placement of these images …

The Effects Of Training On Parent Knowledge And Expectations Of Student Postschool Outcomes, Robert Hunsaker

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Most students with disabilities have poor postschool outcomes related to employment or postsecondary education. Very few of these students gain meaningful jobs or go to college. A key predictor of successful postschool outcomes for students with disabilities is high parental expectations. This project examined the effects of parent training on transition agency services on increasing parents’ knowledge and expectations for postschool outcomes for their young adult with disabilities. Participants included English-speaking parents/guardians of young adults with disabilities from Alpine school district in Utah. Participants’ knowledge was measured by correct answers on identical pretests and posttests. Participants’ expectations were measured on …

The Evolution Of La Mexicana In Corridos Popular In The South Texas Borderlands (1930-2016), Gabriela Cavazos

Theses and Dissertations

Corridos have been exhibiting history for almost two hundred years. Moreover, throughout the years, corridos have been demonstrating the cultural shifts of Mexico and the South Texas Borderlands. Corridos represent the spirit of the Mexican and Mexican American culture. They are ballads written to celebrate or to be critical of the life of the protagonists through their accomplishments and actions.

Wayne Booth's Rhetoric Of Pluralism, William John Ordeman

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I will be examining the arguments Wayne C. Booth put forth for Pluralism in rhetorical studies. I will show how Booth believed that ethical criticism, not only in literary criticism but in all disputation, must take place in order for us to understand each other and objective values. Booth believed that our differing opinions and arguments may not be reconcilable, but by employing “listening rhetoric”, a method of paying close attention to the arguments of those who disagree with us, we can arrive at truths that are shared within a community. I juxtapose Booth with both Positivists …

Testing Acceptance Of Language Difference In Academia: Perceptions In A First-Year Composition Classroom, Crystal Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

In response to Bawarshi’s collective call for educators to be “more responsive and responsible users and teachers of English,” and motivated by the research of Michelle Hall Kells, I argue that it is necessary for educators to introduce first-year writing students to the historical and sociopolitical aspects of language use in academia through implementing lessons that focus on facets of language diversity. After describing a lesson plan focused on language diversity, I then analyze student feedback using Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis as a lens. I also discuss the results of a Likert scale implemented during the three-phase study. Student …

Using Mobile Technology To Increase The Math Achievement And Engagement Of Students With Disabilities, Dominique Marie Tetzlaff

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The advent of advanced technologies provides new opportunities for delivering instruction to students with disabilities. Many classrooms have access to mobile devices, such as iPads and Kindles, and educators utilize these devices to differentiate instruction and augment teacher-led instruction. This delivery method, known as blended learning, can create an enriched learning environment where students are exposed to individualized lessons that are self-paced and provide multiple modes of presentation. However, there is little empirical investigation into how students interact with digital devices or what components of online learning directly impact student learning and engagement with the content. In order to design …

The Impact Of Guided Reading Instruction On Elementary Students' Reading Fluency And Accuracy, Agnes Jean Teets

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the impact of Guided Reading instruction on elementary students’ ability to read with fluency and accuracy. A one-way analysis of covariance with pre and posttest design was performed and applied to determine the impact of Guided Reading instruction on elementary students’ reading fluency and accuracy. The sample of subjects included 108 elementary students in the fourth and fifth grade. To examine the impact of Guided Reading instruction, students’ Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA2) pre and posttest scores to include words per minute and accuracy percentage were compared. The analyses revealed proportionate differences in students’ fluency and accuracy. As …

Student Expectations As A Function Of Student Retention For Adult Online Learners, Herman Kastroll

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The study of retention is important to the institution, to assist in ensuring financial stability, and to the student, to provide an environment supportive of student needs for success. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between the subscales of the Priorities Survey of Online Learners (PSOL) and the enrollment decision of adult, online students at a Christian university in the southeast United States. This quantitative, non-experimental, predictive study used a correlational research design and a survey strategy of inquiry. The participants for the study were drawn from archival data consisting of 5,221 undergraduate and 3,799 …

Mechanisms And Implications Of Identity Hybridization In Online Advertorials, Christopher Lee Borntrager

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes the ways corporate-sponsored image advertorials published in online platforms construct identities for their sponsor. By analyzing 6 advertorials from The Guardian Online as well as a user comment thread on the same website using critical linguistic analysis and conversation analysis, respectively, this study suggests that the identities constructed in corporate-sponsored advertorials are a hybridized form, claiming both the goals of a corporation and the social legitimacy of a professional activist. To construct these hybrid identities, the advertorials in this sampling used specific linguistic strategies to demonstrate agency with regard to a specific social issue while seeming to …

Curricular Analysis Of The University Of Arkansas Composition I Pilot Course: Engl 1013, Community Ethnography, Morgan Lindsay Scholz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes a new first-year writing course that is under consideration for implementation as the standard Composition I course at the University of Arkansas. The course utilizes an ethnographic approach to teaching critical writing skills to students. This thesis presents evaluation through a metacognitive lens and explores the course through a case study approach. This thesis also examines the expectations and concluding reflections of three stakeholder groups: students, instructors, and administrators.

Understanding Discourse Transition, Taylor Weeks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work is intended to explore and analyze the process of transition from one discourse to another different discourse.

Developing A Competency-Based Framework To Guide Elementary School Teachers' Efforts In Helping Bullied Children, Samantha Gregus

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study aimed to develop a competency-based framework designed to assist elementary school teachers in their efforts to help bullied children. Drawing from extant research, Gregus and Cavell (2017) created an initial draft of the framework that contained 25 components representing a mix of knowledge, attitudes, and skills. In Study 1, I obtained input on the framework from practicing elementary school teachers (n = 26) and researchers who study school bullying (n = 14). Teacher input was gathered via a series of focus groups and researchers responded using an online survey. Both teachers and researchers viewed the framework positively …

Testing An Integrated Model Of Help Seeking With Ethnically Diverse Primary Care Patients, Bianca Teresa Villalobos

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Structural and attitudinal barriers prevent many individuals from accessing professional mental health services and often times lead to the premature termination of treatment. Although research findings suggest that the integration of mental health services in primary care can increase access to services and reduce stigma for typically underserved populations, dropout occurs at high rates. The current study aims to: (1) identify correlates of attitudinal and structural barriers in a primary care setting, and (2) test the ability of the Integrated Model of Seeking Help (IMoSH) to predict follow-up for behavioral health visits. In particular, it was hypothesized that attitudinal barriers …

A Research Stream On Sentiment Analysis, B. Yuan, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Sentiment analysis (SA) is a powerful mining technique to study online reviews and comments (Lee & Siau, 2001; Adeborna & Siau, 2014; Zhao & Siau, 2017). It is an advanced text mining technique and the goal of SA is to recognize and extract meaningful information from data using natural language processing (NLP) and computational linguistics.SA has been applied to areas such as marketing, online social media, customer service, education, and even energy fields (Yuan & Siau, 2017). For example, SA can be used to identify the attitude of customers according to polarity of the reviews and comments that they left …

Madness In The Media: Demystifying The Emergence Of An Ocd Trope In Television, Sam Martin

All Theses

To live with Obsessive-Compulsive disorder is to live a life constantly misrepresented and misunderstood. By investigating the types of representations of the disorder found in popular visual media, one can surmise the drastic disparity that exists between the lived experience of OCD and the visually locked in version commonly shows to audiences. Comparing these representations with clinical, experiential, and anecdotal evidence leads to the conclusion that popular media, as well as society writ large, are primarily focused on appropriating and trivializing the compulsive behaviors of those with OCD while altogether neglecting the harsh reality of the intrusive thoughts that drive …

Williams Syndrome And Music: A Systematic Integrative Review, Donovon Thakur

Masters Theses

Researchers and clinicians have often cited the curious relationship between individuals with Williams syndrome and music. This review aimed to systematically identify, analyze, and synthesize research and findings related to Williams syndrome and music. Thirty-one articles were identified that examined this relationship and were divided into seven areas by their findings. This process covered a diverse array of methodologies, with aims to: 1) report current findings; 2) assess methodological quality; and 3) discuss the potential implications and considerations for the clinical use of music with this population. Collecting and analyzing available research on the relationship between Williams syndrome and music …

An Analysis Of The Metal Finds From The Ninth-Century Metalworking Site At Bamburgh Castle In The Context Of Ferrous And Non-Ferrous Metalworking In Middle- And Late-Saxon England, Julie Polcrack

Masters Theses

This thesis opens with an investigation of the evidence for blacksmithing and non-ferrous metalworking in Anglo-Saxon England during the Middle- and Late-Saxon periods, c. 700-1066. The second chapter of this thesis focuses on knives and non-ferrous strap-ends during this period in order to discern any regional distinction in metalworking from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. I initially conjectured that Northumbrian knives and strap-ends would show stylistic differences from knives and strap-ends made in other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, but in this chapter, I conclude that Northumbrian metal objects were homogenous with the assemblages from the remaining kingdoms. In the final chapter of …

Voltage Controller For Simulating Transition Between Boost –Buck -Boost Converter, Aula Jameel Al-Kamil

Masters Theses

In the present work, a voltage tracking controller is developed for DC-DC Buck-Boost converter using software model. The software developed can track the voltage and the mode of operation (Buck or Boost), which depends on the value of the duty cycle ratio (D). The error between ��_{��������}(reference voltage) and output voltage is minimized by using step input as reference. The simulation results show that the designed software controller can successfully track the voltage with low error and with short settling time. The values for the Buck-Boost circuit components, the capacitor and the inductor, are tuned and selected so …

The Place Of Book X In Plato's Republic, Willie Costello

Episteme

Here is a new interpretation of Book X of the Republic, which understands this book in relation to the Republic’s central defense of justice and the virtuous life. A metaphysical argument uses the allegory of the cave to understand the problem of poetry as imitation. Appearances can be deceiving; truth need not look like popular wisdom. An ethical argument explains that poetry encourages us to act on the urging of the non-rational part of our soul, thereby diminishing the rational part. Furthermore, since the way our souls react to poetry is as real and as genuine as actual experience, we …