Digital Commons Network^™

Riddarasögur: Changing Medieval Norway With French Romance Literature, Elizabeth Tuggle

Honors Theses

In the realm of Arthuriana, numerous versions exist of the adventures of King Arthur and his knights. The genre of the riddarasögur – “the sagas of knights” – contains Norwegian versions of these tales along with Norwegian versions of other French literature such as Marie de France’s lais and fabliaux. In the 13th century, King Hákon Hákonarson commissioned the translation of the French tales into Norwegian for the purpose of civilizing Norwegian society in general and the royal court in particular. Given the fair treatment of women and of love in the riddarasögur, King Hákon’s project to civilize his court …

Assessing The Cultural Effects Of Neoliberalism On Empathy, Melissa May Racho

Dissertations

The current study examined the effect of neoliberalism on the expression of empathy among 40 undergraduate college students. Participants were divided across three groups: two treatment groups who were exposed to either a neoliberal or critical primer and a control group with no exposure to a primer. Individuals were randomly assigned to each condition prior to completing three empathy measures: The Empathic Concern and Perspective Taking subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test. Mean scores were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and revealed no significant differences between groups, indicating the …

Factors Associated To Teacher Longevity In A Title I Elementary School: A Qualitative Narrative Inquiry Study, Richard Devney

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The potential of our nation is hinged upon the strength of our educational system across all 50 states. Public education is the backbone of our country and continues to be a spotlight of focus for many. In 1983, President Ronald Regan shared the “Nation at Risk” report, based on the findings from the National Commission on Excellence in Education. The report claimed a level of mediocrity permeated the public education system and children were lagging behind compared to children in other first world countries. This landmark report put a level of accountability on school officials to create higher performing students …

Animal Welfare Frames: How Social Media Messages Bridge The Gap Between The Protein Industry And Consumers, Olivia Norton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The two articles in this thesis used content analysis to analyze and compare animal welfare related website and Twitter content of the top five animal protein producing companies in the United States. In the first article, the animal welfare website content of Cargill, Tyson Foods Inc., Smithfield, JBS® and Sysco were analyzed for persuasive frames, common topics, and key terminology to describe their corporate positions on animal welfare. Sysco’s main page devoted to animal welfare dominated the word count with 1,045 words, while JBS®’s main animal welfare page used only 265 words to communicate the company’s views. The most commonly …

The Black Church And Community: A Model For Church Community Engagement And Development, Brye Mcmillon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This project examines the role of the Black Church in the development of the African American Community and seeks to encourage churches to embrace this role. Support for communities by churches in rural North Alabama is key to improving living conditions and achieving biblically based outreach. This project investigates the church’s theological duties for community outreach and provides a biblical mandate as a part of a larger community development model, while preparing ministry teams for outreach. This paper will consider the equipping methodology that leads to a trained ministry team able to reach, identify, and fulfill the needs of the …

The Characteristics Of African American Parental Influence On Academic Success In A Rural School District: A Collective Case Study, Raymond Christian

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to discover the characteristics of African American parental behavior regarding the importance of school, and its influence on their high school children’s academic success in a rural school district, for recent African American graduates in Mountain County, North Carolina. The research study utilized a collective case study approach and included five African American parents and, their children that had graduated from Mountain County High School and gained college acceptance. Guided by Ecological Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), and Risk and Resilience Theory (Catalano, Hawkins, 1996), data collection methods included interviews, document analysis and, focus groups. …

Rancher Perceptions Of Ecosystem Services From Rangelands Of The Intermountain West, Elisabeth C. York

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Rangelands within the Great Basin are responsible for the provision of multiple resources that humans depend on for a variety of reasons. Ranchers in this region are dependent on public lands to remain economically viable in their cattle operations. As a majority of land in this region is publically owned, there are varying interests at play in what should and could be the focus of management. Ranchers are charged with implementing strategies aimed at conserving these landscapes and their motivations for what to manage may significantly influence resource provision from Intermountain West ecosystem.

In this study, I sought to understand …

Landscape Architecture Education: A Study Of Patterns, Tanya Rice

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research is focused on analyzing landscape architecture education of accredited bachelor programs in the U.S. The primary intent was to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the current state of landscape architecture education and the direction in which it is heading. This was conducted through an evaluation of each landscape architecture program’s course offerings. The objectives were to explore the degree of coherence and dispersion of course requirements among programs, compare similarities and differences and identify current patterns, trends, strengths and emphases of the programs. Then design course descriptions were analyzed for identification of word families and cluster networks to …

Renewable Energy: Prospects, Politics, The Public, And Proximity, Peter G. Robertson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The way our electricity is generated is in a period of rapid change; in the United States and many other countries the system is becoming less reliant on coal based power systems, while natural gas and solar and wind power are becoming more and more important. Technological advances have made solar and wind power more efficient and increasingly cost-effective. While these changes to the electrical system come with great benefits, such as less pollution, these technologies are not free of impacts. The electrical system is inseparable from our modern lifestyle, and because the system is so large this transition will …

Integrating Social And Ecological Methods To Assess And Inform Park Monitoring And Management, Kelly A. Goonan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Managing outdoor recreation requires that managers do the following: (1) consider the user experience, environmental and cultural resources, and type and intensity of management actions; (2) specify desired conditions to be maintained, monitor conditions, and take appropriate action if unacceptable impacts occur; (3) adapt to new conditions and information; and (4) exercise good judgment based on their professional experience and the best information available to them. Social science studies of visitors and studies of significant recreation resources like campsites are important sources of information for managers and are commonly used in parks and protected areas to support planning and decision-making. …

Contributors To Wisconsin’S Persistent Black-White Gap In Life Expectancy, Max T. Roberts

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For decades, blacks have faced shorter life expectancy than their white counterparts. This persistent disparity has led to a gap in life expectancy between the two groups. Nationally, this gap has decreased over the last 40 years. However, this is not the case at the state-level as some states have experienced little or no improvement in the life expectancy gap. Such is the case in Wisconsin, where the life expectancy gap is the largest in the nation for males, and the gap actually has grown for females over the last two decades. This study seeks to examine this persistent gap …

Ombuds As Nomads? The Intersections Of Dispute System Design And Identity, Tim Hedeen

Faculty Articles

Whether providing requested information, careful attention, informal coaching, impartial mediation, or upward feedback, ombuds operate within an “oscillating space” occasioned by contending purposes of their work. Their relationships to both their visitors and their host organization confer a dynamic identity, as they are at once supporting the visitor and supporting the organization. With which does an ombudsman identify, their organization or their visitor? Can the answer be both? This article will explore the opportunities and challenges arising from this tension.

Foundations Of Translational Ecology, Carolyn Af Enquist, Stephen T. Jackson, Gregg M. Garfin, Frank W. Davis, Leah R. Gerber, Jeremy A. Littell, Jennifer L. Tank, Adam J. Terando, Tamara U. Wall, Benjamin Halpern, J. Kevin Hiers, Toni Kyn Morelli, Elizabeth Mcnie, Nathan L. Stephenson, Matthew A. Williamson, Connie A. Woodhouse, Laurie Yung, Mark W. Brunson, Kimberly R. Hall, Lauren M. Hallett, Dawn M. Lawson, Max A. Mortiz, Koren Nydick, Amber Pairis, Andrea J. Ray, Claudia Regan, Hugh D. Safford, Mark W. Schwartz, M. Rebecca Shaw

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Ecologists who specialize in translational ecology (TE) seek to link ecological knowledge to decision making by integrating ecological science with the full complement of social dimensions that underlie today's complex environmental issues. TE is motivated by a search for outcomes that directly serve the needs of natural resource managers and decision makers. This objective distinguishes it from both basic and applied ecological research and, as a practice, it deliberately extends research beyond theory or opportunistic applications. TE is uniquely positioned to address complex issues through interdisciplinary team approaches and integrated scientist–practitioner partnerships. The creativity and context-specific knowledge of resource managers, …

Developing A Translational Ecology Workforce, Mark W. Schwarts, J. Kevin Hiers, Frank W. Davis, Gregg M. Garfin, Stephen T. Jackson, Adam J. Terando, Connie A. Woodhouse, Toni Lyn Morelli, Matthew A. Williamson, Mark W. Brunson

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

We define a translational ecologist as a professional ecologist with diverse disciplinary expertise and skill sets, as well as a suitable personal disposition, who engages across social, professional, and disciplinary boundaries to partner with decision makers to achieve practical environmental solutions. Becoming a translational ecologist requires specific attention to obtaining critical non-scientific disciplinary breadth and skills that are not typically gained through graduate-level education. Here, we outline a need for individuals with broad training in interdisciplinary skills, use our personal experiences as a basis for assessing the types of interdisciplinary skills that would benefit potential translational ecologists, and present steps …

The Effects Of Family Stressors On Depression In Latino Adolescents As Mediated By Interparental Conflict, Jenny Carolina Mondragon

Theses and Dissertations

Extensive literature suggests that Latino youth experience higher levels of depression when compared to youth from other ethnic backgrounds yet relatively little is known regarding why this particular population is especially susceptible to depression. This study focused on family level stressors and the link between interparental conflict and adolescent depressive symptoms in Latino families. The sample consisted of 400 girls and 290 boys, they were distributed into four groups based on gender and family structure. Written surveys were completed in their respective English classes measuring the aforementioned variables. Results indicated a significant relationship across all four groups between family stressors …

Moving Toward And Away From Others: A Person-Centered Analysis Of Social Orientations In Emerging Adulthood, Nathan A. Jorgensen

Theses and Dissertations

Emerging adulthood is a time rife with transitions, and is thus an important time period to study the various ways in which people both connect with and move away from others, or how they are socially oriented. Previous research has suggested a number of factors that contribute to social orientations, including social motivations, the self in relation to others, other-directed emotions and cognitions, and actual social behaviors. The current study examined what types of social orientations exist and how they relate to indices of relational and individual well-being in a sample of US emerging adults (N = 787). Using latent …

The Effects Of Culture On International Advertising Appeals: A Cross-Cultural Content Analysis Of U.S. And Japanese Global Brands, Dan Zhao

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Professional Projects

An international advertising campaign can be standardized in creative strategy, but localized in execution. As an integral part of the execution, advertising appeals should be tailored to local culture to maximize the effectiveness of international advertising campaigns while minimizing cost. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether advertising appeals mirror predicable differences in cultural values.

This study is based on the influential Hofstede model (Hofstede, 2001; Hofstede & Mooij, 2010), which distinguishes cultures according to six dimensions. While individualism and collectivism have been widely discussed in published studies, other dimensions that are also important indicators of advertising appeals …

Violence Against Children In Nyarugusu Refugees Camp: Reporting And Perceptions Across Generations, Erin K. Fletcher, Seth R. Gitter, Savannah Wilhelm

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

There are over two million displaced children worldwide living in established refugee camps. Many of these children have escaped violent conflict in their country, but still are victims of violence within settlement camps. Little is known about the social norms around violence in these camps particularly in regards to reporting. We study this issue using a sample of over 300 child parent pairs in Nyarugusu camp in Tanzania. The camp consists of over 130,000 refugees mainly from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. We find that parents have limited acceptance of physical violence and essentially no acceptance of sexual …

Implementation Fidelity And Outcomes Of School Discipline Policy: Three Studies From Arkansas, Kaitlin Anderson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, exclusionary discipline, including out-of-school suspension (OSS) and expulsion, is disproportionately administered to students of color and special education students. Exclusionary discipline is associated with lower academic achievement and higher risk of dropout, grade retention, and involvement in the juvenile justice system, but there is little causal evidence on this topic.

This dissertation reports on three analyses on school discipline, using administrative data from Arkansas public schools. The first study estimates racial disproportionalities in the use of exclusionary discipline. Controlling for reported behavior and student characteristics, my co-author and I find that Black students are 2.4 times …

Literary And Cinematic Representations Of Neoliberal Forms Of Contemporary Violence In Latin America With Special Interest In Mexico And Colombia, Ivan De Jesus Iglesias

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the last decades, with an increased rhythm and greater intensity, the so-called neoliberal violence has come to play a relevant role within the history of world societies. The Latin American institutional, political, social, and economic changes of the 1970’s and 1980’s, especially those produced under dictatorships, contributed to create the conditions for the implementation of the processes of economic liberalization and global market as part of the concept of institutional modernization and cultural globalization that gave rise to the neoliberal mentality. In this context, neoliberalism becomes hegemonic as a mode of discourse and is incorporated into the way individuals …

Marlow's "Andrea Carter And The Long Ride Home" (Book Review), Cathie Chatmon

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Situational And Psychological Predictors Of Career And Financial Success, Ashley Mcintyre

All Dissertations

The present study sought to examine the processes through which variables in childhood affect financial and career success in adulthood. Though the effects of individual differences (e.g., cognitive ability and core self-evaluations [CSE]) on financial and career success outcomes have been frequently studied in industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology, situational factors are often treated as non-focal or control variables. We aim to augment the nomological network to include variables that have been identified in the fields of sociology and economics as significant predictors of financial and career success. The effects of religious tradition, poverty, and cognitive ability on outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, …

A Business School Living Learning Community: A Complexity Theory Study Of Collaborative Engagement Using Network Analysis, Edward B. De Iulio

All Dissertations

As funding for institutions of higher education becomes tighter, state and federal entities have turned to student retention and graduation rates as measures of success to determine levels of financial support. A concept, supported by student development theories, used to increase retention and graduation rates is creating living learning communities (LLCs). Researchers previously concluded that student participation in an LLC positively affects student academic performance, engagement, and retention. The purpose of this study was to investigate how networks developed in a living learning community and what, if any, network variables contributed to academic performance. Specifically, dynamic network analysis using ORA …

Putting Your Best Face Forward: The Influence Of Facial Cosmetics On Structured Employment Interview Ratings, Skye K. Gillispie

All Dissertations

Employment interviews are ubiquitous in modern selection systems. Although interviews are extremely common, there is evidence that interview ratings are subject to rating errors and biases. For example, previous research has found that higher physical attractiveness of the candidate is linked to increased interview ratings. Physical attractiveness is largely considered to be a fixed characteristic that cannot be controlled, however this may not be entirely true as research has consistently linked women's use of facial cosmetics to increased ratings of physical attractiveness. An experimental three (no cosmetics, low cosmetics, high cosmetics) by three (low performance, intermediate performance, high performance) design …

Front Matter

Perpetua: The Journal of Undergraduate Research at UAH

No abstract provided.

Tokenism & Resistance: Gender, Sexism, And Culture In The United States Military, Aislinn R. Brookshire

Perpetua: The Journal of Undergraduate Research at UAH

Tokenism occurs when there are a small number of minority members within a work group. Token minority members sometimes experience structural and cultural practices which prevent them from advocating for one another or future minority members within the organization. Aspects of tokenism include heightened visibility, isolation, and stereotyping. This study uses interviews from female veterans in the United States military to understand their experiences of tokenism and how these experiences shaped their ability to resist sexism and advocate for cultural changes at work.

"We Heard Canada Was A Free Country": African American Migration In The Great Plains, 1890-1911, Rachel M. Wolters

Dissertations

This study uses a transnational lens to examine the migration of Black Americans from Oklahoma to Canada in the early 20th century. Although scholars have documented this movement, they have not fully explored the vital and durable transnational connections among African American immigrants themselves. The use of family histories, newspaper articles, and immigration files show how black migrants searched for land and equality in Canada and attempted to build all black communities. Encouraged by the promises of Canadian immigration recruiters, black migrants left their homes and Jim Crowism in Oklahoma to settle in a “free country” and to realize the …

High School Stress And Cheating: Developing An Understanding Of The Factors That Influence Stress And Cheating In High School Students, Raymond W. Kilmer Iii

Education Doctoral

The culture of high school is increasingly dominated by grades, pressure to get into an elite college, and meeting personal expectations as well as those of parents, teachers, and peers. This quantitative action research study examines the relationship between demographic variables, such as gender, grade level, and course load, and the constructs of high school student perceived level of stress, sources of stress, and attitudes about academic integrity. In addition, the present study creates a model that explains how these variables predict the frequency students use academically dishonest behaviors. The study used archival data from a district sponsored survey. Results …

Local Item Response Theory For Detection Of Spatially Varying Differential Item Functioning, Samantha Robinson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mappings of spatially-varying Item Response Theory (IRT) parameters are proposed, allowing for visual investigation of potential Differential Item Functioning (DIF) based upon geographical location without need for pre-specified groupings and before any confirmatory DIF testing. This proposed model is a localized approach to IRT modeling and DIF detection that provides a flexible framework, with current emphasis being on 1PL/Rasch and 2PL models. Applications to both simulated and empirical survey data, utilizing a box-car kernel weighting scheme with several fixed bandwidths on irregular spatial lattices, are presented both to demonstrate the methodology and to illustrate the benefit of localized IRT modeling. …

The Cold War In The Eastern Mediterranean: An Interpretive Global History, James M. Brown

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis offers the first global history of the Cold War in the eastern Mediterranean. It examines the international linkages that bound Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus with superpowers, non-aligned states, and transnational movements during the second half of the twentieth century, and it considers the effects of such linkages upon the eastern Mediterranean’s domestic arenas. Throughout, it demonstrates that two forces – synthesis of outside influence alongside consolidation of internal identities – dictated the region’s experiences during the Cold War. And though the international environment furnished the conditions within which the region’s societies pursued the project of nation-building, indigenous forces …