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“Home Sweet Home”: Displacement And Belonging In Post-1960s Diasporic Chinese Literature, Melody Yunzi Li

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Situated at the intersection of Sinophone and Diaspora Studies and focusing on the rhetoric of “home,” my dissertation explores the ways in which Chinese immigrant Sinophone writers and Anglophone writers in the U.S. construct “imaginative homes” in response to the absence of their physical homes. Through detailed analysis of works by Yu Lihua (Again the Palm Trees, 1967), Yan Geling (The Criminal Lu Yanshi, 2011; A Woman’s Epic, 2006), Pai Hsien-yung (Taipei People, 1971), Shi Yu (New York Lover, 2004), Chen Qian (Listen to the Caged Bird Sing, 2010), Rong Rong (Notes of a Couple, 2004) and Ha Jin (A …

“There Is No Care Here”: The Conflictual Ethics Of Kin And Bureaucratic Care In Botswana, Arielle Justine Wright

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

How do people make sense of “care” when it fails? My dissertation examines the ethical debates that are provoked by the limitations of care in the setting of home-based care and associated safety net programs in Botswana. The organization of care is negotiated across domestic and public domains, often incorporating concerns about kinship ties, dependency, and labor in the welfare state. Based on 16 months of ethnographic research, I demonstrate that the ethical evaluation of care varies between differently-positioned stakeholders engaged in providing chronic care. Economic conditions and socio-political ideologies shape the ethics of care by way of setting the …

Wild Primates In Documentary Films: Biodiversity, Behavior, And Pedagogical Applications, Crystal Marie Riley Koenig

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The representation of wild primates in the nature documentary genre could have important implications for conservation and education. However, no prior research has looked at the content of this genre or its use in education. To fill this gap, the current research included a content analysis of all available documentaries focused on wild primates (n = 210) and a survey of 219 college-level anthropology instructors, with an emphasis on determining how primate biodiversity was portrayed, whether primate behavior was realistically depicted in documentaries, whether mistakes and inaccuracies were common, and how college instructors use primate documentaries as resources in their …

Postpartum Maternal Mood Among Hadza Foragers, Kristen Herlosky

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The postnatal period immediately following birth is a time of critical importance for both mother and offspring due to the vulnerabilities associated with poorer health outcomes. Infant and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world in Sub-Saharan African, often due to lack of professional health care services available. Further, postpartum depression (PPD) impacts 1 in 5 women in low and middle-income countries, with those estimates likely being underestimated. Cross-cultural research on PPD is often measured using westernized screening tools, but new research recommends utilizing combined qualitative methodologies. Here, we present the first investigation of postpartum maternal mood …

The Architecture Of Belief: Developing Personal Convictions And Preserving Tradition, Kalli Abbott, Dr. Jacob Hickman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Hmong people are a diasporic, highland ethnic minority group spread throughout Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. Contenders of Christianity have penetrated their communities with religious change to a significant extent. Hmong traditional religious practices include a repertoire of ancestral and spiritual rituals influenced by Taoist and Confucian ritual systems. Challenging these traditional systems today is the influx of conversions to Protestant Christianity in Thailand (about 10% from community surveys). Beginning in the 1960s, the war in Laos began to cause major disruption in the life of Hmong people. Escaping as refugees to Thailand and eventually to …

Mixing The Business Of Pleasure: How Mixing Shaped The Labor And Narratives Of Female Entertainers In Mid-Twentieth Century America, Evan Maryl Casey

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In mid-twentieth century America, the practice of mixing – the required visibility of performers outside of their time on stage for an economic purpose – cut across the various genres of sexualized female labor, from showgirls to exotic dancers and the professional women who occupied the space between. Mixing required performers socialize with patrons, encouraging them to buy drinks and was expected of a wide variety of female professionals in the decades following the Second World War, including burlesque performers, gogo dancers, exotic dancers, and showgirls, hostesses, waitresses, and B-girls. Women’s bodies have historically been a part of a commercialized …

To Remain Near The "Water Ditch," Paiute Sovereignty And United States Settler Colonialism, Owens Valley, California, 1870-1937, Lee Murray Hanover

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis argues that Owens Valley Paiute sovereignty manifested itself both inherently and adaptively from 1870 to 1937. Sovereignty is an historically contingent term that reflects how nations deploy power to retain control over their communities and provide self-determination within economics, politics, culture, and society. This thesis illuminates Paiute sovereignty through the Peoplehood model, explaining how Paiute sovereignty existed at the moment of their creation, when Coyote placed them next to the Water Ditch—Owens River—and told them to spread throughout but never leave their homeland, the Owens Valley. This inherent mandate allowed Paiutes to adapt Coyote’s stipulation to remain in …

Investigating The Role Of Liminality In The Cultural Transition Of The Late Eighth Millennium Bc On Cyprus, Levi Keach

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Near East has the earliest and best documented Neolithic in the world. However, most research attention has focused on the mainland. The spread of the Neolithic to the adjacent Mediterranean islands was once considered relatively late. The last three decades of research has changed this perception, demonstrating that the spread of the Neolithic to Cyprus was contemporary with its continental development.

This work addresses the change between the archeologically defined cultures of the Cypro-Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (Cypro-PPNB) and the Khirokitian Culture (KC) on the island of Cyprus between the 9th and 6th millennia cal BC. The purpose of this …

Nutrition Transition Of Hadza Foragers: Implications For Juvenile Behavior, Trevor Pollom

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Hadza foragers of Tanzania are undergoing early stages of nutrition transition and an increased level of market integration. Accompanying these shifts is a significant change in diet composition with greater access to maize, wheat, and other domesticated cultigens, even in the most remote bush camps. Despite the rapid rate of nutrition transition, few studies have attempted to quantify the possible effects this transition is having on Hadza diet or foraging behaviors. Here, we attempt to fill this gap in the literature by reporting results of a mixed methods cross-sectional study on juvenile foragers taken from two time points, 2005 …

Effect Of Exercise And Hypoxia On Plasma Telomerase, Charli D. Aguilar

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction: Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is the enzyme that adds telomeric sequences to the end of linear chromosomes. Exercise has shown to upregulate acutely leukocyte TERT after just 30 minutes of running on a treadmill at 80% of VO2max (Denham et al., 2016). Hypoxia inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is also a mediator of TERT in in vitro (Nishi et al., 2004). Moderate acute exposure to hypoxia was associated with substantial increases in plasma TERT in a recent study on rats (Wang et al., 2014). The specific aim of the current study was to identify if acute hypoxia upregulates plasma TERT …

Examining The Influence Of Executive Resources And Mathematical Abilities On Framing Biases, Gabriel Allred

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The finding that the presentation of a choice (i.e., either as a loss or a gain) can affect and bias our willingness to engage in risk is one of the paramount findings of behavioral economics. First discussed by Tversky and Kahneman (1981), the framing effect demonstrates that when given two choices framed as a loss, we tend to become risk seeking. However, when the exact same outcome is presented as a gain, we become risk averse, choosing the more conservative option, regardless of the actual expected value. The effect is not limited to general research samples but has been demonstrated …

Investigating Land Use By The Inhabitants Of Western Cyprus During The Early Neolithic, Katelyn Dibenedetto

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study presents the first of its kind in Cyprus that combines the use of ancient crop (two-grained einkorn wheat, hulled barley, and lentils) and animal (domestic sheep, goat, cattle, pig, and wild deer) stable isotopes (carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen) for reconstructing land use by the Kritou Marottou Ais Giorkis (Cypro-PPNB, 7956-7058 cal BC) inhabitants in western Cyprus. Current definitions of this time period employ the strict forager/farmer dichotomy, even though archaeological evidence suggests otherwise. In addition, it is still assumed that Cyprus was a barren landscape whose inhabitants were isolated from one another and the mainland. An integrated stable …

Mate Preferences Among Single Mothers, Carol Yvette Franco

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As individuals become parents, they shift time and energy towards parenting to ensure the survival and wellbeing of their offspring. However, it is not uncommon for a romantic partnership between parents to dissolve, which may lead a single mother to pursue a new partner in the future. But how does having a dependent child influence whom she will choose for her new partner? And how will resource availability and assistance from family influence the decisions she makes? A significant amount of research has been conducted on female mate preferences in the United States and elsewhere, yet little is specifically focused …

Working With Constraints: The Merit Of Prudence, Matthew Martinez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Families are essential building blocks of human social organization. For most of human history, families were fundamental economic and social elementary units (Chapais, 2009). Past research has identified a relationship between family structure and political regimes, such that specific types of kin organization seem to be typically associated with particular forms of political regimes. Such systematic macro-level associations have held up to significant scientific scrutiny. However, little research has attempted to provide detailed mechanistic accounts of those associations. Notably absent from the literature are empirical studies into the possible association between specific features of families and political orientations has been …

Why Such Constriction Of The Moral Sphere? The Importance Of Social Coordination In Croatia’S Ethnic Conflict, Michael Arthur Moncrieff

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Scholars have described ethnic violence in great length and detail. Many of the social and

psychological causal mechanisms that facilitate the rapid mobilization of ethnic groups and the eventual violence that can ensue are less understood. Morality typically eases cooperative interactions between members of a community by establishing rules that help to restrain self- interested actions that may be harmful to others. It is well documented that during periods of increasing ethnic conflict once intimate neighbors, colleagues, and friends can be recruited to take part in violence against each other solely on account of declared ethnic differences. In such circumstances, …

A Middle Pueblo Ii Production Zone For Shivwits Ware Ceramics: Implications For Understanding Settlement Patterns And Socio-Environmental Responses On The Shivwits Plateau, William Morrow Willis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The distribution of ceramics from upland regions in Northern Arizona into Southern Nevada is one of the many curiosities concerning the Virgin Branch Puebloan culture. From the Shivwits Plateau, it is more than 100 kilometers to the Moapa Valley, yet Shivwits Wares make up a sizeable proportion of sherds found at many lowland sites. These networks appear to reach their height in the Middle Pueblo II period and then collapse sometime around AD 1150. The reason for this is not yet fully understood; however, research performed on the southern end of the Shivwits Plateau concerning landscape usage and settlement placement …

We Are A Fantasia: Violence, Belonging, And Potentiality In Transgender Latina Sexual Economies, Andrea Bolivar

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation ethnographically centers the lives of sex working transgender Latinas in Chicagoland. Based on 14 months of research collected between June 2015 and August 2016, I introduce "fantasia" as a racialized queer analytic to illustrate the unique ways in which transgender Latinas are objectified, racialized, and dehumanized in sexual economies of labor and in U.S. nation more broadly. Fantasia conveys trans Latinas' sexual otherness on account of their race and gender. They are imagined as hypersexual because they are Latinas, and fetishized because they are transgender women. Fantasia also indexes their ephemeral presence--they are always at risk of disappearing …

Kinship And Religious Identities In Medieval Central Asia (8th-13th C. Ce): Tracing Communities Of Mortuary Practice And Biological Affinity, Elissa Anne Bullion

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Ethnic, political, and religious upheaval has cascading impacts on social identity. Kinship and religious ritual are two sources of social identity that are particularly salient in periods of change. Their practice provides access to and protection of important social, economic, and ideological resources that help groups negotiate times of uncertainty. During the medieval period (8th-13th c. CE), Central Asia saw the invasion of Arab armies, the rise of Turkic political dynasties, and the spread of Islam. This period yielded a Turko-Islamic culture that pervades modern dialogues on Central Asian history and culture. The local and regional social systems that sustained …

Earthen Monuments And Social Movements In Eastern North America: Adena-Hopewell Enclosures On Kentucky’S Bluegrass Landscape, Edward Ross Henry

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Geometric earthen enclosures are some of the best known pre-Columbian monuments in North America. Across the Eastern Woodlands, many have been preserved as state and national parks. However, their chronological placement is poorly understood as they relate to the rise of complex social behaviors associated with the Adena-Hopewell florescence (500 BC–AD 500) in the Middle Ohio Valley. This is especially true for communities who built smaller enclosures referred to by archaeologists as ‘scared circles’. To better understand the timing, tempo, and nature of their construction I examined the Bluegrass Region in Central Kentucky using aerial and terrestrial remote sensing methods …

Dying Worlds: Environment, Ecology, And Empire In British Literature 1878-1919, Susanna Williams

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation argues that models of approaching environmental crisis in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century British literature have been obscured by a false, mid-twentieth century, American-centered genealogy of environmentalism. As Victorian scientists made discoveries about deep time, entropy, and tidal drag, scientific and popular writers in the following decades came to terms with ideas about an earth made unfit for human existence and humans’ imminent extinction. Writers grappled with feelings of loss and grief, and they felt disoriented by time scales and energetic processes that were beyond the scope of a single human life. This overwhelming information required them to take a …

Migrating Birds, Dwelling Friends: On The Radical Possibilities Of Friendship, Soha Mohsen

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I would like to explore the notion of friendship in contemporary Egypt, as a contingent relationship born and maintained among various conditions of political, economic and urban precarity and uncertainty. Particularly, I'm interested in looking at the affective and creative modes of attachment, relating and belonging that people constantly invent and experiment with, when life is too messy for categories to hold. By following, tracing and accompanying friends and networks of friendship emerging in and across the biggest two cities of Egypt; Cairo and Alexandria, my goal is to co-construct an ethnography about the contemporary meanings, forms …

Development Of A Culturally Appropriate Smokeless Tobacco Cessation Program For American Indians, Kathryn Rollins, Charley Lewis, T. Edward Smith, Ryan Goeckner, Jason Hale, Niaman Nazir, Babalola Faseru, K Allen Greiner, Sean M. Daley, Won S. Choi, Christine M. Daley

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This study describes a multiphasic approach to the development of a smokeless tobacco cessation program targeted for American Indians (AI) of different tribal nations. The authors gathered formative data from a series of focus groups and interviews to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of AI and smokeless tobacco (SLT) use. Predominant themes emerged from four major topic areas (SLT use, initiation and barriers, policy, and program development) across both studies. This study further assessed educational materials developed for the cessation program for scientific accuracy, readability, and cultural appropriateness. Program materials were scientifically accurate and culturally appropriate. The average corrected …

Introduction To The Second Special Issue Of The World Conference On Women’S Studies, Colombo Sri Lanka Jiws, Madhavi Venkatesan, Diana Fox

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Review Of Curators: Behind The Scenes Of Natural History Museums, Danielle Castronovo

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Book review of Curators by Lance Grande.

Inch By Inch: Expanding The Community Garden Programs In New York City, Michael Bailey

Student Theses 2015-Present

The importance of community gardens in New York City is twofold: first as a portal to a real natural aesthetic in an otherwise brick and concrete urban jungle, and second as a sustainable alternative to agribusinesses that are dominant in the contemporary private sector. This paper addresses the issue of the diminishing community garden support in NYC, especially in middle and lower-income areas. The introduction is a personal anecdote about the poor quality of New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) gardens, and the work being done behind the scenes to improve them. Chapter one provides data showing the scope and …

Apicentrism In City Parks: Cultivating Honey Bee Prosperity In The Face Of Colony Collapse Disorder, John Hughes

Student Theses 2015-Present

One of the most pertinent ecological crises of the 2010s is the frightening ambiguity of colony collapse disorder. As honey bee populations continue to be decimated in unprecedented numbers, this epidemic will exert profound effects on human populations both ecologically and economically. This thesis explores the epidemic using quantifiable and ecological information about the honey bee and pesticides. From this base, this thesis then explores pesticide use in New York City Parks in relation to the disorder. Finally, the thesis challenges readers to adopt a political and philosophical shift towards an environmental ethic that will take better care of the …

The Planet On Our Plates: The History, Economics, And Ethics Of An Unsustainable Globalized Food System, Erin Wattley

Student Theses 2015-Present

In today’s age of globalization, the world’s food systems are no exception to this dominant economic trend. Although globalization has ushered in an unprecedented economic boom, the globalization of the food system has negative implications for the environment, including the pollution and energy costs of transporting food around the globe, the exploitation of land for farming, particularly in developing countries, and the degradation and depletion of natural resources. This paper seeks to address the environmental problems associated with the globalized food system and provide possible solutions to those problems, using the food system of Bronx residents as a case study …

Illinois Wesleyan Announces Candidates For Graduation, Kathy Thilmany

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

The Stories We Tell Ourselves: The Influence Of Han And Heung On Korean Culture, Bryce Mangelson, Dr. Greg Thompson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Current scholarship about Korea recognizes the importance that han has on Korean culture. Han is a feeling of melancholy and sadness that stems from constant suppression and opposition. Han is discussed within a historical context of political oppression from foreign countries such as China and Japan.

In my ethnographic study, I found an additional concept called heung that plays a pivotal role in the Korean culture. Heung is the collective energy and joy that motivates celebrations and builds solidarity within the community. Heung is underrepresented in the literature sounding Korean culture even though it is a critical Korean concept. These …

Remembering The Revolution: Monuments And Commemorations Of American Revolutionary War Sites In New York, Brant W. Venables

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Memorials and monuments at military heritage sites track the ways American society constructs and then reconstructs its understandings of important events. They present enticing material culture for study by archaeologists seeking to analyze the layers of meaning and the social and chronological transformations in the heritage narratives at military sites. With the prominence of recent national discourses surrounding the heritage narratives presented by Civil War Confederate monuments, there is a paramount need for archaeologists to lend their expertise in material culture studies to these dialogues. I also believe it remains important to expand this critical examination of Civil War monuments …