Digital Commons Network^™

The Paradox Of Cracker Barrel: A Case Study On Place And Placelessness, Meredith Gregory

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Place relates to the concept that a particular space can have certain features which make it recognizable and which can inspire an emotional attachment. Placelessness refers to the eradication of unique features, stripping away elements that make one place different from another. Cracker Barrel exists as simultaneously placeless and placefull, putting both of these elements, which at first seem like opposites, to work bringing millions of people back in time to 19th century rural America every time they walk through the door. This research explores this paradoxical notion by utilizing content and semiotic analyses in an analysis of user-generated Yelp! …

An Investigation Into A Culturally Sensitive Manner Of Teaching English As A Foreign Language, Julianna Vaught

Senior Honors Theses

How to teach English globally has continued to be a relevant topic of discussion in the field of TESL, especially how to teach in a manner that is sensitive to the various sociocultural and historical factors surrounding the English language, as well as other languages and cultures. Through an examination of the current global status of English, its historical significance, the dilemmas attached to its’ worldwide spread and dominance, and an examination of culture in language teaching, an attempt is made to codify some basic principles of culture-sensitive English teaching, as well as address the Christian position on this matter, …

Discussing The “Positive Utilities” Of Autonomous Vehicles: Will Travellers Really Use Their Time Productively?, Patrick A. Singleton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are expected to reshape travel behaviour and demand in part by enabling productive uses of travel time—a primary component of the “positive utility of travel” concept—thus reducing subjective values of travel time savings (VOT). Many studies from industry and academia have assumed significant increases in travel time use and reductions in VOT for AVs. In this position paper, I argue that AVs’ VOT impacts may be more modest than anticipated and derive from a different source. Vehicle designs and operations may limit activity engagement during travel, with AV users feeling more like car passengers than train riders. …

The Contract Exception To The Uniform Trade Secrets Act And Its Implications For The Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, Dole Jr, Richard F.

Santa Clara High Technology Law Journal

The Contract Exception to the Uniform Trade Secrets Act and Its Implications for the Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act

Urban Growth Initiative For Greater Downtown Kalamazoo, Jim Robey, Randall W. Eberts, Lee Adams, Kathleen Bolter, Don Edgerly, Marie Holler, Brian Pittelko, Claudette Robey

Reports

No abstract provided.

Optimism And Compliance: An Examination Of Disempowering Processes Within Online Patient Communities, Wendi F. Coleman

Technical Communication Capstone Course

Patients diagnosed with long-term conditions (LTCs) are now being asked of medical practitioners to take an active role in their own health care as “expert patients.” This trend has accelerated the increase in people with LTCs who are using the internet for both information and social support. A valuable resource to these patients, and of interest to researchers, is a new type of online space: online patient communities (OPCs) created for patients suffering from specific illnesses. In order to better understand potential disempowering processes within OLPs, I follow the research and examine the illness narratives, focusing on their various external …

Echo Chambers And Political Polarization On Social Media, Sathvik Palakurty

Library Research Scholars Program 2017-2018

In the pre-social-media age, individuals interacted with far fewer people. I argue that people have less choice in these interactions. This lack of choice drives exposure to diverse and dissenting opinions. However, post-social-media, individuals interact with far greater numbers of people and have much more choice. This increased choice gives individuals the liberty to ignore dissenting opinions and dwell in their own echo-chamber, a subnetwork within the larger network in which individuals share the same opinion. While some have argued that the design of algorithms favors the creation of echo chambers, the formation of these structures might be individual-driven rather …

Imminent Communities: Transpacific Literary Form And Racialization, 1847-1920, Spencer Tricker

Open Access Dissertations

This study examines literary contestations of an imperial discourse I call Pacific Imminence, a ruse of American exceptionalism that framed U.S. Pacific ascendancy as an impending development inaugurating global economic prosperity and a harmonious community of humankind. Through the continental imaginary of Manifest Destiny, most Americanist scholarship has viewed the Pacific as a peripheral site of empire-building in the long nineteenth century. By contrast, I argue that the Pacific uniquely catalyzed a globalist re-branding of U.S. imperialism that American and East Asian writers resisted through fictional forms. Such works undercut Pacific imminence by narrativizing the persistence of colonial antagonisms. In …

Toward Understanding Law And Exploration: Citizen Science, Technology And Regulation, Annie Brett

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation consists of a series of case studies that explore the relationship between law and scientific exploration, focusing on how these fields interact to co-create emerging methods of collecting baseline environmental data. Chapter 1 situates this work in the larger methodological contexts of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) and legal studies of scientific evidence, integrating these two approaches to form the theoretical framework for this dissertation as a whole. Chapter 2 introduces the intertwined relationship between law and exploration, arguing that analyzing these fields together brings new insight on both sides and addressing the key features that define this …

From Busy Bags To Building Bridges: An Investigation In How The Intentional Engagement Of Children In Worship Can Assist Cultural Inclusivity, Billie Jo Wicks

Children, Youth, and Family (CYF) Papers

No abstract provided.

Legal Pluralism And The Implementation Of International Human Rights Law In Africa: The Case Of The Convention Of The Rights Of Persons With Disability (Crpd) In Ghana, Christine Buamah

SJD Dissertations

Most African states are legally pluralistic. As a result, the universalism and cultural relativism approaches to the implementation of international human rights norms in African domestic settings are largely unsuccessful because they do not factor in legal pluralism. A better approach appears to be the cultural pluralism approach. This approach has fared well in Ghana’s implementation of the international convention on the rights of the child. A thorough examination of this case study reveals that the cultural pluralism approach requires an additional step to make it more effective in domesticating international human rights norms. This dissertation identifies this third step: …

"Did You Ever Hear Of A Man Having A Child?": An Examination Of The Risk And Benefits Of Being An African American Female Soldier During America's Civil War, Kirsten Chaney

Graduate Theses

The purpose of this paper is to explore the social, economic, and political benefits for African American females who cross-dressed to join both the Confederate and Union Armies during the American Civil War. The benefits gained by the African American women who disguised themselves as males improved their overall quality of life when compared to other African American women of their era. The improved quality of life for these disguised women was made available through the increased number of options granted to African American males in the social, economic, and political spheres that were denied to African American women. The …

Spring/Summer 2018, Full Issue

The Confluence (2009-2020)

No abstract provided.

Factors Impacting The Intent To Use An Interactive Visual Aid On A Tablet Pc Platform By A Biotechnology Sales Force, Tom Dotter

Theses & Dissertations

The interactive visual aid on a tablet PC technology platform is a relatively new marketing tool. The interactive visual aid was developed to replace the visual aid brochure, also known as pharmaceutical promotional literature. The interactive visual aid is used by biotechnology area business managers to promote their respective medications directly to a healthcare provider. Biotechnology corporations are equipping their sales forces with tablet PCs to leverage customer relationship management tools, adhere to compliance and Food and Drug Administration regulatory policies, and to launch marketing tools such as the interactive visual aid. Do these companies know the factors contributing to …

Representations Of Black Characters In Children’S Literature: A Product Of Histories, Ideologies, Narratives, Depictions, Politics, And Laws, Annie Calloway

Education Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative, directed content analysis examined fiction and nonfiction children’s literature published between 2015 and 2017. Through the lens of Critical Race Theory, the study describes the ways in which Black characters are represented in early readers. Using books located in community libraries, school media centers and retail outlets, the study concludes that Black characters are represented less frequently and in ways that often do not take into account cultural, political, and legal manifestations of White privilege. This discussion of race, identity, power structures, and education aims to create and promote thought and discussions surrounding the genealogies of racial oppressions. …

Investigation Of Gender Bias Among Students And Faculty At A Small, Private Stem College, Olivia Katherine Ottone

Graduate Theses - Engineering Management

Current research on gender bias in STEM education indicates that non-male students are more likely to experience unfavorable gendered biases from their peers and faculty than male students. Much of this research primarily focuses on large, research institutions or data from national surveys. The intent of this research is to study gender bias, the perception of it among students, and its manifestations among students and faculty, in the context of a small, private STEM college. Additionally, this study examines possible strategies to minimize students’ experiences with gender bias. Research was conducted at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT) during the 2017-2018 …

Dominican Prayer For Young Vietnamese Americans, Phuong Nguyen

Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations

Young Vietnamese Americans refer to those who were born in Vietnam but have been raised and educated in the United States (1.5 generation), and those who were born and reside in America (2 generation). Residing in the United States, they receive many opportunities which come from sociological, cultural and religious aspects. Nevertheless, they also face many challenges that come from those aspects as well. The challenges which the youth face may make them isolated from themsesleves, others and God. Dominican spirituality essential for members of the Dominican friars, nuns, sisters and professed laity, many of whom are older people. However, …

Scholarly Information Seeking Habits And Behaviors Of Missouri State University (Msu) Faculty, Janelle Johnson, Lynn Cline, William Edgar, Scott Fischer, Grace Jackson-Brown, Andrea Miller

MSU Libraries Reports

A group of faculty and staff of the MSU Libraries (J. Johnson, coordinator, L. Cline, W. Edgar, S. Fischer, G. Jackson-Brown, A. Miller), assisted by W. Meadows of the MSU Department of Anthropology, conducted an ethnographic study using direct observation and semi-structured interviews of a sample of MSU faculty members to gain knowledge about faculty scholarly information seeking habits and behaviors to provide insight into the following research questions:
● What information sources and technologies are used by MSU faculty members in their scholarship?
● Where do faculty members conduct their research?
● Whom do faculty members consult for research, …

Driving Foreign Relations: The European Sports Car And The Globalization Of America, Keenan J. Shimko

Open Access Dissertations

Historians are just beginning to examine the ways in which Americans were affected at home by contact with the peoples and cultures of Europe through consumption. As Kristin Hoganson notes in Consumer’s Imperium, when it comes to Americanization and the globalization of culture “we know more about the outgoing tide than the incoming swells.”1 My dissertation takes the notion of Americanization and inverts it to examine the influence of a European product, the sports car, on American consumers and automobile manufacturers in the postwar period. By using European sports cars as a case study to explore the influence of European …

The Effects Of Geospatial-Intelligence On United States-Mexico Border Security, Heather Martin

Dissertations

Following the September 11, 2001 (9/11) terror attacks on American soil, politicians and the media drew a parallel between US-Mexican border security issues such as illegal immigration, and terrorism, highlighting an increased need to secure our southern border in an effort to prevent another 9/11-style terror attack (Maril 2011). Under securitization theory, the linking of border security issues such as illegal immigration to terrorism can be defined as a securitization act or more simply put, the portrayal of a specific issue as a threat to national security (Balzcaq 2011). Once an issue has been deemed a threat (“securitized”), the use …

The Etm And Alce Testing: Summer Internship In Clark Labs, Wenle Jiang

Sustainability and Social Justice

Abstract

The ETM and ALCE testing: Summer internship in Clark labs

Wenle Jiang

This paper is a description of my internship with Clark Labs in the summer of 2017. I worked as research assistant responsible for testing the Earth Trends Modeler and the American Land Change Explorer. Earth Trends Modeler is a revolutionary earth observation tool that allows for the modeling and analysis of earth trends and ecosystem dynamics. The American Land Change Explorer (ALCE) is a free web application designed to illustrate the potential of predictive land change modeling using a subscription-based service called the American Land Change Modeler …

Creating Web Maps Of Forest Restoration Plots At Iracambi Atlantic Rainforest Research Center, Minas Gerais, Brazil, Daniel Lassila

Sustainability and Social Justice

The purpose of this report is to provide a detailed account, discussion, and analysis of my internship at Iracambi Atlantic Rainforest Research Center in Minas Gerais, Brazil during the summer of 2017, where I worked under the direction of GIS Supervisor Mr. Cliff Jones. The central focus of my work dealt with consolidating existing GIS data on the organization’s rainforest restoration effort into a single normalized database - based on the Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact, creating a structure for future forest restoration volunteers including enabling offline field collection using Collector for ArcGIS, then creating an ArcGIS Online web map based …

Seabird Distribution And Oil & Gas Potential Along The Northern Sea Route, Russia: An Arctic Marine Conservation Case Study, Meghan Kelly

Sustainability and Social Justice

Seabirds are indicator species for the marine environment. Their populations are simultaneously affected by access to food resources and anthropogenic pressures including direct disturbance and habitat degradation associated with industrial development (Parsons et al. 2007). Therefore, using seabird distribution as a policy-relevant indicator for the Arctic marine environment supports an ecosystem based management approach aimed at protecting sensitive habitats from increased offshore oil and gas development.

This research identifies seabird habitat in the Russian Arctic utilizing in situ seabird observations from the Northern Sea Route to create a species distribution model. The spatial location of these areas will be compared …

Ecological Sustainability Within California's Improved Forest Management Carbon Offsets Program, Cory Hertog

Sustainability and Social Justice

Forest Carbon offsets are being used as a climate change mitigation strategy in multiple programs around the world. But, are programs setup in a way that are ecologically sustainable? This paper reviews concepts pertinent to ecologically sustainable forest management and then examines if Improved Forest Management Carbon offset policies and projects within the California emissions trading scheme are setup in an ecologically sustainable manner. After a review of the Improved Forest Management Protocol and 31 project documents, it is apparent that policies and projects promote aspects of ecologically sustainable management. However, there is room for improvement when managing for natural …

Mapping Energy Access In Rural Tanzania: 2017 Summer Internship With The World Resources Institute, Naramena Mccray

Sustainability and Social Justice

This report details my 2017 summer internship experience; both the report and the internship being requirements of the GIS for Development and Environment Graduate Degree at Clark University. My internship was hosted by the World Resources Institute, an international non-profit organization in Washington D.C. As implied by my position title, “Energy Access-GIS Intern”, I spent the duration of my internship (14 weeks) applying my geospatial expertise to address the topic of energy access which is an issue effecting rural areas of many developing countries. I was given the responsibility of creating an interactive map application of Tanzania accessible by energy …

Exploring Churn And Alignment Between Retention And Occupational Culture As Perceived By Professional Truck Drivers, Catherine M. Cole

Dissertations

Despite advances in logistics software and increased driver pay, the trucking industry continues a historic wave of human capital risks in the form of driver turnover and driver shortages. Previous efforts to understand the phenomenon of driver turnover rely heavily on supply chain, transportation, and logistics based disciplines. The current study provides a human capital ontology towards understanding professional truck driver perceptions. Within the interpretive framework of pragmatism, the study applied a simultaneous ethnographic and phenomenological research design to explore the phenomenon of churn and professional truck driver perceptions of environmental alignment between trucking industry retention strategies and the occupational …

From The Editor, Jeffrey Smith

The Confluence (2009-2020)

No abstract provided.

Changing Snow Seasonality In The Highlands Of Kyrgyzstan, Monika Tomaszewska, Geoffrey Henebry

NASA Land-Cover Land-Use Change Data Sets

Few studies have examined changing snow seasonality in Central Asia. Here, we analyzed changes in the seasonality of snow cover across Kyrgyzstan (KGZ) over 14 years from 2002/03–2015/16 using the most recent version (v006) of MODIS Terra and Aqua 8 day snow cover composites (MOD10A2/MYD10A2).We focused on three metrics of snow seasonality—first date of snow, last date of snow, and duration of snow season—and used nonparametric trends tests to assess the significance and direction of trends. We evaluated trends at three administration scales and across elevation. We used two techniques to assure that our identification of significant trends was not …

Sympatric Serpentine Endemic Monardella (Lamiaceae) Species Maintain Habitat Differences Despite Hybridization, Kathleen M. Kay, Suzie Woolhouse, Brett A. Smith, Nathaniel S. Pope, Nishanta Rajakaruna

Biological Sciences

Ecological differentiation and genetic isolation are thought to be critical in facilitating coexistence between related species, but the relative importance of these phenomena and the interactions between them are not well understood. Here, we examine divergence in abiotic habitat affinity and the extent of hybridization and introgression between two rare species of Monardella (Lamiaceae) that are both restricted to the same serpentine soil exposure in California. Although broadly sympatric, they are found in microhabitats that differ consistently in soil chemistry, slope, rockiness and vegetation. We identify one active hybrid zone at a site with intermediate soil and above-ground characteristics, and …

Biological Crusts Of Serpentine And Non-Serpentine Soils From The Barberton Greenstone Belt Of South Africa, Arthurita Venter, Stefan Siebert, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Sandra Barnard, Anatoliy Levanets, Arshad Ismail, Mushal Allam, Bianca Peterson, Tomasz Sanko

Biological Sciences

Climate and geography can influence biological soil crust (BSC) community composition, but local heterogeneity in variables such as soil characteristics or microclimate gradients can also impact cryptogamic diversity. Heavy metals and nutrient imbalances in serpentine soils are known to influence the distributions of higher plants, but cryptogamic species appear to be more tolerant of substrate. The aim of this study was to compare the cryptogamic composition of serpentine and non-serpentine soils by using integrative taxonomy, which combines morphological and DNA barcoding data, to determine how soil characteristics in combination with rainfall can influence BSC community composition. Samples from serpentine and …