Digital Commons Network^™

Epilepsy, Identity, And The Experience Of The Body, Stephanie Kılınç, Carol Campbell, Alison Guy, Anna Van Wersch

All Works

© 2018 Elsevier Inc. Living with a chronic condition can challenge a person's identity, yet there is a paucity of research exploring this experience for people with epilepsy and particularly for those diagnosed in adulthood. Consequently, through an interpretative phenomenological approach, the current study aimed to explore what the experience of adult-onset epilepsy meant for a person's identity. Thirty-nine people with adult-onset epilepsy from across the UK took part in up to two semi-structured interviews. A modified form of interpretative phenomenological analysis was conducted and identified three themes: 1) disarming the impact of seizures considered strategies used to control seizure …

Resource Competition Among The Uinta Basin Fremont, Elizabeth A. Hora-Cook

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Archaeologists describe the Uinta Fremont (A.D. 0 – 1300) as a mixed foraging-farming society that underwent a dramatic social change from A.D. 700 – 1000. Researchers observe through different architectural styles and subsistence activity a change from large, aggregated settlements to more dispersed and defensively oriented villages and hamlets. The Ideal Free Distribution (IFD) model provides an explanatory framework through which to interpret these changes. IFD predicts the order in which people or animals will occupy habitats based on a habitat’s relative suitability and suggests hypothetical behaviors that people or animals might engage in to improve or maintain the relative …

Does Theming Camp Experiences Lead To Greater Quality, Satisfaction, And Promotion?, Andrew Lacanienta, Gary Ellis, Allen Taggart, Jenny Wilder

Journal of Youth Development

Using themes (such as the Wild West or Survivor or Star Wars) in camp settings may enhance the quality of camp activities and youths’ overall camp experience. We evaluated the effect of theming camp experiences on the quality of subjective experiences of campers. Campers (N = 231) in 3 sessions of a residential 4-H camp participated in the study. One camp session was fully themed (all activities used tangible and intangible props, cues, and imaginary story contexts), a second was partially themed (intangible cues and stories only), and the third was not themed. Questionnaires measuring the quality of immediate subjective …

Summer Camp Youth Leadership Development: An Investigation Of Adolescents’ Perceptions Of Best Practices, Katlyn Martin

Journal of Youth Development

This qualitative study explored adolescent participants’ perceptions of the Leaders-in-Training (LIT) program at Waycross Camp, a residential summer camp. The main data set was collected through interviews with former LIT program participants. A constant comparison data analysis of LIT program feedback revealed four emergent themes: (a) bridging the gap, (b) giving permission to be human, (c) rolling up your sleeves, and (d) serving the greater good. Each theme yielded an outcome, including (a) community, (b) openness, (c) empowerment, and (d) character, respectively. Concepts depicted in relevant literature were synthesized with these four themes and outcomes, yielding (a) social relationships; (b) …

More Than Self-Management: Positive Youth Development At An Inclusive Type 1 Diabetic Camp, Theresa Beesley, Michael Riddell, Jessica Fraser-Thomas

Journal of Youth Development

Diabetes-focused camps emerged as a way to provide ongoing diabetes self-management education to youth and their families in a physically active context. Past research suggests participation at camp can enhance youths’ glycemic control and glucose monitoring abilities; however, recent studies claim camps can also offer psychological and social benefits. Drawing upon a positive youth development (PYD) approach, the current study examined an inclusive diabetic-focused youth sport camp to (a) identify life skills developed, and (b) explain processes and factors involved in youths’ development of life skills. Focus groups were conducted with 54 youth living with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) …

Human-Centered Design Of The Enhanced Pilot Learning Interface For The Aviation Community, De Vere Michael Kiss

Theses and Dissertations

he purpose of this research is to introduce a new device to help pilots navigate aircraft manuals. This informational navigational tool is designed to improve learning by reducing the time it takes a pilot candidate to retrieve aircraft system information within an aircraft manual. The device is called the Enhanced Pilot Learning Interface, an Advanced Interactive Media. The research project is based on human-centered design and consists of participatory design, modeling and simulation, human-in-the-loop simulation (HITLS), and expert user experience. Additionally, a traditional research experimentation was conducted to collect supporting statistical data. Preliminary tests of four current professional airline pilots …

A Quality Improvement Initiative To Implement The Geriatric Depression Scale In A Geriatric Inpatient Psychiatric Unit, Candice Hall

Doctor of Nursing Practice

The World Health Organization (2017) estimated that over 300 million people worldwide have depression. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013), 7 million Americans over 65 years old experience depression annually. The United States Preventive Health Services Task Force recommends the use of a depression screening tool in the adult population. The purpose of this evidence-based quality improvement project was to improve screening for depression in an inpatient geriatric psychiatric unit. The primary objectives included educating nursing staff on depression screening and using the geriatric depression scale (GDS) to assess patient's level of depression at admission and …

Allergy Training Or Lack Thereof, Madelyn Freeman, Mary Kate Klenke

Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

Food allergies affect many people in our society today, and the food service industry must keep up with the demand for allergen-free food from their customers. The objective of this research is to gain insight from the employee’s perspective of the importance of food allergies and what training method would help them learn best. Through this research we intend to learn how we can engage employees during training, increase training retention, and stress the importance to change their behaviors and utilize safe practices in regards to allergens. We compared both quick and full-service restaurants’ food-allergy training methods in this study …

First-Generation Latinas’ Perspectives Of College Involvement: A Phenomenological Study, Melissa E. Aponte

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this study was to understand how first-generation Latinas define college involvement and how they feel this involvement contributed to their successful graduation from a community college. Because more Latinas are successfully completing college than their male counterparts (Latinos), this study sought to better understand the validating and student involvement factors that allow Latinas, who are also first-generation college students, to graduate from college. Community colleges are the primary entry into higher education for this student group; therefore, the study sought to explore college involvement at this type of institution. This study utilized a phenomenological approach to describe …

African American Women In New York State Who Overcame Barriers To Become Superintendents Of Schools, Augustina Biney Amissah West

Education Doctoral

African American women educators who possess the leadership characteristics to become superintendents of schools in New York State are not rising to top positions at the same rate as women of other racial and ethnic groups. There is limited research on the barriers and challenges experienced by African American women as well as the strategies that aided in their maintenance of the position. This phenomenological qualitative research study examined the perceptions of African American women who successfully obtained the position of superintendents of schools in New York State at suburban public schools, the barriers and challenges they overcame, and the …

U.S. Millennials And The Hook-Up Culture: An Online Descriptive Survey Of Hook-Up Attitudes, Beliefs, And Experiences, Allyson S. Maida

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this online survey study was to collect and analyze the attitudes and experiences of 18-24-year-old U.S. millennials. Previous studies have focused exclusively upon hook-up attitudes and experiences among college students using mostly paper-and-pencil surveys or interviews, this study described hook-up experiences and attitudes using a sample of U.S. millennials who were not enrolled full-time in college. Using a Qualtrics panel, 106 respondents (54 males and 52 females), 66 with prior hooking-up experience and 40 with no prior experience, completed an online demographic survey and The Millennial Hook-Up Attitudes and Beliefs Survey. The results revealed more than half …

Limited By Design: Expanding The Boundaries Of Schooling Policies From Demanded Passivity To Transformative Practice, Natalia T. Carvalho-Pinto

Masters Theses

Schooling is often imagined as the great equalizer and the primary venue towards personal and collective liberation. However, hegemonic ideals and practices have limited the ability for educators to craft and utilize policy in a way that best benefits their students. In this thesis, I utilize the state of Michigan’s Common Core curriculum to examine the limits beyond policy and practice. Specifically, I argue that the demands for student passivity and institutional measurable as signs of success, prohibit student growth. Throughout the document, I describe hope in the ability to instill a variety of transformative educational theories and practices that …

Finding Identity Through Irish Music In The Appalachian Mountains, Marina Delores Rayl

Masters Theses

The Appalachian Mountains are filled with remnants of Scot-Irish heritage. The music found in this region includes bluegrass, Old-time, and country music, all created from the blending of Scottish and Irish traditional music with other ethnic sounds. Despite these music variations, traditional Irish music has remained consistent in its original form in the mountain region. This concept is supported by the popularity of two key events occurring in both the northern and southern sections of the Appalachians. Through fieldwork and personal interviews, the rationales of those who participated were discovered. The research brought to light three people sub-groups revealing the …

Bluegrass And Old-Time In Catalonia: An Ethnographic Case Study Of Aesthetic Communitas, Michael J. Luchtan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is an ethnographic case study of a musical community in Catalonia centered around the performance of bluegrass and old-time music. By using Victor and Edith Turners’ ideas of normative communitas, this paper identifies an aesthetic communitas model which describes a community centered around a performative genre. Through participant observation in the 16th Annual Al Ras Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival and interviews with local musicians, fans, venue owners, and luthiers, the ethnographic narrative details the characteristics of the aesthetic communitas in Catalonia and searches for associations of Appalachia that accompany the cross-cultural manifestation of bluegrass and old-time music …

The Impact Of Foreign Aid On Extreme Poverty: A Case Study Of Liberia’S Development Complexities (1980-2018), Roosevelt Seedee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many countries in West Africa, including Liberia, remain trapped in extreme poverty and dysfunctional social services amid continued increase in foreign aid. This study examines complexities influencing decisions of government donors in determining the kind of development assistance needed in Liberia and nation states in West Africa. This research explains the ways in which aid perpetuates poverty instead of alleviating it using interdisciplinary research approaches. Although aid is critical to Liberia’s development agenda, aid implementation faces numerous challenges because of extant poverty and rampant corruption.

Part of the problem in Liberia is not solely the failure of aid to meet …

Might Be Tragic: The Lonely Voyeur In Narrative Art, Alexandria Canchola

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis paper discusses the work displayed as it might have been seen in the exhibition, Might Be Tragic. The work is inspired by and draws from narrative fiction, blurring the distinctions between our perceptions and our creations of reality. When one observes a narrative, they are unwittingly fulfilling voyeuristic tendencies by vicariously experiencing others realities or falsehoods. The exhibition challenges how narrative can function in a space. The process of walking through the exhibition, Might Be Tragic, brings the book, Not That Tragic, to life in a three-dimensional format exploring the intimate relationship one has with …

The National Extension Oil And Gas Initiative, Paul Lachapelle, Kristin Smith, Julia Haggerty, Timothy W. Kelsey

Journal of Extension

The national Extension oil and gas initiative centers on a network of Extension educators working on or interested in oil and gas development, a communications strategy that allows network members to exchange Extension information, a comprehensive inventory of Extension activities and resources, and national meetings at which network members can identify and share resources and optimal ways to engage constituents. Our work suggests that the need for relevant training and programming will continue as Extension faculty anticipate increased community demands surrounding oil and gas development. The network is open to all Extension faculty interested in the topic of oil and …

Rethinking Service: Visual Arts At The Land-Grant University And In Extension Programming, Meghan L.E. Kirkwood

Journal of Extension

In 2014, land-grant institutions observed the centenary of the Smith-Lever Act, which established the Cooperative Extension program. Traditionally, Cooperative Extension has engaged in and disseminated findings from research in areas such as agricultural sciences and public policy, but rarely the visual arts, despite the prevalence of visual arts departments at land-grant institutions. Faculty in the Department of Visual Arts at North Dakota State University (NDSU) desired to know whether there was potential for collaboration with NDSU Extension. This article addresses findings from the resulting survey-based study and the implications of those findings.

Slavery, Liberty, And The Right To Contract, Rebecca E. Zietlow

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Qualitative Evaluation Of Recovery Processes Experienced By Mentally Disordered Offenders Following A Group Treatment Programme, B Colquhoun1, Alex Lord, Alison M. Bacon

School of Psychology

This study presents a qualitative, user-focused evaluation of a three-day dramatherapy workshop run as part of an 18-week treatment group for mentally disordered sexual offenders (MDSOs). The programme is based in the Good Lives Model and aims overall to increase empathy, victim awareness and emotional awareness. The objective of the present study was to understand offenders’ lived experiences of the workshop and how they perceived it to contribute to their recovery. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five offenders and their narratives transcribed. An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, revealed four superordinate themes which we have termed Not being the person I was, …

Combining Faithfulness With Learning: Avoiding The Path Of Secularization At Brigham Young University, J. Gordon Daines Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Most research universities in the United States began as religiously affiliated institutions. Beginning in the late 19th century and continuing over the course of the 20th century, the vast majority of these institutions engaged in a process of secularization through which faith moved from the center of academic life to the periphery. This paper elucidates a conceptual framework for understanding how and why Brigham Young University did not follow the path of secularization that so many research universities, originally religious in nature, pursued. It examines the steps that the university and its sponsoring institution (The Church of Jesus Christ of …

Editors’ Introduction, Christian Gudehus, Susan Braden, Randle Defalco, Roland Moerland, Brian Kritz, Joann Digeorgio-Lutz, Lior Zylberman

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Guest Editorial: Justice For And Prevention Of Genocide, Melanie O'Brien

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Full Issue 12.3

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Straining To Prevent The Rohingya Genocide: A Sociology Of Law Perspective, Katherine Southwick

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This paper analyzes the generally muted international response to the protracted plight of the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority in Myanmar, from the perspective of sociology of law. The first part provides background on the Rohingya crisis and discusses relevant international legal frameworks relating to crimes against humanity and genocide. The second part adapts analytical frameworks developed by Felstiner, Abel, and Sarat on the emergence and transformation of disputes, in order to examine some of the factors that frustrate the processes of naming crimes, blaming perpetrators, and claiming rights and protection for the Rohingya minority in the international context. Work …

The Evacuation Of Phnom Penh During The Cambodian Genocide: Applying Spatial Video Geonarratives To The Study Of Genocide, James A. Tyner, Andrew Curtis, Sokvisal Kimsroy, Chhunly Chhay

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

On April 17, 1975 Khmer Rouge soldiers began the forcible evacuation of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city. The evacuation has been the subject of considerable debate surrounding the Cambodian genocide and remains a topic of prime importance toward the understanding of Khmer Rouge policy and practice. In this field note, we present a geographically-informed account of the evacuation in order to provide a more fine-grained analysis of Khmer Rouge practice. More specifically, employing spatial video geonarratives, we provide a systematic investigation of the evacuation, as retraced by six evacuees. In so doing we contribute also to the emergent use of …

Book Review: The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story Of Indian Enslavement In America, Emily A. Willard

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Meeting “The One” At Midnight Is Your Destiny: The Role Of Yuan In Use Of The Taiwanese Social Network, Dcard, Wen-Yueh Shu

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study examines how Taiwanese college students understand the traditional, culturally Chinese concept of Yuan and its role in their use of a new and distinctive Taiwanese social networking site—Dcard. Particular attention is paid to the Dcard’s unique friending mechanism, which provides users the opportunity to connect (or not) with one, seemingly random new friend each day at midnight. Through thematic analysis of 15 semi-structured long interviews, the study finds that Dcard users understand Yuan as a multi-faceted concept pertaining primarily to interpersonal relationships (relationalism). Users perceive Yuan to influence relationships in a predetermined, causal fashion (fatalism), but they still …

Modeling Movement Decisions In Networks: A Discrete Choice Model Approach, Larry Lin Junjie

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In this dissertation, we address the subject of modeling and simulation of agents and their movement decision in a network environment. We emphasize the development of high quality agent-based simulation models as a prerequisite before utilization of the model as an evaluation tool for various recommender systems and policies. To achieve this, we propose a methodological framework for development of agent-based models, combining approaches such as discrete choice models and data-driven modeling.

The discrete choice model is widely used in the field of transportation, with a distinct utility function (e.g., demand or revenue-driven). Through discrete choice models, the movement decision …

High-Energy Laser Weapons: Overpromising Readiness, Ash Rossiter

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.