Digital Commons Network^™

When Nature Invades: Resident Perceptions Of The Austerity-Driven "Rewilding" Of An Urban Park In Rock Island, Illinois, Christian S. B. Elliott

Anthropology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

In an era of rapid urbanization, changing climate, and increasing political division, parks represent increasingly important places for urban residents to interact with and feel connected to the natural environment and receive a number of mental and physical health benefits. Unfortunately, in an age of austerity politics, parks and recreation departments in Midwest Rust Belt cities often lack adequate funding to maintain such public spaces. Recently, the business-minded Rock Island, Illinois Department of Parks and Recreation has implemented a creative cost-saving management solution: “naturalizing” sections of its city parks. This interdisciplinary study uses a mixed methods approach to discover how …

Current Applications And Limitations Of Forensic Entomology, Helena Volckaert

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Forensic entomology is the study of arthropods concerning their application in crime scene investigation as a method of predicting postmortem interval (PMI) in deceased or missing individuals. PMI is determined by the life stage of insects present on-scene. Insects used in criminal investigations are primarily beetles, flies, or moths; this may also include various scavenging insects and hitchhiking mites. These creatures help colonize decayed tissue, providing crime scene personnel with live specimens collected and examined for biological evidence. Forensic entomology is currently a niche application in most investigations—as qualified entomologists are often needed—and proper analysis of collected evidence can be …

The Intersectionality Of Mindfulness And Art Of Marina Ambramovć, Alex Chace

Honors Projects in English and Cultural Studies

The purpose of this creative project is to conduct a cross-content interpretive synthesis on the “Intersectionality of Mindfulness and Art of MARINA ABRAMOVIĆ”. In this context, mindfulness is indicative of the conscious awareness of the present moment. Marina Abramović’s body of work explores concepts such as power and hierarchy, art and existence, artist and audience. Its extensive nature encompasses painting, photography, film, objects, installations, and, most famously, performance art. The works are vessels for journey toward inner freedom from suffering. This is why Marina Abramović declares: Art is transformation of matter. There is no “before” and “after.” What solely exists …

Clemson Commencement Program,May 2020, Clemson University

Clemson Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Ua45/6 Commencement Program, Wku Registrar

WKU Administration Documents

Commencement program listing graduates of WKU. Due to COVID-19 there were no exercises held May 2020.

Regulating Personal Data Usage In Covid-19 Control Conditions, Mark Findlay, Nydia Remolina

Centre for AI & Data Governance (2019-2025)

As the COVID-19 health pandemic ebbs and flows world-wide, governments and private companies across the globe are utilising AI-assisted surveillance, reporting, mapping and tracing technologies with the intention of slowing the spread of the virus. These technologies have capacity to amass and share personal data for community control and citizen safety motivations that empower state agencies and inveigle citizen co-operation which could only be imagined outside times of real and present personal danger. While not cavilling with the short-term necessity for these technologies and the data they control, process and share in the health regulation mission (provided that the technology …

Religious Influences On Muslim Women's College Experiences, Caitlyn Mcnaughton

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

This project focuses on the influence religion has on Muslim women’s college experiences. I wanted to see the role that religion played in different women’s lives and how it could affect their college life. When I started this project, I knew that all women had different experiences with their religion and would most likely not give the same answers. I interviewed thirteen women from four different universities about their relationship with their religion and how it has impacted their college careers. The women I interviewed came from several different backgrounds, from several states and countries, so their relationship with their …

Heimat Im Wartezimmer: Architecture, Identity, And Migration In A Socialist Model City, Holly Bushman

Masters of Environmental Design Theses

Eisenhüttenstadt, the first “socialist model city” designed and constructed in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), provides an opportunity to scrutinize the relationship between state conceptions of architectural design and national identity in the early 1950s. Known as Stalinstadt until 1961, the community was founded in eastern Brandenburg in 1950 as housing for workers at the nearby ironworks Eisenhüttenkombinat Ost “J. W. Stalin.” While its original masterplan by the architect Kurt Leucht indicates the stylistic preferences of the ruling Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (Socialist Unity Party of Germany or SED), the city’s subsequent developments trace the changing economic and social conditions of …

University Of Southern Maine Commencement Program 2020, University Of Southern Maine

Commencement Programs

University of Southern Maine Commencement Program 2020

Metaphor As Dynamic Myth In Ricoeur, Colby Dickinson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Symbolism of Evil is the final book in Ricoeur’s early trilogy on the will. While Freedom and Nature sets aside normative questions altogether and Fallible Man examines the question of what makes the bad will possible, here Ricoeur takes up the question of evil in its actuality. What is the nature of the will that has succumbed to evil? The question of evil resists reflection and remains inscrutable, leading Ricoeur to proceed indirectly through a study of the abundant resources contained in symbols and myths. Symbols, as Ricoeur famously says, “give rise to thought” and thereby open up a …

Faculty Retirement Dinner 2020, Western Michigan University

Faculty Recognition

Faculty Retirement Recognition Dinner

May 2020

Honored Guests:

• Dr. Sisay Asefa
• Dr. William J. Charland
• Ms. E. Bryce Dickey
• Dr. Alyce M. Dickinson
• Dr. Howard J. Dooley
• Ms. Janette Gabel-Goes
• Mr. Edward L. Harkness
• Ms. Tricia Hennessy
• Mrs. Kathryn L. Hillenbrand
• Dr. Alan J. Hovestadt
• Dr. Mitch A. Kachun
• Dr. Pairin Katerattanakul
• Dr. James A. Leja
• Dr. Gary R. Matthews
• Dr. Yirong Mo
• Dr. James M. Murray
• Dr. Dennis. D. Pence
• Ms. Maria A. Perez-Stable
• Dr. Mary E. Peterson
• Dr. Lewis R. Pyenson
• Ms. Judity A. Rypma
• Dr. Robert A. Wertkin
• Ms. Jo Wiley
• Mr. Bradley Wong
• Dr. Jay A. …

On Civilization And Severed Heads: South American Sertões, Thomas Genova

Spanish Publications

The article explore how Brazilian thinker Euclides Da Cunha's 1902 Sertões critically rewrites Argentine writer and statesman Domingo Faustino Sarmiento's 1845 Facundo, o civilización y barbarie. It mentions that in 1889 Brazil had overthrown the Hemisphere's last monarchy and embraced republican government under a president, and reports the region's uneven process of political, social, and economic modernization during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Technical Standards And A Theory Of Writing As Infrastructure, Jordan Frith

Publications

Infrastructures support and shape our social world, but they do so in often invisible ways. In few cases is that truer than with various documents that serve infrastructural functions. This article takes one type of those documents—technical standards—and uses analysis of one specific standard to develop theory related to the infrastructural function of writing. The author specifically analyzes one of the major infrastructures of the Internet of Things—the 126-page Tag Data Standard (TDS)—to show how rethinking writing as infrastructure can be valuable for multiple conversations occurring with writing studies, including research on material rhetoric, research that expands the scope of …

Brothers As Men: Masculinity, Homosociality, And Violence Among Fraternity Men, Daniel Mccloskey

University Scholar Projects

A significant aspect of gender study, specifically when dealing with men, is the idea that there is no single masculinity and that there are many different constructions of masculinity. This project engages fraternity men about their constructions of masculinity and how these constructions affect behavior. In addition to these constructions of masculinity, this study is concerned with issues of homosociality and views of sexual violence. This project utilizes research techniques including semi-structured and structured interviews as well as free listing and pile sorting.

In Controversy Oft: James David Bales And The Sharp Decline Of The Apocalyptic Worldview At Harding University, Cory Spruiell

Harding School of Theology Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

International Compensation: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Societal Culture And Preferred Compensation Policies, Divyanshu Vardhan V. Sharma

Management Theses - Archive

In my thesis, I review the research literature on the influence of national culture on reward preferences and compensation practices. I first review the major models of culture used to examine reward practices and then detail the convergence and divergence debate in international management by highlighting constraining forces in the host and home business environment that lead to standardization or localization. Finally, I review the research on cultural dimensions and preferred compensation practices and propose an integrative model.I conclude that culture is one of the many macro-variables that influence international compensation decisions and argue that the adaption of compensation practices …

Population And Reproductive Dynamics Of Zebra Mussels (Dreissena Polymorpha) In Texas Reservoirs: Predicting The Sustainability Of Zebra Mussel Populations In Warmer Waters, Heather Mae Arterburn

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are highly invasive freshwater bivalve mollusks, introduced to the United Sates in the late 1980’s, and known for forming dense colonies that can encrust boat hulls and motors, damage docks and marinas, and occlude raw water lines and intake pipes. In 2009, zebra mussels were discovered in Lake Texoma, TX/OK and have since infested twenty other lakes in Texas. Never before have zebra mussels been found in waters as warm as those in Texas, leading scientists, resource managers, and regulatory agencies to question the pervasiveness and persistence of this species in warm southwestern water bodies. To …

Placing Notes In The Virtual “Western Wall”: Online Memorial Culture In Chinese Social Media, Xiaoyu Zhang

Master's Projects and Capstones

Each society has a unique way of understanding death and coping with mourning. The increasing online mourners in China gradually generated a collective reference to the Weibo account that belongs to the dead, the “Western Wall.” This project searches for answers to two questions: 1) What characterizes Chinese online memorial practice? And how do these practices compare with those in the Western countries? 2) What aspects of Chinese culture and social conditions can explain Chinese online memorial practices? By combining corpus analysis with thematic analysis on 1,606 comments left on the last tweet of two accounts of deceased Weibo users, …

The Bidirectional Relationship Between Art And Business, Hannah Brletich

Information Systems Undergraduate Honors Theses

There has long been an established relationship between art and business, finding its roots in the Industrial Revolution when the effects of arts on the economy were first explored. Since then, creative economies have been influenced by adaptation of businesses through urban development and revitalization and by continuous growth in artistic and cultural spaces. Capturing the relationship between arts and urban design, cultural districts establish strong economic communities within vastly creative, business- and culture-centered spaces. Current research provides insight to the economic, social, and cultural outcomes of creative economies.

As a contribution to that narrative, I will use this analysis …

Designing The Civic Commons: How Design Can Foster Social Capital In Civic Spaces In The Context Of Urban Sprawl, Jennifer Jean Sloan

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

In modern America, people gather in civic public spaces for many reasons: to celebrate family, gather as a community, engage in commerce, or protest injustices. The design of these spaces is critical to their ability to foster civic participation. Jan Gehl has argued that public spaces should be designed for people and encourage social interactions that build social capital (Gehl, 2006). Social capital is beneficial to individuals and communities in many ways, including political engagement, the economic prosperity of individuals and communities, and the safety and security of the community (Putnam, 1995). It has been said that in public spaces, …

The Yaqui And Porfirio Díaz: Explaining One Of The Largest Forgotten Genocides Of Modern Mexico, Alexandra Sanchez

2020 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Porfirio Díaz was President of Mexico from 1876 until his exile in 1911. Díaz and his científicos (“technocrats”) enacted economic, cultural, and agrarian reforms to modernize and bring “progress” to the nation. However, his authoritarian rule and reforms exacerbated rural poverty, especially among indigenous peoples. The Yaqui are a Native American people from Mexico’s northern state of Sonora who have a history of resistance and rebellion against the colonizing forces of Spain and Mexico. After decades of sporadic conflict, Díaz authorized the detention, deportation, and enslavement of thousands of Yaquis, resulting in the most widespread diaspora of a North American …

Journal Of Food Law & Policy - Spring 2020, Journal Editors

Journal of Food Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

The Two Types Of Society: Computationally Revealing Recurrent Social Formations And Their Evolutionary Trajectories, Lux Miranda

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Comparative social science has a long history of attempts to classify societies and cultures in terms of shared characteristics. However, only recently has it become feasible to conduct quantitative analysis of large historical datasets to mathematically approach the study of social complexity and classify shared societal characteristics. Such methods have the potential to identify recurrent social formations in human societies and contribute to social evolutionary theory. However, in order to achieve this potential, repeated studies are needed to assess the robustness of results to changing methods and data sets. Using an improved derivative of the Seshat: Global History Databank, we …

'Queertility', Daniel Thomas Bixby Sykes

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Daniel Sykes, an Anthropology student at Utah State University used his Honors Capstone opportunity to understand the evolution of reproduction over the course of two semesters. During Fall of 2019, he focused on overviewing what Biological Archaeologists, Biologists, and Chemists understand of the evolution of various forms of reproduction from the distant past. During the Spring, he focused on the cutting edge allopathic research in fertility treatments and some of the social implications. Sykes posits that human society has the opportunity to treat infertility in the queer (lgbtqia+) community, given these up-and-coming treatments, even those forms of infertility that arise …

A Causal-Comparative Study Investigating Differences In Cultural Intelligence Levels Of College Faculty, Annik A. Miller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In this age of globalization, colleges need to ensure that their students be able to function effectively across cultures upon graduation. This ability is referred to as Cultural Intelligence (CQ) and is comprised of four subfactors: Metacognitive, Cognitive, Motivational, and Behavioral CQ. Faculty play an important role in getting students exposed to the cross-cultural experiences and thoughts needed to develop CQ, yet little is known about the faculty’s CQ levels. The purpose of this study with a quantitative causal-comparative cross-sectional research design was to determine if the undergraduate faculty members in this convenience sample have differing levels of CQ between …

Effective Leadership Practices Of Blue-Collar Workers In Manufacturing Organizations, Graham Wesley Howard

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study investigated and analyzed leadership’s impact on the frontline, blue-collar workers in manufacturing industries in the Southeastern United States that were non-union companies. This study is a qualitative, multiple case study that investigated leadership practices at three different manufacturing facilities. The specific effects of leadership that this study focused on was how leaders affected employee outcomes such as turnover, satisfaction, and motivation. The results of this study identified a need for leadership training in blue-collar, manufacturing industries as well as the need to develop stronger leader-follower relations in order to improve employee turnover, satisfaction, and motivation within manufacturing industries.

Easily Read, Easily Forgotten: Reassessing The Effects Of Visual Difficulties And Multi-Modality In Educational Text Design, Rebekah Cochell

Masters Theses

The graphic design of a book affects the way the reader receives and processes information. However, design is often focused on aesthetic principles and traditional wisdom, not taking into account how design aspects affect cognitive processes and educational outcomes. This thesis examines the efficacy of page design elements on educational outcomes, specifically disfluent fonts, handwritten fonts and multi-modal design. The traditional wisdom of typography has maintained that the faster the human eye can read a text, the more suited it is for reading materials. However, recent research suggests that disfluent, or difficult-to-read fonts result in significantly improved reading comprehension and …

A Functional Escape, Zachary Spero

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Over the past two decades, the tree house has outgrown its more recent traditional role as a child’s place to play and has served many new functions. I intend to conduct research that questions how the tree house has evolved over the last twenty years based upon changes in program, technology, and relation to the tree itself. As a result of this research, I will deliver a clear understanding of tree house design best practices in the form of a manual.

Rhettech Wrtc Undergraduate Journal Volume 2 Full Issue

RhetTech

No abstract provided.

A New Wave Of The Prescription Stimulant Epidemic, Sabrina Bustos

RhetTech

The pressures and stresses from school and work life to be the "perfect" student, or the "perfect" employee have pushed individuals to do whatever it takes to meet this standard, one of which is the misuse of prescription stimulants. Increasing rates of prescription stimulant misuse have contributed to the rise in its prevalence in America where we are now approaching the levels of the very first stimulant epidemic in the mid-to-late 1960s. The key difference is that in the past, these drugs were first synthesized and were a result of uncontrolled marketing and limited research. Today, it is the drive …