Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis On Personal Identity Through Existential Philosophy, Experiences, And The Art Of Music Composition, Harold Gonzalez

Theses & ETDs

Utilizing Existential philosophy and personal contemplation in the form of a memoir, Harold Gonzalez defines the fundamental principles that construct their identity. The work pushes for dialogue and thought to the condition of"meaning", and is presented through a chronological analysis of them and their family's journey from Central America to the United States. It sheds light to their experiences in the United States education system and how it inspired them to take interest in the sound .sensory expenence. Through this journey Harold presents their view of the world by referencing a variety of thinkers such as Frederich Nietzsche, Soren Kieerkegard, …

The Effects Of Repression On Religious Belief And Practice In Soviet And Post-Soviet Russia, Eshel Rosen

Theses & ETDs

This thesis examines the effect anti-religious policies had on belief and practice in Russia during the Soviet period by examining that era and Post-Soviet Russia. Russian identity and governance have historically been tightly interconnected with the Russian Orthodox tradition, dating back to the baptism of Vladimir I in 988. Despite the deeply rooted tradition, Lenin implemented policies of repression to limit the role of religion in civil society. Throughout the Soviet period the state enforced many anti-religious policies that ranged in intensity. The main forms of repression were forced closures of churches, arresting of clergy, and preventing the religious education …

On Tolstoy: Literary Pedagogy And The Morality Of Death, Mackenzie Bynam

Theses & ETDs

This undergraduate thesis explores the themes of death and morality in both the fictional and nonfictional works of the 19th century Russian novelist Count Leo Tolstoy. The first chapter contains an analysis of the author’s personal and religious beliefs concerning death and examines his role of author as educator. The second chapter examines death within several of Tolstoy’s short works and explores the moral implications of their deaths for Tolstoy’s readership, keeping in mind the conclusions of the part first.

Saint Or Seductress? Representations Of Countess Matilda Of Tuscany In The Eleventh Century, Emily Lovett

Theses & ETDs

This thesis discusses the life of Countess Matilda of Tuscany (1046–1115) and representations of her in the polemical literature of the eleventh century conflict between empire and papacy—often referred to as the Investiture Conflict. As the primary defender of the papacy ideologically, militarily, and monetarily, Matilda featured prominently in the polemical works on both sides of the conflict as the subject of both Henrician attacks and Gregorian defenses. By studying the polemical literature, this thesis explores both the traditional misogynistic strategies used to attack Matilda by Henrician polemicists and the innovative re-interpretations used to defend Matilda by Gregorian polemicists, particularly …

Rage And Glory: The Foundations Of An Empire: Optimist And Pessimist Interpretations Of Vergil’S ​Aeneid, Robert Lawlor

Theses & ETDs

This thesis aims to introduce the reader to the optimist and pessimist interpretations of Vergil’s Aeneid ​ , and to analyze the arguments presented by both interpretations in order to combine the best arguments from both schools for the purposes of developing a clear and consistent interpretation of the ​Aeneid’s ​ political message. The thesis is divided into an introduction, three chapters, and a conclusion. The introduction provides background information on Vergil, Augustus Caesar, the time period in which the epic was written, and the optimist and pessimist interpretations of the epic. Each chapter presents optimist and pessimist arguments based …

A Study In Nationalism And Its Effects On Historical Writing: German Nationalism And The Investiture Contest, Emma Todd

Theses & ETDs

This thesis discusses the influence of German nationalism and Nazism on historical writing, looking specifically at the interpretations of the Investiture Contest of the eleventh- and twelfth-centuries. In the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-centuries German historians, such as Leopold von Ranke (17951886), were preoccupied with the search for German origins, and they often looked back to the Middle Ages for their answers. In Chapter 1, I introduce the Investiture Contesta conflict of empire and papacyparticularly the relationship between King Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII. In Chapter 2, I discuss the influence that romanticism and nationalism had on, not only …

Agency And Time-Space Compression In The Internet, Ariel Parets

Theses & ETDs

In this project I claim that agency is impacted by the internet through time-space compression. This topic is very relevant to the effects the internet has on society and individuals today. With the acceleration of mental states in cyberspace through time-space compression, our intentional dispositions are impacted, and thus our agency is impacted. In this thesis I address what time-space compression is, what the effects are, how identity plays a role in agency, and how our agency is impacted by time-space compression through answering the above questions. I use both Kadri Vihvelin and Marya Schechtman’s perspectives to make my points. …

A Multispecies Approach To The Intersection Of Hacktivism And Performance Art, Jimi Depriest

Theses & ETDs

The purpose of this thesis is to critique the neoliberal exploitation of science, technology, and media while conceptualizing how hacktivism can be used to disrupt the operations of neoliberal institutions. I will explore how the proletariat can use DIY and decentralized forms of techno scientific creations to fight and dismantle imperialism and devising how these creations can function as tools for catalyzing a post-capitalist society. I will also examine how the relationship between human and nonhuman organisms is continually redefined by abrasive technologies and digital media. I address how hacktivist actions framed as insurrectionary ritualistic practice can alter the digital …

Wvrhc Newsletter, Fall/Winter 2020, West Virginia & Regional History Center

West Virginia & Regional History Center Newsletters

Frank C. Gaylord Archives Document Life and Work of a Great American Sculptor; A Note on the Coronavirus Pandemic and “COVID Stories” Project

From The Battlefield To The Box Office: Pancho Villa’S Manipulation Of His Own Image In Cinema And The Press, Matthew Donohue

Undergraduate Review

Few participants had as massive an impact on the course of the Mexican Revolution as Chihuahuan general Francisco “Pancho” Villa. In spite of his forces’ fierce guerrilla fighting style and the brutality with which he often struck, from the very outset of the revolutionary period Villa was perhaps the most media-ready figure embroiled in the military and political chaos. Though his physical war was fought (almost) entirely on Mexican soil, Villa saw a different approach to attaining a place in the most influential echelons of Mexican politics and government: wooing observers, civilian and governmental, in Mexico’s neighbor to the north.

From Birth To Death. The Silk-Flower Industry In Mexico., Adriana Sanromán Peyron

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

For centuries silk flowers have been used by different societies as personal and spatial adornments. Flowers, both natural and man-made, have diverse meanings in daily life and rites of passage, accompanying individuals from birth to death. During the nineteenth century, the use of silk flowers gained in popularity and, thanks to the industrialization of textile weaving and the discovery of chemical dyes, silk flowers became available not only to elites but to the growing bourgeoisie, and later, even low-income classes. During this boom, Judith Deschamps and Etiesenne Pucheu met and were married, both of them florists. After the 1851 great …

"Let’S Get Rid Of All Of Them": No Gun Ri And The American Policy Of Shooting Refugees During The Korean War, Erin Marie Starr

Vulcan Historical Review

pp. 45-56

The 2020 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition- Problem With Corrections And Clarifications

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The 2020 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition- Memorial For Applicant

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Prosecuting Offenders For Rape Committed In Armed Conflict: Interrogating The Accountability Of The Nigerian State, Caroline Omochavwe Oba

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Vaping On Oral Streptococci And Oral Inflammation, Matthew Caldwell

Honors Undergraduate Theses

E-cigarette (e-cig) use is rising, but much is unknown about the effects of its vapor. This vapor contains chemicals such as propylene glycol, a known antimicrobial, and nicotine, whose derivatives are carcinogenic. Here, we study the effects of vaping on resident bacteria of the oral cavity and on oral cell inflammation. Oral streptococci are major residents in the oral cavity, with S. mutans the primary cause of dental caries. Growth and biofilm formation have been shown to be enhanced upon exposure to traditional cigarette smoke in vitro. In this study, we analyzed the effects of e-cig vapor on growth …

Corruption And Anti-Corruption Agencies: Assessing Peruvian Agencies' Effectiveness, Kia R. Del Solar

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Corruption has gained attention around the world as a prominent issue. This is because corruption has greatly affected several countries. Following the exploration of various definitions and types of corruption, this thesis focuses on two efforts to rein in “grand corruption”, also known as executive corruption. The thesis is informed by existing theories of corruption as well as anti-corruption agencies and then situates Peru’s experience with corruption in its theoretical context and its broader Latin American context. This work conducts a comparative analysis and follows a process-tracing approach to examine and evaluate Peru’s recent anti-corruption agencies and their effectiveness in …

The Lasting Legacy Of Chemical Weapons In Iraqi Kurdistan, Jenna L. Dovydaitis

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In 1988, the Iraqi regime executed the Anfal Genocide against its Kurdish population, killing a conservative estimate of approximately 50,000 to 100,000 Kurds (Human Rights Watch, 1993). This genocide involved the widespread usage of chemical weapons and marked a highly traumatic moment in modern Kurdish history. As of today, little academic research has been completed on the long-term medical and political consequences of exposure to chemical weapons in the Kurdistan region.

This exploratory research aims to contribute to the body of literature on this topic through interviews with medical professionals, Kurdish politicians, and non-governmental organization employees that have expertise on …

Redefining The Crisis On Childhood – Investigation Through Amending Of The Juvenile Act (1949) In Japan From The 1990s Into The Next Century, Yoshie Udagawa

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Childhood presents various images associated with words such as ephemerality, vulnerability, innocence, extraordinariness, immaturity, growth, energy, and hopefulness; yet childhood is an invented concept, which does not provide concrete or fixed implications of what a child is or what the being of a child is. Age is set as a rough standard for the adult- child distinction in legal systems. In Japan, the idea of childhood has been discussed with the age of adulthood in the civil code and juvenile law after 2000. The legal age of adulthood had been 20 for almost 150 years. In the civil code, the …

The Emergence Of Modernity In The Early Aerospace Industry 1950-1970, Lachlan Warwick Sands

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The literature regarding the management of science during the early aerospace industry between 1950 and 1970, and more specifically the period of Lockheed’s transition from aeronautics into aerospace, is sparse and the subject is insufficiently studied. In this dissertation I examine how the practice of science changed in the United States in the decades after World War II. The scientific endeavor in the United States manifested a transformation from an enlightenment-based set of norms to a new modern ethos. For all intents and purposes, the traditional intellectual boundaries between basic science, applied science, and technology dissolved across the majority of …

Mao With Smart Phones And Internet? A Comparison Of Classic Guerrilla Warfare With Fourth And Fifth Generation Warfare Using An Agent-Based Model For Simulation, Jerry Taylor Sink

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW) theory shares many characteristics of classical guerrilla warfare (CGW) theory in security studies literature. Proponents claim that 4GW is a revolution in war that overturns traditional measures of military power, while critics counter that 4GW is simply CGW in an updated context. Another group posits Fifth Generation Warfare (5GW), which adds additional information-age technologies and uses “any and all means,” (military and extra-military) to attack both the enemy’s will and capability to resist. The irregular subset of 5GW strategies appear to be an extension of 4GW with the addition of advanced information-age technologies: mobile phones and …

Systemic Methodology For Cyber Offense And Defense, C. Ariel Pinto, Matthew Zurasky

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper describes a systemic method towards standardization of a cyber weapon effectiveness and effectiveness prediction process to promote consistency and improve cyber weapon system evaluation accuracy – for both offensive and defensive postures. The approach included theoretical examination of existing effectiveness prediction processes for kinetic and directed energy weapons, complemented with technical and social aspects of cyber realm. The examination highlighted several paradigm-shifts needed to transition from purely kinetic-based processes and transition into the realm of combined kinetic and cyber weapons. Components of the new method for cyber weapons are cyber payload assessment, effects identification, and target assessment. The …

Lecture: Challenges To The Protection Of Human Rights Today, Michelle Bachelet

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Killing Them To Save Us’: Lessons From Politicide For Preventing And Countering Terrorism, Clark R. Mccauley

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

This chapter reviews and extends the analysis of mass political murder advanced by Chirot and McCauley, then applies this analysis to understanding and countering terrorism. The justification for this application is that both politicide and terrorism target civilians in the context of asymmetric conflict. Three generalizations emerge. Politicide and terrorism cannot be understood or countered without (i) studying both sides in the conflict, (ii) separate studies of leaders, perpetrators, and mass sympathizers, and (iii) acknowledgment of the threats and grievances perceived by both sides. The chapter concludes with implications for fighting the war of ideas against jihadist and right-wing terrorists.

Indigenous Healing In New Zealand: An Anthropological Analysis Of "Traditional" And "Modern" Approaches To Well-Being, Lillian T. Brice

Honors Theses

Drawing on contemporary anthropological approaches used by scholars of well-being and medical anthropology (i.e. Michael Jackson and Lisa Stevenson), I explore how indigenous healers in New Zealand blend “traditional” and “modern” elements to establish a creative and inclusive system. Specifically, I explore the use of herbal treatments, ritual chanting, and ceremonies that encapsulate Māori cultural values. I also explore the impact of biomedicine and New-Age wellness approaches on indigenous healing. I argue that Māori healing moves beyond the binary of “tradition” and “modern” as healers merge the past and present and combine the foreign and native. My research is based …

Biblical Rhetoric Of Separatism And Universalism And Its Intolerant Consequences, James Watts

Religion - All Scholarship

The long history of the Jewish and Christian use of separatist rhetoric and universal ideals reveals their negative consequences. The Hebrew Bible’s rhetoric about Israel as a people separated from the Egyptians and Canaanites is connected to Israel’s purity practices in Leviticus 18 and 20. Later communities wielding greater political power, however, employed this same anti-Canaanite pollution rhetoric in their efforts to colonize many different parts of the world. Separatist rhetoric was used to protect small Jewish communities in the early Second Temple period. The Christian New Testament rejected many of these purity practices in order to makes its mission …

Designing Tech Policy: Instructional Case Studies For Technologists And Policymakers, David G. Hendry

Tech Policy Lab

The UW Tech Policy Instructional Case Studies position students to consider the deeply interactional processes of human values and technology. Within pedagogical bounds, students engage both technical and policy elements and develop design solutions. For instructors, the case studies have been written and formatted so that they can be appropriated for varied educational settings.

Each of the tech policy instructional case studies (see Table 1) follow this three-part pattern:

1. Background. The case studies begin with information on the technology and social context at hand. This introduces both the students and the instructor to the technical problem and the social …

Cyber-Informed: Bridging Cybersecurity And Other Disciplines, Char Sample, Sin Ming Loo, Connie Justice, Eleanor Taylor, Clay Hampton

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A recent study by Cybersecurity Ventures (Morgan 2018), predicts that 3.5 million cybersecurity jobs around the world will be unfilled by 2021. In the United States, the demand for professionals with cybersecurity expertise is outpacing all other occupations (NIST 2018). These reports, along with many others, underpin the need for increasing workforce development initiatives founded in cybersecurity principles. The workforce shortage is across all cybersecurity domains, yet problems continue to persist, as the lines between combatants and non-combatants are blurred. Combating this persistent threat, which is a 24/7 operation, requires a more aggressive and inclusive approach. Higher education institutions are …

The Interdisciplinary Impacts Of Technology Semantics And Communicational Bypassing In The Cybersecurity Field, Brooke Nixon

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

In 2012, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Robert Mueller shocked many when he warned, “[t]here are only two types of companies: those that have been hacked and those that will be.” As technology and information systems develop rapidly, security has become a topic of increasing interest and concern. In 2018, it was noted that the total cost to account for cybercrime on a global scale surpassed US$1 billion (Milkovich, 2020). In the United States, a hacker attack occurs every 39 seconds, and each year, 1 in 3 Americans are personally impacted by a form of hacking …

Death In The Land Of Flowers: Environment As Enemy In The Second Seminole War, Nicholas Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis argues that Florida's natural environment was one of the United States Army's most formidable enemies during the Second Seminole War (1835–42), and that environmental factors, more than hostilities from Native peoples themselves, led the United States to abandon the War. Many White soldiers from the North were unprepared to cope with the environmental challenges posed by Florida. In order to build a foundation for this argument, the thesis examines how previous newcomers to Florida dealt with the environment, from the original First Peoples who arrived several thousand years ago, to European explorer/colonizers, to White Americans in the decades …