Digital Commons Network^™

Civilizational Security: Why The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine Shows That ‘National Security’ Is Not Enough To Understand Geopolitics, Greg (Grzegorz) Lewicki

Comparative Civilizations Review

This paper argues that the idea of “national security” is sometimes overwritten by “civilizational security” in security-related considerations. Civilizational security, as understood in this paper, refers to a country's security stemming from its belonging to a cultural zone or a civilization. The author clarifies the terms “a civilization,” “civilizational identity,” and “civilizational security.” Citing the examples of Poland, Ukraine, and Russia when considering the parameter of civilizational security allows us to better analyze and predict some processes, including geopolitical dilemmas and civilizational trends. It is argued that prior to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia misunderstood its own civilizational security …

Optimal Sizing And Safe Management Of Lithium-Ion Batteries In High Voltage Power Systems, Hayden Lee Atchison

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Lithium-ion batteries have gained widespread use in various applications, but safety challenges persist due to errors in assembly and faulty electronics management. Ensuring safety and reliable operation in large batteries containing numerous series/parallel cells demand innovative monitoring technologies. Elevated temperatures resulting from normal or abnormal operation are a major cause of battery failure, necessitating effective temperature monitoring techniques. Similarly, abnormal stress/strain signatures offer valuable diagnostic information. In the study discussed here, the application of a Optical Distributed Sensor Interrogator (ODiSI) employing high-definition fiber optic sensors (HD-FOS) for measuring surface temperature and case deformation of 18650 cells under normal and abnormal …

Hardware In The Loop Test Stand For Battery Management System Validation In Shipboard Controls, Cole Dawson Tschritter

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

ABSTRACT: Traditionally, large-scale power systems have relied on power generation always exceeding the total load demand. Though this is most often the case, there are rare occurrences where failures in the generation, distribution, or even planning, that have led to situations where load demand quickly surpasses the generation capacity. In such cases, uncontrolled shedding of loads occurs, leading to brownouts or blackouts that can have catastrophic impact to both people and property. Advanced architectures, such as microgrids, offer a variety of improvements that are aimed at mitigating or even preventing these failures. Improvements include distributed power generation, active source and …

A Manual For The Recovery Of Cbrne (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, And Explosive) Contaminated Human Remains, Patrick Barchett

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Despite many international agreements and treaties prohibiting the use of CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive) weaponry, the proliferation of contaminated human remains displays the historic and continued use of inhumane war efforts. Due to the complications of recovery, contaminated human remains are often left unrecovered and unidentified. This thesis works to create a framework for the recovery of contaminated human remains for organizations with a focus on creating safe and sustainable working environments for those conducting the recovery. Much of this thesis assumes the remains are being recovered from interred mass graves. This thesis provides an introduction to …

Ocean Wave-Coherent Temperature And Humidity Near-Surface Vertical Distributions And Their Effect On Radar Performance Over The Ocean, Mathew James Stanek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Large knowledge gaps concerning the effect of ocean surface waves on near-surface vertical distributions of temperature and humidity in the marine atmospheric surface layer exist due to practical limitations and sensor fidelity challenges of direct measurements. Wave effects on these distributions between the wave trough and crest are least studied within the literature. These scalar distributions influence atmospheric refractivity, which can lead to anomalous propagation of electromagnetic energy. Measurements of temperature and humidity are classically made using rocket- or radiosondes and fixed weather stations, and can utilize tethered profiling systems. However, these measurement systems have limitations when obtaining measurements near …

An Examination Of Faith And Faith-Based Practices On Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Afro-Caribbean Immigrants In The United States, Shanta K. Pamphile

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This dissertation presents the findings of a qualitative study exploring the negotiation of faith among Afro-Caribbean immigrants regarding their decision to seek support with the stress of adjusting to the United States. The analysis revealed that Afro-Caribbean immigrants experience high-stress levels as they pursue economic, professional and social advancement in the United States. The persistence of these stressors, with long-lasting residual effects, warrants psychological support. Migrants, although relying heavily on their faith for support with this stress, are willing to seek support. However, they must work through worries of caution and trust and need to discern whether seeking support may …

How The Concept Of Race And Ethnicity Played An Integral Role In The Sri Lanka Civil War From A Sociological Perspective, Pasan Vinura Joseph De Silva

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The social constructs of race and ethnicity played a pivotal role in the Sri Lankan Civil War as the intercommunal violence between the Sinhalese and Tamil groups was attributed to discriminatory policies. However, there is a lack of literature from published academic sources and archival/governmental data pertaining to the variables of race and ethnicity from a sociological perspective. The concept of race and ethnicity are an integral component of social conflict that identifies positions through self-consciousness as a cultural, religious, and linguistic community. This thesis utilizes historical research through qualitative secondary data sources to analyze how racial and ethnic inequities …

Masks And Mirrors: The Authorial Selfhood Of J.M. Coetzee’S Elizabeth Costello And Susan Barton, Emily R. Peters

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This thesis examines the authorial characters of Elizabeth Costello, from the novel of thesame name, and Susan Barton, the protagonist of the novel “Foe,” both authored by South African-born writer J. M. Coetzee, through the ontological concept of the Heideggerian Dasein. Both fictional characters contend with the issues of alienation of Self and the struggle for reciprocal Othering imposed upon them by the social constructs of their authorhood and struggle for an authentic self, specifically in view of the performative nature of their gendered roles and the issue of Coetzee’s male authorhood.

“‘State Of War’: British Racial Construction, New World Slavery & The Impact Of Somerset’S Case In The Anglo-American Diaspora", John David Kemp

Dissertations

On Monday 22 June 1772, the English jurist William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, delivered his oral verdict as Chief Justice of the Court of King’s Bench in the famous case involving the enslaved Afro-British servant James Somerset to declare that only an Act of Parliament could legalize domestic bondage and that Somerset was a free man. For the estimated 15,000 captives living in the English metropole, Somerset v. Stewart effectively undercut the Anglo-Atlantic slavocracy that had hid behind legal technicalities and extrajudicial decrees defending domestic bondage since the last quarter of the seventeenth century. In order to offer a …

Reconsidering Fertility Imagery In The Murals Of Teotihuacan, Grace T.O. Ray

Theses

This thesis explores fertility imagery in the Tepantitla Paradise and Tetitla Goddess murals of ancient Teotihuacan in Mexico. In the beginning of the 1970s, these murals had been utilized as case studies in the assertion for the existence of a central female deity known as the Great Goddess, based on an abundance of fertility imagery within the scenes. Scholarship in the field has since discredited this theory, but the deity in the murals remains unidentified. In addition, the city does not offer surviving written texts to provide context for cosmological beliefs, only Teotihuacan’s vibrant material culture was left behind after …

Converging And Diverging Outcomes Of Posttraumatic Growth (Ptg) And Posttraumatic Depreciation (Ptd) In Combat Veterans: A Case Study, Dayton Williams

Social Work Theses - Archive

Upon examining combat veterans’ psychological responses to combat-related trauma, two emerged for consideration: posttraumatic growth (PTG) through making meaning out of a traumatic experience and a positive outcome or change, and posttraumatic depreciation (PTD) an inability to make meaning of a traumatic experience and a negative outcome or change. Understanding how PTG and PTD converge, diverge, and impact an individual is crucial in supporting a veteran’s journey to health and well-being. A comparative study of the cases of two Marine combat veterans who served during OEF/OIF offers numerous similarities: both are in the millennial cohort; both are part of a …

The Theoretical Status Of The Concept Of Civilization, Roger W. Wescott

Comparative Civilizations Review

This paper may be regarded as an effort to answer some questions concerning the conceptualization of civilization.

1. Whether or not concepts are essentially verbal, is the concept of civilization primarily denotative (referential) or connotative (emotive) in meaning?

2. If the concept of civilization is primarily emotive, is its emotive force predominantly laudatory or derogatory in effect?

3. When the concept of civilization is derogatory, is it decadence or outdatedness that is primarily derogated?

4. If the concept of civilization is primarily denotative, is its denotation primarily abstract (referring to culture and associated mentifacts) or primarily concrete (referring to people …

The Mything Link: Why Sacred Storytelling Is A Key Human Survival Strategy, Ken Baskin

Comparative Civilizations Review

For several decades, societies across the globe have faced a real existential threat with challenges such as global warming. Yet no one in the elite has been able to do anything to improve conditions. We seem to be trapped in the kind of situation that Einstein described when he discussed problems that can’t be solved with the logic that created them.

Disrupting Whiteness In Education Organizations: Community Testimonios Of Strategy, Resistance, And Perseverance In Educational Justice Organizing, Florence E. Castillo

Sociology ETDs

Through this project, I utilize multiple approaches to disrupt whiteness. I make a case for centering Indigenous and non-Western methods, such as testimonio in sociological studies, to disrupt the academic whiteness of knowledge creation and validation. Whiteness itself is amorphous and looks different depending on circumstances, location, who holds power, and context (Hughey 2016). Utilizing a theory of racialized organizations, I shed light on how whiteness is normalized in education institutions through race-neutral, everyday actions (Ray 2019). This further disrupts whiteness by rendering it visible. Finally, I highlight the different modes of resistance that educational activists use to disrupt whiteness. …

Taxonomizing Information Practices In A Large Conspiracy Movement: Using Early Qanon As A Case Study, James A. Hodges

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This paper presents a taxonomy of the information practices apparent in an imageboard discussion thread that was influential in jump-starting the worldwide QAnon movement. After introducing QAnon with a review of literature, the author examines 4Chan /pol/ thread #147547939 (key in introducing multiple key elements of the QAnon narrative) to enumerate and classify the information practices deployed by discussion participants. In conclusion, the paper expands beyond existing research’s previous focus on outright fabrication, showing that early QAnon participants’ information practices are also defined in large part by suspicious and idiosyncratic modes of reading authentic sources, not simply the propagation of …

Digital Hair Creation For Archaeological Facial Approximation: George Dixon, The Last Captain Of The Hl Hunley, Robert Emerson

All Theses

This study explores the application of digital hair creation techniques in archaeological facial approximation, focusing on the case of George Dixon, the last captain of the HL Hunley submarine. While digital hair creation techniques have been previously employed in facial approximation, this research seeks to investigate further their potential and advantages over traditional methods, particularly regarding flexibility and the ability to create multiple variations.

Facial approximation is a critical method for reconstructing the physical appearance of historical individuals. However, accurately recreating their hairstyle presents a significant challenge due to limited information and reliance on artistic interpretation. This research aims to …

Spatial Layout At Isgrig: A Menard Complex Site In The Lower Arkansas River Valley, Noelle King

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Late Mississippian sites in the Lower Arkansas River Valley, or Menard Complex sites, are not well understood especially as they relate to the larger question of Mississippian response to colonial contact. In this thesis, I will explore how the Menard Complex manifests at Isgrig (3PU0015), a site located on the Arkansas River south of Little Rock. I will examine the spatial layout of the site and use ceramic analysis to understand if the site changed significantly over time. Finally, I will compare Isgrig with other Menard Sites in the Lower Arkansas Valley to understand regional trends in site function during …

Military Women In World Cinema: A 20th Century History And Filmography, Introduction, Deborah A. Deacon, Stacy Fowler

Faculty Articles

From British soldier Flora Sandes to the fame World War II Night Witches of the Soviet Air Force, women across the globe stepped up to defend their countries during every major and minor conflict of the twentieth century, and filmmakers have long attempted to capture their stories.

This book analyzes real and fictional military women's portrayals in world cinema, including movies from Israel, the United Kingdom, Italy, China, France, the Soviet Union, and others. It includes theatrical releases, direct-to-video productions, and made-for-television films.

Chapters, organized by decade, address topics including the women's sexuality, maternal and marital status, leadership skills, actual …

Predicting Dynamic Fragmentation Characteristics From High-Impact Energy Events Utilizing Terrestrial Static Arena Test Data And Machine Learning, Katharine Larsen, Riccardo Bevilacqua, Omkar S. Mulekar, Elisabetta L. Jerome, Thomas J. Hatch-Aguilar

Student Works

To continue space operations with the increasing space debris, accurate characterization of fragment fly-out properties from hypervelocity impacts is essential. However, with limited realistic experimentation and the need for data, available static arena test data, collected utilizing a novel stereoscopic imaging technique, is the primary dataset for this paper. This research leverages machine learning methodologies to predict fragmentation characteristics using combined data from this imaging technique and simulations, produced considering dynamic impact conditions. Gaussian mixture models (GMMs), fit via expectation maximization (EM), are used to model fragment track intersections on a defined surface of intersection. After modeling the fragment distributions, …

Conflict: An Autoethnography On Anthropology And Conflict Management, Rachel Koch

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Anthropology has many goals, such as understanding our evolutionary origins, distinctiveness as a species, and vast diversity of social existence worldwide and through time. The current study looks at the feasibility of combining the theoretical and applied methods of anthropology and conflict resolution to help future anthropologists do better anthropology. I created an interdisciplinary mixed methods study to gauge the compatibility and possibility of integration. Recruiting participants from a conflict management course on having difficult conversations, pre- and post-discussion surveys were given to measure how well narrative inquiry can help those on differing sides of a difficult conversation understand one …

Drug Cartels And Government In Mexico: A Replication And Extension, Lindsey A. Beckstead

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper analyzes the relationship between drug cartels and the government in Mexico. It also seeks to determine the reasons for an upsurge of violence and cartel related murders in Mexico.

Discipling The Whole Person, Scott R. Ward, David Sedlacek, Rogelio Paquini, Jasmine Fraser

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Mechanisms To Reduce Cyber Threats And Risks, Saad Alsuwaileh

Journal of Police and Legal Sciences

Addressing the mechanisms of reducing cyber threats and risks Research Because cyberspace is an important arena for various international interactions, especially in recent times in light of the increase in cyber-attacks between some countries, which affects their national security. In this context, many countries are trying to make an effort to develop their capabilities to be used in any cyber-attack, or to take adequate preventive measures to protect them from any possible cyberattacks, especially in light of the impact of these attacks on vital places and institutions such as banks and ministries or on important facilities such as water and …

Does The Perceived Authentic Leadership Have A Mediating Role In The Relationship Between Employees’ Emotional Intelligence And Self-Compassion?, Osman Yalap, Emre Gençay

European Management Studies

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to evaluate whether perceived authentic leadership has a mediating role in the relationship between employees’ emotional intelligence levels and their self-compassion perceptions. Design/methodology/approach: All data in the research were obtained from 175 employees in 12 different tea factories. In the study, in which the descriptive and cross-sectional method was followed, the analysis of the data was made with Hayes’ (2013) simple mediation analysis approach within the scope of structural equation modeling. Findings: The results of the analysis show that authentic leadership perceptions of employees are positively related to their emotional intelligence levels …

Universal Background Generator 2.0, Konrad Drapela

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

This project is a backstory generator designed to create randomly rolled information and events that come together to create a short yet detailed background for any character for roleplay games, novels or other such media.

Contributor's Guidelines, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

A Call To Action: Lessons From Ukraine For The Future Force, Katie Crombe, John A. Nagl

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Fifty years ago, the US Army faced a strategic inflection point after a failed counterinsurgency effort in Vietnam. In response to lessons learned from the Yom Kippur War, the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command was created to reorient thinking and doctrine around the conventional Soviet threat. Today’s Army must embrace the Russo-Ukrainian conflict as an opportunity to reorient the force into one as forward-thinking and formidable as the Army that won Operation Desert Storm. This article suggests changes the Army should make to enable success in multidomain large-scale combat operations at today’s strategic inflection point.

Parameters Autumn 2023 Demi Issue, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Research On Investment Risk And Decision Making In Dry Bulk Ships : Case Study Nijie Shipping World Limited, Mingyu Xu

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Book Review: American Exception: Empire And The Deep State, Devin Gillen

History in the Making

No abstract provided.