Digital Commons Network^™

"Fashion Forward": Fashioning Sociocultural Narratives Through Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis Of Fashion Editorials, Nemuel N. Oliveros

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

This qualitative study applies Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA) to decode sociocultural issues embedded in fashion editorials, addressing research questions about the sociocultural themes conveyed in the photos, the role of visual semiotics in the construction and presentation of each theme, and the sociocultural connotations contained therein. By employing thematic analysis and the modified version of Machin's Visual Semiotic Analysis framework tailored to the research context, the study systematically analyzes pose, gaze, social distance, objects, and settings in eight carefully selected fashion editorials, revealing nuanced sociocultural narratives. Under violence and exploitation, it reveals domestic violence and the commodification of women. …

Imagining Hydropower: Transnational Narratives And Realities Of The Stiegler’S Gorge Project In Tanzania, 1960s–1980s, Emma Athanasio Minja

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

Hydropower development in the Global South has attracted several donor programmes for decades. How have such interventions shaped energy imaginations in Tanzania? Adopting a historical perspective and drawing on transnationalism and travelling frameworks, this article examines hydropower aid interventions and the dynamic shifts of specific actors and discourses in bilateral relations. The primary focus is on Norway, a leading actor in planning the Stiegler’s Gorge hydropower project in Tanzania’s Rufiji Basin in the 1970s to mid-1980s. It seeks to understand how, despite substantial aid support, the project failed to kick off in the face of the country’s post-independence drive for …

Some People Need Killing: Power Of Metaphors In Shaping And Challenging Political And Educational Realities, Rebecca Cyrene J. Lorenzana

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

This study examines the significant role of metaphors in shaping and challenging political and educational discourse, focusing on the narratives from Patricia Evangelista's Some People Need Killing. Through Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA), the research dissects how metaphors of war and criminality, dehumanization, salvation, and resistance function within the context of Rodrigo Duterte's War on Drugs in the Philippines. The study reveals that metaphors are not merely rhetorical devices but powerful tools that construct and perpetuate hegemonic structures, legitimizing state-sanctioned violence and dehumanizing individuals involved in drug-related activities. Conversely, metaphors of salvation and resistance offer alternative narratives that challenge these …

Segmental Inventory And Sociolectal Diversity In Philippine English Phonology: Insights From The Maximum Entropy Grammar, Teri An Joy G. Magpale

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

This study examines phonological variations in Philippine English (PhE) across acrolect, mesolect, and basilect sociolects by analyzing vowel and consonant realizations. Using the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model, these variations were investigated through auditory judgment and acoustic measurements of data from 30 participants with varying levels of English proficiency. The results reveal significant sociolectal differences in phonological patterns, with the MaxEnt model effectively capturing these variations. Findings of the study provides insights into the phonological diversity of PhE and suggests further research to explore sociolectal variations in other English varieties.

Appraisal Resources In Cyberspace Discourse On Capital Punishment And Corruption, Adetutu Aragbuwa

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

Discourses on the public agitation to codify capital punishment for corrupt Nigerian officials are growing in cyberspace thus opening up the subject for scholarly investigation. This study, therefore, examines cyber citizens’ use of language in constructing their attitudes to the agitation, with a view to analysing dominant ideologies embedded in the discourses. Data for the study, downloaded from Nairaland forum, comprise six hundred comments from ten threads on the anti-corruption clamour. The data is subjected to qualitative analysis hinged on the appraisal theory. The study’s findings reveal upscaled lexicalised judgements of negative normality, tenacity, propriety and veracity towards not just …

“Struggling For Years”: An International Survey On Autistic Experiences Of Menopause, Christine A. Jenkins, Rachel L. Moseley, Margaret Janse Van Rensburg, Julie M. Gamble-Turner, Miranda J. Brady

Faculty and Staff Publications

Emerging research suggests that menopause can be a difficult transition for some Autistic people. This international co-produced survey explored factors that might make menopause harder for Autistic people, such as lack of menopause and autism awareness; moreover, we aimed to explore what support Autistic people needed and what could help them cope and even flourish during this time. We employed a mixed-methods approach to analyze quantitative and qualitative responses from 508 Autistic participants. Both the quantitative and qualitative data supported relationships between lack of menopause and autism awareness and overall difficulties during menopause. Autistic participants wanted more appropriate and Autistic-specific …

Enterprise Content Management In Cultural Heritage Institutions: A Study Of Sharjah Landscape, United Arab Emirates, Ahmed Adel Zidan, Mohamed Boufarss

All Works

This study examines the landscape of digital content management within heritage institutions in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. It aims to evaluate the state, characteristics, and roles of these processes in preserving and promoting cultural heritage in the digital sphere. Utilizing a descriptive analytical approach, the research employs a checklist as the primary data collection instrument to investigate existing policies, plans, systems, and projects. Findings highlight the absence of formalized content management strategies in most institutions, which rely on unwritten, tacit policies. This lack of structured frameworks adversely impacts communication, operational performance, service delivery, and the long-term sustainability of their work. …

Adaptive Lossy Color Image Compression System Based On Hybrid Algorithm, Husam Khalid Khammas, Ayça Kurnaz Türkben

Baghdad Science Journal

As the digital age progresses, multimedia technologies have become commonplace, with users expecting high-quality audio, video, and image content across various platforms and devices. As a result, the quantity of data produced by these multimedia programs has grown substantially. Also, the explosive growth in the use of multimedia has led to a rise in the quantity of images that are used and created, which creates challenges, in relation to the requirement for increased storage capacity and enhanced data transport speed. To address these challenges, image compression has emerged as a critical solution by decreasing the volume of the image without …

Effect Of Chemically Synthesis Compared To Biosynthesized Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Using Extract Of Vitex Agnus On The Expression Of Mexab-Oprm Efflux Pump Genes Of Multi-Drug Resistance Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Shams Al-Shomos Khalis Khames, Shatha Thanoon Ahmed

Baghdad Science Journal

The current study's goal was to find out how the expression of the efflux pump genes (MexAB-OprM) in MDR P. aeruginosa isolates was influenced by chemically manufactured Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles using sol-gel method as compared to biosynthesized Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles using Vitex agnus-castus leaves extract. PCR analysis was used to confirmthe the presence of 16S rRNA gene in all 16 P. aeruginosa isolates The findings indicated that P. aeruginosa tested positive for 16S rRNA (100%), and 7 (43.75%) of the isolates were MDR. All MDR isolates carried MexA, MexB and OprM genes.The Vitex extract's GC-MS analysis exposed the existence of …

Graph Entropy Of Some Special Chemical Graphs, B. I. Andrew, A Anuradha

Baghdad Science Journal

Chemical graph theory plays an important role in modelling molecules, especially examining physico-chemical properties of the chemical compounds. Alkanes are one of the chemical compounds which are made up of hydrogen and carbon atoms, generally known as hydrocarbons. These alkanes having empirical formula ������2(��+1). Structural/constitutional isomers are the collection of chemical compounds having same empirical formula but different structural arrangements, this lead to the diversity in the physico-chemical properties. Graph descriptors are the essential tools in the graph theory to study about these physico-chemical properties. Some of these graph descriptors are graph spectrum, graph energy and graph entropy which contribute …

Predicting Movie Production Years Through Facial Recognition Of Actors With Machine Learning, Asraa Muayed Abdalah, Noor Redha Alkazaz

Baghdad Science Journal

This study used machine learning algorithms to identify actors and extract the age of actors from images taken randomly from movies. The use of images taken from Arab movies includes challenges such as non-uniform lighting, different and multiple poses for the actors and multiple elements with the actor or a group of actors. Additionally, the use of make-up, wigs, beards, and wearing different accessories and costumes made it difficult for the system to identify the personality of the same actor. The Arab Actors Dataset-AAD comprises 574 images sourced from various movies, encompassing both black and white as well as color …

Co2 In Flowing Freshwaters: Macro Scale Database Compilation, Addressing Ph Bias In Co2 Estimates, And Quantifying Cross-Scale Interactions, Timothy R. Toavs

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on carbon dioxide (CO₂) dynamics in flowing freshwaters, contributing to the growing body of knowledge about inland water carbon cycles. The research is structured into three main chapters, each progressing towards the objective of utilizing variability in flowing freshwaters to further understand carbon dynamics, anthropogenic land cover impacts, and potential impacts from a changing climate. Chapter one compiles a 30-year dataset of pCO₂ measurements from flowing freshwater systems across the contiguous United States. This dataset, referred to as CDFLOW, includes over 750,000 pCO₂ estimates from more than 35,000 locations. It serves …

Lived Experiences Of Student-Parents In Higher Education Who Utilize The Childcare Subsidy Program, Kindra Moore-Smith

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

This paper examines a phenomenological study describing the experiences of student-parents who use the Parents for Higher Education program at Eastern Community College. The theory that guided this study was McClusky’s theory of margin, which addresses the support and services adults need to accomplish their goals in life. This framework provided a connection that explained the importance of childcare subsidies and the needs met while attending classes for community college students—the transcendental phenomenology approach used. The setting for this study was the virtual platform Zoom. The study was conducted using 10 participants, all student-parents who participated in the childcare grant …

Self-Sacrifice And Civilization: American Everyday Heroism And The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission In The Progressive Era, Simon Wendt

Heroism Science

This article examines the multi-layered meanings of civilian heroism around 1900. It argues that the Progressive Era was an important transition period in the history of heroism in the United States, during which definitions of what was regarded as heroic multiplied and no longer revolved solely around military valor or political leadership. Especially everyday heroes received unprecedented media attention. They were seen by many as evidence of the continuing progress of American civilization, which appeared to allow for a peaceful coexistence of individual self-interest and social consciousness. The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, established in 1904, contributed much to such interpretations …

Commencement [Program], December 21, 2024, University Of Northern Iowa

UNI Commencement Programs

The program of the commencement ceremonies, including a list of institutional leadership, a list of the departments by college, awards given at the ceremonies, and a list of undergraduate and graduate degree candidates. This commencement program is not an official graduate list.

Contents:

Board of Regents --- 2
Institutional Leadership --- 2
Ceremony Symbols & Traditions --- 3
Academic Honorary Organizations --- 4
University Ambassador Organizations --- 5
University Honors Program --- 6
Graduation with Honors --- 6
Legacy Graduates --- 6
Military Science --- 7
Merchant Scholarship --- 7
Outstanding Student Leader --- 7
Commencement Student Speakers --- 7 …

Repurposing The Land Of An East Los Angeles Church: The Discovery Of How Small And Medium Sized Churches Through Affordable Housing Can Combat Homelessness While Revitalizing Its Nonprofit Status, Donald Cook, Donald Ray Cook Ii

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

In order to live, humans need to sleep; therefore, sleep is mandatory, but unfortunately, everyone does not have the option of sleeping inside. Subsequently, many homeless encampments have developed in many countries. The perspective that people have often determines their response to homelessness. One person might view a homeless encampment as a problem that needs to be removed while someone else can view it as an opportunity to serve the least of these. Not only did Adam and Eve experience homelessness when removed from the Garden of Eden, but Mary, Joseph, and Jesus experienced first-hand the rollercoaster of inadequate housing. …

Jóvenes Y Memoria: Conflict And Vitality In Education For Human Rights, Bryan Harriss Jones

Graduate Liberal Studies Theses and Dissertations

In 2002, the Comisión Provincial por la Memoria (the Provincial Commission for Memory - CPM) of Argentina’s province of Buenos Aires (PBA) established Jóvenes y Memoria: Recordamos para el Futuro (Youth and Memory: We Remember for the Future – JyM), an elective program for secondary school students. JyM empowers students to create and communicate narratives about the history and current state of human rights based on investigations using primary sources. The goals of CPM include fostering historical memory and preventing the return of authoritarianism. JyM furthers these goals by building exemplary memory to inspire positive change in the present and …

Modeling Of Light Filamentation For Nonlinear Imaging And Waveguiding, Nicholas Bagley

Mathematics Theses and Dissertations

Ultrashort pulses are capable of extremely high powers; in addition to enabling various applications in defense, sensing, and imaging, they provide a useful arena in which to study nonlinear optical phenomena that are observable only at high intensities. Due to these effects, which can include ionization and thermal blooming, simulation of ultrashort pulse propagation is a complicated multiphysics problem. We provide an overview of techniques used to simulate the propagation of ultrashort pulses in the nonlinear regime, including the formation of light filaments due to the competition of Kerr self-focusing and defocusing (e.g. via plasma generation). We discuss both carrier-resolved …

Microwell Fabrication For Impedance And Ac Measurements Of Isolated Ventricular Cardiomyocytes, Fallon Wenck

Multidisciplinary Studies Theses and Dissertations

Electrophysiological behavior of human hearts have been extensively studied for hundreds of years. Even with elucidation of not just biological function, but also time and frequency-dependent current flow, the sheer intricacy of in vivo cardiac tissue function remains somewhat enigmatic. All while heart disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States for over a century, with its rates of occurrence still increasing annually [1]. Thus, new research techniques and tools to quantify cardiac function are still being pursued at smaller and smaller scales to decrease research/innovation time, cost, and diagnostic ambiguity. In fact, it remains incredibly …

From The Alhambra To The Grammar Of Ornament: Materiality And Process In The Work Of Owen Jones, Rebecca Kendall

Art History Theses and Dissertations

Much of the growing scholarship regarding the once well-known nineteenth century architect, designer, printer, and design theorist Owen Jones (1807-1874) mentions one or both of his landmark publications, Plans, Elevations, Sections and Details of the Alhambra (1836-1845) or the Grammar of Ornament (1856), occasionally noting chromolithographic innovations made at their respective times of publication. However, scholars have not really looked at the physical manufacture of these influential books by Jones and how this printing process drives the project of translation from the Alhambra. The materials surrounding Jones, whether books in his library, the pencil or brush he holds or the …

Inhibition Of Microrna-660-5p Decreases Breast Cancer Progression Through Direct Targeting Of Tmem41b, Valeria Villarreal-García, José Roberto Estupiñan-Jiménez, Vianey Gonzalez-Villasana, Pablo E Vivas-Mejía, Marienid Flores-Colón, Irma Estefanía Ancira-Moreno, Patricio Adrián Zapata-Morín, Claudia Altamirano-Torres, José Manuel Vázquez-Guillen, Cristina Rodríguez-Padilla, Recep Bayraktar, Mohamed H Rashed, Cristina Ivan, Gabriel Lopez-Berestein, Diana Reséndez-Pérez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women worldwide. Most breast cancer-related deaths result from metastasis and drug resistance. Novel therapies are imperative for targeting metastatic and drug-resistant breast cancer cells. Accumulating evidence suggests that dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) promote breast cancer progression, metastasis, and drug resistance. Compared with healthy breast tissue, miR-660-5p is notably overexpressed in breast cancer tumor tissues. However, the downstream effectors of miR-660-5p in breast cancer cells have not been fully elucidated. Our aim was to investigate the role of miR-660-5p in breast cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis and to identify its potential …

Faith By Aurality In China's Ethnic Borderland: Media, Mobility, And Christianity At The Margins, Gavin Douglas

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

A book review is presented for Faith by Aurality in China's Ethnic Borderland: Media, Mobility, and Christianity at the Margins, authored by Ying Diao, by Gavin Douglas.

Secular Formations Of Sacred Music: Schleiermacher, Romanticism, And Devotional Media In Germany, Desmond Sheehan

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Theologians and musicologists alike have often disregarded the material and technical facets of devotional scenes such as the one meticulously described in Schleiermacher’s Christmas Eve Celebration: A Dialogue (1806). More recent musicologists have highlighted more concealed technologies that helped to facilitate Romantic aesthetic experiences – a form of methodological unmasking that at once denies and reclaims a Schillerian notion of disenchantment. This essay argues that both types of studies perpetuate secularization narratives that displace a Christian religiosity into public artforms and social practices in Romanticism, and secular modernity by extension. As a proposed alternative, a media history of sacred music …

The Vagina Dentata: A Case For Unlocking Mouths, Loosing Hips, And Spreading The Gospel Of Healing Women's Sexual Performance Anxiety, Alisha Lola Jones

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

This article explores how vagina dentata folklore—stories and imagery about a mythical "toothed vagina"—connects to the ways Black religious communities often cultivate silence around women’s sexual lives, particularly within the “Worth the Wait” and Word of Faith movements. Ignited by womanist religious ethnographer Monique Moultrie’s scholarship on sexual silence in these movement, I take seriously the musicological chasm by exploring how these ministries influence Black women’s sexual agency and moral decision-making through inequitable theological procedures and discourses. The vagina dentata metaphor emerges as a symbol of constrained appetites—respiratory (larynx), digestive (intestine, anus), and reproductive (uterus, vagina)—reflecting broader sociocultural and religious …

Note From The Editor, Jeffers Engelhardt

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

A note from Editor-in-Chief Jeffers Engelhardt about the journal issue Vol. 10, No. 1.

The Fundamental Right Of A Safe Place To Call Home: Why The United States Immigration System Needs To Reform Its Response To Humanitarian Crises, Mackenzie Biles

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

As part of its overall aim to identify how the United States can more proactively intervene in humanitarian crises, this article will examine the Department of Homeland Security’s role in securing the safe arrival of migrants into the United States and helping them to thrive thereafter, using the crisis in Afghanistan as a lens. Part I outlines the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and the events culminating in the 2021 military withdrawal, while seeking to remain mindful of this history’s complexity and nuance. Part II examines existing U.S. immigration mechanisms, with a focus on humanitarian parole, and critiques their inadequacy in …

Making Conflicts Of Interest Matter To Federally Funded Academic Research, Kimberly M. Papadantonakis

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This article first provides background on the academic science and technology enterprise and the concerns of counterintelligence agencies that prompted the White House, DOJ, and Congress to act. Section III discusses specific criminal and civil cases, focusing on where prosecutions succeeded or faltered. Section IV covers the new rules and how the agencies are implementing them. Finally, Section V analyzes themes from the cases and examines how the new rules may impact future enforcement and compliance efforts.

Maintaining The Magic: Utilizing Strategies For Change, Katherine B. Reyes, Angelique Vansky, Curtis Isozaki, Christian Peralta

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

This study analyzes "Rides and Foodie Inc.," with pseudonyms used for confidentiality: Ivan for the CEO and Daniel for the Founder. It examines internal and external factors impacting the company, highlighting challenges such as executive training, racial justice, and policy reform. Utilizing Kotter's 8-Step Model and the McKinsey 7-S Framework, the paper presents a comprehensive strategy for organizational change and proposes an evaluation model to assess the success of these changes.

Rides and Foodie Inc., a $155 billion enterprise, faces significant competition and evolving consumer preferences. Recent restructuring into three divisions led to layoffs and potential power imbalances. The company …

Practical Considerations For Xr Technologies Implementation In The Elementary School Curriculum, Tracey Jackson, Oscar Valenzuela, Linda Lee, Chloe Ford

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

One of the modalities of the digital landscape that is gaining attention is extended reality (XR), a term that is used to encompass all technologies that merge the physical and virtual worlds (Marr, 2019). Through the evolving landscape of XR, students are now able to attend class, learn, and socialize with their teachers and peers from anywhere in the world. This literature review seeks to examine the existing research on practical, yet important considerations that need to be made when implementing XR technologies in the elementary school curriculum, such as instructor competency, social learning, learning transfer, and belonging.

Collaborative Leadership In Disaster Mitigation Development In Australia, Chidimma A. Abuka

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

Background: In light of escalating environmental risks due to climate change, rigorous research in natural disaster mitigation is gaining significance. The United Nations’ (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address disaster mitigation broadly, calling attention to both natural and human-induced crises. Australia has the fourth highest score globally in Freeman & Hancock’s (2017) Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience-Building (DRRR) Index. This research explores the aspects of collaborative leadership and sustainable development pathways to understand what is working in Australian communities and to address multifaceted challenges surrounding the further improvement of community resilience in Australia.

Existing Literature: Many studies emphasize the …