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The Fragile Fabric Of Society: An Insight Into Religion In Bosnia And Herzegovina, Tomislav Tadić

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The question of the social function of religion is undoubtedly one of the most important questions at the level of global social ontology. In this context, the sociology of religion turns out to be one of the most significant branches within contemporary sociology. Bearing in mind the events that mark the current global political situation, especially the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine, the need to rethink the relationship between ethnicity and religion as a special expression of the crisis of secularity within the limits of the "radicalized consequences of modernity" further intensifies. The paper is composed of two parts: 1) …

Faith, Freedom, And Friction: The Intersection Of Intimate Citizenship And Religion In Central And Eastern Europe, Evelina Juchnevičiūtė Ms.

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Intimate citizenship, a dimension of citizenship that emerged from the second wave of feminism, refers to rights related to intimate life, including women’s reproductive rights, same-sex relationships, and other related rights. In Central and Eastern Europe, these rights have been shown to come into conflict with the region’s deeply embedded religious values that have historically shaped societal norms around reproduction, gender, and sexuality. The present study employed a mixed-method systematic literature review, combining bibliometric and thematic analyses, to examine academic literature on the intersection of intimate citizenship and religion in Central and Eastern Europe. The review covered the period 1990-2024 …

The Spiritual Foundations Of An Unbreakable Ukraine During The War, Olena Rohova, Tetiana Lysokolenko, Iryna Karpan

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

An analysis of the spiritual foundations of the ability of Ukrainian society to resist the illegal military aggression of a country whose resources significantly exceed those of Ukraine. Ukraine’s unbreakability is connected to the dominant values and worldview of its representatives, which include spirituality responsible for the resiliency of individuals, the plasticity to perceive challenges of fate, and the responses of radical changes of being. The central idea of resiliency includes the revival of the most important religious, cultural, and historical factors of collective spirituality in Ukrainian society. The religious values introduced into the Ukrainian culture by Christianity as a …

Time And Flesh: Exploring The Embodied Experiences Of Black Mothers, Amber Tucker

Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Drawing on Black feminist theories of intersectionality and concepts of temporality and embodiment, this study centers Black girlhood to understand Black girls embodied journeys of “becoming” Black women. Findings revealed that: (a) Black girls often have complicated histories that lead to constrained and liberatory choices in adulthood and motherhood; (b) becoming a Black woman involves continual adaptations to temporal and historical contexts; and (c) Black motherhood is a contested space, deeply shaped by remembering Black girlhood and navigating maternal responses to legacies of harm. This study highlights the challenges and strengths in the transitory states of Black womanhood.

Investigating Tree Diversity And Structure Across Varying Land Cover Classes And Altitudes In The Savanna Woodlands Of Sudan, Nasradeen A. H Gadallah, Zoro Bertin Gone B, Victor Ongoma, Abdelhakam Esmaeil Mohamed Ahmed, Ahmed M. M. Hasoba, Ahmed A. H Siddig

All Grantees Publications

Climate and land use changes significantly endanger tree species’ structure and diversity in savanna woodlands. The destruction of these ecosystems hinders the achievement of several global environmental and development targets, notably SDGs 2, 13, and 15, which underscores the need for continuous tree monitoring to inform decision-making on biodiversity conservation. This study aims to characterize the relationships between tree diversity and structure across different land cover (LC) classes—Dense tree cover (D), Sparse tree cover (S), Grasslands (G), and Wetlands (W)—and altitudinal gradients (AGs) in Alain forest, located in Sudan’s savanna woodlands. A systematic sampling was used across varying AGs and …

Modifying The Miller Test To Supplement Board Of Education V. Pico: A Novel Approach For Resolving Censorship Cases In School Libraries, Michael Lee

Southern Illinois University Law Journal

In recent years, the increase in book censorship laws and attempts in school libraries across the United States has led to concerns about the propriety of such censorships. This has drawn much attention to the Supreme Court’s decision in Board of Education v. Pico, which established the standard for evaluating the constitutionality of removing books from school libraries. Yet, by analyzing, under the Pico standard, the constitutionality of Texas, Florida, and Illinois’s laws pertaining to book censorship, this Note demonstrates that the Pico standard is practically limited and difficult to apply. Therefore, a more applicable test for analyzing the …

University Of Richmond Magazine - Autumn 2025

University of Richmond Magazine

No abstract provided.

Faculty Of Arts And Sciences Prospectus 2026, Faculty Of Arts And Sciences

The Aga Khan University Prospectuses and Brochures

• Message from the Pro Chancellor
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• About AKU
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• Core Curriculum
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• Asian and Middle Eastern Studies – Career Pathways
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• The Design Laboratory (D-Lab)
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A Math Teacher’S Reflexive Journey Into The Opportunity Gap, Richard A. Ball Iii

Theses and Dissertations

This multiple case study sought to determine what educational factors, if any, impacted Black students in a public school located in the South-eastern United States, to enroll in a lower-level math course. The study also aimed to view the mathematical identities of these students and have myself reflect on my practice both locally and globally. This, however, is a result of the Problem of Practice, the opportunity gap. H. Richard Milner’s (2012) opportunity gap framework served as the theoretical framework for this study and for which all findings were situated. The data was analyzed using deductive coding, with the elements …

A Ticket To The Show: Reclaiming The Margins Of Film History Through The Orphan Film Movement, Charlotte Roi

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation explores the history, development, and legacy of the Orphan Film Movement (OFM), a vital initiative dedicated to identifying, preserving, and promoting cinematic works that have been neglected, forgotten, or left without clear copyright holders. Through the lens of Critical Archival Theory, the research traces the emergence of the OFM from its foundational roots in the broader film preservation movement and examines its evolution through academic, institutional, and community-based advocacy. Drawing on historical research, symposium analysis, and theoretical engagement, this study demonstrates how the OFM reshapes historical narratives, democratizes preservation practices, and redefines what constitutes cultural memory in film …

Empowered Margins: Women, Work, And Justice In Educational Labor, Erin Woodford

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation examines economic justice and employment precarity faced by educators in both K-12 and post-secondary education systems. While literature explores themes of changing demographics in union membership, collective bargaining, labor activism, and gendered and intersectional inequities in academia, and women in leadership in unions, a critical gap of disabled women’s voices and solutions to the inequities remains. This study highlights how job insecurity, unequal pay, hiring biases, limited recognition of prior learning, and inadequate institutional support exacerbates mental health challenges, professional invisibility, and economic instability. In the K-12 unionized system, systemic barriers such include disregard for substitute teaching as …

Instructional Design And Technology Professionals: Why Are Some Laggards?, Hayley Mendelson Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Laggards are often thought of as aloof and uninformed late adopters, as traditionalists living in the past (Rogers,2003). Laggards represent the last 16% of a population to adopt an innovation, and, as a result, they are often depicted for their resistance to adopt an innovation much later than the rest of the population, if ever (Jahanmir et al., 2020; Rogers, 2003). The present study attempted to expand the research on laggards, specifically laggard Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) professionals.

IDT professionals were the target group because of their perceived innovativeness as a result of their high exposure to instructional technology …

Characterizing A Free-Roaming Cat Population To Predict Predation Of Threatened Species In An Island Ecosystem, Sarah Gheida

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Andrews University Press 2026 Booklist, Andrews University Press

Biblical Studies

No abstract provided.

The Practice Of The Communal Pot -Olla Común- By Low-Income Women As A Strategy To Face Hunger On The North Coast Of Peru, Ricardo M. Sabogal-Suji

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru, the ancient practice of the communal pot (olla común) has become even more popular. This consists of neighbors spontaneously organizing themselves to collect food to cook for needy people. Peru is characterized by informality and ontological precarity that persist over time regardless of the political context, leading to endemic food insecurity. The pandemic crisis further aggravated the situation of Peruvians, leading the Peruvian government to support the growing communal pots that had traditionally been autonomous. The food crisis has persisted in post-pandemic times, which is why communal pots have multiplied, many of them becoming, …

Motherhood: An Orphan Of American Politics A Comparative Analysis Of State Actors As Institutions, Kristina Ramskyte-Juszczak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

The political geography of America is relatively unique in the world: the United States is a powerful and wealthy country, but also consists of sub-national actors that retain significant legal powers within their own borders. The political actors in America, at both this smaller level and at the larger Federal level, have uniquely strong institutional power to shape the social and civic life of their citizens. Despite their absolute significance to the survival of their societies, mothers and mothers’ rights have largely been ignored or taken second place to other political issues. As many countries in Europe and other regions …

Embodied Liminality: The Ritual-Drama Nexus In Pan-Tribal Native American Dance And Theatrical Performances, Oscar Pereira

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This study examines the intersection of ritual, drama, and liminality in pantribal Native American dance performances, emphasizing embodied liminality as a performative process shaping cultural continuity, identity transformation, and communal reinforcement.

Using an interdisciplinary methodology that integrates archival research, visual anthropology, and qualitative analysis, this study investigates three case studies: (1) the Ghost Dance movement as a liminal ritual of resistance and cultural revitalization; (2) pan-tribal powwows as sites of embodied liminality and cultural revitalization, and (3) contemporary Native American theater, analyzing theatrical plays through the lens of liminality, visual anthropology, theater and performance methodologies.

Examining embodied liminality in historical …

Analyzing Asthma And Allergy Effects Of Immigrant Children In South Florida, Uma Roy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Through my research study, I have analyzed the waiting, suffering, and struggle of Hindu immigrants to access quality healthcare treatment in South Florida. I wanted to explore immigrant parents' perceptions and beliefs associated with specific Hindu cultural meanings as well as exercising specific rules and norms of behavior for treating asthma and allergies in their children. My ethnographic study reveals the immigrants' perspectives on their traditional healing system and the healthcare system in South Florida for their children's wellness, as they incorporate "plural medical systems". My research findings show how immigrants adapt to the healthcare system in a "highly stratified …

Beneficent Artificial Intelligence In The Age Of The Thing: A Case Study Of The Palm Beach County Library System, Philip J. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

With this thesis, I explore how Palm Beach County Library System administration and the broader county government are managing the advance of artificial intelligence and seeking actionable resolutions to the artificial intelligence dilemma. Due to power differentials, triangulation required me to adopt a humanist, perspectival approach. I collected data from participant observations, reflective fieldnotes, literature review, and transcription of an interview, all of which informed my interpretations. Albeit colored by past experiences, I relate my professional familiarity in a customer service training role and express the importance of engaging patron experience that is service-oriented, ongoing training intended to recenter the …

Materia Non Medica: Reading Disability And Medical Narratives In The Daughter Of Doctor Moreau, Jessica Elizabeth Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This thesis presents a close reading of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, engaging Indigenous studies and disability studies to illuminate how the novel interrogates embodiment, medical authority, and human difference. By situating the text within historical frameworks of medicine and corporeality in Mexico, and alongside speculative modes that seek to recuperate non-Western epistemologies, the analysis reveals how Moreno-Garcia reimagines the body as mutable, relational, and politically charged. The narrative’s hybrid characters and transgressive identities offer a generative lens through which to explore bodily variance, not as deviation, but as a site of possibility. Ultimately, this thesis argues …

#Tribe: A Study On Digital Tribalism In Saudi Arabia, Maha Alrehaili

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This dissertation examines digital tribalism in Saudi Arabia as a lens through which to explore the complex interplay between state, identity politics, and social media in an era of rapid transformation. Amidst ambitious modernization efforts under Vision 2030 and ongoing economic restructuring, the Saudi state has sought to establish a national identity by leveraging tribal heritage. This study investigates how the three major tribes, Harb, Qahtan, and Otaibah, are responding to rapid modernization through an examination of their digital presence on X (formerly Twitter).

Employing a comparative case study design and content analysis of three years of digital activity, this …

Reassessing Pre-Ceramic Mortuary Practices In Florida, John S. Duggan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This thesis synthesizes mortuary practices among Florida’s Paleoindian to Late Archaic populations, from the earliest documented burials to approximately 2,500 BP. While sites like Windover and Little Salt Spring are well-studied, broader burial traditions across the region remain underrepresented. To address this, data from fifteen key sites, chosen for geographic and temporal diversity, were compiled and analyzed. Using an exploratory research design, a descriptive methodological framework was developed to evaluate cemetery types, burial positions, artifact associations, demographic indicators, and spatial orientation. Methodological challenges such as poor preservation, site destruction, and inconsistent documentation are also considered. Findings are contextualized within wider …

Transformation Of Buddhist Musical Practices From The 7th-13th Centuries As A Response To Political And Social Disorder In Medieval India, Stephan I. Duran

Monsoon: South Asian Studies Association Journal

This article gives an account of the development of Buddhist musical practices on the Indian subcontinent from their earliest, datable instances, to the disappearance of Buddhist institutions from India proper, demonstrating the persistence of descendant traditions of Sanskrit Buddhist chant and song in contemporary Japanese, Tibetan, and Newar esoteric Buddhist communities. It is argued that the Buddhist musical theory and praxis of these three cultural spheres both preserve features of ancient and medieval Indian Buddhist music and sonically illustrate the transition from political and social order to de-centralized social organization, a shift that took place between the 7^th and …

Exploring The Sociocultural Significance Of Funerals In Zongo Communities In Less-Developed Countries: A Case Of Effiakuma Zongo In The Western Region Of Ghana, Fusheini Halawayhi, Victor Fannam Nunfam

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Social and cultural capital have been recognized as critical assets for improving nations under the Sustainable Development Goals. The sociocultural significance of funerals in Zongo communities in Ghana, however, has not received much research attention. The Kastenbaum’s concept of funerals and Szmigin and Louise’s relational framework on funeral experiences were used to explore the social-cultural significance of funeral in the Effiakuma Zongo community as is the case in Ghana. Based on interpretive phenomenology and descriptive case study, we purposively sampled and conducted focus group interviews with 15 participants including bereaved family members, gravediggers and Imams. Data was processed and analyzed …

The Combined Role Of Sexual Selection And Socioeconomic Environment In Explaining Everyday Risk-Taking Behavior In Human Males, Hannah Goodman, Cyril C. Grueter, David A. Coall

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Sexual selection theory predicts that males, especially in their prime reproductive years, are more risk-prone than females. Risk-taking is a means to convey mate quality or “good genes” to members of the opposite sex or competitive ability to members of the same sex. Therefore, risk-taking should be more common in the presence of potential mates (intersexual selection or female choice) or in the presence of male competitors (intrasexual selection or male–male competition). Risk-taking can also be situated within a life history/ecological perspective, according to which environmental unpredictability promotes more present-oriented and risky behavioral strategies. Therefore, people living in areas of …

Of Scents And Cytokines: How Olfactory And Food Aversions Relate To Nausea And Immunomodulation In Early Pregnancy, Dayoon Kwon, Daniel M.T. Fessler, Delaney A. Knorr, Kyle S. Wiley, Julie Sartori, David A. Coall, Molly M. Fox

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: During pregnancy, the maternal body undergoes extensive physiological adaptations to support embryonic growth, including whole-body remodeling, that may induce odor and food aversions, as well as nausea and vomiting. The biological mechanisms behind odor and food aversions, as well as nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy, remain largely unexplored. Our study investigated associations between these changes and cytokine profiles during pregnancy. Methodology: A cohort of pregnant Latina women in Southern California (n = 58) completed a structured questionnaire on pregnancy "morning sickness"-related symptoms and aversions. Maternal plasma cytokine levels were measured between 5 and 17 weeks' gestation. Results: About …

Hybridity And Safety: The Lived Experiences Of Market Vendors In Urban Settlement Communities In Lae, Papua New Guinea, Wilma Langa, Verena Thomas, Jackie Kauli, Laurie Buys

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In most developing countries, informal economies–such as those that operate through urban markets–commonly support city dwellers’ livelihoods. However, public perceptions of safety and informality in urban markets have often focused on apparent deficiencies, resulting in a limited understanding of the dynamics and resilience of such spaces. There has been limited consideration of the perspectives of those who work within these spaces every day and the support structures they create for themselves. Drawing on focus group discussions and interviews with vendors and other actors at one market, Awagasi market in Lae City in Papua New Guinea, we argue that the history …

Alternative Visions Of Swedish State Feminism, Lukas Bullock

Theses and Dissertations--Gender and Women's Studies

Sweden has been lifted as a prominent example of a successful feminist policy enactor, and has built credibility as a humanitarian actor both domestically and transnationally. Simultaneously, intersectionally marginalized groups have attested to patterns of social exclusion and feelings of political disenfranchisement in Swedish society, calling into question Sweden’s reputation for feminist exceptionalism. This dissertation project centers on unpacking this dynamic by examining how Swedish gender equality policymaking institutions design and implement feminist policy, and how those efforts are interpreted and contested by intersectionally marginalized groups of Afro-Swedish feminist activists. Drawing from a mixed-methods framework that includes feminist ethnography (interviews, …

Unmasking The Nexus Of Race, Ethnicity, And Health: An Intersectional Analysis Of The Epistemology Of Race In Medicine, Medical Curricula, And Health Disparities, Antoinette Leonard-Jean Charles

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The persistent health disparities faced by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in the United States are deeply rooted in systemic racism embedded within medical education and clinical practice. Historical acceptance of racial supremacy in the United States has shaped both the foundations and continued practices of medical education, leading to entrenched biases that affect healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. This dissertation critically examines the intersection of race, education, and health by analyzing how historical and contemporary understandings of race and ethnicity shape medical curricula, healthcare practices, and patient care. Through the integration of Critical Race Theory (CRT), Social …

They Forgot We Were Seeds: Critical Counter-Narratives Supporting Culturally Informed Community Seed Work, Florentina Rodriguez

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This Professional Innovation dissertation utilizes Critical Counter-Narrative both as research methodology to generate narrative reflections and as praxis for liberatory transformation. Through research vignettes adapted from the author’s experience with critical collaborative autoethnographic seed work, this study produced critical counter-narratives aimed at addressing inequities in small-scale seed systems. These counter-narratives were incorporated into curriculum materials synthesized as an educational toolkit for a professional research

sister-project: the new Culturally Informed Community Seed Pledge and Code of Ethics (CICSP/COE). This project seeks to address disparity and extractive practices; outline relational pathways for reciprocity and respecting communities of origin; and provide evaluation metrics …