Digital Commons Network^™

Introduction, Daniel Coleman, Ki'en Debicki, Bonnie M. Freeman

WLU Press Books

This is the introductory chapter of Deyohahá:ge:: Sharing the River of Life, edited by Daniel Coleman, Ki'en Debicki, and Bonnie M. Freeman.

Deyohahá:ge:, “two roads or paths” in Cayuga language, evokes the Covenant Chain-Two Row Wampum, known as the “grandfather of the treaties.” Famously, this Haudenosaunee wampum agreement showed how Indigenous people and newcomers could build peace and friendship by respecting each other’s cultures, beliefs, and laws as they shared the river of life.

Written by members of Six Nations and their neighbours, this book introduces readers not only to the 17th-century history of how the Dutch and British …

The Literary Field: Agriculture And The Ecological Imagination In The Nineteenth-Century French Novel, Abigail Fields

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

The Literary Field: Agriculture and the Ecological Imagination in the Nineteenth-Century French Novel argues that notions of the farmer and land developed their modern meanings in France in the nineteenth century. Ideas about agriculture fed into the formation of an environmental imaginary and vice versa, resulting in the co-construction of these concepts. To build this case, I develop a method I call agro-ecocriticism, which draws on literary criticism, materialist cultural studies, and ecology to identify flows of agricultural thought and actors within forms of cultural production. Particularly important in this reading method is a new attention to setting. In my …

Synthesising Les Mills’ Five Key Elements: How Readiness-To-Hand Is Developed Among Group Fitness Coaches, Manuel R. Enverga Iii

Economics Department Faculty Publications

This paper examines the process by which Les Mills group fitness instructors in the Philippines develop a seemingly effortless coaching style. They simultaneously perform exercises alongside their participants, correcting and motivating them, while maintaining awareness of the music playing. Using ethnographic data from a local Philippine gym, pseudonymously referred to as The Fit Stop, it is argued that the apparent naturalness of their teaching develops through numerous stages of practice and feedback. Throughout the process, instructors gain mastery over what Les Mills calls the Five Key Elements of instruction: choreography, technique, coaching, connection, and performance. As they become more adept, …

A Pocket Park In Kirkwood: Community, Connectivity, And Urban Transformation, Catalina Freixas

Books, Office for Socially Engaged Practice

The course Architecture For Non-Architects [AFNA] is supported by CityStudio STL, Sam Fox School of Design Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis.

AFNA is a foundational course that acquaints students with the principles and practices of architectural design. Beginning with a community-based project, the curriculum integrates lectures, readings, and research to guide participants through understanding and shaping the built environment. Field trips play a key role, encouraging active observation and engagement with both the physical site and invested stakeholders.

Cultivating observation is essential to perceiving our surroundings with intention, yet many people view the environment passively, shaped by habits …

Anime And Luxury Fashion: Studio Ghibli And Loewe's Unorthodox Brand Merchandizing, Theodore Gournelos, David Marutschke

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

While they might seem counterintuitive to traditional concepts of “luxury,” collaborations between luxury and anime brands are a growing pattern reflecting the growth of both industries for key demographics. This paper argues that luxury brands use these collaborations to establish brand relevance and cultural connection while also positioning themselves advantageously against other brands in an increasingly social and online environment. Through a qualitative and quantitative content analysis of Instagram posts and user comments from Studio Ghibli and the Spanish luxury brand Loewe regarding their three product collaborations, we argue that there is a significant amount of room for differentiation in …

True Crime Podcasts As A Scene Of Feminist Reckoning: A Comparative Analysis Of My Favorite Murder And Sistas Who Kill, Rachel C.C. Matteri

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This research examines the cultural impact and ethical implications of true crime podcasts (TCPs). In recent years, TCPs have become a powerful cultural force, with White women often emerging as the primary storytellers and most visible participants in the genre. Their dominance in this space is not neutral and it carries representational weight. It explores the potential for feminist activity made possible by the auditory, self-publishing genre of podcasting. This work focuses on the buddy-comedy subgenre of TCPs. The concerns of this text are that TCPs are dominated by White feminist values and are not an intersectional feminist project. Textual …

Engaging The Plus-Size Community Through Social Media And Public Relations, Esperanza Chavez

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores which platform, TikTok or Instagram, best supports engagement andcommunity building for the plus-size audience. Grounded in theories by Goffman, Berger & Luckmann, and David Meerman Scott’s 85-10-5 Rule, the study combines strategic PR methods with digital media tools to elevate plus-size voices. The campaign included 30 Instagram posts, 35 TikToks, street interviews, and a podcast series, all designed and executed for this project. Engagement was measured through likes, comments, shares, saves, follower growth, and qualitative audience feedback.

Narrative Inquiry Into The Socio Economic Integration And Resilience Of The Mien Community In The United States, Teresa M. Saefong

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the socioeconomic integration of the Mien community, a refugee minority sometimes overlooked in research and policy discussions, in the United States. Five participants shared their experiences through in-depth interviews and community observations. The study utilizes narrative inquiry and is informed by community cultural wealth and resilience theory. The analysis incorporated restorying, comparative, and performative approaches. The findings suggested that Mien integration depended on intergenerational storytelling, clan-based networks, multilingual skills, and the adaption of traditional practices within U.S. institutions. Community organizations were important for keeping culture alive and filling in the gaps in institutional services by giving …

Toxic Sweetness And Abstinence: The Citationality Of Robert Lustig's Anti-Sugar Rhetoric, Tyler J. Snelling

Iowa Journal of Communication

Robert Lustig’s (2009) lecture on YouTube “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” animated a widespread conversation about whether sugar poisons bodies. Discourse following the lecture warrants analysis to gage how the meaning of the lecture transformed from a critique of food systems into individual actions. I argue that citationality of “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” fosters healthism by grounding sugar’s toxicity in scientific and affective reasoning that compels individual actions like abstinence from sugar. The pediatrician's lecture enabled the construction of a supposedly "moral eater" who removes sugar from consumption to avoid the poison's consequences. This paper offers tools for examining the spread …

Front Matter - Table Of Contents - Preface

Iowa Journal of Communication

No abstract provided.

Phantasma, Grace Wright

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Ever since the infamous Ides of March, scholars have been debating the true psychology behind Brutus’s betrayal. The purpose of this project is to take a step back from the politicized motivations and explore the emotional, strenuous conditions of Julius Caesar’s assassination. This project will transform William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar into a novella with its central focus on the relationship dynamics between the key figures of Caesar, Brutus, and Cassius. The intention of the novella is to not only analyze the play through a critical queer lens, but to interrogate the themes of violence and desire that surround male relationships …

Crises, Coloniality, And Energy Transformations In Puerto Rico, Laura Kuhl, Marla Perez-Lugo, Carlos Arriaga Serrano, Cecilio Ortiz Garcia, Ryan Ellis, Jennie C. Stephens

Sociology Faculty Publications

Increased attention to inclusive processes is essential to ensure injustices are not perpetuated during energy transitions. Crises, such as the collapse of the electric grid in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, present the promise of opening windows of opportunity for new ideas and voices to inform the future, but they also create opportunities for powerful interests to reinforce existing power dynamics. While coloniality has been recognized as a barrier to sustainable energy transformations, greater integration of the literature on climate coloniality and sustainability transitions is needed. This chapter analyzes visions of the future of the energy system among diverse constituents …

Academic Agency Within The Curricular Reform Of Gateway Stem Courses: A Faculty Perspective, Katie Beck

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The research regarding faculty agency during curricular reform is a burgeoning field within higher education as the faculty perspective within the current research concerning curriculum reform is limited. This study seeks to illuminate the faculty perspective of the curricular reform process of gateway STEM courses and how faculty experienced the reform process through a qualitative case study. The site of the case study is a public four-year institution on the eastern coast of the United States that has undergone and continues to undergo significant academic restructuring. The research utilized a structured survey and semi-structured interviews with seven total participants from …

Drivers Of Job Loss Among Chinese Breast Cancer Survivors: A Qualitative Analysis, Susan Chimonas, Yashasvini Sampathkumar, Xiaoxiao Huang, Christina Tran, Zhenlan Wang, Kuo Ting-Ting, Shoshana M. Rosenberg, Javier González, Francesca Gany, Victoria Blinder

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Purpose: This study aimed to understand the reasons for the high risk of job loss previously identified among foreign-born Chinese breast cancer survivors in the US. Qualitative interviews were conducted to explore challenges leading to job loss during/after treatment and to help identify potential interventions to promote job retention and re-employment.

Patients and Methods: The research team conducted semi-structured interviews with foreign-born Chinese breast cancer survivors in New York City. A total of twelve participants, previously enrolled in the Breast Cancer and the Workforce study, were interviewed between February and November 2018. Purposive sampling was used to identify …

Fences On The Epistemological Prairie: A Settler Colonial Approach To “Religion And Science”, Lisa L. Stenmark

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Building on the idea of religion and science as conceptual maps of intellectual territory, I use a settler colonial analysis as a framework for thinking about decolonizing religion and science in a way that moves away from abstraction and towards action; addressing not just the ideas, but the tools of control—the fences—that impose ideas on the territory itself. Comparing the Wyoming prairie with the epistemological prairie, I describe the maps, fences and other tools and technologies of settler colonialism used to appropriate Indigenous Land and knowledge, eventually turning it into private property. It is in this last step—the creation of …

Egalitarianism Is Not Equality: Moving From Outcome To Process In The Study Of Human Political Organisation, Duncan Stibbard-Hawkes, Christopher Von Rueden

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Many traditional subsistence groups have been described as ‘egalitarian societies’. Definitions of ‘egalitarianism’, especially beyond anthropology, have often emphasised equality in resource access, prestige or rank, alongside generalised preferences for fairness and equality. However, there are no human societies where equality is genuinely realised in all areas of life. Here we demonstrate, empirically, that nominally egalitarian societies are often unequal across seven important interconnected domains: embodied capital, social capital, leadership, gender, age/knowledge, material capital/land tenure, and reproduction. We also highlight evidence that individuals in nominally egalitarian societies do not unfailingly adhere to strong equality preferences. We propose a new operational …

Legislative Impacts On K-12 Social Studies Teacher Identity, Curricular Decision-Making, And Receptiveness To Professional Development, Staci Fisher

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation examines how K-12 public school social studies teachers are navigating their instructional decision-making regarding content about marginalized groups in response to state legislation. Quantitative data were collected through an online Likert-scale survey to measure teachers’ reported agreement on how state legislation has impacted their instructional decision-making, job satisfaction connected to their professional and personal identities, inclusion of instructional materials, and receptiveness to professional development.

Following data collection, the researchers analyzed whether factors of district political context and teachers’ personal and professional identity characteristics predicted their responses. Survey results showed most teachers reported feeling that state legislation has …

The Representation Of Feminine Beauty In Generative Artificial Intelligence Models, Haley R. Stacy

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology advances, its influence on media and societal perceptions becomes increasingly significant. This dissertation explores how popular generative visual AI models represent women and the implications for racial and body type inclusivity. This study examines women’s perceptions of AI-generated representations. Two primary research questions are being explored: (1) How do AI-generated algorithms represent women in visual outputs when prompted with broad beauty-related keywords? (2) How do women perceive their representation in these AI-generated visual outputs? Through a detailed analysis of AI-generated imagery, the research uncovers implicit and explicit biases within these systems. The research also gathered …

Dismembering The Final Girl: Examining The Shifting Trope In Contemporary Horror Films, Abby Divine

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research explores gender representation in horror films as it moves away from representation shaped by the male gaze and, instead, showcases social values related to current feminist movements. While the horror genre is largely considered to be lacking complex messages or social commentary, many contemporary horror films actually utilize well-known tropes to cultivate a larger discussion on social issues. With the rise of the slasher film in the 1970s and 1980s, the character of the Final Girl was popularized. These final surviving female victims are usually defined by a constricting set of rules; however, newer trends in horror films …

Psychometric Properties Of A New Acculturation Scale For Latinos/Hispanics, Alicia Goytizolo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

The current study evaluated the psychometric properties of the newly developed Multi-Ethnic Acculturation Scale (MAS), a multidimensional instrument designed to assess behavioral and cognitive aspects of cultural adaptation among Hispanic/Latino individuals in the United States. A sample of 208 adults from diverse Hispanic backgrounds completed the MAS alongside two validated acculturation measures: the Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics and the Vancouver Index of Acculturation. Exploratory factor analyses revealed a partially distinct but moderately correlated factor structure for both American and Latino cultural orientation subscales, supporting a bidimensional conceptualization of acculturation. Internal consistency was high across both subscales (Cronbach’s α > .90), …

Cultural And Counter-Cultural Contexts In Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club And Cristina GarcíA'S Dreaming In Cuban, Melinda M. Ninewise

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This thesis explores the cultural and counter-cultural narratives presented in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club and Cristina García’s Dreaming in Cuban, examining how these works impact the literary canon and redefine the immigrant experience through a distinctly female lens. Both novels share themes of generational conflict, fragmented identities, and the struggles of communication shaped by cultural and linguistic divides. While these works feature distinct cultural backgrounds, Chinese American and Cuban American respectively, the authors challenge patriarchal norms by privileging female voices and presenting nuanced portrayals of mother-daughter relationships. The analysis highlights shared literary techniques and thematic parallels, including identity …

The Changing Roles Of Elementary School Principals, Ernie Lozano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

The role of the elementary school principal has changed throughout its history. The role has shifted from primarily a managerial role to an instructional leadership role, to the more current role of a multi-faceted operational leader. Recent events, from the Covid-19 pandemic to highly publicized school shootings, has added additional responsibilities to the current role of the principal. The current high-stakes accountability to ensure all students are learning has also added an increased amount of pressure on elementary school principals. The ability to effectively manage both the operational and instructional roles has created stress and anxiety on elementary school principals. …

Breaching The Screen: A Digital Technofeminist Methodology For Virtual And Augmented Realities, Frank Macarthy

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation provides a methodological framework that seeks to further scholarly and pedagogical inquiry at the intersections of feminist rhetorical studies, digital rhetoric, and cultural studies. More specifically, drawing upon theories of technofeminism (relationships among technology and feminism) and cyberfeminism (relationships among the internet and feminism), this dissertation proposes a digital technofeminist methodology to study the complex relationships between virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies, bodies, and rhetoric. This framework aims to help digital rhetoric scholar-teachers to critically investigate digital technologies that blur the distinction between virtuality, material bodies, and realities.

Building on digital rhetoric and technofeminist scholarship, this dissertation …

I Am Not A Dictator; I Am A Defender: The Rhetoric Of Coup D’État In Francophone Africa, Isaac Asare Kwakye

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the rhetorical strategies used by coup leaders in Francophone Africa to authorize their actions and garner public support. Focusing on recent military takeovers in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger since 2020, I investigate how coup leaders construct narratives of legitimacy within the context of contemporary geopolitical dynamics. I utilize Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to analyze speeches by three key coup leaders: Colonel Assimi Goïta, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, and General Abdourahamane Tchiani. My analysis reveals four interconnected rhetorical frameworks: framing interventions as emergency measures, cultivating savior personas, weaponizing anti-colonial grievances, and deploying anti-corruption narratives. A comparative analysis of …

A New Theater For Age-Old Social Patterns: An Exploratory Study Of Interpersonal Dynamics And The Overlay Of Gender Within Ai Companionship, Miriam Wolff

Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) companions fundamentally shifts the landscape of interpersonal communication, introducing artificial entities as relational partners rather than mere facilitators of human-to-human interaction. This exploratory study examines the interplay of machine gendering, self-disclosure, perceived partner responsiveness (PPR), and interpersonal satisfaction within human-AI interactions. Participants engaged in conversations with gendered AI companions through the program Replika, completed structured surveys, and participated in qualitative interviews. Findings indicate that users' willingness to self-disclose was influenced by their perceptions of AI responsiveness, while gendered characteristics of AI significantly shaped user expectations and communication patterns. Specifically, users often attributed distinct personality …

Area Of Effect The History And Effects Of Linguistic Choices Made In The Final Fantasy Franchise, Camille Mcdermott

Theses and Dissertations

The Final Fantasy franchise, a seminal role-playing game (RPG) series, has captivated a global audience since its inception in 1987. This thesis, titled "Area of Effect: The History and Effects of Linguistic Choices Made in the Final Fantasy Franchise," explores the intricate use of language that has shaped the series' identity and influenced its worldwide fanbase. The linguistic landscape of Final Fantasy is as diverse and dynamic as its fantastical worlds, evolving from simple text boxes to fully voiced narratives. This study examines the historical context and evolving linguistic choices throughout the series, highlighting how these decisions enrich the gaming …

Experienscape And The Interior Environment: A Case Study At A Bar With Entertainment, Paige J. Hendrickson

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to understand what aspects of the interior environment at a bar with bowling affect customers’ willingness to return and word-of-mouth sharing. The dimensions of the experiencescape model were used to guide the research, focusing on sensory, functional, social, and hospitality culture. A mixed qualitative methods approach was used, combining observations, focus group interviews, and moment maps to investigate customer comfort, satisfaction, excitement, memorability, and the difference in one’s perception of their experience based on ethnicity. It was found that the unique atmosphere, price, staff, and diversity were the main reasons customers returned or shared …

The Swiping Desire: Intimacy, Libidinal Capitalism, And The Digital Subject In The Tinder Swindler, Chanif Ainun Naim

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

This article examines how dating applications operate as libidinal infrastructures that restructure and commodify intimacy within platform capitalism, using The Tinder Swindler as a cultural case study. Employing a visual-narrative approach within the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis, the film is analyzed to reveal the structural exploitation of user affect and desire. Grounded in Lacanian psychoanalysis and Baudrillard’s simulation theory, the study argues that these platforms capitalize on the subject’s ontological lack (manque) which fuels desire as the desire for the Other’s desire. This psychic lack sustains a perpetual pursuit of recognition that can never be fulfilled. The swindler’s hyper-curated …

The Adaptive Roles Framework: Trauma Adaptations And Identity Formation, Steffannie Roache

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Adaptive Roles Framework is a culturally grounded conceptual model that explains how individuals develop patterned behavioral, emotional, and relational strategies in response to family systems, culture, trauma exposure, and social environments. Rather than conceptualizing behavior through pathology or personality typology, the framework positions behavioral patterns as adaptive survival strategies, responses that increased safety, belonging, or stability within specific environments and were reinforced over time because they worked. The framework identifies seven adaptive roles observed consistently across individuals, families, workplaces, and communities: the Guardian, the Translator, the Assimilator, the Archive Keeper, the Time Jumper, the Intellectual Escape Artist, and the …

Empowering Women On Screen: Exploring The Influence Of Female Protagonists On Contemporary Culture And Gendered Enjoyment In Film, Fokiya Akhtar, Azmat Rasul

All Works

A prevalent notion in the film industry across the globe suggests that female-led films may underperform, leading producers to avoid casting women as leads. This fear of alienating male audiences perpetuates patriarchal ideologies, objectifies female bodies, reinforces gender stereotypes, and alters perceptions of femininity. Examining this perception, the present study investigated the impact of the gender of the protagonist on the audience preference, challenging the misconception that exists in the film industry globally that films starring females as protagonists are less commercially successful. The study conducted an online experiment of 434 participants who were assigned different movies starring male and …