Digital Commons Network^™

Asian-American Literature And The Family Saga: Cyclical Histories Of Racial Melancholia And Racial Dissociation, Molly Schwarz

Dissertations and Theses

This paper analyzes the novels The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, and Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig and argues how the family saga within Asian American literature draws out elements of the diaspora to best share histories across different ethnic and racial groups. There is a brief overview of the development of Asian-American literature and an explanation of how hyphenated identity is intrinsic to diasporic literatures, and then further discussion of how each of these novels contributes to the legacies of Asian-American writing and storytelling. Then, each novel is analyzed for how the various family saga …

Cosmopolitanism Now: Fragmented Belonging, Adriana Fischetti

Dissertations and Theses

Abstract

This thesis reconceptualizes cosmopolitanism for the contemporary moment as fragmented belonging, critiquing and moving beyond traditional cosmopolitan frameworks grounded in universal reason, seamless integration, or coherent identity. Through close readings of Teju Cole’s Open City and Tremor, and Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Exit West, this study argues that cosmopolitanism today emerges explicitly from rupture, contradiction, and ethical struggle, shaped fundamentally by conditions of displacement, empire, surveillance, and global capitalism. Engaging critical theorists such as Kwame Anthony Appiah, Homi Bhabha, Pheng Cheah, and Roland Barthes, the thesis identifies fragmented belonging as an ethically charged response to …

The Sand Creek Massacre And The History Of Greater Reconstruction In The American West, Anna E. Plotnick

Dissertations and Theses

In the traditional U.S. historical narrative, the Civil War & Reconstruction era is a North vs. South story. Nevertheless, the era of western expansion, a central theme throughout the nineteenth century, has no contingent place within this traditional narrative. Meanwhile, the history of the American West and its diverse peoples appears in many textbooks as an unrelated albeit contemporaneous narrative. Separated by geographical regions, historians often do not examine these concurrent histories. However, many of these historical events and actors were interconnected. As I am interested in understanding the Reconstruction era’s national impact, I intend to explore how Reconstruction policies …

Isolating Confounding Abiotic And Biotic Effects On The Phenotype On Physa Acuta Snails, Ashley M. Bauer

Theses and Dissertations

Organisms match their phenotypes to prevailing environmental conditions leading to habitat specific polymorphisms. Polymorphisms arise from genetic divergence, phenotypic plasticity, or a combination of both processes. I examined the presence of habitat-specific polymorphism in Physa acuta snails collected from three streams and their corresponding downstream reservoir. In lotic systems shells were rotund with larger apertures, while those from lentic systems were more elongate with smaller apertures. In a reciprocal transplant lab experiment that crossed flow regime and crayfish predator cues, I tested for the underlying mechanisms responsible for the observed phenotypic differences. I found no evidence for plasticity in relation …

Rural Realities Unveiled: Non-Certified Teachers’ Experiences And Perceptions Of Scripted Literacy Curriculum In K-5 Classrooms, Amillia Woolfork

Theses and Dissertations

The persistent shortage of certified teachers in rural school districts has led to an increased reliance on non-certified teachers NCTs to deliver literacy instruction. To support these educators, many districts have implemented scripted curricula, which provide structured lessons and instructional materials. However, limited research exists on the experiences of NCTs using scripted curricula and their impact on their teaching practices and self-efficacy. This qualitative exploratory case study examines the perceptions and lived experiences of non-certified literacy teachers in rural elementary schools who utilize scripted curricula. Guided by Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory and Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory, this study examined how NCTs …

Examining Healthcare Access Disparities: Social Determinants And Patient Experiences At Valley Healthcare, Mikaila Larmond

Theses and Dissertations

Persistent disparities in healthcare access continued to affect low-income, rural, and underserved populations across the United States. This capstone project explored these disparities within Valley HealthCare, a regional provider in Columbus, Georgia, by examining how social determinants such as income, education, geography, and transportation shaped healthcare engagement among adult patients. A mixed-methods case study design was used to analyze survey data, patient satisfaction feedback, and organizational reports from a sample of 80 adult patients between January and March 2025.

The results showed that patients residing in lower-income or geographically isolated areas reported significantly higher rates of missed appointments. Individuals with …

Exploring Advancement Department Staff Perspectives On Strategic Communication And Philanthropic Donor Giving At Public Universities, Miranda Hodges

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated advancement staff perspectives on how donor communication impacts philanthropic giving at higher education institutions. The purpose of this study was to identify the communication practices that are most influential for philanthropic donor giving. While prior research has examined university marketing efforts, why alumni give back, and how affinity for a university compels donors to give, there is a research gap in how strategic communication impacts donor behavior at public universities. Eight university advancement staff members (N=8) from public universities across the Southeast United States were selected through purposive sampling and interviewed via semi-structured interviews. After interviews, …

The Liminal South : Explorations Of Black Time, Space, And Memory, Kennedy Buckner

Theses and Dissertations

This project is composed of two analytical essays and a three-dimensional art exhibition that tangibly extract and display the ways I view the U.S. American south and my interactions with it. Inspired by the narrative photography of Carrie Mae Weems and her “Kitchen Table Series,” the project focuses on multiple generations of my own family in order to document my family's experiences in the south while theorizing how our experiences provide greater historical understanding of southern black communities over time. The first essay theorizes time, space, and memory in Toni Morrison's narrative novel Song of Solomon, with a focus on …

Investigating Dis/Ability In Early Childhood Education, Hannah Caldwell

Social Justice and Community Engagement Major Research Papers

No abstract provided.

The Sword, The Purse, And The Pen: The Constitutional Conundrum Of Impoundment, William N. Chance

CMC Senior Theses

This Thesis explores the constitutional conundrum of executive impoundment, the practice by which the President of the United States withholds or delays the expenditure of funds appropriated by Congress. Although impoundment has deep historical roots dating back to the Constitution’s Framers, its modern use raises profound questions regarding our separation of powers. This Thesis establishes a functional framework that distinguishes between “routine” impoundments, which promote administrative efficiency, and “policy” impoundments, which may undermine congressional intent. Furthermore, after tracing the development of impoundment from the early Republic through the Nixon Administration and the passage of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, …

Preferences For Enhanced Seasonal Weather And Climate Services Among Maize Farmers In Zimbabwe: A Choice Experiment Analysis, Joseph Manzvera, Kwabena \ Asomanin Anaman, Akwasi Mensah-Bonsu, Alfred Barimah

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Using a discrete choice experiment, this article analyzed maize farmers' stated preferences for seasonal weather forecast attributes in Zimbabwe. Specifically, the study assessed the most preferred attributes of modern seasonal weather forecasts to guide investment priorities. The mixed logit model, which accounts for taste heterogeneity, was employed to analyze the data. The results show that maize farmers place positive utility on downscaling forecasts to the village level, bundling with agronomic advisory information, and a long lead time of 6 months ahead of the onset of the rainy season. Farmers are willing to pay 1.40 United States dollars (US$) for downscaling …

Essential Caretaking For Artists With Disabilities: Exploring The Overlooked Histories Of Hazel Knapp And Grandma Moses, Bryan P. Martin

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the intersection of disability studies and art history, addressing the underrepresentation of disability in scholarship, especially concerning medical sociology and caretaking. Focusing on two early-twentieth-century self-taught American artists, Hazel Knapp (1908–95), who fell into obscurity, and Anna Mary Robertson Moses (1860–1961), best known as Grandma Moses, this is a comparative analysis of how disability influenced their artistic practices and shaped their divergent career outcomes. Knapp was born with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a neurodegenerative disorder, and fell into obscurity due to a lack of support for her condition, but experienced a promising start to her career that included patronage …

A Scoping Review Of The Social Determinants Of Pediatric And Adolescent Obesity, Deepali K Ernest, Elizabeth A Onugha, Bipin Singh, Shreela V Sharma, Jayna M Dave

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Context: Social determinants of health (SDOH) play a large role in pediatric and adolescent metabolic health worldwide.

Objective: The study is aimed at exploring key SDOH related to childhood obesity, worldwide.

Methods: Primary research articles from PubMed, Embase, and Medline databases published between 2013 and 2023, had a study population of 0-19-year-olds, and examined the association between WHO-defined SDOH and childhood obesity were included. Non-English papers and those outside WHO-defined SDOHs were excluded. Two reviewers independently performed a blinded screening of titles and abstracts, followed by a full-text assessment of selected articles.

Results: Of the 703 initial articles, 22 duplicates …

General Kernel Machine Methods For Multi-Omics Integration And Genome-Wide Association Testing With Related Individuals, Amarise Little, Ni Zhao, Anna Mikhaylova, Angela Zhang, Wodan Ling, Florian Thibord, Andrew D Johnson, Laura M Raffield, Joanne E Curran, John Blangero, Jeffrey R O'Connell, Huichun Xu, Jerome I Rotter, Stephen S Rich, Kenneth M Rice, Ming-Huei Chen, Alexander Reiner, Charles Kooperberg, Thao Vu, Lifang Hou, Myriam Fornage, Ruth J F Loos, Eimear Kenny, Rasika Mathias, Lewis Becker, Albert V Smith, Eric Boerwinkle, Bing Yu, Timothy Thornton, Michael C Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Integrating multi-omics data may help researchers understand the genetic underpinnings of complex traits and diseases. However, the best ways to integrate multi-omics data and use them to address pressing scientific questions remain a challenge. One important and topical problem is how to assess the aggregate effect of multiple genomic data types (e.g. genotypes and gene expression levels) on a phenotype, particularly while accommodating routine issues, such as having related subjects' data in analyses. In this paper, we extend an existing composite kernel machine regression model to integrate two multi-omics data types, while accommodating for general correlation structures amongst outcomes. Due …

Wolbanking77: Wolof Banking Speech Intent Classification Dataset, Abdou Karim Kandji, Frédéric Precioso, Cheikh Ba, Samba Ndiaye, Augustin Ndione

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Intent classification models have made a significant progress in recent years. However, previous studies primarily focus on high-resource language datasets, which results in a gap for low-resource languages and for regions with high rates of illiteracy, where languages are more spoken than read or written. This is the case in Senegal, for example, where Wolof is spoken by around 90% of the population, while the national illiteracy rate remains at of 42%. Wolof is actually spoken by more than 10 million people in West African region. To address these limitations, we introduce the Wolof Banking Speech Intent Classification Dataset (WolBanking77), …

Effect Of Malt Barley Cluster Farming On Food Security In Amhara Region, Ethiopia, Betelhem Tsedalu Adane, Irene Susan Egyir, Ama Asantewah Ahene-Codjoe, Taeyoon Kim

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Cluster farming is the practice of merging neighbouring farms into a unified production unit to grow specific crops collaboratively. This is a promising method to enhance food security by improving agricultural productivity through coordinated resource use and enabling access to inputs, technologies, and markets. Despite this benefit, no empirical studies have examined how malt barley cluster farming affects smallholder farmers’ food security. This study adopts descriptive and econometric analysis, including the endogenous switching regression model (ESRM) and control function approach to account for selection bias and endogeneity in estimating the causal effect of malt barley cluster farming. Cross-sectional data were …

Family Foreign Language Education Planning Research In China : Key Issues And Future Directions, Hao Xu

PASAA

No abstract provided.

A Closer Look At 4c Skills Integration In English For Nursing Textbooks : A Content Analysis Approach, Fitri Handayani, M. Zaim, Havid Ardi

PASAA

No abstract provided.

English Textbooks In The Modern World : Cultural Representation In An Efl Textbook From Vietnam, Khoi Tan Minh Vuong, Wannapa Trakulkasemsuk

PASAA

No abstract provided.

Conceptualizing Foreign Language Speaking Mindset Of Undergraduate Students In An Efl Context, Nobphawan Sukklang, Jeffrey Dawala Wilang

PASAA

No abstract provided.

Integrating Corpus-Based Methods To Determine Grammatical Topics For Teaching English Writing In The Thai Context, Raymund T. Palayon, Yenying Chongchit

PASAA

No abstract provided.

Indonesian Students’ Perceived Usefulness Of The Integration Of Ted Talks For English Language Learning : The Technology Acceptance Model (Tam) Framework, Nurul Aini, Yazid Basthomi, Nunung Suryati, Iwan Kurniarahman

PASAA

No abstract provided.

Exploration Of The Effects Of Sharing Critical Incidents On Tertiary Level Efl Learners’ Learning And Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Duygu İşpınar Akçayoğlu

PASAA

No abstract provided.

Pronunciation : The Big Picture, Donna M. Brinton

PASAA

No abstract provided.

English Language Teaching In The Modern Globalized World : Thai L2 Learnersʼ Views On Global Englishes, Apaporn Puchpan, Krich Rajprasit

PASAA

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Linguistic And Logical-Mathematical Intelligences On An Efl Reading Comprehension, Silvi Listia Dewi, Misnar Misnar, Burhanuddin Yasin, Faisal Mustafa, Omar Khalifa Burhan

PASAA

No abstract provided.

A Vocabulary Profile Analysis Of English Reading Tests In A Thai University Context, Jidapa Chantharasombat

PASAA

No abstract provided.

A Baking Verb List : A Corpus-Based Study Of International Bakery And Pastry Recipes, Woravit Kitjaroenpaiboon, Sirote Pholpuntin, Sukhum Chaleysub, Samniang Fahkrajang, Prissana Fongsrun, Niphatchanok Najpinij, Chanchana Siripanwattana

PASAA

No abstract provided.

Adopting Self-Regulated Learning In Writing Instruction Viewed From The Lens Of Activity Theory, Candradewi Wahyu Anggraeni, Januarius Mujiyanto, Katharina Rustipa, Widhiyanto -

PASAA

No abstract provided.

Efl Vocational Classroom Teacher’S Emotion-Regulation Strategies And Emotional Well-Being In Technology Application : A Narrative Inquiry, Dewi Nur Suci, Yazid Basthomi, Bambang Yudi Cahyono, Mirjam Anugerahwati

PASAA

No abstract provided.