Digital Commons Network^™

Salty: A Diffractive Inquiry Of Visceral Knowing And Embodied Aesthetics, Mei Ling Chua

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation takes a diffractive, onto-epistemological approach to everyday practices with salt in order to articulate an expanded understanding of meaning making and knowledge production. This research reckons with and challenges dominant modes of knowing that engage a Cartesian perspective to situate knowing as the exclusive domain of the mind in both form and topic of inquiry. This research acts simultaneously as both a direct practice of and metacognition about knowledge production by examining 1. the embodied (including sensory and emotional aspects) and 2. the relational (including interpersonal and socio-cultural) dimensions of experience as visceral knowing. This articulation of …

Naming Venus: An Exploration Of Goddesses, Heroines, And Famous Women, Kavya Beheraj

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Humans have been observing and romanticizing Venus for more than 5,000 years. However, mapping its surface has nearly always been impossible, since the planet is shrouded in thick clouds. A breakthrough came just fifty years ago with the invention of radar imaging, leading to the discovery (and naming) of hundreds of new features in a relatively short length of time.

The rapid naming of Venus is a case study on the impact of planetary nomenclature — the process of naming features on other worlds. While the act of naming streamlines communication and humanizes alien landscapes, it is subject to bias, …

Extremism In America: Explaining Variations In Ideologically Motivated Fatal Violence, Celinet Duran

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation uses data from the United States Extremist Crime Database (ECDB) to assess the nature of extremist violence between left-wing, far-right and al-Qaeda and associated movements (AQAM) inspired ideological fatal violence. It extends the empirical literature on extremist violence in three significant ways by: (1) expanding an existing database to provide a comparative component that is both timely and policy-relevant and conveys a more complete picture of the nature of domestic extremism in the U.S.; (2) systematically comparing extremist violence across the left-wing, far-right and AQAM ideologies to better assess the nuances of extremist violence; and (3) applying empirical …

Coming-Of-Age Of Teenage Female Arab Gothic Fiction: A Feminist Semiotic Study, Zoe Hurley, Zeina Hojeij

All Works

This feminist semiotic study explores the folkloric imaginary of the jinn in the context of children’s and young adults’ Arab Gothic literature. Across the Middle East, the jinn is a common trope in literature, folklore and oral storytelling who, in diegetic terms, can manifest as the Gothic figure of an aging female, deranged older woman or succubus (known as sa’lawwa in Arabic). In this study, a novel feminist semiotic framework is developed to explore the extent to which the Gothic female succubus either haunts or liberates Arab girls’ coming-of-age fictions. This issue is addressed via a feminist semiotic reading of …

Engineering A Microbiosphere To Clean Up The Ocean – Inspiration From The Plastisphere, Khulood A. Alnahdi, Laila W. Alali, Mezna K. Suwaidan, M. Kalim Akhtar

All Works

Plastic is a ubiquitous material that has become an essential part of our lives. More than one hundred million tons of plastic has accumulated in the world’s oceans as a result of poor waste management. This plastic waste gradually fragments into smaller pieces known as microplastics and nanoplastics. These small plastic particles can cause significant damage to marine ecosystems, and negatively impact human health. According to a recent review of international patents, the majority of ocean-cleaning inventions are limited to microplastics larger than 20 μm. Furthermore, such technologies are ineffective for nanoplastics, which measure less than 1000 nm, or even …

The Serial Effect, Kat Albrecht, Kaitlyn Filip

New Mexico Law Review

The “CSI Effect” theorizes that criminal juries can be unduly influenced by fictional crime dramas such that they demand a higher standard of forensic evidence than is available, or even possible to provide, in most criminal cases. The CSI Effect has a strong presence in the courtroom despite its narrow focus on forensic evidence and basis in fiction. This article explores a new media-induced effect that may prove to affect American juries even more insidiously: The Serial Effect. This article explores the rise of true crime podcasts and the legal cases featured within them through focus on Syed v. Maryland …

Multi-Ancestry Transcriptome-Wide Association Analyses Yield Insights Into Tobacco Use Biology And Drug Repurposing, Fang Chen, Lisa De Las Fuentes, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Most transcriptome-wide association studies (TWASs) so far focus on European ancestry and lack diversity. To overcome this limitation, we aggregated genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics, whole-genome sequences and expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) data from diverse ancestries. We developed a new approach, TESLA (multi-ancestry integrative study using an optimal linear combination of association statistics), to integrate an eQTL dataset with a multi-ancestry GWAS. By exploiting shared phenotypic effects between ancestries and accommodating potential effect heterogeneities, TESLA improves power over other TWAS methods. When applied to tobacco use phenotypes, TESLA identified 273 new genes, up to 55% more compared with …

Using Exterior Housing Conditions To Predict Elevated Pediatric Blood Lead Levels., Neal J Wilson, Elizabeth Friedman, Kevin Kennedy, Panayiotis T. Manolakos, Lori Reierson, Amy Roberts, Steve Simon

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Housing-based lead paint dust is the most common source of lead exposure for US-born children. Although year of housing construction is a critical indicator of the lead hazard to US children, not all housing of the same age poses the same risk to children. Additional information about housing condition is required to differentiate the housing-based lead risk at the parcel level. This study aimed to identify and assess a method for gathering and using observations of exterior housing conditions to identify active housing-based lead hazards at the parcel level. We used a dataset of pediatric blood lead observations (sample years …

Adoption Ouroboros: Repeating The Cycle Of Adoption As Rescue, Malinda L. Seymore

Faculty Scholarship

Ouroboros—the circular symbol of the snake eating its tail; an endless cycle. As the U.S. recently withdrew from Afghanistan in chaos and Russia invaded Ukraine, the attention of Americans turned, as it frequently has in times of international conflict, to the plight of children in need of rescue. For many Americans, rescue is synonymous with adoption. The history of international adoption began with rescues following America’s wars in Europe and Asia and continues today through other violent upheavals. International adoption is an ouroboros, repeating the pattern of adoption as a response to humanitarian crises. But as human and charitable as …

Establishing A Conditional Driver Permit In Texas, Luz E. Herrera, Taylor Garner, Crystal Hernandez, Lisa Mares

Faculty Scholarship

The article presents supporting data to expand access to state-issued driver permits for Texans who cannot provide the required documents to obtain a driver’s license. Part I examines the unlicensed and uninsured population in Texas that these efforts attempt to address. Part II discusses state jurisdiction to issue driver licenses and permits. It discusses existing Texas statutes that authorize the issuance of driver’s licenses and permits. The section also offers examples of other state statutes that have expanded their right to regulate driving privileges beyond Real ID Act requirements. Part III presents a partial economic analysis illustrating potential economic benefits …

Multi-Ancestry Transcriptome-Wide Association Analyses Yield Insights Into Tobacco Use Biology And Drug Repurposing, Fang Cheng, Xingyan Wang, Seon-Kyeong Jang, Bryan C. Quach, J. Dylan Weissenkampen, Chachrit Khunsriraksakul, Lina Yang, John Blangero, Joanne E. Curran, Ravindranath Duggirala, Juan M. Peralta

School of Medicine Publications

Most transcriptome-wide association studies (TWASs) so far focus on European ancestry and lack diversity. To overcome this limitation, we aggregated genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics, whole-genome sequences and expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) data from diverse ancestries. We developed a new approach, TESLA (multi-ancestry integrative study using an optimal linear combination of association statistics), to integrate an eQTL dataset with a multi-ancestry GWAS. By exploiting shared phenotypic effects between ancestries and accommodating potential effect heterogeneities, TESLA improves power over other TWAS methods. When applied to tobacco use phenotypes, TESLA identified 273 new genes, up to 55% more compared with …

David Versus Goliath: The Power Of Weakness In Asymmetric Warfare—Lessons From History, Nicholas K. Petaludis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Under what conditions do violent nonstate actors (VNA) succeed against states? Why does David sometimes beat Goliath? Since at least the time of Thucydides and the Peloponnesian Wars, the realist narrative in international relations measures power primarily in relative, coercive, and deterrent terms. Strong states should accordingly face fewer constraints and enjoy more options while pursuing their national interests. Unconventional warfare, and its subsets of terrorism and insurgency, should—given these circumstances, end in VNA failure. Sometimes, however, VNAs find success. By comparing the literature on historical and current case studies, I propose that a set of preconditions and two mechanisms …

Hands. Words. Mirrors. A Letter To My Mother., Iliana Emilia García

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

My capstone project is a memoir of my mother in a letter format, where I tell my mother the story she forgot, who she was, where we were, and where we’re headed. After my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2013, my focus on telling my family history shifted from research of the family to recovery. The loss of my mother's insight and recollections prompted a shift in the narrative. She, one of the main characters in my story, became my most important audience. In a photo album approach, I aim to rebuild what seems lost. I am keeping the …

Unlocking Potential: The School-To-Prison Pipeline For Students With Disabilities, Navena F. Chaitoo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This research uses quasi-experimental, matched sampling to examine the school-to-prison pipeline for students with disabilities using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. This study presents novel insights into an at-risk group that has faced disproportionate rates of school discipline and incarceration. The study finds school suspension to be associated with future involvement in the criminal legal system and lower educational attainment. Disability was not found to mediate the relationship between suspension and future involvement in the criminal legal system or the relationship between suspension and academic outcomes. However, disability was found to be a statistically …

Chromatic Dissensus: An Otherwise Archive Of Natural Dyes, 1700–1856, Luke Church

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Chromatic Dissensus: An Otherwise Archive of Natural Dyes, 1750-1856 works from the premise that the absences regarding subaltern life structuring the colonial archive are an epistemological problem—that is, navigating the colonial archive requires an interrogation of the parameters and practices of knowledge formation. Building from recent scholarship in early American studies which details how eighteenth-century colonial knowledge developed out of an epistemic entanglement between British colonists, diasporic Africans, and indigenous Americans, my dissertation queries the overdetermination of colonial knowledge and subsequent occlusion of alternative parameters for knowing. Enlisting aesthetics, in its broad definition as the theorization of sense making, my …

Mediated Locality: Assembling The Independent Music Scene In Brooklyn, New York, Frank Meegan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation investigates how independent musicians, concert organizers, and other scene participants in Brooklyn, New York use digital technology and new media in their artistic practice. It is based on three years of participant observation in Brooklyn from 2016 to 2019, where I attended events at small venues like bars and DIY spaces, and interviewed musicians, concert organizers, independent label runners, and other scene participants. I also observed the online activity of musicians and organizers on public Facebook, Instagram, and Bandcamp pages. I argue that Brooklyn independent musicians use digital media, and are themselves mediated, as their activities at physical …

John Singer Sargent In Spain: Eluding The Stereotype, Cristina Domenech

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The aim of this thesis is to present John Singer Sargent's unique vision of Spain as well as to analyze this part of his work through the use of methodologies such as Orientalism and Spanish cultural studies, an approach that has not been undertaken to date.

The thesis intends to demonstrate that Sargent's early paintings -along with those of his American counterparts who traveled to Paris- were strongly motivated by the prevailing cultural orientalism of the moment in France, one of those extensions being the so called españolismo that exacerbated the most stereotyped dimensions of Spanish history and culture.

Undoubtedly, …

The Anatomy Of A Migration Policy: An Institutional Analysis Of India’S Migration Policy From The Nineteenth Century To The Present, Ashwin Kumar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study looks at the institutional evolution of emigration governance in India from the nineteenth century to the present. Building from Agarwala’s (2022) “Migration Development Regime” framework of emigration governance based on class, I extend it to an analysis of emigration institutions through an archival study of emigration legislation in India. Using a historical-institutionalist framework, I find that legislation and the creation of emigration institutions in the country have roughly followed the migration development regime eras put forward by Agarwala, but in a lagged manner due to political expediency and institutional stickiness based on path dependence. I deviate slightly in …

Quantifying Wheat Blast Disease Induced Yield And Production Losses Of Wheat: A Quasi-Natural Experiment, Khondoker Abdul Mottaleb, David P. Hodson, Timothy J. Krupnik, Kai Sonder

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

Applying the difference-in-difference (DID) estimation procedure, this study quantifies the wheat blast (Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum) induced losses in wheat yield, quantity of wheat sold, consumed, or stored, as well as wheat grain value in Bangladesh in 2016 following a disease outbreak that affected over 15,000 ha. Estimates show that the blast-induced yield loss was 540 kg ha⁻¹ on average for households in blast-affected districts. Estimated total wheat production loss was approximately 8,205 tons worth USD 2.1 million in during the 2016 outbreak. Based on these insights, we discuss the need for long-term assured investment and concerted research …

Gender Inequality Against Women Fishers In Indonesia, Ani Purwanti, Dyah Wijaningsih, Muh. Afif Mahfud, Aga Natalis

Indonesia Law Review

This study explores whether or not Law No. 7 of 2016 for the Protection and Empowerment of Fishermen, Fish Cultivators, and Salt Farmers discriminates against women. This law supports small fishermen since it requires the government to provide them with financial stability through harvest season output guarantees. On the other hand, we discovered that Law No. 7 of 2016, about the Protection and Empowerment of Fishermen, Fish Cultivators, and Salt Farmers, has discriminatory consequences damaging the welfare of female fishermen. Because of sociological and cultural bias, female fishermen are the most neglected segment in the fishing sector. This is in …

Struck By Lightning:The Continuing Arbitrariness Of The Death Penaltythirty-Five Years After Its Re-Instatement In 1976a Report Of The Death Penalty Information Center, Richard C. Dieter

Ohio Northern University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reassessing Long-Accepted Truths About Justice John Mclean:His Secret Of Success, Paul Brickner

Ohio Northern University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Challenges Of Documenting Historic Water Systems Integrating Open-Source Water Data With Archaeological Datasets In Utah, Anna S. Cohen, Molly Boeka Cannon, Kelly N. Jimenez

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Geospatial research in archaeology often relies on datasets previously collected by other archaeologists or third-party groups, such as state or federal government entities. This article discusses our work with geospatial datasets for identifying, documenting, and evaluating prehistoric and historic water features in the western United States. As part of a project on water heritage and long-term views on water management, our research has involved aggregating spatial data from an array of open access and semi-open access sources. Here, we consider the challenges of working with such datasets, including outdated or disorganized information, and fragmentary data. Based on our experiences, we …

The Relationship Between Ethnochemistry Learning Experience And Cognitive Learning Outcomesbased On Gender, Dwi Wahyudiati

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

This study analyzes the relationship between ethnochemistry learning experiences and students’ cognitive learning outcomes based on gender perspective. This quantitative study adopted the survey design. The sample of 60 people (40 women and 20 men) was determined through cluster random sampling. An ethnochemistry-based learning experience questionnaire and student cognitive learning outcomes tests were utilized to collect the data. The collected data were then analyzed by multiple regression test with a significance level of .05. The conclusion drawn based on the results were; 1) the cognitive learning outcomes of chemistry students are higher than the ethnochemistry-based learning experience, and 2) there …

Perceiving Critical Infrastructure With A New Awareness Of Cyber Risk, Duncad Card

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

North America’s critical infrastructure has been the subject of cyber-attack, in various cycles of activity, for many years. In March of 2017, a cyber-attack caused periodic ‘‘blind-spots” for electricity distribution grid operators in the Western US for about 10 dangerous hours. In May of this year, there was panic at the gas pumps across many States in southeastern United States, which has been attributed to a cyber-attack on a major US pipeline that disrupted fuel supplies to the US East coast. US Commerce Secretary Raimondo soon after that attack announced that those sorts of attacks are becoming more frequent and …

The Construction Of Third Space In Elif Shafak’S Two Novels, Nurul Hanun Asyifa, Bastian Zulyeno

International Review of Humanities Studies

This article analyzes how public spaces—in the forms of two cafes and a tavern—are constructed as a third space in Elif Shafak's two novels, “The Bastard of Istanbul” (2008) and “The Island of Missing Trees” (2021). This research is a qualitative study with an approach in spatiality. The theory used in this study is the theory of Thirdspace by Edward Soja. The results of the study indicate that as the representation of the third space, the two cafes and a tavern in Shafak's two novels promote resistance to the conflicts and their impacts on the two conflicting groups, as well …

Ecological Imperialism In Yvonne Owuor Dust Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong'o’S Petals Of Blood, Eguvwebere Adanma Anthonia

International Review of Humanities Studies

Modern African Literature grew out of the need for re-identification and reevaluation of the African cultural heritage. Despite that, colonialism and its legacies continue to have a powerful and lasting impact in Africa. Using two literary texts from East Africa, Kenya, reflecting post-colonial and neo-colonial eras, this study examines the validity of the continuation of Ecological Imperialism in Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's Petals of Blood (1977) and Owuor Yvonne Adhiambo's Dust (2013). An analytical appraisal of the texts reveals that the post/neocolonial nation-state, far from embodying the new hope of the masses, is a replica of the colonial master's political system …

Review: Events Special Interest Group Track At The Atlas Annual Conference 2022, Enya Moore Dr.

Articles

The 2022 Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research (ATLAS) Annual Conference took place on the Munster Technological University campus in Cork, Ireland, 6^th – 9^th September 2022. The theme of the conference ‘What matters now to the global tourist?’ raised pertinent questions about the challenges facing the tourism and leisure industries and education since the onset of the global pandemic. This review focuses on a series of papers from the Events Special Interest Group which covered themes such as solidarity, community, festivals, placemaking and digitisation.

The research activities conducted for this publication were funded by the …

Amplifying Local Leadership: A Twitter Analysis Of Indonesian Responses To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Bevaola Kusumasari, Fadhli Zul Fauzi, Anang Dwi Santoso

BISNIS & BIROKRASI: Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi

Social media has altered emergency communication between local governments and citizens. Studies on social media and natural disasters are expanding. Few studies have explored the crisis of social media use among local government officials. This study investigated how Indonesian leaders use social media. It used data scraping techniques with the Twitter API and the http://tweepy.readthedocs.io/en/v3.5.0/api.html#tweepy-api-twitter-api-wrapper library to collect tweets from each governor's account in Bahasa, Indonesia, between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020. The collected data were stored in a MySQL database to facilitate manual analysis and converted to text format. The data were manually labeled using a three-step …

“Narimo Ing Pandum”: How Highlander Women Perceive Poverty As A Destiny In Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, Wasisto Raharjo Jati

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

The Javanese proverb “narimo ing pandum”exemplifies a belief among poor people to accept their impoverishment as the Divine will of God. This belief, however, has the adverse effect of habituating people to accept poverty. Such perception is conditioned, among others, by the availability of state-provided social aid as well as family or community support, which has helped the poor to stay afloat in moments of crises. In a patriarchal society, poverty poses even more risks and challenges for women, who are often conditioned to be reliant on men to survive. As such, poor women are likely required to find …