Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of School-Based Education Program On Body Image In Middle School Students, Elizabeth Hendon

Honors Theses

Body dissatisfaction is an emerging public health concern and carries significant health-related consequences. These implications encompass mental health challenges, eating disorders, unhealthy weight management practices, adverse effects on self-esteem, and potential physical health consequences. Because adolescence is a critical period for healthy body image development due to age-related transitions occurring at this time, it is essential to implement an education program to promote positive body image. Educational programs focused on protective factors designed to enhance self-compassion can potentially improve body image, eating attitudes, and body satisfaction. School-based body image education programs aim to provide adolescents with the knowledge, skills, and …

Empowerment Or Entrapment? A Critical Analysis Of Microfinance Operations Among Female Borrowers In Kitui County, Kenya, Eric Kioko Musembi

Theses - ALL

“Empowerment or Entrapment? A Critical Analysis of Microfinance Operations among Female Borrowers in Kitui County, Kenya” is a research project that aims to understand the dynamics of microfinance loan expectations and their implications for women. For this study, one cannot help but borrow or get insights from those who have written about the culture of Africa. To a greater extent, they all touch on the anthropological aspect of Africa. I use anthropological/ cultural theoretical perspectives, political economy, and Afro-feminism as my leading theories. I hypothesize that where women are typically engaged in heavy domestic chores and are undervalued and under-compensated …

Mental Health Problems Of The Firstborn Children In China, Jianye Zou

Theses - ALL

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the negative psychological impact that first-born children experience when facing the impending arrival of younger siblings in their families and the factors of these problems in China. In addition, this thesis helps the children prepare for the process of fitting in the new family structure via relevant artworks. Based on the unique situation, such as the only-child policy and culture of Chinese society, this thesis analyzes the factors affecting first-born children during the transition from being an only child to having siblings during the arrival of a second child within the family. …

Public Lands And Capitalism: The Case Of The Adirondack Park, Weston (Trent) Fenner

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation examines the tensions that surround land management in the Adirondack Park of New York State (NYS), while paying special attention to how the market intrudes into these conflicts. To look at these tensions, this project explores contests over the regulation of public and private land, conflicts over how wilderness is imagined and managed, and the controversies that flow from efforts to alleviate high-use problems in the Adirondack Park. These contests are the basis of the following research questions which reveal the impact of land management conflict in the Adirondack Park, and expose how the market influences park management …

Behind The Social Media Veil: Exploring The Impact Of Real-World Bias On Transition Probability Inference, Ben Harwood

Dissertations - ALL

This thesis seeks to determine how the probabilistic dynamics of belief can be estimated. More specifically, it explores how effectively those dynamics can be estimated while accounting for the different nuances that arise from social media data in the framework of belief dynamics. Belief dynamics, a sub-discipline of computational social science dating back to 1964, explores the evolution of individual and group beliefs over time. Belief dynamics research delves into facets such as convergence to shared belief, belief interdependence, and clustering. However, there has been a long-standing wall preventing major progress in fully understanding belief dynamics: available data. Social media …

Beyond The Brush: How Women Artists Navigate Communication And Creativity Amidst The Rise Of Ai, Carrie Welch

Theses - ALL

Women artists who use physical paints, canvases, charcoal, and pencils to create their work represent a marginalized group in the art world who may be perceived as distanced or removed from artificial intelligence (AI). While AI, art, feminist aesthetics, and media representation are each areas of rich research, they have not yet been brought together. As art itself is reconsidered alongside the rise of AI, this study conducted 20 in-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews with women artists to understand the implications of choosing to incorporate AI into their work, changes to their artistic processes, adjustments to their communications about their work, …

Sociocultural Behaviors That Affect How Haitian Americans Seek Financial Information, Rebecca Charles Williams

Dissertations - ALL

Sociocultural behaviors related to information-seeking are common among Haitians, where a line firmly separates the roles of adults and children. This study assessed how the children of Haitian immigrants sought information about financial literacy despite sociocultural behaviors that restrict financial conversations between adults and children. Utilizing Reijo Savolainen’s study of six sociocultural barriers to information-seeking, this mixed methods study explored whether cultural behaviors affected the financial literacy of Haitian Americans. Data was aggregated from a combination of survey responses and semi-structured interviews. The demographic (n=131) was limited to the Millennial and Generation Z children of Haitian immigrants. Participants reported how …

Cuban Migration To Syracuse, Ny: "Los Comunicados" And The Evolution Of Social Networks And Cuban Identities, Erika Carter Grosso

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation investigates the phenomenon of Cuban migration and highlights the critical role that social networks play in facilitating the process of emigration, settlement, and the formation of new identities for Cuban migrants in Syracuse. With a focus on the most recent waves of Cuban migrants, the study explores how social networks have become integral in shaping the migration experiences of these new Cubans, enabling them to navigate the challenges and opportunities associated with emigrating and settling in Syracuse, NY, a non-gateway city. This research employs a qualitative approach, drawing on in-depth interviews of twenty-five participants, participant observations, and analysis …

Proposals To Address Health Disparities In Occupational Therapy, Madison Michelle Cotten

Honors Theses

Health disparities, “preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health,” are infamous for their effects within both general healthcare and occupational therapy settings (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2008). Though existing literature establishes a need for the widespread adoption of anti-discrimination measures, specific recommendations for occupational therapy schools remain limited. This project aims to remedy this gap in knowledge by serving as an initial overview of healthcare disparities within occupational therapy and by addressing the potential value of incorporating diversity courses into the curriculum of occupational therapy schools. Through the presentation …

Queering The Nation Or Nationalizing Queerness?: How Lgb-Identified Soldiers Experience Belonging And Service Post-Dadt, Aaron Blasyak

Dissertations - ALL

At the core of this dissertation project lies the question: What forms of belonging and inclusions are made possible through liberal shifts in the laws governing the institutional contexts of sexual minorities? To answer this question, I draw upon 22 in-depth interviews with gay, lesbian, and bisexual (LGB) soldiers about their experiences of serving after the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). More specifically, this dissertation focuses on three broad research questions to address these issues. First, I ask: What are the experiences of inclusion and acceptance of LGB-identified soldiers within the context of military service? How might these …

Researching Emotional Experiences As Discursive Elements – A Suggested Qualitative Method, Magnus Danielson

The Qualitative Report

As scholars in the fields of political science, media research, and social psychology endeavor to understand crucial aspects of emotionality in the media, there is a growing need to methodologically address the communicative and discursive aspects of affective constructions in media texts. This article argues that by breaking down mediated emotional experiences represented through language in a set of identifiable elements, such as subject, emotion type, valence, intensity, proposed action, and object, those experiences could be used as workable and potent units of analysis when studying discursive and ideological media constructs of emotionality. By connecting insights from emotion science, the …

Factors Influencing Fans To Attend Matches Amid Pandemic: Exploring The Role Of Trio Of Team Affiliation, Sportscape, And Team Quality, Shani Bashiru, Ahmed Jamal Iddrisu, Cyracus B. Bapuuroh, George Anane Takyi, Alhassan Bunyaminu, Zakari Bukari

The Qualitative Report

Football is a sport that has attracted global attention. Individuals who attend competitive football associate with teams and athletes to a point where they become ardent attendees. Post-pandemic, fans have returned in droves to watch live matches at stadiums following the relaxation of strict observance of safety protocols. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine the factors that prompt fans to attend matches during games by focusing on three main factors including team affiliation, sportscape and star players. We used a qualitative phenomenological approach to obtain deeper comprehension regarding factors that influence fans to crowd at stadiums to …

Navigating The Dialogic Tensions And Self-Contradictions As A Bilingual Researcher, Eun Young Yeom

The Qualitative Report

This autoethnography delineates how, I, as a bilingual researcher proficient in Korean and English, negotiated the tensions between conforming to English-only academic writing norms for survival in academia and embracing translingual writing practices during the composition of my dissertation. Based on the salient themes and repeating experiences that I penned in analytic memos, field notes and diaries, I meticulously rearranged the thoughts and emotions, weaving them into stream-of-consciousness-style narratives. Through this method, I aimed to vividly portray the inevitable tensions that might be experienced by numerous bilingual researchers speaking English as a second language. This autoethnography particularly portrays the troubles …

A Foray Into Love: Feminism In The Romance Novel, Kiersten Holland

Honors College Theses

In this paper, I am examining the relationship between the waves of feminism and the evolution of the romance novel, by focusing on themes of sexual identity, financial independence, societal roles, and free thought within the text. The romance genre is overlooked and underestimated, despite it being one of the largest and best-selling genres in publishing, because of its inherent relationship with women. By analyzing it, I hope to educate people about the genre, as well as highlight the key parts of its importance to women’s rights and the feminist movement. By doing a close reading of novels ranging from …

University Of Minnesota Morris 2024 Commencement, Communications And Marketing

UMM Commencement

The University of Minnesota Morris's sixty-first commencement, Saturday, May 11, 2024, 1:30 PM.

Evaluating Student Success On The National Board Dental Hygiene Examination At A Midwest University, Stacey Mckinney

Ed.D. Capstone Reports

The purpose of the study is to determine if preparatory measures, including the HESI exit examination and an on-campus board review course, helped increase first time pass rates on the NBDHE at a Midwest University. I compared national pass rates and school pass rates and observed school pass rates have been consistently below the national average for seven years. I utilized four cohorts of graduating students. One group was not provided with any preparatory measures, two groups were provided with the HESI examination only, and one group was provided with the HESI examination and an on-campus board review.

Student’s HESI …

No. 20: Informal Cross-Border Traders And Food Trade During The Pandemic In Zimbabwe, Abel Chikanda

Migration and Food Security (MiFOOD) Network

The collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy in the 2000s resulted in the country relying largely on food imports from other countries, especially from South Africa. Informal cross-border traders have become crucial players in the country’s food economy, playing an important role in the importation of food as well as its retail across the country. Cross-border trading also provides employment opportunities to a large number of people in the country, especially women in an environment of depressed economic opportunities. The paper first uses data from a survey conducted by the Southern African Migration Program (SAMP) in 1997, 2007 and 2014 to document …

No. 19: Covid-19, Food Insecurity And South Sudanese Urban Refugees In Nairobi And Nakuru, Kenya, Cherie Enns, Samuel Owuor, Abbey Lin, Natasha Knebelow, Jacqueline Fanta, Cobby Achieng, William Kolong, Kristin Swardh

Migration and Food Security (MiFOOD) Network

The challenges and struggles of refugees are well documented, mainly within refugee camps. However, more needs to be documented and understood about the exertions and hardships of urban refugees, including the experiences of young South Sudanese urban refugees living in Kenya. Although Kenya is one of the major countries that hosts refugees from South Sudan, it has adopted disparate policies for refugees in camp settings and those outside the camps. This divergent approach placed urban South Sudanese refugee youth in highly precarious circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rampant food insecurity for refugee youth was one of the key negative consequences. …

2024 Commencement Program - Spring, Morehead State University. Registrar's Office.

Morehead State Commencement Programs

2024 Spring Commencement program for Morehead State University.

Fifty-Eighth Commencement (Undergraduate), Sacred Heart University

Commencement Programs

Program for undergraduate ceremonies, May 11, 2024.

Unified In Christ, David Morris

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

Statement of the Question/Problem

The United Methodist Church is facing a season of incredible struggle. The modern American United Methodist Church is facing a crisis of Division during this season of disaffiliation and restructuring. Division within church is not a new phenomenon. In fact, it is not new in the Methodist tradition. This repeating cycle of denominational fracture begs the question, “why does division in the church happen, and how can we avoid it in the future?” Currently the United Methodist Church is dividing supposedly over the issue of human sexuality. I would argue these divisions do not solely rely …

University Of Mississippi 171st Commencement, 2024, University Of Mississippi, Glenn F. Boyce, Noel E. Wilkin, Wright Thompson

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

More Than A Punchline: A Comparative Analysis Of Diversity In Dropout.Tv & Collegehumor, Alexander Gluchowski

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This paper examines the evolution of digital comedy through a comparative analysis of CollegeHumor and its offshoot, Dropout.tv, focusing on how each platform has approached the portrayal of diversity and inclusion. Utilizing a qualitative content analysis, the study contrasts selected episodes from both platforms to explore shifts in the representation of queer and POC comedians, and the thematic treatment of identity issues. The findings reveal that Dropout.tv significantly advances the inclusivity of comedic content, moving beyond CollegeHumor’s earlier reliance on stereotypical and controversial humor. This shift not only reflects changes in contemporary comedy but also highlights Dropout.tv's commitment to fostering …

Systemic Racism Transformed To Shalom Justice., Bobby West

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

ABSTRACT

April 27, 2024

SYSTEMIC RACISM TRANSFORMED TO SHALOM JUSTICE

This study examines the pervasive culture of systemic racism in the church and non-church communities and its impact on America. It argues how culture and systemic racism impact marginalized people (particularly African Americans and brown people) through policies and systems related to money, employment, education, health care, etc. Providing a description or argument for systemic racism formation offers a historical context of changes to shalom justice (society race in the image of God), relational and unilateral power with, power to, power within transformation from injustice to Shalom justice. An exploration …

Commencement Convocation Exercises - May 2024, Prairie View A&M University

Commencement and Convocation Exercises

No abstract provided.

Queerform/Ing, Matthew Solon-Lee Weimer

Art Theses and Dissertations

My artwork is situated within and around vessels and the Queer Homoerotic World and explores sexuality as a Demisexual within them. This is accomplished through the two processes of my creation, Minivague and Queerform/ing: balancing sexual tension and explicit expression, while subverting traditional norms and stereotypes with queerness to distance oneself from stereotypical Gay Art. Altering/emphasizing makes the artwork more romantic, lighter, whimsical, softer, and tender than the figure/s and the situations actually are. The process is also emphasizing what one sees or wants to be seen. The Pink Boy becomes a celebration of intimacy of any form. I discuss …

2024 Spring Commencement Program For The University Of Arkansas At Little Rock., University Of Arkansas At Little Rock. Records And Registration

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

2024 Ursinus College Commencement Progam, Ursinus College

Ursinus College Commencement Programs

This Ursinus College Commencement program from 2024 contains the list of speakers, honors, awards and order of events for the day.

Moral Arguments For Water Justice And The Jackson Water Crisis, Benjamin Oliver

Honors Theses

Across the United States, residents of towns and cities find themselves increasingly concerned with their water supply. In 2022, attention shifted to Jackson, Mississippi, as over 150,000 residents of the majority Black capital city were left without clean water. In this thesis, I discuss this case study as well as cases in Baltimore, Maryland, Flint, Michigan, and Newark, New Jersey, finding that across these cities, there exist patterns of environmental racism and divestment in public resources. Crisis is soon to follow when these patterns compound with the climate change consequences of more intense weather and pollution. To discuss this pattern …

As Bonecas Babadeiras: Drag Subculture And Global Media In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Logan Baggett

Honors Theses

21st century global queer culture is seeing a major boom. Drag queens are the most indicative symbols of this boom, traditional practitioners of gender-bending performances that blend music, dance, makeup, and fashion to create breathtaking performances. To this end, this thesis asks the following question: How is local drag performance culture generated in Rio de Janeiro in the context of this 21st century gay boom? In this global metropolis, drag queens confront challenges––racism, classism, sprawling urban geography, and scene competition––that color their interpersonal relationships and financial success. They also find community, creating family units in the absence of heteronormative power …