Digital Commons Network^™

The Gendered Experience Of Female Resident Assistants, Christa Rahl

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This paper sought to answer, “What is it like to be a female resident assistant (RA) in a society that has historically privileged men?” I structured this as a phenomenology within the transformative paradigm. I interviewed four participants twice with a prompt between interviews and one participant once. These participants were at least 19 years old and had held been an RA for at least one school year during the last five years.

I worked in the realm of Joan Acker’s (1990) theory of gendered organizations. I specifically had findings within the constructions she wrote about such as the division …

How To Do Quantcrit: A Reflexive Account Of Applying Critical Quantitative Methods To A Study Of Black Women In Stem, Elizabeth Collins

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There has been extensive research into the underrepresentation of minoritized students in STEM disciplines since the 1990s with limited success in improving the representation of Black women in math-intensive STEM fields. This dissertation aims to address how the guiding tenets of critical quantitative (QuantCrit) methods work when used with publicly available datasets and commonly used statistical approaches. Additionally, this dissertation provides a framework for how to apply reflexivity as a method while utilizing a QuantCrit approach. The publicly available HSLS:09 dataset is used as part of a reflexive study to demonstrate how the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) map …

Longevity Bias, Ingroup Bias, And Culture: A Study In Modern Japan, Sophia Chier

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Japan has long been cited as the prime example of a collectivistic nation with many instances of ingroup bias, and is also known for its respect for things that are old. This research examined a proposed link between longevity bias, or the belief that things that are older are inherently better, and ingroup bias in a Japanese population by replicating the “art” domain in Eidelman et. al’s (2010) longevity bias study. Participants, undergraduates at a Japanese university, completed questionnaires that evaluated their aesthetic enjoyment of a painting, while also manipulating the participants’ knowledge of the artists’ nationality and the artwork’s …

Inevitable, Emilee Grummel

Student Projects

They say time heals all wounds, but in reality, time only Band-Aid's those wounds to make them more tolerable. Frank Richard Schadeck was the man who taught me how to go through life. From being my preschool teacher to teaching me how to defend and speak up for myself, he made me into the person I am today. He was not only my grandfather, but became my best friend, teacher, and mentor. Since his passing, change has become more prevalent and harder to accept.

When my grandfather was living with us, he built a miniature train set in the basement. …

Digital Literacy Among Older Adults In Singapore, Mindy Eiko Tadai, Micah Tan

ROSA Research Briefs

Singapore stands as the fourth most digitally competitive country, after Denmark, USA, and Sweden, in the latest edition of the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking (IMD World Competitiveness Center, 2022). This global ranking measures the capacities of 63 nations to adopt and explore digitally transformative practices across government, industry, and wider society. Among households in Singapore, an astounding 99% have Internet access and 92% have computer access (Infocomm Media Development Authority, 2023). Even within the eldest surveyed cohort, proportions of smartphone usage have risen from 28% in 2017 to 48% in 2021 among resident Singaporeans aged 75 and above, and …

Burning Brightly, Christine Sukhwa

RhetTech

This work is a personal essay I wrote for my writing class on the topic of burnout. More specifically, burnout in college students who face heavy expectations from their parents and themselves. I discussed the stigma surrounding mental health and how that contributes to 1) students not being able to recognize the signs and symptoms of burnout and 2) students being unwilling to seek help. The piece also explored the relationship between mental health stigma and South Asian culture. It touches on themes of getting better and improvement as well.

The Enticing Nature Of Fast Fashion And The Need To Fight Against It, Leila Okhravi

RhetTech

Millennials and Generation Z are becoming more conscious about their environmental footprint and how their consumption habits may exacerbate environmental harm. More specifically, they have begun reevaluating how they shop for clothing, taking into account environmental concerns and mistreatment of the labor force. However due to high demand, fast fashion, the business model in which clothing is mass produced at a low cost to bring to stores quickly, continues to be the dominant business model in the fashion industry despite its environmental harm. This research defines the environmental harm and labor exploitation in the fashion industry, explores what exactly is …

Bon Appétit!, Scott Maier

RhetTech

For my essay titled Bon Appétit, I decided to look back on my memory through a lens of food – something that has shaped not only my identity, but that of my mother and grandmother too. Although food is a mundane thing, a form of sustenance used by every living species, humans have adapted food to satisfy so much more than simply nutrition. I wanted to discover the legacy of food in my own life, and more notably in the lives of notable women in my personal history. In my research, my mother spoke with me about a ‘food-hero’ for …

In Virtual Proximity: Choosing Community Over Solitude, Deea Deb

RhetTech

Is it possible that all writers are introverts? Or are most writers simply terrified of collaborating, sharing their work with a group (read: exposing their writerly vulnerabilities, their “is this good enough” selves)? We can’t all be introverts, but most of us likely struggle with fear for our “is this good enough” selves. But why fear collaboration? I can think of two reasons: what we discover through, say, a peer review session may change not only our relationship between ourselves and our writing, but our relationship with others, our audience, and what they think of our writing: we fear being …

I Bet You Don’T Know What’S Really In Black Cake: The Rhetorics Of Trinidadian Black Cake And Recipe, Jessica Lappin

RhetTech

In a food blog-style post, I reflect on my own connection to black cake – a liquor soaked fruit cake born from the enslavement of African people in the Caribbean – while examining the cultural and food rhetorics around this delicacy to understand how the tragic meaning of black cake has evolved into a joyous one: for eating and sharing with family during the holiday season. Using the historical context as a footing for my exploration, I draw on additional scholarship and a short story to note how food intersects with identity and power. From black cake’s rhetorically ironic ingredients …

Liturgical Practices For Full Participation: Creating Opportunities For Engagement In Corporate Worship For People Living With Intellectual Disabilities At The Mooroolbark Salvation Army, Catherine Jane Spiller

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

The Mooroolbark Salvation Army is a place of welcome and acceptance for people with disabilities. However, people with intellectual disabilities often have limited opportunities for engagement in corporate worship. The act of worship is a practice everyone should be able to participate in, but barriers often limit engagement for people with disabilities. This project thesis explored and sought to address these barriers and create opportunities for full participation for people with intellectual disabilities. A small diverse group of people from the Mooroolbark Salvation Army came together for ten weeks commencing in February 2022 to consider how to attend to engagement …

Developing A Program Of Well-Being For Coptic Orthodox Clergy In The Diocese Of Melbourne, Australia, Abanoub Attalla

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project aims to develop a holistic recommendation of policies, procedures, and practices that can contribute toward achieving better well-being for clergy that will equip and support them for healthy and sustainable ministerial practices. Without a plan for suitable intervention, the current situation could be quite harmful to both clergy and their congregations. Therefore, it is critical to develop processes and protocols that will facilitate the support and practices of the clergy of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Australia so they can lead a balanced and spiritually fulfilling life. Within the context of this project, I will use the word …

Music Reviews, Volume 79, No. 5, Kathleen Roland-Silverstein

Voice - All Scholarship

Contains reviews of Aria: Arien aus Oper und Ora- torium, für Sopran und Klavier/ Arias from Opera and Oratorio: for soprano and piano; Powell, Rosephanye (b. 1962). Langston Dreams; Marklund, Barbro, ed. Arias for Young Voices: Tenor; Arias for Young Voices: Baritone/ Bass.

Misapplication Of Inverse Condemnation Liability: A Legal Analysis Of The Application Of Inverse Condemnation Liability On Electrical Utilities, Nadra Mamou

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

The Constitutionality Of Brain Searches, Wayne Unger

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

If technology could read your mind and capture your thoughts as storable and processable data, would that frighten you? Recent advancements in brain-computer interfaces will likely make mind-reading a reality, and if it does, it presents the last stand or final frontier in the battle for privacy protections. It is well established that an individual must be able to retreat into their home and be free from government intrusion. But if an individual cannot retreat into their own mind free from government intrusion, then true solitude will become extinct. In a future state where braincomputer interfaces can actively decode an …

Factors That Predict Viewer Engagement During Educational Youtube Videos, Tyler Tarver

College of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine factors influencing user engagement when watching educational videos. Specifically, this study explored the extent to which video length and video style predict the percentage watch time, number of likes, number of comments, and number of shares of educational YouTube videos. The Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning served as the theoretical framework for this investigation. YouTube Creator Studio was used to select a convenience sample of 683 videos created between 2008 and 2021 and uploaded to the Tarver Academy YouTube channel. Simultaneous entry ordinary least square multiple regression and negative binomial regression models …

Predictive Effects Of Athletics, Social Clubs, Race, And Sex On Academic Performance At A Private University, John Mark Warnick

College of Education Dissertations

Understanding what aids or hinders student success and the nuances found in a private institution may yield opportunities for improved retention, graduation, and satisfaction rates. Therefore, this study examined the predictive effects of athletic participation, social club membership, race, and sex on college students’ academic performance at a private university, as measured by grade point average (GPA), hours earned, and graduation status. The study utilized Alexander Astin’s theory of student involvement as a framework. This quantitative study collected 7 years of data from a university’s student information system and then analyzed using two multiple regressions and a linear regression. Social …

Effects Of An Arkansas Better Chance Prekindergarten Program On Academic Achievement Of Fourth-Grade Students, Samuel H. Slott Iii

College of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate and determine if a difference exists between students who attended an Arkansas Better Chance program and those who did not participate in a program on English, reading, science, and mathematics achievement for fourth grade students. Scores chosen for this study were from the 2019 4th-grade students in eight Arkansas school districts. The samples were chosen from eight school districts participating in the ABC prekindergarten program. A 2 x 2 factorial ANOVA was used to determine if a statistical difference existed. ACT Aspire Summative Assessment scores from 388 students was used to provide …

Effects Of Gender, Race, Poverty, And Act Test Prep On The Arkansas Delta Act Reading Subtest And Composite Scores, Bruce Guthrie

College of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the effects of gender, race, poverty, and ACT prep on ACT Reading and Composite scores for Arkansas Delta schools participating versus those not participating in an ACT test prep program. This study used a quantitative, causal-comparative strategy. The sample included the ACT Reading subtest and ACT Composite scores from the 11th-grade ACT in seven Arkansas Delta schools. Data analysis involved 2 x 2 factorial ANOVAs. The study's key findings were that participation in an ACT prep program improved ACT Reading and Composite scores, and most of the variables had statistical significance. Students’ …

Effects Of School Configurations On Ninth-Grade Act Aspire Summative Assessment Scores In Arkansas, Kerry Daughety

College of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to study the effect of school configurations on ninth grade summative assessment scores by gender. This study aimed to provide additional insight to educational leaders through a causal-comparative comparison of three secondary school configurations using quantitative evaluation. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory provided the core theoretical framework. Each hypothesis focused on a subject on the ACT Aspire Summative Assessment of ninth-grade students except writing, using a 3 x 2 factorial ANOVA causal-comparative study. No significant interaction between configuration type and gender was found in the four hypotheses. Two hypotheses had significant main effects. Hypothesis 2 …

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Affecting Arkansas Males’ Reading, Mathematics, And Science Achievement, Landon Grimes

College of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the effects between sixth-grade male students from eight Arkansas school districts educationally identified with a 504 plan for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) versus all other males on reading, mathematics, and science achievement, as measured by the ACT Aspire Summative Assessment. Barkley’s framework for understanding ADHD theory was used as the theoretical lens to examine the research. Each hypothesis stated that no significant difference would exist between the two groups. Three one-way ANOVAs were used to analyze the data. The independent variable for each hypothesis was ADHD educational identification as determined by …

Drs Annual Report 2022, Design Research Society

Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Healthcare Experiences By Race, Sex, And Weight Status In A Sample Of Low Wage Workers Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Michael Ampofo

Honors Scholar Theses

There is longstanding evidence of racial, sex-based, weight-based, and socioeconomic status (SES) disparities in the quality of healthcare. These disparities can result from provider bias and discrimination in the healthcare system and can contribute to disparities in health outcomes. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated differential treatment in healthcare due to the strain it placed on the healthcare system. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. healthcare experiences among low SES non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White patients. This secondary analysis utilized survey measures from 225 low-wage workers, ages …

A Dna-Peptide Crosslink (Dpc) Increases Mutagenicity In Sos-Induced Escherichia Coli, Alessandra Bassani

Honors Scholar Theses

Bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, have an inducible system in response to DNA damage termed the SOS response. This system is activated when the replicative DNA polymerase (Pol) III encounters a lesion, uncouples from DNA helicase, and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) accumulates at the replication fork. In this study, we investigated DNA-peptide crosslink (DpC), a common lesion that results from cross-linking of proteins or peptides, UV irradiation, and alkylating agents. To increase survival following formation of a lesion, the SOS response can utilize homologous recombination, translesion synthesis (TLS), or excision repair. With TLS, the levels of DNA Pol II, IV, …

Longitudinal Assessment Of Pharmacy Student Attitudes Towards Mental Illness, Jessica Dillon

Honors Scholar Theses

Background: Mental health stigma in providers is one of the greatest barriers in effective care in psychiatric patients. When patients feel stigma towards them, they have lower levels of self-esteem and lower medication adherence. When training healthcare providers, specifically pharmacists, it is important to assess the effectiveness of training at reducing stigma levels. Previous studies have shown that didactic teaching does not significantly decrease stigma in pharmacy students. However, other studies have shown that students who participated in psychiatric rotations have less stigma surrounding mental health following the rotation. Currently there are no studies that assess the same students’ stigma …

Investigating Microbial Metabolism Of Garcinia Mangostana By The Human Gut Bacterium Clostridium Sporogenes, Anna Liu

Honors Scholar Theses

The human gut microbiome is a burgeoning field of research due to recent recognition of its profound impact on the human hosts’ homeostasis, physiology and metabolism, and disease. Botanical natural products have been utilized for disease prevention and medical treatment since ancient times. Increased consumption of botanical natural products for their health benefits have led researchers to investigate interactions between the gut microbiome and botanical natural products. Garcinia mangostana, also known as mangosteen, is a fruit from Southeast Asia that is known for its health benefits such as anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, and anticancer properties. Its benefits have been linked to bioactive …

Uconn Baseball Batting Order Optimization, Gavin Rublewski, Gavin Rublewski

Honors Scholar Theses

Challenging conventional wisdom is at the very core of baseball analytics. Using data and statistical analysis, the sets of rules by which coaches make decisions can be justified, or possibly refuted. One of those sets of rules relates to the construction of a batting order. Through data collection, data adjustment, the construction of a baseball simulator, and the use of a Monte Carlo Simulation, I have assessed thousands of possible batting orders to determine the roster-specific strategies that lead to optimal run production for the 2023 UConn baseball team. This paper details a repeatable process in which basic player statistics …

Probabilistic Machine Learning For Battery State Of Health Prognostics, Charli Zaretsky

Honors Scholar Theses

The ability to understand and predict the state of health (SOH) of lithium-ion batteries is an integral component of their widespread commercial use. There are various methods through which SOH can be analyzed and predicted, and this paper discusses these different methods, and the strengths and weaknesses of each. This paper also details an analysis of lithium-ion battery SOH through two data-driven machine learning methods: XGBoost and Gaussian process regression. A comparison is made between each method’s accuracy in predicting next-cycle discharge capacity using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) readings and battery charge and discharge rates, from a dataset given in …

Living And Dying In 'Cancer Alley': Using Human Rights Law And Environmental Justice To Create A Litigation Framework For Marginalized Communities, Neeharika Sistu

Honors Scholar Theses

Cancer Alley, Louisiana is a poignant example of the intersection between environmental justice, legal harm, and human rights abuses. This thesis dissects the laws and policies underpinning the creation of Cancer Alley with special attention to how they constitute human rights abuses under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Then, by performing a comprehensive analysis of litigation surrounding environmental justice in Louisiana, this thesis scrutinizes the efficacy of environmental law in creating environmental justice and suggests the integration of international human rights law and environmental …

On The Brink Of Transformation : Becoming Ones True Self, Jordan Lee Williams

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It brings me great joy to share with you the story of my journey through Academia. This thesis will cover some of the milestones I’ve reached throughout my studies here at the University of Arkansas, which led me to be able to attain an MFA in Theatre with an Acting Emphasis. You’ll be granted an all access pass into some of the works I’ve been able to produce while studying here at the U of A Including my one person show, statement of artistry, a link to my website, and information on my career as a professional stand-up comedian