Theory, Knowledge and Science Commons^™

Values-Based Clinical Ethics: A New Model Of Health And Ethics Consultation For Patients Suffering In Extremis, Adam Trainer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation argues that contemporary clinical ethics is inadequately equipped to support patients suffering in extremis because it relies on an insufficiently discriminating account of health and a constrained model of moral reasoning. Drawing on Bernard Lonergan, it reconceives health as an emergent, multi-layered, heuristic notion shaped by biological, psychological, social, and existential goods. On that basis, it critiques principlism’s global applicability thesis and the undergirding claim that its principles form part of the common morality, arguing that this justificatory structure is philosophically insufficient and practically limited for clinical ethics in cases marked by profound suffering, moral plurality, and normative …

Social Reading And #Booktok: Exploring Emotion, Community, And Book Promotion On Tiktok, Courtney B. Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how BookTok, a subcommunity centered on reading, functions as a social and emotional domain that shapes contemporary reading culture. Discourse analysis of the most popular videos within the BookTok subspace revealed commonalities in how creators expressed their emotions through text, language, and audio. Patterns of emotional devastation were also present in the discourse, pointing to affective-discursive practices circulating the community. Moreover, a content analysis of the books being promoted across highly engaged BookTok videos uncovered significant themes of romance and an appreciation for modern fiction novels.

Findings suggest that reading functions as a social experience that is …

On The Paleontology Of Belize, Alson Ovando

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Paleontology can be considered an underrepresented and emerging area of science in Belize. A primary aim of this thesis is to provide a background of paleontology in Belize and present the first comprehensive study of Quaternary vertebrate fossils known from the country. Quaternary fossil sites across Belize include caves, rivers, and sinkholes. In addition to reviewing and assessing material from known sites, this thesis presents new information and discoveries that were made while investigating Belize’s Quaternary fossil record. This thesis also includes a geospatial model depicting ecoregions in Belize during the last glacial maximum. Overall, the results presented here demonstrate …

The Other Side Of The Wall: A Study On The Impact Of Paternal Incarceration On African American Children, Chance M. Wideman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation explores the long-term psychological, relational, and systemic impacts of paternal incarceration on adult children. Guided by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Theory, Attachment Theory, and Family Process Theory, this study examines two research questions:

(1) What types of childhood trauma are associated with paternal incarceration?

(2) How does the childhood trauma associated with paternal incarceration impact one in adulthood?

The study draws on three in-depth narrative interviews with adults who experienced paternal incarceration in childhood. These interviews, framed as dialogic and reflexive spaces, illuminate the deep and layered consequences of incarceration across the lifespan.

Five central findings emerged: …

Harnessing The Power Of Cliftonstrengths®: How Multinational Corporations Can Use Deep-Level Diversity To Enhance Organizational Inclusion, Trapper Kay Pace

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research explicitly investigated how multinational corporations can enhance workplace inclusion through the novel use of the CliftonStrengths® assessment as a dimension of deep-level diversity. The study gleaned insights from employees’ perspectives, employing a constructivist grounded theory approach to explicate their experiences in rich qualitative narratives. Through open-ended surveys and intensive interviews, participants were selected using purposeful sampling to ensure meaningful data collection from the study organizations’ three global regions. The researcher conducted the analysis systematically through the constant comparison of data utilizing the NVivo14 software to assist in constructing codes, themes, and a theoretical schema. Results highlighted the significance …

Cultural Lag Does Not Exist: An Exposition And Critical Evaluation Of W.F. Ogburn’S Hypothesis, Heather L. Osborne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite a century of scholarly critique, William Fielding Ogburn’s cultural lag hypothesis (CLH) endures. The inclusion of Ogburn’s hypothesis in introductory sociology textbooks, reference books, and histories of technology lends an unwarranted authority to its scientific credibility. I critically assess Ogburn’s CLH and find that it is neither scientifically nor theoretically sound. Specifically, I discover presumptions of cultural integration and normative progressivism, the fallacy of ambiguity, problems of causal explanation, operationalization, and selective bias, which renders the CLH unmeasurable, unfalsifiable, and non-replicable. Finally, I briefly discuss the implications and make suggestions for future research.

Moral Time And Homicide Investigations., David Stuart Lapsey Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous literature explores the many dimensions of homicide investigations, including case and individual characteristics, evidence and investigative activities. However, little research delves into situational characteristics and their relationship to specific homicides, charge severity sought by prosecutors and sentence length given to homicide offenders. The current study sampled homicide cases (N=68) to gather baseline information and data regarding judicial outcomes. Donald Black’s Theory of Moral Time (2011) is tested and utilized as the study’s conceptual framework for the study’s hypotheses.

Predicting Academic Performance: A Commitment Perspective, Frank E. Gomez Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Shifts from scientific and theoretical exploration to occupational preparation within academic scholarship has led researchers to focus on performance variables, such as grade point average (GPA), to better understand how to promote academic success. For example, researchers have examined variables to determine their influence on GPA. The purpose of this study was to identify if commitment variables in conjunction with executive functioning significantly predicted cumulative GPA in a college setting beyond previously established predictors. Results indicated that high school GPA (b = .44) was the only significant predictor of cumulative GPA. When high school GPA was eliminated from …

Native American Empowerment Through Digital Repatriation, Michelle L. Fitch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Following the Enlightenment, Western adherence to positivist theory influenced practices of Western research and documentation. Prior to the introduction of positivism into Western scholarship, innovations in printing technology, literary advancements, and the development of capitalism encouraged the passing of copyright statutes by nation-states in fifteenth century Europe. The evolution of copyright and positivism in Europe influenced United States copyright and its protection of the author, as well as the practice of archiving and its role in interpreting history. Because Native American cultures practiced orality, they suffered the loss of their traditional knowledge and cultural expressions not protected by copyright. By …

Durkheim's Refutation Of Spencerian Methodological Individualism: A Critical Evaluation., Matthew Bryan Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The famed French classical social theorist Emile Durkheim's academic reputation is based largely on his critical rejection of the British utilitarian tradition and specifically the writings of the classical British sociologist Herbert Spencer. In this thesis I critically evaluate Durkheim's critique of Herbert Spencer's methodological individualism. It is found that while select Durkheimian claims merit continued allegiance, his broader critique of Spencer's methodological individualism must be viewed as logically and empirically deficient. In conclusion I examine the implications for Durkheimian sociology and the broader social theoretical enterprise directed at analyzing and conceptualizing the nature of sociality and the social bond.