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Title: ¹H NMR spectroscopic studies of dinuclear transition metal carboxylate adducts of DNA oligonucleotides
Creator: Carrasco, Elizabeth Ursula Lozada
Date: 1998
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance studies of 2-aryl-2-nonbornyl cations
Creator: Lam, Bing Lun
Date: 1973
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: ¹⁴N(p, p') at 29.8, 36.6, and 40.0 MeV and the strength of the tensor force in nuclear reaction
Creator: Fox, Stanley Haim, 1942-
Date: 1972
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Ý decay and isomeric studies of proton rich nuclei near the endpoint of the rp-process
Creator: Becerril Reyes, Ana Delia
Date: 2012
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Neutron-deficient nuclei in the vicinity of the N = Z = 50 doubly-magic shell closure were produced at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory to study their structure and their relevance in the astrophysical rp-process. The 100Sn nucleus is the heaviest particle-stable N = Z nucleus, and it is also thought to be doubly magic. Additionally, 100Sn and its closest neighbors lie in the path of rp-process, therefore, the production and study of the decay properties of these nuclei are...
Show moreNeutron-deficient nuclei in the vicinity of the N = Z = 50 doubly-magic shell closure were produced at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory to study their structure and their relevance in the astrophysical rp-process. The 100Sn nucleus is the heaviest particle-stable N = Z nucleus, and it is also thought to be doubly magic. Additionally, 100Sn and its closest neighbors lie in the path of rp-process, therefore, the production and study of the decay properties of these nuclei are of great interest for the experimental and theoretical nuclear physics and astrophysics community.Previous attempts to produce these nuclei were hampered by large amounts of contaminants produced with higher abundances than those of the nuclides of interst. The Radio Frequency Fragment Separator (RFFS) was designed and built at the NSCLin order to purify rare neutron-deficient secondary beams. The implementation of this device has made a number of beta-decay experiments feasible at the NSCL. The experiment described in this work (NSCL Experiment 07034) was the second one to utilize the RFFS to successfully determine beta-decay half-lives, beta-delay proton emission branching ratios and beta-delayed gamma spectroscopy.The nuclei of interest were produced at NSCL via fragmentation of a 112Sn primary beam accelerated to 120 MeV/nucleon, impinging on a 9Be target. The secondary beam was first selected by the A1900 Fragment Separator and purified further with the RFFS. The N = Z nuclei 100Sn, 98In and 96Cd were produced and their beta decaywas studied. The observed production cross sections of these nuclei are lower than predicted by factors of 10-30. Their beta-decay half-lives were found to be 0.55(+0.70 -0.31) s for 100Sn, 0.66(40)s for an isomeric state in 98In, and 47(13) ms for its ground state,and 1.03 (0.2)s for 96Cd. The experimental determination of the half-life of 96Cd was of special interest as it was the last rp-process waiting point to be measured. The effect of the half-life of 96Cd on the nuclear abundances produced by an rp-process and the origin of the light-p nucleus 96Ru were explored.Other exotic nuclei produced in Experiment 07034 include 101Sn, 100,99In, 98,97Cd, 96,95,94Ag, 94,93,92Pd, 92,91Rh and 90,91Ru. For the cases with sufficiently high statistics their beta-decay half-lives were determined and compared with previous measurements and theoretical predictions. Several isomeric states were found andtheir decay modes analysed. In particular, a new microsecond isomer decaying by a gamma cascade was observed in 96Ag for the first time and the level scheme of this nucleus is presented, together with the results of two shell-model calculations performed within the (p1/2g9/2) and (p3/2p1/2f5/2g9/2) model spaces, respectively. It was found that the shell model calculation with the larger model space reproduced level energies and isomeric decay half-lives reasonably well.
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Title: “AM I RACIST OR ARE MY ACTIONS RACIST?” : EXPERIENCES OF FOUR MUSIC EDUCATORS WHO LEARN ABOUT CRITICAL RACE THEORY
Creator: Lewis, Amy Belinda
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In this study, I critically examined the experiences of four music teachers who learned about critical race theory (CRT) in a professional learning community (PLC) in an effort to enhance teachers’ understandings of race and racism in music education. The participants engaged in readings, online reflections, discussions, and interactive lectures based on the five central CRT tenets: counternarratives, ordinariness, Whiteness as property, intersectionality, and interest convergence. The...
Show moreIn this study, I critically examined the experiences of four music teachers who learned about critical race theory (CRT) in a professional learning community (PLC) in an effort to enhance teachers’ understandings of race and racism in music education. The participants engaged in readings, online reflections, discussions, and interactive lectures based on the five central CRT tenets: counternarratives, ordinariness, Whiteness as property, intersectionality, and interest convergence. The following research questions guided the study:1. How do the music teachers’ perceptions of CRT evolve within the professional learning community experience? 2. How might an understanding of CRT influence music teachers’ practices/pedagogical choices? 3. How might participation in the PLC transform their approach toward race and racism? What, if any, transformations took place? These questions highlight teacher growth and reflection––a tool necessary for liberation (Lorde, 2007). Additionally, understanding race and racism in music education provides an opportunity to address racism through philosophical shifts and pedagogical changes. For this study, I employed an instrumental embedded case study (Yin, 2009) with multiple units of analysis in order to capture a deeper understanding of the participants’ experience. I used transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 1991) as an analytical lens to examine and explore if and/or how the participants experienced transformation throughout the PLC. I centered my analysis on the disorienting dilemmas (situations that challenge participants’ world views) the participants experienced during the PLC. The findings from this study suggest that learning about CRT in the context of a PLC can create an opportunity for participants to experience a foundational shift in understanding race and racism, both as music educators and in their individual lives. As participants expanded their understanding of racism, they critiqued common practices in music education such as the dominance of Western European classical music. Through deep, critical reflection, they questioned if they or their practices were racist. During this experience, the participants identified how their understanding of racism expanded in a way that recognizes racist structures in addition to individual racist acts. This expansion can shift perspectives and change actions inside the classroom to center and create music teaching practices that challenge structural racism.
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Title: “BLACK, SET, SPIKE : ” AN ANALYSIS OF THE RACIAL EXPERIENCES OF BLACK FEMALE VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS IN EUROPE
Creator: Fry, Jen
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Sports and geography each profoundly impact the lived and professional experiences of Black female athletes. These experiences also significantly shape their personal and professional identities, as both deal with the occupation of space and the way people move and interact in geographic spaces. Little attention has been paid by the academic and athletic communities to the lived experiences of professional athletes who play abroad. Currently, minimal research has been conducted on the...
Show moreSports and geography each profoundly impact the lived and professional experiences of Black female athletes. These experiences also significantly shape their personal and professional identities, as both deal with the occupation of space and the way people move and interact in geographic spaces. Little attention has been paid by the academic and athletic communities to the lived experiences of professional athletes who play abroad. Currently, minimal research has been conducted on the experiences of Black female volleyball players (BFVPs) who have played in Europe and how race, gender identity, space, and sports affected their lived experiences abroad based on their identities. This dissertation utilized qualitative methods to analyze the racial experiences of Black women who have played professional volleyball in Europe and whose experiences have not been documented within studies of geography—or, more specifically, within perspectives of Black feminist thought, Black geographies, and theory of racial space. The goal of this dissertation was twofold: (a) explore how intersecting racial and gendered identities, place, and space influenced the racism encountered by U.S. BFVPs in Europe; and (b) provide a source of information for future Black female college athletes who want to play professionally but do not know what they do not know. By developing a body of literature within sports geography on the overlooked and unresearched experiences of professional Black female athletes (BFAs), I contributed to the ever-increasing body of literature on BFAs across various disciplines. Some of the discoveries from my research were that BFVPs experienced racism in ways similar to what they experienced within the United States, such as being oversexualized, expected to play up racially stereotypical views of Black women, and having their hair touched without their consent. They also experienced racism in wildly different ways, such as being spit on, teammates withholding English skills, and accusations of prostitution. When conducting my research, a qualitative approach of a brief demographic survey of 15 questions was sent to over 100 current and former BFVPs; I used these data to narrow down participants. There was a response rate of more than 50%, which resulted in 60 women filling out the survey; of that population, 51 checked yes to interest in being interviewed, and nine checked no to denote no interest in being interviewed. Based on criteria of the number of years played, countries played in, and teams played for, I narrowed the sample to 18 participants willing to participate in qualitative interviews. The theoretical frameworks of Black feminist thought, Black geographies, and theory of racial space were used to understand the experiences of the participants and helped me create a new conceptual framework called critical Black feminist sports geographies.
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Title: “I JUST NEED THE PLAYERS” : HOW URBAN SCHOOL LEADERS NAVIGATE RESOURCE CONSTRAINT THROUGH EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS.
Creator: Gilzene, Alounso A.
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This study examines urban school leaders and their decision-making around external partnership relations in resource-constrained contexts. I employed a case study design guided by sense-making and cultural responsiveness to highlight behaviors that contribute to successful partnership work (Ganon-Shilon & Schecter, 2017; Khalifa, Gooden & Davis, 2016). To do this work, I conducted this research in three predominantly Black schools in the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Using in...
Show moreThis study examines urban school leaders and their decision-making around external partnership relations in resource-constrained contexts. I employed a case study design guided by sense-making and cultural responsiveness to highlight behaviors that contribute to successful partnership work (Ganon-Shilon & Schecter, 2017; Khalifa, Gooden & Davis, 2016). To do this work, I conducted this research in three predominantly Black schools in the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Using in-depth phenomenological interviewing (Seidman, 2007), I worked with three Black school leaders, and four members of the Volunteer Corps volunteer organization to understand the inner workings of the partnership relationship and how different factors influenced implementation school-wide. Volunteer Corps is an organization that works with urban school districts to provide 10-15 full-time volunteers to work in district-identified schools. The school leaders talked at length about their process of incorporating other external organizations into their schools’ operational framework. The findings from this study suggest that school leaders lean heavily on sensemaking processes when working with external partnership organizations. School leaders have to piece together an understanding based on information they gather from both formal and informal sources. Also, school leaders in the study discussed how their preparation to become principals had some gaps regarding external partnership work. Some findings suggest that when school leaders maintain partnerships with organizations that provide volunteers, the racial makeup of volunteers has a variety of effects on predominantly Black school contexts. For example, the school leaders in the study had to devote additional time to conduct cultural responsiveness training to prepare white volunteers to work with Black students. Last, school leaders named several benefits and costs associated with partnership work. While some benefits seemed obvious (i.e. additional money, additional human capital), there was some complexity and nuance in the benefits and costs. I analyzed these findings through a lens of sensemaking, to understand the process, and Critical Race Theory, to speak to the context of the communities and schools. Principals can learn from this study because it provides examples of the ways school leaders in urban school contexts have navigated the work of external partnership work. Leadership preparation programs could also benefit from understanding the mechanics of external partnership work to better prepare prospective principal candidates for the work of engaging with and maintaining resources from organizations. This study could also inform policymakers, as the findings have implications for the notion of equity, and the conditions that cause the creation of partnerships with external partnership organizations.
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Title: “IMFUNDO” THE STUDENT; THE EVOLUTION ADAPTATION, AND PRACTICE OF African CENTERED EDUCATION AT THE KARA HERITAGE INSTITUTE IN PRETORIA SOUTH AFRICA
Creator: George III, Clarence
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: ABSTRACT“IMFUNDO” THE STUDENT; THE EVOLUTION ADAPTATION, AND PRACTICE OF AFRICAN CENTERED EDUCATION AT THE KARA HERITAGE INSTITUTE IN PRETORIA SOUTH AFRICAByClarence George III This dissertation study (Imfundo) seeks to explore, the practice and evolution of African centered education at the Kara Heritage Institute from 2016 to 2019. This project seeks to study African centered education at Kara focusing on how the Heritage Institute instills notions of African consciousness, notions of Pan...
Show moreABSTRACT“IMFUNDO” THE STUDENT; THE EVOLUTION ADAPTATION, AND PRACTICE OF AFRICAN CENTERED EDUCATION AT THE KARA HERITAGE INSTITUTE IN PRETORIA SOUTH AFRICAByClarence George III This dissertation study (Imfundo) seeks to explore, the practice and evolution of African centered education at the Kara Heritage Institute from 2016 to 2019. This project seeks to study African centered education at Kara focusing on how the Heritage Institute instills notions of African consciousness, notions of Pan-Africanism, structural pedagogy, and culturally relevant pedagogy. This research project evaluated and observed African-centered education in South Africa at the Kara Heritage institute in Pretoria South Africa. Over 4 years of data collected has yielded a great deal of information about South Africa's unique approach to education, culture, and heritage restoration.
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Title: “IN A NEW NORMAL SITUATION, A NEW APPROACH” : MID-PANDEMIC EFL TEACHER PERSPECTIVES ON IMPLEMENTING TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING IN EAP COURSES
Creator: Siddiqui, Tamoha Binte
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Scarce research exists with regards to TBLT implementation in EAP courses, especially those courses held in EFL settings. Hence, this study explores the extent to which EAP teachers from an EFL country, Bangladesh, hold beliefs that align with core TBLT principles, as well as their levels of receptiveness to using tasks in the classroom. In this mixed methods study, data was collected from 30 tertiary-level EAP teachers in Bangladesh using a questionnaire survey and follow-up interviews. A...
Show moreScarce research exists with regards to TBLT implementation in EAP courses, especially those courses held in EFL settings. Hence, this study explores the extent to which EAP teachers from an EFL country, Bangladesh, hold beliefs that align with core TBLT principles, as well as their levels of receptiveness to using tasks in the classroom. In this mixed methods study, data was collected from 30 tertiary-level EAP teachers in Bangladesh using a questionnaire survey and follow-up interviews. A convergent mixed methods analysis was used to triangulate the data and verify the findings. Results showed that participants agreed with core TBLT principles from a moderate to high level, and consistently favored use of tasks over traditional activities. Moreover, teacher beliefs and practices seem to have become further aligned with core TBLT tenets in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shift to online teaching. I conclude the study by highlighting a number of implications for EFL teaching contexts. Additionally, I suggest that teacher and student autonomy need to be nurtured not only during curriculum development and implementation, but also in theoretical and research design.
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Title: “NEED TO TALK” : A LATENT CLASS ANALYSIS OF SEXUAL VICTIMIZATION DISCLOSURE TO A NATIONAL SEXUAL ASSAULT ONLINE HOTLINE
Creator: Feeney, Hannah
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Sexual violence is a pervasive social problem in the United States that affects has long-term negative health consequences for children, adolescents, and adults. While some survivors choose to disclose their victimization to informal or formal resources, others choose to access a third, less studied source of support: online sexual assault crisis lines. Anonymous online hotlines allow survivors a confidential space to disclose sexual victimization and may be particularly beneficial for those...
Show moreSexual violence is a pervasive social problem in the United States that affects has long-term negative health consequences for children, adolescents, and adults. While some survivors choose to disclose their victimization to informal or formal resources, others choose to access a third, less studied source of support: online sexual assault crisis lines. Anonymous online hotlines allow survivors a confidential space to disclose sexual victimization and may be particularly beneficial for those who have not previously disclosed or are facing barriers to accessing other services. The current study utilized data from a national anonymous online hotline to answer two main research questions, guided by Liang and colleagues (2005) Model of Helpseeking and Change. First, are there latent classes of hotline sessions that differ based on victim and assault characteristics, and second, do these latent classes account for variation in disclosure behaviors among victims. Results revealed a four-class solution and relationships between class membership and disclosure behavior were identified. Findings suggest that anonymous online sexual assault hotlines are an instrumental resource that can both address survivors’ immediate needs and build bridges to sustainable, long-term support networks. Implications for practice are discussed.
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Title: “PALABRA EMPEÑADA” : LA CONFIGURACIÓN INTELECTUAL DE GABRIELA MISTRAL A TRAVÉS DE SUS CARTAS, 1914-1957
Creator: Romero, Lau
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Gabriela Mistral (1889 – 1957) fue la primera mujer latinoamericana en obtener el Premio Nobel de Literatura, en 1945. Su reconocimiento como una fue tardío en su país natal, Chile, donde recibió el Premio Nacional de Literatura en 1951. Esta tesis investiga la correspondencia privada de Gabriela Mistral durante el período 1914 a 1957 para buscar otra explicación al fenómeno mistraliano fuera de su innegable talento. En otras palabras, esta investigación se centra en aquellas estrategias que...
Show moreGabriela Mistral (1889 – 1957) fue la primera mujer latinoamericana en obtener el Premio Nobel de Literatura, en 1945. Su reconocimiento como una fue tardío en su país natal, Chile, donde recibió el Premio Nacional de Literatura en 1951. Esta tesis investiga la correspondencia privada de Gabriela Mistral durante el período 1914 a 1957 para buscar otra explicación al fenómeno mistraliano fuera de su innegable talento. En otras palabras, esta investigación se centra en aquellas estrategias que la escritora despliega dentro del campo cultural tanto chileno como internacional (Pierre Bourdieu 1990; Toril Moi 1999; Gonzalo Catalán 1985) para asegurar su sitio dentro del mismo, expandir sus redes intelectuales y afectivas, y proteger su continuidad a través de la obtención de capital simbólico. La organización de la tesis, compuesta en cuatro capítulos, gira en torno a “nudos” en los cuales la trayectoria profesional de Mistral –y su capital acumulado– se pone en riesgo y/o se refuerzan a través del establecimiento de alianzas, amistades y favores. De allí también que la hipótesis principal se organice en torno a la “palabra empeñada”, como moneda de intercambio que posibilita no sólo diversas performances por parte de la autora, sino también por parte de sus interlocutores.
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Title: “SAVE ETHNIC STUDIES, SAVE OUR STORIES” : A QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION EXPLORING ETHNIC STUDIES' GENEALOGIES, POLICIES, AND INDIANA TEACHERS' EXPERIENCES
Creator: Patrón-Vargas, Jasmin
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Since 2010, more than a dozen states have introduced legislation supporting K-12 ethnic studies. This three-article dissertation considers the historical and contemporary development of ethnic studies programs. Drawing on decolonial thought and policy enactment theory, I investigate (1) the origins of Chicano studies programs, a subdiscipline of ethnic studies; (2) the mission and goals of contemporary K-12 ethnic studies; and (3) the perspectives of ethnic studies teachers in Indiana. Data...
Show moreSince 2010, more than a dozen states have introduced legislation supporting K-12 ethnic studies. This three-article dissertation considers the historical and contemporary development of ethnic studies programs. Drawing on decolonial thought and policy enactment theory, I investigate (1) the origins of Chicano studies programs, a subdiscipline of ethnic studies; (2) the mission and goals of contemporary K-12 ethnic studies; and (3) the perspectives of ethnic studies teachers in Indiana. Data sources include primary and secondary documents, including program proposals, brochures, legislative documents, curriculum materials, and semi-structured interviews. Findings demonstrate that (1) ethnic studies programs from the 1960s were created to decenter Eurocentric models of learning; (2) despite valuable efforts to engage ethnic studies, current policy and curriculum materials contain serious shortcomings; and (3) ethnic studies teachers’ perceptions of the Indiana Ethnic Studies Standards are shaped by their level of experience, racial identity, local context and sociopolitical climate. Collectively, these papers offer new insights about the development and implementation of ethnic studies in K-12 school settings.
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Title: “THE CHINESE ARE COMING” : A HISTORY OF CHINESE MIGRANTS IN NIGERIA
Creator: Liu, Shaonan
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: My dissertation examines the historical and contemporary migration of Chinese people to Nigeria as well as their interaction with the Nigerian state, workers, and consumers in late colonial and post-independence Nigeria. Beginning in the 2000s, Chinese migrants, together with Chinese products, have indeed greatly influenced the economy of Africa, and particularly Nigeria; but the significant Chinese presence in Nigeria is not a particularly recent phenomenon. As early as the 1960s, an...
Show moreMy dissertation examines the historical and contemporary migration of Chinese people to Nigeria as well as their interaction with the Nigerian state, workers, and consumers in late colonial and post-independence Nigeria. Beginning in the 2000s, Chinese migrants, together with Chinese products, have indeed greatly influenced the economy of Africa, and particularly Nigeria; but the significant Chinese presence in Nigeria is not a particularly recent phenomenon. As early as the 1960s, an influential yet understudied group of Chinese migrants began to dominate key manufacturing industries in Nigeria, including textiles, footwear, and enamelware, controlling more than 50 percent of the Nigerian and even the West African market in these three product types. These early Chinese immigrants had a profound influence not only on the economy, but also on the daily lives of ordinary Nigerians. What factors have pulled and pushed Chinese migrants to Nigeria? How have early and recent waves of Chinese migration influenced the local economy and people’s daily lives? How have the meanings of Chinese products to different groups of Nigerians changed over time, and how have these groups made cultural as well as economic sense of these products? How have Chinese transnational networks of information, capital, and goods interacted with African networks, institutions, communities, and individuals?Combining archival records, oral history interviews, and participant observation, I will examine the long-term and recent influence of Chinese activities on Nigerian societies and economies. I argue that the Chinese presence in Nigeria was a historical and evolving concept that changed over time, varied with place, and differed by targeted groups. Hong Kong Chinese industrialists who built factories, employed Nigerian workers, and manufactured products locally in the 1960s had a different influence from the mainland Chinese traders who imported made-in-China products and undermined local manufacturing industries from the 1990s onward. Therefore, by focusing on Chinese migrants in Nigeria and placing them in a wider historical context of Nigerian industrialization from the era of decolonization to the present, my dissertation challenges the Eurocentric narrative of Chinese migrants’ role as laborers and reveals how different groups of Chinese migrants—entrepreneurs, traders, and workers—were shaped by, and in turn shaped, the history of both Nigeria and China. However, this transnational influence was not unidirectional. I also argue that it was the changing policy of Nigerian governments, the evolving preference of Nigerian consumers, and decisions of Nigerian traders that attracted both the early wave of Chinese industrialists and the later wave of Chinese traders and products to come. It was also the broader historical context of Nigeria— decolonization, industrialization, civil war, and economic crisis—that determined the destiny of Chinese migrants in the country.
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Title: “THE NAME ISN’T GOING TO CHANGE EVERYTHING, BUT IT’S GOING TO MAKE IT BETTER” : GENDER INCLUSION IN TRADITIONALLY SINGLE-GENDER CHORAL ENSEMBLES
Creator: McKiernan, Jessica
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The purpose of this dissertation was to tell the stories of conductors leading traditionally single-gender choral ensembles and how they considered practices and discourses surrounding gender and gender inclusion in ensembles traditionally defined by gender exclusion. In line with narrative inquiry, the research puzzles explored (1) how conductors’ intra- and interpersonal experiences with gender influenced the ways they saw and experienced gender, and (a) how those experiences influenced...
Show moreThe purpose of this dissertation was to tell the stories of conductors leading traditionally single-gender choral ensembles and how they considered practices and discourses surrounding gender and gender inclusion in ensembles traditionally defined by gender exclusion. In line with narrative inquiry, the research puzzles explored (1) how conductors’ intra- and interpersonal experiences with gender influenced the ways they saw and experienced gender, and (a) how those experiences influenced their choral pedagogy; (2) the discourses surrounding gender in traditionally single-gender choral ensembles, (a) how those discourses were created, and (b) who created the discourses; (3) practices the conductors employed to create environments honoring and valuing a variety of gender identities; and (4) the areas in which the conductors felt they succeeded in creating or struggled to create environments honoring and valuing a variety of gender identities. The research design was emergent. Megan and Chris (pseudonyms)–two directors of women’s and men’s choirs, respectively, at public universities–and the singers of those ensembles co-constructed narratives surrounding gender inclusion in their choirs. Through a series of individual interviews and small-group and large-group discussions with the conductors and singers, five major themes emerged. First, both singers and conductors found the ensembles to be important spaces for meaning-making, and they problematized many of the values and challenges of choral ensembles defined by gender. Second, the conductors and singers addressed a number of stereotypes and assumptions related to women’s, treble, men’s, and tenor-bass ensembles and interrogated assumptions about gender, particularly as it related to trans and gender-expansive singers. Third, they addressed gender inclusion as it related to policies and practices such as uniforms, rehearsal language, and program logistics. Fourth, they stressed the importance of open communication between students and conductors, allowing for student agency and input, facilitating difficult conversations within choral ensembles, and centering the voices of trans and gender-expansive singers. Finally, allyship was a central theme to the project as singers and conductors reflected on privilege, inclusion and exclusion, and ensuring that allyship is actionable and not performative. At the end of the project, the women’s choir singers and the conductor chose to move away from a gendered choral model. The conductor of the men’s choir saw moving away from a gendered choral model as an essential part of creating a gender-inclusive ensemble, while the singers saw the benefits of the gendered choral model outweighing the drawbacks. Based on the themes, a number of implications, considerations, and recommendations emerged as it related to choral policies and practices. Conductors and singers can implement more inclusive policies as it relates to language, literature selection and discussion, uniforms, voice classification, external image of the ensemble, and choral program hierarchies. Regardless of ensemble classification, conductors and singers need to acknowledge and problematize the impact of gender in choral ensembles. Future research related to gender must prioritize an intersectional approach and center the voices of trans and gender-expansive individuals.
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Title: “THE UNIVERSITY OF THE VILLAGE” : THE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA AND THE MAKING OF POST-INDEPENDENCE NIGERIA
Creator: Stevenson , Russell Wade
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN, the first indigenous university in Nigeria and the first land grant university in Africa. This dissertation argues that UNN represented an innovative experiment in African higher education by expanding higher education to the general populace rather than the colonially privileged elite. However, its construction drew upon patronage politics and taxation regimes that expropriated funding at the same time other regions...
Show moreABSTRACT This dissertation examines the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN, the first indigenous university in Nigeria and the first land grant university in Africa. This dissertation argues that UNN represented an innovative experiment in African higher education by expanding higher education to the general populace rather than the colonially privileged elite. However, its construction drew upon patronage politics and taxation regimes that expropriated funding at the same time other regions faced education taxes. Resistance to the University’s construction reflected local sentiments of inequitable distribution of tax resources throughout Nigeria’s Eastern Region. The University also served as a mechanism in post-independence Nigerian geopolitics: as a mechanism for removing the influence of the British-established University College, Ibadan and British educational models more generally. The University of Nigeria, Nsukka would be, as Taiye Selasi and Achille Mbembe have phrased it, an “Afro-politan” institution—porous and all-encompassing of knowledge systems throughout the globe. During the Nigeria-Biafra war, UNN faced sustained wartime damage—damage from it could not easily recover. The Nigeria-Biafra war laid the groundwork for a period of sustained infrastructural decay and internal resistance, even as the Nigerian federal government enjoyed larger access to oil revenue. This dissertation examines what makes African institutions “indigenous” and how UNN represented the halting transformation from coloniality to indigeneity in the post-independence Nigerian nation-state.
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Title: “This story was inside me this whole time, just waiting” : Coming to Blackgirl storying
Creator: Johnson, Lauren Elizabeth Reine
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This dissertation project explores the various ways Blackgirls (Hill, 2016) from across a New Orleans came together in a collective space to engage in discussions of Blackgirlhood, wherein they shared and developed insights into their individual and collective understandings of self and community. Collective members’ multimodal storying, discussions, and reflections, are centered in this dissertation in response to an urgent need for more expansive presentations of Blackgirls. Informed by...
Show moreThis dissertation project explores the various ways Blackgirls (Hill, 2016) from across a New Orleans came together in a collective space to engage in discussions of Blackgirlhood, wherein they shared and developed insights into their individual and collective understandings of self and community. Collective members’ multimodal storying, discussions, and reflections, are centered in this dissertation in response to an urgent need for more expansive presentations of Blackgirls. Informed by theories, methodologies, and pedagogies, including: Black feminisms and Black Girlhood Studies (e.g., Collins, 2000; Dillard, 2016; Hill, 2016; hooks, 1996; Owens et al., 2017), Indigenous storywork (Archibald, 2008), sociocultural perspectives of literacies (e.g., Street, 1984), and culturally responsive/sustaining humanizing pedagogies (e.g., Ladson-Billings, 1995; Paris & Alim, 2017; Paris & Winn, 2014), this study also builds with the works and examples as put forth by other Blackgirls and Black women, such as Toni Cade Bambara’s (1996) “The Education of a Storyteller” to inquire into how centering Blackgirls and their narratives may move us towards what I conceptualize as “Blackgirl storying,” a medium that we used to critically name and honor our lives and the plurality of Blackgirlhood.
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Title: “WE ARE THE BAD POOR” : GENRE AND WHITE TRASH IDENTITY IN GRIT LIT
Creator: Ploskonka, Mitchell
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This project explores the Southern white trash’s fraught relationship with difference through Grit Lit—literature by and about the white trash. In a historical moment where poor whites have been (sometimes rightfully) scapegoated as key cogs in Trump’s demagoguery characterized by hateful speech and reactionary rhetoric, Grit Lit is a coming-to-terms with its whiteness and trashiness. It is an ongoing search for a usable, unshameful identity amidst a centuries-old construction of the white...
Show moreThis project explores the Southern white trash’s fraught relationship with difference through Grit Lit—literature by and about the white trash. In a historical moment where poor whites have been (sometimes rightfully) scapegoated as key cogs in Trump’s demagoguery characterized by hateful speech and reactionary rhetoric, Grit Lit is a coming-to-terms with its whiteness and trashiness. It is an ongoing search for a usable, unshameful identity amidst a centuries-old construction of the white trash as racially, economically, and regionally as waste people. As this project articulates, to reckon with an inherently liminal and marginalized community, one long associated with (again, sometimes rightfully) assumptions of racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and misogyny, Grit Lit is only able to come to that identity through a sometimes painful acknowledgment of difference. One key way Grit Lit accomplishes this is through its experimentations with and reconceptualizations of genre. Beginning with Harry Crews and progressing chronologically to the present (through Larry Brown, Dorothy Allison, Rick Bragg, and Tom Franklin, among others), foundational Grit Lit authors, are studied in relation to their generic choices (ranging from autobiographical realism and literary naturalism to revisionist westerns and detective fiction) and their impact on the literature’s identity politics (including race, gender, sexuality, and disability). As the “Rough South” aesthetic continues to expand beyond the South and into new mediums—comics, television, film—a theoretical basis for understanding white trash identity from the inside provides much-needed (and perhaps unlikely) allyship in a cultural moment marked by racial and social injustice.
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Title: ⁵¹CrCl₃ mobility and cellulose digestion in three gallinaceous species
Creator: Ingman, Donald Lee, 1945-
Date: 1971
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

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