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Individual vs. Interconnected: The impact of self-construal on perceptions of intragroup marginalization
No full textThis study investigates how identity denial and intragroup marginalization affect bicultural individuals, particularly when their membership in a cultural group is questioned by ingroup members. Identity denial, defined as the experience of being unrecognized as a member of a group one identifies with, has been linked to negative psychological outcomes. While prior research has focused on appearance-based biases and social network influences, fewer studies have explored how individual differences and self-construal priming might buffer these effects. This uses a priming task to activate independent or interdependent self-construals to examine whether self-construal impacts perceptions intragroup marginalization, identity integration, essentialism beliefs, and contingencies of self-worth. Results showed that the priming task effectively influenced participants’ self-construals. Although the prime did not significantly affect overall perceptions of intragroup marginalization, an interaction with gender revealed that men primed with interdependence reported lower marginalization than men primed with independence. No such difference emerged among women. These findings suggest that interdependent self-construals may buffer against identity-related rejection for some individuals, though effects may vary by gender.PsychologyBachelors of Science (BS
Hiraeth: An Artistic Interpretation of Ecofeminist Principles in Relation to Current Political and Ecological Degradation
No full textThe fate of our Earth rests in our ability to see it. Modern society promotes a separation between ourselves and the natural world that leads to a devastating amount of apathy. A world designed to keep us focused on the goals just beyond our reach leaves little time for listening, seeing and realizing the state of our environment. It allows us to exist within the vacuum of knowledge that we choose to surround ourselves with, and in this practice, we lose touch with issues happening right in front of us. Seated in ecofeminist discourse, this body of work explores the ebbs and flows present in my personal journey of reconnecting with my empathy for nature and experience as a woman in our current socio-political structures. Although it is rooted in personal experience, the collection speaks to the intersectionality that exists between womanhood, childhood innocence, and grief within a broader context. Hiraeth, a collection of photographs, cyanotypes and watercolors accrued in exploration of this subject over the past four years, has been organized into five distinct bodies of work that deal with different realizations, emotions, memories, and subjects that fall under this larger umbrella of experience. It humanizes issues of pollution and a general sense of nonchalance towards the environment through portraits of women and the landscape. In other aspects it considers the power that silence and removal from a distraction laden society can have on our ability to connect on a deeper level with the earth. Furthermore, it demonstrates the lessons that nature has to offer when we take the time to slow down and listen. Lastly, the work acknowledges how our innate sensibilities from childhood are what connect us most to these lessons. Through choice of medium, installation and composition, each work is carefully curated to create a cyclical narrative that draws the connection between my personal experience and environmental issues utilizing the ecofeminist framework. Ultimately, women, in their oppression, can empathize with nature in a way that can provide it a voice in their shared patriarchal despotism. At its core, the collection acts as a call to action for people to reconsider their relationship with the world they live in. The goal is for viewers to feel the playful connection to the earth they had before the culturally and socially driven separation from nature was imparted on them, to mourn the part of themselves they lost, to feel seen and heard both by myself and the earth, and to find comfort in the idea of healing that relationship moving forward. Perhaps most importantly, I want to call attention to the abuse that the natural environment is subjected to under the oppressive nature of both anthropocentric and patriarchal/androcentric thinking.Art and Art HistoryBachelors of Arts (BA
Embracing Bookness: Introducing Library Staff and Library Students to Text and Data Mining with HathiTrust Research Center
No full text"Embracing Bookness: Introducing Library Staff and Library Students to Text and Data Mining with HathiTrust Research Center." is Chapter 28 In Kramer, W., Burgos, I. & Muzzall, E. In Text and Data Mining Literacy for Librarians.In this chapter, we explore the affordances and benefits of teaching foundational text and data mining (TDM) skills to library staff and library school students using HathiTrust Digital Library (HTDL) and the associated HathiTrust Research Center (HTRC).1 HTDL provides access to more than 18 million volumes sourced from academic and public libraries in order to advance the goals of scholars and researchers, independent from corporate interest.2 HTDL represents an enormous source of texts familiar and unfamiliar to potential workshop audiences
Navigating Through The Changes In Higher Education And Balancing Faculty Workload: An Action Research Study
No full textThe ongoing changes in higher education, especially over the past 5 years from 2019 to 2024, have increased tasks to the already high-demand workloads of full-time faculty. The workload demands that full-time faculty are experiencing are challenging to sustain, disengage them from their work-related roles, and increase their risk for high burnout levels. This action research study examined how resources identified from the Job Demands and Resources Theory (JD-R) could buffer the effects of full-time faculty workload while navigating the changes in higher education over the past 5 years. The participants for this study were full-time tenure-eligible/tenured faculty members. The action research intervention included three phases: participants taking the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) survey, attending a Resources Team (RT) meeting and incorporating new job resources for 6 weeks, and participating in a virtual semi-structured interview. Data collection included new job resources RT members found to buffer workload, how they perceived that their work-related roles changed over the 5 years, and their recommendations for navigating the changes in higher education. The OLBI survey data was analyzed using an independent t–test. The qualitative data sources were transcribed and coded using multiple coding processes. The study found that faculty’s high workload and pressure represent job demands that support the high level of burnout found in the OLBI results. During the 6 weeks, RT members used job resources autonomy to focus on one work role, created opportunities for more collaborative work, and provided social support, providing motivation and productivity during stressful times.EducationDoctor of Education (Ed.D.
Foreign Lands and Imagined Spaces: Orientalism in Children’s Fairy Tale Illustration from 1880-1930 in Europe and North America
No full textThe late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries witnessed the “Golden Age of Illustration” in Europe and North America, a period identified by many scholars as one of unprecedented excellence in pictorial art published in books and magazines. This flourishing of illustrated texts at the turn of the twentieth century arose from industrialization, the emergence of easy and inexpensive color printing and advertising, and an emergent middle class who had the income and education to enjoy such works. However, many illustrators in the Golden Age also engaged in Orientalism, producing, reproducing, and constructing an imagined approximation of Near and Far Eastern landscapes and peoples. Fairy tale illustrators during this period reflected ideas and values that European and North American illustrators saw as significant to their understanding of Western culture. At the same time, their images indicated not (solely) an objectified Orient, but even questioned dominant ideas about Western cultural superiority. The examination of the diverse and at times contradictory messages produced in Orientalist Golden Age fairy tale illustrations demonstrates their rich analytical potential, their importance for understanding dominant cultural conceptions of the self and the Other, and the space left for further research to be done on the topic.Art and Art HistoryBachelors of Arts (BA
Evaluating Proactive Cultural Methods And Herbicide For Control Of Invasive Vegetation In Freshwater Wetland Mitigation
No full textWetlands are disproportionally susceptible to invasions by non-native plant species which degrade ecosystem functions. Frequent disturbances associated with wetland creation and restoration facilitate the spread of invasive propagules, thus challenging invasive species’ performance standards and the efficacy of compensatory wetland mitigation. Traditional invasive management methods, such as the use of non-selective herbicides, are often ineffective yet widely exercised to control invasive vegetation, like Arthraxon hispidus (joint-head grass) and Phalaris arundinacea (reed-canary grass). Given the regulatory mandates under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act pertaining to invasive species in mitigation wetlands, there is significant demand for effective control strategies of invasive plants while promoting native vegetation communities.We conducted a field experiment at a wetland mitigation site in Catlett, Virginia, over two growing seasons (GS-1 and GS-2) to evaluate the efficacy of various cultural management strategies (defined as ecologically informed approaches that modify environmental conditions or manipulate ecosystem processes to control invasive species) alongside traditional herbicide treatments in controlling Arthraxon and Phalaris. Our experimental design replicated management- related disturbances within 1.5m2 plots by utilizing mowing and tilling, followed by broadcast seeding of a standard volume native herbaceous wetland seed mix. Stress-inducing treatments included high carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio soil amendments using wood chips to induce a nitrogen limitation, soil amendments with aluminum sulfate (Al₂(SO₄)₃) to reduce phosphorus availability, plot shading via overhead canopy structures to reduce photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and induce light limitation, high-density native herbaceous seed mix to promote interspecific competition with native congeners, and herbicide, both individually and in partial combinations. Treatment performance was assessed over two growing seasons through measurement of vegetation abundance (relative cover plus relative density) of focal invasives coupled with environmental variables. Our findings demonstrate the impact of environmental variables on the dynamics of invasive-dominant communities in a wetland mitigation system following disturbance. The abundance of Arthraxon was positively correlated with cation macronutrients (e.g., K, Mg) and negatively correlated with shade, indicating a preference for high-nutrient, high-light environments. Conversely, Phalaris abundance showed a marginally significant positive correlation with shade, likely reflecting its tolerance to higher moisture and cooler conditions. Hydrology was identified as a significant indirect factor affecting vegetation community assemblage in both focal species’ experimental populations. Our results reinforce the necessity for replicable long-term studies to evaluate the effectiveness of resource-limiting strategies in various wetland mitigation contexts and among problematic invasive species with contrasting life history strategies.BiologyMaster of Science (M.Sc.
Bella Vista
No full textSet against the breathtaking mountains of Lombardy, Italy, this creative writing thesis explores the sacred bond between a grandmother and her granddaughter, Mafalda, as they run a beloved restaurant together. When faced with loss, Mafalda must navigate a world that once revolved around their shared life. In her search for healing, she leans on the tight-knit community of their small mountainside village — a cast of neighbors whose quiet strength and love help her rediscover her place in a world forever changed.EnglishBachelors of Arts (BA
"Carmen" a Screenplay
No full textThis work is predominantly in English but features dialogue in Spanish, colloquially SpanglishCarmen is the first two acts of a screenplay written by Clara Whitney. It tells the story of Carmen, a young woman in her mid-20s, coming of age while she pursues a career in folk music in the 1960s. Inspired by artists such as Joan Baez and Linda Ronstadt, Carmen must navigate the white-male dominated industry as a U.S.-born Latin American. Throughout the story, Carmen must decide whether she should stay true to herself and her family or conform to the pressures of white societal norms.Film StudiesBachelors of Arts (BA
Mathematical Modeling of Motor Neuron Activity: Integrating Biophysical and Empirical Gait Data for Enhanced Understanding of Motor Function Throughout the Lifespan
No full textThis project aims to develop comprehensive mathematical models to better understand the cellular mechanisms underlying motor neuron activity in normal and pathological conditions. The core objective is to establish a general central pattern generator (CPG) model using ordinary differential equations (ODEs) which captures the dynamics of normal walking. This model will incorporate relevant inputs from key neural regions integral to motor control. Additionally, tailored ODE-based models will be created to represent motor neuron activity as affected by the expected aging process and pathologies of Parkinson's disease. These models will be grounded in biophysical and anatomical findings from existing literature. To validate and refine these models, empirical data on motor neuron activity and motor function will be utilized that has been collected from young adults, older adults, and adults with Parkinson’s disease through the Center for Balance and Aging Studies (CBAS). This data will be instrumental in understanding how the modeled neural activity translates into functional outcomes, such as gait, balance, and multitasking abilities during movement. By integrating theoretical modeling with empirical data, this project aims to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the neurophysiological basis of motor function across different life stages and disease states.NeuroscienceBachelors of Science (BS