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Item Chicano and Black identity politics in music of the Civil Rights Era, 1950s-1970s(2021-05-02) Lanuza, Katia TeresaThis study examines the expression of identity in Chicano and African American civil rights music from the 1950s to the 1970s. Even though the African American civil rights movement and the Chicano movement have been extensively researched, little has been done to compare the two musically. The communities that created these movements shared many experiences, including discrimination and systemic racism, but these same identities were also characterized by distinct communal experiences. African Americans and Chicanos alike reclaimed their identity by engendering a sense of individual and community pride, a goal that was largely accomplished by the musical endeavors of activists. I explore this expression of identity through the music of Chicano and Black activists including Los Reyes de Albuquerque, Los Alvarados, Los Alacranes Mojados, Los Peludos, Sam Cooke, Nina Simone, James Brown, and Bernice Johnson Reagon.Item Arches triptych(2020-05-07) Allen, SarahArches Triptych is a three-movement work, each movement musically exploring a different geological feature of Arches National Park: petrified sand dunes, balanced rock and arches. The central theme of the work is the unimaginable amount of time it took to shape the landscape we see today. Minimalist techniques, such as ostinatos, repeated figures and constant eighth-note motion represent this theme throughout the piece. The harmonic language throughout the work is largely tonal, representing not only the landscape itself, but also the experience witnessing it for the first time. Firm but freely shifting tonal centers, mediant key relations and long lyrical lines in combination with the ever-present ostinatos embody both the geological and experiential aspects of the park. The first movement represents the petrified sand dunes in the park. Inspired by the subtle, rolling texture of the landscape, a repetitive rhythm on a single pitch is featured, out of which slowly changing harmonies emerge and eventually blossom into a soaring melody made up of quartal and quintal intervallic leaps. The slower middle section depicts the night sky at Arches National Park, which is one of the darkest in the nation. Harmonics, bowed piano and percussion, and slowly emerging lines illustrate the sparkling tranquility and vast captivating nature of the night sky. The Second movement, entitled Balanced Rock, begins with twelve-tone counterpoint. The use of all twelve tones represents the park millions of years ago when the structures did not exist, at a time when the highest points we now see were once part of a flat landscape. The counterpoint gives way to a theme stated in planing fifths, characterizing the strength of the balanced rock structures that have endured through millions of years. The remainder of the movement contains a pulsating pitch underneath the long lyrical melodies, portraying the persistence of time. The final movement, Arches, contains a tonally ambiguous ostinato figure that is first presented in the piano and vibraphone. The interlocking, layered nature of the ostinato depicts the different types and layers of rock that formed over millions of years, resulting in the ability of the arch structures to remain after the rest of the rock had eroded away. Like the first two movements, a lyrical melodic line appears over the ostinato. At the end of this movement, the melodies from the first two movements combine with the third in the final measures to conclude the piece.Item Item Thriving during the transition to fostering and adoptive parenthood: A test of the extended theoretical model of communal coping(2024-05-09) Majors, JessicaThis study tested the extended TMCC in the context of foster and adoptive parents, providing insight into how they engage in coping during their transition to parenthood. Participants (n = 203) completed an online survey that assessed their communication and relational quality, communal coping, perceived stigma, chronicity, control, and parental adjustment during their transition to adoptive or foster parenthood. Data was analyzed using correlations and Hayes’ PROCESS for SPSS. Results indicated that communal coping mediates the relationship between communication openness, communication efficacy, relational trust, relational commitment, and relational closeness and parental adjustment. Additionally, it confirmed control as impactful in the process of communal coping. Practically, this study demonstrates how communal coping is a powerful strategy for foster and adoptive parents adjusting to parenthood and it extends the TMCC to understand the experiences of foster and adoptive parents.Item Effect of polyploidy on stomata morphology in Vaccinium section Cyanococcus(2024-05-08) Garcia, Ediel EsparzaPolyploidy, a widespread phenomenon in vascular plants, plays a fundamental role in plant evolution and adaptation. Vaccinium sect. Cyanococcus, including blueberry species, comprises species of diploids, tetraploids, and hexaploids, making it an excellent model for studying the effect of polyploidy on morphology. Although stomata size has been shown to be correlated with ploidy level in a limited set of cultivated plants and one species pair of this group from herbarium specimens collected from the wild, the extent to which the pattern holds across the section in natural populations of the section is unknown. I investigated leaf stomatal size (length and width) and density across 18 species of Vaccinium sect. Cyanococcus. Sampling comprised four herbarium specimens for each species from individuals with ploidy level determined through flow cytometry and included diploids, tetraploids, and hexaploids. I found significant differences between stomatal density and ploidy level, with diploids having higher stomatal density compared to tetraploids and hexaploids. Conversely, stomatal size were found to increase significantly with higher ploidy levels, with hexaploids exhibiting the largest stomata. Principal component and discriminant analyses based on the stomatal traits distinctly clustered diploids, tetraploids, and tetraploids. I also demonstrate the utility of stomatal traits as a substitute for determining ploidy levels in V. sect. Cyanococcus, providing a cost-effective, efficient, and accessible method for studying polyploidy in plants as compared with, e.g., the squash method or flow cytometry.Item "Well, shit. what do I do now?": Narrative organizing, inevitable exit, and commodifying athletic identity(2024-05-07) Gibbs, Logan EzekialLess than 6% of high school athletes continue to compete at the collegiate level. Far fewer advance to compete at the professional level. This study applies a narrative lens to examine the identity formation processes that ex-athletes experience post-exit from the vocation of competitive athletics. Results highlighted how former competitive athletes used the experience of commodification as a primary sensemaking tool for understanding their inevitable exit. The effects of this commodification extend beyond participation within any one organization. Findings suggest that prolonged participation in a vocation underlined by commodification subsumes the VAS experienced during other stages of identity development. That exposure to commodification breaks down other pillars of social identity which leaves individuals with an inability to antenarrate themselves into a future that is removed from the vocation that has commodified them. Finally, the reification of vocational structures tied to totalistic membership has this presence of commodification built into it.Item “I got my brownie points for God”: Sensemaking and identity performance of short-term missionaries(2024-05-06) Mogadam, LeelaThis study employs sensemaking theory, identity and identification literature, post-colonial theory, and critical theory to investigate the influence of short-term mission trips on long-term religious identity and identification. Findings suggest that organizationally curated short-term experiences, such as short-term missions (STMs), are an effective means for organizations to impose an organizational identity and promote positive identification among members during the experience. However, the results of this study propose the counterproductive nature of these short-term experiences on long-term organizational identity and identification, as participants are likely to de-identify with the organization and deconstruct their organizationally imposed identity as they retrospectively make sense of the experience.Item Evaluating the impact of internal, purpose-related communication on perceptions and adoption of organizational purpose(2023-08-08) Rode, Elisa KeeThere is a growing focus in the business community on corporate purpose. As research shows,the economic meltdown of 2008 and then the COVID Pandemic of 2020 caused the business and academic communities to reconsider the purpose of business organizations. As a result, there is a growing sentiment calling for renewed organizational purpose focused on creating value stakeholder, versus traditional corporate purpose which is rooted in creating profits for shareholders. Little work has been done post COVID Pandemic to evaluate the internal communication strategies related to articulating and actioning this new approach to corporate purpose. Given that all credit unions share a common purpose of “people helping people,” which is articulated and actioned in different ways, this quantitative study examines how credit unions communicate their purpose internally and the impact of that communication on employee perceptions, adoption, and actioning of that purpose.Item Holding it together: Topic avoidance, social support, and relational satisfaction among law enforcement officers(2023-05-03) Thompson, Bobbi ElizabethLaw enforcement officers experience significant amounts of work-related stress and exposure to traumatic events on a frequent basis due to the unique nature of their work. This study examined how law enforcement officers’ avoidance surrounding discussing work-related topics with their romantic partners affects the satisfaction of their relationships. This study also investigated whether social support uniquely explained the impact of topic avoidance on law enforcement officers’ relational satisfaction and evaluated the role of stress in this mediational process. Participants (n= 104) reported on their level of occupational stress, work-related topic avoidance, their provision of social support, and their relationship satisfaction. Overall, work- related topic avoidance was detrimental for law enforcement officers’ relational satisfaction, and this association was explained by their provision of emotional social support, particularly when they experienced low to moderate levels of stress at work. At high levels of stress, only the main effect of topic avoidance on relational satisfaction emerged.Item I can't imagine doing anything else: The role of generativity and posttraumatic growth in the career decisions of social workers(2021-04-30) McLoughlin, MirandaThe process of coping with significant adversity often requires substantial effort and takes many different forms. One unique way of responding to adversity (i.e., generativity; Erikson,1963) involves turning ones’ own recovery outward and helping others who have experienced similar trauma. Drawing from this theoretical framework and utilizing a mixed methods approach, the present study interviewed employees of prosocial organizations (n = 12) and considered how they chose to dedicate their careers to helping others and approached their career duties, identifying past adverse experiences as a significant influence. Quantitative results (n = 100) suggested significant relationships between the integration of traumatic experiences into one’s identity and posttraumatic growth (PTG), generativity and PTG, and generativity and experience with significant adverse experiences which impact core beliefs. Given these findings, prosocial organizations serve as a salient context for continued research of the influence of PTG and generativity on organizational communication.Item "Trying to get out of the hole": Communicative resilience and sensemaking among adults experiencing food insecurity and economic precarity(2025-04-24) Salmeron, Irma Sofia47 million Americans are food insecure (Feeding America, 2025). Working class individuals are likely to be threatened by food insecurity (Dougherty, 2018). Therefore, this study focuses on the lived experience of individuals who are employed, in order to better understand the threat of food insecurity on the average American. This study examined food insecurity, and precarity through the lenses of sensemaking (Weick, 1995), and communicative theory of resilience (Buzzanell 2010). This study proposed that individuals experiencing economic hardships that result in food insecurity go through the Sensemaking process which aids in building resilience. Rationalization through dreaming, and universalizing allow individuals to make sense and enact resilience. Furthermore, this study revisited the roles of disruption, the connection between underemployment and sensemaking, and the role of networks.Item Pretrial supervision: The impact of the PSA on reporting outcomes(2025-04-23) Castellanos, DavidThis quantitative research paper explores the Public Safety Assessment (PSA), a risk assessment tool, and its effects on failure to report for pretrial supervision defendants within a large county in the southern U.S. Results indicated that while a number of factors being researched could not be found significant, education was highly positively correlated to reporting outcomes. The data demonstrated a need for further research on risk assessment tools and how they are used within individual supervision departments, while highlighting the importance of education within pretrial supervision policies.Item Understanding child sexual abuse: Analyzing the components, risk factors, rates, effects, and prevention measures(2025-04-25) Arriazola, LeilaniChild sexual abuse is an ongoing issue in the United States, with estimates of around 50,000 children per year experiencing sexual abuse. The severity of sexual abuse has been categorized as non-contact, contact, and penetrative/intercourse sexual abuse. The present study explores which types of factors—among cases processed in Texas—are related to the severity of sexual abuse. A retrospective chart review from 2017 to 2023 was conducted using a multinomial analysis of 50 females and 36 males from a foster care agency in Texas. Results indicated that mental health status and certain demographics of child victims were significantly associated with the severity of sexual abuse. Descriptive statistics produced findings that aligned with previous child sexual abuse research on victim and perpetrator demographics, complex trauma, placement disruptions, and family dynamics. This study highlights that child sexual abuse case characteristics are not linear due to a multitude of independent factors.Item Beware for they are fearless: Finding female power and agency in Gothic literature(2025-04-25) Staffeldt, ValerieAnneThis thesis examines female agency, voice, and power amidst the patriarchal framework of Gothic literature. While Gothic literature often depicts traditional gender roles, it simultaneously allows women to challenge the limitations placed on them and redefine their identities. This thesis examines Frankenstein, The Castle of Otranto, and Jane Eyre to uncover how women are able to assert their voices amidst restrictive social parameters through the use of Gothic serving as a medium for exploring women’s empowerment amidst oppressive societal environments. Through the use of the uncanny, grotesque, and destabilized power structures the Gothic fiction provides a space in which women are able to find their voice agency amidst social structures that continually seeks to silence them.Item To wander and return: A concerto for organ and orchestra(2020-04-30) Horton, EmilyTo Wander and Return is a concerto written for organ and full orchestra, comprising three movements. Performance time is approximately thirty minutes. Tonally the music centers around E, beginning in E minor and ending in E major. The middle movement, in C minor, is related to E as a mediant. Unlike traditional concertos, the organ does not always feature extreme virtuosity. Instead, it emerges from the orchestra as one of its members, asserts its independence as the soloist, then returns to an equal role with the orchestra. The organ personifies a wanderer; a long-suffering hero characterized by courage and endurance who ultimately triumphs over his trials. As a result, there are stirring moments of triumph and adventure as well as darker moments of heavy pathos, sorrow and turmoil. The first movement is in sonata form with two expositions. Three main themes occur throughout the movement (which is in E minor), first stated by the orchestra then by the organ. The second half features the organ and the orchestra equally, and the movement closes with a wistful organ coda. The orchestra opens the movement boldly. Then, as the texture thins, the first of the three themes emerges in the bassoons. The bassoons depict the wanderer briskly setting out on his journey. During this exposition, the oboes and the flutes present the second theme and the first violins present the final, melancholy theme. The organ appears occasionally in an accompanying role, but it does not fully emerge until after the first exposition. The second movement opens with a change of mood and scenery. This movement is in rondo form, with the first theme built over a ground bass. The repetitive B theme is accompanied by a sparkling texture that features harp and celeste during its first statement. In contrast, the lyrical C theme features the oboes, English horns and strings. The harmonies in this movement are cloudy and clustered, but generally stay within the tonal areas of C minor and its relative Eb major. Throughout the movement, soaring melodies contrast with minimalistic, repeated chords and the cello, oboe and organ are featured prominently. The third movement begins attacca, led by the organ which issues a trumpet call, heralding a suddenly minor and harsh idea. After the orchestra responds to this idea, the organ plays a chorale theme in E major which returns throughout the movement. This theme is the wanderer’s anthem of undaunted hope and courage. The movement is loosely ternary in form, with a buoyant, optimistic B section evoking images of a journey at sea. After the orchestra builds to an enormous climax at the return of A, the organ reenters with the chorale theme as well as themes from the first movement.Item Deconstruction of being: The economy of estrangement in oppression(2015-12-14) Fucile, Paul JamesFrom antiquity the human being of humanity is understood as a divided Being. Despite some 2000 years and more, this division has repeated itself in the form of consciousness and the phenomena, concretely objectifying Being within our very epistemology. It is the initial argument of this paper that on the one hand human beings of humanity are indoctrinated in descriptors that are nominal and those nominal descriptors are an indicator of the “I” of which are reinforced by their external Social Market Value (SMV). On the other hand, human beings of humanity through this continual external reinforcement of Social Market Value are further indoctrinated in suppressing their own subject self. This initial argument arises from the primary argument of this paper, the deconstruction of Being, where on the one hand Being is the singular subjective self, and on the other hand Non-being is metaphysics capitalistic privatization of the body. Wherein through the capitalistic colonization of metaphysics the “I” of Non-being is estranged from the subjective self.Item Chronic curcumin supplementation: Effects on endothelial function following exercise-induced muscle damage(2015-11-03) Sanders, ElizabethChronic inflammation is linked to endothelial dysfunction. Supplementation with curcumin, an anti-inflammatory, has been proved to improve endothelial function in individuals with chronic inflammation. Exercise-induced muscle damage induces acute inflammation, and can lead to a decrease in endothelial function. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of curcumin on endothelial function after exercise-induced muscle damage in moderately trained individuals. Methods: Seventy-five moderately trained men (n=31) and women (n=32) volunteered for the study. Subjects were randomized into one of three groups for supplementation. The low dosage group received 250mg/day of curcumin (C250), the high dosage group received1000mg/day (C1000), and the placebo (P) group received a similar quantity of powder containing no curcumin. Each subject supplemented for two months. Anaerobic capacity, endothelial function, and baseline anthropometric testing were performed prior to 8 weeks of supplementation. Post supplementation subjects reported to the lab five consecutive days. The same baseline tests were retested followed by a 45 min downhill run at 65% VO2max to induce muscle damage. Endothelial function and blood markers were measured post muscle damage. Results: There was no significant difference between groups for FMD, AUC, and IAUC. There was significant increase in creatine kinase post down hill run in all groups. Conclusion: Curcumin supplementation did not improve endothelial function following exercise induced muscle damage.Item The effects of the LiiNK Project on muscular strength, neuromuscular control, injuries, and resilience in elementary school children(2025-04-24) Wagner, Lauren MackenzieAs recess opportunities have declined in school settings, research has focused more on children’s physical and mental well-being. The primary purpose of the current study explored muscular strength (MusS) and neuromuscular control (NC), injury, and resilience score differences, by grade and sex, at two time points (September 2024 and January 2025) across fourth and fifth graders who engaged in a modified LiiNK Project recess intervention while also assessing relationships and variable predictions. MusS assessments included the dynamometer grip strength, single-leg three-hop, push-ups, and standing broad jump. NC was assessed using the side-step test. A Qualtrics survey assessed injuries, specifically fractures and tears, and resilience through the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-R). A MANOVA was utilized to analyze MusS, NC, and resilience change scores by grade and sex, a Chi-square analyzed injuries, and an ANOVA analyzed resilience by race. Additionally, Pearson product correlations and multiple regression analysis were used to examine relationships between the dependent variables. The MANOVA indicated no main effects or interactions for grade and sex differences on MusS, NC, or resilience assessments (p > 0.05), and injuries by sex were not significant (p > 0.05). Resilience was not significant for race (p > 0.05). For both time points, MusS assessments were positively, moderately, and significantly (p < 0.05) related. Meanwhile, resilience, injuries, and sport participation were not significantly (p > 0.05) related. All children in this sample received the same modified LiiNK intervention, which included 30 minutes of recess and a character development lesson daily. The results demonstrated that the children were performing similarly to each other at both time points. The minimal MusS, NC, and resilience differences may also be due to the limited time period between data collection or the reduction of recess from 60 minutes to 30 minutes.Item Leadership styles of police chiefs and their impact on organizational culture, recruitment, and retention(2025-04-11) Miller, Michael ColemanThis study explores the impact that the leadership styles of police chiefs have on the culture of their organization as well as officer recruitment and retention. A purposive convenience sample of North Texas chiefs of police was selected for in-depth qualitative interviews. Semi-structured Zoom interviews of thirteen (13) current North Texas chiefs of police were conducted, recorded, and transcribed. The aim of this study was to add to the body of research by examining themes on this topic from a diverse group of chiefs from small to large agencies that operate in rural, suburban, and urban settings. The research found that the leadership styles of chiefs have evolved over time, the influence a chief has on the culture of an agency is dependent on agency size, and the leadership style of the chief and the organizational culture impact recruitment and retention. The research also found that impediments to changing organizational culture also differed with agency size. Finally, chiefs discussed how they changed the organizational culture within their organizations. With recruiting and retention being priorities for every chief of police and the organizational culture playing a significant role in these, the leadership lessons learned from this study should be evaluated further and potentially shared with all chiefs of police.Item As for me and my house(2024-05-05) Walker, Lauren HopeAs for me and my house explores a domestic realm where a variety of materials and objects narrate the pictorial and spatial possibilities of this obscure world. Materials such as paper pulp, glazed ceramics, oil paint, and other sculptural materials are used to create a Tiffany lamp, a mischievous 6-pack of Lone Star Beer, a fountain of mysterious yellow liquid, and a lavender claw-foot tub who bleeds out of her own faucet. These anthropomorphized forms aid in examining the intersection of queerness, femininity, and the grotesque. Through this exhibition, Walker embarks on the journey of unpacking a more expansive vision of her identity, reflecting on her studio practice, material investigations, and personal research.