Digital Commons Network^™

The Level Of Creative Thinking Of Stem-Oriented Middle And High School Children Associated With The Level Of Self-Motivated Play And Success Within A Builder Game And Engagement In Builder Gaming Communities' Social Media Culture, John Aedo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Literature indicates that the United States has fallen behind other countries in the world in terms of creativity. At the same, children's self-motivated gaming and involvement in gaming communities have grown as a major pass time. The literature is inconsistent on the relationship between games and creativity with some indicating benefit while others indicate harm. Might the observed level of creative thinking among children be associated with the level of a priori self-motivated engagement with creative games and associated social media? Given the wide spectrum of the kinds of games, this research considers the "builder" (e.g. Minecraft) genre and related …

Evita: A Practical Approach To Creating And Implementing Choreography For Professional Theater, Kimberly Ball

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

From Oklahoma!, 42nd Street, and A Chorus Line to Hairspray, Kinky Boots, and Hamilton, we have watched musical theater dance transcend conventional boundaries and open up worlds that were once unimaginable and distant. Musical theater choreography is a crucial element to the storytelling process. When dialogue, either spoken or sung, isn't fully able to express feelings, dance is there not only to heighten the emotion, but also to reveal character depths and further the plot. As an extension of expressed language, movement becomes the link that connects text and emotion, and ultimately the story and the audience. How does a …

Afrofuturism In Animation: Self Identity Of African Americans In Cinematic Storytelling, Dana Barnes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

My work addresses the importance of self-identity within the Black culture of the United States of America through the depiction of an African American boy who must look into himself to overcome a difficult bullying situation. Animation as a medium is an ideal tool for interrogating the Western perspective of identity through cinematic storytelling. Using established animation methods, I created a visual narrative to portray the impact self-identity has on an individual's actions in certain social conditions. The film expands the medium of animation to subvert the narrative expectations of bullying and presents the idea of identity as a nonconforming …

Unexplored Conceptions: What Writing Center Tutors Think About Writing, Andrew Petrykowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Writing center tutors enact their conceptions of writing in every tutoring session, and yet their conceptions of writing have not yet been systematically researched. This thesis researches the conceptions of writing of writing center tutors at the University of Central Florida's University Writing Center. To uncover tutors' conceptions of writing, I interviewed three tutors by asking them open-ended questions about their experiences with writing and tutoring. After coding and analyzing the transcripts of these interviews, I found seven shared conceptions of writing. These conceptions are the basis of my argument. Because these conceptions are shared but not taught, I turn …

Dolly'll Never Go Away Again: Producing The Classic Musical At The High School Level, Jason Whitehead

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

High school theatre programs tend to select musicals that employ many students, both on and offstage, as well as titles which contain little to no objectionable content, making it safe for all family members to attend. The community standards imposed by school districts limit the choices for theatre teachers. Students also tend to be attracted to the newer and recently released musicals, ones that just finished a national tour or their Broadway run. Finding a title that adheres to the various criteria of a high school can be demanding and frustrating. For my thesis, I mounted and produced Hello, Dolly! …

Mirrors For Monsters: A Journey Towards Self-Acknowledgement And Nuanced Representation In Film, Alejandro Watson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Mirrors for Monsters is a body of work created by Alejandro Watson in partial fulfillment of the requirements for earning a Master of Fine Arts in Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema from the University of Central Florida. The body of work consists of a feature length documentary, MHD, several installations (Self-Acknowledgement/Self-Acceptance, Garden of Bodies, Why Am I Like This?, Not My Thoughts), several short video pieces (In A Dream I Saw A Way to Survive and I Was Full of Joy, Car Ride (Baker Act Version), My Lunch With Andy, Prompts) and an art book, It's All Good. The body experiments with …

Death In The Land Of Flowers: Environment As Enemy In The Second Seminole War, Nicholas Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis argues that Florida's natural environment was one of the United States Army's most formidable enemies during the Second Seminole War (1835–42), and that environmental factors, more than hostilities from Native peoples themselves, led the United States to abandon the War. Many White soldiers from the North were unprepared to cope with the environmental challenges posed by Florida. In order to build a foundation for this argument, the thesis examines how previous newcomers to Florida dealt with the environment, from the original First Peoples who arrived several thousand years ago, to European explorer/colonizers, to White Americans in the decades …

Compulsory: Art, Memory, And The Stigma Of Mass Incarceration, Jason Fronczek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis combines photography, mixed media, and installation to explore the interrelation between art, memory, and culture; specifically, as they relate to (in)visibility and the stigma surrounding mass incarceration. Things that are compulsory are obligatory; they require that we follow a rule or law, but they also may be coercive or compelling. Compulsory, therefore, is defined alternately as something that is required and something that is irresistible. These definitions imply both desire and regulation, and these forces are often internalized and self-imposed. Following these definitions and their connotations, this thesis, titled Compulsory, combines photography and mixed media installation to explore …

The Underlying Effects Of Religion In Puerto Rico, Claudia A. Chardon

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to explore the role religion has played in the Puerto Rican society. Growing up in this culture entails a deep and implicit connection with the religious world. Religious values, beliefs, and attitudes are firmly entrenched and amplified through the family, culture, and schools. Because it is so deeply entrenched, it is difficult to find a place to leverage a critique of its impact. Thus, in order to understand the societal matters and challenges the island faces, an in-depth study that explores the beliefs, attitudes, and behavior of Puerto Ricans is necessary.

Using Children's Literature To Support Social And Emotional Learning In Third Through Sixth Grade Classrooms, Hayley L. Paljug

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This research examined the use of award-winning children’s literature for social and emotional learning, focusing on its use for children in third through sixth grades. The world is ever-changing, and, as a result, the need for children to learn necessary social and emotional skills continues to increase. These skills include, but are not limited to, perseverance, friendship, grit, caring, and the like. It has been found that teaching social and emotional skills through bibliotherapy is an engaging and successful method that can be used by schools and teachers. Teachers or other educational stakeholders can use this document to begin to …

Representation In The Story: The Social Impact Of Diversity In Transmedia, Tiffany S. Tanaka-Cooper

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to take a more profound and nuanced look into the effects of diversity in transmedia storytelling (also known as transmedia narrative or multiplatform storytelling) on society, more specifically, how the representation in these stories affect the minority groups that interact with transmedia. This thesis investigates the depiction of minority groups in transmedia storytelling and the influence of identifiable characters and plotlines. The research and following interviews I have engaged in will encapsulate into a screenplay set in a fictional court that offers the discourse of "forced diversity" within the transmedia narrative: whether or not …

Rethinking Causality: Thomas Aquinas' Argument From Motion & The Kalām Cosmological Argument, Derwin Sánchez Jr.

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Ever since they were formulated in the Middle Ages, St. Thomas Aquinas' famous Five Ways to demonstrate the existence of God have been frequently debated. During this process there have been several misconceptions of what Aquinas actually meant, especially when discussing his cosmological arguments. While previous researchers have managed to tease out why Aquinas accepts some infinite regresses and rejects others, I attempt to add on to this by demonstrating the centrality of his metaphysics in his argument from motion. Aquinas cannot be properly understood or debated with a contemporary view of causality, but rather must wrestle with the concepts …

The Eyes And Ears Of The Nation: America's First Spy Ring, Eric Topolewski

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the early and smaller espionage tactics during the American Revolution and compare them to the established Culper Ring. George Washington, the American general and later president, and Benjamin Tallmadge, the Director of Military Intelligence during the war, looked for a way to revolutionize espionage at the time. Prior to the Culper Ring, espionage was done on a small scale. Single spies were the most common form of espionage. Washington and Tallmadge knew they needed something new and worked to create something that would last and become sustainable. They were able to create …

La Mano E Il Braccio: Comparing Italian Immigrant Communities In Louisiana And Florida, 1880-1914, Keith Richards

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Italian immigration patterns to Louisiana and Tampa, FL have received a good deal of scholarly attention as two separate phenomena, but they are better understood as informing one another in the evolution of southern thought in regard to Italian immigrants. Italians were the second largest non-black minority group behind Mexicans to be lynched, and in understanding the circumstances surrounding those acts of extrajudicial violence, a pattern is apparent. Lynchings of Italians in Louisiana emerged out of fear of the Black Hand (La Mano Nera), and the Mafia, whereas the sole incident of an Italian being lynched in Tampa occurred as …

Reading Between The Lines: Language Ideologies And Tutor Education Readings, Michele Cintron Toney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Language difference and socially-just writing center praxis have long been points of discussion within writing center scholarship. Writing center administrators and tutors recognize that the praxis within their writing centers does not always correspond to their beliefs about working with student writers or the role of the writing center within the academy—particularly in the areas of language equality and social and racial justice—and they acknowledge the impact that course readings have in tutor education. While tutor education readings may not specifically state a particular ideological viewpoint regarding language difference, their discussions of language and rhetorical practices, multilingual writers, and tutoring …

Control, Consumption, And Connections: The Women Of Eighteenth-Century Colchester, Virginia, And Their Participation In The Atlantic World Of Goods, 1760-1761, Bryce Forgue

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study examines the economic agency and participation of sixty-five women in Colchester, Fairfax County, Virginia throughout the years of 1760-1761 based on ledgers from a general store where they purchased goods on credit. To expand the view of women of different social standings in the colonial south, this study builds a more complicated picture of eighteenth-century women's scope of economic participation. "Control, Consumption, and Connections" explores how women could acquire credit, how they used that credit to make informed consumer purchases, and how they used the extensive social networks they lived in to earn and consume. By studying their …

Adachigahara Project: A 3d Iterative Series, James Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This project tested an aesthetic use of 3D space to create alienation and immersion. It expanded upon it through iteration into other methods of cinematic alienation. To do this the project produced three short films each used the aesthetic of stereoscopic space. Two of the films were tested in conjunction with other methods of alienation while one served as a baseline. The project was able to render the spatial method of alienation and immersion, and found that other methods of alienation had an effect on it. While the project was able to test the use of 3D space to alienate …

Taking Inventory, Constance Owens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

"Taking Inventory" is a biography about my mother, whose life spanned decades filled with hope, heartbreak, loneliness, and adversity. Weaving together micro-essay and prose poetry set at the merger of her adulthood and my childhood, this mixed genre collection examines the many ways her life influenced mine. The triptych structure of the book moves backwards in time, exploring the relationship between my mother and the world she navigated, beginning with the final stages of her life, moving through a turbulent mid-life, and ending with the young woman affected by a world war, an alcoholic father, and a devoutly religious mother. …

Naming More Of What We Know: Critical Memoirs & The Ecological Metaphor As A Threshold Concept In Writing, Loren Cooper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

"Naming More of What We Know: Critical Memoirs & the Ecological Metaphor as a Threshold Concept in Writing" contributes to the work begun by Adler-Kassner and Wardle to gather and name Writing Studies' body of disciplinary knowledge as "threshold concepts." This thesis answers their call to engage in the ongoing development of threshold concepts by offering an additional critical construct: Writing as ecological. To explicitly acknowledge that writing is ecological is an essential addition to the content of our knowledge because it (1) meets the threshold-concept criteria adapted from Meyer and Land (2003), (2) establishes a codified, embodied, 3-dimensional system …

The Field Of Tya On The Soccer Field: Using Drama Strategies To Enhance Youth Soccer Coaching Practices, Brittany Caine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis explores best practices for applying drama strategies to coaching youth soccer. How does drama pedagogy translate to sports? Do drama techniques improve youth soccer? How can using drama- based strategies when coaching youth soccer enhance my own coaching abilities and thus improve the quality of youth soccer instruction and experience? This study applies various drama techniques to pre- written coaching curriculum. This manifested in heavily detailed games, supported by pantomime, storytelling, and narrative exploration, all of which further engaged the children in their soccer exercises. This thesis is supplemented by research on best practices regarding youth soccer, as …

Alexander: A Dive Into Identity, Inspiration, And Release Of The Creative Self, Alyssa Garoogian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Alexander is a story of overcoming the fear of personal artistic expression. Alexander is the son of an affluent family who was found to have musical talent at a young age. Alex grows to enjoy music, but rote exercises alone begin to disillusion the promising musician. Regardless, Alexander dutifully practices piano exercises daily, bored by the lack of creative stimulation but afraid to openly admit it. After an accidental music note sparks his imagination, Alexander escapes into fantasy: a colorful visualization of the original music he creates. Within this fantasy, a warm, supportive community leads Alexander to his most significant …

The Memory Remains: Why The Migration Period And The Fall Of Rome Continue To Be Mischaracterized As A Barbarian Invasion, Walter Napier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The Fall of Rome (or more specifically the Western Roman Empire) remains a hotly debated subject in the history of Late Antiquity. The Battle of Adrianople can be argued to be the beginning of Rome's end, but the cause of the battle lay more with Rome's imperial mismanagement than any deliberate attempt at war from the barbarians. Rome turned against those who would have defended the empire, and for many centuries had done just that. Despite being forced into an antagonistic relationship with Rome, their reputation as the cause of Rome's calamity has remained to the present day. This thesis …

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Echoes: Digital Political Discourse And Vectors Of Ideological Propagation, Devon Razey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study analyzes the discursive strategies used by participants in online non-political spaces to negotiate and propagate political ideologies. Through the use of Critical Discourse Analysis in rhetorical studies (Huckin et. al.), this study produced a theory of political ideological vectors in digitally connective social network platforms. The analysis uses discussions taken from Twitter and Reddit surrounding the introduction of an Asian female character, Nagini, in the Fantastic Beats: Crimes of Grindelwald trailer immediately following its release in September 2018. Ultimately, this study found that participants are less likely to isolate themselves within politically congenial echo chambers than previously theorized …

Casting As A Pedagogical Practice In Educational Theatre Spaces, Scott Savage

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Casting might be the most exciting thing in theatre to happen off-stage. Actors, agents, directors, producers, and outside observers are keenly interested in who plays a given part. In a professional space, casting seeks to ask, "Which performer is the best fit for this part?" But what happens when an educational theatre director instead asks, "Which role will best enable the learning of this performer?" This thesis explores the process of casting in an educational theatre space as being distinctly different from casting in a professional theatre space. By examining theoretical underpinnings of casting through literature and reflexive practice, I …

A Transnational Look At The Modern Women, Isabella Hardesty

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Spanning forty years apart, the short story “Miss Sophia’s Diary” (1926) by Ding Ling and The Bell Jar (1963) by Sylvia Plath can speak to one another in revealing the position of women in a revolutionary new era. The two stories may be generationally and geographically distant, yet both hold a collective female consciousness in the context of the emerging modernist epoch. By examining these two pieces of literature in relation to one another, similar attitudes and stylistic trends emerge regarding the treatment of women. The common archetypes, for each respective time and country, imprinted onto women are at some …

Macho Remixes: A Collection Of Writings, Daniel A. Hernandez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Macho Remixes: A Collection of Writings is a thesis containing short stories, poetry, and a personal essay that discuss the matter of toxic masculinity through the representations of male and macho sexuality in the Latinx culture. It covers depictions of how Latinx men have been stereotyped in today’s society. The works included here are my own perspectives of what masculinity means to me as a young multicultural male navigating life. Throughout these texts, I—my speakers and narrators—grapple with understanding the conflicting and oppressive expectations drawn from my roots, particularly those based in Latinx culture. The purpose is considering the negative …

Pestilence And Poverty: The Great Influenza Pandemic And Underdevelopment In The New South, 1918-1919, Andrew Kishuni

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study examines the "Spanish" influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 in the U.S. South, using case-studies of Jacksonville, Savannah, New Orleans, and Nashville to sculpt a "Southern flu" more identical to the Global South and the developing world than the rest of the U.S. I examine poverty and political and economic paralysis in the years between the end of Reconstruction and 1918, and the poor results of political indifference on public health and disease control. I also analyze the social and institutional racism against persons of color that defined high infectious disease mortality in Southern cities.

I argue that Southerners faced …

Addressing The Elephant On The Stage: Mental Health In Theatre Education, Alexandra M. Meridionale

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis examined the ways in which present-day 6^th through 12^th grade theatre educators approach the topic of mental health, both implicitly and explicitly, in theatre education. Through a survey of existing literature, as well as interviews with 6^th through 12^th grade theatre educators, the researcher examined ways in which theatre educators were aware of the mental health needs of their students in any of the following capacities: explicit discussions regarding mental health, theatre curriculum, show selection, script analysis, and casting choices.

The reveal the educator perception that mental health issues are increasingly relevant to 6 …

Australian And New Zealand Army Corps (Anzacs) In World War One: The Making Of National Identity And Erasure Of Women And People Of Color, Simran Pawar

Honors Undergraduate Theses

My work seeks to understand the origins of national identity as it pertains to the Anzacs of Australia and New Zealand, their service at the Battle of Gallipoli, and its use in the establishment of a white, male creation myth in both nations following the end of World War One. I furthermore plan to examine how this Anzac myth excluded and even erased the place of marginalized communities in the birth of Australia and New Zealand as modern nations. In other words, my thesis explores both the insiders and the outsiders of the Anzac myth. My cutting-edge research aims to …

Who Am I, And Why Does It Matter? Reflections Of Identity And The Need For Culturally Sustaining Theatre, Bianca Alamo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The question of "who am I" created an involuntary domino effect which led me to my most valued work I have done as a graduate student, serving predominantly Latino/a students in educational theatre settings. This thesis explores three productions I worked on and the questions that have evolved in my understanding of identity and cultural sustainability as a Latina theatre artist and educator working in educational theatre. As an Orlando Repertory teaching artist, I began a residency with HOPE CommUnity Center along with some colleagues. We worked with high school students from their youth group to devise a show titled …