Digital Commons Network^™

John Jasper: The Creation Of A Character, Blake Price

Honors Theses

On November 13th, 2015, I will be participating in my last mainstage performance at Western Michigan University. To say I’m excited to be finishing my college career as John Jasper in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, would be an absolute understatement. Over the course of the past three and a half years, I have had the rare privilege to split my time evenly between performing plays and musicals, which does not always happen for Music Theatre Performance majors. The ability to work with new directors on a variety of different styles of plays and musicals has given me the opportunity …

The Trickster And Queen, Jagjit Sidhu

Honors Theses

The trickster is a primary motif that appears in numerous cultures in the form of a mischievous and impulsive character, who tricks others to get what he wants. However, in reality the trickster is far from a simple-minded clown. He is actually very complex and sees through the facade of society and it’s strict hypocritical cultures and traditions, seeking to challenge these mechanisms that restrict the flow of logic and pleasure. For this paper, I will theoretically analyze the mechanism of the trickster, and the intimate relation between his trickery and his role as a culture-hero. I will apply this …

I'M Right Here., Emily Gadzinski

Honors Theses

In order to survive the mundane, monotonousness of my depression, I performed an identity, a repetition of actions and reactions. This performance was the barrier between two selves, my outward expression and my internal experience. “I’m right here”, the title of my exhibition, is my way of asserting and re-claiming my identity. By re-claiming the spaces that my body and mind occupy, I’m able to maintain power and control over my emotional struggle, the perception of myself, and the trajectory of my life. The concept of my thesis was demonstrated through four pieces, which included a video, interactive installation, sculpture, …

The Neurochemistry Of Group Singing: Bonding And Oxytocin, Jason Keeler

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the neurochemical correlates of group vocal improvisation and to determine the feasibility of the research methods. One group of four participants sang together in two conditions: pre-composed and improvised. Concentrations of plasma oxytocin and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) were measured before and after each singing condition to assess levels of hormones associated with social affiliation, engagement and arousal. Successful implementation of the methodology, including recruitment, data collection, and sample analysis, served as the primary outcome of this study. ACTH concentrations decreased in both conditions, and significantly so in the pre-composed singing condition. Mean …

String Quartet, Brut, Bernie Walasavage

Masters Theses

l’Art Brut , also commonly referred to as “outsider art,” is comprised of a variety of visual media by untrained or mentally ill artists. The string quartet is subtitled this because it takes inspiration from the work of these artists; with its jagged edges, vibrant colors, and horrid scenes, there is an organic beauty inherent in such eclectic and divergent art. Another factor which drew me to the artwork of the mentally ill was the commonality of Kenophobia: an abnormal fear of empty spaces. Schizophrenic, Swiss artists, Adolf Wölfli (18641930) and Aloïse Corbaz (18861964) were noted for suffering this phobia …

Physiological Response To Dissonance In Musicians And Nonmusicians, Angela Beth Biehl

Masters Theses

Knowing the human response to musical dissonance could have important therapeutic implications in the music therapy setting. The listener’s musical experience could significantly impact their response and subsequently its effect in a therapeutic setting. Thus, this study aimed to examine both the psychophysiological and subjective responses to dissonance and the difference in these responses between those with high experience and those with low experience. Participating groups, categorized as high experience (HE) and low experience (LE) in terms of musical knowledge, listened to consonant and dissonant musical excerpts, and rated each excerpt on its pleasantness; their physiologic responses were measured to …

“Men Of Good Timber”: An Archaeological Investigation Of Labor In Michigan’S Upper Peninsula, Aaron Howe

Masters Theses

This study approaches the material assemblage of Coalwood, a cordwood camp that operated from 1900-1912 in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, with a dialectal method and a theory of internal relations in order to understand how daily life was produced and reproduced. Common sense notions often see home and work as separate entities that only relate to one another externally. My archaeological and historical research abstracts domestic labor as a set of social relations that are dialectically and internally connected to the processes of capital accumulation. My archaeological analysis concludes that both productive and reproductive labor was conducted within the home and …

“A Difficult And Dangerous Thing”: Religious Reform In Late Medieval Ulm, 1434-1532, Jamie Mccandless

Dissertations

This work examines the relationship between mendicant Orders and the city council of Ulm in the period of religious reforms from the fifteenth century to the early Reformation in the sixteenth century. It challenges the view that the Observant reforms were unsuccessful because they failed to reform substantially their Orders, that their reforms were too conservative to respond to current trends in religion, or that they failed to prevent, in some way, the development of the antifratneral or anticlerical policies of the Reformation. This work also considers that nature of the Observant reforms themselves, the problems that religious Order’s had …

Power Relations At The Cistercian Abbey Of St. Mary At Rushen: With Special Interest In Connections At Furness And Influence Through The Kingdom Of The Isles, Valerie Dawn Hampton

Dissertations

The Isle of Man is an island situated in the Irish Sea at the geographical center of the British Isles. During the Middle Ages, the Isle of Man, which was only two hundred and twenty-two square miles, surprisingly was the seat of an important Viking kingdom that controlled and patrolled the Irish Sea and Hebrides. Rushen Abbey, a Savigniac monastery, was founded in 1134 near Ballasalla, in the parish of Malew, in the southeast of the Isle of Man.

This dissertation focuses on the influence that Rushen Abbey exerted on the ecclesiastical institutions and secular personas within the area of …

Ancient Magic And Modern Accessories: Developments In The Omamori Phenomenon, Eric Teixeira Mendes

Masters Theses

This thesis offers an examination of modern Japanese amulets, called omamori, distributed by Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines throughout Japan. As amulets, these objects are meant to be carried by a person at all times in which they wish to receive the benefits that an omamori is said to offer. In modern times, in addition to being a religious object, these amulets have become accessories for cell-phones, bags, purses, and automobiles. Said to protect people from accidents, disease, loneliness, failure, computer viruses, among many other things, these objects are one of the few material aspects of religion that are a …

Literacy Practices Among Migrant Teachers: Educator Perspectives And Critical Observations, Briana Asmus

Dissertations

This research builds upon scholarship that explores the unique needs of Latina/o migrant students and the teachers who serve them. Situated within the overlapping fields of migrant education, critical literacy, and Latina/o critical theory, this narrative examines the practices and perspectives of three teachers, each with more than a decade of experience teaching migrant students in a summer migrant education program (SMEP) in Michigan. The purpose of this study is to give educators, administrators, and community members who work with migrant students additional insight into the literacy acquisition process and unique challenges of working with this population.

Despite the aim …

The Experience Of Social Flow In Vocal Jazz Improvisation, Brittany Neuser

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of experimental research procedures and gather initial data in studying the experience of social flow within the context of group music production tasks. Participants completed two different group vocal music production tasks: Performance of a pre-composed song and an improvised performance. The Flow State Scale-2 (FSS-2), a 36-item survey in which a mean score of 45 implies the ultimate flow experience and a score of 9 implies that no flow was experienced during the event in question, was used to assess the level of social flow experienced by the participants …

The Foundation Of Cistercian Monasteries In France 1098-1789: An Historical Gis Evaluation, Jon Eric Klingenberg Rasmussen

Masters Theses

Historical geography focuses upon those relationships which have shaped the evolution of place and landscape over time. One fundamental approach used to achieve this objective is the set of theories associated with spatial diffusion. This includes the spatial and chronological paths, the periodicities and rates of spread, as well as the identification of areas of void or avoidance. An emerging trend in historical geography is the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). A GIS provides the researcher with the necessary tools to re-evaluate and challenge long-standing interpretations of any given event, historical or otherwise, as well as develop new insights …

Music Therapists Behind Locked Doors: The Role Of Trauma Exposure And Current Music Therapy Practices In Correctional And Forensic Psychiatry, Deanna K. Bush

Masters Theses

The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore the role trauma exposure has on the possible development of symptoms of Vicarious Traumatization (VT) in the lives of Board Certified Music Therapists employed in correctional and forensic settings. Research was conducted through completion of an electronic survey. Additionally, the researcher sought to identify current music therapy practices as well as differences between practicing in forensic settings and correctional settings. The participants involved in this study were Board Certified Music Therapists who work in forensic and correctional settings. Survey invitations were electronically sent to 133 prospective participants as listed on either …

Perceptions Of Guitar Use And Training In Music Therapy: A Survey Of Clinicians, Joshua Robert Keller

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine music therapists' perceptions of guitar use and training in clinical practice. Three major research questions dealt with guitar use, guitar training, and clinicians' confidence using the guitar in clinical practice. A quasi-random sample of 1000 board-certified music therapists were invited to complete an online questionnaire with 27 questions in the areas of guitar use, guitar training and experience, and the importance of 28 specific skills. One hundred fifty music therapists (n = 150) responded.

Major findings include: (1) clinicians appear to use the guitar frequently and, on average, see guitar skills as …

Using Stories As The Landscape Of Writing: A Case Study Of Mentor Texts In The Elementary Classroom, Christine Mcdowell

Dissertations

In this dissertation, I investigate the way in which mentor texts are defined and implemented by four elementary classroom teachers within one school district, and how this mode of instruction allows for an increase in teacher autonomy while still addressing Common Core State Standards. This project focuses on each participant as they share a common goal in writing instruction while maintaining their teaching identity and curricular freedom.

One goal of this study is to provide the educational theory that supports mentor text instruction that is missing from the movement. Many teaching guides exist that explain the concept of mentor texts, …

Taking Art To The Next Level: Integration Of Advanced Placement Studio Art, 2-D Design, Krystal Kingsley

Masters Theses

Teaching High School art has brought me great joy. Along the way I have been challenged with many difficult questions. One that beckoned me to direct and intentional action is “how do I help students take their art work to the next level?” This project is the result of my personal discovery and development of an Advanced Placement Studio Art 2-D Design course. My research of multiple sources led to the development of an Advanced Placement (AP) approved course which includes: a syllabus, multiple breadth lessons, project rubrics, critiques, sketchbook assignments, summer homework, and a guide for helping students develop …

Emotional Responses To Musical Dissonance In Musicians And Nonmusicians, Rebecca Joan Bumgarner

Masters Theses

The purpose of this project was to investigate the influence of music education on individuals’ subjective and physiological responses to consonant and dissonant excerpts. Participants were categorized as having high experience (HE) or low experience (LE) in music education. Participants listened to 40 randomized excerpts of music, half of which were consonant, the other half dissonant. Electrodermal Activity (EDA) and Facial Electromyography (EMG) data were collected for each participant, as well as self-reports of perceived pleasantness for each excerpt. It was expected that HE participants “learned” dissonance through music education, and therefore would respond more strongly to dissonant excerpts. As …

Clinical Efficacy Of Music Therapy In Addiction Counseling: A Systematic Review, Marissa Renee Rinehart

Masters Theses

A previous systematic review study by Mays, Clark, and Gordon in 2008 reviewed music therapy research to look into the clinical efficacy of music therapy and addiction counseling. Their research concluded that the present literature contained few articles that had quantitative evidence and the music therapy that was presented was not an independent therapy for treatment for patients with substance abuse. This systematic review sought to research literature within the past six years that studied the effects of music therapy on clients who were dealing with substance abuse to review the progress of music therapy research since the 2008 article …

Fostering The Efficacious Adolescent Artist, Regina Beltowski

Masters Theses

Low self-esteem and insecurity is common among adolescents. In the secondary-school art room, students often stop engaging in art practice, believing that they lack talent, when the truth is that they lack specific skills. Students who are fortunate to have teachers who help them develop their skills experience a boost in feelings of self-efficacy, and often reengage with art production. This thesis project focuses on strengthening students’ self-efficacy in the visual arts at the secondary level. Clarifying the differences between related terms – self-esteem, self-concept, and perceived control – I focus on self-efficacy as a characteristic that plays a significant …

Choice--‐Based Art: Students Who Create, Not Replicate, Hillary K. Moczerad

Masters Theses

The problem that I researched in today’s art education world is how to teach our art students to be problem solving, confident, independent thinkers. It seems that in a classroom that is supposed to be full of innovation and creativity, it is currently falling flat. Through research, I discovered a teaching methodology called Choice-­‐Based Art that claims to eliminate these problems in the art room through student-­‐directed learning and choice while still delivering art curriculum. In order to test these theories, I aligned my classroom with the demands of the methodology and planned a field test with two groups of …

Preliteracy Skills Promoted In Children’S Spanish-Language Books, Katherine Marie Suter

Masters Theses

As of July 1, 2013, the latest census figures indicate that there are approximately 54 million Latinosliving in the U.S. (US Census Bureau, 2013). However, many Latino children still do not receive the services or resources they need to perform well academically. The primary aim of this research study is to determine if the books available to Spanish-speaking Latino¹ populations in two Michigan Counties contain features that might be used to facilitate beginning pre-literacy skills.

Children’s Spanish-language books from bookstores and public libraries were analyzed to determine the presence of features that might facilitate print awareness, phonological awareness, and …

A Comparison Study Of Diagnostic Outcomes Between The Music Therapy Assessment Tool For Awareness In Disorders Of Consciousness (Matadoc) And The Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (Crs-R), Caitlyn E. Bodine

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore preliminary external validation of a standardized music therapy assessment tool used in the detection of awareness with the DOC patient population with an external reference standard. Eight subjects were administered both the MATADOC and the CRS-R within five days of one another, and results were compared on the levels of overall diagnosis, analogous domain subscales, and intra-assessment relationships between individual domains and overall diagnosis. Results indicated a very strong level of agreement for overall diagnosis (r_s = .85, p < .01), very strong relationships between the auditory and visual components of the two assessments (r_s = .76, p < .05, and r_s = .81, p < .05, respectively), and a strong, but non-significant relationship between arousal scores on the two assessments (r …