Digital Commons Network^™

Metamosque – Envisioning The Mosque As A Virtual Public Space, Alaa Albarazy

Theses and Dissertations

Historically, the mosque was not only a space for a communal prayer but also a place for building a community. Today, however, with conflicts and diseases fragmenting society, people are less able to gather physically in large spaces. Out of necessity, people rely on technology to get together and interact virtually. In this context, my research challenges the notion of the mosque as a physical space, proposing, instead, its extension into virtual space. Recent global events pose the question: Can the metaverse offer an opportunity for the mosque to reassert itself as a public space. I propose that a MetaMosque …

Wet, Flowering, Dry, Caroline A. Minchew

Theses and Dissertations

Wet, flowering, dry is a series of photographic works that explore how vernal pools are a macrocosm for holding memory and a site of omnipresent solitude and decay. This installation distills an embodied and ephemeral experience of how we are grounded in a network of invisible connections with our surroundings. This network becomes evident through biological, historical, and field research conducted at the vernal pools for over a year. Through slow observation and consideration of how multiple stories of place can weave together into a larger parable, Wet, flowering, dry reveals how the life cycle of a vernal pool is …

Defiantly Childlike: Using Aesthetic Resistance To Heal, Sarah K. Reagan

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines an alternative processing mechanism surrounding the act of healing after traumatic experiences in life. Using a methodology of iterative patterning and tool-pathing, a collection of inflatable garments and wooden mannequins analyzes defense mechanisms learned in early childhood development. This work highlights an essential body of recent scholarship that takes cuteification seriously to restore a childlike approach to mastering fear. This paper will review the definitions of cuteness and childlike humor and then describe how visual culture has implemented these components to subvert established power.

Connections Exposed | A Library For The People, Stephanie Wilburn

Theses and Dissertations

MOTIVATION

The U.S. economy, democracy, and the health and happiness of citizens depends on maintaining social capital, the networks of bonds between community members. Social capital creates the trust that facilitates action and cooperation for mutual benefit. Since the 1960s, there has been a decline in-person socialization and social bonds both within and between demographic groups in the US resulting in reduced social capital (Putnam, 2000).

One measure to combat declining social capital is to create third places where incidental and repeated social interactions build and reinforce bonds between community members (Oldenburg, 1997).

With the reduction of accessible and inclusive …

It Takes A Muscle: Wholes, Holes, And Other Voids, Saar Shemesh

Theses and Dissertations

IT TAKES A MUSCLE¹

In the BELLY of the BEAST, the HUMAN

in the deep end of a SWIMMING POOL

in a GRAVE, looking up/out from within

at the base of a CRATER, ABYSS, PIT

the room as a CRADLE, INCUBATOR

architecture as MOTHER MOULD.²

____________________________

¹ Title is borrowed and abbreviated: Spectral Display, “It Takes A Muscle To Fall In Love,” 1982.

² For what American-English delineates as ‘mold,’ British-English uses ‘mould’ and is more specific in its technicality. The former doesn’t distinguish in spelling between mold (fungus) and mold (mould). I’m not particularly a fan of …

The Slater Fire Was The Product Of Settler Colonialism, William Joseph Curtis

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The Slater Fire of 2020 burned in Karuk aboriginal territory overseen by the Klamath National Forest. It burned over 200 homes to the ground and ravage over 100,000 acres of forest. This thesis argues that state-enforced fire suppression policies and methods are tools of settler-colonial erasure and the continuation of genocidal violence towards Karuk people. It analyzes the conflict between interests of the colonial state on one side and Indigenous resistance and survival on the other. Fire is an essential tool for the survival of Indigenous cultural identities, the material security of said populations, and the health of the environs …

Syrian Christian Churches, Kerala : Spiritual Renewal And Revival In Contemporary Syrian Christian Churches In Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, Samuel Thomas Varghese

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Gvsu Undergraduate And Graduate Catalog, 2022-2023, Grand Valley State University

Course Catalogs, 1963 - Current

Grand Valley State University 2022-2023 undergraduate and graduate course catalog. Course catalogs are published annually to provide students with information and guidance for enrollment.

The Contribution Of Artists Sydney Laurence, Belmore Browne, And Olaus Murie To The Preservation Of Public Land In The Northwest United States, Madelyn Brodie

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis analyzes the impact of artists Sydney Laurence (1856- 1940), Belmore Browne (1880- 1954), and Olaus Murie (1889- 1963) and the contribution that their artwork had to the conservation of United States public lands. This thesis examines the conservation initiatives that were brought into effect during the early 1900s, the personal motivations of these artists to preserve the land, and the interactions between these artists and the United States government which demonstrates their involvement in land preservation. The impact that the artists had on tourism which extended the conservation movement is also addressed. Artworks created by Laurence, Browne, and …

The Devil’S Advocate: The Relational Therapist As Jung’S Fourth In The Treatment Of Queer Christian Clients, Whitney Wilson

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

This paper is an exploration of C.G. Jung’s essay, A Psychological Approach to the Dogma of the Trinity, and how he inadvertently provides a relational psychodynamic lens for working with queer Christian clients who are differentiating from their harmful, embedded theologies. Jung hypothesizes that the Christian Trinity archetype – the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, cannot exist without a fourth member, the Devil, who holds an essential role in the successful differentiation of the Trinity. The relational therapist is called to act as the Devil when working with queer Christian clients - inviting in seemingly mischievous and dangerous thoughts that …

From Me To We: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Group Beingness, Stacey K. Guenther

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

To be human is to be a member of myriad groups. The universality of groups in our lives poses an important area of study for social scientists investigating human flourishing. Additionally, inquiring into the evolutionary potential of groups may begin to inform new ways of addressing the intractable issues we face as a human species. While most empirical studies of groups focus on group performance, or group doingness, this study explored group beingness and the experience of manifesting deep union and oneness, which is an intersubjective phenomenon that has been called coherence. Intersubjective coherence is often written about from a …

Theater And Peacebuilding In Post-Conflict Settings: Participants’ Experiences In The Morning Star Theater Program In South Sudan, Shiphrah Mutungi Akandiinda

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation explores the role of theater for peacebuilding in post-conflict settings through the analysis of experiences of participants in the Morning Star Forum Theater for Peacebuilding in South Sudan. Arts-based activities, including theater, have increasingly gained momentum as viable interventions for peacebuilding in post-conflict zones. Much of the existent research fails to capture the experiences of the theater participants themselves. Using narrative inquiry, this study interviewed 12 community members who participated in the Morning Star Forum Theater event. In particular, this study focused on how experiences of Morning Star Theater events impacted interpersonal growth and relationship-building, thus positively impacting …

Exploring The Needs Of Black Single Mothers In Therapy, Nompelelo Boucher

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative study of 6 Black single mothers utilizes a focus group format to explore their experiences in mental health treatment. The specific barriers they face to seeking treatment are reviewed, given that this particular population is substantially underrepresented in mental health therapy. The study seeks to gain a better insight of what factors contribute to attracting and retaining them in therapy for positive outcomes. Six emergent themes surfaced highlighting the fact that these women overcome numerous historical and cultural barriers to present for treatment to address serious issues of stress, grief, and loss, that they have a desire to …

Beyond The Controversy: An Exploration Of Cultural Socialization Behaviors In Transracial Adoptive Families, Karmen Smith

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The voices of the families that have successfully raised transracially adopted children with a positive cultural identity are missing from the literature: “Further research is needed on adoption from the perspective of the adoptee” (Clark et al., 2006, p. 192). There are methodological shortcomings that inhibit our ability to definitively determine adjustment outcomes for this population. Such shortcomings, combined with a failure to address additional variables that influence outcomes, have left identified gaps in the research unaddressed. The purpose of this grounded theory study is to identify the cultural socialization behaviors that contributed to the development of the participant’s positive …

The Lives Of Late Soviet Science, 1945-1991, Grégory Dufaud, Ksenia Tatarchenko

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This study explores the multifaceted landscape of Soviet science from the end of World War II to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It examines the interplay between scientific innovation and political ideology, highlighting how the state shaped research agendas and scientific practices during a period marked by both significant achievements and profound challenges. Through an analysis of key scientific institutions, prominent figures, and pivotal projects, the study illustrates the tensions between ideological constraints and the pursuit of knowledge. Additionally, it addresses the impacts of international collaboration and competition during the Cold War, revealing how these dynamics influenced scientific …

Playing-Related Medical Injuries And Health Conditions In Collegiate Saxophonists: A Survey Of Saxophonists In North American Universities, Michael Anne Tolan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

When compared to other areas of musical performance, medical research on the performing arts is limited when it comes to studies on woodwind players, particularly saxophonists. The gap in research may be attributed to the circumstances surrounding selection processes and identifying subjects for study. For example, saxophonists are not salaried professionals in orchestras, which are commonly pooled for medical research. Establishing contact with saxophonists to conduct studies can prove difficult due to the wide range of genres that utilize the saxophone. Some issues may also be attributed to research methodology. To find the onset of injuries, researchers in previous studies …

Gettysburg Historical Journal 2022

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

Complete Issue of the Gettysburg Historical Journal 2022

Navigating The Labyrinth Of House Of Leaves Through A Postmodern Archetypal Literary Theory, Samuel K. Hval

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

No abstract provided.

Neosublime, Reframing The Philosophical, Kathy Varadi

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Why have the sunsets and sunrises become so amazingly colorful and awe inspiring recently? Eighteenth century philosophers said such events were examples of the sublime. They defined the sublime as that which is the most absolutely great combined with an underlying element of fear usually caused by the actions of God. This infers that the sublime is something that you can’t fully understand or wrap your head around and leaves you speechless and spell bound. Contemporary art critics say that the sublime is no longer applicable to art because it has been overused. I disagree, and in my art, I …

Instinct, Eric Sanders

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

There is a convergence point of my interests that I explore in this body of work. As a service member and wildlife enthusiast, I pursue not only an outlet for my own creative expression and illustrative ambitions, but a platform to support creative advocacy for military service members and their families. With the principles of relational aesthetics and art as social practice supporting illustrative and design-centric work, I have found that convergence. This dream continues to manifest in Noble Instinct Artworks, a creative-based company I founded that incorporates the fine art methodology, business practices, and artistic collaboration with outreach potential …

Russian Logics And The Culture Of Impossible: Part Ii: Reinterpreting Algorithmic Rationality, Ksenia Tatarchenko, Anya Yermakova, Liesbeth De Mol

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article reinterprets algorithmic rationality by looking at the interaction between mathematical logic, mechanized reasoning, and, later, computing in the Russian Imperial and Soviet contexts to offer a history of the algorithm as a mathematical object bridging the inner and outer worlds, a humanistic vision that we, following logician Vladimir Uspensky, call the “culture of the impossible.” We unfold the deep roots of this vision as embodied in scientific intelligentsia. In Part I, we examine continuities between the turn-of-the-twentieth-century discussions of poznaniye—an epistemic orientation towards the process of knowledge acquisition—and the postwar rise of the Soviet school of mathematical logic. …

Archiving Bilingual Latin@ Oral Histories, Elena Foulis, Brandon D’Souza

Spanish Faculty Publications (Archived)

Over the past ten years, digital archives documenting underrepresented communities have been rising. For example, oral and print historical projects about minoritized communities and ethnic cultural heritage centers have existed for decades (Daniel, 2010), yet few are fully accessible online. The increased presence of these types of archives points not only to the need to document the histories of these communities but also to the interest in making this work accessible to all. There is an urgency in documenting, archiving, and curating histories—audio, print, video, and other ephemera—because minoritized communities have consistently faced exclusion from majority historical documents. As precarious …

The Collegiate Black Space: Black College Students’ Use Of New Counter-Spaces For Support, Knowledge Production, And Organizing For Activism, Heather Streets

Doctoral Dissertations

Black collegians who attend historically white institutions continue to struggle with racism, microaggressions, feelings of alienation, minimal or improper advising, and an undue pressure to prove themselves (Bonner, 2010; Feagin & Sikes, 1995; Strayhorn, 2010). These barriers to success result in part due to a lack of support from the colleges and universities that they attend (Allen, 1992; Parker, Puig, Johnson & Anthony, Jr., 2016). With institutional benefits designed to benefit white students over students of color, Black students must find their own alternatives for collaboration and to provide support for their peers.

Many Black spaces can be defined as …

How Do We Use Creative And Personal Memories For Creative Communication?, Tyler Robert Montgomery

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Inspired by the author’s memories, KeyBoard Memories and You have the Right to Forget are two short stage plays exploring topics of identity, time, and justice. This thesis uses personal and creative memories to develop stories in the form of scripts. The thesis begins with an example of creative writing inspired by the author’s personal and creative memories and describes the purpose of the project before moving into a review of literature that explains what memories are, how they work, and the different types of memories. Then the method section describes the methods of journaling and scripting writing, and then …

"Land Of The Silver Birch": Environmental Attitudes And Place-Making In A Northern Minnesota Boy Scout Camp, 1960-1975, John Mark Fretham

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In 1959, leaders of the Minnesota Valley Council, BSA (headquartered in Mankato, MN) began making plans to create a new Boy Scout camp to replace their recently built camp in Southern Minnesota. The previous fifteen years of the post-World War II era had produced significant shifts in ideas about wilderness, what constituted quality outdoor recreation, growing anxiety about masculinity in the Cold War era, and expansion of the promotion and adoption of a North Woods tourist culture. These changes helped lead the council to begin looking for a site to create a new Boy Scout camp and build Camp Cuyuna …

Towards A Model Of The Design Process For Games, John Healy, Charlie Cullen

Conference Papers

In this paper, we present an approach to studying the game design process by drawing upon general models of design to support research into the process of game design. Several general models of design exist to consider the processes through which designers work. Many of these fit within a structure of analysis, synthesis and evaluation that was first proposed by Christopher Jones in 1963 and later adapted by Bryan Lawson to account for the messy nature of design and the undertaking of these activities while negotiating between problem and solution. This paper proposes the adaptation of Lawson’s model of design …

When Cpr Is Needed, Robert E. Zdor

Faculty Publications

Column: Practical Pointers

Voicing Derbarl Yerrigan As A Feminist Anti-Colonial Methodology, Vanessa Wintoneak, Mindy Blaise

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The paper voices Derbarl Yerrigan, a significant river in Western Australia, through three imperfect, non-innocent, and necessary river-child stories. These stories highlight the emergence of a feminist anti-colonial methodology that is attentive to settler response-abilities to Derbarl Yerrigan through situated, relational, active, and generative research methods. Voicing Derbarl Yerrigan influences the methodological practices used as part of an ongoing river-child walking inquiry that is concerned with generating climate change pedagogies in response to the global climate crises and calls for new ways of thinking and producing knowledge. In particular, the authors found that voicing as a methodology includes listening and …

Unreality And Loss Of Self: Dissociative Experiences In Buddhist Practitioners, Jill Loving

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

On the surface, the Buddhist idea of emptiness and experiences of depersonalization and derealization seem to have significant overlap. Meditations on emptiness in the Buddhist tradition seek to lead meditators to observe the ego as illusory and empty of inherent content as one step in the journey to liberate oneself from suffering. Conversely, dissociation is generally an involuntary, automatic response to severe trauma that can become more common or chronic in an individual over time. Topographically, these experiences may look similar; both include a sense of unreality of the self and often of the broader world. However, differences in stimulus …

Asexuality And Demisexuality: Clinical Implications Of Sexual Identity, Michael Scott Fiorini

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

This paper considers demisexuality as an identity and sexual orientation for use by psychologists using historical, sociological, and psychological perspectives. It discusses the clinical implications of demisexuality as an identity and orientation distinct from asexuality. The paper discusses applications and limitations of defining and identifying demisexuality in a clinical population and it's social, scientific, and contextual significance. The paper compares what can be observed with existing diagnostic guidelines present in the DSM-5 for the identification of Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (FSIAD) and Male Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (MHSDD). The paper proposes guidelines for the diagnosis and the ethical clinical treatment …