Digital Commons Network^™

The Dramaturgy Of Drag, Sydney M. Paluch

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

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Wrongful Convictions By Police-Induced False Confessions, Kayli Ahuja

Celebration of Learning

Wrongful convictions have two main negative effects on society: (1) innocent people are imprisoned, and (2) the real perpetrators are allowed to wander the streets. In order to analyze this issue, this presentation discusses police interrogation tactics (specifically when using the Reid Technique), the association between police interrogation tactics and false confessions, the association between false confessions and wrongful convictions, ways in which wrongful convictions affect communities and their members, and possible ways to mitigate this problem. Although current police interrogation tactics can be useful at eliciting confessions, interrogation methods must be reformed in light of evidence that police-induced false …

From Teaching To The Best Seller List: How The Educational System Drives The Publishing Market And Vice Versa, Kai D. Alexander

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Certain outdated canonical texts have played a huge part in the oppression of minorities and women (Platt), and within the last 20 years or so, research has shown that these “difficult” texts do nothing to help foster a healthy thirst for knowledge outside of the classroom. My purpose is to demonstrate how the educational system – in particular, how reading and writing are taught from elementary school up until college – drives the publishing market, and thus, causes texts like Twilight to sit alongside the best seller list with To Kill a MockingBird. I will argue that there is …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Currents Of Consumption: How National Narratives Of Japanese Cuisine Collide With Localized Forms Of Sushi In Northern California, John Ostermiller

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper examines how national narratives of Japanese cuisine collide with the expectations, preferences, and perceptions of American consumers (particularly Northern California). The global economy has benefited the circulation of positive images of Japan managed by the Japanese government, but the commercialization of Japanese cuisine is also at odds with government efforts. In Japan, sushi is often synonymous with nigirizushi: sliced seafood and a daub of wasabi atop vinegared rice. As part of Japan’s washoku tradition, this singular image of sushi (allegedly) reflects the deepest essence of Japanese cultural sensibilities tied to simplicity, perfection, and nature. But in America, consumers’ …

The Vanishing Line, Jacopo Mazzoni

Graduate School of Art Theses

This thesis is an exploratory effort to bridge the rift that political and monetary powers created between art and technology. In my practice, these socio-political motivations are exposed through the creation of non-utilitarian inventions that use different technologies as charged metaphors. I research mass media language and construct interactive pieces while borrowing strategies from the entertainment industry to make environmental, social, and political issues more palatable than documentary films or raw data could. In my work, technology is regarded as a semidivine entity with supernatural powers that can both elevate and reduce the human experience. My work functions differently according …

The Role Of The Developmental Editor In Emerging Forms Of Narrative, Stephanie Argy

Book Publishing Final Research Papers

This research paper looks at how developmental editing techniques and analytical processes can be applied to emerging forms of storytelling. By examining a sampling of projects that expand narrative beyond traditional approaches, and talking to people involved with those projects, this paper examines how developmental editing can be used in these new forms; the skills that editors might want to add to their toolkit; and the impact that developmental editors might be able to have on projects and on new storytelling forms themselves. The paper is meant as a roadmap for next steps for what editors might want to learn …

Complete Issue 4(4)

Speaker & Gavel

Complete digitized issue (volume 4, issue 4, May 1967) of Speaker & Gavel.

Political Satire And Political Information Dissemination Among Millennials, Mackenzi Tims

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The proposed quantitative research will examine the shift in news seeking habits from traditional sources to new, nontraditional media outlets by Millennials (Generation Y) in the modern American society using the Uses and Gratifications Theory. The focus of the study is on the use of the late night comedy and satirical news sources as primary information seeking channels for news dissemination between the ages of 18 to 29. Participants will consist of a minimum of 100 students who attend a Midwestern university with a student body of approximately 7,500 students. Participants will be chosen using a convenience sampling method and …

Spartan Daily, May 10, 2018, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2018

Volume 150, Issue 43

Peta, Rhetorical Fracture, And The Power Of Digital Activism, Ashli Q. Stokes, Wendy Atkins-Sayre

Faculty Publications

Starting in 2013, SeaWorld faced a public relations disaster with the release of the documentary titled Blackfish that accused the company of mistreatment of its orcas. SeaWorld attempted to respond and rebuild its credibility, but activist group ‘People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) doubled down on the corporation through its rhetorical shock tactics, deepening the organization’s woes. The PETA/SeaWorld controversy does more than provide another example of poor corporate public relations decision-making made in light of an activist group’s savvy use of digital technology. We argue that the case helps explain how digital technologies fundamentally change activism, whereby …

Teaching Social Justice: Intergenerational Service-Learning In Digital Media Course, Margaret O. Finucane, Linda M. Seiter, Nathan C. Gehlert

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Digital media play an increasingly dominant role in reinforcing and challenging power inequality in social and institutional relationships. This paper describes how a service-learning component engaged students in community-based interactions that not only deepened their understanding of course content but also increased their commitment to diversity, community issues, and personal development. A close look at three case studies shows that integrating service learning into a first year seminar on digital media and social justice had positive outcomes for students when intentionally paired with community partners offering course-related projects.

Youth And The City: Reflective Photography As A Tool Of Urban Voice, Roman Gerodimos

Journal of Media Literacy Education

YYoung people’s engagement with urban public space has been facing a number of obstacles that reflect a lack of understanding of their needs, values and priorities. The emergence of digital devices and social media as integral elements of youth culture adds further urgency to the need to understand how young people themselves visually articulate their perceptions of life in the city. Bringing together elements from urban studies, youth studies and digital media literacy, this paper puts forward a pedagogic and research approach that aims to facilitate youth engagement with urban landscapes and the community. Participatory photography was used a tool …

Prospectus, May 9, 2018, Greg Gancarz, David Saveanu, Kaiden Pope, Emma Gray, Evyjo M. Compton

Prospectus 2018

REP. RODNEY DAVIS VISITS PARKLAND FOOD PANTRY; Humans of Parkland: Charles Larenas; Parkland's Jazz Combo Performs at Second Stage Theater; Parkland geologists lead students to Starved Rock; Proper pet ownership linked to health benefits

(In)Visibility And Meaning In Food Labor: A Feminist Autoethnography, Kathryn Shedden

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

My graduate thesis project entitled “(In)visibility and Meaning in Food Labor: A Feminist Autoethnography” illuminates the gendered experiences of female food laborers and how women make meaning through their labor in this context. Gendered experiences do not stand apart from classed and raced identities, which I also reflexively analyze throughout this thesis. Women working within the food chain have been historically marginalized and made invisible, though they make up an increasingly significant portion of this workforce, a trend known as the “feminization of agriculture.” The discussion of the work that women do when discussing food in the academic literature also …

Staying With And Telling Different Stories: Toward A Theory Of Environmental Advocacy That Bridges The Scholarly And Political Selves, Michael Clay

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

As human agents, narratives allow us to make sense of the world. They weave together lived experiences into meaningful webs of understanding. One such web of understanding is the way we narratively make sense of our relationship with the environment in which we find ourselves. The aim of this project is take a closer look at how many current environmental narratives establish an understanding that places the human agent as superior to, and thus master of, the environment within that relationship. This project works to articulate different ways of changing those narratives so that the agency of non-human actants is …

The Arabic Animator's Perceptions Of Arabic Animation Film Industry, Ghanem Elhersh

Student Theses and Dissertations

Animated films from the Arab world hardly ever make it into cinemas in Japan, Europe or the United States, or onto the festival circuit (Van de Peer, 2017). The purpose of this research is to study the Arabic animation film industry from the point of view of its producers. Also, this study examines the reasons of the weakness of the Arabic animation films and the possible causes of the absence of the Arabic animation films from the world stage. This qualitative study has sought to understand the Arabic animator's perceptions of the Arabic animation film industry, and where is it …

Spartan Daily, May 3, 2018, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2018

Volume 150, Issue 40

Prospectus, May 2, 2018, Parkland College, Evyjo M. Compton, Greg Gancarz, Emma Gray, Kaiden Pope, David Saveanu

Prospectus 2018

Library hosts poetry reading outside library for first time; Giertz Gallery holds student juried exhibition; Champaign celebrates 20th annual Ebertfest; Summer fun awaits in Illinois;

Spartan Daily, May 2, 2018, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2018

Volume 150, Issue 39

Agricultural Information Needs And Food Access In The Stann Creek District Of Belize, Sam Harris

Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to describe agricultural information sources available to farmers and to describe food access and availability for the people of Dangriga, Stann Creek, Belize. This study used descriptive survey research methods with convenience sampling of the general public (n=22) and of farmers (n = 38) in the summer of 2017. Farmers use a variety of agricultural information sources with the extension service cited most often, followed by friends and fellow farmers. Weather, lack of information, pests, and inadequate access to capital were of primary concern for farmers. Face to face meetings were …

Cape Verdean Counter Cultural Hip-Hop(S) & The Mobilization Of The Culture Of Radical Memory: Public Pedagogy For Liberation Or Continued Colonial Enslavement, Ricardo D. Rosa

Journal of Cape Verdean Studies

The paper traces the possibilities and limitations of transnational Cape Verdean Hip-Hop’s mobilization of the culture of radical memory for the disruption of racialized transnational capitalism and neocolonialism. One of the most common reference points, both in the symbolic formations of popular culture and emerging scholarly texts is the focus on CV Hip-Hop’s embrace of the life and work of Amilcar Cabral. Undoubtedly, Cape Verdean Hip-Hop Culture(s) & Cape Verdean youth counter-culture(s), more broadly, continues to serve as the most vital space for the (re)mobilization and (re)invigoration of Cabral’s thought, yet, much more is unfolding in these spaces. The paper …

Epoca House: The Implementation Strategy, Courtney Thomas, Yaffa Fain, Shuxiao Teng, Mingjun Xie

School of Professional Studies

This capstone report provides a written strategic implementation plan for EPOCA House. EPOCA, Ex-Prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement, is a non-profit dedicated to creating better resources and opportunities for prisoners and ex-prisoners in Worcester. The organization’s most recent initiative, EPOCA House, is a transitional facility that will provide reentry services and temporary housing to ex-offenders in and around the Worcester area. Recently, Massachusetts passed a comprehensive criminal justice reform bill that will dramatically reduce the number of people being incarcerated; however, little attention is focused on what will happen to individuals after they leave prison. At the same …

Optical Heritage Museum: An Interactive Touch, Connor Guerin, Ankur Halwai, Jinzhao Liu, Qi Liu, Yangjing Wang, Yashaswini Bharti

School of Professional Studies

Optical Heritage Museum (OHM) was established in 1983 with the aim to preserve, promote and display historical artifacts of the optics industry and educate all of its vital role optics has played in societal development. Over the years, the museum has grown in its physical space along with exhibit development to engage audiences in innovative, effective methods. Clark University’s School of Professional Studies department and curator of Optical Heritage Museum, Mr. Whitney’s Whitney, have establish a collaboration that has spanned over two semesters with the goal to support and aid in improving OHM. Our capstone group was assigned the task …

Leicester Research A Study In Effective Technology In Education, Jimeshkumar Chauhan, Anna Lakomy, Li Liu, Christina Mccarthy, Scott Mccarthy, Roman Pena, Emilie Smiley

School of Professional Studies

The LPS Research Team has been tasked with researching and recommending a technology plan for a new school that Leicester Public Schools is planning to build. In this paper, we present an overview of the our goals and our client’s goals, an introduction to industry trends, and discuss our findings based on research conducted via interviews with schools that have undergone similar projects. We also outline the conclusions drawn from this research and our analysis of the data we uncovered, and make specific recommendations for technology to be utilized in Leicester’s new school. Finally, we present a 3-part framework that …

Canine For Disabled Kids Awareness Campaign Research And Implementation Plan, Jiamin Gu, Kendall Harcourt, Chang Liu, Kiamu Liu, Jemmie Tejada

School of Professional Studies

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) service animals are: “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities” ( ADA, 2015). On the other hand, emotional support animals are: “dogs that provide comfort and support in forms of affection and companionship for an individual suffering from various mental and emotional conditions.” In addition, an emotional support animal is not required to perform any specific tasks for a disability like service dogs are (Ibid).

The ADA limits the number of questions that can be asked to protect the privacy of utilizers. In fact, …

Ua12/9 Wku Counseling & Testing Center, Vol. 5, Issue 4, Wku Counseling & Testing Center

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by and about the WKU Counseling & Testing Center.

Representations Of Mainstream And Marginalized Subjects In The Work Of Diane Arbus, Grace Short

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

This thesis considers the photographs of the twentieth-century photographer, Diane Arbus. In America during the 1950s and 60s, Arbus photographed both marginalized and mainstream subjects including dwarfs, giants, transvestites, nudists, debutants, socialites, and celebrities. At one point in her career, she expressed an interest in family portraiture and, indeed, a number of her images depict families.

Scholars who have written about Arbus, such as Susan Sontag, Carol Armstrong, Anthony W. Lee, and John Pultz, have formulated theories about Arbus’s motivations, although their findings focus on individual features of her work. Sontag argued that Arbus exploited her unorthodox sitters whereas Armstrong …

A Relational Dialectics Approach To The Identity Development Of Millennial Mothers, Shawna L. Merrill

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This thesis uses relational dialectics theory (RDT) to make sense of the experiences of millennial mothers. RDT is a heuristic theory of relational meaning making and asserts that relationships and identities are negotiated in states of competing and contradictory discourses. This thesis can be conceptualized as two projects: autoethnography and qualitative inquiry using semi-structured interviews. Autoethnography explores the researcher’s own experience with the topic. Interview participants were asked a series of questions about their lives as millennial mothers to identify competing discourses, management strategies, and implications for identity. Three primary tensions were identified of millennial vs. mother, authenticity vs. persona, …

King For A Day, Joshua Feinblatt

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

King for a Day is a feature film script written by Joshua Feinblatt that follows a high school senior named Brian Fuller around as he becomes Principal for a day. Brian does not become Principal for a day because he wins a competition, rather, Brian takes over the office of his nemesis in the William Henry Harrison High School’s administration, Principal Valley. The script aims to be funny, clever, and playful, just like the main character. Brian is manipulative, cunning, and always one step ahead, but Principal Valley runs a tight ship and hasn’t missed a day in 30 years. …