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Cataract Blindness: Socioeconomic Factors Associated With Treatment Barriers And High Blindness Rates For Women In Rural Regions Of Andhra Pradesh, Kiranpreet Kaur

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Despite efforts of Vision 2020 in India, the 2001 Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS) extrapolated that approximately 18.7 million blind people resided in India and projected an increase to 31.6 million blind people by 2020. Within the Andhra Pradesh state itself, the preventable blindness population had increased from approximately 1,143,150 people in 1990 to 1,402,264 people in 2001, against reformation attempts by the National Program for Control of Blindness. Of this, cataracts were consistently the leading cause of avoidable blindness. Numerous public health studies have been conducted to outline factors that preclude treatment of avoidable cataract blindness in the …

Contributors

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

List of contributors.

Of The Crickets, Kathryn Lien

Theses and Dissertations

Of the Crickets imagines the overlapping worlds of ethical ecological solutions to climate changed sustenance and the potential for collective excellence in female exclusive environments. Using garments, furniture, site-specific installation and directed performance, the project harnesses social and material sensitivity to mine solutions for idealized living.

Gender Beyond Binary, Sidra Zubairi

Theses and Dissertations

Transgender individuals challenge the binary definition of gender accepted in Pakistani society and as a result, Pakistan’s transgender community is highly marginalized. Pakistani society regards transgender individuals as “abnormal,” because their physical appearance and behavior fail to conform with conventional expectations. Based on contextual research and interviews conducted with transgender individuals in Pakistan, my thesis explores the obstacles transgender individuals face in the course of everyday survival. My research responds to the physical realities of being transgender in Pakistani society and analyzes cultural norms associated with gender, which trigger harassment. By designing transformable apparel for these individuals, informed by primary …

Women In Music: Letting A Long Story Be Long Contemplating Women’S Sonic, Musical, And Spiritual Experiences In Prehistory, Deborah J. Saidel

Theses and Dissertations

Situated within deep history, this study explores the auditory and spiritual lives of Paleolithic women. It considers their personal agency in mediating the spiritual power of sound and how doing so contributes to a multifaceted musicality. The theoretical framework involves a wide spectrum of topics, from ways of rethinking the writing of history and reckoning with time, to sound studies and the study of acoustics in ancient sites, to a critical examination through a feminist lens of normative disciplinary scholarship in anthropology and archaeology, religious studies, and musicology. I explore potential audio-visual-lithic relationships for their implications for deepening an understanding …

I Am An Author: Performing Authorship In Literary Culture, Justin R. Greene

Theses and Dissertations

Authorship is not merely an act of putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard; it is a social identity performance that includes the use of multiple media. Authors must be hyper- visible to cut through the dearth of information, entertainment options, and personae vying for attention in our supersaturated media environment. As they enter the literary world, writers consciously create characters and narratives around themselves, and through the consistent and believable enactment of these features, authors are born. In this dissertation, I analyze the performance of authorship in U.S. literary culture through an interdisciplinary framework. My work pulls from …

One-Third Of A Nation, The Second Amendment, A Living Newspaper Play, Linda Ann Watt

Theses and Dissertations

One-Third of a Nation, the Second Amendment, a Living Newspaper Play

Thesis By Linda Ann Watt for a MFA Degree in Theatre Pedagogy

Documentary theatre, including living newspapers and verbatim theatre, use socio-political commentary at critical moments in history to disseminate facts and offer ideological critique dramatizing the crisis through the lens of emotion, which can incite societal change. This thesis explores this didactic medium with a written play about the second Amendment and gun violence.

Tommi's Place: An Adaptation And Commentary On Uncle Tom's Cabin, Vanessa L. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

Harriet Beecher Stowe penned Uncle Tom’s Cabin which was published in 1852. This book exposed and condemned the atrocities of slavery. Her book became a bestseller and is said to be one of the primary reasons why slavery was eventually abolished. Though slavery has been dismantled the system of oppression which allowed the marginalization of others to thrive has never been eliminated. This system established a dominant culture; one which oppresses those of African descent and has endured for centuries. Tommi’s Place retells Uncle Tom’s Cabin in contemporary corporate America. Tommi’s Place reflects that this system of oppression is still …

Inquiry-Based Methods In The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program Art Room, Andrew Bell

Theses and Dissertations

The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program [IB PYP] is a student-driven, inquiry-based elementary school level educational program that has grown rapidly in the United States since its creation in 1997. This study explores how IB PYP art teachers define and implement inquiry-based instructional methods in their art rooms through a nation-wide, online survey of art teachers, coordinators, and administrators. The Survey consists of 22 questions which ask respondents to describe their classroom practices and provide examples of how they make use of inquiry-based methods in the art room. The responses to this survey were then value coded for four different …

More Than The Moon: Building The World Of Into The Woods, Katherine Field

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis details the evolution of my scenic design for VCU’s 2018 production of Into The Woods. The document explains key factors for my design concept featuring a unit set instead of implementing traditional staging methods for James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s classic musical, based on the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm.

Black Lives Examined: Black Nonfiction And The Praxis Of Survival In The Post-Civil Rights Era, Ariel D. Lawrence

Theses and Dissertations

The subject of my thesis project is black nonfiction, namely the essay, memoir, and autobiography, written by black authors about and during the Post-Civil Rights Era. The central goals of this work are to briefly investigate the role of genre analysis within the various subsets of nonfiction and also to exemplify the ways that black writers have taken key genre models and evolved them. Secondly, I aim to understand the historical, political, and cultural contributions of the Post-Civil Rights Era, which I mark as hitting its stride in 1968. It is not my desire to create a definitive historical framework …

The Feldenkrais Method In The Voice And Speech Classroom: Intertwining Linklater Voice And The Feldenkrais Method, Janel Miley Knipple

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

INTEGRATING THE FELDENKRAIS METHOD INTO THE VOICE AND SPEECH CLASSROOM: INTERTWINING LINKLATER VOICE AND THE FELDENKRAIS METHOD

By Janel R. Miley Knipple, MFA

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018.

Major Director: Karen Kopryanski, Head of Voice and Speech, Assistant Professor

Department of Theatre

Proprioception and kinesthetic awareness are important factors in actor training as performers strive to increase their physical and vocal prowess in order to respond to the demands of roles. The Feldenkrais Method, a somatic approach to …

Candor & Ebb: Searching For My Truth Through Solo Performance, Andrew Ross Wynn

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of autobiographical solo performance. It explores the use of personal trauma and illness in the dramatic form. In addition to investigating how other solo performing artists utilize their medical conditions in their work, this thesis gives some historical context to the author’s own process and development. The thesis culminates in the author’s solo performance script and a desire for its audience to find solace and compassion through the experience of witnessing it being performed.

The Cognitive And Functional Impact Of Open Heart Surgery: A Pilot Study Including Three Common Procedures (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, Heart Valve Replacement, And Left Ventricular Assist Device), Robert Fix

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the impact of open heart surgery (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, Heart Valve Replacement, or Left Ventricular Assist Device placement) on cognition, functional performance, and mood in the three months following surgery. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Kettle Test (KT), Physical Self Maintenance Scale (PSMS), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HD) measured global cognition, functional cognition, functional performance, and mood states, respectively.

Thirteen male participants (ages 38 – 75) completed assessments at four time points -- when they were scheduled for surgery, within one week prior to surgery, before hospital discharge after surgery, and three months after …

Mobile Enchantment: The Virginia Theatre Machine Llc, A New Twist On Drive-In Theatre, Mark J. Lerman

Theses and Dissertations

A disassembling of the Virginia Theatre Machine (VTM), LLC and its annual restaging of an adaption of Charles Dickens’ novella, A Christmas Carol. The VTM is a custom-built trailer theater that combines the performance energy of street theater with the magic and wonder of a fully designed theatrical production. I provide a historical context for this 21^st century revising of mobile theater that switches the paradigm of the traditional theater experience by bringing the stage to audiences, for free. I draw from critical social and cultural theory to make sense of the audience impact in public and private outdoor …

Acting Mindfully, Dawn Souza

Theses and Dissertations

Acting Mindfully, is a form of embodiment pedagogy that investigates the ways in which actors can explore their craft through a lens that connects them closer to their mind, body, and voice. The document draws content from a wide variety of theatrical movement and vocal practitioners in combination with mindfulness techniques including yoga, meditation, and energy work. Embodiment pedagogy allows the acting student to approach and perform scenes and monologues with truth and authenticity; while allowing them the ability to tell their own stories.

In order to explore this work, a course, Acting and Mindfulness, was introduced at Virginia …

Polyanthroponemia: A Pursuit Of Mystery, Magdolene Dykstra

Theses and Dissertations

I wish I could believe in something. Having grown up in a religious household, I have continually teetered between faith and doubt. Landscapes seen and unseen are my last source of awe; here my doubt is suspended – for a moment. Using unfired clay, I create alternate landscapes inspired by sublime philosophy. The sublime experience is born in a sense of amazement linked to fear of something beyond our understanding or control. The amazing intricacy of microbiology, a whole universe existing alongside and inside us, fascinates me. The abundance of unfamiliar life in my work triggers a cautious curiosity. My …

Devising Empathy: Working With Devising, Theatre For Young Audiences, And The Snow Queen, Mary C. Lennon

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a workbook for creating a course that combines researching both theatre for young audiences and devised theatre to create a touring production and company. Devised theatre is a form of theatre where the script originates from collaborative creation, improvisation, and physical movement. This course explored the past, present and future of theatre for young audiences both domestically and abroad. Students worked in a collaborative effort devising and producing a TYA piece based on Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen and studied the child audience through reading assignments and practical experience. This thesis is intended to showcase the …

Lessons, Kathryn K. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations

I am learning through these lessons.

The following document includes my convoluted musings about my work, making process, and body leading up to my thesis exhibition, Avoidance Kitchen. My struggle with my reflected image comes from my struggle with my self-perceived physical image.

What does it mean for a piece to disappear, only to find the reflection of someone else's work or body in its place? Is my craft rendered obsolete if all you want to do is take a funny selfie? Is my work unacknowledged if all you see is the sculpture across the room, in reverse? What happens …

A Cape As Red As Blood And A Slipper As Pure As Gold: Vision And Visuality In The Costume Design Of Into The Woods, Hannah E. Chalman

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the costume design for Theatre VCU’s 2018 production of Into the Woods. It outlines my concept for the design focusing on the origins of these archetypes. This concept is further expanded on by discussing Cinderella and the Witch characters and analyzing the choices within their costumes. This thesis also includes renderings, swatches, and photos.

A Third Place: For Children(5–7) To Play And Learn, Yuqi Ye

Theses and Dissertations

The motivation for this project follows the untimely death of an Asian student last year. Crime rates, especially with regard to young children, are tough social problems happening in a lot of countries. Education and structured play are a key solution related to decreasing these crime rates. In today's educational systems, preschool education should involve family and community, foster mutual cooperation, and provide the best environment for a child's growth to promote their potential development.

Performative Design, Lenita Ann Eldhose

Theses and Dissertations

The field of design is one that holds the power to empower, bridge gaps, inform, evolve and revolutionize human thoughts. To gain a higher understanding of the correlation of anthropometrics and ergonomics in an embodied space relative to the discipline of dance connecting one’s mind and body. The need for a space that instills a sense of freedom for artists to experience and execute their art and to reside alongside their mentors and traveling artists. The need for a space that can bring the diverse cultures that live in and around Richmond together through an expressive form of art. Providing …

Art Inquiries, Xvii:3, Full Issue

Art Inquiries

No abstract provided.

Subsistence To Agribusiness: American Farmstead Imagery In The Nineteenth Century, Eileen Yanoviak

Art Inquiries

No abstract provided.

Commonwealth Times 2017-11-27

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

Materialized Practices Of Food As Borderlands Performing As Pedagogy, Christen Sperry García

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

In this paper, I examine the interrelationship between borderlands, food, and ways in which they perform as pedagogy. First, I define borderlands in relation to art. Second, I discuss food and borderlands as authenticity, hybridity, and race/body. Lastly, I examine various fields of pedagogy including public, border, and food pedagogy and consider how they relate to food. I suggest that the interrelationship between borderlands and food can be used as a pedagogical tool to teach and learn about liminality, tension, contradiction, and hybridity. The hybrid spaces of consumable borderlands challenge food purity and yield unexpected foods such as carne asada …

The Social Expulsion Of The Migrant: Aesthetic And Tactical Interventions, Adetty Pérez Miles

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

In this article, I focus on the social expulsion of the migrant. Social expulsion refers to the multivalent ways in which those in power demean, vilify, exclude, displace, and strip people of hope for the future. Specifically, I write about fault-zones—the material realities of borders and border crossings—that render the lives of immigrants precarious, such as draconian U.S. immigration policies and actions that result in the death, criminalization and mass incarceration of migrants. I contend that in the present climate of hate against immigrants, artists’ interventions provide a means by which to create social awareness of dehumanizing social conditions and …

Commonwealth Times 2017-04-03

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

Commonwealth Times 2017-02-27

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

About The Cover Art, Pris Tatipikalawan

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

No abstract provided.