Digital Commons Network^™

Tolerance: Challenge, Perception, And Social Stigmas Defined Through Visual Communications., Ursula Moore Bryant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My explorations and journey through life have led me to discover a connection in my work and responsibility as a visual communicator. My objective of communicating challenge, perception, and social stigmas through informed stories of individual lives is to provoke questions and spark moments of awareness in viewers. With this supporting manuscript, I hope to inform about my motivations through time including my personal, artistic, and historical influences. I will define graphic design as a fine art through the evaluation of artistic movements. I also intend to discuss design as a language and build a case for social awareness. Evaluating …

Visual And Verbal Rhetoric In Howard Chandler Christy's War-Related Posters Of Women During The World War I Era: A Feminist, Mary Ellen Gomrad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the development of a series of posters created by Howard Chandler Christy during the World War I era. During this time, Christy was a Department of Pictorial Publicity (DPP) committee artist commissioned by the committee chair, Charles Dana Gibson. The DPP was part of the Committee on Public Information (CPI) developed by the Woodrow Wilson administration to generate the propaganda necessary to gain the support of the American people to enter World War I. The CPI was headed up by George Creel, a journalist and politician, who used advertising techniques to create the first full-scale propaganda effort …

Identification And Suitability Of A Non-Anthropomorphic Meta-Language Framework In Military Applications, Gilbert Cardona

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Humans carry mental models concerning the behaviors, looks, and operation of products, tools, and items used in their daily lives. When these items do not fit a user's conceptual model confusion and inefficiency occur. There are four basic types of mental models based on interactive activities: 1) instructing, 2) conversing, 3) manipulating and navigating, and 4) exploring and browsing. This thesis will focus on the conversing conceptual model and its application to communications between human-agent teams to best fit a user's mental model for that communication. A non-anthropomorphic framework does not exist for use in military applications such as; target …

The Public Spectacle Of Italian Masculinity: Nonverbal Display Of Gender Identity, Gino Perrotte

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Italian masculine identity is examined by looking at the following influences: history and structure of Italian society, the public places used for the performance and the culture surrounding the display of masculinity. This research uses an approach similar to an ethnography of communication. Initial data and ideas were gathered through observational fieldwork and interviews that took take place in Italy during July 2006 and July 2007. A methods section describes interviews that later took place with Americans in order to compare and contrast responses with ones previously collected from Italians. The data gathered from these interviews will be used to …

Color Models For Image Decomposition, Melissa Sovak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Decomposing an image into components provides a method through which meaningful information can be extracted from an image. This work is a study of image decomposition techniques for color images. The decomposition of color images presents a new challenge since the choice of the color model has an effect on the resulting images. The color models are tested for both structure + noise and cartoon + texture decomposition. Numerical results demonstrate the behavior of the decomposition techniques for three different color models: RGB, HSI and CB.

Being Touched By Music: A Phenomenological-Hermeneutical Approach To Understanding Tranformational Musical Experience, Kurt Kumler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the lived experience of being personally transformed by listening to music. The investigation started with an exploration of the literature that relates to the phenomenon of musical transformation, including natural-scientific research as well as ideas from musicology, ethnomusicology, psychology, literature, and philosophy. This research was designed to access the nuanced and subjective aspects of the phenomenon by attending to the experience as lived by the experiencer. The method was qualitative in nature, based on a phenomenological-hermeneutical methodology. Throughout the research process, the researcher maintained a reflexive stance, attending to assumptions and preconceptions held about the phenomenon. This …

Factors Associated With Successful High School Distance Education Programs., Kathy Murphy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this research project were to identify the extent to which online courses are available to high school students in Tennessee, to describe the characteristics of current online programs, to identify barriers to the implementation of online courses in school systems that are not currently offering such programs, and to offer recommendations that could facilitate implementation of these programs. The research went in two directions. A study of past and current online educational programs was completed in order to learn the nature of successful programs across the country. Then, a survey was constructed and sent to appropriate technology …

Implementing Lexical And Creative Intentionality In Synthetic Personality, Erik Vick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Creating engaging, interactive, and immersive synthetic characters is a difficult task and evaluating the success of a synthetic character is often even more difficult. The later problem is solved by extending Turing's Imitation Game thusly: computational construct should be evaluated based on the criteria of how well the character can mimic a human. In order to accomplish a successful evaluation of the proposed metric, synthetic characters must be consistently believable and capable of role-appropriate emotional expression. The author believes traditional synthetic characters must be improved to meet this goal. For a synthetic character to be believable, human users must be …

The Conceptual Development And Production Of Our Town, 2005, Wendy Pottorff Hansen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Performance Support And Usability:An Experimental Study Ofelectronic Performance Support Interfaces, Charles Rawls

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the usability of two types of performance-support interfaces that were designed using informational and experiential approaches. The experiment sought to determine whether there is a relationship between usability and the informational and experiential approaches. The general population under study was undergraduate education major students from the University of Central Florida. From the general population of three educational technology instructor-led classes, 83 students were solicited to participate in the study by completing a class activity. From the general population, a total of 63 students participated in the study. By participating in the study, the students completed a task …

Only Screen Deep? Evaluating Aesthetics, Usability, And Satisfaction In Informational Websites, Carrie Avery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the role aesthetics plays in informational websites. In commercial interfaces, aesthetics (the perceived visual appeal and appropriateness of an object) has shown to correlate positively with many aspects of usability and emotional satisfaction. This thesis examines whether aesthetics has similar positive correlations in informational websites. Heuristics or guidelines for evaluating informational websites are developed based on empirical research and practitioner expertise. Categories for heuristic evaluation include usability, credibility, visual clarity, visual richness, and emotional satisfaction. A class of graduate students browsed three academic websites, evaluated them, and critiqued the heuristics. Results indicate that aesthetics does correlate with …

Type Image And The Art Of Protest., Wendy R. Blair

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is the culmination of my work as a graphic artist thus far. I chose to investigate the use of type and image in the production of social protest art, as it relates to historical and contemporary art as well as my own. Methods used in gathering the data include references from books, periodicals, websites, and hands-on application of the artistic process. Conclusions found within this paper suggest that using type and image within a multimedia process, serves to communicate important messages and attempts to educate the viewer on important political and social matters. Protest art has and will …

3d Animation: Creating An Experiential Environment., Dorai Raj Arjunan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a supporting paper for three of my 3D animations created and presented for a Master of Fine Arts graduate exhibition. It discusses how the two realms of graphic design and 3D animation helped me to develop my heuristic techniques of creating animations. Using the three animations as examples, I make an attempt to explain how linear and figurative images influence each other in the creative process of creature/character development. I also discuss the various influences and cumulative explorations behind the imageries of animation. A brief discussion about Asian Indian aesthetic concepts and the general methodology of creating …

A Sense Of Place., Neli Ilieva Ouzounova

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Concerned with anxiety and displacement, the artist explores a sense of place within the self. Personal experiences are presented as an accumulation of fragmented symbols, textures and pattern. Symbolic imagery is being created, influenced by a devaluation of established norms and a reorganization of cultural identity. The individualÆs interaction and experience with the surrounding world affirms his idiosyncratic symbolism. The artwork is a visual language that through the use of disparate segments sets up the portrayal of the fragmented self and psychological journeys of the artist.

Individuals establish themselves in many ways, including gestures as part of expression. This expression …

Designing Without Boundaries., Mickey Glover

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis was written as a supporting paper for a graphic design exhibit for a Master of Fine Arts Degree. The focus of my design is the creation of successful pieces of expressive graphic design that defy many traditional or formal rules of design.

This thesis begins with a brief explanation of my methods and what I feel makes for good expressive design. These include a heavy reliance upon intuition, the necessity of traditional design education, historical and contemporary influences. I then characterize my motivations and methods of creating graphic design. Followed by the relation of my work to historical …

A Survey Of The Current Status Of Undergraduate Graphic Design Programs Offered By Colleges And Universities In The State Of Mississippi, Nailah Jamila Isoke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Educating Today's Art Student : A Study Of Student Perceptions Of Teaching In A University Art Department, Carolynn Byars Lord

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Desktop Video : The Impact Of The Merger Of The Computer Industry With The Television Broadcasting Industry, Clarence D. Hooker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Use Of Video Communications In Government Public Affairs : The Holly Springs National Forest / By Patrick Stephen Sullivan, Patrick Stephen Sullivan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Private Mythology, Steven Burton Choate

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Journalism In The Secondary Schools In Mississippi, Beth Langston Fitts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Illustrations For The Encyclopedia Of Southern Culture : Interpretations Of Essays Concerning Contemporary Southern Cultural Distinctiveness, Gary E. Hauser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Superimposition : Implications For Visual Expression, James Theron Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Newspaper Uses And Gratifications By Blacks And Whites In Greenwood, Mississippi, Karl Michael Baymor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Compressed Speech As An Aid In Improving The Reading Skills Of Junior High School Students, James R. Pierce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which compressed speech recordings and regular rate speech recordings could be used to improve the reading speed, accuracy, and comprehension of junior high school students. (Abstract shortened.)

Performance On A Visual Matching-To-Sample Task As A Function Ofsubject Classifications On Revised Illinois Test Of Psycholinguistic Abilities, Jennifer Jane Fog

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Programming Trends On Four Southern Education Television Stations, Janice Elaine Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Printing Management Graduates Of South Dakota State University 1956 To 1970, Bruce Otto Oberlander

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Between 1956 and 1970 a total of 125 students had earned either a Bachelor of Science degree, a Master of Science degree, or both, in printing management at South Dakota State University. One student was deceased, leaving 124 graduates of the printing management programs. The problem consisted of obtaining information concerning the attitudes of graduates toward the printing management program and the adequacy of their college preparation at South Dakota State University. Other information concerning the location, education, employment and income of the graduates was also sought as part of the study. The study had two major objectives. First, to …

Teaching Design Through The Use Of Projected Images, Jerry Charles Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Some Indications Of The Reinforcement Effects Of Cooperative Extension Programs Broadcast From Kota-Tv, Rapid City, South Dakota, A Commercial Television Station, Francis Elizabeth Maierhauser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was undertaken in an attempt to determine to what extent commercial television--an example of mass communication—acts as a contributory agent in the process of reinforcing existing learning experiences, and in an attempt to isolate some of the other factors that may act as mediating influences to reinforcing effects. The subjects of this research consisted of' members or the Extension Clubs in Meade County, South Dakota. A second audience of the same approximate size of non-members of Extension Clubs in the same county was used as a control group for purposes of comparison. This problem was chosen for study …