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The Last Two Years Of David Brachman: Designing A Feature Film On A Micro Budget, Elizabeth Anne Sutphin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis documents my creative process as the Production Designer on the feature length micro budget film The Last Two Years of David Brachman, written and directed by Marc Casilli. The film is a dark comedy chronicling the life of David Brachman, a twenty-five year old with a stagnant life that is seemingly leading nowhere, as he pledges on his twenty-fifth birthday to change the path of his life in the next two years or commit suicide if he fails. The overall design concept of the film is rooted in realism, but allowed to contain elements that will remove the …

Radio Drama: A "Visual Sound" Analysis Of John, George And Drew Baby, Pascha Weaver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Radio Plays are a form of classic American Theatre that relies on dialogue, music and sound effects to audibly enhance a story with no visual component. While these types of plays are no longer at the forefront of modern day theatrical experience, I believe these popular plays of the mid-20th century are derivative of an oral storytelling tradition and significant to American entertainment culture. This thesis will discuss the aspects of radio plays that viscerally captured audiences. While this concept can be applied to many popular America radio shows of the time, this thesis will focus on one form ; …

Who Do I Play: Appraising The Impact Of Teacher-In-Role With Kindergartners In An Esol Classroom, Kathryn Perkins Brantley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Educators employing process drama, a non-presentational dramatic form, establish memorable classroom environments where students co-author their learning with teachers. Process drama facilitators often use the dramatic structure of teacher-in-role to guide and support the students. An instructor heightens tension, introduces new ideas, and encourages participation by engaging alongside students as a character. An educator employing process drama needs to determine the appropriate type of role to impact the development of a classroom drama; while negotiating tension felt between desires for student-led discovery and the necessity of meeting curriculum benchmarks. Academic studies establish process drama as a tool to aid English …

Neo-Raconteur: Allocating Southern-Gothic Symbolism Into Design Media., Mark Daniel Compton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I created the term Neo-Raconteur to convey my interest in medium theory to support the artistic custom of revealing cultural conventions for allocation into artistic genres. The term evolved from the French word "Raconteur," meaning: somebody who tells stories or anecdotes in an interesting or entertaining way. In the past a Raconteur's anecdotes were verbally volleyed, ever voluble, yet quip. Neo-Raconteurs may decide not to speak at all choosing their anecdotal expression to manifest itself through singular or multiple means, manners, or methods of design and technology as well as or involving more traditional techniques of extraction to convey the …

Working Class In British Films 1950s-2000s : Identity, Culture, And Ideology., Tongyun Shi 1961-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Britain was the first country to industrialize with the Industrial Revolution and therefore had the world's first industrial working class. In the 20th century, the traditional British working class went through many social and political changes, represented especially by the post-war "rise" and a lasting "decline" since the 1970s, a fate which is worth academic study. Class matters not only in sociological sense, but also in cultural sense. This dissertation, through close text analysis of seven British social realist films--two New Wave ones, Room at the Top (Jack Clayton, 1959) and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (Karel Reisz, 1960); three …

Assisted Living Facilities In Louisville Kentucky : A Case Study To Examine Aging In Place., James Luther Wilson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the older adult population in the United States continues its accelerated growth, there is a growing concern about the long-term care options for these elders. While nursing homes are no longer desirable and costly for federal and state governments, viable alternatives are being sought to meet this need. The development and rapid expansion of the numbers of assisted living communities have grown as older adults, family caregivers and government bureaucrats are looking for lower cost options. How beneficial are assisted living communities for the older adults that live in them? Most older adults seek to avoid multiple moves to …

Using The Theory Of Reasoned Action And Planned Behavior To Create A Point-Of-Use Water Treatment Behavior-Change Campaign Within The Safe Water System, Kelly Fenson-Hood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During the summer of 2010, formative field research was collected in Kibera, Africa’s largest urban informal settlement, located in Nairobi, Kenya. Research explored how a Western-developed behavior-change theoretical model could be applied in a developing country. Data was collected through focus groups, a case study and direct observations. Recommendations were made for an intervention to reduce the incidence of childhood diarrhea. A campaign was proposed that promoted consistent and sustainable use of the Safe Water System, that is, point-of-use drinking water treatment and safe drinking water storage. Results revealed that it was indeed feasible to apply the Western model, Theory …

The Use Of English-Language Internet Propaganda By The Taliban Insurgency In Afghanistan, 2007–2010, Matthew T. Calvin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

After nearly a decade of war in Afghanistan, military and government officials have described the propaganda efforts of the Taliban insurgency as increasingly sophisticated and effective. These statements fail to distinguish between insurgent propaganda efforts at the local level and those carried out online and targeted at Western populations. This research investigates the effectiveness of the Taliban's use of English-language media to reach Western populations and shape their own image in a way that furthers their strategic objectives. An analytical approach that combines quantitative analysis performed on a set of Taliban messages from 2007 to 2010 and a deeper, qualitative …

Is It Hot(Ter) Out There Or Is It Just (The) Me(Dia)? A Comparative Framing Analysis Of Climate Change In The New York Times And The Guardian, Kylah Jae Hedding

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is a framing analysis that compares the coverage of climate change in the New York Times and the Guardian from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009. This research supports the theory that the coverage in media outlets is affected by the media systems in which they exists, with both similarities and differences in the coverage of the two media outlets. It also supports the argument that climate change coverage in the United States is cyclical and event-driven, while the British media reflects both the cyclical, event-driven liberal media model and the more issues-focused European model. This thesis departs …

The Excursion: A Screenplay Adaptation Of Francis Brooke’S The Excursion., Jennifer Sim Daniel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My master’s thesis consists of a screenplay adaptation of the Eighteenth Century novel The Excursion by Francis Brooke, as well as an Introduction that details the writing process of the main text. In order to prepare this manuscript, I began with a study of both Francis Brooke and her novel as part of Dr. Judith Slagle’s Eighteenth Century British Novel course and developed my work to completion through independent research on and application of my findings on the screenwriting genre. The concluding product is a three-act screenplay which maintains the original period setting, speech, and costuming while adding such contemporary …

The Dialectic Of Trauma In Charlotte Salomon's Life? Or Theatre?, Brooke Leeton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the presence of the dialectic of trauma in Charlotte Salomon’s magnum opus, Life? or Theatre?, a series of more than seven hundred paintings created during her time in exile in France between 1941 and 1942. In this series, modeled on an illustrated operatic libretto, Salomon combined painted images, narrative commentary, dialogue, and musical notation to create a thinly disguised cast of characters – representing herself, family members, and friends – who reenact traumatic events that occurred prior to and throughout Salomon’s life. This visual manifestation of trauma raises questions about the formation and function of traumatic memory, …

Lessons From The Journey : Developing And Applying An Actor's Process Through Embodying "Uncle Peck" In How I Learned To Drive., K. Obadiah Ewing-Roush

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This personal narrative briefly describes my past in the performing arts and outlines my training as an actor and my development of an actor's process through various class and performance experiences at the University of Louisville. Through the use of character notes, physical and vocal warm ups, and research into the mindset and vocal patterns of another person I found pathway for exploring, discovering, and embodying the character of Uncle Peck. I further discuss how I can apply this process to other theatre projects and offer my own insights into theatre and why I have chosen this art form as …

Making Visual Noise, Deborah Starr Leitch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Focusing on the combination of multi-cultural and historical influences from my personal life experiences, my creations of odd juxtapositions of space, complex pattern and new iconography in my paintings, reveal more than merely a representational image to a viewer. Although my subjects may vary from the anonymous to media celebrity, it is their relationship to me that influences the creation of my static animation and visual noise.

Contemplative Education Centerstage: Training The Mindful Performer, Linda Anne Sanders

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the late 20th century and early 21st century, contemplative education/studies courses, concentrations, and initiatives have emerged in the academy. Although there has been significant discussion of postsecondary courses and programs that have integrated contemplative views and practices in the literature, there have been few studies of contemplative curricula and pedagogy in higher education. Additionally, there have been even fewer inquiries of the influence of contemplative education on performing arts training within conservatories and college and university departments. The aim of this qualitative study was two-fold: (1) to describe, interpret, and appraise the impact of contemplative education on the curricula …

Redefining Classical Music Literacy: A Study Of Classical Orchestras, Museum Anthropology, And Game Design Theory, Kimberly M. Zahler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current state of declining audiences for the performing arts in the United States is cause for concern for those musicians and ensembles interested in the continuation of the art forms. The previous model of using audience numbers as the sole or primary measure of an orchestra's success is no longer sufficient in an era of participatory design and interactive experiences. Through observation and analysis of the culture of classical music, this study focuses on the emerging visions of participatory culture and the ways in which museum anthropology and game design theory can be used to redefine classical music literacy …

Love Through A Wide-Angle Lens: A Mythic Narrative And Feminist Critique Of The Reality Competition Dating Show More To Love, Amy Leann Zsohar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is on the rise in the United States and reality television has also risen to the charge of representing fatness. More to Love was the first reality competition dating show to afford fat women a chance at reality show love. The purpose of the study was to look at how fat women are portrayed on reality competition dating shows. The purpose of this study is to understand how the mythic narrative of love through a feminist lens informed by LeBesco, Bordo, Hill Collins, and hooks are in conversation with each other in More to Love. This study found that …

The Development Of A P-20 Educational Campus: A Case Study On Innovation, Richard R. Patterson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tyack & Tobin (1994, p. 454) describe that the “grammar of schooling,” like the shape of classrooms, has remained remarkably stable over the decades. This has frustrated generations of reformers who have fought to change standardized organizational traditions. Typically school reform has taken the form of innovations in education. Unfortunately, educational innovations don't usually last long or they were never truly innovations in the first place but rather a repackaging or reintroduction of age-old customary practices.

The “Eos Public Schools” set out on a mission to integrate P-20 educational reform into its overall school system as a way to confront …

Living Culture Embodied: Constructing Meaning In The Contra Dance Community, Kathryn E. Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In light of both the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and the efforts of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in producing the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, it has become clear that work with intangible cultural heritage in museums necessitates staff to carry out ethnographic fieldwork among heritage communities. In order to illustrate this methodology, an ethnographic study was conducted in the Denver contra dance community to better explore conceptions of value and meaning related to the community by its members. Further, the contra dance findings point to certain issues related to defining …

Austen, Byron, And Scott: Domestic Virtues And Fashioning History—Britain 1805 Through 1819, Joan Garden Cooper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

James Chandler in England in 1819: the Politics Of Literary Culture and the Case of Romantic Historicism says that the second-generation Romantic writers were in essence historicist. According to Chandler, the literary work of England in 1819 is concerned with its own historical self-representation. Romantic writers can be regarded as fashioning the history by which they must be understood. Chandler regards Romanticism as a crucial period because despite the relatively short span of years to which it is usually assigned (1790-1830), close attention has been paid to its literary activity (3). Chandler's concern is "with writings that seek to state …

The Memory Of Forgotten Things, Brittany Metz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates my lack of childhood memories and documents how my artwork stands in as a substitute for that lost memory. The first part of the thesis analyzes my early life and influences; the second part analyzes my art making and process. The narrative style of writing is intentionally autobiographical to mimic the narrative style and structure of the thesis installation. My upbringing, interests, creative process, access to materials, and inspiration are fully explored. The impact my early life has on my current work is evident. Real memory is combined with created memory in the thesis multi-media installation. I …

The Individual Behind The Image Female Idols In Their Various Forms, Patricia Lois Nuss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research investigated the artistic and photographic processes corresponding with two studies motivated by the artist's personal history and focused on the role, affect, and history of various female idols represented in art history, religion, and modern American popular media. The first part of the study documented female models as they were simultaneously asked by the artist to think of a range of personal but nonspecific moments from her life, the women were asked not to share their thoughts, only the moment spent thinking, with the artist. The second part of the study documented aspiring models as they awoke during …

The History And Perception Of Music Education In Kuwait, Youssif Abdullah Al Hassan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study sought to provide a detailed examination of the history and development of music education in Kuwait. The history of the four teacher-training institutions and music education in schools are discussed. That includes the history of the Music General Supervision Department and its music activities. Additionally, the study examined the perception of music education in Kuwait historically, and surveyed parents and students' perceptions of music and music education in Kuwait public schools. There were 244 students and 169 parents responses to 260 questionnaires. Parents were asked about their knowledge of the music education curriculum and students were asked …

A Study Of The Impact Of Involvement And Sequence In Narrative Persuasion, Rebekah M. Lane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to look more closely at the relationships between narrative and non-narrative persuasive messages, and to begin to determine how and why these message formats might work together. I situated this study within Rogers’ roadmap for future theoretical work on entertainment education (E-E), and specifically addressed Slater and Rouner’s call for more research on the impact of epilogues in E-E. Synthesizing components of the elaboration likelihood model with recent theorizing regarding persuasion through narrative, I made predictions regarding the effect of transportation and character identification on perceived salience, attitudes, behavioral intention, and behavior in narrative, …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Reading Instruction And Male Students' Reading Scores In Single-Gender Elementary Classrooms, Chrystal Michelle Hodges

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of single-gender grouping on the reading performance of fourth grade male students and explore the levels of use of research-based reading strategies for their influence on reading achievement of male students in single-gender and mixed-gender class settings. The study population consisted of 195 student participants, from 4 different schools in one mid-South school district, and 9 teacher participants of these students. The control group consisted of 98 students from two of the four schools in the study. Data was collected using the results from the Mississippi Curriculum Test, Second Edition …

Sacrificial Acts: Martyrdom And Nationhood In Seventeenth-Century Drama, Kelley Kay Hogue

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sacrificial Acts: Martyrdom and Nationhood in Seventeenth-Century Drama posits that the importance of sixteenth-century martyrologies in defining England's national identity extends to the seventeenth century through popular representations of martyrdom on the page and stage. I argue that drama functions as a gateway between religious and secular conceptions of martyrdom; thus, this dissertation charts the transformation of martyrological narratives from early modern editions of John Foxe's Acts and Monuments to the execution of the Royal Martyr, Charles I. Specifically, I contend that seventeenth-century plays shaped the secularization of martyrdom in profound ways by staging the sacrificial suffering and deaths of …

The Stigmatization Of Deathcare Workers, Shannon Rose Simone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has indicated that Funeral Directors and Embalmers are stigmatized for their work. Studies have shown that, although the decay of dead bodies is a stigmatized process in American culture, these particular deathcare workers are able to shift the focus of their services from the dead to the living. However, there remains a lack of research regarding deathcare workers who are not employed as Funeral Directors or Embalmers— those whose positions are not as obvious to the general public. This research explores how, why, and to what degree stigma is placed on those individuals who spend the majority of their …

The Revenge Of The Second Banana A Female Sidekick's Survival Guide, Melissa Mason

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I returned to school to receive an MFA in Musical Theater for many reasons, but paramount was the need to further explore and develop my range as an actress. Throughout my career, I have played a variety of roles, but none as challenging or possibly as rewarding as the man-hungry secretary UCharlieV in James Valcq5s Zombies from the Beyond, produced by the Jester Theatre in Winter Garden, FL. Performing this role allowed me to achieve one of my objectives when entering the grad program at UCF: to transition from a classical ingénue or soubrette into a leading lady or character …

Building A Workable Model For Youth Theatre An Exploration Into A Courageous And Complex Field, Megan E. Mayo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As an active director of productions featuring youth actors, I find myself debating the same questions continuously: Are there clear and demonstrated differences between working with young people and adults when directing a youth theatre production? Are there approaches and methods of working with young people that differs greatly from working with adults? Are these methods supported and utilized by those working professionally in the field? Is there an ideal format for a theatre producing only productions with youth? I believe that directing young actors tends to require a shift in focus due to the pliability, sensitivity, and inexperience of …

Lighting Design For From Sun To Sun A Day In A Railroad Camp, Nathan Szewczyk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis the notion of a theoretical approach to the beginning stages of designing lighting for a theatrical production will be discussed. The topic being researched is: How a theoretical approach to entering the design process will enhance the final lighting design. The target audience for this study is theatrical lighting designers. A theoretical approach, in this case to the beginning of the design process, could be described as utilizing current dramatic theories to develop a better understanding for the design of this production. In order to better understand this topic one would need to know how the process …

Fearlessness The Seventh Element Of Drama, Matt Wenge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aristotle proclaimed in his Poetics that there were six elements to drama: spectacle, music, diction, thought, character, and plot. This paper will analyze the play Thom Pain (based on nothing) against these six elements. I will discuss the aspects of each element that are present in the show as well as the ideas and concepts my director, Tad Ingram, and I brought to the show. Through the rehearsal and performance process I discovered a seventh element; the element of fearlessness. In his Poetics, Aristotle does not fully address what the actor brings to the performance and this aspect is just …