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Electronic Theses and Dissertations

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Arf : An Automated Real-Time Fuzzy Logic Threat Evaluation System., Jeremy D. Gray May 2006

Arf : An Automated Real-Time Fuzzy Logic Threat Evaluation System., Jeremy D. Gray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Intrusion Detection has emerged as a powerful component of network security systems. A wide range of hardware and software components exist to meet most basic security needs on all platforms. These systems log system usage that could be considered as a breach of security in many networks. However, signature based intrusion detection systems have one catastrophic downfall, in that the number of alerts being logged can quickly outgrow the amount of resources necessary to investigate this anomalous behavior. This thesis explores the use of a fuzzy logic based analysis engine that gives an overall threat level of an intrusion detection …

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Predictors Of Persistence In Distance Education., Jennifer R. Hammond 1975- May 2006

Predictors Of Persistence In Distance Education., Jennifer R. Hammond 1975-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify which factors predict persistence among a sample of distance education students. Age, gender, GPA, computer experience, computer self-efficacy, and gender role were examined in relation to persistence (i.e., successful completion of a course). A Web-based survey was administered to a convenience sample of undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled in distance education courses at four colleges in the state of Kentucky ( N = 293), during the Fall 2005 and Spring 2006 semesters. The survey instrument consisted of background/demographic questions, the Computer User Self-efficacy (CUSE) Scale, and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire …

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Ukiyo., Robert Ritchie 1981- May 2006

Ukiyo., Robert Ritchie 1981-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This creative thesis follows the opening story arc to a larger fiction project in the genre of high fantasy fiction. Structurally and stylistically, by incorporating contemporary contributions to the genre from Japanese popular culture, this story immerses itself in American-Japanese syncretism. This work confronts two central challenges: first, as an American writer, to faithfully integrate conventions originating from a Japanese cultural context; second, to find written analogues for conventions currently anchored to the visual mediums of anime, manga and video games. What post-war Japan has made of the high fantasy genre increasingly saturates American pop culture. It remains to be …

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Cost-Comparison Of Prostate Cancer Screening Versus Not Screening., Bill Fell 1951- May 2006

Cost-Comparison Of Prostate Cancer Screening Versus Not Screening., Bill Fell 1951-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prostate cancer is a common form of cancer in men. In fact, prostate cancer has the highest incidence of any cancer in men. Prostate cancer is not only common, it carries a significant financial burden. The cost of prostate cancer is 11.3% of all cancer expenditures. If after a DRE the prostate is enlarged, or if the PSA is elevated, then a biopsy of the prostate would be recommended. Under the best of circumstances, cancer diagnoses will be missed and many will undergo unnecessary biopsy, etc. The focus of this paper was the cost-utility of screening with the PSA test. …

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Comparative Tmj Imaging Accuracy Using Icat Cone Beam Computerized Tomography., Oana Bida Honey May 2006

Comparative Tmj Imaging Accuracy Using Icat Cone Beam Computerized Tomography., Oana Bida Honey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A blinded observational cross-sectional in vitro study was conducted to compare the diagnostic accuracy of observers viewing images made using cone beam computerized tomography (CBCT), panoramic radiography and linear tomography. The sample consisted of 37 TMJ articulations from 30 human skulls demonstrating either normal condylar morphology (n=19) or erosion of the lateral pole (n=18). The articulations were imaged using corrected angle linear tomography, normal and TMJ specific panoramic radiography and CBCT. Images and 10 re-reads were presented to 10 observers. Multiple CBCT multi-planar images were presented both statically and interactively. Intra-observer reliability was determined by weighted kappa (Kw) and diagnostic …

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Rap Music And Hegemony : A Historical Analysis Of Rap's Narrative., Jamar Montez Wheeler 1981- May 2006

Rap Music And Hegemony : A Historical Analysis Of Rap's Narrative., Jamar Montez Wheeler 1981-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a historical analysis of the narratives of rap music and their relationship to hegemony. I view the trends outlined in this thesis as a microcosm of large-scale social trends in the world of popular culture. A world dominated and distributed by a small collection of huge media conglomerates. The central questions of this thesis are "has rap music's relationship to hegemony changed?" and if so, "how has it changed?" After collecting my data using random sampling techniques and analyzing it utilizing verifiable statistical tests, I answer these two questions. The evidence supports the conclusion that rap music's …

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Creating The Environment For "In The Blood"., Benjamin Ray Mays May 2006

Creating The Environment For "In The Blood"., Benjamin Ray Mays

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

From the moment the audience enters the auditorium the play is a mystery. They are looking for clues as to the nature of the story in which they are about to participate. The designer's job is to select what these clues are. How does the designer decide what the audience will see or won't see? The audience sees only the final product which is a culmination of the process of creation. It is this process that is important and will lead to the creation of a successful theatrical environment, one which goes beyond the 4th wall to create a living, …

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Mechanistic Studies Of Guanine-Rich Oligonucleotides., Allicia C. Girvan 1978- May 2006

Mechanistic Studies Of Guanine-Rich Oligonucleotides., Allicia C. Girvan 1978-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Guanine-rich oligonucleotides (GROs) are being developed as a novel anticancer agents. GROs exhibit potent antiproliferative properties against several malignant cell lines and in established in vivo tumor models. In a recent Phase I clinical trial for patients with advanced cancer, one of these GROs was found to have promising signs of clinical activity with no serious side effects. It has been shown that the activity of GROs requires the formation of a G-quartet structure, and their activity correlates with its ability to bind to a specific complex of proteins. One important GRO-binding protein that has been previously identified is nucleolin, …

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Experimental Evaluation Of Cooling Methods For A High Density Packing Array Of Power Amplifiers, Zachary A. Williams May 2006

Experimental Evaluation Of Cooling Methods For A High Density Packing Array Of Power Amplifiers, Zachary A. Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Much focus has been placed on the thermal management of electronics in recent years. An overall reduction in size of electronic components as well as advances in chip technology leading to higher power dissipation have increased the necessity for innovative cooling designs. Thermal engineers have been highly dependent on computational fluid dynamic software packages to assist in the design of these cooling systems. These software packages allow engineers to vary parameters in order to optimize their designs without the time and cost involved in building and testing multiple prototypes. However, it remains important to experimentally test some designs to verify …

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“Daddy, Tell Me Another Story:” The Drive-By Truckers, Southern History, And Popular Culture, Ellie Campbell May 2006

“Daddy, Tell Me Another Story:” The Drive-By Truckers, Southern History, And Popular Culture, Ellie Campbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work describes the connections that the Drive-By Truckers make between Southern history, popular culture, and their vision of Southern identity through an examination of lyrics from six of their albums.

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“Part Of My Internal Landscape”: Religious Ideology As A Construction Of Place In Randall Kenan’S Let The Dead Bury Their Dead And Crystal Wilkinson’S Water Street, Frances Abbott May 2006

“Part Of My Internal Landscape”: Religious Ideology As A Construction Of Place In Randall Kenan’S Let The Dead Bury Their Dead And Crystal Wilkinson’S Water Street, Frances Abbott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the contributions of contemporary authors Randall Kenan and Crystal Wilkinson to the construction of place in the traditions of Southern literature and African-American literature. These two traditions have generally operated exclusively, and writers who create texts that speak to both black identity and Southern identity have often been cataloged as members of either one tradition or the other. While Kenan and Wilkinson speak to both traditions through many narrative devices, the creation of a religious landscape of the contemporary southern black community emerges as a significant commonality. Their depiction of spirituality in this context embraces two spheres …

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Molecular Pathogenesis Of Legionella Longbeachae., Rexford Asare 1972- May 2006

Molecular Pathogenesis Of Legionella Longbeachae., Rexford Asare 1972-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ability of L. pneumophila to cause disease depends on its replication in alveolar macrophages. Infectivity and the expression of various virulence traits is triggered at post exponential growth phase. We show that unlike quiescent macrophages, L. longbeachae does not replicate in IFN-ã activated macrophages and its intracellular replication is independent of the growth phase of the inocula. L. pneumophila replicates in a phagosome that excludes early and late endocytic markers, and is surrounded by the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER). In contrast, the L. longbeachae phagosome colocalizes with early endosomal marker EEA1, late endosomal markers LAMP-2 and M6PR, and ER …

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Childhood Reflections Of Adult Male Incarcerated Child Sexual Abusers., Linda H. Garrett May 2006

Childhood Reflections Of Adult Male Incarcerated Child Sexual Abusers., Linda H. Garrett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Child sexual abuse has existed since earliest recorded history. It is believed that one in three females and one in five males are sexually abused before their 18th birthday, and many researchers believe this is a gross underestimation of the problem. Child sexual abuse has been studied extensively from the perspective of the victim. Child sexual abusers have been studied over the last few decades but with inconsistent definitions and methods applied among studies. This qualitative study explored the childhood reflections of 8 incarcerated child sexual abusers in a southern Appalachian prison. One-on-one in-depth interviews were conducted at the …

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Individual And Situational Factors Affecting Transfer Of Training In A Call Center Environment., Eric Travis Hicks May 2006

Individual And Situational Factors Affecting Transfer Of Training In A Call Center Environment., Eric Travis Hicks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the past 35 years, the average U.S. corporation expenditure per employee on training has increased over ten-fold, yet research studies covering the same time period estimate that only 10-15% of skills and knowledge acquired during training actually transfer to the job. A study was conducted using Mathieu and Martineau's model of training motivation to better understand which factors predicted for motivation to transfer learning on the job in a call center environment. Participants from a large mid-western insurance company call center (n = 195) participated in a longitudinal study to determine the relationship of individual factors, situational factors, and …

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A Proposed Evolution Of Immigration Model Applied To The United States, Germany, And Russia., Amy C. Cappiccie May 2006

A Proposed Evolution Of Immigration Model Applied To The United States, Germany, And Russia., Amy C. Cappiccie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study proposes a model for examining the evolutionary nature of immigration policy, the Cappiccie Lawson Evolution Immigration Model (CLEIM). The model was applied to the United States, Germany, and Russia to provide a broad variety of immigration policy history. CLEIM, as applied to the United States, examined policy from 1882 to the present. CLEIM, as applied to German policy, examined policy from World War II to the present and Russian policy from post-Communism to present. Section I of this paper presents the proposed Cappiccie Lawson Evolution of Immigration Model (CLEIM). Sections II, III, and IV apply CLEIM to …

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Psycholinguistic Coherence Of Emotion States., Jim A. Yockey May 2006

Psycholinguistic Coherence Of Emotion States., Jim A. Yockey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

How do words represent emotional states, and how closely are they clustered to an actual emotion? Opinions vary as to how many emotions there are, and whether (or which) emotions are basic. Generally, many agree that basic emotions include fear, anger, joy, sadness, and disgust. Some researchers include surprise, shame, interest, and others as derived emotions. However, all proponents of basic emotions confirm that each emotion reflects a unique motivational and behavioral tendency. These basic emotions are significant in that they represent distinct modes of action and are physiologically distinguishable. Yet, what of the myriad of other words humans use …

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Approximate Dynamic Programming For Anemia Management., Mehmet K. Muezzinoglu May 2006

Approximate Dynamic Programming For Anemia Management., Mehmet K. Muezzinoglu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation work is the formulation and improvement of anemia management process involving trial-and-error. A two-stage method is adopted toward this objective. Given a medical treatment process, a discrete Markov representation is first derived as a formal translation of the treatment process to a control problem under uncertainty. A simulative numerical solution of the control problem is then obtained on-the-fly in the form of a control law maximizing the long-term benefit at each decision stage. Approximate dynamic programming methods are employed in the proposed solution. The motivation underlying this choice is that, in reality, some patient characteristics, …

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Motivational Interviewing : Does It Increase Alcohol And Other Drug Addicted Clients' Retention In Outpatient Treatment?, David Allen Patterson May 2006

Motivational Interviewing : Does It Increase Alcohol And Other Drug Addicted Clients' Retention In Outpatient Treatment?, David Allen Patterson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a post-test only comparison group study. It tests the effects of additional Motivational Interviewing sessions during the first two weeks in an intensive outpatient clinic. The object is to learn whether these additional sessions will help to increase rates of treatment retention and completion with alcohol and other drug addicted individuals as well as those who are dually diagnosed with HIV/AIDS infection and addiction. It begins with the problems associated with alcohol and other drugs followed by problems related to HIV/AIDS and treatments for both illnesses. It uses Transtheoretical Stages of Change Model as a guide for …

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The Acute Effects Of Dynamic And Ballistic Stretching On Vertical Jump Height, Force, And Power., Jason Reed Jaggers May 2006

The Acute Effects Of Dynamic And Ballistic Stretching On Vertical Jump Height, Force, And Power., Jason Reed Jaggers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the differences between 2 sets of ballistic stretching and 2 sets of a dynamic stretching routine on vertical jump performance. The intraclass reliability coefficients for maximum jump height, force, and power were also assessed using the Kistler Quattro Jump® force plate. METHODS: Ten healthy male college students, ages 22 to 34 years, volunteered to participate in this study. All subjects completed three individual testing sessions on three non-consecutive days. On each day the subjects completed one of three treatments (no stretch, ballistic stretch, and dynamic stretch). A paired samples t-test was used …

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The Unknown Struggle : A Comparative Analysis Of Women In The Black Power Movement., Elizabeth Michele Jones May 2006

The Unknown Struggle : A Comparative Analysis Of Women In The Black Power Movement., Elizabeth Michele Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis comparatively analyzes the experiences and roles of women in the United States and Caribbean Black Power Movements. Using the Black Panther Party and Trinidadian National Joint Action Committee as case studies, the researcher isolates similarities and differences among women in these two regions of the African Diaspora. Black Feminist and Caribbean Feminist theoretical perspectives aide in understanding how the interlocking social forces of race, class, and gender impacted women participating in the Black Nationalist movement of the late 1960's and early 1970's.

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Implicit Response : Instructor Values And Social Class In The Literacy Narrative Assignment., Kara Poe Alexander May 2006

Implicit Response : Instructor Values And Social Class In The Literacy Narrative Assignment., Kara Poe Alexander

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation examines instructor responses to a popular personal writing assignment, the literacy narrative. Previous studies have shown this assignment to be popular with instructors because of the reflection it is thought to generate; however, nobody has yet looked at what instructors really mean by reflection. This study investigates what features of student texts instructors recognize as reflection. I collected literacy narratives and demographic questionnaires from students and surveys, assignments, think-alouds, and follow-up interviews from instructors. Personal writing, and the literacy narrative assignment in particular, can best be taught by highlighting the rhetorical capabilities of this genre. The results of …

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Effects Of Training On Postprandial Flow Mediated Dilation., Kevin David Ballard May 2006

Effects Of Training On Postprandial Flow Mediated Dilation., Kevin David Ballard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if training has a protective effect on endothelial function following the consumption of a high-fat meal. Twenty young males classified as trained or untrained underwent vascular and blood lipid testing pre and post (two- and four-hours) a high-fat meal. Flow mediated dilation was significantly decreased at two- (p < 0.001) and fourhours (p < 0.001) in both groups, with no differences between groups (p = 0.119). Serum TG increased at two- (p < 0.001) and four-hours (p < 0.001) in both groups. LDL-C was reduced at four-hours (p = 0.050) in trained subjects, and two- and four-hours (piÜ 0.01) in untrained subjects. Two-hour HDL-C was reduced compared to baseline (p = 0.024) and four-hours (p = 0.014) in both groups. This study demonstrates that a high-fat meal induces endothelial dysfunction for up to four hours in males, independent of training status.

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Mechanism Of 4-Hydroxynonenal Induced Toxicity In Jurkat Cd4+ T Lymphocytes., Wei Yuan Chang May 2006

Mechanism Of 4-Hydroxynonenal Induced Toxicity In Jurkat Cd4+ T Lymphocytes., Wei Yuan Chang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Oxidative stress-induced immunosuppression could be due to a decrease in CD4 + T lymphocyte activation or proliferation. 4-Hydroxynonenal (HNE), an end product of lipid peroxidation, and its protein adducts act as markers of oxidative stress. In this study, the effects of HNE on a human CD4 + Jurkat T cells were examined. Systematic determinations of the effects of HNE on cytotoxicity, Akt and protein phosphatase 2A(PP2A) activation, Fas/FasL-mediated apoptotic signaling, methionine adenosyltransferase (MAT) II activity, MAT 2A and c-Myb expression and cellular glutathione (GSH) and S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) levels were performed. The results showed that HNE induced cytotoxicity, downregulated Akt and …

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Initial In Vitro And In Vivo Characterization Of A Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Assist System., Jeffrey Michael Colyer May 2006

Initial In Vitro And In Vivo Characterization Of A Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Assist System., Jeffrey Michael Colyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historically in the area of pediatric heart failure, few options have been available that are specifically designed to provide pediatric circulatory support. Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) was the traditional method of choice, providing cardiopulmonary support (CPS) for a relatively short time of 3-7 days. The pediatric cardiopulmonary assist system (pCAS) examined in this paper is designed to be able to provide left ventricular assist (LVA), right ventricular assist (RVA), or cardiopulmonary assist to a pediatric patient for a period of 30 days, with the option of device replacement if needed. A specially designed controller allows for both continuous and pulsatile …

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Analysis Of Landfills C-746-S And C-746-T At The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant., Paul Jacob Cooper 1981- May 2006

Analysis Of Landfills C-746-S And C-746-T At The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant., Paul Jacob Cooper 1981-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Contamination can be very difficult to remove from water. Once this water seeps into the ground, the difficulty grows exponentially. The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, located in Paducah, Kentucky, has contaminated the groundwater. The contaminants that pose an environmental threat are Trichloroethylene and Technetium-99. Trichloroethylene is used as a degreasing solvent, while Technetium-99 is a by-product of enriching uranium. This study involves investigating potential sources of Trichloroethylene and Technetium-99. The potential sources are two landfills, the C-746-S landfill and the C-746-T landfill. Data from monitoring wells located around the two landfills were analyzed to determine if the two landfills are …

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Identity Theft And Routine Activities : A Test Of Victimization Using College Students., Brian Dean Fell May 2006

Identity Theft And Routine Activities : A Test Of Victimization Using College Students., Brian Dean Fell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the link between routine activity theory and identity theft victimization using college students. Using data collected from 308 undergraduate students attending a southeastern university, this study seeks to present the likelihood that college students will become a victim to identity theft in the future. In doing so, the study also seeks to present the college student's perception that they could become a victim of identity theft in the future. Overall, this study has the main objective of determining if a link exists between college student's routine activities and the risk of them becoming victims of identity theft. …

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Text Mining Comorbidity Codes In The Analysis Of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Data., Jennifer Ferrell 1982- May 2006

Text Mining Comorbidity Codes In The Analysis Of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Data., Jennifer Ferrell 1982-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this paper is to examine the process of text mining and using the results to show the possible benefits of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation. The 555 patients enrolled in the study were receiving inpatient cardiopulmonary rehabilitation. Each patient had comorbidity codes associated with them. These codes are secondary diagnoses to the cardiac or pulmonary event that resulted in their hospitalization. The patients had secondary conditions ranging in number from 1 to 10. The patients were assessed at admission and discharge for functional independence. Since there are numerous comorbidity codes for each patient, it would be difficult to analyze each …

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Using The Theory Of Reasoned Action To Examine The Gambling Behaviors Of College Athletes And Other Students., Robert Gene Thrasher May 2006

Using The Theory Of Reasoned Action To Examine The Gambling Behaviors Of College Athletes And Other Students., Robert Gene Thrasher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Legal and illegal gambling opportunities are readily available to students on college campuses and surrounding areas (Saum, 1999). College students are at an age that is highly impressionable, experimental, and prime to taking risks while ignoring the potential consequences (Oster, 1992). Because of their desire for competition, college student athletes may be highly susceptible to the lure of gambling. While the rates of pathological gambling are high for college students, the rates for the subpopulation of college student athletes are posited to be even higher (Rockey, Beason, Lee, Stewart, & Gilbert, 1997). The general purpose of the current study was …

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Punishing The 'Other' : Race, Ethnicity, And The American Justice System., Kristen T. Valentine May 2006

Punishing The 'Other' : Race, Ethnicity, And The American Justice System., Kristen T. Valentine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of the relationship between race and ethnicity and the American justice system. It is a comparative case study of the racial dimensions of the War on Drugs in the domestic criminal justice system and the ethnic dimensions of the War on Terror through an examination of the prison and prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. This thesis is about building bridges between domestic and international conceptions of justice with a focus on human rights. Central to this project is an exploration of similar process of white fear, racialization, and dehumanization black and Arab/Muslim men experience under the …

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Nourishing The Relationship : An Actress And Her Craft., Pacey Lizette Walker May 2006

Nourishing The Relationship : An Actress And Her Craft., Pacey Lizette Walker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is divided into six chapters covering my evolution as an artist. The introduction features the growth and awareness I have attained, spanning the past three years, since I arrived at graduate school. Chapter One discusses my approach to the character of Anna while Chapter Two focuses on my research of Aphasia and Astronomy as they relate to the script of Night Sky. Chapter Three explores the audition and rehearsal processes and the outcome of those processes as experienced in the performance. In Chapter Four, I reflect on the experience of Night Sky and examine ways I could have …

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