Digital Commons Network^™

Lateral Movements : In Multifaceted Time And Space, Jieun Kim

Masters Theses

Orient, shift, calibrate, and soar—these four lateral movements provoke new ways of seeing beyond flatness: the single fixed point of view. I question the reasons and consequences of the dominant point of view and suggest interpretative and playful versions of possibilities.

The distribution of the internet and satellite photography has heightened the perception, interaction, and access to the world—time and space have become flexible. I use these tools deceptively to shift toward dynamic and multiple perspectives both in physical and digital space.

I create graphic environments into which people can enter, inviting people to maneuver in this multifaceted time and …

The Line That Splits, Zahra Jewanjee

Masters Theses

The body of work I have created since beginning my MFA has been informed and impacted by my research into various inter-connected subject matters: subcultural spaces, the behaviours of crowds, micro and macro and territories and systems. These have been the philosophical and conceptual rationale of my studio practice. Meditation on these concepts is an important part in the preliminary stages of my process and the praxis of my studio work has been to interpret and implement these ideas. In many ways, this process suggests its own direction. I had no exact endpoint in mind but wanted to be driven …

Addicts Of Nostalgia, Samuel Robert Campbell Drake

Masters Theses

In this thesis, I will reflect on issues of nostalgia through a series of work based upon the landscape where I grew up. I discuss how my paintings stage themes and negotiate criticality towards memory. The writing analyses my engagement towards the collaging of documentary and fictional sources: and how my paintings seek to dispel legibility and embrace slippage. Alongside discussions of personal experiences, I talk about the relationship of distancing in my practice, concerning tangible and geographic detachment. The thesis expresses my adoration for the history of British painting, and my efforts to internalize its traditions. Moreover, this investigation …

Emerging Ecotone, Tongyi Zhang

Masters Theses

Along with the development of society and economy, waste landscape becomes an inevitable result of urban involvement where technological innovation plays a very important role. Computer science, as the most important technology in the 21st century, also affects the physical spaces by enlarging our social distance. People prefer to contact physically less with others unless necessary, causing shrinkage of our community spaces. Abandoned commercial space, which has lost its social function, is one of the typical effects derived from both economic evolution and community shrinking.

In fact, Josh Sanburn (2017) in TIME mentioned “by 2022, analysts estimate that 1 out …

Instants // Intervals, Valerie James

Masters Theses

The structure of this thesis aligns directly with the ritual structure of the rites of passage as set forth by ethnographer Arnold van Gennep. I see myself as both a participant and purveyor of ritual, visualizing the liminal stages of my own life into tangible and intimate pieces of jewelry. According to Gennep, a participant progresses through a rite of passage in three stages: separation, liminality, and re-integration. 01 Each chapter is organized around these three categories, and on how the work and I pass in and out of the studio. Out/Separation describes the process of walking and the poetics …

Walking Mediation : Bringing Back Rituals On Temple Visits On Mount Putuo, Zhejiang, China, Tianjie Chi

Masters Theses

Mount Putuo is a culturally significant Buddhist pilgrimage site with over a 1000 years history. Traditional walking paths were marginalized on Mount Putuo after a new bus circulation was developed to accommodate more visitors efficiently.

In the past, people were arriving at the old dock, walking through the forests, meeting pavilions and gates, and finally reach the temple. Linear spaces and trees embracing the path help them clean up their mind before they meet burn the joss sticks. Nowadays, most visitors arrive at the modern new dock and spend 20-30 minutes to wait in line for the bus, playing phone …

In The Wake Of The Atoms+Sphaira, Jesús Meléndez Vázquez

Masters Theses

In the Wake of the Atmos+sphaira is an architectural thesis that investigates the roles of atmospheric events in reimagining architectural space. The framing of events is the subject of revision, where atmosphere emerges as both spatial content and container. This architecture of atmosphere reconstructs the dialogue between body and space, creating a new trilogy of relationships: space, atmosphere and event.

Initially, this thesis developed an apparatus that has the operational capacity to capture, orient, determine, intercept, model, control, categorize and diverge atmospheric events into two predetermined conditions: temperature and temperament. Positioned between the technical and the aesthetic, temperature and temperament …

Mindful Interactions, Shreyans Bhandari

Masters Theses

Mindful Interactions illustrates how we’ve become addicted to our smart-phones, and how its use in our everyday life affects our physical, social, emotional health and wellbeing. This design study proposes four product designs that make us aware of using apps, and compel us to reconsider their use during bedtime, mealtime, on-the-go and at home. As our pocket sized devices continue to evolve, the outcome of this thesis becomes a case study for rediscovering and applying the “human” in human centered design.

The Effect Of Ethnic Identity On Biblical Unity In Its Role As An Apologetic, Caroline Boozer

Masters Theses

This thesis will consider the effect that ethnicity has on identity formation as it impacts church unity. Unity is the chief form of evidence by which the Christian church is supposed to be recognized. The way that believers love one another is how Jesus teaches people will know that they are His disciples (John 13:35). Ethnic tensions are a cause of disunity in both the Old and New Testaments. The issue of ethnic identity and relations and the impact that they have on unity in the church is an apologetic for the power and counter-cultural teachings of Jesus. The purpose …

Meeting The Stranger: Closing The Distance In Ernest Hemingway’S A Moveable Feast, Brett Joseph Raszinski

Masters Theses

This thesis provides an in-depth analysis of Ernest Hemingway’s memoir, A Moveable Feast. The analysis focuses on how AMF functions as a memoir, given its complicated publication history. The thesis uses the 2009 Restored Edition, which is most closely associated with Hemingway’s original manuscripts. He crafts his memories of Paris between 1921-1926, develops interactive scenes for twenty-first century readers to discover his story, and constructs a blended voice that closes the distance between his present and his past by writing about his writing process. This thesis adds to the academic conversation of A Moveable Feast, attempting to present how important …

"Thus Saith The Lord": The Theological Rhetoric Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nathaniel Ryan Davis

Masters Theses

This text seeks to explain the rhetorical appeals that Martin Luther King, Jr. used to persuade his audience of the fundamental truths of human dignity, sin, justice, and hope.

Persecutor’S Remorse: Mimetic Desire, Institutions, And Shūsaku Endō’S Loving Gaze On Persecutors, Jirayu Smitthimedhin

Masters Theses

Building on Mark Williams’ thesis that Endō’s characters often reconcile with an unconscious Other within themselves, I will argue that Endō’s “weak” characters are trapped by mimetic desire and are drawn toward acts of persecution; their status as persecutors depends on their relationships—whom they wish to imitate or whom they imitated in their past. While Williams and other Endō scholars often focus on the psychology and existential choices facing Endō’s characters, I point out how contextualizing Endō within the postwar Daisan no shinjin writers reveals Endō’s criticism of institutional powers, particularly because institutions can become “centers of desire.” Drawing on …

Breaking The Fourth Wall, Esther Elizabeth Karram

Masters Theses

This creative, non-fiction thesis is written in memoir form and analyzes how a person perceives reality, how that perception is broken, and how a person copes with the limitations of a new reality. In examining my life, I came to realize that many of my performative tendencies stemmed from a desire to be loved and the belief that love was contingent upon perfection. What follows is my struggle to try to maintain that perfection, the failure to do so, and the slow acceptance of being an imperfect person in an imperfect world.

Studio Exploration Of The Customs In Jordanian Culture: Transforming Cultural Misconception To Cultural Appreciation In The Us, Joy Quarmout

Masters Theses

The following research investigates Jordanian customs in an attempt to inform Western individuals about how cultural norms reflect the values that underlie the thought process and behavior of this people group. Through this process, the researcher intends to help people shatter misconceptions that stem from a lack of exposure to Arab culture. Due to the lack of intercultural experiences and understanding of Arabs within the US, there is a barrier of cognition between individuals of Middle Eastern and Western culture. Not only is there a lack of cultural exposure, but also an abundance of negative television and media coverage, leaving …

Factors Affecting International Students’ Developmental Functioning: Student And Faculty Perspectives From Liberty University, Andrea S. Childs

Masters Theses

The enrollment rates of international students are increasing, but the attrition rates of international students may also be on the rise. Aligning with Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model, the goal of this study was to obtain insight about the encounters that undergraduate international students face. The purpose of this study was to evaluate these encounters to ascertain and compile core themes that will promote international student success. Data gathered from undergraduate faculty also contributed valuable insight. Recommendations were made for both the international student body and the undergraduate faculty. This qualitative research design investigated a small sample of undergraduate international students and …

Exploring The Enneagram Through Visual Aesthetics: Profiles For Personal Home Décor, Sarah K. Casmass

Masters Theses

The home is an environment that is the prime center for self-expression, personal sanctuary, and solace. On a psychological level, the home is a representation of the individual and, therefore, that individual should identify and find pleasure in their personal home space. Decorative art has long provided visual solutions for our innate desire to accentuate our spaces and express ourselves. However, there is a need for a connection between the visual arts and the augmentation of our basic psychological needs through home décor. With countless resources available for an individual to become more self-aware, there is a deficit in the …

Witness And Complicity: The Scrolls Of Auschwitz And The Sonderkommando, Leah Christine Ingle

Masters Theses

The Scrolls of Auschwitz provide a voice not only for the men who had to work in Auschwitz-Birkenau, but also for those who worked in other camps and locations – almost none of whom survived. Because there were more survivors and more information on the Sonderkommando of Birkenau, these men and their testimony have become the foundation on which the scholarship on the Sonderkommando has been built; therefore, as the only writings by Sonderkommando men known to have survived their time in the camps, the Scrolls lie at the center of this topic. Gideon Greif notes that these writings “allow …

Flying Tigers, Black Sheep: Legends In The Pacific, Delynn Burrell

Masters Theses

This project seeks to explore the relationship between Claire Lee Chennault and Gregory “Pappy” Boyington and their respective units. By carefully studying Claire Chennault and Gregory Boyington and the strategies they implemented within their units for missions one can better understand what made their units so successful. By extension, this project also seeks to understand how popular culture has continued to bring their stories to the forefront for a new generation and the influence it has in expanding the legends. By examining personality traits, leadership skills, and the command policies of the commanders outside of missions, it is hopeful that …

The Selfie Phenomenon: Exploring The Evolution Of The Self-Portrait In The Photography Classroom, Sarah J. Bentley

Masters Theses

This is a qualitative research project exploring the role of the selfie as a form of cultural expression in the twenty-first century and uncovering the meaningful connections students may discover between selfies and traditional self-portraits, whether modern or historic. Reflections through books, articles, and blogs will be explored. Topics such as the effects of social media on student identity and interactions, purposes of the selfie in youth culture, and current topics and trends of selfie-taking will be examined. A photography curriculum overview is included to facilitate this theme.

Reexamining Amos’ Use Of Rhetorical Questions In Hebrew Prophetic Rhetoric, Matthew Bovard

Masters Theses

The book of Amos contains a message of repentance and judgment to eighth-century Israel. However, the book also portrays the Hebrew prophet persuading his audience of their condemnation before a God whom they do not fully understand. The prophet employs rhetorical questions to help assert his argument. Modern scholarship, however, does not address the function(s) of rhetorical questions from a purely Hebrew context, but evaluates them from an approach heavily influenced by Classical rhetoric. This error results in an incomplete view of Amos’ rhetoric and message that removes the rhetorical questions from the context of the Hebrew prophet. Thus, a …

The Convincing Biographer: The Use Of Genre In Athanasius’ Christology, Angelica Digangi

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Anglo-Spanish Trade And Diplomacy 1712-1742, Forrest La Jeunesse

Masters Theses

Between the War of Spanish succession till the war of Austrian succession, the British focus shifted from matters of the European Continent towards that of expanding its trade and its commercial empire. With the securing of an important treaty with France, the British were able to seek trading concessions from the Spanish, through diplomacy or war, in order to gain economic dominance in the West Indies. However, unequal and often conflicting interests between the two nations prevented desired expansion into the West Indies for the British, so they sought to exploit vague treaty terms and obligations in order to conduct …

Bilingual Family Literacy Programming In West Michigan: Points Of Alignment And Disconnect Among Learners, Instructors, And Local Partners, Thomas J. Rogers

Masters Theses

This research explores the beliefs and experiences of stakeholders in a family literacy program through the Literacy Center of West Michigan and Head Start for Kent County. The program is currently developing a curriculum to improve outcomes for learner specific goals. Therefore, one motivation behind this research is to analyze the goals, needs, and understandings for the multiple stakeholders within the program. On a national scale, there exists a need to better define the goals of family literacy programming in general. Points of alignment and disconnect for the participants in this study reflect realities that extend beyond the program at …

The Effects Of English Pronunciation Instruction On Listening Skills Among Vietnamese Learners, Nguyet Nguyen

Masters Theses

Listening has been a neglected skill in both second language research and teaching practice (Khaghaninejad & Maleki, 2015; Nowrouzi, Tam, Zareian & Nimehchisalem, 2015) and recent research has shown that second language (L2) listening difficulties might relate to phonological problems besides syntactic and lexical knowledge (e.g., Suristro, 2018). There have been some empirical studies examining the effects of phonetic instruction on perceptual skills showing promising results (e.g., Aliaga-Garcia & Mora, 2009; Linebaugh & Roche, 2013). This study contributes to this area with a focus on investigating the impacts of English pronunciation instruction on listening skills among Vietnamese English as a …

Swearing In A Second Language, Grace Irwin

Masters Theses

Second language learners often lack knowledge of L2 swear words, their appropriateness, and pragmatic function. Competence in L2 swearing is important for L2 learners to be able to express themselves expertly and understand others’ emotional expressions precisely. However, taboo language is rarely included explicitly in L2 curricula due to its controversial nature. This paper addresses a gap in the literature concerning what second language users actually know about swearing in their L2. Some studies have attempted to determine learners’ receptive swearing competence (Jay & Janschewitz, 2008; Kapoor, 2016); however, the present study employs an updated measure of L2 pragmatic swearing …

Influences On International Saudi Students’ Sojourner Acculturation In The U.S., Abdulah Shaban Alasiri

Masters Theses

Research on international students’ experiences in tertiary institutions abroad suggest they face difficulties related to culture, language, and socialization (e.g., Andrade, 2006; Hellsten, 2002). To encourage more successful socialization and English language development, the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission established a cap on the enrollment of Saudi students in any institutions abroad since 2014. The effectiveness of these quotas in promoting socialization is not known, but anecdotal evidence and an exploratory study conducted by the author suggest other (perhaps more influential) factors affecting Saudi students’ opportunities for socialization (in this study defined more specifically as sojourner acculturation) and subsequent language development. …

Language Attitudes Of Writing Center Consultants: Perception And Expectation, Benjamin John Sparks

Masters Theses

This master’s thesis explores the results of research into the language attitudes of peer consultants working in a writing center at a large regional public university in the American Midwest. A survey was administered to writing center staff in which they were asked to evaluate the sociopolitical relationship between standard and nonstandard English dialects, the perceived relative grammaticality of these dialects, and the traditional concept of appropriateness in academic writing. Also included were questions pertaining to how consultants manage the practical responsibilities of their positions and the expectations of students and professors with the writing center’s stated policy of linguistic …

Integrating Visual Thinking Strategies Into Art Education: A Curriculum For The Middle School Level, Shelley K. Gibbs

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to expand and demonstrate how the integration of Visual Thinking Strategies into a middle school classroom curriculum could strengthen and benefit students’ critical thinking and art literacy. There is a growing and overwhelming use of technology and images in our world, to which students are exposed daily. By integrating a visual literacy strategy in a visual art setting, students may learn to slow down and think more critically about what they see and understand, not only in art but cross-curriculum.

Student-Provided Technology In The Classroom, Matthew Lafleur

Masters Theses

With technology becoming more ingrained in the day-to-day business of 21^st century life, it is only natural for such technology to find its way into the hands of our youth and eventually the classroom setting. Student provided technology, specifically the popular smart phone, is proving to be a useful tool in students’ education to some but still seen as a potential danger to many others in the profession. With the world becoming more digitally connected, smart phones have the potential to be a great learning tool or an even greater source of distraction for students.

Art teachers across the …

The Sandman: The Artifice Of Comics And Power Of Dreams, Nathan Teft

Masters Theses

Neil Gaiman’s Vertigo Series The Sandman is an exceptional artistic endeavor. From “Preludes and Nocturnes”(1988) to “The Wake” (1996), Gaiman worked alongside a team of talented artists and graphic designers to produce an indelible work of revisionist mythology. This thesis will attempt to establish the framework by which our modern literary canon has celebrated classical Western myths while relegating graphic or visual forms of literature or outright neglecting comic myths altogether. Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics will frame the discourse for pictographic analysis of Neil Gaiman’s mythological revisionism of Milton’s Paradise Lost in Season of Mists, Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities …