Digital Commons Network^™

Singing In Synchrony: A Feasibility Study Of Interpersonal Familiarity And Movement Synchrony In Group Singing, Sheridan Rockwell Brown

Masters Theses

In a time when social isolation and decreased in-person interactions pose increasing risks for physical, emotional, and mental well-being, it is more important than ever to find ways to combat the negative consequences of social isolation. Moving in synchrony with others and singing with others have both been identified as social activities through which social bonding may occur, yet little is known about the role of natural movement synchrony in group singing. This study sought to explore the feasibility of using motion capture technology to examine the natural head movements of groups of four participants singing together. The study consisted …

Singing With Strangers: A Feasibility Study Examining The Effect Of Interpersonal Familiarity On Social Bonding During Group Singing, Molly Grettenberger

Masters Theses

Social isolation and loneliness have become major health concerns in today’s world, and the healthcare field needs effective approaches to ameliorating the effects of social isolation and loneliness and increasing opportunities for social bonding. Group singing may be one such approach. This feasibility study focused specifically on interpersonal familiarity during shortterm, small-group singing and its effect on the subjective experience of social bonding. A between-groups design and group interviews were used to examine the subjective experience of social bonding resulting from singing. Two groups of four, including one familiar group and one group of strangers, engaged in a brief group …

A Study Analyzing The Practice Of Resilience Of The Chaplain/Self-Care And Wellness In The Ministry Of The Chaplain, Javier M. Torres-Chinea

Masters Theses

It may seem that chaplains are often put into a hard work as a care giver. The purpose of this study is to explore the importance of resiliency in facing depression and spiritual exhaustion in the life of the chaplain. Lack of resilience in the chaplaincy ministry can jeopardize not only the ministry, but also cause a mood disorder that appears as transient depression and unhappiness. Resilience is important in the chaplain’s ministerial life because it will determine the way chaplains recovers from suffering, trials, and burnouts that can affected their ministry. Based on research, resilience is viewed as a …

Attraction To Both Genders And The Link To Depression Mediated By The Big Five And Permissiveness In Relationships, Jolene Elizabeth Wyman

Masters Theses

The outcome of depression has been well established for sexual minorities. This can be seen in particular within the research regarding those who are attracted to both genders (ABG). The lifestyle choice of nonmonogamous or open relationships is commonly found in ABG relationships. These behaviors demonstrate the concept of permissiveness in relationships. The negative effect of the nonmonogamous lifestyle yields mixed results of either no developed psychopathologies and more personal satisfaction or in developed psychopathologies such as depression. Conscientiousness is often negatively correlated to ABG, permissive behavior in relationships, and depression. The current hypothesis is that conscientiousness and permissiveness in …

American Mfa Vol. Iii Academia, Kevin Hubbard

Masters Theses

This thesis examines how developing technologies and digital upbringings create new cultural identities, both physical and virtual, and how those play out in art education.

, Nevertheless,, Ji Yoon Chung

Masters Theses

Derived from transitions, my artistic practice is an act of condolence for the transient presence that takes time and indulges every process as an acceptance of loss.

Over the years, I have moved between distinctive regions and cultures, only to be disoriented by mementos that are residues of a seemingly in- accessible past. What remains is to witness the vanished moments that evoke associated memories. I tend to solidify the volatile condition of transition by carving a temporary fragment on a permanent surface to make the ephemeral, eternal. The attempt to preserve a transitory phenomenon through archives by utilizing digital …

Finding Identity In Memories, Hyejun Youn

Masters Theses

What are the ways in which we form and build our identities and habits in both physical and digital spaces? How can our different uses of the digital expression which evolved from analog forms reveal traits and memories that we have forgotten or overlooked?

The way I define my identity through the analog media I collect correlates with the quality of the memories within my current schema, knowledge structures that represent typical instances of categories.

We interact with an infinity of objects from birth to death. Our collection of objects resonates more and more with memory and nostalgia as the …

Expanded Skin, Jihoo Kim

Masters Theses

Our digital interfaces have been degrading human sensory intelligence by limiting our body to only vision and the first two fingers. Despite the high level of available technologies, we do not fully utilize them due to our lack of awareness of its applicability in more various aspects than just media being consumed. It is also because of its inaccessibility in terms of human–computer interaction (HCI) beyond our sense of sight and touch screens. Those technologies have been key elements in all of my works, since my ultimate position is to redirect the technology in a way that could enhance human …

Bug Chaser, Peter Rogers

Masters Theses

The veins of the leaves were bustling roadways, complex interactions that occurred at such a distance from my own anthropocentric understanding, they may as well have inhabited their own universe.

Dwelling within the infinite wonder of these microcosms, I coined myself a nickname that I abode within intimately: Bug Chaser. Perhaps I had heard the term on the news, or caught one of the teachers use it in passing, but as far as I was concerned, the term was entirely of my own creation.

“I’m a bug chaser!” I announced triumphantly to my kindergarten class.

“You mustn’t use that word,” …

Under / Over Looked, Kopal Seth

Masters Theses

Across the stages of migration, I have confronted emotional and social complexities. The farther I am from my roots, the more I want to strengthen my connection to India. Through a process of observation and reflection on every day, grows the desire to house a cultural identity within my work. Here, encounters between past, present and future layer atop history and memories.

To reclaim the kindred character of the craft culture of my country, I rediscover those values that resonate within me through recontextualised forms, clay acts as my drawing tool to outline social structures, psychology, traditions and nostalgia.

An Exploration Of Multisensory Practices And Its Value In K-12 Art Education, Melissa St Pierre

Masters Theses

In the past few decades, it has been established that the dominant model of art education focuses on a reductive and rigid approach to building knowledge, enforcing conformity of the mind and often dulling curiosity. Making sense of these limitations, the current study delves in an exploration of multisensory practices, an approach that might result in considering options for redesigning the system to support positive change. To do so, my methodology includes a literature review and a case study I conducted with high school students in the 10th grade. The review pertaining to the science and theory behind human senses, …

Encouraging Creative Behavior Through Art Education, Elaine Li

Masters Theses

In this thesis, I discuss different strategies that encourage creative behavior through high school art education that I argue would have benefits beyond the limits of art. By examining theories around creativity and creative behavior through particular published sources including Ken Robinson’s (2011) Learning to be Creative, Theories of Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2008), and the Handbook of Creativity by Robert J. Sternberg (1999), I analyze how creativity functions on a psychological level. Additionally, in order to provide practical examples, I examine a number of art programs designed specifically for high school students where the focus is on the development …

In The Flesh, Courtney Sierra Johnson

Masters Theses

This thesis is written in two parts:

Part one discusses the history of artistic swimming and its correlation to understanding the fluidity of gender. I adapt the analysis to interpret the underlying theme of critical theory. Tying to my work, I use the notion of the fountain to justify the theory of abjection towards the body and the suppression of natural bodily behaviors within society. Furthermore, the fountain explores water as a symbolic place of equality and gathering.

Part two was written during quarantine of the Coronavirus pandemic. It describes my inability to complete my original thesis and how my …

Internal Resonance, Xiangyu Wang

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the interaction between my inside and outside worlds. It includes my discussion towards Zen methodology, homeostasis, nature, antiquity, inner order and the concept of Qi. It can also be seen as a process that scrutinizes my daily life and looks deep into those things which slowly echo in my body and push me to make my own response.

Envisioning Work : An Autism Friendly And Anxiety Free Office, Naixin Ren

Masters Theses

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. It is estimated that worldwide 1 in 160 children has ASD, and in China, about 1 in 69 children has ASD.

There are many successful educational environments specially designed for people on the spectrum to support learning, understanding, and behaving. However, after graduating, it is usually very hard for people on the spectrum to move toward independence because there is a huge difference between school environments and office environments.

Most office environments are designed to meet the …

Landscapes Of Exposure: Reframing The Connection Between Body + Environment, Kayla Murgo

Masters Theses

This project explores new relationships of the body to the landscape through understanding how the environment imprints, molecularly, on the body and how that information is stored and inherited. In this age of postgenomics, a time that is defined by big-data and technology driven approaches to medicine and public health, it is imperative that we work interdisciplinarily to address mounting health and ecological concerns.

As shapers of natural and social systems, I believe that landscape architects can bridge scales, from the molecular to the ecological, to draw new conclusions about how humans impact ecological systems and how these impacts are …

Practicing A Senior Living, Siyu Shuai

Masters Theses

Implementation of China’s family planning policy fundamentally changed the traditional core family structure. The family size has become ever smaller, breaking the traditional family model in which three-generation or even four-generation cohabitate. The 4-2-1 family structure (4 grandparents, 2 parents, and 1 child) has become mainstream. This has caused an explosion of senior family and elderly living alone, which now represents a significant social issue in China.

The Chinese government has recognized and responded to the lonely elder problem by creating the so-called Senior Citizen University. The SCU serves as a welcome place in the community, for elder entertainment, study …

Reactivating Street Life : Fostering More Communal Interaction In Longtang, Ziyang Qiu

Masters Theses

The public life that develops between buildings in neighborhoods is undergoing a significant change in the process of growth and modernization, which reflects shifts in residents’ social behaviors and community structure. Traditionally, the presence of people, activities and events define the life of neighborhoods, constituting one of the essential qualities of public space; the mix of outdoor activities is influenced by many conditions, including the architectural framework. When those activities are missing, is it an inevitable result of the reliance on electronic products for entertainment, or unreasonable urban planning under insufficient public policy?

The Longtang, as a unique community form …

Mimesis : Human-Centered Digital Profiling Visual Identity, Yangyang Ding

Masters Theses

Digital profiling is the process of gathering and analyzing information that exists online about an individual. Platforms who provide services always have control of this powerful tool. As a result, I used Twitter API as the principle medium to conduct 'digital profiling' as a third party. The visual identity of the new digital profile is not an ads interest list anymore, but a graph that stores personal information that could be used as an avatar. On top of the new visual identity, I speculated several possible applications of the new visual outcome. The idea put forward in this thesis is …

Night Knights: Reminding Children That Their Nighttime Fear Isn't Something They Have To Face Alone, Ji Hyung Moon

Masters Theses

Night Knights are shining toy guardians that children bring to life through play. They engage children’s imagination that inevitably fuels their nighttime fear, and provide a chance to create stories of bravely confronting their fears through their Night Knights.

Exploration And Autonomy : Wild Children In The City, Xiaojie Li

Masters Theses

From 1980 to 2000, China adopted a teacher-centered kindergarten model with the main purpose of imparting knowledge, leaving children in a passive learning environment. Since 2001, this system’s adverse impact on child development has become clear to preschool educators. As a result, teachers have begun to consider kid friendly environments and games. However, even these games were arranged with a top-down, teacher-centered structure.

An education revolution has emerged that aims to release the freedom of children by prioritizing their needs, paying respect and trust to exploration, as well as giving children choice. One pioneering philosophy applying this principle is Anji …

Ciudad Informal : A New Model For Urban Living, Rebeca Isabel Peña Reinoza

Masters Theses

Why should the poor be forced to live in slums on the periphery of the city when there are empty high-rises in the center? Housing scarcity and densification are increasing challenges in cities as a consequence of urbanization and displacement of communities. By performing a study on informal settlements in the city of Caracas, acknowledging both their strengths and weaknesses, this thesis explores vertical communities and the potential to convert unused high-rise buildings into accessible housing solutions. The Tower of David is both a precedent and the host structure for this thesis, which aims to analyze how collective effort and …

Behind Appearance : Hidden Dimensions In The Work Of Wassily Kandinsky And Paul Klee, Ning Ding

Masters Theses

What is the feel like to be a successful artist?

Works being appreciated,being valuable,become famous all over the world?

But what is under? What is behind? The audience seems never to know the story as well as the artworks.

Take an example. When you look at The Scream of Edward Munch, what do you see?

A melting image, a disgusting face, or the derived emoji, which is so popular on the SNS?

What's really behind the painting is Edward Munch's illness, and decades of struggling under sickness, madness, and death.

Most times, when the audience enjoys painting, the imagination can …

Surviving In A Gregarious World, Shiyang Yao

Masters Theses

Contemporary living leads to advanced communication and transport networks that people nowadays are more likely to live in a solo life. Even so, society has incorporated perceptions of single people and a biased assumption that single people are lonely. Loneliness is a big problem, but being single isn’t a problem that needs to be solved. Some people choose to be single. We should challenge the social norm that being alone is the same as being lonely. My research begins with my own experience growing up in China, but the bias against single people happens everywhere regardless of country or culture. …

Experience The World: How The Ever-Present Accessibility Of Hands-On Opportunities & Play Enhance Logistical Learning, Mary E. Chavez

Masters Theses

Living in a digital age, it is imperative--now more than ever--that children engage in hands-on, experiential learning activities to ensure that their ability to relate to the world is not compromised by technology. Children actively need playful, open-ended and self-directed mental stimulation for their young brains to develop and grow. Public school standards stifle a child’s right to succeed in alternative strengths and inhibit opportunities for self-exploration and self-expression. Game design and fort construction are examples of accessible, hands-on activities in which a child can creatively immerse themselves. In doing so, they can begin to interact with the tangible world, …

Lift A Life, Vidur Madhav

Masters Theses

This project analyzes the role that culture and demographics play in interventions within a pre-existing system network. The research is geared towards understanding how healthcare systems demand different solutions across cultural and geographical boundaries. My work acknowledges and highlights the unimportance given to non-clinical services which results in a stark contrast between the ground reality versus the theory of healthcare design. To approach these larger domains of region-specific healthcare problems, I conducted research in the form of case studies, interviews, and on-site observation on three levels: urban tier 1, urban tier 2, and rural. The resultant design, essentially a culmination …

3, 2, 1, Omar Lalani

Masters Theses

Decreation is a term coined by Simone Weil, described as the program in which we “undo the creature in us” , to submit back to God what God has given us - the self. This project has been a personal duty and life long pursuit presented to me in my early religious upbringing. Direct experience and research have broadened this pursuit to discussions around perception, phenomenology, body awareness, and fear of death. In painting, I reflect on the answers provided in these philosophies and place upon it the important job of examining the construction of the self as well as …

Slice Of Life : Theater Of The Dinner Table, Kate Pincus-Whitney

Masters Theses

Through re-imagining the radical emotional, psychological, political, poetic, and story telling power of food, I use the theater of life to set the stage of the table. Conjuring discussion with Chronos and Kairos, the meal is placed within the liminal; where all bodies are simultaneously present and absent. The painting is as much about life as they are about death. Investigating contemporary life and myth making, I explore the mapping of culture through the objects we consume. I view the tablescape as a place of narrative portraiture. Sometimes the table acts as a shrine, other times a commons or a …

Tolerance : Material Conversations On Life & Architecture, Keyan Hansen

Masters Theses

Tolerance is an investigation of the phenomenological aspects and latency of material in architecture through physical manipulation and sensory interaction. It is an investigation into the space between society and material, in which one can find new insight and appreciation for architecture at all scales. The word tolerance holds multiple definitions that wonderfully encapsulate the elements of this work:

• The ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular, the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with.

• An allowable amount of variation of a specified quantity, especially in the dimensions of a machine or …

Architecture Of Dreams, Alex Jing-Seng Wong

Masters Theses

Architecture, both of reality and of dreams, is constructed to serve the needs of its world. The environments of dreams are akin to movie sets in that they correspond to a particular story. Recognizing (“remembering” unconscious knowledge) the significance of objects and forms to the story of a dream reveals the essence of these things as perceived by the self. Those understandings not resulting from individual life experiences may be identified as inherited and universal.