Digital Commons Network^™

King James Vi And I: Witch-Hunter And Protector Of The Realm, Joni Raylene Creed

Masters Theses

After the discovery of a conspiracy to kill the king at sea, King James VI of Scotland became frightfully consumed with stamping out witches in his kingdom. He believed that witches were in league with the devil and that they were an imminent threat to his life and sovereignty as king. In the early 1590s, he bypassed legal precedent by directly interrogating and judging Scottish witches. He wrote a treatise in 1597 to warn of the existence of witches and the danger that witchcraft possessed. His involvement in the North Berwick witch trials was an interesting chapter in Scottish history. …

English As A Lingua Franca: Improving Technical Writing And Communication Methods For International Audiences, Lauren Alyssa Serrani

Masters Theses

This thesis centers on the role of English as a lingua franca in global communication, particularly as it pertains to technical written communication. Over the 20th century, English emerged as the primary language used in global communication. As a result, efforts have been made to standardize the language and teach this standardized English in schools and writing programs around the world. Standard American and British English are dominant in academic and professional fields, which inhibits both native and nonnative language learners from reaching their full potential. This project focuses on the most prominent language acquisition methodologies - Standard English, translingualism, …

Moral Rivals: The Intersection Between Puritanism And Piracy In The 17th And 18th Centuries, Amy Stewart

Masters Theses

This thesis seeks to explore the relationship between American colonial Puritans and Atlantic pirates in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Due to their conflicting views on morality and faith, Christianity and piracy consistently tested the other’s resilience for what they believed. Their contrasting moralities intersected in countless ways throughout the colonies, evident through an increasing pattern and shift towards piracy and seafaring in the subject matter of Christian sermons, as well as the introduction of execution sermons that presented an opportunity for preachers to minister to pirates, giving them a final chance at redemption before they were sentenced …

“Someone’S Got To Look Out For The People”: Exploring Donald Trump And Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’S Online Performance Of Populism And Immigration Rhetoric, Taylor P. Koopman

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the performance of populism by a right- and left-wing politician in the digital sphere during the peak of the immigration crisis in 2019 using the lens of Moffitt’s populism as performance theory (performer, stage, and audience) and Baldwin-Philippi’s four methods of ‘centering the people.’ My findings show that Trump and Ocasio-Cortez’s performances of populism condemn the degradation of the U.S. and portray themselves as immigration warriors. Trump uses exclusionary rhetoric to advocate putting “America First,” and Ocasio-Cortez expresses inclusionary rhetoric to develop an “America for All,” in a way that informs their performances of …

Boethian Variations: Musical Thought In Sir Orfeo, Troilus And Criseyde, And Robert Henryson’S Orpheus And Eurydice, Joshua T. Parks

Masters Theses

This study approaches three poems from the late medieval British Isles—the Middle English Breton lay Sir Orfeo, Geoffrey Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, and Robert Henryson’s Orpheus and Eurydice—through the lens of medieval music theory. The most important authority for medieval music theorists was the late antique philosopher Boethius, who held to a Neoplatonic philosophy of music that valued reason, theory, and contemplation of the music of the spheres. Later medieval theorists cited Boethius extensively while also adapting his thought to suit their own purposes. In particular, the early fourteenth-century French theorist Johannes de Grocheio, influenced by Aristotle, departed …

Can’T Stop: The Effects Of High-P Sequencing On Fluency And Retention, Andrew R. Smith

Masters Theses

Precision teaching has led to successful outcomes in both training and education. Past research has shown that by using flashcard techniques such as SAFMEDS in ratebuilding exercises, one can expect expert levels of performance and retention of learned material by practicing for a minute a day. Fluency training using SAFMEDS could prove invaluable in businesses that wish to train their employees using cost and time efficient methods. However, recent research has shown that the SAFMEDS sequence may not quickly build accurate rates of responding in earlier sessions, or reliably lead to high levels of retention. High probability (high-p) sequences can …

New Old: Artmaking And Storytelling With Older Adults, Aisha Jandosova

Masters Theses

This thesis documents my journey in designing and facilitating a series of artmaking and storytelling workshops for older adults, grounded in a positive view of aging. Building on Tockwotton Makes, a series of 40 artmaking sessions conducted over a period of two years, I envisioned and hosted a new project called Her Story Press, which consisted of 7 sessions of artmaking and storytelling workshops. This thesis collects stories and lessons from both of these programs, which took place at Tockwotton on the Waterfront, an assisted living community in Providence, Rhode Island. Additionally, it includes references to some bold and important …

A Musically Embedded Curriculum For Rural Elementary Schools, Rachael Marie Dubay

Masters Theses

Rural school districts across the nation have been at a crossroads for decades. The amount of funding and resources provided to these small towns is often meager and falls short to provide the schools and students with the proper education, teacher training, curriculum, building maintenance, and other necessary educational materials. School officials and board members in these areas across the nation each year have had to make the hard decisions of what to prioritize and what will have to fall by the wayside. Unfortunately, cuts in budgetary and educational reform have regularly faced music education programs and it has become …

Music Education Transformation: How Orff, Kodaly, And Suzuki Promote Academic Success, Michelle M. Angeli

Masters Theses

We all need Music in our lives. Music education is valued less in the education system, but present data from these literature sources of articles, books, and research, tells us another story. For decades school systems have struggled with whether or not to include Music in the education system. There are many values for Music, including individual growth and development. In this research study, I intend to showcase the central benefits of Music to help show there is a need for these programs and to help promote music programs based on their own merits and not just because of academic …

Board Game Under Construction: Putting The Design In Game Design, Cory S. Gurley

Masters Theses

The contemporary design landscape is informed by the need for interactive design, yet not all interactive media is digital. Technology has transformed the way many people receive information, and thus the way that they interact with graphic design, and the impact of user interfaces in creating a positive interactive experience is more important now than ever. However, while this phenomenon is usually identified with the digital environment of smartphone apps, websites and video games, user interface is equally important in analog design, and few media illustrate this better than board games. Board games have enjoyed a surge in popularity over …

Getting After The “Dark Figure” Of Reid: A Meta-Analysis, Douglas A. Coolidge

Masters Theses

Much research has been done, which aims at the use of the Reid Technique in the interrogation room. The technique, named after Reid and Inbrau, uses an aggressive presumption of guilt tactic that has been blamed for the unconstitutional coercion of criminal confession. Those that argue against the use of the technique are typically proponents of the cognitive technique, an interrogation model that eschews the aggressive “finger-pointing” of the Reid technique in favor of more friendly interactions, where the suspect is set up to tell their side of the story freely. Should they be attempting to lie during a cognitive …

The Urban Morphology Of Hyderabad, India: A Historical Geographic Analysis, Kevin B. Haynes

Masters Theses

Hyderabad, India has undergone tremendous change over the last three centuries. The study seeks to understand how and why Hyderabad transitioned from a north-south urban morphological directional pattern to east-west during from 1687 to 2019. Satellite-based remote sensing will be used to measure the extent and land classifications of the city throughout the twentieth and twenty-first century using a geographic information science and historical-geographic approach. This approach provides the basis for a structured archival historical-geographic analysis. Focusing on Hyderabad, India from 1687 to 2019, the objectives of this research are to: (1) delineate and quantify the geographic extent of built-up …

Those Beyond The Walls: An Archaeological Examination Of Michilimackinac’S Extramural Domestic Settlement, 1760-1781, James Cain Dunnigan

Masters Theses

Ideal for both the French and British, the location of Fort Michilimackinac was selected to serve as a key entrepôt for European goods from the colonized east coast to be traded for furs from the Upper Country. The diverse population that formed around Michilimackinac included French and British soldiers, traders, craftsmen, and their families, as well as large seasonal populations of Native Americans. While the Fort’s interior continues to be vigorously examined, little focus has been directed to the larger, multicultural village that emerged outside the fort’s walls in the latter half of the eighteenth century. Excavations from 1970-1973, conducted …

Examining How White College Women Make Meaning Of Their Identities And Experiences After Studying Abroad In A Non-European Country, Damaris Renee Crocker De Ruiter

Masters Theses

One of the many ways higher education institutions attempt to provide students with an opportunity to examine conflicting identities is through study abroad experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore how White college women make meaning of their privileged and oppressed identities after returning from studying abroad in a non-European country. It focused specifically on issues related to their gender identity, racial identity, and their nationality. This qualitative study was rooted in grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014). The theoretical frameworks guiding this study were the Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity (MMDI) (Jones & McEwen, 2000; Abes, Jones, & …

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 …

The Portrayal Of The Woman’S Suffrage Movement In High School History Textbooks, Michelle A. Devries

Masters Theses

The narrative of the woman’s suffrage movement in high school history textbooks varies from textbook to textbook and over time. Textbooks include different information, people, events, and interpretations of events. They employ different word choices and pictures. By using comparative analyzation of numerous popular high school textbooks, the pressure exerted by external economic, social, and political forces on the historical narrative can be seen. Studying the historical narrative in this way trains students to be discerning learners of history and equips them not only to recognize the bias in any historical narrative, but also to be able to analyze how …

Optimized System For On-Route Charging Of Battery Electric Buses And High-Fidelity Modelling And Simulation Of In-Motion Wireless Power Transfer, Yogesh Bappasaheb Jagdale

Masters Theses

Electrifying cars, buses and trucks is an attractive means to reduce energy use and emissions, because it involves minimal restructuring of the transportation network. Transit buses drive fixed routes, minimizing driver range anxiety by properly sizing energy storage system but the major challenge to fully electrifying transit buses, is the amount of energy they consume in a day of driving. To enable a full day of operation, batteries need to be large, which is expensive and heavy. This work utilizes real-world transit bus data fed to a battery electric drive-train model to co-optimize charger locations, charger power levels, and vehicle …

Using Historical Maps For Contaminated Site Identification And Prediction, And Environmental Justice Implications: A Case Study In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Dana Heusinkveld

Masters Theses

As the production of synthetic chemicals has grown in the past centuries to increase production, lower costs, and generally make our lives more convenient, detecting and understanding the environmental impacts of these compounds has lagged significantly behind their mass production and wide-spread use. To combat this trend, sources of these contaminants, especially those that have been removed from the landscape, need to be quickly identified to make mitigation and remediation efforts more effective. In this study, historical Sanborn maps are used to extract and digitize historical site/land use in Grand Rapids during the early 1900s through the practical application of …

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.

Float I;, Zihan Iris Li

Masters Theses

The digital world is just another reality, alongside all the other parallel universes. It is similar to dreams, reflect- ing our fear and desire. When we are not conscious, the particles from our mind will travel freely and construct dreams. While in virtual space, digits are those wandering particles which form the world and are partially controlled by our minds. What is interesting is that no one in those realities will question the logic and behaviours, even though some of them are ridiculous, if you think carefully when you are awake in this physical world. We do find things go …

Silence Is A Luxury, Elise Stephens

Masters Theses

We are beings with at once fragile and resilient senses. Each of us have a threshold that is tested by auditory and visual stimuli that are seemingly constant.

This can lead to discord driving poor choices in resource allotment on a global and for some, a personal scale.

On a global scale, frenzied and misguided journeys to capitalize on the earth’s riches has led to exploitation of both nature and in some cases, societies. At the time of writing, the negative effects of these choices are at the forefront of policy makers’ agendas. In the United States, there are areas …

, 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 …

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.

Web Trauma And Haunting Images : Experimentations On Materiality, Installation, And Operation Of Screens, June Yoon

Masters Theses

This thesis seeks to compose dynamics among the screens, images, and space for viewers to confront what we easily ignore: the haunting ghosts of mistreated humanity in this age of web-trauma.

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 …

Revisionist Histories : Parallels Of Monuments And Absence In The Present, Scott Craft

Masters Theses

Monuments represent long-standing, ingrained social relations and beliefs. Monument architecture can also represent histories of significant, world-changing social and political events. One set of religious and cultural beliefs and practices alters and even eventually replaces another. Once accepted traditions of inherited political authority represented by emperors and monarchies are reformed, even rejected and overthrown by principles of human equality and the rights of all people. Constructs of racial and gender supremacy and authority are challenged, modified and overthrown by those considered inferior . Such social and political transformations challenge existing constructs while also using them in new transformative ways. The …

Specific : And Practices In The Urban Periphery, Sam Wesselman

Masters Theses

This body of work attempts to revisit the American suburban condition as a potential site of healing for the United States. Polarized politics have drawn hard lines between different groups of people in the US, typically along urban and rural identities. If the suburb is potentially defined as neither urban nor rural, what can it teach us about bridging cultural gaps that have opened up in America?

The suburb, generalized into a concept I call “peripherality”, can teach practices that are decentered and heterogeneous. Architecture, as a discipline whose role could be defined in this peripheral sense, always acting in-between …