Digital Commons Network^™

Beyond Burial - Transforming Death: A New Ritual Of Farewell And The Ecological Return Of The Body To Nature, Chang Xie

Masters Theses

Burial and funeral culture have been shaped by human self-awareness and reflect an anthropocentric worldview. The modern funeral industry's multi-billion-dollar enterprise is based on the principle of protecting, sanitizing, and beautifying the corpse to promote the idea of human exceptionalism. However, this practice overlooks the natural process of decay and the potential beauty in returning the body to the earth, with which the body shares the same chemical basis as the earth itself. Modern science has provided Eco-friendly green burial methods, such as soil modification, ice burial, and water burial, making it suitable to contribute to natural ecology using human …

Overlooked Modi Vivendi, Natalia Silva

Masters Theses

Traditional gender roles, performance of heterosexuality, marriage, parenthood, and a large variety of other societal expectations manifest themselves in the domestic realm, both intangibly and spatially. The design of domestic spaces has historically catered towards heteronormative living stereotypes, marginalizing people whose way of living challenges the norm. Even in the present day, designers with non-user clients — developers, investors, real estate firms, etc. — will design with heteronormative households in mind. The rise in feminist and LGBTQ+ rights movements has allowed for non-heteronormative modi vivendi (ways of living) to be more vocally and visibly present in the sociopolitical and cultural …

Means And Meaning, Chloe Kaylor

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the impact of class identity on American culture - and the many political and sociological issues that intersect therein - in an effort to magnify the ironic mundanity of the many falsities/failures/shortcomings of the American Dream. Comprised of various short essays, personal adages, and collected cultural detritus, this accumulation of writing is complemented with photographic documentation of an art practice that seeks to do the same.

Reintroducing Hemp (Rongony) In The Material Palette Of Madagascar: A Study On The Potential Of Hemp Clay Components And Its Impact On Social And Ecological Communities., Henintsoa Thierry Andrianambinina

Masters Theses

When mentioning the word hemp, especially in the local language of Madagascar, the literal translation does not set it apart from marijuana, as they are both called “rongony” - creating the stigma around hemp as the negative stereotype of marijuana. However, the material has been used by the ancestors of Madagascar, as well as across cultures, in its fibrous form to produce fabrication like textile goods and packaging. During colonization, the prohibition of hemp intensified, and since then, any activity related to either of these plants is prohibited and will end in severe punitive measures. This thesis explores the strengths …

Moving In, Moving Up, Moving On : The Adaptation And Preservation Of Chinese Diasporas Through Food, Jieqi Yao

Masters Theses

Moving In, Moving Up, Moving On explores the processes of Chinese culture and space in America of adaptation, assimilation, and preservation that underlie food changes. As Chinatowns across the US have evolved and residents have relocated, former centers of Chinese cultural identity have progressively transformed into restaurant districts with increasingly diverse populations and space gentrification.

The thesis argues that food is central to preserving cultural memory and reducing the generation divide. In the context of the Chinese diaspora transformation, culture has changed food in different spaces, and it gives people more choices to acquire and exchange information and values through …

Modern Nomadism ——A Network Of Reciprocal Moorings, Jinting Liu

Masters Theses

The wave of modernization and the impact of globalization have gradually dissolved the traditional nomadic way of life^[1]. However some people still choose to live a nomadic lifestyle for quality of life or economic reasons, but they are still under huge cultural and political pressure. According to the National Institutes of Health(NIH), there are 164 million migrant workers in the world, which can be thought of as modern day ”nomads”.

This paper focuses on seasonally migrating Mexican farm workers without a permanent home, exploring how they can be provided with a “mooring system” and, through different forms of …

Beyond The Lines, Miranda-Max De Beer

Masters Theses

Long-held frameworks and philosophies developed over human history have rarely accounted for dynamic flux or shifts between parallel states of being; they’ve ignored the glaring consequences humanity’s brief occupation of the Geologic Timeline will have on the planet. These beliefs have enabled societies to operate through life as if there was no tomorrow, (ab)using the Earth without considering those who eventually reap what’s sown. Beyond the Lines identifies manifestations of the mindset that restricts how we understand living systems and the world around us as so much of what exists in tandem with contemporary society does not adhere to the …

Temporary Urbanism-Spatial Democracy In The Temporary City, Shijie Li

Masters Theses

This thesis is committed to exploring and discussing the way people behave in the temporary urbanism, perceive and deploy their space arrangement rights and how this nourishes relationships between people, between people and society, and brings a greater sense of spiritual identity and belonging to people.

The modern city is the result of the spatial distribution of material production, urban space is political and oriented to the distribution of power, and citizens are deprived of the subjective qualification and right to participate in the creation o f urban cultural space. Many factors have led to the monopolization of human participation …

The De-Centering Of Architecture, Uthman Olowa

Masters Theses

Housing insecurity is arguably the most pressing issue in our society. In the United States, home/land ownership has been the primary source to generate wealth. Yet, so many people are disproportionately affected and denied access due to this system. Historically, it has also been difficult for people of color to own their own property and receive adequate housing in viable neighborhoods. A person’s ability to obtain quality housing affects other areas of their lives; it affects their ability to attend school in a certain district, and their proximity to work, healthcare, and entertainment. Interventions from both the public and private …

Cuando Lloro, Melissa Medina

Masters Theses

There are moments where I am suddenly hit with a deep sentimental longing for a time that no longer exists, one that has transformed into a deep nostalgia, one that becomes more and more conflicted as time passes. Often thought of as a yearning for a recent past, or homesickness, nostalgia can be difficult to define. Although the concept and emotion associated with nostalgia may seem familiar, the word is in fact complex. Nostalgia, for the immigrant, is an escape from their marginalization; an opportunity to embrace the complexities. Painting then becomes an embrace, a direct connection between the present …

Infinitely Incredible Configurations, Jenni Oughton

Masters Theses

As a designer, I am intent on charting out a radically different perspective on the future. To instigate movement beyond current design thinking centered on problem solving, I propose a shift toward design fiction—a deliberate and direct inquiry into the realm where design meets science fiction, and how that merges with reality. My practice uses science, speculative fiction, and technology as positive models to both generate prompts and spur design outcomes. I borrow from the author Isaac Asimov's three categories of science fiction narratives to instigate a way of structuring this design endeavor: What if ..., If only ..., If …

Liquid Border, Yingfan Jia

Masters Theses

A River is a mighty and constantly-evolving force, leaving behind an intricately designed and constantly changing system. Not just a river, the Rio Grande stretches all the way from Colorado before intersecting with the US-Mexico Border in southern Texas - a point where the powerful forces of nature now merge with a clearly-defined political boundary. The outcome of this is a unique ecological niche, which may often go unnoticed despite its distinctiveness.

Texas is famous for its farms and ranches, and the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas was once an agricultural hub. However, urbanization and the depletion of water …

Uncovering Emotional Contamination: Five Sites Of Trauma, Abigail Zola

Masters Theses

“Emotional contamination,” describes residual feelings associated with a space where a negative or tragic event occurred to an individual or group either personally, historically, or politically. Emotional contamination affects people’s associations with place and informs their willingness to spend time in them. This project considers a set of design principles rooted in uncovering and acknowledging the lifespan of a site, and considers how this acknowledgment can exist as an urban system rather than an individual architectural artifact. My thesis work analyzes five case studies in Berlin where political and economic factors determined the result of intervention, and how these sites …

Cohabitation X Adaptation, 2100: A Climate Change Epoch, Kyle Andrews

Masters Theses

Some seventy-seven odd years in the future, the world as we know it will only be recognizable by those who are willing to accept it. The bustling metropolis of Boston Massachusetts has been transformed to appease the tides of Mother Nature as a consequence of human intervention. In the decades prior, humanity viciously fought to contain the effects of climate change, until many realized the colossal undertaking of such a battle. Municipalities across the globe had begun to accept that fighting the earth was no longer an option. Instead, the only hope forward was to adapt to a reality in …

Ghost Hotel, George Acosta

Masters Theses

The home, once a private space, now serves as a site of representation and consumerist consumption in the digital age. The thesis investigates the current public sphere surrounding home sharing - a development in the commodification of the home.

The thesis explores a housing typology in New York City - where impermanence and tourism have contributed to hyper-generic conditions of commodified spaces dictated and influenced by media, trends, and ideals. The project narrative presents the uncanny and generic qualities of the home through the rendered image. The satirical images reveal the difference between the illusion and reality of housing imagery …

Migratory Material: Epigenetics & Weaving At The Us-Mexico Border, Valerie Navarrete

Masters Theses

Discourse often sutures the body shut, disallowing representations of identity to outgrow sociopolitical interests. This issue may originate from borders, but also from the unnamable pathology that generational colonial trauma transmits to the mind, body, and environment. Without a direct form of translatability, this thesis proposes a new materialism that deviates from any object-oriented ontology. Untethered and intra-active, epigenetics and weaving represent objects that transform typical ways of knowing and seeing. Their sensitivity to the environment, in addition to their mobility across generations of time, broaden the spatiotemporal loci of the body and its embodiment. Proposing new materials that expand …

Song Text And Song Structure: With An Emphasis On Oral/Aural Tradition, Hannah Joy Petrick

Masters Theses

This study highlights the different aspects of song texts and song structures while also establishing the impacts of an oral/aural tradition. Emphasis was placed on the relationship between linguistics and music, and how one may alter the teaching/learning process of new song materials for students (especially young adolescents). Song texts and song structures were also looked at in relation to culture, and how culture is affected by oral/aural tradition. Specifically, the outcomes of students learning song texts in their native language/tongue versus songs of a different culture was explored. The differences and commonalities of learning music in various styles were …

In Response To Civil Unrest: An Analysis Of Compositional Techniques As Used By Contemporary Composers For Flute, Stephanie Marie Strait

Masters Theses

The purpose of this applied research study was to identify a selection of works for flute that were composed in response to circumstances of civil unrest to discover how the composers utilized the flute as a medium for expression, and to study the compositional techniques used to communicate with the performer. These techniques were explored and demonstrated in a lecture recital. Gaining insight and understanding of the compositional process as it relates to the composers’ experiences aids the performer in offering a convincing and informed rendering of these pieces. It also contributes to the body of literature regarding composition methodology, …

An Apologetic For The Reliability Of Biblical Doctrine From Pornography Addiction And Recovery, Jacob A. Arrieta

Masters Theses

Sexual ethics (in general) and pornography (in particular) are incredibly hot topics in postmodern culture. The biblical sexual ethic, which was once normative across much of the Global West since the rise and spread of Christianity, is now viewed as outdated and oppressive in a postmodern culture that values individual freedoms above all else. No longer are institutions seen as trustworthy bastions of truth to help shape individuals into good people or proper citizens of a nation. Expert opinions are no longer sought out and used to shape and form the individuals’ thoughts on a given topic unless they support …

The Blind Scientist: A Critique Of Neo-Darwinism's A Priori Assumptions, Alexander James Bonitto

Masters Theses

This paper investigates neo-Darwinian fallacies specifically regarding a priori presumptions, leading to weak scientific methodology and praxis. It was found that five concepts must be true for neo-Darwinism to be true. These are gradualism, the tree of life hypothesis, the evidence of micro-evolutionary change accounting for macro-evolutionary change, time and chance, and methodological naturalism. Prima facie, these concepts have tremendous explanatory power. However, with an attempt to carefully examine these concepts, all five seem to be assumed a priori in order to dictate the outcome of neo-Darwinism rather than letting the evidence speak for itself. Coincidentally, it appears that the …

The Eye Of The King: Screenplay Adaptation As A Craft Tool, Nora Annette Graves

Masters Theses

Adaptation studies typically focus on a screenplay’s fidelity to its original text within the constraints imposed by the new genre. This thesis approaches adaptation as a craft tool: a rich source of fresh authorial insight into characters, settings, and plotlines. Experimentation, not fidelity, is the goal of the self-adapter; adaptations are valued and deemed successful based on the new levels of complexity they uncover or add to an ongoing story. The author’s screenplay adaptation of her original novel, The Eye of the King, served as a case study for testing the value of adaptation as a writer’s craft tool. Re-telling …

Exploring Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears And Athletic Identity As Predictors Of Disordered Eating Behaviors In Female Collegiate Soccer Players, Niondina M. Nyström

Masters Theses

Research has consistently established the relationship between injury occurrence and subsequent mental health concerns within the athletic population (Brown et al., 2014; NCAA, 2021). Specifically, negative mental health outcomes such as anxiety, depression, and social isolation have followed the occurrence of an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear (McGinley et al., 2022; Töyrä & Bergström, 2017). Similarly, because of high levels of athletic identity (AI), the inability to participate in a sport due to injury has been associated with disordered eating (DE) (Gusfa et al., 2022). Despite this, no studies have examined disordered eating and the role of athletic identity after …

Representation Of South Asia In American Television, Zahin Zaima

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Examining The Relationship Between Social Anxiety, Fear Of Negative Evaluation, Fear Of Positive Evaluation And Minority Stress In Lgb Versus Heterosexual Adults, Anvita Kamath

Masters Theses

Psychological research within the LGBTQ+ community is a relatively recent phenomenon due to the stigma that has been historically placed on this population. Sexual minority populations experience a plethora of mental health problems ranging from mood disorders to personality disorders and have a greater risk of suicide as compared to their heterosexual counterparts (Gilman et al., 2001; Meyer, 2003; Steele et al., 2017). Specifically, significant differences in social anxiety levels have been found while comparing sexual minority individuals to heterosexual individuals, which may be associated with factors such as Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE), Fear of Positive Evaluation (FPE) and …

Assessing The Knowledge On Sustainability And Barriers To Daily Sustainable Practices Among Faculty And Students In Higher Education: The Case Of Eastern Illinois University, Joel Edem Holison

Masters Theses

The concept of sustainable development gained prominence with the publication of the Brundtland Report, which emphasized economic progress without jeopardizing future generations' well-being. Following that, the Education for Sustainability (EfS) program was created by the United Nations to raise sustainability awareness. However, the transition to sustainable living is fraught with difficulties, including a lack of knowledge, financial constraints, infrastructure gaps, and political ideologies. This study focuses on sustainable practices among Eastern Illinois University (EIU) students and faculty, as well as the barriers to daily sustainable behaviors. As independent variables influencing sustainable practices, the study evaluates sustainability knowledge/awareness, personal financial situation, …

The Effect Of Video Recording On Self-Assessment Of High School Vocal Music Students, Julia Christine Sterba

Masters Theses

This research project is designed to examine the effects that video recording and evaluation have on the high school choral music students' skill development of tone, dynamics, rhythm, and pitch and provide information about self-assessment as a directional learning tool for singers to increase student achievement through self-regulated learning. Research indicates the power of self-assessment as an evaluation in the classroom. It has provided educators with tools to implement effective self-assessment practices that promote performance and self-efficacy. This research project will define self-assessment, address what skills are being assessed, and specify the methods of assessment that will be implemented. Models …

Beyond All Worlds: George Macdonald, The Pre-Tolkienians, And The Forgotten Possibilities Of Fantasy, Ethan Patrick Stevens

Masters Theses

The history of modern fantasy has been powerfully shaped by the worldbuilding paradigm so successfully executed in J.R.R. Tolkien's 1954-55 trilogy The Lord of the Rings. However, there were nearly a hundred and fifty years of creative work between the birth of fantasy as a genre and Tolkien’s publication of The Lord of the Rings. By examining the pre-Tolkienian fantasists, we find that Tolkien's way of exhaustive consistency was not, and is not, the only way to write fantasy. Phantastes (1858), the first novel by the influential Victorian fantasist George MacDonald, defies contemporary worldbuilding standards almost constantly in …

Suicide At The Intersection Of Race And Gender, Marina Geider

Masters Theses

Sociological studies have examined suicide rate differences between groups since the work of Durkheim in 1897, and current literature still draws on his classic theories and methods. Although research has begun identifying the social factors that affect the suicides of Black and White populations differentially, little progress has been made towards an understanding of Black female suicide. The present study takes an intersectional approach to Durkheim's social integration-regulation thesis to bridge this gap. Several negative binomial regression analyses were employed to model suicide counts for Black men, Black women, non-Hispanic White men, and non-Hispanic White women in the United States. …

"The Missus Has Paid For Your Life.": Preconstituted Third-World Women In Chris Cleave's Little Bee, Jeanette P. Barry, Jeanette Parry Barry

Masters Theses

In “Under Western Eyes,” Chandra Mohanty explains how some Western feminist scholars unconsciously other third-world women by imposing on them their Eurocentric universality. Using Mohanty as a primary lens, this thesis argues that in Chris Cleave’s Little Bee (2008), the protagonists, Sarah and Little Bee, are respectively represented as a Western referent and a third-world preconstituted woman, rendering any true collaboration between them impossible. Little Bee is meant to enlighten its readers of the plight of refugees in the United Kingdom, and in some ways it does just that. Little Bee also, however, situates the English protagonist Sarah as a …

Exploring The Pulse Of Design And Music: The Impact Of Visual Rhythm In Design For Auditorily Impaired Music Students, Nina Marie Tedeschi

Masters Theses

Auditorily impaired music students struggle to understand musical rhythms and patterns which can lead to frustration, low self-esteem, lack of developing musical skills, and reduced music appreciation. Often, the needs of those with hearing challenges are overlooked in the curriculum planning process. This research aims to show the importance of providing appropriate learning methods and materials for music students who are hearing impaired. Specifically, this study focuses on the elements of patterns, repetition of patterns, and rhythm within the visual designs used in the instruction of musical elements. The methods used in this research are based upon observation, investigation, and …