Digital Commons Network^™

Anthropological Apologetics: A Proposal Of An Anthropological Compendium As Evidence For The Imago Dei, Jeffrey R. Dickson

Masters Theses

Evangelical scholarship has shown great admiration for the work of Gary Habermas and others in their contribution to Christian apologetics by validating the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus Christ with a list of minimal facts generally agreed to by historical and biblical scholars. This thesis will explore the methodology of the minimal facts approach and appropriate it as a tool to explore the data within the field of anthropology which offers evidence for the biblical concept of the Imago Dei. This study will focus on Wolfhart Pannenberg in his critically acclaimed work demonstrating the importance of the theological perspective …

Just Sing What You Want To Say: The Importance Of Linguistic Tone In Bai Songs, Lisa Andrews

Masters Theses

The Bai people, a minority group in the People's Republic of China numbering at least 1.6 million, live mostly in the Dali Autonomous Prefecture in northwest Yunnan. Historically, Bai from the central region would gather annually at the base of Shibaoshan Mountain to sing partner style love songs in search for a suitable marriage partner; today, this time is marked by a three-day festival officially titled "Shibaoshan." The annual song competition invites skilled singers to spontaneously compose melodies in response to their counterpart, crafting lyrics to flatter or tease their singing partner. The study quantifies the close relationship between Bai …

An Undergraduate Seminar On Irish Musical Culture In Ireland And The Irish Diaspora In America, Including The Influence Of Irish Music On Appalachian Folk Music Culture, Frieda Eakins

Masters Theses

The following project establishes a concise, yet multifaceted design for a seminar on Irish musical culture. While it was initially developed as a course for its author to teach in the undergraduate, on-ground classroom, this project provides a framework adaptable enough for use by other instructors and/or for additional music seminars. This project is unique in its two-fold purpose in that the design and resources are directed to assist the instructor with streamlining course curriculum preparation, while the course content specific to the project when utilized offers students in the undergraduate college classroom a better understanding of Irish musical culture …

How Now Shall We Consume: Widening Conception Of Political Consumption And Analysis Of The American Buyer, John Patton Chew

Masters Theses

As consumption of goods has risen, it has increasingly become a space for political activists to brand products and for the everyday consumer to voice their opinion on how businesses should be run. Through the practices of buycotting and boycotting political consumers have increasingly been able to show their support for issues as diverse as gay rights, environmental issues, funding for disease cures, and American based products.

This study attempts to gain an understanding of how prevalent political consumption is and of who are political consumers. The findings show that a large percentage of the population is knowledgeable and active …

Operating The Silencer: Muted Group Theory In The Great Gatsby, Sarah Funderbruke

Masters Theses

This master's thesis examines gender and social roles seen in dialogue in the American classic novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The researcher conducted a coding and rhetorical analysis to determine if elements of muted group theory were in the novel. Muted group theory was developed by Edwin and Shirley Ardener after their research indicated that a culture's values and social structure were voiced through rhetoric. The theory states that dominance in certain groups mutes, or silences, others from communicating effectively. Five passages from The Great Gatsby were selected for this analysis. These passages highlighted dialogue between the …

The Mouse Who Ruled His Kingdom: An Agenda Setting Analysis Of The Walt Disney World Company, Jacob Overbey

Masters Theses

People are seeking their news in more social environments, but very little research has been conducted on agenda setting and online environments. This thesis examined the agenda setting relationship between an organization on Twitter, @WaltDisneyWorld (i.e., The Walt Disney World) and public opinion on Twitter. The relationship was examined using Twitter's database of tweets to measure public opinion on Twitter. Since the news media is losing steam on the ability to break news, and social media is growing rapidly, this study tested the value of the agenda setting theory on social media. To this end, this thesis qualitatively examined the …

An Apologetic To Sun Hwan Pyun's Dialogue Theology As A Liberation Theology Of Religions, Youngchan Kim

Masters Theses

Sun Hwan Pyun was a professor at Methodist Theological University. As a theologian, he grappled with two important theological questions: "Is Christianity an exclusive religion?" and "Is Christianity only a religion for the upper class?" Regarding the exclusivism of Christianity, Pyun searched for an answer in ecumenical-religious pluralism. As an answer for "is Christianity for the poor", he accepts Minjung liberation theology. Pyun wanted to combine these two theologies and, subsequently, referred to his dialogue theology as a liberation theology of religions. The purpose of this thesis is to search for the theological and biblical answers to these theological questions …

Daniel Hannan, Thomas Paine, And The Rhetoric Of Outrage, Danae Brack

Masters Theses

The purpose of this rhetorical study is to examine the textual charisma of Thomas Paine's Common Sense and Daniel Hannan's speech "The Devalued Prime Minister of a Devalued Government" and how that charisma made these artifacts successful in spreading outrage surrounding the historical and political events of their respective eras. The author uses Weber's theory of charisma filtered through Rosenberg and Hirschberg's expanded theory identifying lexical charisma, or the charisma of messages. The author analyzes Paine's and Hannan's use of persuasiveness, believability, and powerfulness, translating each of these characteristics into specific cues that can be identified in the individual texts. …

Creating A Millennial Generation Contextualized Church Culture, Christopher Deitsch

Masters Theses

The Millennial generation, or Generation Y as some people know them, is the biggest generation in the United States of America history. As they flood schools, universities, and the job market it is easy to see that there are major differences between them and previous generations. Simultaneously, the church in America has hundreds of individual churches each year closing and tens of thousands each year declining; most churches are ceasing to grow. The inability to reach Millennials is one of the reasons for this decline. This thesis purposes to give a snapshot of the Millennial generation, overview a few of …

When Black Meets White In The Heart Of Worship: A Case-Study Of Musical Changes In A Multiracial Church, Serge Volpe

Masters Theses

The Worldwide Church of God began as a denomination relying on certain Jewish practices and other Euro-centric distinctions to define its' identity. In the New York City area, African-American churchgoers exceeded that of whites; yet church liturgy retained its European-American flavor. When the denomination underwent transformation in the 1990s, many congregants were unable to accept changes, including new musical styles, and reacted in a manner inconsistent with what church leaders had hoped for. This thesis examines what some African-Americans experienced during this period when liturgy changed to include music representative of their culture. Interviews were conducted with African-American churchgoers from …

I'M The Same Me: Communication And Renegotiation Of Identity In The Weight-Loss Surgery Experiences Of Women, Heather D. Schild

Masters Theses

Adult obesity rates are on the rise in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control (2009) which has led to an increase in obesity-related illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease. Weight-loss surgery (WLS) has become accepted as a "cure" for obesity by the medical community. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of obese individuals electing to undergo WLS every year; 82% of these individuals are women (AHRQ, 2007). More women may be electing to undergo these procedures than men due to the pressures women face in American culture to achieve social standards of …

Promoting Understanding Of Informed Consent, Michael N. Reynolds

Masters Theses

Several studies have shown that research participants who have consented to participate in a study often have limited comprehension of the information presented in the informed consent process. This study compared performance on an end-of-study consent document information retention measure between a read-and-sign consent procedure control group and an enhanced consent procedure experimental group. The enhanced consent procedure consisted of a pre-consent educational module and a question-and-answer style consent document. The control group scored an average of 78.7% correct on the multiple-choice question measure of participant retention of information contained within the consent documents. The experimental group scored an average …

Eat More Chicken And Lead More People: Perceived Measures Of Servant Leadership At Chick-Fil-A, Michael Mishler

Masters Theses

This present study used survey data from 31 employees working at 2 Chick-fil-A locations to assess the supervisor's perceived level of supervisor's level of servant leadership and how the level (a) affects coworker's perceptions of performance, (b) job satisfaction, and (c) relational trust amongst coworkers. The participants ranged in ages from 18-50. The average age for the participants was 26. The data for the study was collected through the distribution of surveys to individuals who currently work at Chick-fil-A. The two selected locations were approximately 300 miles apart in Virginia. The study employed quantitative research methods in order to collect …

The Truth Shall Set You Free: The Bible, The Revolution, And The Debate Over Slavery In The American South, Kevin Simon

Masters Theses

Before the slavery debate pushed a divided American nation to the brink of civil war, the argument divided the family of God. By the time cannon fire erupted at Fort Sumter, Christians had already staked out positions based on sophisticated lines of argument they used to justify or condemn chattel slavery. The generation coming of age during the Civil War era witnessed a debate more intense and contentious than their ancestors had seen, but in terms of the arguments employed, it broke very little fresh ground. Contrary to the assumption that antebellum apologists in the South invented the defense of …

Defined By What We Are Not: The Role Of Anti-Catholicism In The Formation Of Early American Identity, Brandi Hatfield Marchant

Masters Theses

From the colonial era through the mid-nineteenth century, anti-Catholicism colored key points of development in America's early history. Amidst the English colonial experience, the Revolution and establishment of the republic, and the educational reform efforts of the nineteenth-century, anti-Catholicism emerged as a fundamental factor in the development of America's characteristically Protestant political and religious identity. While many studies of early American anti-Catholicism focus on one region or time period, drawing connections across geographic boundaries and constructed historical periods attests to the sentiment's pervasive and enduring influence. While this sentiment varied in intensity throughout America over time, its presence profoundly shaped …

Ask Not What E-Books Do For People, But What People Do With E-Books: An Exploration Of The Uses And Gratifications Theory In Regards To E-Book Technology, Emily Birgitte Defosse

Masters Theses

Paul F. Lazarsfeld's theory of uses and gratifications looks at why people chose to use or not use the media that is available to them. It was first used with the technology of radio and eventually applied to various other forms of media technologies such as comic books, television, and the Internet. In this study, the researcher expands uses and gratifications research to include one of the newest communication technologies -- e-books. Participants of the study completed a survey in regards to their electronic and print reading habits, and the results of the survey along with quantitative data found in …

American Sueño: Hispanic Immigrants' Cultural Adaptation In American Small Cities, Tatiana Almeida

Masters Theses

This study investigated certain aspects of the cross-cultural adaptation process of Spanish-speaking Hispanic immigrants residing in small cities in the United States. Using Young Yun Kim's cross-cultural adaptation theory as a theoretical framework, the researcher investigated the journey those sojourners undergo and how their cultural identities are shaped throughout the process. The two questions that guided the research were: (1) What are the difficulties that Hispanics that migrate to small cities in the United States encounter? (2) What are the mechanisms (media usage, language acquisition, habits, life style etc.) utilized by them in order to adapt to the new environment? …

Orientalism And Three British Dames: De-Essentialization Of The Other In The Work Of Gertrude Bell, Freya Stark, And E.S. Drower, Lynn Sawyer

Masters Theses

Although postcolonial criticism has run its course for thirty years, a fresh look at Edward Said's Orientalism offers insight into how Orientalism functions in the writings of three British dames. Gertrude Bell in The Desert and the Sown, Freya Stark in The Southern Gates of Arabia, and E.S. Drower in The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran, however, challenge Said's theory. Their writing raises questions about how gender alters the discourse about the Other, and whether Said essentializes the Occident. Bell, Stark, and Drower serve as case studies in which to analyze the politically and rhetorically complex interactions between the West …

Investing In Happiness: An Analysis Of The Contributing Factors To The Positive Professional Work Environment, Alena Naff

Masters Theses

The professional workplace is an environment prone to both jubilation and disdain. Research indicates that employees in a more positive work environment are more productive and satisfied in their work. Understanding the contributing factors to a positive work environment is the first step to creating a more satisfying workplace for employees. These contributing factors may be material or relational and hold different levels of influence. Guided by the theory of structuration, this study employed a three-phased Q-methodology, including a Q-sort questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and a cluster analysis. Participants included the employees of the Southeastern region financial institution, BB&T. Two research …

You Sir Are A Fine Young Gentleman. Thank You, My Lady: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Eighteenth Century Conversations Regarding Gentility And Gender, Kati Overbey

Masters Theses

This study rhetorically analyzed the eighteenth century work of Richard Steele and Joseph Addison's The Spectator and Eliza Haywood's The Female Spectator using Kathleen Turner's framework for rhetorical history as social criticism integrating text and context. Ten essays from The Spectator as well as ten essays from The Female Spectator were selected based on content and subject matter regarding manners and gentility. When Turner's framework for analysis was applied to the essays, defining characteristics of gentility were revealed. A presentation of the results of the textual and contextual analysis of these twenty selected essays is provided. An analysis of the …

Influence Of American Media Upon Korean Broadcasting Culture - Analyzing 'American Idol' Vs. 'Superstar K Ii', Han Na Shin

Masters Theses

This study examines the influence of American media on Korean broadcasting culture, based on analysis of American Idol and SuperStar K Season II. Viewer ratings were analyzed to find out the popularity of American programs in South Korea. Web-based surveys and individual interviews were analyzed to figure out the difference between both programs and its influence upon Korean viewers. The result shows that American programs currently influence the Korean media and Korean viewers, and that influence is getting more produced. With those findings, the study concludes it affects Korean viewers and Korean society as well. Audition programs become one of …

Reading Between The Lines: Gender Perception Of Lean Media, Jennalee Conner

Masters Theses

Over the years, communication methods have evolved from face-to-face conversations to computer-mediated communication including: e-mail, instant message, and text message interactions. Since the methods have changed, a large aspect of communication, nonverbal cues, have become nearly impossible. These methods of communication that lack nonverbal cues are therefore referred to as lean media because they lack the richness of facial expression, vocal expression, and immediacy. In order to modify more recent forms of communication to include nonverbal cues, individuals have created their own nonverbal cues. While each individual is unique, though, genders normally tend to think or behave in similar fashion. …

Sweetness And Strength: Codes Of Femininity And Body Image In Branded Social-Networking Messages And Consumer Responses, Anne M. Holcomb

Masters Theses

This study critically analyzes visual and text updates posted by two clothing brands to the social-networking site Facebook.com, including consumers' interaction with these marketing messages. A semiological textual analysis was conducted using Facebook updates by the Victoria's Secret PINK and Nike Women apparel brands, and the responses of fans who subscribed to these updates. Advertising aimed at women in print media has previously been analyzed in this way, revealing patterns of sexualization and objectification that can be harmful to women and men alike. My analysis builds on this tradition. Social-networking sites such as Facebook allow individual users unprecedented access to …

A Cross-National, Longitudinal Test Of Institutional Anomie Theory, Marc Alan Kittleson

Masters Theses

Institutional anomie theory, developed by Messner and Rosenfeld (1994), explains variations in crime rates across geographic areas and time as resulting from the interrelationship between social institutions and culture. Their theory predicts that when the institution of the economy dominates all other social institutions, and when norms and values focus heavily on monetary success, crime rates will be higher than when there is less dominance of the economy. Institutional anomie theory has been tested using a number of different methods and data from county-level to international-level aggregates. This study addresses the research question of whether variations in crime victimization can …

Hoodie Today, Gown Tomorrow: An Ideological Rhetorical Analysis Of Gender-Neutral Clothing, Meridith Irene Styer

Masters Theses

The fields of psychology and sociology have long understood the importance of clothing in self-formation, this study extrapolates this social-science understanding into the realm of rhetorical analysis. This study looks at gender-neutral clothing and its role in meaning making and self identification for women. With a rhetorical basis from Richards and Ogden, this research uses the feminist works of Brummett and Butler to uncover both the positive and negatives effects of gender-neutral clothing on a woman's self-identification and perceptions. Through the presentation of a diffuse narrative and evaluation of the same, gender-neutral clothing is read and decoded for meaning. This …

I'M Ok, You're Not: Assessing Variable Influence On Perceptions Of The Mentally Ill Among College Students, Phillip Wagner

Masters Theses

Due to the alarming level of stigma associated with individuals with a mental illness, this present study seeks to understand the variables that influence perceptions of the mentally ill. The research questions for this study are as follows: RQ1: What are the latitudes of acceptance, rejection and non-commitment that college students identify in their perceptions of the mental health community?, RQ2: Does gender influence college student perceptions of the mentally ill?, and RQ3: Does the level of religious involvement that college students identify correlate to their perceptions of the mentally ill? The 257 participants completed an online survey that assessed …

Rape Myth Acceptance And Rape Attitudes In Campus Hook-Up Culture, Karolina Staros

Masters Theses

This study examines the norms of hooking-up and compares these norms to rape culture in order to measure rape myth acceptance or supportive attitudes towards rape as they manifest in hook-up culture on campus. By consulting what is already published in scholarship about rape culture and rape myths, this study builds on the very limited literature on hook-up culture.

This study uses mixed methods to inquire about norms of hook-up culture and measures the rape myth acceptance and rape attitudes by gender of respondents in a Midwest campus environment. By addressing the issues that students face with gender inequality and …

Income Inequality And Social Stratification: The Effect Of Market Versus State In Transitional Urban China, Qiong Wu

Masters Theses

The rise of inequality in China is one of the most serious social problems in the reform era in China. Previous studies have debated the relative importance of human capital, political capital, and other factors in determining personal income. By using a new dataset from 2006 China General Social Survey (CGSS2006), I replicate earlier tests to measure whether the market or state has more impact on incomes as a way to the competing hypotheses related to human versus political capital.

The results of the ordinary least squares regression analysis show no significance in party membership, state ownership, and work experience, …

Social Media Networking Strategies For The Yale New Haven Center For Emergency Preparedness And Disaster Response (Ynh-Cepdr)/ Yale New Haven Health System Center For Healthcare Solutions (Ynhhs-Chs), Amanda Smith

Masters Theses

This paper investigates the uses and gratification of social media for both personal and organizational usage among employees at the Yale New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response/Center for Healthcare Solutions in New Haven, Connecticut. The purpose of this thesis is to assess and evaluate the relationship between YNH-CEPDR/CHS' usage of social media tools and the organization's employees' personal attitudes, beliefs and usage of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Employees of CEPDR/CHS were surveyed regarding the function of social media for emergency management communication and the promotion of products and services. Results suggest that while employees generally agree …

Hegemonic Peter?: A Critical Analysis Of Hegemonic Masculinity In Family Guy, Justin Danowski

Masters Theses

Hegemonic masculinity is a constantly evolving and highly nuanced theory. The original definition was designed to study the oppression males exert over females. Later definitions expanded on the original to include young, effeminate or gay men. In the realm of television, hegemonic masculine forces are perpetuated by not only male characters but marginalized groups as well. This creates gender stereotypes to be accepted and embraced as the norm in a culture. This project takes a critical look at the animated television comedy Family Guy and explains how hegemonic masculinity is portrayed throughout the episode "Family Gay". To accomplish this, the …