Digital Commons Network^™

Teaching About Racially Diverse Artists And Cultures, Hannah Sions

Theses and Dissertations

Art education scholars have redefined multicultural teaching practices to include a need for addressing social inequities. To understand art educators’ multicultural teaching practices, it is important to measure the extent to which they present cultural diversity in the classroom and present a racially diverse pool of artists. The purpose of this this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to measure the extent to which practicing K–12 art educators who are members of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) engage students with racially diverse artists and cultures within their curricula. The study aimed to measure the extent that educators address racial and cultural …

Proteinic Geontopower, Agustine Zegers

Theses and Dissertations

PGP is a study of how we come into intimate contact with capitalism through our digestive tract. It is a study of the increasing valuing of protein in contemporary diet culture, focusing on how this phenomenon has resulted in mass-scale global soya production. Protein synthesis and distribution are rearticulated in this work as a set of molecular transactions enacted within/out bodies, moving loosely through ligaments and industrial machinery.

PGP is a speculative exercise in communing with a damaged planet through our daily ingestions.

Relational Aesthetics: Creativity In The Inter-Human Sphere, Carl Patow

Theses and Dissertations

RELATIONAL AESTHETICS: CREATIVITY IN THE INTER-HUMAN SPHERE

By Carl Patow, MD, MPH, MBA

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Fine Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, 2019.

Major Director: Pamela Taylor Turner, Associate Professor, Kinetic Imaging, VCU Arts

Relational Art was first described as an art movement in Nicolas Bourriaud’s catalogue for the exhibition Traffic in 1995, and in an eponymous book in 1998. He observed that contemporary artists were shifting the focus of their work away from creating objects of spectacle to interaction with viewers through dialogue. Examination of a sample …

Breakdown Of Relations: American Expansionism, The Great Plains, And The Arikara People, 1823-1957, Stephen R. Aoun

Theses and Dissertations

Arikara people had been adapting their tribal structures to European influences since Europeans first arrived on the northern Plains in the early seventeenth century. Their sedentary lifestyle, focused on agriculture and hunting, increasingly included trade with French, British, and American trappers by the seventeenth century. The goods procured from European traders, such as firearms and other metallurgical works, began to upset the balance of geopolitical power on the Plains, setting the stage for the violence and political realignments at the center of this thesis. As my research reveals, by the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition, tensions between the …

The Mountains At The End Of The World: Subcultural Appropriations Of Appalachia And The Hillbilly Image, 1990-2010, Paul L. Robertson

Theses and Dissertations

There is an aversion within the field of Appalachian Studies to addressing the cultural formulations of the Appalachian/hillbilly/mountaineer as an icon of aggressive resistance. The aversion is understandable, as for far too long images of the irrationally and savagely violent mountaineer were integral to the most gross popular culture stereotypes of Appalachia. Media consumers often take pleasure or comfort in these images, which usually occur in a reactionary context with the hillbilly as either a type of nationally necessary savage OR as an unregenerate barbarian against whom a national civilization will triumph and benefit by the struggle.

I bookend my …

In A Building, A Stairwell, A Room Speaks, Tsz Wai Wallis Cheung

Theses and Dissertations

Working toward a personal definition of womanhood while progressing with my research in feminist discourse, I frame biographical events alongside the intricate use of language surrounding feminist theory. Experimenting with material specificities that speak to my personal narratives and cultural significance, my work seeks to address the interlacing operations of subjectivity expanding on the intersection of class, gender and race.

The Day Is Just Another Surface, Brooks M. Heintzelman

Theses and Dissertations

Within a practice founded on both typographic form and language, I have continued to push myself to make work that is more sensitive to place, more contextual, more (hopefully) generous toward a public audience. These pieces might serve as useful instruments of institutional critique, resources for comprehension, or moments in which to interrogate preconceived modes of seeing. I deploy original texts in public spaces in order that they might force viewers to decide how to personally resolve the content they encounter. Is it language or object? Literal or figurative? Graphic design or art? The further I develop this body of …

Humans Aren't Boxes, Art Isn't Finite, Brianne Alta Humphreys

Theses and Dissertations

I am bored. All around me are systems that perpetuate repetitive, reductive, and mundane modes of living. In an attempt to counter a culture obsessed with singular ways of existence and bite-sized perfection, I utilize moving mediums of video and performance to dive head first into a vast array of sloppy sincerity. The crisp, white-washed, analytical, and restrictive is loudly replaced with the empirical, haphazard, and instinctual. My intention is to create and encourage raw, performative-based work that is as multifaceted as unbridled life itself. This alive and physical practice hosts a conglomeration of sweat, memories, heartbreaks, hymn singing, line …

The Wild Beasts, Peter Cochrane

Theses and Dissertations

The Wild Beasts springs from my desire to thank my ever-expanding queer chosen family and mentors for their strength. Working through the often violent and othering aspects of the lens and photographic histories I create floral portraits responding to each person’s being and our relationship. Using the 19th century, 8x10 large format view camera—the same used by colonialists and ethnographers to “capture” the divinity of Nature—I erect each as a traditional still life studio setup at the threshold between the natural world and that constructed by humans. These environments speak both to the character of each friend and also to …

Revealing The Human Resource Development Discourse: A Mixed Methods Study Of Similarities And Differences In Academic And Practitioner Language, Or Labels-In-Use, Holly D. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

Woven within the pages of HRD’s historical literature, a variety of scholarly voices can be found drawing attention to the increasing inconsistency in the language of the field. Within the literature, we also find evidence of a long-standing discord and debate regarding the field’s definition and identified boundaries. This is the first study that attempts to elevate the conversation of HRD’s definition to that of an exploration of what is shared, and what makes the discipline’s members unique. Utilizing Li’s (2009) lens of disciplinary identity and elements of Gee’s (1999) theory of Discourse, this study presents a concept of what …

Toward Liveness: The Polytemporality Of Performance Objects, Tracy Stonestreet

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examine the temporal and material connections between component parts of hybrid artworks, specifically between live events / acts of performance and the long-lasting sculptural elements that those events / performances produce. I propose a re-orientation of the temporal gaze of performance art history, from one oriented to the past to one focused on the continually unfolding present. Such a re-orientation requires a nonlinear approach to art making that complicates set boundaries of past and present, liveness and record, and presence and absence, and disrupts in potentially corrective ways our historically normative systems of looking, categorizing, and …

A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Adoption Of Social Networking Platforms To Achieve Digital Literacy For All Learners, Anila Sweitzer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this proposed phenomenological study was to investigate the perceptions and experiences of teachers, administrators, and instructional technology professionals during integrations of social networking platforms for educational purposes to enhance classroom instruction focused on improved academic achievement and digital literacy. Specifically, the study focused on understanding the experiences of teachers, administrators, and instructional technology professionals within K-12 public school districts responsible for having implemented 21st-century technology skills into classroom instruction with the use of online interviews. This study was grounded on Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation Theory as a framework with social networking platforms being the innovation.

The study …

Narrative Portraiture Of American Indian Men Who Persist To Completion Of Doctoral Degrees, Shawn F. Holz

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the lived experiences of American Indian men who have completed their doctoral degrees through the positive exploration of portraiture methodology. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with subject-actors being asked to share stories from their earliest childhood memories and educational experiences through high school and through to completion of their doctoral degrees. Using narrative analysis and transculturation theory as the framework, subject-actors stories are examined to identify emergent themes of common experiences and characteristics. These create a composite portrait of a male American Indian student who persists to completion of their doctoral degree.

A Consensual Qualitative Review Exploring Mental Health Stigma And Its Impact On Psychological Help-Seeking Among Fundamentally Religious Individuals, Teresa Huff-Pomstra

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the wide range and availability of mental health (MH) treatment and resources, individuals with MH concerns often do not seek out treatment, with stigma presenting as a significant barrier to help-seeking. Various multicultural factors may interact with stigma, such as race or gender, and together may impact the HS process. One factor in particular, one’s religious beliefs, may be influential in how someone goes about addressing their MH. Religious faith holds an important place for many Americans, with 77% professing identification with some religion (Pew Research Center, 2014). The goal of this Consensual Qualitative Research project was to explore …

Temporal Trends In The Standing Broad Jump Test Performance Of United States Children And Adolescents, Bridget Kate Pinoniemi

Theses and Dissertations

Muscular fitness is a very important indicator of health. Using a systematic review strategy, the aim of this study was to estimate the temporal trends in broad jump performance of United States youth. Broad jump data on apparently healthy United States youth (aged 10–17 years) were located through a systematic electronic database search and by pearling reference lists, topical systematic reviews and personal libraries. Sample-weighted temporal trends (expressed as percent and standardized trends) were estimated for separate age-sex groups using best-fitting regression models relating the year of testing to mean jump performance. Mean trends standardized to the year 1985 were …

Native And Indigenous Women Of Hawai'i: Exploring The Importance Of Indigenous Narratives And Storytelling To Understand Ancestral Knowledge Systems, Renuka Mahari De Silva

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contains three articles. The research for these articles was conducted through many interviews and working directly in the communities from around the Island of O ‘ahu, Hawai‘i. Each article addresses a research topic that is connected to ancestral stories and historical events brought forward by women through stories and storytelling. These stories embed rich ancestral knowledge from a specific time and a specific place and space. In reading these articles, the reader is exposed to the power of story and storytelling, and how that in turn, reconnects people to places to learn from ancestral knowledge, and apply these …

Paleoecology Of Northern Great Plains Bison: Inferences From Stable Isotopes And Dental Calculus, Gaimi Lynn Davies

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to infer Northern Great Plains bison (Bison bison) paleoecology through the analysis of stable isotopes and dental calculus from bison skeletal remains. Bison used to roam in the millions throughout most of North America but today they are primarily kept in confined and isolated populations. Little is known about their ancestral ecology. The abundance of bison in the archeological record provides a unique opportunity to study their remains on a broad temporal and spatial scale. This research uses the archeological record of bison in North Dakota to study bison diet and environment from the …

Characterization Of Dopamine Transporter Amino Terminal Palmitoylation And Neurotoxic Substrate Activity, Daniel Jacob Stanislowski

Theses and Dissertations

The projects described in this dissertation revolve around the functional consequences experienced by the transport protein for the neurotransmitter dopamine resulting from alterations to its palmitoylation condition or exposure to Parkinson disease-inducing transport substrates. This membrane-resident transport protein, pragmatically termed the dopamine transporter, relocates dopamine from extracellular areas of receptor sites of action to intracellular sequestration; the dopamine transporter is a powerful mediator of dopamine signaling. As such, genetic, toxicant, or chronic breakdown of dopamine transporter function is associated with multiple psychological abnormalities. Biomedical research has produced several pharmacotherapies for maladies like depression, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and addiction, some of …

Smoke Signals: New Contexts For The Emergence, Spread, And Decline Of Effigy Pipes In Southeastern North America, A.D. 1000-1600, Charles Van De Kree

Theses and Dissertations

The cultural significance of effigy pipes among southeastern groups during the Mississippian period (A.D. 1000-1600) has yet to be fully understood. Recent studies, however, have provided new archaeological contexts for framing explanations of their possible use and distribution among such groups. Apart from conjectures about their use as ceremonial objects, selection for effigy pipes in the Mississippian Southeast was directly related to fluctuating environmental and demographic conditions under which such objects were manufactured and distributed. These conditions provided the appropriate context for their emergence as costly signaling devices through which elite or special interest groups advertised fitness levels, typically expressed …

Quantifying Pre-Industrial To Mid-Late 20th Century Anthropogenic Lead, Mercury And Cadmium Pollution In Caribbean Marine Environments Using Skeletonized Sea Turtle Remains, Felicia L. Pena

Theses and Dissertations

Various lines of evidence indicate that levels of anthropogenic pollutants, such as lead, mercury and cadmium, have increased in terrestrial and atmospheric environments since the early 19th century and the advent of industrialization. While the exposure to these three trace elements is a global concern, this study focused primarily on marine environments located throughout the Caribbean. Using ICP-MS, this study aimed to detect and quantify anthropogenic pollutants, specifically lead (Pb), mercury (Hg) and cadmium (Cd), using skeletonized remains of sea turtles as biological proxies for environmental quality. Archaeologically derived (n=5) and mid-late 20th century (n=6) Hawksbill and Green turtles were …

Social Inequality In The Early Bronze Age At Bab Edh-Dhra, Jordan, Natalie Patience

Theses and Dissertations

Bab edh-Dhra is the most extensively excavated cemetery from Early Bronze Age, Jordan. Despite thorough study, the social structure and existence of social inequality remain unclear. This was addressed using osteological evidence of physiological stress to compare between family tombs. In societies exhibiting social inequality, individuals of lower status experience higher levels of stress. Evidence of physiological stress (femoral length, LEH, metabolic disorders, periosteal reactions, cribra orbitalia, and porotic hyperostosis) was recorded using standard methods for 250 adults. The artifact counts in this study have been previously published. Differences in the frequency of stress indicators were compared using chi-square tests. …

Human-Centered Design Of The Enhanced Pilot Learning Interface For The Aviation Community, De Vere Michael Kiss

Theses and Dissertations

he purpose of this research is to introduce a new device to help pilots navigate aircraft manuals. This informational navigational tool is designed to improve learning by reducing the time it takes a pilot candidate to retrieve aircraft system information within an aircraft manual. The device is called the Enhanced Pilot Learning Interface, an Advanced Interactive Media. The research project is based on human-centered design and consists of participatory design, modeling and simulation, human-in-the-loop simulation (HITLS), and expert user experience. Additionally, a traditional research experimentation was conducted to collect supporting statistical data. Preliminary tests of four current professional airline pilots …

A Gis Approach To Archaeological Settlement Patterns And Predictive Modeling In Chihuahua, Mexico, Haylie Anne Ferguson

Theses and Dissertations

In this study I analyzed the pattern of settlement for known Medio period (A.D. 1200–1450) sites in the Casas Grandes region of Chihuahua, Mexico. Locational data acquired from survey projects in the Casas Grandes region were evaluated within a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) framework to reveal patterns in settlement and site distribution. Environmental and cultural variables, including aspect, cost distance to nearest ballcourt, ecoregion, elevation, local relief, cost distance to nearest oven, cost distance to Paquimé, slope, soil, terrain texture, topographic position index, cost distance to nearest trincheras, vegetation, vegetation variety to 100 meters, vegetation variety to 500 meters, cost …

Un/Doing Spirituality: Contemporary Art, Cosmology, And The Curriculum As Theological Text, Clark Adam Goldsberry

Theses and Dissertations

Talking about spirituality can be uncomfortable. The topic is especially precarious within the sphere of education. Despite the discomfort and precarity, many scholars argue that there may be room in the postmodern curriculum for safe, open, and generative dialogue about religion and spirituality as cultural phenomena. These curriculum theorists (see Slattery, 2013; Doll, 2002; Huebner, 1991; Noddings, 2005; Whitehead, 1967a/1929; Wang, 2002) propose a sensitive critique of spirituality and religion that can lead to cultural healing, re-membering, re-integration and re-collection (Huebner, 1991). In an increasingly fractured world (Slattery, 2013), where spiritual and religious underpinnings cause an array of conflict, this …

After Faith, Hope, And Love: The Unique Divergence Of Asceticism By Gregory The Great And Maximus The Confessor, Caleb N. Zuiderveen

Theses and Dissertations

In the late sixth and early seventh centuries, asceticism continued as a frequent expression of Christian devotion. Despite communications between the Eastern and Western Churches and a common patristic foundation, theology in the East and West during this time diverged on the results of asceticism. This paper explores this divergence by examining two theologians, Gregory the Great and Maximus the Confessor. Current scholarship has examined Gregory the Great and Maximus the Confessor on their own, yet the dialogue between each tradition and its implications remains understudied. Thus, this study contextualizes Gregory the Great’s On the Song of Songs and Maximus …

Implementing A Rite Of Passage Intervention Through School-Based Extracurricular Activities: Instilling A Sense Of Belonging, Sharon Spry Dukes

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the impact implementing a rite of passage through school- based extracurricular activity has on a students’ sense of belonging. The students participating in the rite of passage are members of a school-based club known as the Orientation Team. The team consists of 24 students at an urban high school facing discipline challenges and a strained school climate. The intervention’s relationship with the theory of liminality will be explored.

Efficient Data Driven Multi Source Fusion, Muhammad Aminul Islam

Theses and Dissertations

Data/information fusion is an integral component of many existing and emerging applications; e.g., remote sensing, smart cars, Internet of Things (IoT), and Big Data, to name a few. While fusion aims to achieve better results than what any one individual input can provide, often the challenge is to determine the underlying mathematics for aggregation suitable for an application. In this dissertation, I focus on the following three aspects of aggregation: (i) efficient data-driven learning and optimization, (ii) extensions and new aggregation methods, and (iii) feature and decision level fusion for machine learning with applications to signal and image processing. The …

A Network-Based Method For The Analysis Of Use And Function In Stone Tool Kits: Implications For Late Prehistoric Settlement Patterning In Northeast Mississippi, Jason Nathaniel Ervin

Theses and Dissertations

A network-based method is developed for analyzing use in stone tool assemblages, where 'use' denotes the tasks for which chipped edges are suitable. Modeling chipped edges as nodes, use-wear and retouch as edge traversals, use-life trajectories of chipped edges as inter-connecting paths, and `tools' as subnetworks over which design tolerances are maintained on edge morphology, the method is an attempt to improve on existing models, allowing for complex, continuous change and multiple uses throughout a chipped edge's use-life. Avoiding analogy-based categories, the method is designed to highlight rather than obscure the possibilities for use and multi-use. Potential for integration into …

Settlement Patterns In Albania From The Iron Age Through Greek Colonization And Roman Integration (1100 Bc - Ad 395), Erina Baci

Theses and Dissertations

The Illyrians were an Indo-European group of people who once inhabited a large expanse of the western Balkans. As interactions with the Greeks and, later, the Romans increased, the traditional way of life and sociopolitical organization of the Illyrians were undoubtedly altered. This thesis takes a geospatial approach in order to address how interactions with other groups of people influenced Illyrian settlement patterns. Specifically, how Greek colonization followed by Roman incorporation affected Illyrian settlement patterns in Albania? Due to its peripheral location in the Mediterranean, Albania provides a unique case study for investigating colonization, integration, and interaction between different cultures.

Petrographic Analysis Of Prehistoric Pottery Found In The Shkodër Region Of Northern Albania By The Shkodra Archaeological Project (Pash), Anisa Mara

Theses and Dissertations

Pottery, as an artifact, is often used as evidence of exchange patterns among groups during prehistory. This research incorporates paradigmatic classification and petrography to answer questions related to provenience, production mode, and exchange patterns of handmade prehistoric pottery from Gajtan, Zagorë, Kodër Boks, Tumuli 088 and 099 in Shkodër, in Northern Albania. Pottery samples analyzed in this study were collected from test excavations by the Shkodra Archaeological Project (PASH). The results yielded evidence that the area has sufficient local clay sources and other easily accessible natural resources to produce pottery in a domestic mode. Gajtan and Zagorë appeared as two …