Digital Commons Network^™

On Zeitgeist, James Sham

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an exploration into the possibilities and repercussions of articulating zeitgeist, that is, the spirit of our current age. The parameters and ramifications of such a project are, in this writing, analyzed in reference to the notion of historicity, and the narrative gaze that it perpetuates. The mechanism of canonization, and a discourse's capacity to be viral are examined.

Directing For The Small Professional Theatre: Directing "Nothing Sacred", Robert Hunter Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The challenges of producing and directing small professional theatre in any metropolitan area are many. This thesis is concerned with the process of finding a producing theatre, casting, rehearsal and staging the play, "Nothing Sacred" by George F. Walker, in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Unlike many thesis projects this one was conducted completely outside of the university setting and is thus a true reflection of the small professional theatre community.

A Key To All Mythologies, Theresa Frances Marchetta

Theses and Dissertations

Over the last two years(August 2006-June 2008) I have been engaged in landscape painting that takes an experimental approach to material. My use of acrylic, the plastic paint, combines landscape with distortion and artificiality. Plastic has lost the futuristic and hopeful appeal it had in the past but it might still be an apt material to employ for a truly American artwork.

Integrating Actor Training Into Movement Design: An Analysis Of The Fight Direction In Tamburlaine And Edward Ii, Christopher Drew Vidal

Theses and Dissertations

The following thesis draws from a recent production assignment at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., in which I acted as Associate Fight Director under Broadway Fight Director Rick Sordelet. We worked on three shows in all: William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, and Christopher Marlowe's first play, Tamburlaine, and his last, Edward II. By analyzing and assessing the working methods utilized during this production process, I hope to elucidate the most effective elements, and finally synthesize the tenets of my own working method. Structurally, I will recount the experience chronologically, from preproduction to performance, treating the pros and …

Flow-Acting: Modern Sports Science And The Preparation Of Actors, Barrett Slade Billew

Theses and Dissertations

Theatre artists and acting teachers throughout history have sought to find and create presence. By combining modern sports science with an understanding of systems of actor training I have suggested an approach that makes presence a trainable skill. My coach Dr. Scott Sonnon, developer of the Circular Strength Training System, has refined modern sports science to emphasize the development and maintenance of flow-state. This state allows the athlete to respond openly and freely within a constantly changing situation.By combining my life long study of acting with my eight years of work with Coach Sonnon I am developing a system to …

English Literacy Development For English Language Learners: Does Spanish Instruction Promote Or Hinder?, Brenda K. Gorman, Connie Summers, Kelly M. Thomason

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Argent Sound Recordings: Multimodal Storytelling, Matthew L. Klimas

Theses and Dissertations

ARGENT SOUND RECORDINGS explores the integration of visual, written and sonic elements to tell a story. "The Silver Bell," a fairy tale, is delivered through the internet – providing users an opportunity to experience and interpret a constructed narrative under the guise of an independent record label website.

Laptops In The Sand: Using Rugged Computers In The Field, Michael T. Searcy, Scott Ure

Faculty Publications

Computers have been used in the archaeology for decades to perform various tasks including statistical modeling, database management, geospatial analysis and other processes ranging from the relatively simple to the incredibly complex. Traditionally, computers are used in relatively “clean” environments such as indoor offices or laboratories. However, when subjected to harsh outdoor conditions with extreme temperatures, precipitation, dust, and debris, failure in some degree, ranging from the irritating to the catastrophic, is highly likely and often quite predictable. Sandy and dusty regions, as well as wet and humid areas, are particularly hostile to the delicate and environmentally sensitive processors, circuit …

Japanese Vocabulary Acquisition By Learners In Three Contexts, Dan P. Dewey

Faculty Publications

This study is an investigation of the development of vocabulary knowledge during study abroad (SA), intensive domestic immersion (IM) and academic-year formal classroom (AY) learning. Its focus was the growth of vocabulary knowledge in Japanese--a language where little SA research has been conducted to date. Unlike most studies addressing vocabulary development, it was centered strictly on vocabulary acquisition. Following the example of one of the most insightful comparative studies of vocabulary learning abroad and at home to date (Laufer & Paribakht, 1998), it included multiple measures of vocabulary knowledge to assess possible subtle differences in vocabulary acquisition between the SA, …

Choreographing Cabaret: A Guide To Storytelling Through Dance And Movement, Katie Claire Bradley

Theses and Dissertations

American Musical Theatre is one of the unique American methods of storytelling that exists in performance. In a musical, text, song, movement, and dance tell a story. In Music Theatre, when a character can no longer express what they desire in words, they sing. If singing cannot satisfy the need, the element of dance comes into play. Richard Kislan states, "What sets dance apart is the universality in movement and gesture which is not bound like language to nationality or culture. Dance transcends geography in a way that language cannot. Dance humanizes expression in a way that music cannot."(237) In …

Word Recognition Materials For Native Speakers Of Taiwan Mandarin, Shawn L. Nissen, Richard W. Harris, Alycia Dukes

Faculty Publications

Purpose: To select, digitally record, evaluate, and psychometrically equate word recognition materials that can be used to measure the speech perception abilities of native speakers of Taiwan Mandarin in quiet. Method: Frequently used bisyllabic words produced by male and female talkers of Taiwan Mandarin were digitally recorded and subsequently evaluated using 20 native listeners with normal hearing at 10 intensity levels (–5 to 40 dB HL) in increments of 5 dB. Results: Using logistic regression, 200 words with the steepest psychometric slopes were divided into 4 lists and 8 half-lists that were relatively equivalent in psychometric function slope. To increase …

Selected Aspects Of International Trade And The World Trade Organization's Doha Round: Overview And Introduction, Ved P. Nanda

Denver Journal of International Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Aid For Trade: A Roadmap For Success, Phoenix X. F. Cai

Denver Journal of International Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Artificial Intelligence On The Pattern Of Foreign Direct Investment In The Third World: A Possible Reversal Of Trend, Wendy Duong

Denver Journal of International Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

The Doha Round Negotiations On Agricultural Subsidies, Kevin C. Kennedy

Denver Journal of International Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Improving National Enforcement For Better Governance Implementing Multilateral Environmental Agreements, Richard W. Emory Jr.

Denver Journal of International Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Endocannabinoid Modulation Of Spatial Memory In Aversively And Appetitively Motivated Barnes Maze Tasks, John Pinckney Harloe

Theses and Dissertations

Genetic deletion or pharmacological blockade of the CB1 receptor has been reported to impair extinction learning in aversive conditioning (i.e., conditioned fear and Morris water maze) paradigms, but not in operant procedures in which food reinforcement is earned. It is difficult to discern whether the differential effects caused by CB1 receptor disruption on extinction result from the hedonics (i.e., aversive vs. appetitive) or is related to the required responses associated with these disparate tasks. In order to evaluate whether the hedonics is the determining factor, we used either aversive (i.e., escape from bright lights and air turbulence) or appetitive (i.e., …

Developing A Multi-Objective Decision Model For Maximizing Is Security Within An Organization, Jeffrey Lee May

Theses and Dissertations

Numerous IS researchers have argued that IS Security can be more effectively managed if the emphasis goes beyond the technical means of protecting information resources. In an effort to adopt a broader perspective that accounts for issues that transcend technical means alone, Dhillon and Torkzadeh (2006) present an array of 9 fundamental and 16 means objectives that are essential for maximizing IS security in an organization. These objectives were derived using a value-focused thinking approach and are organized into a conceptual framework. This conceptual framework provides a rigorous theoretical base for considering IS security in a manner that accounts for …

In An Expression Of The Inexpressible: Even This Title Is Stolen, But I Chose It, Carmen Alis Mcleod

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a tour through an imaginary building that contains the work I have completed in the last two years at Virginia Commonwealth University. The body of the text provides a discussion of specific paintings as well as more general themes related to painting and art. The discussion includes thoughts on futility, desire, schism, the leap, collage, photography, materiality, painting, image, and landscape. The second part of the text is an abstract statement about the paintings included in the thesis show, Splinter Paintings.

Shared But Differentiated Responsibility: Integration International Obligations In Fight Against Trafficking In Human Beings, Anna Gekht

Denver Journal of International Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

State Responsibility: A Concerto For Court, Council And Committee, Rachael Lorna Johnstone

Denver Journal of International Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Soldiers Of Fortune - Holding Private Security Contractors Accountable: The Alien Tort Claims Act And Its Potential Application To Abtan, Et Al. V. Blackwater Lodge And Training Center, Inc., Et Al., Matthew C. Dahl

Denver Journal of International Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Places Of Refuge For Ships, John E. Noyes

Denver Journal of International Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Vol. 37, No. 1: Full Issue, Denver Journal Of International Law & Policy

Denver Journal of International Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Integrating Nature Into Urban Educational Environments, Caroline Anne Davenport

Theses and Dissertations

Urban educational environments struggle to offer green space and natural light to their students. Studies have shown that exposure to natural elements, such as natural light, ventilation and vegetation improves student performance and concentration. The Waldorf School understands a child's innate need for natural learning; making it a natural choice when studying design options that integrating nature into the educational environment. The emphasis on nature based learning in the curriculum leads Waldorf to be the perfect school to test the boundaries of what is possible in urban educational environments. The project integrates nature into an urban adaptive re-use school environment, …

How Well Does Spirituality Predict Health Status In People Living With Hiv-Disease?, Rachel Kidd Cobb

Theses and Dissertations

Problem: The United States of America has one of the highest number of HIV infections in the world; approximately 1.3 million people in North America were living with HIV in 2007. Factors influencing HIV survival are essential to disease management and care. Research findings suggest religion and spirituality may be essential components to health and well-being in individuals with HIV-Disease. Purpose: This study was designed to determine how well spirituality predicted health status in a convenience sample of 39 adults diagnosed with HIV-Disease. Procedure: A model building approach was used to explore relationships among the five variables of the Neuman …

Lexical And Segmental Influences On Child And Adult Learners’ Production Of Second Language Vowels, Wendy Baker-Smemoe, Pavel Trofimovich

Faculty Publications

This study examined how two segmental or sound-related factors (crosslanguage perceptual similarity, syllabic context) as well as two lexical or wordrelated factors (word frequency, subjective word familiarity) influenced the production of eight English vowels by 40 Korean children and adults exposed to English in the U.S. for an average of 1 and 7 years. Results of two experiments revealed that lexical factors affected adults’ second language (L2) production more than children’s and depended (at least for adults) on amount of L2 experience. Lexical influences on L2 production were obtained when segmental influences were particularly strong (for dissimilar L2 vowels or …

“The Mormon Education Of A Gentile Justice: George Sutherland And Brigham Young Academy”, Edward L. Carter, James C. Phillips

Faculty Publications

Even within the eclectic group of men and women who have sat on the U.S. Supreme Court, Associate Justice George Sutherland (1922-38) was truly one of a kind: The only Justice ever to come from the state of Utah, he grew up as a non-Mormon in a cloistered 19th century Mormon society—and yet he rose to become one of the community’s most popular and even beloved political figures. As a lawyer, Sutherland defended Mormon men charged with “unlawful cohabitation” for polygamous lifestyles—and yet as a U.S. Senator he championed women’s rights, including suffrage. As one of the so-called “Four Horsemen …

Integrated, Embedded, And Case-Based: Selling Library Instruction To The Business School, Leticia Camacho, Andy Spackman

Faculty Publications

Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah, is home to the Marriott School of Management, which has an enrollment of 1,900 undergraduate and 1,100 graduate students. Nearly 75 percent are bilingual, 20 percent speak a third language, and approximately 10 percent are foreign citizens.

In the year 2000, the Tanner Management Library was displaced from the Marriott School and incorporated into the Harold B. Lee Library, BYU’s main campus library. Without a physical presence in the business school, BYU’s business librarians have struggled to remain relevant to a faculty and student body that is increasingly dependent on the Internet …

Is There Something Unique About Marriage? The Relative Impact Of Marital Status, Relationship Quality, And Network Social Support On Ambulatory Blood Pressure And Mental Health, Wendy C. Birmingham, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Brandon Q. Jones

Faculty Publications

Background Having close social relationships and being married specifically have been reliably associated with health benefits including lower morbidity and mortality. Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of marital status, relationship quality, and network support on measures of psychological and cardiovascular health. Method We examined ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) among 204 married and 99 single males and females (N=303). Results We found that both marital status and marital quality were important. Married individuals had greater satisfaction with life (SWL) and blood pressure dipping than single individuals. High marital quality was associated with lower ABP, lower …