Digital Commons Network^™

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Baccalaureates, May 3, 2013, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Honorary Doctor of Science - Jerry L. Atwood

The Wooster Voice (Wooster, Oh), 2013-05-03, Wooster Voice Editors

The Voice: 2012-Present

In this last issue for the 2012-2013 academic year, the headline article is "Budget allocations cause major cuts to campus groups," reporting on the sweeping cuts made to multi-ethnic organizations. "Student group continues to combat rape culture on campus" discusses an event held to raise awareness for the problem of rape culture in and out of Wooster's campus. "Cornwell meets with students to talk tuition" looks at an event held in the Scot Center to address concerns made by students for raised tuition and budget cuts. In Viewpoints, the senior editors and writers of the Voice weigh in on their …

Who's Responsible? Personal Beliefs, Civic Engagement And Environmental Attitudes, Brooke Vavricka

Student Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines whom individuals hold responsible for environmental protection, controlling for environmental civic engagement and demographic measures. Using the General Social Survey 2010, I test the hypotheses whether political ideology affects beliefs about personal responsibility and government responsibility on environmental protection. Results of this study find political ideology to be the most significant predictor of environmental responsibility, while race and education were also found to be significant predictors. Environmental civic engagement did not necessarily predict individual environmental responsibility.

Gardner-Webb, The Magazine 2013, Spring (Volume 48 No. 1), Noel T. Manning Ii

Gardner-Webb, The Magazine

Gardner-Webb, The Magazine, previously titled The Webb Magazine, focuses on alumni news and campus events from Gardner-Webb College; now Gardner-Webb University. This issue includes an article about the progress Gardner-Webb made with their Higher Ground Campaign as well as several articles detailing honors and achievements within athletic programs. There are also numerous articles highlighting various noteworthy career paths of alumni and past faculty members including Neal Alexander and Sharon Decker being named to serve in North Carolina cabinet posts.

The Lumberjack, May 1, 2013, The Lumberjack Staff

2013

The student newspaper of Humboldt State University

Iberian Globalization And The Rise Of Catholic Theology Of Religions In The Xvi Century, Enrico Beltramini Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

This article provides a synthetic view of the historical and theological components that explain how Catholicism came to understand the great religious systems in Asia as doctrinally inferior during the sixteenth century in response to the discovery/invasion of the “New Worlds” by Iberian Europeans.2 A strong emphasis on the universal salvific will of God led Catholic theologians to elaborate a doctrine that ultimately altered Catholicism’s understanding of non-Christian religions. 3 The article suggests that the predominant Catholic view of non-Christian religions has been shaped by a specific theological vision that was raised in sixteenth century Southern Europe. In order to …

Esther Bloch, Marianne Keppens, And Rajaram Hedge. Rethinking Religion In India: The Colonial Construction Of Hinduism. London And New York: Routledge, 2010., Lavanya Vemsani Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Ian Copland, Ian Mabbett, Asim Roy, Kate Brittlebank, And Adam Bowles. A History Of State And Religion. New York: Routledge, 2012., Nick Abbott

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Adolescent Virginity Pledges In The United States, Audrey Hickey

Perspectives

This paper presents a brief history of teen-focused abstinence groups and virginity pledge traditions. It then examines the various meanings virginity pledges have for the adolescents who take them. Much of this information is drawn from abstinence groups’ websites, as well as from personal interviews conducted by sociologists studying virginity loss. Several reasons for taking a virginity pledge were identified. Many of these reasons referenced Christianity. More specifically, pledge-taking was viewed as an act of worship, as a way to adhere to Biblical directives and as a way to honor God’s gift of virginity. Familial reasons were also given as …

When God Dies: Deconversion From Theism As Analogous To The Experience Of Death, William David Simpson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this thesis, I explore the psychological and experiential aspects of the shift from a supernatural theistic worldview (specifically born-again Christianity) to a
philosophically naturalistic and atheistic worldview in the context of the religious
landscape in the U.S. I posit that certain features of this transition, which is known as "deconversion,” can be thought of as potentially analogous, both psychologically and subjectively, to the experience of another's death as an objective environmental change. I provide anthropological and psychological evidence that believers often experience the God of born-again Christianity as an independently existing and active agent in the world. The similarities …

From The Editor, Amanda M. Brian

Bridges: A Journal of Student Research

No abstract provided.

When Kashrut Is Not "Kosher": The Post Postville Struggle Over Eating, Ethics And American Jewish Identity, Rebecca Z. Hornstein

Religious Studies Honors Projects

On May 12, 2008, the United States Government conducted a massive immigration raid within the country’s largest kosher meatpacking plant. The raid and ensuing revelation of worker’s rights violations within the plant sparked an intense intra-Jewish debate over the extent to which unethically produced food could be considered kosher. This thesis analyzes the perspectives and actions of the debate’s major participants and argues that the discourse surrounding ethical kashrut in the context of the Postville immigration raid revealed that American Jewish communities have entered into a period of flux. Through this instability, many American Jews are challenging the once …

Faculty Notes - John Carroll University, John Carroll University

Faculty Notes - John Carroll University

May 2013, Volume 6, Issue 2

Star Spangled Saints: Ritual Practices That Legitimate War And Violence In The American Church, Terry Dewayne Shoemaker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The objective of this research is to analyze the ways in which the conservative,
American church has been ideologically and ritualistically shaped by an imperial culture enamored with war, the military, and violence; and how those positions and practices, in effect, legitimate war and the military. While many authors have surveyed historical Christian positions regarding war and the current nationalistic tendencies of conservative Christians, little research has been conducted to assess the effects of violence, nationalism, patriotism, and military enchantment on Christian rituals, practices, and ethos. Within this research, I argue that contemporary, conservative Christians have surpassed previously held nuanced …

Ua45/6 Commencement Program, Wku Registrar

WKU Administration Documents

Commencement program listing graduates.

The Small Overlooked Hindu Street Temples Of Madurai, Elina Berzins

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

When I first walked around downtown Madurai, down its narrow and dusty streets that led into more lanes and alleys, I noticed a trend of small street temples that were usually built outside stores and apartment houses. When I asked an older man who sat next to a one of these temples that was modest in size and consisted of a Ganesha, Hindu elephant god statue, he told me that as a Western woman, I shouldn’t waste my time studying these small insignificant temples. He insisted that I focus on the grand and large Meenakshi Temple, which Madurai is famous …

Transformations : Material Terms For Writing On Religion In Composition Classrooms., Mark Alan Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation argues for closer attention to the material conditions of student writing on religion. Writing scholars in recent years have called for the inclusion of students’ religiously inflected perspectives, values, experiences, genres, and texts in the classroom, but I argue insufficient attention has been paid to the broader social contexts in which composition students must write about religion. In the first chapter, I outline the basic principles of my theoretical approach and attempt to articulate the generalized exigency of this work in terms of our current political and religious climate. I contend that a clearer understanding of how changing …

Academic Program, 2013-2014: Graduate Program In Marian Studies, International Marian Research Institute

IMRI Course Listings, Program Guides, and Assorted Academic Materials

No abstract provided.

Faculty Senate Newsletter, May 2013, Louisiana State University And Agricultural & Mechanical College

LSU Faculty Senate Publications

Message from President: Words are less the antonym than the diluted form of action. Nowhere do we see more action in the form of words than in the swirl of seeming inaction surrounding online education. Pundit-educators talk relentlessly about the tsunami of online offerings to come. Knowing the American love of things apocalyptic, they predict the inevitable closure of huge numbers of institutions. Yet, to date, no college or university seems to have shut down owing to online competition. Shares in companies holding online providers seem to fall; only near-bankrupt institutions such as Arizona State University seem to offer more …

Active Religion: James Ireland, The Separate Baptists, And The Great Awakening In Virginia, 1760-1775, Cooper Pasque

Masters Theses

In the mid-eighteenth century, the religious fervor of the Great Awakening entered Virginia. Evangelical Baptists soon threatened to undermine the authority of the Anglican Church and its planter patrons. Despite their efforts to quiet the Baptists, evangelical religion took root in Virginia by the end of the American Revolution. Historical works on these events offer valid but incomplete explanations. Puzzling dynamics in the Virginian context require a more complex interpretation. The life of James Ireland provides a unique window into possible answers. His autobiography provides evidence for what appears to be the most fundamental reason for evangelicalism's successes in Virginia. …

A Basic Qualitative Study Investigating How Art Teachers Employ Visual Culture In Teaching Art, Eric M. Kyre

Art Education Projects

With my background in Graphic Design, I wondered how the images and structures of visual culture were understood and used inside the art classroom. I analyzed 32 of 40 anonymous questionnaires returned from select art teachers throughout western New York. The questions used were geared toward finding the participants’ definitions and knowledge of visual culture, how they felt visual culture affected their students, and how they could teach using visual culture. I compared these anonymous responses to the data from observations and semi-structured interviews of a middle and secondary art teacher who said they used visual culture in their art …

Massacre In Central Burma: Muslim Students Terrorized And Killed In Meiktila, Richard Sollom, Holly G. Atkinson

Publications and Research

This report details the results of a Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) investigation into the March 20 and 21, 2013, attacks on Muslim students, teachers, and residents in the Mingalar Zayyone quarter of Meiktila, a small town in central Burma.

A two-person team, the authors of the report, from PHR conducted 33 interviews about the attacks, which resulted in the deaths of at least 20 children and four teachers. The report details the attacks by the Buddhist mobs, provides evidence that local police officers were complicit in the crimes, and lists policy recommendations for the Burmese government and the international …

The Influence Of The International Covenant On Civil And Political Rights On Anti-Blasphemy Laws, Richard Lombardi

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Review Of: Andrew R. Murphy (Ed.), The Blackwell Companion To Religion And Violence, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Blackwell Companions, and instalments from similar series, should be initially sized up according to their purpose and audience. Such hefty tomes present themselves first as reference books—as collections of articles by scholarly experts that treat the key methods, topics, historical developments, etc., in the field. Second, each Companion is addressed to students and teachers as a state-of-the-field resource that provides several benefits: a sound picture of the field, assessment of various theories and methods used in the field, a sense of the innovative developments and open questions, and plenty of information to follow up on. Finally, some Companions give primacy …

The Feeling Of Faith : A Thomistic Account Of Religious Emotions., John K. Dryden 1976-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a philosophical analysis of religious emotions. It draws upon Thomas Aquinas’s theory of the passions to build and apply a framework for thinking about religious emotions and their role in the spiritual life. The first two chapters are dedicated to building the theoretical framework. Chapter one outlines Aquinas’s theory of emotions in a very general way and compares this account to recent versions of cognitivism. By placing Aquinas in conversation with contemporary accounts, I show that his theory is able to capture the central insights of this mainstream philosophical view. According to the Thomistic account that emerges …

Extending The Incarnation Through The Ages: A Systematic Study Of The History Of The Sisters Of The Incarnate Word, Helga L. Leija

Pastoral Institute

Extending the Incarnation through the Ages is a program that aims to help formation directors in the diverse houses of formation of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament by offering a systematic study of the history of the Order of the Incarnate Word. This program intends to help women in formation to articulate the historical and spiritual development of the Order. Through an in-depth study of the historical journey of the Order, women are offered a process to help them to reflect on the relationship of Jeanne Chezard de Mate! with the Person of the Incarnate Word …

Does The Sat Predict Academic Achievement And Academic Choices At Macalester College?, Jing Wen

Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Honors Projects

This paper examines the predictive power of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for Macalester students’ college success and academic choices. We use linear regression to study whether the SAT can predict students’ first year or four-year grades. Using Kullback-Leibler divergence and classification trees, we also examine the SAT’s predictive ability for other aspects of students’ academic experience, for example, major selection, or academic division of study. After controlling for major and course level, we find that the SAT does not explain a large proportion of the variability in Macalester students’ college success. However, the SAT does provide some useful information …

The Millennial Church?: Defining The Newspring Virtual Church, Lauren Rauchwarter

All Theses

NewSpring Church is an interesting case study in understanding the rich complexities, which comprise a church community. Through the use of Relational Dialectics Theory, this study has found five dialectical pairs which exemplify the characteristics of the NewSpring community: Flawed/Perfect, Individual accountability/God's responsibility, Church is faith/Faith is beyond church, Take risks/Accept destiny, Your God/Everyone's God. These dialectics found only partially reflect the values and beliefs of the Millennial generation, providing a new wrapping on the old, traditional ideas of the church. Therefore, NewSpring needs to reflect and adapt in order to maintain its relevance and livelihood in the future. A …

Preliminary Pages, No Author

Verbum

No abstract provided.

In Memoriam, No Author

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

"Lin’s welcoming smile was an oasis of hospitality, availability, and caring service. Her smile and cheery greeting made any visit worthwhile. Putting aside whatever project she was working on, Lin offered a pleasant “hello” and patiently listened to the request often just pointing to the right drawer to help us find the paperclips or magic marker. She did not complain about her illness or her non-stop busy schedule. There was a sense of peace and calm in all she did even as she gently put the jammed copier back …