Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing Prevalence Of Eating Disorders Among College Students, Taylor Jordan Duncan

Honors Theses

Eating disorders have become a subject of concern for college-aged young adults in recent years. Risk factors like social media use are contributing to an increase in affected students, and research suggests that gender along with other variables plays a significant role. This thesis examined the current research on eating disorders and risk factors associated with their development. Through an online survey, information from freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, and graduate students at The University of Southern Mississippi regarding their current eating behaviors, feelings toward food and body, and demographic information was collected. Data collected indicated the student population’s level of …

Buncombe Peak Market, Racquel E. Collier, Ashley Fisher, Reid Hofstetter

Master of Real Estate Development

No abstract provided.

The Missing Art: Dance Advocacy And Inter-Arts Collaboration In New Jersey Public High Schools, Vicki Jenkins

Master's Theses

The purpose of this research was to explore the effects dance has on New Jersey public high schools’ performing arts curriculum and its students. It also explored how dance was being utilized in schools and the ways in which art teachers worked together in their programs. The research instrument used in this study was an electronic survey that included quantitative and qualitative questions for data gathering. Participants in this study were from eleven New Jersey high schools that included forty-two arts teachers and eight administrators. The data suggested dance was an important component to the performing arts curricula for teachers, …

"To Get A Job In A Broadway Chorus, Go Into Your Dance:" Education For Careers In Musical Theatre Dance, Lauran Stanis

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify necessary education and experiences for dancers who wish to pursue a career in musical theatre dance and identify the content dancers who want to pursue careers in musical theatre dance should be studying. In this project, two groups of individuals were surveyed about their education and experiences. These individuals were those with dance degrees, and those working professionally in musical theatre as dancers or choreographers. A total of 174 subjects participated in the study. Of these participants, ninety-two were dance degree holders and eighty-two were musical theatre dance professionals. Two surveys were …

Dance Competitions: The Culture, The Training, And The Effects On Young Dancers, Teresa Schmitt

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to assist educators, students, and families, in understanding the advantages and disadvantages of participating in competition dance training as it exists in private studios. The researcher evaluated perceptions of competitive dance training through the lens of nine high school aged dancers who participate or did participate in such activities, with a goal of uncovering how this training experience affected them and what they thought about it. The research instrument used in this study was an electronic survey that included questions that produced responses that were analyzed either quantitively or qualitatively, depending on the nature …

Embodying Empathy: Engaging High School Students In Social Awareness Through The Choreographic Process, Rachel Wade

Master's Theses

The goal of this study was to gauge growth of student empathy and social awareness as they collaborated through the choreographic process. There were eighteen participants in this study. Through learning about one individual’s experience growing up during the Civil Rights Movement, students used movement and the creative process to unpack ideas and concepts they learned. Through this study, participants used collaboration, communication, problem-solving, and the choreographic process to create a full-length performance. Participants gained a greater understanding and sense of empathy for the experience of the subject and others during this experience. Limitations of this study included potential bias …

Creating A Dancing Classroom: Understanding In What Ways Integrating Dance Into The Classroom Creates Opportunities For Differentiated Instruction, Impacts Classroom Culture, And Enhances Student Outcomes, Maria Ross Campsey

Master's Theses

The aim of this thesis project was to explore the effects of and response to an integrated arts approach that utilized movement and dance to teach a non-dance curriculum. The focus of this descriptive study was to understand the educational benefits of an arts integrated approach to education using movement and dance. The researcher employed both quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze data from twenty-two first-grade students, two classroom teachers, and the researcher’s observations. The researcher posed the following three research questions in this thesis: Q1 Did the movement and dance integrated arts approach help students understand academic concepts? Q2 …

Social Activism: Teaching Activism Through Socially Conscious Plays, Alanna Kiewe

Master's Theses

Students derived numerous benefits while participating in theater by gaining confidence and social skills. To help navigate these skills, this thesis showed that using a socially conscious play helped participants gain empathy, an understanding of their community, and an interest in social activism. This protocol outlined the process of producing And a Child Shall Lead, by Michael Slade. The entire process of working on Slade’s play allowed students in middle school to gain an understanding of the Holocaust and helped them appreciate how social activism can shape communities.

Choreography, Student Engagement, And Conclusions: Assessing If Faculty Choreographers Are As Innovative As The Students They Teach, Erika Goe

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to access the effectiveness of choreographic devices and how it impacts student engagement when learning choreography. The research aimed to evaluate if choreographic devices have an impact on student engagement by evaluating the utilization of specific choreographic devices when teaching choreography if there were significant differences between faculty and student exploration when creating work and if the differences explored enhanced or diminished student engagement levels. The forty-two participants were attending a junior college in Riverside, California and the research took place over the course of six weeks during the fall and spring semesters. During …

The Power Of Environment As A Tool For Inspiration: Engaging Students Through In-Studio Vs Site-Specific Choreography, Taylor Kath

Master's Theses

The goal of this study was to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of in-studio and site-specific choreographic experiences with the desired result to discoverhow choreographers created, danced, and perceived this work. The research was conducted in a rural area and due to the vast and open terrain, there were incredible opportunities for site-specific work, providing artists with great advantages for inspiration. In a low-populated state with little access to urban art, generating site-specific dance occurrences was vital for both seeing and experiencing dance. The aim of this research was to determine whether in-studio or site-specific choreography provides more inspiration to …

Closing The Opportunity Gap In And Through Dance: A New Rubric Design, Emily Hunter

Master's Theses

The goal of this research was to design a dance audition rubric that could identify both capability and potential in novice students and formally trained dancers alike. The high school targeted in this study was among the top public arts schools in the nation, able to offer unparalleled opportunities to students who gain admission by audition. A problem existed in that students with little or no formal dance training had difficulty gaining entry to the dance program because the existing rubric rewarded evidence of training over raw talent. In designing a new rubric, the hope was to identify one way …

Developing Literacy In A Rehearsal Setting: Matilda The Musical, Andrew Tribe

Master's Theses

Literacy skills and performing arts skills can work together in tandem to further the educational and personal development of young people. The goal of this thesis is to explore how students will tackle a musical that at its core, is about growing up with ideologies change over time and how students can implement literacy skills in the rehearsal process. For the title character of Matilda the Musical, her personal growth and imagination is ignited by books and literacy. The production offers an opportunity for students to understand the importance and transferable value of literacy through the rehearsal process and final …

A Slice Of The Big Apple: An Exploration Of The Impact Of Travel On High School Students’ Choreographic Process, Lauren Seibel

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to create, implement, and assess the results of a dance curriculum based on a long-distance travel experience as inspiration for choreography. The research spanned one semester. Participants included twenty high school dance students and nine audience members. In the study, the researcher attempted to answer the following essential questions: Q1 How can a high school dance course enhance the overall experience and understanding of traveling? Q2 In what ways can travel impact a student’s choreographic process? Q3 What aspects of traveling are most helpful for high school students when exploring their ability to choreograph? …

The Power Of Dance: How Dance Effects Mental And Emotional Health And Self-Confidence In Young Adults, Amber Salo

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mental and emotional benefits of dance in young adults. The researcher directed and produced a free, one-day dance workshop that served as the format for the research event. The study involved sixty-three dance students, ranging in age from fourteen through twenty-five, including all years of high school, college, and post-graduation. The classes offered as part of this study were geared toward the joys of dance, setting and attaining goals, having an open, growth mindset, and being self-confident. The study incorporated both qualitative and quantitative research as a means to answer three …

Using Laban’S Efforts To Define Movement In Five Music Genres, Ashley Ames

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to assist in understanding the impact music has on movement. This researcher evaluated music’s impact on movement by looking at the movement performed by nine female dancers in grades six through eight. This movement was performed to five different genres of music commonly found in five different types of dance classes and was measured in Laban’s eight efforts. There were two research instruments used in this study: A researcher survey yielding quantitative data and a participant survey producing qualitative data. The data suggested that there is a difference in how the body responds in …

Teacher Evaluation Systems And Their Impact Upon Academic Dance Educators And Their Evaluators, Elizabeth C. Brennan

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore gaps and biases within public school teacher evaluation systems and their effects on traditional public school dance educators and their evaluators. At the heart of this is the attempt to answer a series of questions involving the voice of six dance educators and five instructional evaluators concerning their experiences with teaching evaluation systems and their direct correlation to educational dance in the areas of fairness, equitability and bias. The research instruments used in this study included electronic surveys and face-to-face interviews, both of which were created specifically for each participant population. The …

Theming, Co-Creation, And Quality Of Structured Experiences At Camp, Gary Ellis, Jingxian Jiang, Andrew Lacanienta, John Mark Carroll

Journal of Youth Development

Lacanienta and his colleagues (2018) recently reported results of a study of the effect of themes on quality of experience of youths during summer camp activities. Existing literature suggested that theming activity sessions would have a strong main effect. Results, though, revealed an activity-by-theme interaction effect, i.e., themes seem to be effective in some activities but not others. In this follow-up study, we describe results of a secondary analysis revealing significant new insights regarding theme. Adding an indicator of campers’ co-created, lived-experience theme into the models tested substantially clarified how objective theme, lived-experience theme, and activity interact in influencing the …

Introduction: The Ghost At The Feast: Religion In Scottish Literary Criticism, Patrick Scott

Studies in Scottish Literature

Surveys changes in Scottish institutional religion, summarizes Crawford Gribben's critique in 2006 of Scottish literary criticism's long-time anti-Calvinist bias, and introduces essays reappraising the treatment of belief by Scottish poets and novelists from varied religious backgrounds and the critical response to this aspect of their work.

Presbyterianism, 'Scottish Literature,' And John Galt's Annals Of The Parish, Robert P. Irvine

Studies in Scottish Literature

In discussing religion in John Galt's novel about religious and social change in a small West of Scotland town between 1760 and 1820, suggests “Scottish literature” was forged, not in opposition to Calvinist theological ideas, but to the Kirk as a rival national institution, and that Scottish literature became "national," less through self-from the literature of another nation (England), than from another institution with a rival claim to represent the same nation, namely the established Scottish church.

Free Spirit Meets Gilded Cage: Betty Ford As Second Lady 1973-1974, Caroline Marie Dickey

Masters Theses

Betty Ford has a rich legacy as a pioneer and trailblazer, but her transition into politics was far from smooth. 1973-1974, or her time as Second Lady, was a critical training ground that solidified her beliefs and character for the rest of her life in the spotlight.

A Pint Of Dirt, Kristen Friesen

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This collection of poetry consists of 50 pieces focused on events and observations experienced by the author: a midwestern, middle-aged teacher, wife, and mother of three now-grown daughters. As much as it is an attempt to process and package the ordinary and unexplainable, it is also a study in metaphor, description, and the ways in which specificity of time and place can, hopefully, render a piece universal.

Advisor: Stacey Waite

Bumping Into The Glass Ceiling: Exploring Women's Experiences Seeking Positional Leadership Roles Within The Student Affairs Profession In South Africa

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Emerging Scholars Issue

Shakespeare's Cultural Capital Conversion, Christopher S. Hults

Theses and Dissertations

Shakespeare's vast cultural capital does not often translate easily to financial capital.Whether those who invest in Shakespeare seek financial, educational, or cultural gain, anunderstanding of capital conversion as it relates to Shakespeare industries can inform decisionsand clarify goals. After clarifying and delineating what we have and know of Shakespeare before1616 and what has been created by culture regarding him after 1616, we label the latterShakesaltation, then seek the key to converting his cultural capital to financial capital. ApplyingPierre Bourdieu's states of cultural capital to the Shakespeare industry illustrates why manyinvestments fail, few succeed, and why: cultural capital must be in …

Self-Determination Through Circus Arts: Exploring Youth Development In A Novel Activity Context, Jennifer Agans, Jacqueline Davis, Spyridoula Vazou, Tal Jarus

Journal of Youth Development

Youth development takes place in many contexts, with different resulting participant outcomes. Broadening the scope of research to include non-traditional contexts such as youth circus arts programs, which are both similar to and different from other out-of-school-time contexts, may promote better understanding of the ways in which these programs impact youth development. The present study examined the prevalence of support for basic psychological needs and positive developmental outcomes among youth circus program participants. Single time-point quantitative surveys were completed by 111 youth members of the American Youth Circus Organization (62% female), ranging in age from 10 to 21. Results indicated …

Self-Determination Through Circus Arts: Exploring Youth Development In A Novel Activity Context, Jennifer Agans, Jacqueline Davis, Spyridoula Vazou, Tal Jarus

Journal of Youth Development

Youth development takes place in many contexts, with different resulting participant outcomes. Broadening the scope of research to include non-traditional contexts such as youth circus arts programs, which are both similar to and different from other out-of-school-time contexts, may promote better understanding of the ways in which these programs impact youth development. The present study examined the prevalence of support for basic psychological needs and positive developmental outcomes among youth circus program participants. Single time-point quantitative surveys were completed by 111 youth members of the American Youth Circus Organization (62% female), ranging in age from 10 to 21. Results indicated …

El Hip-Hop Cubano: An Agent Of Social And Political Change In Cuba?, Margaree Jackson

Honors Theses

Cuba experienced two distinct periods during which Afro-Cubans encountered various constraints and opportunities. During the Revolutionary Period, the Cuban government outlawed all forms of discrimination and created many opportunities for Afro-Cubans to participate in society. However, these new opportunities came with the price of outlawing discussion of racial discrimination and political and social organization along racial lines. Afro-Cubans who still experienced racial inequality faced the threat of political imprisonment if they spoke out against discrimination. In contrast, during the Special Period, Cuban experienced a devastating economic collapse in 1991. Government policies created in response to the collapse removed many of …

The Player Character's Journey: The Hero's Journey In Moldvay's Dungeons & Dragons, Robert Leopold

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the archetypes, motifs, and stages of the Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey as they are found in the Moldvay revision of the rules to Basic Dungeons & Dragons, that emerge from playing the game using the seven adventure modules printed for these rules. Using narratological concepts, the definition of what makes narrative is expanded to include the narrative that emerges by playing story-based roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons. These narratives, based on the seven adventure modules, are the analyzed using Campbell's monomyth as an interpretive tool, showing that these types of narratives are up to …

Identity Fluidity, Empowerment, And Engendered Poverty: Performing A Veteran-Latina-Online-Graduate Student, Maricela Burns

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this project is to use critical race theory and gendered discourse to shed light on engendered poverty, cultural capital and resilience in efforts to identify how the American educational system affects marginalized groups when the systems of power and privilege were not created for them. It is through a poignant narrative of one of these students (myself) in the educational system that I reflect, recollect, write and interweave my lived curriculum with what the literature says about ethnic experiences like mine. The efforts here serve to analyze the processes of constructing and building social and gender identity …

Detention, Virginia Murray-Torres

Theses and Dissertations

A novel-in-verse about a teenage girl's detainment in an immigration center, separation from her family, and removal proceedings hearing with a 360 degree point of view from the people she interacts with, as well as her own.

Testing A Scale Of Teacher Beliefs About Universal Curriculum Integration In The 21st Century (Uci21-T), Nicole E. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Curriculum integration is a unique approach to teaching. Twenty-first century skill approaches to curriculum integration train teachers in the process of curriculum integration, such that they are able to integrate various subject combinations in their teaching that produce new skills and dispositions in their students. Yet no scale to measure teachers' beliefs about the value of and efficacy beliefs towards implementing curriculum integration exists that is universal in the sense that it can be used any time any subject combination is integrated. Using a sample of 196 teachers at a professional development meeting in a mid-sized suburban school district in …