Digital Commons Network^™

Funsigns - An Interactive Educational Tool To Learn Sign Language, Shiqi Fang

Theses

This thesis aims to provide an educational and interactive tool where deaf children and their hearing parents can learn, bond, enjoy and interact with each other.

More than 90% of children which severe to profound hearing losses are born to normally hearing families. When parents are told that their child is deaf, their dreams are crushed and a grief response may be triggered (Weaver, K. A., & Starner, T, 2011). Due to this lack of knowledge when faced with a deaf family member for the first time, parents tend to base their perceptions on obsolete stereotypes which can greatly affect …

Tua'll (And Then) I Used Math To Tell A Story: Using Think Alouds To Enhance Agency And Problem Solving In An Indigenous High School Mathematics Class, Jennifer Ayaginaar Boyd

Linguistics

This paper examines action research in a high school math classroom with a focus on student discourse and agency. Students' use of language to explain their problem-solving processes was documented and analyzed. Specifically, the focus was on variations in student language and how the teacher responded to students during the problem-solving process. The following questions guided the analysis of what happened in the classroom: 1) How do my students talk about their math process? 2) How do I mediate their problem solving? One of the teacher researcher's earliest realizations was that she interfered in students' opportunities to problem solve on …

Castlepark: A Vernacular Architecture For Modern Ireland 1969-1972, Brian Ward

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

No abstract provided.

Chatting Online: An Ethnographic Case Study Of Educator Discourse On Social Media, Lindsay J. Russell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study sought to examine the online discussions of teachers located in the Southwestern area of the United States regarding social justice issues on social media. Specifically, it looked to discover how educators in this region are attempting to assert agency when faced with socially inequitable situations. Teachers in this region are hired as public employees in a state that penalizes public workers for exhibiting opinions (SRS § 288.260, 1969).

The study utilized Cultural Historical Activity Theory along with Critical Multiculturalism to demonstrate that our present actions are culturally and historically situated while illuminating hegemonic forces. The study found that …

My Experience Manifesto, Xuechun Wu

Theses

In contemporary society, people tend to judge and evaluate the growth and development status of others to different degrees. Also, people are easily persuaded by others' judgments, gossip, and appraisement. However, people ignore the importance of both their backstories and those of others; thus, a person may make subjective and incomplete value judgments.

The first approach of my project included an illustration of a typical story of a Chinese woman at turning points of her life: childhood, puberty, teenage rebellion, marriage, and menopause. The purpose of this illustration is to make the audience imagine and resonate with the different turning …

Project Leaf Year, Allison Godfrey

Honors Projects

On the most basic level, Project Leaf Year is an environmentally focused page-a-day desk calendar. However, the calendar is much more as it is a tool to promote an overarching environmental movement. This calendar is sustainable in both its construction and its purpose involving sustainable manufacturing, spiral-binding, and reusable considerations. The calendar itself includes nature photographs from local artists, daily tasks to promote conservation efforts, and supplemental educational information (either through website articles or videos) for the purpose of inspiring individuals to make environmentally conscious decisions.

Using Components Of American Sign Language To Better The Quality Of Life And Communication Access Of Elderly Persons In Assisted Living, Josie Arnett

Honors Theses

One of the most common conditions that affects people as they get older is presbycusis, the gradual loss of hearing (“Age-Related Hearing Loss”). Because of this, components of American Sign Language (ASL) were taught to elderly persons at Stillwater Senior Living assisted living facility in Edwardsville, IL with the purpose of improving access to communication. Helpful words to know in assisted living such as “want, food, hurt, and better” were taught. In addition, students were taught to feel comfortable with gestures such as pointing or thumbs up as a way to communicate. After learning how to sign certain words, students …

The Terms, Logan Bicknell, Namhee Kim

Theses

Society as a whole isn’t aware of how their personal data on social media is being used and collected after clicking agree to the Terms and Conditions.

Although many Americans claim they care about protecting their personal and private information, many readily agree to the terms and conditions without realizing the implications of such actions. "A Deloitte survey of 2,000 consumers in the U.S found that 91% of people consent to legal terms and services conditions without reading them. For younger people, ages 18-34 the rate is even higher with 97% agreeing to conditions before reading," (Cakebread, 2017). In readily …

Adopt Me: An Interactive Video Game To Encourage People To Adopt Animals From Shelters, Ying Xing

Theses

People buy pets and use their imagination in envisioning how their pet will ideally be, not the reality of raising a pet. More and more pets are abandoned by their owners for various reasons and the stray animals often cause accidents. But people keep purchasing animals from puppy mill stores. That is the main reason why the number of animals taken into shelters is increasing, along with the rate of euthanization. These factors are of interest for people who care about animals.

To address this problem, research was focused on the reasons why people abandon their pet and the factors …

Protect Me: An Interactive Mobile Educational Tool For Children To Help And Prevent Sexual Abuse., Yushinan Shan

Theses

Recently, cases of child sexual abuse have drawn considerable attention in China. According to the data released by the China Children's Culture and Arts Foundation, the number of childhood sexual abuse cases reported by the media in 2018 was 318. However, the lagging sex education provides criminals with chances to escape prosecution. Many children who have been sexually abused do not understand what sexual behavior is, do not even know where they have been hurt, and can't tell which part of their body has been violated. In China, 90% of parents do not talk with their children about "sex". Less …

Board Of Trustees Meeting Minutes 2019-12-06, Bowling Green State University

Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

The official meeting minutes of Bowling Green State University's Board of Trustees.

Letterforms As Visual Communication Elements, Tatiana Ribeiro

Publications and Research

The purpose of this research is to explore the value and objectivity of written language through investigating human perception of letterforms as abstract visual communication elements. While communicating with one another is not unique to humans, and other species have been observed to be able to produce, perceive and learn different forms of communication, the visual aspect of human languages, represented in a an organized system of symbols is uniquely human. Languages, as our primary way of communication, possess an enormous power which is used to create and destroy, unite and divide, facilitate progress and reflect.

This research will attempt …

Approved Courses, December 3, 2019, Individual Course Committee

Individual Course Committee (ICC)

No abstract provided.

Icc Agenda, December 3, 2019, Individual Course Committee

Individual Course Committee (ICC)

No abstract provided.

Ideographic Identity: A Critical And Rhetorical Analysis Of The Ymca’S Organizational Identity Rhetoric, Katharine E. Miller

Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Communication Research

This paper presents an ideographic, rhetorical analysis of the identity rhetoric presented by the nation’s largest nonprofit organization, the YMCA—an area rather understudied in organizational communication and qualitative research. This analysis explores the rhetorical approaches taken by nonprofit organizations, and the YMCA specifically, in attempting to build and communicate identity to communities in which they belong. Specifically, I analyze the organization’s identity-building rhetoric through the use of both textual and visual ideographs in a variety of artifacts to determine whether or not these strategies are effective.

Cooperation As A Coping Mechanism When Interpreting Between Deaf Refugees And Hearing Professionals, Elisabet Trengereid Olsen

International Journal of Interpreter Education

This article describes interpreting between deaf refugees and hearing professionals in community settings, with a focus on cooperation. Extensive communication barriers characterize these situations, as deaf interlocutors and interpreters do not share languages. The situations require interpreters with the ability to communicate visually and use unconventional forms of communication, not depending solely on formalized signed languages when interpreting. Based on interviews with signed language interpreters in qualitative focus groups, this article shows how interpreters in these situations convey meaning between the interlocutors, and how establishing cooperation with the hearing interlocutor is a coping strategy in that regard. The article also …

Constructing History: A Student-Created Public History Exhibit Using Omeka, Colleen Hoelscher

Library Faculty Research

This case study examines the final project assigned to an upper-level history elective course, “Public History, Memory, and Interpretation.” Students used Omeka, an open-source web publishing platform, to create a digital exhibit using archival materials. Students were responsible for all aspects of curating the exhibit, including selecting materials, creating metadata for digital objects, writing the didactic text, and creating the final website.

Full Issue

International Journal of Interpreter Education

No abstract provided.

(In)Equality., Jongin Choi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

(in)Equality. centers around my experiences as a transnational person and those around me who have affected my current concept of equality and cultural histories. My visual methodologies cover digital photography and editing, inkjet printing, and laser engraving: multimedia in a process of new discovery, translation between analog and digital, and rearticulation. The exhibition includes portraits peering down from above, illuminated by projected patterns and manipulated messages from Nike’s “Equality.” (2017). The purpose of this thesis paper is to describe the elements of identity, marginalization, and personal reaction to advertising, as well as the and theories which have shaped this project. …

Communications And Methodologies In Crime Geography: Contemporary Approaches To Disseminating Criminal Incidence And Research, Mitchell Ogden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many tools exist to assist law enforcement agencies in mitigating criminal activity. For centuries, academics used statistics in the study of crime and criminals, and more recently, police departments make use of spatial statistics and geographic information systems in that pursuit. Clustering and hot spot methods of analysis are popular in this application for their relative simplicity of interpretation and ease of process. With recent advancements in geospatial technology, it is easier than ever to publicly share data through visual communication tools like web applications and dashboards. Sharing data and results of analyses boosts transparency and the public image of …

Sunshine, Katherine Elizabeth Crossan

All Theses

Sunshine is a story about growing up. It’s a story that I feel is important to tell, because it’s a hardship that everyone can relate to. By sharing a story that other people can understand, I can create a connection between myself and my audience; or a feeling of empathy. I chose to tell this story through film, so I could share my story primarily through images, or visual narrative. Sunshine is currently in its animatic state, which is the preliminary version of the film. The animatic, or story reel, consists of the film’s storyboards put together and timed out …

Historic Resources Study Of Pullman National Monument, Illinois, Laura Walikainen Rouleau, Sarah Fayen Scarlett, Steven A. Walton, Timothy Scarlett

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

This Historic Resource Study is a Baseline Research Report for Pullman National Monument. This HRS summarizes the historical writings about Pullman, provides context for the significant themes identified in its founding document, collates collections of primary documents and historical resources that are important sources of information on those themes, and recommends questions that will require additional study. These cultural resources include primary historical materials in archives and oral history collections, as well as architectural, archaeological, museum collections, or landscape resources. While this report includes new historical narrative based in original archival research, other sections present synthetic reviews of existing publications. …

Transcriptomic Data Support A Nocturnal Bottleneck In The Ancestor Of Gecko Lizards, Brendan J. Pinto, Stuart V. Nielsen, Tony Gamble

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Gecko lizards are a species-rich clade of primarily-nocturnal squamate reptiles. In geckos, adaptations to nocturnality have dramatically reshaped the eye. Perhaps the most notable change is the loss of rod cells in the retina and subsequent “transmutation” of cones into a rod-like morphology and physiology. While many studies have noted the absence of some rod-specific genes, such as the visual pigment Rhodopsin (RH1), these studies have focused on just a handful of species that are nested deep in the gecko phylogeny. Thus, it is not clear whether these changes arose through convergence, are homologous and ubiquitous across geckos, or restricted …

An Ar Enhancement Of Printed Educational Resources: Keeping Printed Educational Materials Competitive In A Digital Age, Dax Simitch Warke

Theses

Digital resources have begun to take over our educational system and overshadow traditional printed resources. While these digital resources are becoming increasingly popular research has shown that printed resources have notable benefits that should not be dismissed. Enhancing these printed resources with augmented reality (AR) technology will allow them to be competitive with digital resources while preserving their academic benefits. The readily available smart devices carried in the pockets of most students have already prepared many classrooms for the use of AR. The interactive and visual potential of AR makes it an appealing educational tool that can dramatically improve the …

Mise En Scene And The Decisive Moment Of Visual Legal Rhetoric, Michael D. Murray

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This article explores the attorney author's understanding and implementation of principles that define how visual rhetorical works fulfill the task of effective visual communication and advocacy. These principles-referred to as mise en scene-will guide the attorney in the identification or creation of works that will exhibit the "decisive moment" of effective visual rhetoric in legal contexts. In equal measure, knowledge and understanding of these principles will enable lawyers to design and use effective visuals, and to challenge or respond to the visual rhetorical works proffered by their opponents.

Case Study Analysis Of Shared Visual Arguments And Propaganda Techniques Of Russian Propaganda Posters And Russian Internet Memes, Cindy D. Vasquez

Communication Theses - Archive

Rhetoric, the study of argument using logic, has been studied for centuries. However, there is some disagreement among scholars on whether or not argumentation can be applied to visual imagery. Images are noted to have more emotional appeal than text does. Visual propaganda was mass produced in the form of propaganda posters, most popularly in the early 20th century. In more recent times, the sharing of images has moved to social media, popularly through memes. This paper analyzes two Soviet propaganda posters produced by one Soviet publishing house, Litizdat, and two memes created by the Russian organization the Internet Research …

Ucc Minutes, December 3, 2019, University Curriculum Council

UCC Agendas/Minutes

No abstract provided.

Mydoula: An Interactive Screening And Support System For The Prevention Of Perinatal Mood Disorders, Meghan M. Lewis

Theses

Perinatal Mood Disorders (PMDs) are the leading complication in pregnancies today. They stretch beyond the mother and can affect fathers and non-biological parents or guardians as well. The negative implications of these disorders diffuse out through the family into society as a catalyst for hindered child development, attachment disorders, lower cognitive abilities, and behavioral issues. They often have a profoundly negative effect on the family unit such as causing higher rates of violence, divorce, and loss of work. Parents experiencing mood disorders often have lower compliance rates when it comes to safety measures, such as using child car seats and …

Rit Libraries Annual Report 2019, Rit Libraries

RIT Digital Archives

No abstract provided.

We've Got You Covered, Meghan Cooper

Graduate Scholarly Works

White paper for the Health Promotion and Wellness department and the Condom Concierge program.