Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Creative Connections: Building Empathy To Foster Ecoliteracy Through Art Education, Jocelyn Salim

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates the potential positive impact of fostering empathy and understanding for the natural world through art education. Through action research, this study examines various teaching approaches, such as incorporating scientific knowledge, employing literature to discuss ecological themes, and engaging in participatory storytelling activities to cultivate empathy among elementary school children. The objective of this thesis is to explore empathy as a potential pathway to encourage children to foster connections with the natural world and develop compassionate traits, attitudes, and behaviors towards nature as they grow. The findings of this study reveal that children exhibit high levels of enthusiasm …

Usa Archaeology Museum Newsletter - June 2024, Archaeology Museum

Archaeology Museum Newsletters

In this edition of the museum's newsletter:

• Document the Historic Plateau/Africatown Cemetery?
• Giving to the Archaeology Museum

Wild Joy: An Exploration In Queer Spatial Dynamics, Kipper Thomas Reinsmith

Masters Theses

What does it mean to feel represented in a space?

What does a trans space look like?

How can we queer our interior spaces?

Our world is crafted by the many designers that have come before us. These systems, products, and spaces are built upon assumptions of the bodies that will use and occupy them—namely cisgender, able-bodied, straight folks.

Designing and creating objects as a trans person is an act of radical nature. To take up space, to design for trans luxury, for the sake of beauty, for joy itself, feels counterintuitive to the narratives we’ve been served: that of …

Shadows Of Virtue: ‘The Abolition Of Man’ In Modern Context, Luke Thomas Soule

Communication Studies

C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man stands as a remarkable examination of the mid-19th century shift towards moral subjectivism. With a detailed study of this text, this essay will utilize ideological and Postmodern criticism to reveal how Lewis builds his defense of objective morality, or what he calls the "Tao," against the educational spread of relativism. The heart of the analysis is the examination of Lewis's use of ideographs. Terms such as "the Tao," "Men without Chests," and "the Abolition of Man'' not only criticize the philosophical trends of the time but also tap into a deep cultural current of …

America, Dreaming., Sarah Meftah

Masters Theses

There is a version

of America

that exists

only in dreams,

a kind of folklore,

shrouded in images,

technicolor interiors,

wrapped in plastic,

ghosts of recent past

to haunt and guide;

a constant reminder.

Wishful thinking

a constructed imaginary,

one I can hold in my hand.

Popular culture and spectacle, America and the domestic ideal, capitalism and the collective unconscious of a national identity. As an artist, I am interested in the myriad images that manifest for a viewer when they think of the spectacle of American pop culture, its domestic archetypes, and the material worship it revolves around. My …

Making Room, Rachel Strompf

Masters Theses

Massachusetts is the only state in the United States with a right-to-shelter law which guarantees shelter for families with children and pregnant women.¹ As of February 2024, 3,500 homeless families with children are being sheltered in a motel or hotel with an average length of stay of 14 months, because traditional family shelters have reached capacity.^2,3 While these families are provided temporary shelter, these shelters do not allow for the development of a true sense of “home.” While a motel meets the needs of rudimentary shelter, motels were never designed as long-term accommodations and certainly not with a …

Community Pantry As A Form Of Bayanihan In The Light Of Albert Camus’ Concept Of Rebellion, Carl Jayson D. Hernandez, Ivan Efreaim A. Gozum, Charles Aldrin A. Delgado

Philosophy Department Faculty Publications

Filipinos are known for their traditional value called bayanihan. Bayanihan is a deeply embedded Filipino cultural idea symbolizing social solidarity and collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Filipinos created community pantries as a support system. This paper aims to analyze the idea of community pantry as a form of bayanihan through the Camusian perspective. The paper has three main parts. First, we will discuss the community pantry as a new form of bayanihan. This traditional value has been culturally passed to Filipinos and continues to live on as an identifier of the nation’s resiliency. Second, we will discuss Albert Camus’ concept …

Placemaking And Placewashing In Manhattan's Chinatown: Capitalist Vs. Community Interests, Mary Chu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since the late 1890s, there have been internal and external placemakers in Manhattan’s Chinatown. They take the form of city government, real estate developers, and community organizations vying for space, and seeking to define what this neighborhood should be, for whom it should serve, and how it should look. Sometimes these would-be placemakers operate with neoliberal goals and overt orientalist and/or racist views. They push those narratives through via media representations and as a tactic to attract tourism, but with little regard for how it affects the community. In this work, I examine connections between historic ideas of placemaking and …

Beautiful Resistance: Nonfiction Theatre Rehearsal Processes, Politics, And Prefiguration In War, Ash Marinaccio

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Beautiful Resistance: Nonfiction Theatre Rehearsal Processes, Politics, and Prefiguration in War examines nonfiction theatre rehearsals and devising processes in and about conflict and war. I use the term “nonfiction” to refer to the vast body of collaborative theatre, facilitation, movement, puppet, and performance practices, knowledges, and techniques included under the capacious umbrella of “theatre of the real.” I propose that nonfiction theatre rehearsals are sites of prefiguration, possessing the potential to create a space where systemically oppressed communities can build alternative futures in the present. While there are multiple frameworks for understanding prefigurative politics, within this dissertation, I employ the …

A Journey To A Black Woman’S (Read Black Girl’S) Joy And Her Story Of Coming Home, Brittany Lauren Brock

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This is an auto/ethnography about the self-actualizing journey of reclaiming storytelling as my native tongue and my journey to joy. Throughout, using my story and the stories of so many others, I not only lay out the wounds (the pain, the loss, then the hope that comes) within the academy and outside in the world but I also use storytelling as a tool of healing—my tool of healing—to show how I wrote myself free.

When Black women (read Black girls) go through The Reckoning (the moment we realize something isn’t right with how we are perceived by others) …

Me And Mathematics: “Doing What You’Re Talking About”: In Dialogue With My Family, Eden Morris

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper is a philosophically oriented accompaniment to my audio project (accessible through the following link: https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/projects/me-and-mathematics). Working together, the paper and audio collages form a call to action and a resource. My primary finding is the importance of doing what you’re talking about or exploring and implementing your ideas experientially. Doing what you’re talking about is important for effective teaching/learning and feeling in line with oneself. This working concept came to my attention during my research conversation with my oldest living relative, and then, again, with my youngest (non-baby) relative. This doing what you’re talking about is a way …

Expanding The Corpus Of Vocalized Hebrew Text: Compiling An Unvocalized Text Corpus And Building An Online Interface For Vocalization Annotation, Rachel Shanblatt Bloch

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Written modern Hebrew presents a unique challenge for training computational models for language processing because modern Hebrew text often lacks vocalization. The lack of available vocalized Hebrew data can lead to ambiguity in training these models and generally hinders work on natural language processing problems. The goal of this project is to contribute to the collection of vocalized Hebrew text by collecting and preprocessing a large corpus of unvocalized Hebrew text and building an online annotation tool. The annotation tool allows people to upload unvocalized Hebrew text, to annotate by adding Hebrew vocalization, and to download comma-separated values files of …

A Word From The Writing Team (June 2024), Pam Walter, Mfa

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

• Publication Spotlight
• Sign up for the 16th Annual Jefferson Faculty Days: June 5 & 6
• Don’t Forget Summer Writing Time!
• Jefferson Held a Symposium on AI And Research Integrity – And Recorded It
• Jefferson's AI Library Guide is Available on the Library Website
• The OPWPC Canvas Page Offers Helpful Tools
• Scott Memorial Library Archive Renovations are Done—Come See!

Framing Teacher Migration: An Analysis Of Jamaican Media Coverage From 2016–2023, Denise Wiley

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The emigration of teachers from Jamaica has attracted significant media coverage highlighting an increase in resignations and vacancies in many classrooms. This paper analyzes media framing on the topic, and how such framing might preclude the exploration of policy alternatives to address the issue. Methods A qualitative content analysis was conducted on articles published between August 1, 2016, and September 30, 2023. Relevant articles were retrieved from the Gleaner digital archive. Using a survey instrument of 13 questions, a total of 78 articles were analyzed for coding. Results Four frames emerged from the analysis: crisis – urgent attention is required …

Evaluating Climate Sentiment In Sec 10-K Filings: S&P 50 Companies, Ruby Chu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Evaluating Climate Sentiment in SEC 10-K Filings: S&P 50 Companies investigates how climate sentiment is portrayed in corporate financial reporting, focusing on SEC 10-K filings from leading S&P 50 companies. These filings offer detailed insights into financial performance, risks, and management discussions, providing a rich dataset for analyzing corporate behaviors with sustainability and environmental concerns. This study aims to shed light on the extent to which companies address environmental issues and the implications for environmental stewardship by analyzing how these topics are portrayed in their SEC 10-K filings. Drawing inspiration from established greenwashing indicator frameworks, the study develops a climate …

Recomposing Museums: Designing Rhythmic Experiences For Short Attention Spans In The Digital Age, Yujiang Wu

Masters Theses

Learning, being the primary aspiration of museums, “is a byproduct of attention.”¹ A visitor’s ability to focus and sustain attention on the objects, narratives, and messages within the exhibition environment profoundly influences their overall experience and the educational impact of their visit.

In an era of rapid digital evolution, changes in how information is consumed and communicated have led to shorter attention spans. Traditional museums, which are rooted in continuous, linear storytelling, now face a need for adaptation. This thesis advocates for an innovative exhibition design approach tailored to the realities of shorter attention spans, proposing curatorial and design …

A Mixed Method Examination Of Bipositivity As A Factor Protecting Cis, Trans, And Gender Expansive Plurisexual Women Against Harmful Sexual Violence Outcomes, Allison E. Cipriano

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Plurisexual women are more likely to experience sexual violence, post-traumatic stress (PTS), and alcohol use problems compared to women with single gender attraction. Disproportionately high rates of sexual violence may partially explain the prevalence of PTS and alcohol problems experienced by plurisexual women. Yet, research on sexual violence, PTS, and alcohol use problems have rarely specifically investigated these phenomena among plurisexual women. Researchers have identified a positive association between binegative experiences and risk of sexual violence among plurisexual women, suggesting that sexuality-based experiences may be connected to sexual violence victimization for this population. While identifying factors predicting risk of sexual …

The Mental Health Experience Of Transgender And Gender Diverse Colombians: Que La Diversidad No Cueste La Vida, María Natalia Acosta Canchila

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Experiences of TGD people in various countries reflect difficulties accessing mental health services and significant mental health needs. In Colombia, experiences in broader healthcare systems suggest various barriers to care that include experiences of discrimination. However, specific experiences in mental health services have not been thoroughly examined. The current study aimed to understand the experiences, perceptions, and needs of TGD people in Colombia in mental health systems. Qualitative data was collected via 40 semi-structured interviews with TGD people in Colombia, data was analyzed via reflexive thematic analysis. Findings suggests great mental health needs related to needing support in the process …

Vitalidad Etnolingüística Del Español En Lincoln, Nebraska: Actitudes Y Creencias Lingüísticas De Un Grupo De Hispanohablantes, Josefa M. Samper Suárez

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation investigates the perceptions of a group of Latinx Spanish speakers regarding the ethnolinguistic vitality of the Spanish language in Lincoln, Nebraska. The goal was to analyze their linguistic attitudes toward the Spanish language in several contexts and to explore the communicative, social, economic, and religious motivations for using or not using Spanish in the city. Additionally, this study examined how speakers conceptualize the relationship between language and ethnicity. Data was collected through sociolinguistic interviews from a sample of twenty-one native Spanish speakers, from three generations. Participants were recruited through a snowball sampling technique. The results indicate that participants …

Inside The Adventure: A Case Study On The Immersive Engagement Practices At Universal Studios Hollywood, Jordan A. D'Acquisto

Experience Industry Management

The success of theme parks relies heavily on immersion and identification of the elements that create such immersion to further enhance it. Universal Studios Hollywood utilizes many engagement tactics to immerse their guests in the worlds of their park. The purpose of this study was to analyze guest engagement through themed, immersive experiences and touchpoints at Universal Studios Hollywood. A case study was conducted on Universal Studios Hollywood to analyze what immersive engagement tactics were utilized as well as their effectiveness. The results of this study determined that the park very effectively engages guests through themed experiences with its newer …

Community Awareness Of Domestic Violence In Arumeru District, Arusha, Tanzania, Rehema John Magesa

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Domestic violence continues to be prominent among many communities worldwide despite different efforts and strategies geared towards eradicating it. Women and girls are among the main victims of this violence. Lack of or limited awareness of the problem perpetuates the problem. However, much of the levels of awareness of the problem are lacking. This study aimed to establish community awareness of domestic violence and the levels of awareness and determine the association between respondents' characteristics and the level of awareness of gender-based violence. The study employed both probability and non-probability sampling techniques to acquire the respondents. One hundred women and …

Parent Strategies For Antiracist Parenting In Families Of Multiracial And Asian Descent, Matlida Tavares

Doctoral Dissertations

The Pew Research Center’s analysis of United States census data depicts and increasing number of individuals identifying as more than one race. From 2010 to 2020, the population had nearly doubled to 13.5 million. This is particularly evident in states with large populations of Asian American communities such as California, where nearly two million people identify as multiracial and people identifying as both White and Asian making up the largest portion of the 61% increase the state saw since 2010 (Henderson, 2022). Despite claims that an increase in multiracial individuals signifies an end of racism, multiracial children, navigating complex ethnic …

Talking Yourself Up: Multimodal Conversation Analysis Of Status In An Improvised Setting, Aubrey Lewarne

University Honors Theses

A single-case analysis looked at two individuals performing a scripted exercise during an Applied Improvisational workshop. The analysis examined how performers modify their linguistic and embodied actions in order to perform an assigned status role. The analysis was undertaken to better understand how social status can be constructed in everyday talk-in-interaction. I first outlined the three major theoretical frames that are relevant to the analysis: Applied Improvisation as a pedagogical approach, the use of Conversation Analysis (CA) for the analysis of language in educational contexts, and the concept of status from a sociological perspective. I then present a single-case study, …

The Realm That I Am: An Interdisciplinary Memoir On Identity And Healing, Maria Rowen Flores

University Honors Theses

This thesis is an interdisciplinary exploration into identity, self, and meaning-making. Engaging queer studies, Chicano/a Studies, narrative therapy, creative nonfiction, and visual arts, this project is both a collage and self-portrait in two parts. Part one uses the ideas of philosophers Gloria Anzaldúa, María Lugones, Jack Halberstam, and Judith Butler to explore identity formation in the author’s family and social contexts. Part two follows the experience of having C-PTSD and uses memoir and creative writing to explore the narrative therapeutic mode. Both sections explore themes of identity, social isolation, relationships, failure, mental illness, trauma, and addiction. The work is underscored …

Aita O Paul Gauguin I Ite I Te Parau I Te Reo Tahiti: The Colonial Implications Of Paul Gauguin’S Incorrect Tahitian, Elise Hatch

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

Historical And Contemporary Representation Of Kava By Members Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Sione M. U. H. Funaki

Pacific Studies

In Oceania, kava, which is made from the root or stump of the kava shrub, is associated with traditional values such as sacrifice, loyalty, commitment, and chiefliness; it is especially linked with the importance of nurturing vā relationships with fonua—land and people (Kaʻili 2017: 74–75; Tomlinson 2020: 71, 74–75). Kava has also been demonized and mischaracterized since the early nineteenth century as a harmful substance detrimental to the spirit and physical body. The conflicting realities of kava as virtue and vice are expressly displayed in the relationship between kava and the Christian church. Specifically, this paper examines the dynamics between …

Cybersecurity Laws In South Pacific Nations, Siuta Laulaupea’Alu, Te Taka Keegan, Paora Mato

Pacific Studies

Cybersecurity practices and protocols should be updated in terms of human

capacity development and legislative capability to support appropriate responses

to cyberthreats within the island nations and beyond. Recommendations here

discuss awareness and prevention strategies that combat cybercrimes and

cyberattacks and offer pertinent suggestions within cybersecurity strategies

aiming to combat the rapid growth of online fraudulence and crime affecting

nations of the South Pacific. At a national level, suitable frameworks and response

models are essential to instill cybersecurity prevention and awareness. Mandatory

adoption of formal protocols and conventions by businesses and community

and government organizations would underpin regional and national …

Vol. 47 No. 1 (2024): Pacific Studies Front Matter, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Front Matter for the Vol. 47, No 1-Jun 2024 edition of the Pacific Studies Journal.

Autonomy And Creativity In ‘Epeli Hau‘Ofa And The Lo‘Au University Philosophy Of Education For Thinking, Siosiua F. P. Lafitani (LoʻAu VavangakitupuʻA)

Pacific Studies

The spirit of autonomy and creativity in Epeli Hau‘ofa’s writings that relate to the

philosophy of the Lo‘au University of education for thinking is explored here.

For Hau‘ofa, the spirit of free thinking aids Moanan (Pacific people) to redefine

their identity in Moana (Oceania) and worldwide. The philosophy of education

for thinking is applied here to highlight that a degree of autonomy and creativ-

ity can be planted and grown in Moana. Free thinking ought to be central to

research projects that strive for autonomy and creativity if twenty-first century

Moanan people want their intellectualism to be a permanent …

Vol. 47 No. 1 (2024): Pacific Studies Full Issue, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Pacific Studies is published two times a year by The

Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies, Brigham Young

University Hawai‘i #1979, 55–220 Kulanui Street, Lā ‘ie, Hawai‘i 96762, but

responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone.

Subscription rate is US$40.00 yearly, payable to The Jonathan Nāpela Center

for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies. The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian

and Pacific Studies (formerly The Pacific Institute) is an organization funded

by Brigham Young University Hawai‘i. The Center assists the University in

meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teach-

ing, …