Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Greens Of Falls Of Rough: A Kentucky Family Biography 1795-1965, Hugh Ridenour

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of writing about the Greens of Falls of Rough is to record the extraordinary lives of three generations of a prominent, but somewhat neglected, Kentucky family that contributed greatly to the history of the Commonwealth. This family’s activities parallel that history in social, economic and political aspects from the state’s inception to the 1960s.

In addition, this thesis should alleviate a pervasive misunderstanding regarding the identity of Willis Green, founder of the Greens of Falls of Rough. Mr. Green, a prominent Kentuckian in his own right, has been confused with another Kentuckian, a Willis Green of Danville. The …

The Right Hand Of Light: Dark And Light Imagery In The Science Fiction Of Ursula K. Le Guin, Patricia Lynn Keister

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Ursula K. Le Guin uses dark and light imagery to emphasize her theme of dynamic equilibrium. This theme can be found throughout her work; the novels discussed are The Left Hand of Darkness, The Lathe of Heaven, The Dispossessed, and The Beginning Place. In each novel, Le Guin focuses on a different aspect of dynamic equilibrium. The themes are respectively, gender identity, chaos and order, and the individual versus the community. The final novel, The Beginning Place, unites and sums up all three themes. In each novel, one or more main characters suffers from imbalance …

Does Sex Discrimination Exist In Faculty Salaries At Western Kentucky University? An Empirical Examination Of The Wage Gap, Reed Vesey

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis examines wage differentials between male and female faculty salaries at Western Kentucky University. A human capital model of salary determination is examined by using regression analysis on relevant personal and job characteristics of faculty members. A large portion of the wage gap between men and women is explained through differences in the personal and job characteristics. A portion of the wage gap remains unexplained, however, the probability of discrimination playing a substantial role in salary is very small.

“I’M Not Lost . . . I Meant To Be Here!”, David Lee Sloan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This is a collection of creative essays containing one person’s world view and experiences – factual and fiction. The intended purpose is not to make the reader think, act, or change any of his beliefs, it is simply meant to entertain him in a world that often offers few risk-free entertainments. It is hoped that the reader will be just as ignorant when he turns the last page as he was when he turned the first. Even Adam with his wonderful garden, or Aladin and his magic lamp, didn’t offer as much. I am offering reading without the danger of …

An Exploration Of Sound & Sense In Poetry, Stephen Carden

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Various theorists have treated the problem of sound and sense in poetry. The influence of sound in poetry can be found both in the overall musical structure of a poem and in the internal sounds of rhythm and diction. Plato suggests that rhythm and harmony have a direct effect on man, and can establish either balance or disproportion within the soul. The debate whether sound determines sense or sense determines sound is rejected in favor of a third possibility: an interdependent relationship between sound and sense, an intrinsic formal structure, as the ideal governing the creation of poetry. Further, Aristotle …

Stain Upon The Silence: Samuel Beckett’S Deconstructive Inventions, Leigh Howard

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In recent years, deconstruction theory has emerged as a key method for exploring public address, organizational culture, and literary discourse. Deconstruction theory encourages tearing apart hierarchy and established order to gain insights about the artifact being studied. Furthermore, the theory questions surface or superficial messages and encourages the reader to explore signals hidden below the surface. Deconstruction discounts context and places faith in experience.

Using the early plays of Samuel Beckett, this research explores deconstruction as a method to create messages. This new perspective transports deconstruction from a set of theoretical concepts into basic assumptions that enhance communication. This study …

The Southern Misfit And The Dream Of Escape In The Fiction Of Carson Mccullers And Flannery O’Connor, Tammy Oberhausen

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The misfit and the dream of escape are popular motifs in American literature, particularly in the literature of the South. Critical studies of works employing these themes have largely ignored the connection between the two. The Southern misfit – the Southerner who fails to or refuses to conform to his society’s strict standards – often dreams of escaping the restrictions of the South for some Northern “promised land.” In the works of two Georgia writers, Carson McCullers and Flannery O’Connor, the related themes receive different treatments. Carson McCullers’s misfits in the novels The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and The …

Wendell Berry’S Cyclic Vision: Traditional Farming As Metaphor, Morris Allen Grubbs

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Although Wendell Berry’s first book, a novel, appeared in 1960, he did not gain significant national attention until the publication of his nonfiction manifesto, The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture, in 1977. Since its publication, Berry has moved increasingly toward the prose of persuasion as he continues to sharpen his argument in support of a practical, continuous harmony between the human economy and Nature. His canon as a whole – the poems, essays, and novels – is an ongoing and thorough exploration of man’s use of and relationship to the land.

Arguing that the health of a culture …

The Altered Mobile Home: A Stationary Image Of Work And Value, Gregory Kendall Jenkins

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

As the medium cost of conventional housing rises, many people unable to incur such an expense look for alternative forms of adequate housing. In rural areas surrounding Bowling Green, Kentucky, several families have utilized the mobile home as a base to expand, embellish, and personalize, creating a larger more conventional-looking home. Many of these altered homes possess gabled roofs, rock exterior walls, and expansive interior space. Of primary concern is: why have these families undertaken a project of this nature?

As material culture scholars and folklorists examine our built environment, they find relationship between construction and the builders. What can …

Charlotte Mew: An Introduction, Sandra Carol Joiner

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Charlotte Mew (1869-1928) published short stories, essays, and poetry between 1894 and the time of her death. She published a slim volume of poems in 1916, a few of which place her as one of the great English poets. Indeed, both Thomas Hardy and Virginia Woolf thought her one of the greatest living female poets. Mew is particularly interesting as a poet who was born in the Victorian period, published during the “decadent decade” of the nineties, throughout Edward’s reign, and well into the reign of George V. Although few of Mew’s poems are dated, there is a gradual yet …

Points Of Interest: Essays On People, Places And Perceptions, Sara-Lois Bachert

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

I wrote my first story in third grade. “Francine and the Head-Chopper Man” borrowed its plot from “Beauty and the Beast,” but my teacher didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she arranged for me to read the story to the fifth-grade class down the hall. After that first public reading, I was hooked. I knew at age seven I was going to be a writer.

When I discovered journalism in the ninth grade, I knew just what type of writing I was going to do. In junior high and high school, I was editor of the newspapers, and in college …

Sex Role Orientation And Self-Esteem Of Female Varsity Athletes, Recreational Athletes And Nonathletes, Jo Ann Utley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The relationship between athletic participation, sex role orientation and self-esteem has received little attention from researchers and the relationship of these variables among females has not received as much attention as it has among males. It has been theorized that participation in sports, particularly team sports, may effect an increase in self-esteem due to increased positive body image and tend to “masculinize” women and/or attract females who possess or value more masculine traits and behaviors.

To address these issues, a comparison of sex role orientation and level of self-esteem was made with female varsity athletes, recreational athletes and nonathletes at …

A Study Of The Effects Of Writing Instruction Versus Writing And Reading Instruction On 10th Grade English Students, Patricia E.G. Craig

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The effects of writing instruction as opposed to writing and reading instruction were studied on 10^th grade English students’ reading comprehension and writing. Two groups (classes) completed pretests and pre-sample writing. Then, both groups were given writing instruction while only one group was given related reading skills instruction. Finally, both groups completed posttests and post-sample writings.

An analysis of covariance of the pre-and posttest data was done. It revealed no significant difference between the two groups related to reading comprehension. However, a significant difference existed between the two groups related to language expression (editing skills or writing sub-skills). The …

Comparative Instructor Attitudes Toward College Level English And Mathematics Experiences For Gifted High School Students, Bruce Vickers

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Samples derived from a mailed questionnaire were compared. The sample represented high school, community college and university instructors of mathematics and English. The Kentucky public schools sampled were equally represented among high school, community colleges and universities. The research indicated that of those instructors sampled a very high percentage (97.7%) feel that those high school students shown to be academically gifted would benefit from a college experience before high school graduation. The attitudes of those instructors sampled indicated that multiple criteria – grades, recommendations, standardized test scores and personal interview – were considered the preferred method of selection (82.5%). The …

A New Measure Of Mature Religiosity, James A. Croxton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this study, a new measure of mature religiosity was created. One hundred and fifty students were administered an 80 item scale based upon a consensus meaning of mature religiosity. The results of this administration were factor analyzed. Seven First Order Factors and two Second Order Factors emerged which could be adequately assessed by 50 of the 80 item. The revised 50 item scale was administered to 130 students. During the same administration, the students also responded to measures of personal maturity (Dogmatism Scale, Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, Social Desirability Scale) and other measures of mature religiosity (Intrinsic-Extrinsic Religious …

The Effects Of Various Kinds Of Background Music On The I.Q. Scores Of Ninth-Grade Students, L.C. Bud Johnston

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

One hundred 9^th-grade students were divided into four groups of 25 each through systematic sampling procedures. Each of the groups were tested, pre and post, by the Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test, forms J and K. During the pretest for all groups, the background condition of silence was observed. During the posttest, one group was again tested in silence. The other three groups were each tested to one of three background conditions: pop music, hard rock music, and soft rock music. Pop music played was characterized as more mellow, more melodic, and less intense than rock music. Hard rock …

The Loving Of The Game: A Study Of Basketry In The Mammoth Cave Area, Denis O. Kiely

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The production and marketing of baskets in the Mammoth Cave area of Kentucky from 1880 to the present is observed in light of the cultural, technical, aesthetic, ad traditional aspects involved. The process of making a white oak ribbed basket is documented, as well as the technical and aesthetic variables from which the basket maker renders his product. The changing role of social organization and communication in the production and marketing of a traditional craft objects is also considered.

Expressions Of Grief In South Central Kentucky, 1870-1910, Sue Lynn Arnold

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Through the ages, survivors have experienced loss due to the deaths of their contemporaries. Between 1870 and 1910, the people of south central Kentucky (Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Logan, Monroe, Simpson and Warren counties) used significant expressions of grief. Combining oral history with primary correspondence, journals, scrapbooks and mementos, this study determines the importance that area residents placed on deathbed accounts, the care given the deceased's body, the funeral service, obituaries, resolutions of respect, memorial poetry, condolence letters, photography, memorial cards and pictures, hair wreaths, mourning attire and jewelry, the gravesite, and the tombstone. In almost every instance, south central …

Sex Role Orientation And Its Effect On A Woman’S Decision To Parent, Agnes Van Buren

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Female undergraduates from a private college on the east coast were surveyed regarding their feelings about having children and were asked to complete the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). Eighty-one percent of the respondents indicated a desire to have one or more children. Nineteen percent responded negatively or were uncertain of their feelings at that time. On the BSRI, 12% were classified as Masculine, 38% as Feminine, 37% as Androgynous, 13% as Undifferentiated. Comparison of the Masculine, Feminine and Androgynous groups (the Undifferentiated group was excluded from analysis) showed that the proportion of Feminine women indicating a desire to have …

Collection & Transmission Of The Qur'an: A Critical Survey Of Western Scholarship, David Addleton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A brief review of the history of western interest in the Qur'an from Keaton's 1143 C.E. translation to the present and a comparison between the western and traditional views on the Qur'-am's textual history serves to place the western theories on the collection and transmission of the Qur'an in their historical and intellectual context.

The theories of Richard Bell, John Burton, Leone Caetani, Paul Casanova, Arthur Jeffery Alphonse Mingana, Theodor Ntildeke, John Wansbrough and W. Montgomery Watt are given primary consideration; Nabia Abbot, Hartwig Hirschfeld, D.S. Margolicuth, William Muir and Ajmal Khan receive secondary consideration.

The traditional history of the …

Confederate Operations In Eastern Kentucky, 1861-1862, C. David Dalton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

As a border state, Kentucky occupied a unique position in the early days of the Civil War. Her neutral stance was observed by the belligerents for the first five months of the conflict, but in September 1861, troops entered the state. Confederate armies under the leadership of Brigadier Generals Humphrey Marshall and Feliz Zollicoffer sought to drive the Federal forces from eastern Kentucky. Through a series of skirmishes, however, the Southern armies were repelled and placed on the defensive. Later defeats at Logan’s Cross Roads and Middle Creek in early January 1862 cleared eastern Kentucky of Confederate forces. For the …

O. Henry’S Use Of Stereotypes In His New York City Stories: An Example Of The Utilization Of Folklore In Literature, Martin Ostrofsky

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Stereotyping is a folkloristic process which permits people to reduce the complexities of the real world into simplified, abstract terms. O. Henry one of America’s most popular short story writers, made generous use of stereotypes in his stories. By examining O. Henry’s use of stereotypes, insight may be gained into the essential role which folklore often plays in creative literature. Stereotypes greatly influence the composition, function and reception of O. Henry’s work. O. Henry’s personal habits and circumstances demanded that he produce a prolific stream of short stories which would have the greatest popular appeal. Clever manipulation of stereotypes permitted …

The Folklife Expressions Of Three Isle Royale Fishermen: A Sense Of Place Examination, Timothy Cochrane

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Selected forms of three Isle Royale fishermen’s folklife expressions – material folk culture, social folk custom and narrative folklore – were documented and analyzed. The informants are representative of the group of Scandinavian fishermen who operated commercial fisheries on Isle Royale from the 1880s to date. Documentary and analytical emphasis centered on occupational aspects of their folklife expressions and the fishermen’s perception of the island archipelago. Accordingly, special interest was focused on the fishermen’s interplay with the Lake Superior and Isle Royale environs. Selected folklife expressions were analyzed to uncover fishermen’s cognitive and affective responses to their insular environment. Analysis …

Caroline Gordon: A Sense Of Place, Frances Perdue

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Place, as it transcends the immediate setting of a work, is an essential element of Caroline Gordon’s early novels. She looks to the past and to the region of her birth to focus on the traditional South. She shows her characters’ changing attitudes toward the Cavalier Myth, a view that promotes the value of the land, the patriarchal family, and an anachronistic code of honor. To them, the South is unique, and they resist all efforts to change this “given social order.” However, Gordon begins to recognize that change is inevitable. Thus, she reveals her characters’ succumbing to the rising …

A Study Of Retention Between The Cadette And Senior Level Of Girl Scouting In The Kentuckiana Girl Scout Council, Diane M. Weigel

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study was made in attempt to identify the characteristics of a troop program in which tenth grade girls had been involved and to determine why they did or did not continue in Scouting. A survey instrument was devised and pretested to validate and improve upon the questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed through the mail to 190 girls who had been registered in the Kentuckiana Council Scouting program in 1981. All girls, despite their present status in Scouting were asked to complete and return the survey. The questions pertained to such areas as years involved in Scouting, frequency of meetings, …

Literary Portraits Of The Pharisees In The Gospels Of Mark And Matthew, Michael R. Cosby

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Due to the often inadequate methodology employed by scholars studying the pre-A.D. 70 Pharisees, new approaches are needed for analyzing the primary sources. Careful attention must be given to the literary genres of the four ancient sources of information on the Pharisees: the Psalms of Solomon, the New Testament, the writings of Josephus, and the rabbinic literature. As an example of such sensitivity to the ancient authors’ purposes in writing and to the literary genres they employed in conveying their information, this study uses the Gospels of Mark and Matthew as test cases.

Careful analysis of authorial purpose, as revealed …

Faith, Reason And Scripture In The Theology Of Donald G. Bloesch, David R. Coward

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Donald G. Bloesch, an American theologian and seminary professor, is a leading spokesman for contemporary Protestant evangelicalism, a theological position that lies somewhere between fundamentalism and neo-orthodoxy. Heavily influenced by the German theologian, Karl Barth, Bloesch employs a methodology in which theology is based on revelation alone, unsupported by philosophy or the arguments of human reason. For Blosech, revelation is basically alien to human culture and human thought-forms. Because of this, revelation cannot be comprehended by reason, but only by faith. Bloesch’s view leads to a dichotomy between faith and reason, a dichotomy that ultimately lessons the impact of his …

The Public Career Of Maurice Hudson Thatcher, Randy Ream

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The public career of Maurice Hudson Thatcher was wedded to one of the most interesting epochs in Kentucky history and Kentucky politics. From 1895, with his election as county clerk of Butler County, to his defeat for the United States Senate in 1932, Maurice Thatcher was intimately involved in almost every statewide political campaign. He participated in the rise of the Republican party to a point where it was a definite force in state politics and won almost as many statewide races as it lost. He also participated in the party’s relegation to minority status with the advent of the …

Narrative-Rhetorical Structures In Revelation: Developing A Thematic Model, J. Webb Mealy

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The rhetoric of narration employed by John in the composition of Revelation was analyzed as a key to interpretation. This analysis was carried out in the context of two test passages, 20:11-21:10 and 6:1-8:5. in the first passage, the single vision-scenes of the Last Judgment (20: 11-15) and the descent of the New Jerusalem (21:1-10) were examined for internal structure and mode of narration, and each was found to be structured in a relatively static, pictorial and descriptive mode rather than a temporal, event-oriented mode. Certain commonly alleged anomalies in the order of the text and other exegetical problems were …

The Three Bartlebys Of Melville’S Tale, Gail M. Kienitz

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A study of any one of Herman Melville’s works is bound to be a fascinating and informative venture. Within the products of his prolific writing career are keen, precise, enlightening observations about nineteenth-century America. Religion, politics, business, literature, and philosophy are all within the realm of Melville’s careful consideration. Melville was a man who reacted to his world with intense curiosity and passion. Melville was also extremely introspective – searching, questioning, and examining himself with equal intensity.

“Bartleby the Scrivener” offers an interesting synthesis of Melville’s double vision. Within the confines of this tale are Melville’s reaction to his world …