Arts and Humanities Commons^™

An Examination Of Ministry Essentials For The 21 Century Post Pandemic African American Urban Church, Kenneth Sullivan Jr.

Doctor of Ministry

It is the goal of this research to explore the needs of the urban African American church in the post-pandemic era, and the adjustments it can make to remain a thriving, relevant entity within the culture. This body of work is designed to examine and explore how the African American church can pivot on a massive scale in this era. To pivot means to change course and/or direction. It refers to turning the body from one position or orientation to another. The church is referred to as the body of Christ in scripture, a body that may benefit by shifting …

Artistic Representation And Self Esteem, Brianna Davis

Honors College Theses

Dependent upon the constructs of the perception of self and the viewpoint of others, humans base the value of their self esteem on outer perspectives rather than internal ones. For this thesis in particular, the outer perspective to be examined is representation in the field of the arts. This thesis project explores the process of self esteem, artistic representation in the arts, how one affects the other, a history of the correlation between the two, and ways to inform and educate the masses with the tools necessary to advance representation in the arts thus raising the self esteem of its …

Boundary Lines Crossed? Seeking Honor After The Vietnam War Took Their Sons, Hannah Ackerman

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

On June 3 1969, a Navy destroyer, USS Frank E. Evans DD-754 and seventy-four Evans sailors who were serving on her were killed in an accident with the Australian aircraft carrier, HMAS Melbourne, in the South China Sea. Family members would later discover their names were not inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. due to criteria which disqualified them. Facts of the Evans case to determine if the names of 74 Evans sailors rightfully belong on the Wall are examined. Continuing legislative efforts by the Evans Association to put the names on the Wall and other …

The Pandemic-Uncanny: Self-Estrangement And Environment In Out There And Bliss Montage, Kersten Khaley

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the WHO on March 11, 2020. The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency lasted from January 30, 2020, to May 11, 2023. During this time, abundant literature across disciplines began appearing, assessing the pandemic experience and aftermath. However, there needs to be more investigation and application of the term uncanny in the pandemic experience and literature.

Two short story collections, Out There by Kate Folk and Bliss Montage by Ling Ma, both published in 2022, are works of pandemic literature demonstrating the pandemic's inherent uncanniness and the human experience. The term pandemic-uncanny represents an inherent attachment …

Graduate Recital Yuxiao Sun, Piano, Yuxiao Sun

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Yuxiao Sun presented a solo piano recital on November 2, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. in Davis Hall of the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center at the University of Northern Iowa. This recital marked a partial completion of her Master of Music degree in Piano Performance. The program included the following works: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 “Appassionata” by Ludwig van Beethoven, Partita No.1 in B flat Major, BWV 825 by Johann Sebastian Bach, and Pour le Piano, L. 95 by Claude Debussy.

Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 “Appassionata” by Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig …

A Graduate Recital In Piano, Christine Compton

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Christine Compton presented a full graduate piano recital on Monday, November 6th, 2023. The recital was presented at 6:00 p.m. in Davis Hall in the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. This recital was given in partial fulfillment of the Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy. It consisted of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, and Claude Debussy. This abstract contains further discussion of performed works.

“What Do Any Of Us Really Know About Love:” A Discussion Of Irony Within Raymond Carver’S Short Story Cycle What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Niyonna Johnson

Honors College Theses

With minimalist technique, Raymond Carver manages to accurately depict a depressed working-class America. Current contemporary criticism has focused on the main themes of Carver’s work such as the struggle with identity, alcoholism, disconnection, and domesticity hardships; the one ideal that has seemed to be missing is the irony that lies within the lives of the characters. This paper will analyze, in depth, short stories from a short story cycle of Raymond Carver and detail how their current situations are directly juxtaposed by their occupations and how this benefits the currently discussed themes of his work.

Evil No More: The Image Of The Witch And Women In The United States From Seventeenth And Twentieth Centuries, Morgan Taylor Peacha

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Women in both colonial America and the twentieth century United States were impacted by the notions of witches and witchcraft. There was an integral change in witchcraft during the era of growing feminism and equality in political status. In the colonial period, what was once a disguise for women's oppression, has become a tool for women's liberation.

Influenced: Performing Gender And Femininity In Mormon And Evangelical Online Spaces, Kathryn Ann Davis

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The construction of a digital self is fully performative; online identities are simultaneously highly curated, edited, and uniquely personal. These spaces allow users to become producers of identity and religious narrative. In this dissertation I examine the online communities which are a dynamic and developing aspect of religious life in America. I will argue that religious women have created increasingly diverse virtual spaces for themselves, and that these online communities give women a safe space to talk about their faith and create common bonds with other female adherents. I have engaged with these creators directly through oral history interviews and …

Curatorial Practice Project For Art Exhibition : From The Island To The Woods, Suphavinee Srisopon

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This paper presents the artistic research and creation centered on using art to support individuals dealing with personal health issues. The initiative seeks to remind them of a shared journey, offering a platform for self-expression through diverse art forms and workshops. Inspired by the curator's personal experiences, the exhibition aims to transcend superficial trends in addressing personal struggles authentically. Exploring the etymology of "curate" from "curare," meaning "to take care of," the curator sees their role as nurturing and assisting others. Through art, the exhibition strives to foster an environment fostering solace, understanding, and peace for individuals facing challenges. The …

Needs Salt, Joshua Lang

Dance (MFA) Theses

Researcher Joshua Lang investigates the development of the Eden narrative in western culture. Near the beginning of the book of Genesis, the Eden narrative provides a lens to culturally significant elements of early Hebrew culture. Genesis illustrates early Hebrew culture’s relationship with the natural world, sex, sin, judgment, and death. Similarly, John Milton’s retelling of the narrative in Paradise Lost divulges information about the culture that Milton lived in, as well as a great deal about the author himself. Milton’s blindness, and his opinions on heteronormative marriage, Protestantism, sin, judgment, and death are evident in the text. In Paradise Lost …

Dancing Through Loss, Tracy Vogt

Dance (MFA) Theses

This thesis project aims to examine and interrogate the embodiment of grief through the comparison of western concert dance works choreographed by Antony Tudor, Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, Bill T. Jones, Anna Halprin, and Camille A. Brown. This research will culminate in a choreographic work reflecting and responding to my own personal journey with grief and loss while also incorporating and integrating the process of the choreographers studied.

#Iykyk: Tiktok As A Subversive Space: Democratizing Dance And Shifting Artistic Paradigms, Meagan Dodini

Dance (MFA) Theses

The emergence of TikTok as a platform for dance content has revolutionized the dance industry providing new avenues for exposure, creativity, and self-promotion. Researcher Meg Dodini explores the impact of TikTok on the institution of dance, investigating opportunities for increased visibility, collaboration, and brand sponsorships. Moreover, TikTok has facilitated the creation of new dance styles and trends, fostering collaboration between artists and engagement with the viewer. It is important to acknowledge the drawbacks of TikTok's influence. This research or thesis aims to explore the potential biases surrounding the expectations of dance regarding appearance, spaces, and performance. It argues that TikTok …

Erosion: Landscape Reveals Us, John Alexander Mcbride

Dance (MFA) Theses

This thesis explores the connective tissue between the land on which we stand and the body we inhabit. Through the lens of climate change and erosion, this research unveils the lasting effects of severe and traumatic weather patterns on the psychology and physiology of those who continue to endure them. How bodies (capitalistic bodies, collective bodies, and our personal bodies) treat the land and each other affects us all—we are all part of the eroding ecosystem, linked together by the soil beneath our feet. The soil that has been scorched and stolen, mined and massacred. The soil that is fertile …

Queering Empathy, Robert Wesner

Dance (MFA) Theses

This research is an exploration of personal utopia by locating oneself within the worlds of dance and dance studies, deconstructing past lived experiences where queer futurity presents itself, and connecting them with present and future realities. The critical research manifests within a practice of reconstructing a non-linear understanding of one’s personhood. Creating artwork and sculpture, songwriting, editing dance and dance on film, and exploring the self as a partner of each medium reveals a greater sense of physical, emotional, and social structures that allow, inhibit, or deny one their place historically. Investigating one’s agency and personal autonomy, and the lack …

Retention Rate Factors Of Junior Enlisted Females In The U.S Marine Corps, Iris I. Esquilin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The modern United States Armed Forces is the largest and most powerful military force the world has ever experienced, and the U.S. Marine Corps represents the most elite members thereof, claiming the iconic tagline “The Few, The Proud.” However, while the Marine Corps expends considerable effort in recruiting excellent personnel, the branch also faces a high turnover rate, with 75.0% of first-year enlistees choosing not to continue their service for a subsequent term. This retention problem is especially pronounced with respect to female Marines, who only make up 8.0% of the Marine force, the lowest of any U.S. military branch. …

Grade 3 Teachers’ Perceptions Of Challenges And Supports In Addressing Socioemotional Needs Of African American Students, Lavina Nicole Covin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Empirical evidence from researchers suggested that socioemotional learning is essential to academic success, reducing negative behaviors, and building confidence and resilience. The problem explored in this basic qualitative study was that Grade 3 teachers in Title I schools were not adequately equipped to handle African American students’ socioemotional and mental health needs. Guided by Seligman’s positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishments theory, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of 10 local district Title I Grade 3 teachers regarding the challenges they face, and support they need to provide adequate socioemotional and mental health interventions …

Exploring Secondary Teachers’ Efficacy In Using Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In The Classroom, Romanus Sylvester Leonce

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractCulturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) is an approach to teaching that emphasizes teaching within the culture of the student. Culturally relevant pedagogy is proposed to help African American students increase reading achievement, yet research shows it is sometimes unclear to teachers how to implement CRP in their classrooms. Understanding teachers’ efficacy in using CRP and perceptions of CRP is important because it has been linked to increasing student reading achievement. A basic interpretive qualitative study was conducted using Bandura’s social learning theory (SLT) . In this study, 10 secondary school teachers and administrators were interviewed. All the participants in the study …

Career Progression: Narrative Study Of Impediments Affecting Army Female Officer Advancement From Major To Lieutenant Colonel, Jeremia M. Van

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractQualitative narrative inquiry was used to understand the accounts and experiences of female officers in the United States Army that were once stationed in South Korea, who did not advance to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In today’s military, female officers still face many challenges during their advancement from Major to Lieutenant Colonel, relative to their male counterparts. The specific problem is the underrepresentation of female majors in the Army who compete for promotion to the lieutenant colonel rank. The researcher explored the experiences of 14 female Army officers that served in South Korea and sought out promotions from the …

Discrepancies In Race, Occupational Prestige Score, Socioeconomic Index, Income/Wealth, And Social Class Between Blacks And Whites, Queensley Udofia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An argument that has gained prominence recently is that race is/will no longer be a significant factor in explaining any Black - White gaps. The argument is that in the post-Civil Rights era, the implementation of affirmative action and antidiscrimination policies at local, state, and federal levels has closed, if not almost erased, the gaps between Blacks and Whites. Research, however, has disputed the claims of proponents of color-blindness that issues of race are on the decline and will no longer be a factor in explaining racial inequalities between Blacks and Whites. This study used General Social Survey 2021 data …

Role Strain And The Mental Health Of College-Educated African American Women, Andrea Alston-Brundage

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractWomen occupy many roles today, including wife, partner, parent, student, employee, and caregiver. This study addressed the effects of multiple roles on degreed African American women. The specific purpose was to assess the relationships between the marital and parental roles and employment status of college-educated African American women and assess mental health impacts as a result of role strain. The theoretical foundation for the study was Goode's role strain theory. The Working Women’s Role Strain Inventory, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and General Anxiety Disorder-7 were administered to 82 women participants between the ages of 22 and 61 who were involved in …

Paul R. Williams At Work In Photographs: Tarrying With Cites/Sights/Sites Of Trouble, Denise M. Johnson

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Ariella Azoulay and W. J. T. Mitchell have called for a new users’ manual for photographs, urging that theory finally wrest itself from the authoritative singular gaze of the patriarchal imperial photographer so that the plurality inherent within the ontology of viewing photographs be engaged. Azoulay cogently argues that the photographer is not the only person to act when a photographic event takes place. By turning critical analysis to the photographic subject and advising viewers to both watch and listen to photographs rather than gaze, a space of appearance is activated in which the photographic subject engages in dialogue with …

Piano Instruction: Reframing The Master-Apprentice Model Through The Integration Of Dialogic Processes, Rebecca Holman Williams

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Private piano instruction is a niche field within the broader spectrum of pedagogy with idiosyncrasies that separate it from the traditional classroom. The learning in a private lesson encompasses cognitive, affective, and motor skills, often all at the same time, in a relatively intimate setting. Historically, this teaching and learning environment has followed the master-apprentice model of instruction. However, with newer research in learning sciences supporting social constructivist frameworks for student learning, a blended pedagogical approach is suggested. Dialogic pedagogy and cognitive apprenticeship are used in tandem with traditional precision training methodologies to foster student learning outcomes of metacognition, agency, …

As Below So Above: Reconstructing The Neo-Babylonian Worldview, Heather Marie Burrow

CGU Theses & Dissertations

To add to our knowledge about a Near Eastern culture, this project examines through textual evidence how the early first millennium BCE Neo-Babylonians thought, reasoned, and wrote in order to partially reconstruct the shared, generally held worldview of the Neo-Babylonian people using the transdisciplinary approach of worldview analysis. Worldviews are what we use to think with, not what we think about. Underlying surficial cultural behaviors are deeper levels of cognition regarding how to reason, perceive the world, prioritize values, prescribe behavior, and explain all of life. Specifically, this work examines the language and logic reflected in the textual archive, believing …

Mental Health Utilization Among Former Pregnant And Parenting Teen Mothers, Chana Danielle Campbell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teen pregnancy and parenting at an early age can create numerous emotional stressors. Despite the documented need for mental health services among pregnant and parenting mothers, utilization rates of mental health services remain low. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the experiences of pregnant and parenting mothers who utilized mental health services. Bandura’s social learning theory was used to explore how the experiences, perceptions, learned behaviors, thoughts, and beliefs surrounding mental health services impacted teen mothers’ experiences with mental health utilization. One-on-one interviews were conducted with eight teen mothers or other young mothers who had given …

Caucasian Social Workers’ Cultural Competence Regarding Advance Care Planning Among Southern African Americans, Lisa Mitchell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Caucasian social workers who work in healthcare and implement advance care planning (ACP) may not be competent regarding African Americans’ reluctance to complete advance directives. Research is lacking on how Caucasian social workers in Louisiana are increasing their cultural competence regarding the interplay of historical trauma, past medical mistrust, and spiritual beliefs on African Americans’ use of ACP. This study explored how Caucasian social workers are increasing their cultural competence regarding the interplay of historical trauma, past medical mistrust, and spiritual beliefs on African Americans’ use of ACP. The conceptual framework that guided this study was the cultural competence model. …

Education Program To Increase Nurses' Knowledge Of Faith Community Nursing, Lovell Thurmon Sweeten Cartwright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe practice problem was a group of nurses practicing as faith community nurses (FCNs) who had no training in FCN practice, a specialty recognized by the American Nurses Association. This problem was important to address within the context of nursing practice because the nurses could have acted outside of their scope of practice and caused harm. The practice-focused question addressed whether a staff education program for FCNs would increase their knowledge of their role in a church setting with the goal of developing independent FCNs. The model guiding the project was the health promotion model. Eleven registered nurses were recruited …

Nigerian Women Entrepreneurs’ Narratives On Collective Action For Economic Empowerment And Gender Parity, Elizabeth Oyanu Ujah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While entrepreneurship has offered some potential for empowering subordinated women in urban areas of Nigeria, a literature gap exists on urban Nigerian women entrepreneurs' narratives to understand better how their collective action may further support economic empowerment and gender parity. The purpose of this qualitative, narrative inquiry study was to understand how women entrepreneurs in urban Nigeria view their work to gain economic empowerment and gender parity through collective action. The narrative inquiry method was used to address the problem and answer the research question using interview data from 10 urban female Nigerian entrepreneurs. This study was framed by two …

Internal Control Strategies To Limit Nonprofit Organization Fraud And Embezzlement Costs., Ralston K. Tracey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractEmployee intent to commit fraud and embezzlement costs has the potential for adverse business outcomes. Nonprofit leaders are concerned with employee fraud and embezzlement costs as it is the main predictor of employee wrongdoing and increase the chances of their organization's failure. Grounded in fraud triangle theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore internal control strategies nonprofit leaders use to limit fraud and embezzlement costs. The participants were eight leaders from four nonprofit organizations in the Southeastern United States who successfully used strategies to prevent fraudulent financial losses in their organizations. Data were collected from semistructured …

Understanding African American Mothers’ Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Autism-Related Services For Their Autistic Children In Rural Communities, Brandi J. Treadway

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study aimed to address the gap in the literature related to understanding African American mothers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the available services provided to their children diagnosed with autism living in rural communities. The theoretical framework used for this study is the racial formation theory as a lens for completing this study. The research question explored African American mothers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of autism-related services provided to their children with autism in rural communities. The research design chosen for this study is a generic qualitative design using semi-structured interviews for data collection from 10 African American mothers …