Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Power Of Polish: Exploring The Impact Of Nail Adornments On Perceptions Of Attraction, Sara Demichele

Honors Theses

Understanding the significance of nail adornments in shaping perceptions of attractiveness and mate value provides insights into human behavior and preferences. In the current investigation, participants rated human nail length and color on physical attractiveness and partner desirability measures. Results revealed significant effects of nail length and color across different demographic groups. Medium-length nails consistently received higher ratings for physical attractiveness, cuteness, and partner desirability compared to short and long nails. White-colored nails were generally rated most attractive, while blue and black nails received the lowest ratings. Additionally, participants reported a moderate association between having manicured nails and feelings of …

Dress To Impress: New Composition Instructors' Interpretations And Embodiment Of Professionalism As Displayed Through Dress, Jacqueline C. Cano Diaz

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

While previous research in rhetoric and composition investigates how novice composition instructors negotiate the boundaries of professionalism and identity (Dall'Alba; Grouling; Restaino), the role of dress, or "performative strategic attire" (Mckoy), in crafting these teaching personas has not yet been explored. Viewing everyday dress choices through the lens of embodied rhetoric allows for a deeper understanding of the complex decision-making process of choosing what to wear (Woodward). Further, analyzing dress choice through embodied rhetoric showcases how clothing becomes a tool to craft a persona and inhabit an identity or role. Through positioning instructor's self-identity and naming their experiences and influences …

Addressing Salon Segregation: Structural Racism In The Salon Industry, Jessica S. Willson

Wayne State University Dissertations

In the United States, hair salons remain unofficially segregated by race, reflecting broader patterns of systemic inequality with deep historical roots and contemporary manifestations. This dissertation examines Black hair not merely as a physical attribute but as a profound aspect of cultural identity and personal expression. It aims to illuminate the broader implications of salon segregation, challenging the notion that it is a natural outcome of human preferences or tendencies. Instead, it argues that this segregation is the result of entrenched social processes, deliberate structural racism, and discriminatory policies that cause significant harm to Black individuals. By presenting testimonials from …

Desmitificación Del Personaje Migrante Mexicano Visto Como Delincuente En Estados Unidos En Novelas Contemporáneas Escritas Por Autores Mexicanos, Jesus Contreras Bazaldua

Wayne State University Dissertations

DESMITIFICACIÓN DEL PERSONAJE MIGRANTE MEXICANO VISTO COMO DELINCUENTE EN ESTADOS UNIDOS EN NOVELAS CONTEMPORÁNEAS ESCRITAS POR AUTORES MEXICANOS

by

JESÚS CONTRERAS BAZALDÚA

May 2024

Advisor: Dr. Hernán GarcíaMajor: Modern Languages (Spanish) Degree: Doctor of Philosophy This dissertation analyzes literary representations of male migrant characters of Mexican origin who legally or illegally enter the United States throughout the 20th century and the first decades of 21st century. The purpose is to examine the stereotype of the Mexican migrant seen as a criminal once they step foot on American soil in the following novels written by Mexican authors: Las aventuras de don …

Pitsl: A Miracle Play, Alethea Shirilan-Howlett

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

No abstract provided.

Security, Stability, Or Both? Peru's Complexities In Detaining German Peruvians, Brissa Campos Toscano

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

The United States established internment camps during World War II, detaining families from Latin American Countries for national security, with a focus on German, Italian, and Japanese ethnicities (Roosevelt 1941). However, German ethnicity families living in Latin America who were taken to internment camps in Crystal City, Texas, are less visible in history, Jane Jarboe Russell’s book “The Train to Crystal City” made some of the internees’ stories more visible. I will contend that the principal reason for Peru’s collaboration in the U.S-Latin American Internment Program was to obtain economic, political and social benefits from the United States which would …

A Strategy For Developing A Mentoring Ministry At Mount Olive Baptist Church In Kings Mountain, North Carolina, Charles Leon Webber

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Mentoring within the community of faith is a disciple-making process. Yet, research reveals bringing people together for shared learning experiences is a rarity. A four-week mentor training project at Mount Olive Baptist Church was developed to address the perceived need. Senior adult leaders received mentorship and training to engage with young adults. Although the statistical analysis was inconclusive, the project training sessions and qualitative feedback revealed positively a quest for other efforts in this direction.

Intro To Poetry: An Immersive Workshop Experience, My'chyl Purr

Theses

A syllabus driven thesis for an undergraduate intro to poetry class that starts at the foundation of poetry and builds to creating and performing poetry.

A Triage And Case Management Approach To Membership Management Prioritizing Soul Treatment, Dwayne K. Jones

Doctor of Ministry

Many individuals and families feel disillusioned by churches failing to address their emotional, physical, and spiritual needs. With limited research demonstrating how the needs of members are prioritized, the research we have done has shown triage is critical in evaluating the priority of treatment needs in life-saving matters. The question this dissertation addresses is if there is a triage and case management approach that can set a better course for prioritizing treatment and healing for an individual or family seeking restoration when joining the church. It aims to assess how this approach can target critical needs beyond regular church activities …

Exploring The Effects Of Art Therapy Interventions On Self-Evaluations Of Food Addiction: A Randomized Control Study, Dawn Fiacco

Art Therapy | Doctoral Dissertations

Processed sugar is highly addictive and associated with chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Often, people know that eating processed sugar has negative health consequences but continue to do so, possibly for emotional reasons. The gap between knowledge and behavior makes treating eating issues difficult. Art therapy is a nonverbal modality and could possibly circumvent usual rationalizations, making it an effective way to bridge the cognitive and emotional aspects of problematic eating. This randomized control, mixed methods study was conducted to examine whether a 7-week art directive program could help people with self-identified problematic …

An Analysis Of Traditional Pedagogical Practices With Innovative Strategies For Beginning Band Students With A Focus On Assessment, Higher-Order Thinking Skills And Differentiation, Cole Woods

Music Theses - Archive

Instrumental education is a field rich in tradition, with a strong foundation of methodology being codified in method books used by band directors around the country. Equally rich is the vibrant research community found within music education, and innovative techniques for teaching band are being presented yearly in both journals and conventions. These new strategies and additions to curriculum supported by recent research could potentially deepen the learning taking place in the instrumental music classroom. Nowhere is this more visible than in the wealth of new research, curricula, and literature that has been published regarding beginner instrumental music instruction in …

(Di)Versification: Transgressive Poetics In The Twenty-First Century Classroom, Ronnie K. Stephens

English Dissertations - Archive

(Di)versification: Transgressive Poetics in the Twenty-First Century Classroom pairs literary analysis with pedagogical implications in an attempt to argue for the increased use of poetry in the classroom as a mechanism to subvert anti-ethnic and anti-LGBTQ censorship efforts. I argue in favor of a structuralist approach to analyzing early twenty-first century poetry in the transgressive classroom as a site of resistance against legislative efforts to censor or prohibit discussions of structural racism in public education. The work is separated into five chapters, each of which interrogates distinct formal traditions in American poetry: received forms, invented forms, erasure, nontraditional forms, and …

The Creation And Destruction Of Zulu And Comanche Power During The 19th Century, Erhard M. Van Deventer Mr.

History Dissertations - Archive

During the 19th century, the Zulu and Comanche were two of the most powerful and dynamic indigenous peoples on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Both constructed regional powers that opposed European expansion based on their imperialistic nature, not to be confused with European imperialism. Comparing the Zulu and Comanche illustrates how each constructed an imperialistic realm and how their rise to power was connected to their keen use of conquest, diplomacy, and resource management as tools of statecraft in creating their domains. Their domains were created by imperialist expansion based on conquest. However, diplomacy and monopolizing essential regional resources …

Weaving Empire: The Role Of Wool, The Subjugated, The Enslaved, And The Convicted In Building The British Empire, 1699-1860, Lisa Y. Gabbert

History Dissertations - Archive

A bright red woolsack comprised of wool clippings from across England sits prominently in the House of Lords. King Edward III originally commissioned the cushion for the Speaker to sit upon while conducting Parliamentary business to signify the importance of the commodity. In 1699, as British trade and territorial interests expanded, Parliament issued the Wool Act. It outlined the expectations and limitations of wool production and exchange in British controlled territories. While the British economy benefitted from commodities such as tobacco, sugar, and cotton which was largely produced by convict and enslaved laborers in its colonies, wool remained an essential …

The Network For Autonomy: Development Of Early Black Voluntary Associations And The Progress Of The Black Community, Marc T. Williams

History Theses - Archive

This thesis centers around and attempts to answer the question: between the Revolutionary era and the beginning of the Civil War, how did some of the earliest local Black benevolent communities develop themselves over the course of their lifetime? Three Black benevolent societies established during the late eighteenth to mid nineteenth century period will be analyzed — the Free African Union Society of Newport and Providence Rhode Island, the Free African Society of Philadelphia and the New York African Society for Mutual Relief in Manhattan — to assist in answering this question. It follows the commonly held idea scholars have …

The Effect Of The Chemical And Physical Properties Of Cotton On The Retention Of Spermatozoa, Brynnen Hendrix

All ETDs from UAB

Studies have shown that spermatozoa persist on cotton fabric under various conditions after being washed multiple times. The purpose of this study was to observe the number of sperm cells removed from cotton fabric over the course of multiple wash cycles. This study also explored how various treatment methods impact the rate of removal and number of cells removed. In this study, sperm cells were counted using a hemacytometer to estimate the average number of cells in a 20 µL semen stain. Twenty stains were prepared on cotton fabric and washed in a microfuge tube with 200 µL of reverse …

Navigating Sexual Consent In Japan, Samara Mizutani Cesar

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Employing an exploratory sequential research design, including focus groups and an online survey, this thesis explores the factors influencing how Japanese people navigate the gray zones of sexual consent. This study not only addresses gaps in the literature on sexual consent but also provides a preliminary understanding of Japanese individuals’ perceptions, beliefs, behaviors, and experiences in ambiguous sexual interactions, which is particularly meaningful given Japan’s recent legal revisions and changing sociocultural landscape. Findings indicated the impact of traditional sexual scripts on consent perceptions, with gender and relationship norms contributing to the dismissal of sexual assaults within specific relationships. It was …

Word Reimagined: Analyzing Fanfiction's Transformative Force And Relationship With The Young Adult Literary Landscape, Megan Louise Reaves

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

In exploring the reciprocal relationship between fanfiction and Young Adult (YA) literature, this thesis investigates how these two forms of storytelling, influenced by authors such as Marissa Meyer and Rainbow Rowell, have profoundly impacted the literary landscape. Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles series and Rainbow Rowell's novels Fangirl and Carry On serve as prime examples of this dynamic interaction. Drawing from the rich traditions of oral storytelling and folklore, fanfiction and YA literature have undergone significant development and popularity, particularly in the twenty-first century, thanks to technological advancements and the rise of online communities. This thesis contends that despite their …

Body. Freedom. Choice: Creating Artwork In Post-Roe America, Erin Sedra

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

I knew from a young age that I never wanted children. Whenever I expressed my disinterest in motherhood, I was often met with bewilderment, disapproval, and hostility. The church I was raised in taught me that my value and worth as a woman directly correlated with the power of my birthing hips. This fundamentalist upbringing has significantly shaped my relationship with my femininity, my body, and my artwork. When I feel powerless, turning to my art gives me a sense of control and self-expression. This body of work began as a reaction to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and …

Invites Only: Exploring Social Dynamics And Self-Image Through Oil Paint, Mara Cressey

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

My thesis work depicts the events of a fictional party. Using oil paint, I create multi-figure works that feature recurring characters, various narratives, complex relationships, and emotions associated with this fictitious evening. Within this painted realm, I portray a more confident, powerful version of myself; an alter ego, who exists alongside these various characters. Drawing inspiration from compositional strategies from Renaissance art history and Christian altarpieces, I paint on large-scale, shaped canvas and paper to suggest doors, windows, and other domestic, interior spaces. Additionally, these shapes allow me to juxtapose suggestions of prominence and divinity with satire, irreverence, and profanity. …

Exploring Band Students' Motivations Regarding Instrument Selection, Aaron S. Morley

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

When choosing a beginning band instrument, students are faced with a choice that may be influenced by a variety of factors. These factors also interest band directors, who want students to choose an instrument that will be a good fit for their strengths while also being engaging to them. To assist directors in guiding students through instrument selection it is helpful to know what factors could influence students when they are choosing an instrument. To identify the factors that students report as impactful, beginning band students in five northwest Missouri school districts were surveyed about the influence of selected factors. …

Development And Implementation Of A Practice And Assessment Tool For Middle School Orchestra, Linda Kathy Hughes

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a practice and assessment tool, Skill Ladders, as used by my 7^th grade orchestra students. This is a tool that I created to help students focus on specific skill acquisition and musical development during their practice time. Designed for the middle section of intermediate level playing skills and aligned with curricular goals, students were to utilize this tool to set goals, practice, self-assess, and demonstrate progress. Prior to utilizing Skill Ladders, students completed a survey of baseline attitudes toward individual practice. After the trial period of the …

Empowered Womanhood In Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’S “Sultana’S Dream” And Greta Gerwig’S Barbie: Keys To The Ideal World, Tasnuva Tabassum

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s “Sultana’s Dream” (1905) and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (2023) present feminist utopias separated by more than a century. Despite the temporal gap, both works introduce worlds where traditional gender roles are reversed. This thesis explores Hossain’s and Gerwig’s suggestions to create ideal worlds through empowerment of women. Considering evolution of feminist utopian thought from the beginning of the twentieth century to the beginning of the twenty-first, and the differences in feminisms from East to West, this thesis analyzes the narrative structures, thematic elements, and cultural contexts of these works. Despite differences, both authors seek not just female but …

Outside Inside: Poems, Emma Jane Sullivan

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This creative thesis includes thirty-four poems and thirteen illustrations that investigate the topic of self-exploration, creative freedom, and liberatory pleasure. My poems are souvenirs from a failed ethical standard, a trove of misogynic micro-aggressions, a spotlight on the backward- ness of gender norms, and a surprisingly strong thread that links women to the planet and to shared language, a thread humankind continuously tries to cut. The methods of research were largely a self- study and one that required consistent reflection. The results were a collection of writings that had to be revised and edited with the guidance of my thesis …

More Than A Stop On The Way To Yellowstone: The Parks Of The Black Hills And Their Impact On Wilderness Preservation, Arianna Lynn Van Kley

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the ideologies that contributed to the establishment of public parks in the Black Hills of South Dakota as a microcosm for nationwide conversations about preservation, tourism, nationalism, colonialism, and commerce. Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial each complicate and enhance understandings of how public preservation projects emerged out of debates that included ideas outside environmental protection efforts. The people who supported the establishment of these parks, such as the McDonald and Stabler families, South Dakota Senator Peter Norbeck, state historian Doane Robinson, and sculptor Gutzon Borglum, implemented their own ideas across …

To Swallow The Sun, John Morris Cox

Selected Full-Text Master Theses 2021-

My creative fiction thesis To Swallow the Sun is part one of a novel of the same name. Cage, the protagonist, is a dreamer; he yearns for visceral experience and enjoys assignations with the night beyond his bedroom window; but as his desires draw him deeper into a world of his own, there are many who see nothing but a boy in need of fixing. After continually falling short of the expectations his family and society have crafted for him- abandoning work, “ruining” school plays, even failing to react to a prisoner’s execution- Cage is sent to a psychiatric ward. …

American Eyes, Heather Phillips

Dissertations and Theses

American Eyes, a memoir in essays in the vein of Elisabeth Eave’s Wanderlust: A Love Affair with Five Continents and Rebecca Solnit’s A Field Guide to Getting lost, examines how the desire to travel, quest, and be transformed is complicated by conventional notions of home, gender, success, and culture. In a collection that spans twenty-five years in Thailand, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, and the U.S., the author ponders the ramifications for women who eschew traditional notions of home and family to instead live life “on the road.” Exploring themes of travel, transformation, culture, identity, and (dis)embodiment as an American …

The Evolution Of The Iowa Living History Farms (Lhf) From The 1960s Through The 1980s, Ryan Moore

Dissertations and Theses

This master’s thesis examines the emergence and evolution of the Living History Farms (LHF) and the living history farm museum movement in the Midwest region during the decades of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Originally envisioned as institutions that preserved the knowledge of a form of farming that had largely disappeared due to the rise of post-WWII mechanized commercial agriculture, most Midwestern living history farm museum organizations in the 1970s and 1980s reacted to both societal and museum industry developments and made their exhibit site programming more inclusive of various demographic groups. The LHF responded to this trend by including …

Utopia And Dystopia In Shakespeare’S Plays, Wenhui Duan

Dissertations and Theses

Writers and literary scholars’ interest in utopian fiction has increased in the recent decades, although the term originates from Sir Thomas More’s 1516 Utopia. Many Shakespeare scholars show interest in studying Utopia in Shakespeare’s comedy The Tempest, but not many scholars study Utopia in other Shakespeare’s plays. The contrary to Utopia is Dystopia, which appears as a term in 1952, however, More has set out elements of Dystopia in his 1516 Utopia. Few scholars study Dystopia in Shakespeare’s plays. In three chapters, this thesis compares Utopia in two of Shakespeare’s comedies and Dystopia in two of Shakespeare’s tragedies from the …

迷茫．掙扎．反叛：論華北搖滾樂的空間敘事, Xinyue Shi

Dissertations from all years

本文從華北搖滾樂隊「萬能青年旅店」與「劉森」出發，通過分析其歌詞、專輯封面、宣傳海報等物料中對於不同空間的書寫，結合邁克·克朗《文化地理學》的理論知識，探討音樂作為文化傳播的「多重中介」之一，如何形成集體情感認同與文化記憶，本文也欲與「東北文藝復興」形成對話，探討東北與華北的不同之處，從而構建華北獨特的空間敘述。

文章主要分為三個部分，第一部分聚焦萬能青年旅店的工業城市構建，在大廈傾倒和信仰重建過程中研究當代中國搖滾樂的迷惘與反叛；第二部分將結合劉森歌詞中對於縣城空間的敘事，分析青年在城鄉對立之間的游離狀態；第三部分從人文轉向自然，俯瞰華北的太行山脈，探討發展主義與生態平衡之間的生態批評與反思。