Arts and Humanities Commons^™

How The Book Of Genesis Addresses The Problem Of Evil From A Biblical Theological Perspective, Fabio Delgado

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The study focuses on the conventional conception of God, specifically, the question of the problem of evil from a Biblical theological perspective. Theists believe that God is supremely powerful, completely benevolent, and all-knowing. Evil may be found everywhere, as seen in our everyday lives: sickness, natural catastrophes, warfare, a lack of opportunity for advancement, poverty, bigotry, murder, animal abuse, and the list goes on.1 According to conventional beliefs, the problem of evil arises from the apparent contradiction in stating that the Lord, who possesses unlimited power and is kind-hearted, is the origin of all that is good while also acknowledging …

Shaping Music Education: Insights From High School And Collegiate Band Directors On Russell Boone's Influence, Devanon Petallio Fitzgerald

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite the valuable contributions and impacts that Historically Black Colleges and Universities band directors have made toward collegiate and high school band programs, there is little research on the contributions and implications of Russell Boone, a former band director and pioneer of the marching band program at Mississippi Valley State University. While many secondary school and collegiate band directors employ his techniques, only a few have highlighted his importance. Under the leadership of Russell Boone, the MVSU marching band made history as the first band from an HBCU to participate in the Rose Bowl parade. Additionally, the band participated in …

Perceived Effective Strategies For Teaching English Language Learners In Secondary Choral Settings, Corrina Guadalupe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As the population of English Learners (ELs) continues to grow in U.S. public schools, secondary music educators must be equipped to provide inclusive and equitable instruction. This study investigates secondary choral directors’ challenges, instructional strategies, and beliefs in supporting EL students. Survey responses from 17 choral educators and follow-up interviews with two participants revealed that language barriers, time constraints, and insufficient training were the most frequently cited obstacles. Educators reported using strategies such as repetition, simplified language, and peer support systems; however, tools like bilingual materials and translation technology were underutilized despite being perceived as effective. Interview data emphasized fostering …

A Comparison Of Sight-Reading Methods For Instrumental Ensembles With The Consideration Of Engagement, Nicholas A. Luchterhand

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite the fact that nearly all band programs competing in festivals are evaluated on sight-reading ability, minimal research exists regarding specific pedagogical sight-reading methods and their effectiveness. Traditionally, music educators have used scales, rhythm books, method books, and technical exercises as warm-ups in order to improve overall music reading skills. Employing these methods is also known as the Music Fundamentals Approach. However, researchers have challenged this as the best method for development. To evaluate potential advantages among different approaches, a quantitative study will compare success rates of three sight-reading acquisition methods across separate high school band classes: one employing a …

A Woman’S Worth: A Portrait Of Single, Unmarried Women In Fiction, Megan V. Jenkins

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the characterization of single women and the theme of singleness in fiction and explores how nineteenth-century British literature portrayed single women using the writers’ observations of societal standards and cultural shifts throughout the century. The artist statement delves into the inspiration and origins of the project, along with a personal journey to faith. The critical paper titled “A Portrait of Single Women in Nineteenth-Century British Literature” analyzes five British novels, Emma, Jane Eyre, Shirley, Middlemarch, and The Portrait of a Lady, that discuss single women or have a theme of singleness. The creative manuscript portion is the …

Designing For Neurodiversity: Creating Adhd-Friendly Digital Publications, Yenelys Acosta Baxter

Masters Theses

Current digital publications often fail to meet the needs of neurodiverse audiences, such as those with ADHD, which leads to low engagement and cognitive overload. This thesis explored how ADHD-friendly designs can be incorporated into current digital magazines to create accessible and engaging reading content for neurodiverse readers. Providing a guide can assist with creating more diverse content and allows designers to have a reference for future publications. The research applied also goes over the literature review, case studies, visual analysis, and surveys to help showcase the best results for designing for ADHD readers. Some of the case studies' main …

Multicultural Worship: How A Korean-Led Multicultural Church In America Works Toward Unity Through Diverse Worship, Kylie Barbara Halter

Masters Theses

This study follows Praise International Ministry (PIM), part of Praise Assembly of God in Springfield, Missouri, United States, for their first year of ministry. The pastor of the ministry is a Korean immigrant, and the ministry has served people from at least ten different nations, including China, Japan, Mexico, and Egypt. The goal of the study was to find out how a congregation made up of multiple cultures could attain unity.

To answer the above question, the researcher observed the congregation by attending services, as well as serving on the worship team and attending leadership meetings. In addition, she conducted …

Faith In Fiction As A Craft Element: A Great Way Off, Leah Matlock

Masters Theses

The following thesis includes an artist statement, critical paper, and the first ten chapters of my novel, A Great Way Off, that I began writing at the beginning of my academic career in 2019. This piece ultimately showcases all I have learned through my degree and how I have incorporated my faith into my writing.

My artist statement discusses why I am passionate about including the Gospel in everything I write along with the inspiration and story behind A Great Way Off. The critical paper discusses the importance of integrating faith into literature, as well as an examination of the …

Successful Habits Of Small Historically Black College And University Band Programs, William Thomas Brooks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study is to identify successful habits associated with the establishment, development, and sustainability of historically black college and university band programs consisting of less than 128 instrumentalists. The success of large Historically Black College and University (HBCU) band programs often highlights and markets the brand of the HBCU experience. Despite the gleaming success of widely popular schools, there is varied success among smaller programs with less visibility. HBCU bands around the country operate with fewer than 128 band instrumentalists, with some demonstrating more successful behaviors than their larger counterparts. Despite their efforts, these programs sometimes …

Hope As A Source To Strengthen Chaplain Resiliency In The Christian And Missionary Alliance, Javier M. Torres-Chinea

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research project intends not only to assess the levels of hope of the population of chaplains of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, but also to educate on how hope can strengthen resilience. Using Snyder's Theory of Hope (2000) provides a theoretical framework that allows a positive vision of the social and employment situation of millions of people. Snyder's Adult Hope Scale measures the hope trait in the chaplains, both male and female, between the ages of 25-65. For the participants, a questionnaire called the Hope Questionnaire was used. The SurveyPlanet website, to be distributed, answered, and collected data through …

The Nation’S Cold Becomes The Black Community’S Flu: A Phenomenological Study Of Vicarious Traumatization Amongst Black Clergy Affected By Community Violence, Robyn C. Hill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Clergy are often the frontline community workers when it comes to mental health crises and trauma, especially those working within the Black communities. Black clergy frequently serve in environments with high community violence exposure and are usually subject to vicarious traumatization due to repetitive exposure to trauma narratives during their ministry work. However, studies on vicarious trauma have been geared more towards clinical mental health workers, while studies on clergy have focused more on professional burnout. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to understand the experience of vicarious traumatization of Black clergy who serve congregations that are exposed to …

Self-Perception, Socioeconomic, And Gender Factors In Third Grade Rhythm Improvisation, Patrick W. Thames

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative causal-comparative research design examines differences in rhythmic improvisational skills and self-perception among third graders from different socioeconomic backgrounds. This study includes participants from two different socioeconomic backgrounds: an affluent private elementary school and an elementary school with low socioeconomic status in Pulaski County, Arkansas. (N=32) This study includes the administration of the Rhythmic Improvisational Readiness Record (RIRR), which includes self-perception components and peer evaluation. Researchers use two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to examine differences in gender and socioeconomic status and analyze causal comparative data that reveal the relationship between self-perceived ability and the participants' actual improvisational skills. This …

Surveillance, Punishment, And Rebellion: The Eye Of Sauron And Foucauldian Panopticism In J. R. R. Tolkien’S The Lord Of The Rings, Isabel M. Birge

Journal of Tolkien Research

This article uses Michel Foucault's theory of Panopticism, as outlined in his book Discipline and Punish as a framework for understanding the role of surveillance in Middle-earth throughout J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Drawing parallels between Foucault’s understanding of the Panopticon of Jeremy Bentham and Tolkien’s depiction of Sauron’s totalitarian vision, the paper explores the ways in which power operates invisibly through intermediaries, such as the Orcs and the Nazgûl, who internalize Sauron’s all-seeing gaze and perpetuate his dominion as well as through magical/technological means of gazing such as the Palantíri. This essay argues that, …

Homeplace As A Methodology Of Care: Conducting Critical Qualitative Research With 2slgbtqia+ Youth In Higher Education, K. Rende Mendoza, Ferial Pearson, Isa Manhart

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This paper addresses the alarming trend of policies and legislative actions targeting diversity, equity, inclusion, and affirmation/accessibility (DEIA) efforts in higher education, particularly those affecting 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. These policies not only pose a direct threat to the physical and psychological safety of marginalized students but also undermine the institutional support systems essential for their personal and academic development. Authored by a nonbinary undergraduate and two 2SLGBTQIA+ teacher education researchers, our paper explores student-led critical qualitative research as a countermeasure to these regressive policies. Building from bell hooks' conception of homeplace, we offer our suggestions for establishing safe, supportive, and liberatory …

Bfa Dance Showcase

Dance Programs

No abstract provided.

The Application Of Syncopated Rhythms In The Development Of Sight-Reading Skills For Non-Keyboard Music Majors, Ronald David Rodriguez Herrera

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigates the impact of integrating syncopated rhythms into the group piano curriculum for undergraduate music students with varied levels of piano proficiency. Participants (N=76) enrolled in Group Piano II and IV were assigned control and experimental groups across multiple class sections. Three research questions guided the study: (1) How does the introduction of syncopated rhythm patterns affect group piano students’ sight-reading performance? (2) How does consistent practice of syncopated rhythms influence students' ability to sustain a steady pulse? (3) Do students consider exposure to syncopated rhythms a valuable component in their future careers as music educators …

Selected Artificial Intelligence Provisions In U.S. Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The 2025 Fiscal Year National Defense Authorization Act contains multiple provisions relating to artificial intelligence (AI). These congressionally mandated provisions direct various sections of the Department of Defense (DOD) and individual U.S. armed service branches to execute congressional intent for AI policymaking. Examples of such intent include identifying and planning DOD's AI workforce, demonstrating AI biotechnology applications for national security, improving the human usability of AI systems, and establishing an AI security center. This presentation will note that reports on these initiatives must be prepared for relevant congressional oversight committees, and, in many cases, are in many cases, publicly released …

Cmlit 101w Syllabus, Alexander Moudrov

Open Educational Resources

The syllabus for CMLIT 101W (Global Literatures 1) based on open-source materials.

Who Really Invented Servant Leadership?, Essraa Nawar

Library Articles and Research

"That program gave me tools and vocabulary I still carry today—frameworks like transformational leadership, emotional intelligence, and ethical decision-making. But one concept stood out to me more than any other: servant leadership.

Robert Greenleaf’s idea that a great leader begins as a servant—putting others’ needs first, listening deeply, and nurturing the growth of others—felt less like something I was learning, and more like something I was remembering.

Because I had seen it before. Not in business school. Not in theory. But in faith, family, and the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ."

Poetries Of Abandonment: A Study Of Plath And Glück, Yara Abdelmoneim

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the intersection between literature and trauma, which can be discerned in the key works of two poets, Sylvia Plath and Louise Glück. While offering readings of crucial poems, the thesis also examines the interrelations among trauma, memory and narrative as theorized by two contemporary psychiatrists, Bessel van der Kolk and Judith Herman. Both Plath and Glück wrote about personal and generational trauma after going through different experiences of abandonment. Absence, indirection and repetition provide the basis for literary techniques that allow their traumas to be better understood by authors and readers alike. The degree to which each …

[2025 Honorable Mention] Ice: Trauma, And The War On Immigrant Families, Brittney M. Williams

Ethnic Studies Research Paper Award

This paper exposes how immigration enforcement under the Trump administration’s second term has crossed the line from policy to persecution. ICE is operating like a secret police force, using fear tactics and legal loopholes to tear families apart without cause or due process. The impact is not theoretical. It is real, measurable, and devastating. Children are being taken from schools. Parents are disappearing without explanation. Communities are being pushed into silence and survival mode. This paper focuses on the trauma being inflicted, especially on immigrant youth, and the way outdated laws like the Alien Enemies Act are being twisted to …

Oral History Interview With Fairolyn Livingston, Fairolyn Livingston, Wenxian Zhang

Oral Histories

Fairolyn H. Livingston ’83 is known as the “institutional memory of Winter Park’s west side,” where she was born and raised by what she lovingly refers to as a village. She earned her bachelor’s degree in humanities from Rollins’ Hamilton Holt School, is a retired human service specialist with the State of Florida, and has been associated with the Heritage Center since it opened in 2007, becoming its chief historian in 2014. In 1997, Livingston received the Rhea Marsh and Dorothy Lockhart Smith Research Grant—awarded annually by Rollins’ Olin Library in partnership with the Winter Park Public Library—to support research …

Crafting Myths In Modern Times: Essentialising Duty, Obligation And Exchange In Religious Tourism, Anuja Jose, Vinita Chandra, Uday Pratap Singh

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper aims to study the factors that contribute to the success of present-day myths in religious tourism. It also seeks to investigate the factors that compel modern pilgrims to accept a certain myth and the role played by stakeholders of religious tourism in the creation of a myth. In order to explore these research questions, Kauḍī Mātā temple in Varanasi, a popular religious tourist spot for Southern Indians, was chosen for Case Study. Qualitative data have been generated through in-depth interviewing. Simultaneously, several myths of goddess Kauḍī Mātā were recovered from textual and digital sources in addition to the …

The Unicorn And Christ – Metamorphosis And Symbology, Luis Mendonça De Carvalho, Francisca Maria Fernandes, Maria Fátima Nunes, Ana Maria Costa, Paula Nozes, Ana Paula Figueira

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The unicorn is a legendary chimaera that, for centuries, has been present in the mindset of Euro-Mediterranean cultures. Although its morphological description changed, tradition identifies it as an animal like a horse, albeit smaller and with a spiralling horn on its head pointing forward. The unicorn has been known since Antiquity, with references by authors such as Ctesias and Pliny. However, its relevance for medieval Europeans began with the Biblical references to this animal in several Old Testament verses. These verses gave legitimacy to the unicorn, and it was accepted as a tangible animal. During the Middle Ages and early …

Spirituality And The Quest For Transcendence On The Portuguese Way Of St. James, José Luís Braga, Miguel Pazos Otón, Isabel Borges

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela is a kind of proto tourism in a world where the number of pilgrimages has increased considerably. In the past the only motivation for such pilgrimages was religious, today we are witnessing the emergence of new motivations, such as cultural and even sporting ones. The research questions that guide this study are the following: Are faith and religion still strong enough motivations to justify pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela? Are there points of convergence between religious and secular pilgrims? Can the Camino be a means of awakening religious vocations? In short, what is the …

The Otley Y. J. S. Chapbooks, A Critical Edition, Michelle Dewitt, Ainsley Farmer, Kenna Fry, Elitza Hallam, Wilson Hurdle, Whitney Hutchings, Kemry Jensen, Evva Kreitlein, Samuel Peterson, Caroline Salmeron, Olivia Toone, Gabby Tracey, Elliana Valentino, Laura Vance

Student Works

The L. Tom Perry Special Collections in the Harold B. Lee Library at BYU contains a collection of sixteen small, yellow chapbooks, each with eight pages of text and hand-colored woodcut illustrations. The titles in this series range from well-known and well-loved tales such as “The History of Cinderella,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and “Jack the Giant Killer,” to less familiar “Capitals of Europe,” “The History of Peter Brown,” and “The Old Man and his Ass.” These chapbooks are unattributed and undated, bearing only a notice that they were “printed for the booksellers” by the Yorkshire J. S. Publishing & …

All But Mud & Memories, Chase Lt Romero

LSU Master's Theses

All But Mud & Memories addresses the inevitability of erosion and land loss near my homeland of Algiers Point— locally known as The Point— through the perspective of locals and visitors, in addition to my own experience. Located near New Orleans across the Mississippi River, Algiers Point holds a community that shares a tender bond with the levee that protects their home and day-to-day interactions. Often in discussions of wetland events in Louisiana, the focus is on land and environmental losses rather than the surrounding culture. I provide a more community-centered narrative by expressing what’s to be lost if the …

Surviving The Void: Identity Threats And The Plague Of Violence In Rawi Hage’S De Niro’S Game, Yasmine Nabil M. A. Ahmed Dr

Computer Science

Abstract In the postcolonial era, many third-world countries, instead of enjoying prosperity, were driven into longterm civil wars and political unrest. Among the Arab countries which were plagued by a prolonged social conflict is Lebanon where the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990) lasted nearly 15 years, devastating the social fabric of the country. Among the novelists who capture this critical period in the history of Lebanon is the Lebanese-Canadian author Rawi Hage. Characterized by his nihilist and apocalyptic tone, Rawi Hage portrays, in his De Niro’s Game (2006), the chaos of war and its impact on personal and national identities. Through …

Miracles Have Subjective Meaning For Religious Travellers, Even If They Are Not Supernatural, Stephen F. Haller

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Miracles still play a role in religious tourism even though it is impossible to distinguish them as divinely inspired, rather than derived from ‘mere’ psychological causes. One might ask whether it matters to a religious tourist or pilgrim that the adoption of a religious attitude to the mysteries of miracles is not grounded in religious belief in the supernatural. Are religious tourists and pilgrims not just inventing comforting illusions in wilful ignorance?

This philosophical paper will relate a few examples of miracles; and explain how the experience of miracles is a subjective experience, and not an objective belief in a …

“Somehow Form A Family”: Tony Earley’S Assertion Of Commonality To Highlight Difference, Emily M. Lewan

2024 Symposium

Tony Earley’s essay “Somehow Form a Family” presents a unique exploration of family life in America via the lens of satire. This paper delves into Earley’s adept use of exaggerated satire to illustrate the individual American family experience under the guise of complete commonality. Through employing formal analysis, television references, and biographical anecdotes, Earley develops a narrative that suggests universal experiences to be shared by all, only to reveal the diversity and complexity of every household. Insight from scholars Valentina Varinelli and Ayelet Kohn provides a deeper analysis of the implications of Tony Earley’s satirical approach. Their assessment highlights Earley’s …