Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Pursuing West: The Viking Expeditions Of North America, Jody M. Bryant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose to this thesis is to demonstrate the activity of the Viking presence, in North America. The research focuses on the use of stones, carved with runic inscriptions that have been discovered in Oklahoma, Maine, Rhode Island and Minnesota. The thesis discusses orthographic traits found in the inscriptions and gives evidence that links their primary use to fourteenth century Gotland. Also connecting the stones to Gotland, is the presence of an unusual rune dubbed the Hooked X. This single rune has been the center of controversy since it was first discovered in Minnesota, 1898. Since that time, it has …

Functional And Stylistic Features Of Sports Announcer Talk: A Discourse Analysis Of The Register Of Major League Soccer Television Broadcasts, Marco Balzer-Siber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes the register of television sports announcers in Major League Soccer broadcasts, based on six 20-minute transcription samples. The first part considers individual linguistic features and inquires whether they fulfill a communicative function or whether they are of stylistic nature. In an effort to attract more viewers in the United States, production companies had originally adopted the duality model of a play-by-play announcer and a color commentary from other American sports, while many other countries traditionally feature only one commentator. Consequently, the second part of this discourse analysis will focus on the cooperative interactional behavior. The conclusion will …

Big Game Cats And Defining Football’S Value: College Football’S Popularity, Controversies, And Expansion, Matthew T. Himel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis directly approaches intercollegiate football from a cultural perspective. The football’s popularity exploded during the Twentieth-Century. Television, merchandizing, and a national sporting culture are associated with this development. However, controversies often muddied the waters of that popularity. Football’s brutality, athletic scholarships, and controversies within athletics departments overshadowed the immense popularity of intercollegiate football. During the Twenty-First Century, several universities started new football programs. Two of which being Georgia State University and Southeastern Louisiana University. Given the context balancing popularity and controversy, the administrators demonstrated how the image of intercollegiate football has changed over the course of the past century. …

Redefining The Unrepentant Prostitute In Victorian Poetry, Marijana Stojkovic

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Poets such as Thomas Hardy, Augusta Webster, and Amy Levy portray prostitutes who seem guiltless about their choice of profession. Hardy's Amelia seems to symbolize the mutation of a pure country girl into a soiled disciple of evil; yet in the poem the changes in her life brought on by prostitution are evident in her drastically changed physical appearance and mannerism. Webster's Eulalie is an intelligent and well-spoken woman who undermines the stereotypical generalizations about prostitutes, relocating the source of the Great Social Evil from her profession to the institutionalized educational failure that trains women for nothing better than housekeeping. …

Rendering And Compositing For Visual Effects, Jensen Abler

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The methods used to create visual effects for feature film production are quickly evolving. Cutting edge techniques are constantly being improved upon, and the capability to solve unique problems is paramount in real world production. I present a creative project which utilizes novel applications of common techniques, such as projection mapping, multi-tile UV workflows, procedural texture generation, normal mapping, and image based lighting.

The Recognition Of Micro Poetry As A Literary Art Form Across Time And Culture, Kaitlyn M. Dahle

Undergraduate Honors Theses

My creative thesis, titled, The Recognition of Micro Poetry as a Literary Art Form across Time and Culture, is on micro poetry and its prevalence in the literary world of today and throughout history with examples of writings from past authors, like Emily Dickinson and William Carlos Williams and even as far back as Ancient Greece’s Sappho. Examples of my own micro poetry are included in the thesis. The period followed by two dashes, or .//, mark the beginning of each micro poem I have written. The poems end with one single dash, or /, and each poem is …

Everest, Rebecca A. Seaman

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Everest is a creative writing project and an analysis of that project that focuses on the creative writing experience. The creative project is composed of two individual short stories focusing on themes of journeying and personal development. The stories are entitled, “Everest,” and “Shenyang.” They are based on personal experience and important life questions.

Linguistic Landscape Of Main Streets In Bosnia And Herzegovina, Rachel E. Lay

Undergraduate Honors Theses

After the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, Bosnia and Herzegovina erupted into ethnic conflict and ultimately genocide. Nearly 100,000 people, mainly Bosniaks, died in the Bosnian War. Two decades later, the violence has ended but the conflict is still present in Bosnia; the societal segregation of the 1995 Dayton Accords, intended only as an immediate solution to the violence, still stands. Population and language distribution are evidence of this segregation. Bosnia’s two entities are home to two different ethnic majorities: Serbs in the Republika Srpska and Bosniaks in the Federation of BiH. In an environment so sensitive that the government …

Pathologized Peculiarities: A Collection Of Short Stories, Kasey Jones

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis is comprised of three short stories that explore the pathologization of perceived social abnormalities and the isolation that often follows. "The Firmament" focuses on ostracization due to social difference, while "Shards" and "A Box of Rocks" focus on a specific 'abnormality'—schizoid personality disorder and high-functioning autism, respectively. These stories are not exact representations of a specific disorder, but my interpretation of the materials that I encountered during my research.

“The Bedroom And The Barnyard: Zoomorphic Lust Through Territory, Procedure, And Shelter In ‘The Miller’S Tale’” & Haunchebones, Danielle N. Byington

Undergraduate Honors Theses

“The Bedroom and the Barnyard: Zoomorphic Lust Through Territory, Procedure, and Shelter in ‘The Miller’s Tale’” is an academic endeavor that takes Chaucer’s zoomorphic metaphors and similes and analyzes them in a sense that reveals the chaos of what is human and what is animal tendency. The academic work is expressed in the adjunct creative project, Haunchebones, a 10-minute drama that echoes the tale and its zoomorphic influences, while presenting the content in a stylized play influenced by Theatre of the Absurd and artwork from the medieval and early renaissance period.

The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: The Failure Of Japan's "Monroe Doctrine" For Asia, Nathaniel W. Giles

Undergraduate Honors Theses

By 1942, the Japanese occupied nearly all of East and Southeast Asia and their influence even spread as far as British controlled India. This occupation, known as The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, was an ideological unity of Asia under the facade of mutual benefit and welfare of Japan and the other nations within the Sphere. However, The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere failed because of the inability of the Japanese to form this mutual benefit between the nations within the Sphere. This work evaluates the events that led to The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, life within the Sphere, …

Defining The Modeling Standard For 3d Character Artists, Jessica L. Burns

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The focus of this thesis is to find the most modern methods to craft 3D characters for implementation in game engines. The industry is constantly adapting to new software and my study is to cover the most efficient way to create a character from an idea to fully realized character in 3D. The following is my journey in learning new techniques and adapting to the new software. To demonstrate, I will work through the process of creating a character from a 2D concept to a 3D model rendered in real time.

Experimental Boss Design And Testing, Joseph P. Mistretta

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Over the years, gaming has developed rapidly from simple pixel-based experiences to fully blown three-dimensional worlds. As developing technologies improve, so does the complexity and flexibility of what can be created. Encounters, along with all aspects of any gaming experience, have evolved along with the technologies that create them. These intense combat instances, often times referred to as “bosses”, represent a chance for the developer to challenge player skill, cooperation, and coordination. In addition to being major challenges, encounters also allow players to feel a sense of progression as they learn and adapt to mechanics incorporated within an encounter’s design. …

Rewriting Composition : Moving Beyond A Discourse Of Need., Bruce Horner

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This essay argues that calls to end, move beyond, or expand composition participate in a discourse of need that accepts and reinforces the legitimacy of dominant, and restricted, definitions of not only composition but also alternatives to it: what we are led to believe is “new,” “different,” and therefore “better” than composition as conventionally defined. I analyze the operation of this discourse in David Smit’s The End of Composition Studies, Sidney Dobrin’s Postcomposition, and calls to make up for composition’s ostensible lacks by supplementing it with rhetoric or multimodal composition or by renaming it “writing studies.” Drawing on …

How To Go Beyond The Body: An Introduction, Guy Dove

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Embodied cognition represents one of most important theoretical developments in contemporary cognitive science. Many cognitive processes appear to be influenced by body morphology, emotions, and sensorimotor systems. This perspective is supported by an ever increasing collection of empirical studies that fall into two broad classes: one consisting of experiments that implicate action, emotion, and perception systems in seemingly abstract cognitive tasks and the other consisting of experiments that demonstrate the contribution of bodily interaction with the external environment to the performance of such tasks.

Now that embodied cognition is fairly well established, the time seems right for assessing its further …

Appalachian Studies As An Academic And Activist Field, 1970-1982, Emily Booker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the formation of Appalachian studies as an academic field from roughly 1970 to 1982. First, this thesis analyses regionalism and what defines a region, focusing on the different contexts and narratives through which Appalachia has been described. Second, this thesis examines how scholars and activists in the region challenged prevailing narratives and sought new ways to examine and contextualize the region. Efforts to challenge stereotypes and address the social, political, and economic problems of the region galvanized academics and activists alike. Despite their similar work and shared vision for an interdisciplinary regional field, academics and activists often …

Move, Interact, And Connect Personally Barter Theatre’S Project Real Gets Implicit In Order To Learn, Megan E. Atkinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Body movement, hands-on activity, embodiment, social interaction, emotions, and self-reflection allow teaching artists of Barter’s Theatre’s Project REAL to conduct a lesson with an implicit learning experience as the focus. Barter Theatre’s Project REAL exists as a theatre for education program that collaborates with regular classroom teachers on delivering the curriculum through specific theatre exercises in order to connect the material personally to the students’ lives. Theatre tools provide a human experience that enhances learning for the student by use of kinesthetic movement, social learning, emotions and interpersonal skills. To understand the effects of Barter Theatre’s Project REAL, the director …

Re-Construction Through Fragmentation: A Cosmodern Reading Of David Mitchell’S Cloud Atlas, Beth Katherine Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A cosmodern reading of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas creates a positive vision of the future for readers through various techniques of fragmentation including fragmentation of voice, language, and time. By fragmentation, I have in mind the consistent interruption of the novel’s voice, language, and time that requires an active and aware readership. The reader’s interaction with the text makes the novel re-constructive. In fact, the global nature of Mitchell’s novel, its hopeful ending, and its exploration of the effects of globalization can be considered as a means of exploring the dynamic relationships between the characters, the reader, and Mitchell’s authorial …

The Artist: An Unexpected Journey, Jason Matthew Shipman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an effort to better understand the process of an actor. It contains documentation of my thesis performance along with materials such as a statement of artistry, my current headshot, an up to date resume, and a link to my professional website.

A Biblical Guide To Maximizing Great Commission Emphasis By Transforming Your Church Government, Marcus W. Bridges

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

After learning 3500-4000 churches close their doors each year, Ed Stetzer believes, "the church will not change until the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of change." This project will compare Congregation-led churches to Elder or Board-led churches to explore the need for changing the practical operation of the church in attempts to fulfill the Great Commission. The thoughts presented will provide a guide for church leaders, pastors, and church planters to adopt the style of governing policies that best results in for Jesus Christ. There will be fifty pastors polled from Congregation and Elder-led churches …

The Pastor Search Process: A Proposed Manual For The Objective Investigation And Evaluation Of A Church By The Pastoral Candidate, John David Lones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

It is commonly acknowledged by both clergy and laity that a problem exists in the Southern Baptist Convention concerning both the length of pastoral tenure and the number of forced terminations of ministerial staff. Solutions have been proposed but little measurable change has been forthcoming. Much has been written about conflict resolution, communication between staff and lay leadership and realistic expectations. However well-intended these efforts may be, the statistics seem to indicate little or nothing has changed. This project intends to evaluate the pastor-search process from the perspective of the pastoral candidate. Churches make efforts to evaluate and investigate candidates …

Living For Eternity: A Predictive Analysis Of Manifestations Of Biblical Worldview Of University Freshmen, Sharon Edge Wilkie

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study includes a predictive analysis of factors contributing to worldview and acts of volition, a correlative analysis of a biblical worldview, a non-biblical worldview, and acts of volition, and a comparative analysis of the influence of gender on worldview. The research design used a non-randomized, convenience sample and a Likert-type scale, which included original questions. The instrument measured three components of worldview: biblical, non-biblical, and acts of volition. Analysis of the data included multiple linear regression, bivariate correlation (Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient) and a univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA). Participants were freshmen attending a liberal arts Christian university. …

Common Threads: An Examination Of Common Threads Of Design Value, Woven Together By Designers To Achieve Elevated Products Across Disciplines, Laura Taylor

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Though what defines good design is subject to personal opinion, some objectivity of good design in existing products is mutually and consistently recognized by design professionals, the business sector, and the consumer public. Despite the complexity of defining good design, there clearly exist measurable, objective, common threads of design value which create elevated designs, across disciplines, which are identifiable and accepted by those within and beyond design professions.

By first examining over 100 contemporary product designs and identifying measurable, objective commonalities which elevate them, this thesis then individually examines and outlines ten categories of common design values. Once these design …

Public Art And Land Value: Spatial Relationships In Denver, Colorado, Nicholas Decker

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Public art is justified and sold based on a variety of purported public benefits, including spatial identity, enhanced use, and improved value. Very little research has been done to quantify these or any other large-scale impacts. In this study, the relationships between land value and public art are examined. Denver, Colorado was chosen as the area of study due to its extensive library of accessible data and its active public art program.

ArcGIS is used as an analytical tool to investigate these relationships. Public art data was obtained from Denver's GIS database and edited according to factors important to the …

Graphic Memoir As A Tool For Imaginative Leaping, Shay Larsen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The idea for this capstone was sparked in the last semester of my third year of undergraduate research at Utah State University. I had been researching the ways in which creative nonfiction writers approached the realm of surreality in their work with my honors contract advisor, Dr. Jennifer Sinor. Sinor herself had written a piece ("Holes in the Sky") that dealt heavily in abstractions paralleled with the works of American artist Georgia O'Keeffe. While discussing the difficulties of expressing surreality in writing I made an offhand comment along the lines of "makes you wish you'd been a painter instead of …

How Combining Constructivism And Open Source Code Can Open New Realms For Interactive Sculpture, Janell Angela Amely

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper establishes a philosophical link between Constructivism, open source code practices, and interactive artworks. Although the traditional way to teach art can be considered highly constructivist in nature, there are very few published papers that provide a direct link. My motivation for writing this paper is to provide that direct link, as well as to point out how open source code practices can be though of with a constructivist viewpoint by artists. I first describe and define Constructivism, open source code, and interactive sculpture. Then using constructivist terms and ideas I describe the design and programming with open source …

Teaching Chinese As A Foreign Language: A Foreigner's Perspective, Frederick J. Poole

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio reflects the author’s beliefs on effective methods for teaching Chinese as a second language. The first section includes the author’s teaching philosophy, which focuses on communicative language teaching, developing literacy, integrating culture into instruction, and employing technology to facilitate learning. Following the teaching philosophy are three artifacts that were written throughout the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program. First, the language artifact presents a study conducted by the author regarding three different approaches to teaching beginners of Chinese. Second, the literacy artifact is a proposal for a study that examines the effect of reading Chinese via an …

Understanding Second-Person Point Of View In Fiction, Anastasia L. Hawke

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This thesis consists of a critical introduction followed by a short story and reflection. The critical introduction introduces and analyzes second-person point of view. The first section establishes a working definition for second-person narrative and maps out its unique relationship between narrator, protagonist, and reader. The second section explores the way second-person point of view is taught. The third and last section of the critical introduction focuses on the effects second-person point of view has on fiction narratives.

The short fiction “Pregnancy and Other Dysfunctions” following the critical introduction demonstrates a narrative effectively using second-person point of view. It follows …

Youll Find Out Here Pretty Soon I Have Ptsd Examining How A Vietnam Veteran Copes With Trauma, Matthew L. Stockett

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This thesis is rooted in understanding trauma. Through a series of interviews with Zach Stockett, my grandfather and medical helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, I identify his unique coping strategies. Zach uses humor, religious beliefs, and his ability to contribute meaningfully to the war effort to cope with the traumas he experienced. I drew from trauma theorists such as Maurice Halbwachs, Dori Laub, Cathy Caruth, Ruth Leys, Dominik LaCapra, and Marianne Hirsch to build a framework for understanding the different aspects of trauma that Zach experiences. On a personal level, these interviews provide insight into my own personal identity …

Repeated Impressions, Shasta Krueger

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

MFA Shasta Krueger Creative Project