JBC Commons (New College of Florida)
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DAY-TO-DAY ARTIST: PHOTOGRAPHY, MUSIC, WEB DEVELOPMENT, & WRITING
No full textThis thesis explores the methods, mindsets, and experiences of the daily practice of art. Beginning from a natural interest in photography, music, and web development, I explore a project that combines these interests on a multimedia website (timsas.github.io). The primary technique for this creative work was to cultivate a daily practice and to reflect on the incremental but steady growth and progress that this daily work achieved. As a result of the application of this daily routine to several different areas of activity (photography, piano practice, composition, web development, and writing), I arrived at a simple but startling conclusion: artistic work can be achieved through the consistent application of routine, rather than purely from inspiration. This idea is supported by several authors, including Steven Pressfield and others, whose ideas and work I cite in the text. The thesis closes with thoughts on the general usefulness of writing. Throughout the thesis, there are links to the website which showcases matched original photos and piano compositions, as well as discussion of my progress as an artist in each specific area. I have gained much insight by taking on this daily thesis project, and I document these insights in the text
“WE DON’T MAKE MISTAKES, JUST HAPPY LITTLE ACCIDENTS”: THE EFFECTS OF ARTMAKING ON MOOD DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC
No full textArt-making can increase positive affect, well-being, and optimism and reduce negative affect. During the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been shown to increase negative feelings and mental health, it is uncertain whether these benefits of art-making can be applied. This study examined the effects of art-making on participants’ mood, optimism, and overall well-being specifically during the time of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Participants (N = 8) were randomly assigned to one of two groups in which they either completed a task about any negative life events that have occurred over the past year, including that of the COVID-19 pandemic (the negative-emotion task), or a grocery list for a typical week (the neutral-emotion task). Participants completed this initial task as well as five days of art-making for at least 30 minutes per day. Mood, Optimism, and overall Well-being were assessed by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), respectively. The hypotheses were partially supported in that the negative-emotion task did decrease positive affect and short periods of art-making increased positive affect and overallwell-being for most participants over the five days. However, negative affect and optimism fluctuated across participants, with some experiencing a positive, negative or no change after the negative-emotion task and subsequent art-making activities
LGBTQ+ AND GOING TO CHURCH?: ACCEPTANCE, CLOSENESS, AND LIVED EXPERIENCES OF LGBTQ+ INDIVIDUALS IN OPENLY-AFFIRMING CHURCHES
No full textOver recent decades, research has documented the conflict(s) between Christian and LGBTQ+ identities. However, few studies have highlighted how LGBTQ+ individuals navigate openly-affirming churches (OACs), which are churches that are inclusive of sexual and gender minorities. To address this research gap, the present set of studies examined perceptions and experiences of LGBTQ+ people who attend OACs. Specifically, Study 1 examined perceptions of affirming nature toward LGBTQ+ identity from OACs, perceived acceptance by OACs, and perceived closeness with OACs in a survey completed by LGBTQ+ OAC attendees (N = 102), along with participants’ personal narratives of acceptance. Study 2 expanded from Study 1, and used semi-structured interviews to investigate lived experiences of six sexual minority OAC attendees. Findings from Study 1 suggested that participants felt moderately to highly accepted by their OAC, and that most found their OAC to affirm LGBTQ+ identity, on average. Additionally, perceptions of affirming nature were positively and strongly related to participants\u27 perceived acceptance by their OACs and the amount of closeness they felt with their church community, respectively. Furthermore, 88 narratives of acceptance from Study 1 and interview responses from Study 2 suggested that perceived acceptance arose from various institutional and interpersonal means (e.g., church involvement, emotional support). The results of the present study suggest OACs can be affirming religious spaces for LGBTQ+ individuals seeking to integrate their queer and religious identities. Practical implications of the present work for therapists, OAC leaders, and LGBTQ+ Christians, along with directions for future research, are discussed
Toys for T’s: The Impact of Enrichment on Captive Tarantulas, Tliltocatl albopilosus
No full textEnrichment is the act of providing animals in captivity with stimulation outside of the basic necessities of food, water, and shelter. The study and implementation of enrichment in zoos and aquariums is increasing, but there is still a distinct absence of research on the enrichment needs of invertebrates. Tarantulas and other arthropods are often considered too neurobehaviorally simplistic to need cognitive stimulation, despite evidence of decision making and behavioral syndromes. This study examines the effect of environmental enrichment on the stress behaviors of the tarantula Tliltocatl albopilosus. Though no evidence was found to support the hypothesis that tarantulas in enriched environments experience reduced stress, it was found that individuals that had dug burrows (an ecologically relevant behavior) behaved differently than individuals that had not. It is valuable to consider the moral and ethical implications of the way tarantulas, and invertebrates in general, are excluded from welfare considerations
IS THE GOSPEL OF MARK APOCALYPTIC? AN EXPLORATION OF MARK’S END-TIME RHETORIC
No full textThis senior thesis evaluates the apocalyptic undertones in the Gospel of Mark in an effort to gain a better understanding of Mark’s overarching agenda. The thesis does so by first assessing the ways in which the text can be considered apocalyptic, and then explores an alternate possibility by outlining the passages in which Mark attempts to push a social or political message. The conclusion of this thesis provides commentary on Mark’s primary intentions, with the hope of coming to a well-researched determination on whether or not Mark’s narrative can be considered apocalyptic in scope. This thesis ultimately determines that the apocalyptic rhetoric found in Mark’s Gospel was employed by the author as a persuasive tool used to foment the flames of a political revolution that was supposed to end an era characterized by a markedly disproportionate distribution of resources
ROOTS: A SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM FOR DIGITAL MEDIA
No full textPoorly-targeted advertisements have plagued the Internet for some time now, which has given way for the subscription model to rise in popularity. Advertisements (ads) have the potential to irritate and deter users, as they are vying for the user’s attention alongside a website’s content. Using a subscription model, users are no longer distracted from the creator’s content with ads, thus increasing user happiness. Roots is a subscription platform where content creators can monetize their media websites. Users can explore and subscribe to new websites, as well as manage their subscriptions. Creators can create landing pages describing their content site as well as subscription tiers with associated benefits. Such design & behavior is achieved through using free and open-source software Linux, Nginx, MySQL, and PHP. Using the PHP framework, Symfony, and JSON Web Tokens, Roots sends authentication data to content creator sites alongside an inbound consumer when they desire to leave Roots. The codebase is managed and made publicly available in a GitHub repository (https:// github.com/hayleemillar/thesis-project)
Microplastics in Elasmobranchs of Sarasota Bay, Using Previous Studies to Hypothesize the Future of This Growing Issue
No full textNo abstract provided
POIKILOS, POLISH, THE PERCEPTION OF COLOR, AND POLYCHROMY IN ANCIENT GREEK SCULPTURE
No full textThe history of polychromy reveals that most sculptures from ancient Greece and Rome were originally extensively painted. Research has mainly focused on the function and selection of pigments as well as the location of the color on ancient marble statues. Many questions still remain concerning the aesthetics of the prepared surfaces of polychrome sculpture. Our understanding of the aesthetic and optical qualities of Greek and Roman marble sculpture is still in its infancy. However, with the development of modern technologies allowing for advanced technical examinations, it is now quite possible to discern such optical qualities. There also remains evidence of such aesthetics in ancient literary texts with descriptions of works of sculpture. Combining knowledge of literary sources and Greek philology with modern technical examinations reveals a deeper understanding of ancient sculptural aesthetics. Light, in particular, was central to the aesthetics of ancient art, and the visual effects of both color and polish, politura, emphasize this notion of luminosity. The qualities of these nuanced visual effects and their emphasis on light align quite well with the concept of poikilos. Poikilos is an ancient aesthetic that is defined by the changeableness of the states of being and describes shimmering or dappled things. Color and polish, with their effects of light and tactile allure, enlivened the surfaces of sculptures and were enhanced by the ‘poikilia’ of the color and by radiance, which increased the convincing illusionism of mimesis. Color and brightness were often considered interchangeable; thus, the perception of ancient marble sculptures was dependent on the optical properties of colored and polished surfaces, with this ability to create the effect of poikilia
Escalating Depth: Towards the Proper Narrativization of Magic Systems in Shounen Anime Through Toriyama\u27s Dragon Ball
No full textNo abstract provided
ADDICTION: CRITIQUE OF THE BDMA AND DEVELOPMENT OF A TRANSDISCIPLINARY, BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL MODEL
No full textAddiction is a pervasive public health problem, with around 20.4 million Americans struggling with some kind of addiction. Currently, our understanding of addiction is dominated by the “Brain Disease Model of Addiction” (BDMA), which posits that addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease resulting from the dysfunctional neurobiological changes in the brain caused by chronic drug use. I review the evidence for drug-induced neurobiological changes in the brain and provide a critique of the BDMA. I evaluate the usefulness BDMA from the perspective of the ongoing Opioid Crisis and sketch the outline of an alternative model of addiction, a trauma-informed, transdisciplinary biopsychosocial-ecological model, which better accommodates the root causes of the Opioid Crisis and addiction in general. Finally, I review potential treatment and policy consequences of this new model and future directions for addiction research