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The Architecture of the Old Patent Office Building
No full textResearch paper submitted to American University in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Master of Arts; approved as non-thesis optio
Architectural Form and Energy
No full textResearch paper submitted to American University in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Master of Arts; approved as non-thesis optio
Masaccio's Trinity Fresco
No full textResearch paper submitted to American University in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Master of Arts; approved as non-thesis optio
The Poor and Marginalized in Early Medieval Europe: Gregory the Great's Use of Defenders, Notaries, and Meritorious Almsgiving
No full textGregory the Great, bishop of Rome from 3 September AD 590 to 12 March AD 604, became pope during a time of decline and social turmoil in late antique Italy. During his episcopate, Gregory dealt with a variety of difficulties, ranging from barbarian invasions in Italy to natural disasters, such as the flooding of the Tiber. He wrote extensively—his Pastoral Rule, for example, his Register of Letters, and various homilies and commentaries—accomplished church reforms, and performed administrative tasks. Given his importance to western Christianity and his role in the crafting of the Roman episcopacy in this time of decline, it seems likely that a comprehensive work on his governance would exist, that is, documentation of how he cared for the poor and marginalized during such turbulent times; surprisingly, it does not.No previous work has provided a comprehensive investigation of Gregory the Great’s concern for the poor and marginalized. This has left not only a gap in current scholarship but also several unanswered questions, such as where did Gregory the Great learn his administrative skills? How did he use his lesser orders, defenders and notaries to manage the finances and other affairs of the Roman see? And how did he promote charitable giving during his reign? In chapter 1, I set forth the context of Gregory’s background and times. I shall investigate how he learned his administrative skills, distinguishing between the skills he learned from his family and in the secular and ecclesiastical posts he held before being pontiff, and those developed through other endeavors and experiences. His travel revealed the poor and marginalized to him in two of the largest metropolitan areas of his time—Constantinople and Rome. Chapters 2 and 3 will investigate how Gregory used his lesser orders – his personal agents who executed and enforced his commands—to help administer to the poor and marginalized. Their duties ranged from protecting against simony, to defending Jewish communities, to auditing monasteries for financial accountability. These chapters reveal the Pope’s distrust of his bishops.Chapter 4 investigates Gregory’s promoting of meritorious and redemptive almsgiving. He continued this late antique tradition, which claimed that monetary gifts for the poor and marginalized yield a spiritual reward in the afterlife. However, he also understood the gift economy, namely, the norm of reciprocity—that all gifts require a counter-gift to solidify a relationship. Gregory intentionally rejected several gifts from his bishops due to their dishonesty. The overall conclusions additionally argue that defenders and notaries gained their authority through the letters that Gregory wrote to them. As they accomplished tasks, they gathered experience, which further authenticated their positions. I also provide prosopography on these two groups to demonstrate their chronological and geographical usage as well.Medieval historyAncient historyTheologyDefenders, Gift Giving, Gregory the Great, Medieval Italy, Notaries, PoorChurch HistoryDegree Awarded: Ph.D. Church History. The Catholic University of Americ
The Man of Perfect Virtue: Bonaventure’s Legenda Maior in the Tradition of Hagiography
No full textIn 1263, Bonaventure of Bagnoregio submitted a new life of Francis of Assisi. The Legenda Maior Sancti Francisci (Major Legend of Saint Francis) was soon decreed as the official biography for the Franciscan order. Despite its ongoing importance to the order, the Legenda Maior came under criticism in the 20th century for its perceived lack of attention to the ‘true’ historical Francis. Paul Sabatier, for example, evaluated the earlier accounts of Francis as being far superior. More recently, scholars have come to see Bonaventure’s text as a masterpiece of spiritual and theological insight. What Sabatier seems to have overlooked is that the Legenda Maior was, and is, a hagiography. The genre of hagiography is unique in that the life of a saint is presented for the purpose of forming and edifying those who encounter it as readers (or just as commonly, listeners). This dissertation will first examine several well-known hagiographies, such as the life of St. Antony the Great. Next, early Franciscan texts such as Thomas of Celano’s Life of St. Francis will be discussed. It will be shown that all of these texts share a focus on virtue – in many cases the virtues of the saints are presented as being equally important as miracles. With this groundwork laid, the dissertation will offer an in-depth reading of Bonaventure’s Legenda Maior, focusing on virtue. It will be shown how Bonaventure presented the virtue of Francis as a manifestation of grace, tightly connected to Francis’ imitation of Christ. In this way, the Legenda Maior presents Francis as not only a great saint, but as one perfectly conformed to Christ, and the man of perfect virtue. Bonaventure’s overall theory of grace, free will, virtue, and moral progress are also discussed. The dissertation concludes with a short chapter on the stigmata. Overall, it is argued that modern readers who approach Bonaventure’s Francis today may be inspired to pursue virtue in their own lives. In this way, the Legenda Maior functions as hagiography, forming and edifying those who encounter the text.SpiritualityReligious historyEthicsBonaventure, Francis, Franciscan, Major Legend, Stigmata, Virtue EthicsSpiritualityDegree Awarded: Ph.D. Spirituality. The Catholic University of Americ
Increasing Oncology Nurses’ Adherence to Personal Protective Equipment Use While Handling Hazardous Drugs
No full textProblem: Cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the U.S. and is often treated with hazardous drugs (HDs), many of which oncology nurses handle. Exposure to HDs has been associated with adverse effects. Consequently, safe handling recommendations and guidelines have been published and are continually updated. There is no known permissible HD exposure level, thus recommendations and guidelines, including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), should be consistently utilized to minimize exposure. Unfortunately, current literature continues to demonstrate low and inconsistent use of PPE.Objectives: To evaluate whether an audit and feedback intervention improved oncology nurses’ adherence to PPE while handling HDs.Setting: An outpatient oncology infusion center within a large comprehensive cancer center, handling a high volume of HDs.Sample: 24 oncology nurses who handle HDs during administration and/or disposal.Methods and Variables: A one-group pre-post intervention design was used with use of an audit/feedback intervention during the administration or disposal of intravenous (IV) HDs. Pre and post-intervention questionnaires were collected with the primary outcome as self-reported PPE use and the secondary outcome as self-reported workplace safety climate.Results: A statistically significant increase was shown in self-reported PPE use for both administration and disposal. Objective findings from the audits showed an increase in PPE adherence. When comparing subject and objective findings, self-reported PPE use was reported higher than actually observed. Workplace safety climate scores were high both pre and post-intervention, though no statistical significant difference was found.Implications for Nursing: Failure to utilize recommended PPE during HD handling not only jeopardizes the safety of nurses, but also places patients, caregivers and other staff members at risk of exposure. Work place safety climates must emphasize the importance of PPE use and interventions must be implemented to increase oncology nurses’ adherence to safe handling recommendations. HD safe handling precautions need to remain an important part of the organization’s policies and procedures, as well as nursing education and training. Nurses and organizational leadership must monitor and correct non-adherent PPE use and must be committed to promoting change in safe handling practices.Nursingantineoplastic drugs, chemotherapy drugs, hazardous drugs, personal protective equipment, safe handling, safety precautionsNursingDegree Awarded: D.N.P. Nursing. The Catholic University of Americ
Res as Transcendental in the Metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas
No full textAmong the transcendentals, the primary notion res (thing) has been very much neglected. In fact, Philip the Chancellor (1160–1236) did not include res in the first recorded list of the transcendentals. Afterward, studies of the transcendentals were very much reduced to considerations of being and the Neo-Platonic list of one, good, and true. Res entered the philosophical conversation between medieval Latin authors first with Albert the Great (ca. 1200–1280) and then with Thomas Aquinas’s studies of Avicenna’s Metaphysics. The proximate inspiration for this development was the distinction Avicenna (980–1037) drew between the notion of ‘thing (Šayʼ)’ and the notion of ‘being (Mawjûd).’ Thomas Aquinas (1224/25–1274) took Avicenna’s distinction and placed it within the framework of his own metaphysics in which the distinction between essence and esse (actus essendi) plays a fundamental role. Thomas’s discovery of esse as the act of all acts guided his new understanding of being. Thus, Thomas was able to conclude that being signifies the act of being (actus essendi) and res signifies the essence. Thomas’s distinction was not adopted by other contemporary and later Scholastic thinkers. Henry of Ghent (ca. 1217–1293), John Duns Scotus (ca. 1266–1308), and Francisco Suárez (1548–1617) offered a different description of being by emphasizing the signification of essence, or quiddity. As a result, not only does the real distinction of essence-esse vanish, but also the conceptual distinction of being and res loses its foundation. Following this trend, even metaphysics, or the science of being, could mutate into tinology, or the science of thing. This dissertation analyzes the primary notion res in the context of Thomas’s metaphysics, and particularly, of Thomas’s understanding of the real distinction of essence-esse. In this context, Thomas affirms that being and res are identical in reality (in re), but different conceptually. In the same context, Thomas distinguishes conceptual being and conceptual res from the being or res that is outside of the mind. Furthermore, on the basis of his doctrine of analogy, Thomas is also able to ascend from created beings to the Uncreated Being and from created res to the Uncreated Res.PhilosophyMetaphysicsAquinas, Avicenna, Being, Esse-Essence, Res, TranscendentalPhilosophyDegree Awarded: Ph.D. Philosophy. The Catholic University of Americ
PEOPLE WHO NEED PEOPLE: THE STUDY OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES FUNCTION AT NONPROFIT REGIONAL THEATRES
No full textThis capstone studies nonprofit regional theatres and their human resources (HR) departments, or people functions. Nonprofits traditionally have not mirrored for-profit enterprises when it comes to organizational structure and people management. This study explores the challenges theatres encounter and nuances that exist as a nonprofit organization. The research also analyzes the contribution of the HR leader and/or department to the success of the entire organization. Up until now, no study has been uncovered regarding how the HR function is structured in regional nonprofit theatres. Research on human resources in arts organizations is often overlooked or nonexistent. Since the literature was not specific enough to show how HR departments are structured in nonprofit theatres, interviews were conducted with Directors of HR and theatre leaders, and with outside experts in the field. Sixteen interviews were conducted, which included staff and leadership from nine regional theatres in the Washington, DC area. Suggestions are made surrounding what theatres can do if they do not have a dedicated HR staff person. Armed with research from this project, theatre leadership will have the tools to make decisions regarding staffing at their theatres.Arts managementPerforming ArtsDegree Awarded: M.A. Performing Arts. American Universit
Edith Crutchfield session 2 interview
No full textThis is the second session of a life history interview with Edith Crutchfield. In this interview Ms. Crutchfield reflects on her upbringing in Culpeper, Virginia, the move to Washington, D.C., in 1953 at age 17, and her life in Washington. She speaks about her experiences with segregation and discrimination in D.C. and discusses how she and her sisters helped each other transition into life in Washington. Ms. Crutchfield recalls being able to vote for the first time when the District was allowed to vote in the 1964 presidential election and relates the civil rights struggles of the 1960s to the 2020 election as well as contemporary social justice struggles. Ms. Crutchfield also discusses her time at Howard University as well as her experience at Miner Teachers College in 1955 when the school merged with Wilson Teachers College to create DC Teachers College. She also reflects on her experiences as a librarian at the FDA and DEA libraries and discusses racism and discrimination she witnessed while working for the government.Ms. Edith Amanda Crutchfield, born August 28, 1936, is a retired librarian and native of Culpeper, Virginia. Ms. Edith is the daughter of John Duff Grasty and Sarah George Ross Grasty and is one of 10 sisters. She migrated to Washington, D.C. at the age of 17 after finishing high school in Culpeper and has remained in D.C. for the rest of her life. All 10 of Ms. Edith's sisters migrated north after high school and none of them returned to live in Virginia. Ms. Edith initially lived with sisters and other family upon arriving in Washington and attended Howard University for a semester before transfering to Miner Teachers College just as Miner's and Wilson Teachers College were being integrated and combined into DC Teachers College. Ms. Edith had a 30-year career as a librarian in government libraries (FDA and DOJ) and spent the last fifteen years of her career in private libraries of law firms. Ms. Edith married and had one daughter, Debra, who passed away in 2015
Edith Crutchfield session 3 interview
No full textThis is the third session of a life history interview with Ms. Edith Crutchfield. This interview was recorded at three different locations in the Park View and Petworth neighborhoods of Washington, D.C. The first two locations, 3316 Warder Street NW and 4125 New Hampshire Ave NW, are residences where Ms. Crutchfield lived in the years after she first arrived in Washington in August 1953. The final location is Ms. Crutchfield’s current home on Rock Creek Church Road NW. In this interview Ms. Edith discusses her experiences in Washington from the 1950s when she first arrived, to 1978 when she moved to Silver Spring,\nMaryland. She also recounts how and why she returned to Washington in 2011 and reflects on her life in the D.C. Region. She also discusses her family life in Washington and the lives of her daughter, Debra, and her husband, Richard, who passed away in 2015 and 2018 respectively.Ms. Edith Amanda Crutchfield, born August 28, 1936, is a retired librarian and native of Culpeper, Virginia. Ms. Edith is the daughter of John Duff Grasty and Sarah George Ross Grasty and is one of 10 sisters. She migrated to Washington, D.C. at the age of 17 after finishing high school in Culpeper and has remained in D.C. for the rest of her life. All 10 of Ms. Edith's sisters migrated north after high school and none of them returned to live in Virginia. Ms. Edith initially lived with sisters and other family upon arriving in Washington and attended Howard University for a semester before transfering to Miner Teachers College just as Miner's and Wilson Teachers College were being integrated and combined into DC Teachers College. Ms. Edith had a 30-year career as a librarian in government libraries (FDA and DOJ) and spent the last fifteen years of her career in private libraries of law firms. Ms. Edith married and had one daughter, Debra, who passed away in 2015