Middle Tennessee State University
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Toppling Invisible Walls: Emergent Narratives and the Construction of Queer Videogame Spaces
No full textToppling Invisible Walls invites the reader to reconsider the means with which players interact with videogames. While videogames certainly exist as an interactive medium, analyzing them in conjunction with spatial frameworks reposition them not just as objects of analysis but worlds that players literally navigate; and, as any world, such are subject to the prejudices of those that create and inhabit them. Toppling Invisible Walls takes this position and locates primarily queer players in relation to videogames: how they recognize themselves (or don’t) within these digital worlds, how space is created for the otherwise underrepresented, and how this creation of space is received in various ways. In utilizing a series of anecdotes before expanding into closer game analysis, videogames may be understood both as a means by which we escape the world and as a way (sometimes deliberately, sometimes inadvertently) to reaffirm the very oppressions sought to be escaped. In employing and validating emergent narratives as acceptable creation of meaning, the multiple realities both faced and desired by queer players is afforded more attention—to the effect of not only recognizing the evident lack of representation in the field of videogames, but also of accepting the multiplicity with which queer people exist and present themselves in worlds digital or otherwise.M.A
How a Federal Bottle Bill Can Increase Recycling Rates in the United States
No full textThis research thesis examines the impact that past and current state bottle bills have had on recycling rates and reducing litter and landfill waste. Particular attention is given to the Michigan bottle bill because they have consistently yielded the highest return rates for beverage containers. I also study the effects of Delaware’s decision to revoke their bottle bill. After studying the positive and negative effects of state bottle bills, I propose the best solution to increase recycling rates is by implementing a federal bottle bill. This research thesis examines the currently proposed federal bottle bills and considers the effects that a federal bottle bill would have on the beverage industry, retailers, and consumers. Finally, a conclusion is reached determining the solution that will be the best to increase recycling rates and reduce litter and landfill waste
The Effect of a Knowledge-Based Curriculum Using Science Read-Alouds on Vocabulary, Content, and Listening Comprehension Outcomes with Preschoolers
Get PDFEducators have been trying diligently to raise reading proficiency scores for decades to little avail. Children from all SES homes, but especially low-SES homes, are not achieving reading proficiency by fourth grade. One possibility for the low achievement is children do not possess the vocabulary and knowledge to comprehend texts once they are reading independently. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine if incorporating a knowledge-based curriculum using science read-alouds impacted vocabulary, listening comprehension, and content knowledge in 89 preschool students attending VPK in a Title I district in Tennessee beyond the impact of the traditional curriculum. Analysis of covariances (ANCOVA) were used to minimize the effects of group differences on the three research questions (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2003). The present research will add to the current literature of exposing emergent learners to content vocabulary and knowledge through interactive read-alouds within a knowledge-based curriculum. The primary goal of the research was to answer the following questions: (1) What is the effect of a knowledge-based curriculum with interactive science read-alouds on a researcher-designed vocabulary outcome? (2) What is the impact of a knowledge-based curriculum with interactive science read-alouds on listening comprehension? (3) What is the effect of a knowledge-based curriculum with interactive science read-alouds on a researcher-designed content knowledge outcome? All analyses revealed positive effect sizes of 0.68, 0.07, 0.39 respectively.
Keywords: preschool, vocabulary, content knowledge, read-aloudPh.D
Existence of solutions to the infinite dimensional Kuramoto model
Get PDFThe Kuramoto model is a kinetic model of phase-coupled oscillators. This model has a long legacy, starting from Kuramoto's text, \textit{Oscillations, Waves, and Turbulence}, which provided the foundation and initial analysis of the model. Kuramoto defined convenient measures of the average phase and variance to describe the population's macroscopic state. Since Kuramoto's original publication, researchers have worked to better characterize solution dynamics. In a much-cited paper, Ott and Antonsen showed that in some cases solutions adhere to a convenient ansatz, which greatly simplifies model analysis. Here we combine the method of characteristics with an iterative technique to prove existence and uniqueness of solutions to the infinite dimensional Kuramoto model. Our result differs from the result of Ott and Antonsen in that we require the initial data is twice continuously differentiable and show existence of continuously differentiable solutions, whereas the ansatz of Ott and Antonsen requires the solution and initial data are twice continuously differentiable and belong to a special class of Fourier series. We believe the alternative approach to model analysis developed here has the potential to open doors to future results on the extensively studied Kuramoto model.M.S
Hear Her Voice: An Analysis of Selected Songs by American Female Songwriters of the 1960s and 1970s
Get PDFThis creative project analyzes selected songs written and recorded by prominent American female songwriters from the 1960s and 1970s. The purpose of this analysis is to underscore the cultural and musical significance of both the individual songs and the pioneering female artists who wrote and recorded them. This analysis was accomplished by re-recording selected songs from four different genres and studying the lyrics, the musical composition, the historical context in which the songs were released, and the individual artists who wrote and recorded each song. The conclusions drawn from the analysis reveal that American female songwriters of the 1960s and 1970s have had a lasting impact on popular culture, the music industry, and popular music overall
Hybrid Theory: A Study of Hybrid Rudiments through Classical Musical Form
Get PDFI composed ten works for solo snare drum which consisted of nine hybrid rudiments and five types of classical musical form. I spent the Spring of 2020 working with Professor Russell Wharton, my assigned private lessons teacher, on the first three compositions, and finished the remaining seven under Julie Davila during the Spring of 2021. During the composition process, I sent the drafts to my peers and played the pieces for Professor Davila to make sure they were coherent, as well as appropriate, for the intended audience. After the completion of this project, I intend to publish this work with Row-Loff Productions
CREATING A NEW SHORT MEASURE OF THE DARK TETRAD
Get PDFThe four dark personality traits of Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and sadism have been studied together under an overarching construct called the Dark Tetrad. As this field of study is relatively new, the most effective and efficient way to measure the Dark Tetrad is still debated. While there are ethical and practical needs of a short measure of the Dark Tetrad, a validated measure of the construct has yet to emerge. The purpose of the current study was to begin the process of creating a new short measure of the Dark Tetrad. Study 1 selected potential items and created two potential factor structures for the new short measure. Study 2 cross-validated and compared the two potential factor structures. Results demonstrated that the empirical-based factor structure was a more accurate representation of the Dark Tetrad compared to the theory-based factor structure, indicating that the Dark Tetrad would be better represented as an overarching construct compared to four separate traits. Results also revealed potential items for the new short measure of the Dark Tetrad. Further research needs to examine the factor structure of the Dark Tetrad before a new short measure is created.M.A
Evidence-based Annotation Revision to Genes Involved in the Virulence Factor Melanin Production in Fungal Pathogen, Cryptococcus neoformans
Get PDFCryptococcus neoformans is a fungal pathogen that causes infection in immunosuppressed individuals. Melanin, a charged pigment polymer, is one of many contributing factors to the virulence of C. neoformans. Nine genes have been implicated in melanin production in C. neoformans. The goal of this study was to validate and/or improve computationally-predicted gene models for seven of these genes through the evaluation of transcriptome evidence. Improvements to gene models were curated in a collaborative annotation space and the data used to create refined super-transcript gene models included aspects of gene regulation, such as alternative transcription starts, alternative splicing, and alternative transcription termination. Computational gene models were validated for four genes (LAC2, PKA, CLC1, and VAD1) and computational models were improved for three genes (LAC1, CHK1, and AGC/PKA). This study, therefore, has produced a more accurate resource for the Cryptococcus community studying virulence factors
Reckon with It: A Podcast Exploring Tennessee Cultures and Identities
Get PDFFor this honors thesis, I created a podcast in which I weave historical narratives and personal experience together with examples of community members and organizations working to procure a more equitable Southern future. I alternate between narrative segments and non-narrated interviews to provoke listeners to question their previous notions of Tennessee. Aside from the introductory episode, each topical episode follows a similar format, beginning with a story, following with a question asserting the topic, then discussing historical and current relevance, and finally transitioning into clips of interviews with local Tennessee leaders interspersed with narrative dialogue. The intent of this creative project is to dispel the idea of a singular narrative of Tennessee cultures and identities
RELENTLESS PURSUIT: THE SEARCH FOR AUTHENTICITY AMONG AMERICAN CHRISTIANS
No full textMuch has been written of the desire for authenticity. That it is a return to the first, the original, to that which is the real. And it is no surprise that such a desire plays an important role among modern evangelical Christians. In a world that often seems topsy-turvy, where the potential for sin abounds, where fears of the unknown and other dominate, where the possibility of falling into a life of sin remains, it is those things which are deemed really real that provide respite. For those at The Experience Community Church, the pursuit of authenticity is essential to their Christian identity. It is evidenced in the founding of the community, their readings and interpretation of Scripture, their continuing stories of salvation, and their avid pursuit of the presence of God. These Christians strive to be, as their slogan says, authentic in their community, in their worship, and in their community service.M.L.A