Current Search: performing arts (x)
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(1 - 13 of 13)
- Title
- Pioneer of Self: An Intimate Retrospective.
- Creator
-
Diienno, Juliet, Buyssens, Ryan, Mills, Lisa, Price, Mark, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Reality is ever changing, and as we gain experience, our perceptions of it transform. Plato's allegory of the cave addresses the way one person's journey from darkness into daylight transforms his reality. My own body of work can be described through this extended metaphor, similarly benefiting from effects of education, self-reflection, and experience dramatically altering my perceptions of myself and my artwork. As projected by Plato, I was forced through an arduous confrontation with my...
Show moreReality is ever changing, and as we gain experience, our perceptions of it transform. Plato's allegory of the cave addresses the way one person's journey from darkness into daylight transforms his reality. My own body of work can be described through this extended metaphor, similarly benefiting from effects of education, self-reflection, and experience dramatically altering my perceptions of myself and my artwork. As projected by Plato, I was forced through an arduous confrontation with my lack of understanding of the human condition, reshaping my ideas to comprehend and adapt to the metaphorical daylight. With new understanding, I return to give a secondary assessment of my identity and previous body of work.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- Identifier
- CFE0006585, ucf:51260
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006585
- Title
- THE INFLUENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL DRAMATIC ARTS CLASSES ON REMEDIAL READERS ON THE FLORIDA COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT TEST.
- Creator
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Backel, Michelle, Murray, Barbara, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This is the age of accountability in public schools. The public wants to know that the schools are producing high achieving students who are ready for the future. With this push for accountability the rise in standardized testing should not be surprising. However, it is difficult to test an abstract course such as the arts. With the increase of standardized testing and the recent tough economic times, it is no wonder that performing arts classes in our public schools are often the first to be...
Show moreThis is the age of accountability in public schools. The public wants to know that the schools are producing high achieving students who are ready for the future. With this push for accountability the rise in standardized testing should not be surprising. However, it is difficult to test an abstract course such as the arts. With the increase of standardized testing and the recent tough economic times, it is no wonder that performing arts classes in our public schools are often the first to be pared down or dissolved (Mendels, 2008). It is the presiding feeling that these courses, while nice and fun for the students, do not offer any tangible, real, or marketable skills. ÂÂ"…imparting knowledge about the arts typically has not been a priority goal in our nationÂÂ's schoolsÂÂ" (Ward, 1983, ¶ 2). This study explored the benefits that students can achieve through their participation in the dramatic arts courses including, but not limited to, enhancement of reading and verbal scores. This study was designed to illustrate that the arts are a natural and necessary part of the high school educational experience and can play an instrumental part of learning even in a distressed economy, and/or in a regulated testing arena. Students who were freshmen or sophomores in 2008-2009 and scored a Level 1 or 2 (below average) score on the reading portion of the state test, the FCAT, and were from Orange and Seminole Counties in Florida became the sample set. These students were disaggregated into categories of students who took a dramatic arts course or not, by gender, by race, and by socioeconomic status to determine if participation in a dramatic arts course in high school would help raise a remedial reading score on the required state test. Although the data did not show a statistical significance, it did show a positive trend in a few of the tested areas. Suggestions for why the data appear to show only a trend and not significance are discussed further in Chapter 5.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003219, ucf:48582
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003219
- Title
- AMERICAN VIRAGOS: DEPICTING HEROINES IN PUBLIC ART.
- Creator
-
Henry, Cara, Raimundi-Ortiz, Wanda, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
To confront the inadequate representation of women as heroic figures in American public art, this project investigates the precedent of representing heroines in art. Through researching artwork featuring heroines, and heroic figures in general, this project aims to understand the historical context that new works featuring heroines will fit into. A template for constructing art featuring heroines was developed, showing what features or qualities are generally emphasized for the artwork to...
Show moreTo confront the inadequate representation of women as heroic figures in American public art, this project investigates the precedent of representing heroines in art. Through researching artwork featuring heroines, and heroic figures in general, this project aims to understand the historical context that new works featuring heroines will fit into. A template for constructing art featuring heroines was developed, showing what features or qualities are generally emphasized for the artwork to read as heroic. As art history has supplied principally man heroic figures, it was interesting trying to discern whether a template for art about heroines is different or essentially the same as a template for heroes. This project also includes three groups of artworks: new portraits for United States paper currency featuring American heroines, propaganda posters featuring Lady Liberty, and proposals for public installations that celebrate American heroines. These works investigate the process of placing women in spaces historically used to celebrate predominantly man heroic figures. In this investigation, I found that many heroic signifiers used for heroes were suitable for heroines. Emphasize physical strength, a performance of masculinity, or an emphasized performance of femininity were not necessary for the portrayal of heroines to read as heroic. By creating these artworks and a template for constructing heroines, this project will hopefully encourage and enable other artists to create works featuring heroines and generate support for better representation of women in public art.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- Identifier
- CFH2000170, ucf:46041
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000170
- Title
- FILLING THE HOUSE: ENGAGING A MILLENNIAL PERFORMING ARTS AUDIENCE.
- Creator
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Schreck, Sarah, Dodd, Melissa, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The purpose of this research is to identify best practices for public relations professionals when engaging with a Millennial performing arts audience, focusing on Hon and Grunig's relationship management theory (1999) and Kent and Taylor's theory of dialogic communication (2014) to build interactivity in a digital space. Performing arts organizations have successfully engaged with previous generations, but are facing new challenges when communicating with millennial audiences. Changing...
Show moreThe purpose of this research is to identify best practices for public relations professionals when engaging with a Millennial performing arts audience, focusing on Hon and Grunig's relationship management theory (1999) and Kent and Taylor's theory of dialogic communication (2014) to build interactivity in a digital space. Performing arts organizations have successfully engaged with previous generations, but are facing new challenges when communicating with millennial audiences. Changing demographics have led to a stagnation and decline of performing arts attendance as the millennial generation has come of age. This massive population has new priorities for spending and consumption of entertainment, and social media is their preferred channel of communication as opposed to print and broadcast media. The researcher distributed a survey to patrons of the Orlando Shakespeare theatre to identify their perspectives of current public relations practices. Results from 148 respondents indicated that the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre maintains strong relationships with Millennials (N=6) and non-Millennials alike, as made evident by their practice of Baumgarth's cultural consumer behaviors (2014). However, a larger sample of Millennial patrons is necessary to determine best practices for the specific population. The primary product of this research is the creation of a theory-driven survey that can be used to effectively measure the depth of a performing arts organization's relationship with its patrons, and a case study exemplifying a successful organization.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFH2000309, ucf:45725
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000309
- Title
- OPTIMIZATION OF NETWORK PARAMETERS AND SEMI-SUPERVISION IN GAUSSIAN ART ARCHITECTURES.
- Creator
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Chalasani, Roopa, Georgiopoulos, Michael, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
In this thesis we extensively experiment with two ART (adaptive resonance theory) architectures called Gaussian ARTMAP (GAM) and Distributed Gaussian ARTMAP (dGAM). Both of these classifiers have been successfully used in the past on a variety of applications. One of our contributions in this thesis is extensively experiments with the GAM and dGAM network parameters and appropriately identifying ranges for these parameters for which these architectures attain good performance (good...
Show moreIn this thesis we extensively experiment with two ART (adaptive resonance theory) architectures called Gaussian ARTMAP (GAM) and Distributed Gaussian ARTMAP (dGAM). Both of these classifiers have been successfully used in the past on a variety of applications. One of our contributions in this thesis is extensively experiments with the GAM and dGAM network parameters and appropriately identifying ranges for these parameters for which these architectures attain good performance (good classification performance and small network size). Furthermore, we have implemented novel modifications of these architectures, called semi-supervised GAM and dGAM architectures. Semi-supervision is a concept that has been used effectively before with the FAM and EAM architectures and in this thesis we are answering the question of whether semi-supervision has the same beneficial effect on the GAM architectures too. Finally, we compared the performance of GAM, dGAM, EAM, FAM and their semi-supervised versions on a number of datasets (simulated and real datasets). These experiments allowed us to draw appropriate conclusions regarding the comparative performance of these architectures.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- CFE0000474, ucf:46373
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000474
- Title
- Home Sweet Home: An Infinite Grid of Memory and Repressed Abuse Trauma.
- Creator
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Bush, Melissa, Santana, Maria, Reedy, Robert, Lotz, Theo, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Incorporating traditional craft mediums of crochet and embroidery, I use digital technology to experiment with wording to graphically represent my abuse trauma. Due to the severity of the subject matter and the work ethic I employ in my art practice, using my hands and being completely involved is a form of masochistic pleasure. My process takes on a Sisyphean approach of penance for the sins of others in my work. During my studio practice, my process reaches a meditative state where my mind...
Show moreIncorporating traditional craft mediums of crochet and embroidery, I use digital technology to experiment with wording to graphically represent my abuse trauma. Due to the severity of the subject matter and the work ethic I employ in my art practice, using my hands and being completely involved is a form of masochistic pleasure. My process takes on a Sisyphean approach of penance for the sins of others in my work. During my studio practice, my process reaches a meditative state where my mind is clear and free of the burden. Once I've completed a panel of trauma, the burden is transported into the art and a state of enlightenment is achieved.I began this program taking an analysis from an external perspective, gradually shifting my focus of artistic practice to my internal struggles with memory and repressed abuse trauma. Since I have selfishly focused on my personal tragedies for inspiration for the past three years, my work can now address a more universal subject matter in the future.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004659, ucf:49910
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004659
- Title
- TO BE MAGIC: THE ART OF ANA MENDIETA THROUGH AND ECOFEMINIST LENS.
- Creator
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Baker, Elizabeth Ann, Mendoza, Ilenia Colon, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Ana Mendieta was a Cuban-born American artist whose unique body of work incorporated performance, activism, Earth art, installation, and the Afro-Cuban practices of Santer�a. She began her career at the University of Iowa, were she initially received her degree in painting in 1969. It was not until 1972 that Mendieta shifted radically to performance art. Though she was raised Catholic, she developed an interest in the rituals involved with Santer�a, a culturally predominant Cuban religion,...
Show moreAna Mendieta was a Cuban-born American artist whose unique body of work incorporated performance, activism, Earth art, installation, and the Afro-Cuban practices of Santer�a. She began her career at the University of Iowa, were she initially received her degree in painting in 1969. It was not until 1972 that Mendieta shifted radically to performance art. Though she was raised Catholic, she developed an interest in the rituals involved with Santer�a, a culturally predominant Cuban religion, and it deeply influenced her work in her choice of materials and settings. Santer�a is one of the major faith-based lifestyles of Cuba and is characterized by a synthesis of Afro-Cuban and Catholic characteristics, along with its own unique teachings and rituals. Also a prominent theme in Mendieta�s work was her sense of displacement and her insatiable desire to reconcile her Cuban heritage, which she attempts to resolve, not only through her art, but also during several trips to Cuba. Greater still in its contribution of influence to Mendieta�s work was the ecofeminist movement which amalgamated elements of the feminist and environmental movements; Ecofeminism�s emergence in the United States coincided with the rise of Mendieta�s career during the 1970�s. The movement focused on the correlation between the oppression, degradation, and exploitation of women and the oppression, degradation, and exploitation of the Earth. This thesis examines the life of Ana Mendieta and analyzes how her works may be viewed in an ecofeminist context. It analyzes how Mendieta�s work acts as a reflection of her cultural, social, and political reality and discusses ways in which characteristics of Santer�a and ecofeminism as a discourse influenced the imagery and symbolism used in Mendieta�s artwork throughout her brief career. Formal analysis of Mendieta�s artwork and contextual and historical analysis of Mendieta�s life, the ecofeminist discourse, and Afro-Cuban spirituality are explored in this research.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFH2000003, ucf:45571
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000003
- Title
- BLACK CATS, BERLIN, BROADWAY AND BEYOND: THE GENRE OF CABARET.
- Creator
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Tedrick, Deborah, Wuehrmann, Nicholas, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Music and Theatre have always captivated me. As a child, my parents would take me to live performances and cinematic shows and I would sit rapt, watching the theatrical events and emotional moments unfold before my eyes. Movie musicals and live shows that combined music and theatre were my favorite, especially theatrical banter and improvisation or sketch comedy. Some of my favorite youthful memories were my annual family summer trips to Las Vegas to visit my grandparents for six weeks. As a...
Show moreMusic and Theatre have always captivated me. As a child, my parents would take me to live performances and cinematic shows and I would sit rapt, watching the theatrical events and emotional moments unfold before my eyes. Movie musicals and live shows that combined music and theatre were my favorite, especially theatrical banter and improvisation or sketch comedy. Some of my favorite youthful memories were my annual family summer trips to Las Vegas to visit my grandparents for six weeks. As a youngster, I got to experience the "old school" Las Vegas, replete with extravaganza, spectacle, cabaret, circus, lounge and nightclub acts, stand-up comedy, intimate revues, and all things marketed under the guise of entertainment, art, or both. Those summers, while not overtly planned as academic or educational in nature, proved, in retrospect, to be the training ground for what was to become my passion: the art of the cabaret genre. As a person who has always loved theatrical diversity, I am drawn to cabaret as an art form. Anything that fuses other forms interests me, and cabaret amalgamates many of the artistic forms I have grown to love. I come from a unique background of classical, jazz, musical theatre and pop styles, and have studied these styles in both the piano and vocal arena. The cabaret genre allows me to realize fully the stylistic variety of performance techniques with which I excel. My mother is a classical singer and my father a jazz pianist; during my youth they would perform at the piano, "meeting in the middle" so to speak in the world of Musical Theatre, through the fusion of cabaret, classical, jazz, and pop. Growing up hearing a song like "Summertime," from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, equally artistically rendered as both a classical aria and a jazz tune in my home was rich fodder for the vital informal education I received by being the offspring of musicians. It is due to this musical legacy that was passed on to me through my parents that I learned to explore the myriad of possibilities one can achieve through artistic musical and theatrical interpretation. Beyond the freedom of stylistic variety, cabaret performance also allows conventions such as direct interaction in the form of the proverbial "lowered fourth wall," allowing me to use my improvisational acting and interactive skill set as well as my musical skills. Cabaret is generally more intimate and personal in nature and I enjoy the camaraderie cabaret affords. Cabaret is interactive and intellectual and I am drawn to those aspects; I like the fusion of interactive banter and intellectual artistry. Also appealing to me is the "insider" sense cabaret not only allows but also encourages. Recalling my youthful memories of the Vegas shows in which the performer spoke directly to audience members, I remember the sense of belonging I felt at the recognition of some of the inside jokes. I knew I wanted to be involved with any aspect of music and theatre that would allow me the freedom to go with the moment, to reach people differently on any given day, to change with the times, and adapt to my audience and to the shifting world around me. I knew I had found a home in this intimate, insular, interactive, and intellectual art form known as cabaret. For these reasons and more I have chosen the genre of cabaret to be my intended thesis research project. I will produce, direct, and perform in a cabaret show, which will be the thesis performance. For the performance aspect of my thesis, in collaboration with my thesis partner, Josephine Leffner, I will perform a one-act chronological, historical, and stylistically varied cabaret show. The show will include material garnered from historical research of the cabaret genre, specifically settling on some of the famous women, songs, stories, lives, and important contributions. The cabaret will cover information, music, and spoken-word art from cabaret's inception in the Paris Montmartre district in 1881 to its height in Germany during the Weimar Republic. The show will culminate with cabaret's insurgence into American culture up to and including the state of American cabaret today. While my performance will focus mainly on American cabaret, a portion of the show will explore cabaret's European roots. Creating and performing this show will educate me further on the genre itself, as well as expand my performing skills through the varied styles in which I will perform within the realm of a single evening's entertainment. Creating and performing the show will also challenge me as a producer, director, promotional and administrative coordinator, music director, arranger, vocal director, collaborator, vocalist, pianist, actor, and writer. The show is intended as a kind of "Cabaret 101," in that the intended audience is treated to a night of variety entertainment with some historical background on the genre of cabaret. The audience is not expected to have any prior academic or experiential knowledge of cabaret in order to understand or enjoy the show. The cabaret intellectual will also be able to enjoy the show, as the songs, poems, skits, and sketches are intended to amuse and delight both the novice and the experienced cabaretist. For the research and analysis portion of my thesis monograph document I will provide information on cabaret's roots in France and Germany, as well as include informative research on American cabaret, its history and its current trends. I will have several chapters dedicated to the historical research and to other items such as the formatted libretto, documentation of a performance report from my thesis committee head, and a list of references used throughout the research and libretto chapters. I will include a structural and role analysis of the show itself and my contributions to it as outlined by the parameters of my graduate studies program. Several chapters of appendices will be included as information pertinent to the show such as costume, props, lighting lists as well as band and technical needs for the show itself. An introduction and conclusion will be created to bookend my document solidly and reveal myself as a person as well as a performer. This section will include reflective information on my intentions, triumphs, and tribulations, and will be codified through the opening and concluding perspectives. Through the process of writing the thesis monograph document I will create a public and personal record of the process, research, performance challenges, and decisions made throughout this journey. This document will be used as historical help to me should I need to refer to my thesis for later personal or professional use. The document will also be on record for the UCF theatre department, as I apply not only my performance training (as exhibited through the show itself) but also the research and critical thinking skills required of a masters degree candidate at a conservatory training program such as this one. Beyond its use for myself or for the department, I write this monograph document for others whose love and interest in studying the genre of cabaret match my own.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- Identifier
- CFE0001421, ucf:47043
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001421
- Title
- BLACK CATS, BERLIN, BROADWAY AND BEYOND: CABARET HISTORY IN THE MAKING.
- Creator
-
Leffner, Josephine, Wuehrmann, Nicholas, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Cabaret as a genre has influenced and is influenced by musical theatre. As cabaret has evolved throughout history, musical theatre has often paralleled its journey. Cabaret thrived before the term "musical theatre" was coined and suffered hard times during the Golden Age of Musical Theatre. The correlation of the two genres cannot be denied, and exploring cabaret history will reveal how deeply the connection lies. My collaborator Debbie Tedrick and I will attempt to define cabaret through a...
Show moreCabaret as a genre has influenced and is influenced by musical theatre. As cabaret has evolved throughout history, musical theatre has often paralleled its journey. Cabaret thrived before the term "musical theatre" was coined and suffered hard times during the Golden Age of Musical Theatre. The correlation of the two genres cannot be denied, and exploring cabaret history will reveal how deeply the connection lies. My collaborator Debbie Tedrick and I will attempt to define cabaret through a two-woman cabaret show we will write, produce, and perform together. The show, Black Cats, Berlin, Broadway and Beyond, will be a one-act historical look at the genre of cabaret. It will include material garnered from historical research of the cabaret genre, specifically focusing on some of the famous women, songs, stories, lives, and important contributions. The cabaret show will cover information and art from cabaret's inception in the Paris Montmartre district in 1881 to its height in Germany during the Weimar Republic and will culminate with cabaret's insurgence into American culture up to, and including, the state of American cabaret today. American cabaret will be emphasized, but a portion of the show will explore American cabaret's European roots. My thesis will explore the triumphs and tribulations of putting together the show. As the culmination of my UCF studies, this project will test my abilities as a librettist, performer, creative artist, director, and collaborator. This thesis will include the actual show performances as well as a written monograph document recording the project's journey from its inception to conclusion.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- Identifier
- CFE0001422, ucf:47062
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001422
- Title
- Living Between Two Worlds: Conflict, Investigation And The Change.
- Creator
-
Shuqair, Noura Abdulhameed H, Raimundi-Ortiz, Wanda, Poindexter, Carla, Price, Mark, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Beginning with my exploration of art as an aesthetic object, this paper shows the growth of my work and concept. Through my practice, I have been able to understand the contradictions in my traditional society and western modernity. It has helped me grapple with my own beliefs, and begin to confront those I don't agree with.
- Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004751, ucf:49792
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004751
- Title
- The Artistry of Accessibility: Creating Theatre with and for Students on the Autism Spectrum.
- Creator
-
Brunow, Sara, Listengarten, Julia, Ingram, Kate, Niess, Christopher, Kovac, Kim, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Theatre is a place where all can come together and have an experience regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or ability. As a theatre maker and teaching artist, how do I create inclusion and augment social awareness by designing and implementing theatrical experiences for a specific audience? In this personal exploration of inclusive theatre practices (Sensory Friendly Theatre, Inclusive Arts Integration, and Multi-Sensory Theatre) I will examine my experience of creating and adapting...
Show moreTheatre is a place where all can come together and have an experience regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or ability. As a theatre maker and teaching artist, how do I create inclusion and augment social awareness by designing and implementing theatrical experiences for a specific audience? In this personal exploration of inclusive theatre practices (Sensory Friendly Theatre, Inclusive Arts Integration, and Multi-Sensory Theatre) I will examine my experience of creating and adapting theatre with and for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. My process has a three-pronged approach: adapting an established production using a Sensory Friendly model; adapting an arts integration facilitation in an inclusive elementary classroom; and collaboratively creating a sensory-based theatrical experience with other artists and students with cognitive disabilities. Through these experiences, I strive to uncover how developing theatre for this specific audience has challenged me to grow as an artist and activist.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0006027, ucf:51003
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006027
- Title
- GAYME: The development, design and testing of an auto-ethnographic, documentary game about quarely wandering urban/suburban spaces in Central Florida.
- Creator
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Moran, David, Moshell, Jack, Santana, Maria, Kim, Si Jung, McDaniel, Thomas, Vie, Stephanie, Pugh, William, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
GAYME is a transmedia story-telling world that I have created to conceptually explore the dynamics of queering game design through the development of varying game prototypes. The final iteration of GAYME is @deadquarewalking*. It is a documentary game and a performance art installation that documents a carless, gay/queer/quare man's journey on Halloween to get to and from one of Orlando's most well-known gay clubs - the Parliament House Resort. "The art of cruising" city streets to seek out...
Show moreGAYME is a transmedia story-telling world that I have created to conceptually explore the dynamics of queering game design through the development of varying game prototypes. The final iteration of GAYME is @deadquarewalking*. It is a documentary game and a performance art installation that documents a carless, gay/queer/quare man's journey on Halloween to get to and from one of Orlando's most well-known gay clubs - the Parliament House Resort. "The art of cruising" city streets to seek out queer/quare companionship particularly amongst gay, male culture(s) is well-documented in densely, populated cities like New York, San Francisco and London, but not so much in car-centric, urban environments like Orlando that are less oriented towards pedestrians. Cruising has been and continues to be risky even in pedestrian-friendly cities but in Orlando cruising takes on a whole other dimension of danger. In 2011-2012, The Advocate magazine named Orlando one of the gayest cities in America (Breen, 2012). Transportation for America (2011) also named the Orlando metropolitan region the most dangerous city in the country for pedestrians. Living in Orlando without a car can be deadly as well as a significant barrier to connecting with other people, especially queer/quare people, because of Orlando's car-centric design. In Orlando, cars are sexy. At the same time, the increasing prevalence in gay, male culture(s) of geo-social, mobile phone applications using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and location aware services, such as Grindr (Grindr, LLC., 2009) and even FourSquare (Crowley and Selvadurai, 2009) and Instagram (Systrom and Krieger, 2010), is shifting the way gay/queer/quare Orlandoans co-create social and sexual networks both online and offline. Urban and sub-urban landscapes have transformed into hybrid "techno-scapes" overlaying "the electronic, the emotional and the social with the geographic and the physical" (Hjorth, 2011). With or without a car, gay men can still geo-socially cruise Orlando's car-centric, street life with mobile devices. As such emerging media has become more pervasive, it has created new opportunities to quarely visualize Orlando's "technoscape" through phone photography and hashtag metadata while also blurring lines between the artist and the curator, the player and the game designer.This project particularly has evolved to employ game design as an exhibition tool for the visualization of geo-social photography through hashtag play. Using hashtags as a game mechanic generates metadata that potentially identifies patterns of play and "ways of seeing" across player experiences as they attempt to make meaning of the images they encounter in the game. @deadquarewalking also demonstrates the potential of game design and geo-social, photo-sharing applications to illuminate new ways of documenting and witnessing the urban landscapes that we both collectively and uniquely inhabit.*In Irish culture, (")quare(") can mean (")very(") or (")extremely(") or it can be a spelling of the rural or Southern pronunciation of the word (")queer.(") Living in the American Southeast, I personally relate more to the term (")quare(") versus (")queer.(") Cultural theorist E. Patrick Johnson (2001) also argues for (")quareness(") as a way to question the subjective bias of whiteness in queer studies that risks discounting the lived experiences and material realities of people of color. Though I do not identify as a person of color and would be categorized as white or European American, (")quareness(") has an important critical application for considering how Orlando's urban design is intersectionally racialized, gendered and classed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005214, ucf:50641
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005214
- Title
- Evaluating Improvisation as a Technique for Training Pre-Service Teachers for Inclusive Classrooms.
- Creator
-
Becker, Theresa, Hines, Rebecca, Beverly, Monifa, Hopp, Carolyn, Hamed, Kastro, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Improvisation is a construct that uses a set of minimal heuristic guidelines to create a highly flexible scaffold that fosters extemporaneous communication. Scholars from diverse domains: such as psychology, business, negotiation, and education have suggested its use as a method for preparing professionals to manage complexity and think on their feet. A review of the literature revealed that while there is substantial theoretical scholarship on using improvisation in diverse domains, little...
Show moreImprovisation is a construct that uses a set of minimal heuristic guidelines to create a highly flexible scaffold that fosters extemporaneous communication. Scholars from diverse domains: such as psychology, business, negotiation, and education have suggested its use as a method for preparing professionals to manage complexity and think on their feet. A review of the literature revealed that while there is substantial theoretical scholarship on using improvisation in diverse domains, little research has verified these assertions. This dissertation evaluated whether improvisation, a specific type of dramatic technique, was effective for training pre-service teachers in specific characteristics of teacher-child classroom interaction, communication and affective skills development. It measured the strength and direction of any potential changes such training might effect on pre-service teacher's self-efficacy for teaching and for implementing the communication skills common to improvisation and teaching while interacting with student in an inclusive classroom setting. A review of the literature on teacher self-efficacy and improvisation clarified and defined key terms, and illustrated relevant studies. This study utilized a mixed-method research design based on instructional design and development research. Matched pairs t-tests were used to analyze the self-efficacy and training skills survey data and pre-service teacher reflections and interview transcripts were used to triangulate the qualitative data. Results of the t-tests showed a significant difference in participants' self-efficacy for teaching measured before and after the improvisation training. A significant difference in means was also measured in participants' aptitude for improvisation strategies and for self-efficacy for their implementation pre-/post- training. Qualitative results from pre-service teacher class artifacts and interviews showed participants reported beneficial personal outcomes as well as confirmed using skills from the training while interacting with students. Many of the qualitative themes parallel individual question items on the teacher self-efficacy TSES scale as well as the improvisation self-efficacy scale CSAI. The self-reported changes in affective behavior such as increased self-confidence and ability to foster positive interaction with students are illustrative of changes in teacher agency. Self-reports of being able to better understand student perspectives demonstrate a change in participant ability to empathize with students. Participants who worked with both typically developing students as well as with students with disabilities reported utilizing improvisation strategies such as Yes, and..., mirroring emotions and body language, vocal prosody and establishing a narrative relationship to put the students at ease, establish a positive learning environment, encourage student contributions and foster teachable moments. The improvisation strategies showed specific benefit for participants working with nonverbal students or who had commutation difficulties, by providing the pre-service teachers with strategies for using body language, emotional mirroring, vocal prosody and acceptance to foster interaction and communication with the student.Results from this investigation appear to substantiate the benefit of using improvisation training as part of a pre-service teacher methods course for preparing teachers for inclusive elementary classrooms. Replication of the study is encouraged with teachers of differing populations to confirm and extend results.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004516, ucf:49273
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004516
