Increasing Black and Latino college students' engagement is a primary concern of critical educators who seek to advance their students' critical literacy skills. There is a growing amount of these students who appear unable to successfully perform literate acts inside the academic space. However, these same students have rich literate…

This study is aimed at analyzing how contemporary urban Aymara youth hip hoppers and bloggers are creating their identities and are producing discourses in texts and lyrics to contest racist and colonial discourses. The research is situated in Bolivia, which is currently engaged in a cultural and political revolution supported by Indigenous…

This study examined how public secondary schools and educators were portrayed in American films of the 1990s. Thirty films were selected for study that were produced and released in the decade of the 1990s. Content analysis and a "Film Analysis Form" produced answers to eight questions regarding the learning environments, portrayal of…

This study investigates the bully and the bullied from 1950 to 2010. It begins by presenting a historical background of each decade with the major historical events that defined our culture. Each decade can be characterized by a particular zeitgeist, or spirit of the times. During each decade, popular movies and television programs that provided…

The figure of the "bibliomaniacal" book collector with his "curious" malady--a "passion for collecting...that infects weak minds," according to Isaac D'Israeli (1766-1848)--serves as the focus of this dissertation about nineteenth-century British poetry and prose. More than a psychological condition or cultural practice, the bibliomaniac's…

The current study evaluated the effectiveness of a multimedia social skills program, Superheroes Social Skills for Children with Autism, in increasing the social engagement skills of 4 elementary-aged students with an autism spectrum disorder. This program incorporates several evidence-based practices into one comprehensive curriculum, namely…

This study utilized qualitative single-case study design to provide rich description and offer new understandings within a socio-cultural theoretical frame about how adult and higher education learners perceive and are motivated to participate in study abroad programs. Three faculty-led study abroad courses at a Hispanic serving institution in the…

In light of the many social, medical, and political viewpoints on obesity, little is known of the weight loss maintenance experience and the impact on learning processes and outcomes among adults. The purpose of this study was two-fold: a) to explore the experience and meaning-making processes of individuals who have maintained a weight loss and…

As a result of a perceived need to improve the music theory curricula for the preparation of church music leaders, this study compared two diverse approaches to the teaching of music theory for church music university students on achievement, attitudes, and self-preparedness. This current study was a quantitative, quasi-experimental research…

The mid-twentieth century marked a shift in Americans' fundamental orientation toward information. Rather than news or knowledge, information became a disembodied quantum--strings of ones and zeros processed, increasingly, by complex machines. This dissertation examines how Americans became acquainted with "information", as newly conceived by…

Apprehending that race is social, not biological, this study examines U.S. racial formation in the early twenty-first century. In particular, Hollywood and Supreme Court texts are analyzed as media for gathering, shaping and transmitting racial ideas. Representing Hollywood, the 2004 film "Crash" is analyzed. Representing the Supreme Court, the…

In the midst of overall decline in the United States economy, information and communication industries continued to grow in 2008, accounting for 30% of the increase in the nation's GDP. Creative and copyright-based industries constitute a significant portion of this industry. The anomaly of growth in digital culture industries amidst overall…

Within an ever-evolving society, the social environment within the workplace continues to be an arena of conflict between currently held professional decorum and the up and coming trends of a laid-back popular culture. Increasing numbers of under-prepared students are exhibiting unprofessional behavior and skills while searching for employment.…

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to examine Hip Hop in Poland through the lens of multiliteracies and situated learning. This analysis is concerned with the transmission of Hip Hop to and within Wroclaw, Poland, and its acculturation and assimilation in Wroclaw, Poland. Further, this study seeks to illustrate how professional Polish Hip…

Research historically has demonstrated that a generational disconnect between the popular cultures from which students and teachers define normative behavior can impact classroom management and student learning. The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes, beliefs and perceptions of high school faculty toward the hip-hop culture and its…