Theses and Dissertations - Department of Interdisciplinary Studies

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Browsing Theses and Dissertations - Department of Interdisciplinary Studies by Author "Guyotte, Kelly W."

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    An interdisciplinary artistic inquiry within the performative paradigm
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2017) Upshaw, Allison; Sekeres, Diane C.; Shwery, Craig S.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    The three articles in this dissertation reveal and explore how the arts have and can be used in the academy for research purposes. The Arts-Based Research (ABR) strand probes disciplinary specialties, the performing artist strand locates the researcher, and the interdisciplinarity strand binds conceptual frameworks into a braid that knowingly continues to strengthen itself for other uses. We begin by learning about the ways in which other researchers have employed arts-based methods in a variety of disciplinary research projects. Next, we look at the ways in which the arts can be used in teacher training programs, and finally a practical investigation of how different artistic practices can reveal understanding not available through standard inquiry methods. Set in an imaginary television studio with the researcher as host, the first article introduces the audience to Dance, Drama, Music, and Visual Art as they speak about various roles they have played in academic research. Guests introduce themselves by giving a little background on a few of the ways they have been recognized and utilized in ABR projects. The format of the show is very relaxed with the guests feeling free to ask the hosts questions about her own role in ABR projects. The second article creatively (re)presents a case study of 20 preservice teachers exploring the use of dance as an instructional strategy for classroom teachers. The article is based on information collected from participant and researcher journal entries, field memos, and discussions. Scattered throughout are examples of data collection designed to draw the reading audience into the research process, while strands of aesthetic meaning-making, teaching artistry, and critical performance autoethnography are braided throughout the article in order to reflect, analyze, and embody the resulting narrative. The final article of this trilogy layers the use of drama, music, dance, and visual spectacle in an effort to uncover understandings that cannot be determined through traditional scientific procedures. Selected data from the second article is used as the foundation for a multilayered artistic investigation. Unlike the other articles, which display single strand connections to each interdisciplinary set, this article is a reflection of the totality of those groups. This article incorporates the interdisciplinary, critical performative autoethnography, and performative paradigms, which I have detailed as the conceptual frameworks through which I move. It displays the disciplinary specialties of my degree: aesthetic meaning-making, performance, and arts-based research methods; finally, it incorporates my location as artist, researcher, and teacher.
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    Making sense of safety
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2016) Huey, Marcy Rayburn; Meares, Mary M.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    The increased calls for an improved academic safety culture currently being issued by regulatory organizations outlines a very prescriptive approach to addressing safety in colleges and universities. This study focused on how academic researchers made sense of and responded to the safety programs that have been instituted by their organizations. The focus was on scientific researchers who have active research laboratories. The data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed with grounded theory. The results indicated that these researchers grounded their understanding of safety and of institutional safety programs in their professional identity, developed during their own educational and early professional experiences. Further study is warranted to determine if these findings are indicative of these scientific fields across the country. This data suggested that prescriptive compliance requirements regarding safety activities would not be easily accepted by these groups if they were not consistent with this identity. While they were not overtly noncompliant, they did resist institutional safety requirements placed on them that were not in line with the social norms of their professional group. These results could lead to an altered approach towards addressing safety concerns at colleges and universities.