AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OFRosemary Pearl Moore, for the Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting, presented on April 3, 2023, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: A LOVE LETTER TO PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE FRIENDS: THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS OF MURPHY’S LAW OF PRETENDERS MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Jacob JuntunenThis thesis examines the process of taking Murphy’s Law of Pretenders from pre-writing to a full production at Southern Illinois University in March 2023 and my own growth during this time. My inspiration ranges from different aspects of pop culture to looking a staged versions of Little Women by Louise May-Alcott to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Murphy’s Law of Pretenders continues to explore my style of taking realism and fantasy while exploring deeper issues like mental health, and the idea of what forms does friendship take and what does it do to us.Chapter One examines the process before I started writing the play. Chapter Two explores the development process from the feedback and advice that was provide for me while I was here at Southern Illinois University. Chapter Three dives into the production process here with the director, actors, and designers in The School of Theater and Dance here at Southern Illinois University. Chapter Four details what I’ve learned from my experiences here at Southern Illinois University, and what I hope for the future of my writing. Chapter Five is the play itself, Murphy’s Law of Pretenders, where you will find what I am most proud of from this process.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In the United States, approximately one in five women are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying. Due to the pervasiveness of pronatalism in Western society, having a child is widely assumed to be a natural and expected part of womanhood. Society’s master narratives reinforce these ideals and stigmatize the experiences of women who have infertility. This multi-phase research study examined how women discuss their infertility journey with their friends. The study’s aims were to understand friendships within the context of infertility, how the relationship affects a woman’s identity, and the communicative behaviors used in conversations. Fifteen interviews were conducted with women who experienced or are experiencing infertility and had discussed their past or current challenges with a friend. Results of a phronetic iterative analysis suggested that women who have personal experience with infertility (a) disclose to close/best friends, (b) communicate their identity as “broken,” (c) desire emotional support, and (d) strategically navigate conversations as they encounter positive and negative messages. These results were transformed into a performance, which included six monologues and a talkback. The purpose of the arts-based methodology was to disseminate results and assess the performance’s impact. Seventy-three individuals attended one of the two performances in April 2023, and 50 attendees completed the post-performance evaluation. The quantitative results suggest that attendees felt informed about the complexities of infertility, gained a new perspective, received advice about how to have future conversations, and did not feel offended by the content. Through a thematic analysis, four themes emerged from the two talkback sessions and evaluation comments: being informed about infertility as a health condition, appreciating the theatrical format to learn, connecting to the performance to understand the illness experience, and feeling comfortable navigating conversations about infertility. Despite the variance in infertility experiences, friends are essential social support figures as women navigate infertility, and there are best practices when having a conversation, as demonstrated in the performance. This study’s implications include providing communication strategies to support women with infertility and recognizing that an arts-based methodology can highlight counterstories, inform about a stigmatized health issue, and engage the community.

Note:

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This dissertation provides an account of the ways seven preadolescent boys with autism spectrum disorders describe friendship. This study extends previous research by providing more in-depth descriptions of friendship gleaned through iterative interviews. In addition to multiple interviews with each of the boys, I collected interview data from their parents, and one teacher of each boy. In order to convey friendship from the boys' perspectives, I present data across three broad themes: (1) Establishing and maintaining friendships, (2) Social reciprocity, and (3) Conflicts. The findings indicate that some important components of close friendships, (i.e., frequent and varied interactions, relative equality and reciprocity, maintenance over an extended period of time, and emotional support), that are commonly included in descriptions of preadolescent relationships in the general literature were evident in the close friendships of these boys with autism spectrum disorders. Not only does this study help increase the understanding of the construct of friendship, but of autism spectrum disorders as well. Specifically, my findings challenge the deficit perspective of autism spectrum disorders in several ways: (1) these preadolescents described ways that they socialize with friends rather than ways to avoid social situations in favor of isolation (Kanner, 1943); (2) the majority described same-age friendships as opposed to failing to develop peer relationships (American Psychiatric Association, 2000); and (3) four boys either are developing or have developed social reciprocity with friends, instead of demonstrating a lack of social reciprocity (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Researchers are just beginning to understand how preadolescents with autism spectrum disorders describe friendships. This study provides an important addition to the extant literature by providing insight into how a small group of highly verbal, preadolescent boys labeled with autism spectrum disorders describe friendship. Further research is necessary and will add to the sparse body of literature that just begins to depict how people with autism spectrum disorders understand and experience friendship. / Ph. D.

A qualitative study of women in seven informal friendship groups identified the cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes utilized to support women working in higher education and traced the movement of each group through the friendship phases of formation, maintenance, and dissolution. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with 36 women friendship group members in colleges and universities with different Carnegie classifications throughout the country. Case data were transcribed and analyzed using constant comparison with the aid of qualitative research software QSR NUDIST™ and NVIVO™. Findings of the study encompass three major areas: (1) results highlighted the influences of context on development of friendship groups at the personal, network, community, and societal levels; (2) the processes which demonstrate trust at cognitive, affective, and behavioral levels of group interaction; and (3) the major role that friendship groups play in providing psychological support, affirmation, and instrumental aid for some women entering academe in professional roles and (4) showed how friendship group phases affect development of cohesive groups through factors such as constant renewal and group interaction style. The continued involvement of women in informal friendship groups depended upon the intersection of context, group cohesiveness, and changing expectations of members as individuals and groups moved through phases of group development from formation to maintenance and possible dissolution. The findings of this study challenge higher education to move toward significant changes in policies regarding hiring and retention all employees, especially women and minorities. Issues of community and context must be addressed in order to retain and support newly hired faculty and staff. Varying forms of support must be initiated institutionally to provide opportunities for productive career development of employees. Recommendations for further study include further inquiry into the impact of context on the development of women's friendships, friendships as a factor of support for retention of women staff and faculty, factors affecting generativity (constant renewal) in friendship groups over time, and the effects of race, class, and confrontational style on friendship group cohesion. / Ph. D.