No description available.

No description available.

The topic of my dissertation is the architectural symbolism of the Maya ballcourt. The typical Mesoamerican ballcourt is a sunken playing surface that is situated between two parallel mounds that form a cleft in the earth, resembling the cleft Mountain of Creation. In fact, the ballcourt was an architectural analog of the Mountain of Creation and they shared a number of associations. In Chapter 1 I discuss previous research on the ballgame pertinent to my arguments. Chapter 2 is an analysis of a particular ballgame between a bird and a deer that I interpret as metaphorical of the hunt, sacrifice, and the vision quest. Chapter 3 is a summary of the concept of the sacred mountain in various locations around the world with an emphasis on Central America. In Chapter 4 the discussion focuses on the pattern as it appears in its most complete form at Y axchilan. The connection between dance and the cleft in the Mountain of Creation is analyzed in Chapter 5. First Father and his importance regarding creation, the ballgame, and the ballcourt is the emphasis of Chapter 6. Elements of the pattern as they appear at Copan and Piedras Negras is the topic of Chapter 7. Within Chapter 8 I discuss elements of the pattern as they appear outside the Maya area at Teotihuacan, El Tajin, Tenochtitlan, and in various central Mexican codices. I conclude that the association between the ballcourt and the cleft Mountain of Creation, which began at the Olmec site of La Venta, permeated the cosmology of later civilizations, with the Maya serving as the prime example. Elements of this cosmo-political pattern were so widespread as to make it abundantly clear that this overall pattern served as the ideological foundation of Mesoamerican civilization from the time of the Olmec until the coming of the Spaniards. / text

With the increasing popularity of phone application development, a number of features have surfaced that enable users to utilize extended functionalities with their phone. With a single device, a user is now able to have access to the latest trends. As a result, functionalities from various products such as personal computers or GPS devices can now be accessible in one place. While this technology is evolving at a fast rate, it is the embedded technology and hardware that drive it which facilitate the innovative designs and solutions. At the other end of the spectrum of embedded systems, companies continue to maintain legacy products that use embedded chips programmed through their flash memory. With this perceived commitment to stay loyal to their older product designs, it has become rather cumbersome for such companies to stay current with the latest hardware and software trends. The result is higher costs to the customers for their high-end products. While the average user invests in newer and faster Google phones or iPhones, it is unlikely that the same can be said for commercial products such as a refrigerator or a ball machine. What if a development framework existed that allowed customers to have access to better user interfaces and functionalities over the lifetime of their product? In this Masters report, an innovative approach is discussed which demonstrates the latest mobile phone technology combined with an existing embedded device being applied to the conversion of a low-end tennis ball machine into an affordable high-end one. / text

There is no abstract available for this dissertation. / Department of Educational Studies

This qualitative study was designed to investigate Millennial Family Members and their impact on higher education. The goal of this research was to richly describe the institution-student-parent relationship. Eighteen interviews were conducted with parents of first year students in order to gather descriptive data. The researcher had contact with the family members through "The Conference on Student Success."Five conclusions emerged. Millennial Family Members:1. Have a very different role in their student's higher education process than their parents did.2. Have expectations that the University guarantee safety, provide life lessons and career development.3. Communicate regularly with their students regarding all aspects of their lives including academic work, social issues, community concerns, and financial issues.4. Believe that they have a strong and essential influence on their college student.5. Interact with Student Affairs and Academic Affairs departments on behalf of their students.Implications of these findings and future directions for research were discussed. / Department of Educational Studies

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.