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Transformative worship encounters: toward a relational philosophy of church music as community music
(2026) Tyler, John Benjamin; Randles, Clinton A.
This philosophical inquiry explores the nature and purpose of church music through a critical and interdisciplinary lens. Responding to the dominance of performance-driven models and pragmatic aestheticism in popular worship literature, this study argues for a new conceptual model of church music as a relational, participatory, and formational practice. Positioning church music as community music in practice while drawing from literature in relational ontology, theology, and spirituality in music, this study critiques commonly accepted traditions in evangelical churches, and instead proposes a vision of worship music as a lived, transformative encounter grounded in human and divine relationality. The study proposes a conceptual model of church music as community music shaped by four phenomenological dimensions: relationality, corporeality, temporality, and spatiality. These categories frame worship not as a product to consume, but as transformative process carried out in community. Each dimension is examined in relation to community music, theological reflection, and spiritual formation, offering insight into how church musicians might cultivate more embodied, inclusive, and transformative musical encounters.
The larger parish plan
(Boston University, 1930) Wisseman, William E.
Behavioral effects of the death of a parent on children, ages 6 to 12
(Boston University, 1988) Zaiger, Nancy H.
There is an assumption among Mental Health practitioners and the general public that the loss of a parent during childhood inevitably influences a child's future adjustment and de velopment. Children who are unable to resolve their grief over the loss of a parent may display maladaptive behaviors that interfere with normal emotional growth throughout their lifetime. In view of the possibility that children who have lost a parent are at greater risk than other children, it is crucial to understand more about how unresolved grief is manifested. In this study the researcher examined the behavioral symptomatol ogy of bereaved children, ages 6 to 12 who had suffered the death of a parent and had been referred to a child- guidance center for treatment. They were compared to nonbereaved children from intact families who displayed behavi or al symptomatology and were referred to a child-guidance center for treatment. There were no significant differences in the frequency of behavioral symptoms between the two groups in any of the null hypothesis comparing: bereaved children to nonbereaved children; bereaved boys to nonbereaved boys; bereaved girls to nonbereaved girls; bereaved boys to bereaved girls; boys who had lost mothers to boys who had lost fathers; girls who had lost mothers to girls who had lost fathers; boys who had lost mothers to girls who had lost mothers; boys who had lost fathers to girls who had lost fathers; chil dren whose parents had died suddenly to children who anticipated the death of a parent. These findings have been explained by looking at the multiple problems presented by this sample of bereaved chil dren at this child guidance center. In 24 out of the 25 cases of bereaved children, the bereavement issue was compounded by extreme environmental deprivation, severe learning problems and developmental issues. It was impossi ble to limit the study to bereaved children for whom the death of a parent was the single precipitant to displaying maladaptive behaviors. Although these findings cannot be generalized wi thout further study, they point to the need for clinicians, educators and parents to not limit their work with bereaved children to iss ues of loss and grief. The inability to resolve grief may have more to do with a lack of protective mechanisms such as coping skills, supports, opportunities for growth and feelings of self-worth. Surviving parents may need to be worked with and supported to help minimize the potential negative consequences following the death of a parent and to become more capable of fostering appropriate growth and development in their children. By focusing attention on children and their families to encourage better functioning in multiple areas, rather than concentrating exclusively on "grief work," bereaved children may learn skills, build resources and take advantage of opportunities so that they may lead healthier lives in the future.
Drawing and responsive naming in aphasia
(Boston University, 1987) Young, Suzanne H.
Seventeen aphasic men, divided into diagnostic categories including Broca, Wernicke, subcortical, anomie and transcortical sensory, were administered a responsive naming task consisting of 30 target probe questions from the Boston Naming Test- Responsive Format. After subjects had either provided the correct verbal response, indicated that they had given up or that they were satisfied with their answer, they were asked to draw the target item. Drawings were rated according to ease of recognition. In addition, drawings were classified according to size and location on an 8 1/2" X 11" sheet of paper. All subJects named additional items when asked to draw the target stimuli. The Brocas and Wernickes patients accurately depicted a large number of items they could not name to the stimulus probe question. The anomie and transcortical sensory patients also drew good pictures in this condition. The results suggest that patients with "cortical" aphasia syndromes retain intact semantic concepts of items they cannot name. Drawing as a compensatory strategy for communication and implications for treatment are discussed.
Direct arithmetic operations on delta modulated signal and their applications to digital filtering
(Boston University, 1988) Yau, Sze F.
Algorithms are proposed for the direct implementation of full-adders and multipliers for delta modulated signals. The new adder offers full-addition capability. The new multiplier can have any arbitrary multiplication constant either greater than or less than 1. Error analysis for simple sinusoidal input is performed. Implementations using simple hardware are proposed. Digital filter based on the proposed arithmetic units is designed. Computer simulation results are presented and trade-offs of various parameters in the design are discussed.
Privatized television in Malaysia: does it influence children's morals and values?: a survey research on parental opinion
(Boston University, 1988) Yahya, Azizul H.
In this thesis I have studied parental mediation of their children's TV3 viewing, and parental concern over any change in their children's moral and values as a result of exposure to programs aired on TV3, in Malaysia.
My study considers the following research questions:
1. What are the opinions of Malaysian parents toward their children viewing TV3?
2. What is the extent of parental control on Malaysian children viewing TV3?
Cluster sampling was employed to ensure the representativeness of the sample; the reason is that there are no fewer than four different major ethnic groups in the Klang Valley with different morals, values and beliefs. For the purpose of this study, I conducted interviews with 300 respondents from Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya in Malaysia. The interviewing sessions were conducted by 5 trained interviewers.
As the results show, a majority of parents exercise some degree of control on their children's viewing habits. However, parental control was not due to the fear of TV3's negative influence, but motivated by parental responsibility, educational and ethnic background. Meanwhile, Malaysian parents confirmed that TV3 did not influence their children's behavior and attitudes, and they have a mixed opinion on the contents of TV3 programs.
The recommendations based on the findings from my study would be useful to provide guidance for future programming on TV3. Future research is also recommended in this area.
The effect of congenital alternating esotropia on background EEG activity of children aged 5-12 as measured by power spectra
(Boston University, 1988) Wainwright, Laurel D.
Experience can lead to anatomical and physiological changes in underlying neural substrates. These alterations in structure and function can result in modifications to subsequent behavior.
This concept has been examined extensively in the animal literature in relation to the effects of experimentally induced visual deprivation of functioning visual systems of cats and monkeys. The physiological and morphological data show that animals subjected to various types of anomalous visual experience demonstrate shifts in cortical connections which match the ocular experience. These studies also demonstrate that experience acts as a viable influence for. neural change during a developmentally vulnerable time.
The current project examined this relationship in children, using the condition of congenital alternating esotropia. It was hypothesized that atypical visual experience, during a postnatal period of cortical plasticity, would result in modifications to the substrate for visual processing. Related functional changes could be identified by differences in the organization and frequency content of the background EEG. This was investigated by the analysis of the EEG's of nine congenital esotropes, ages 5-12, and nine age and sex matched controls. Power spectra, representing samples from baseline and stimulus conditions, were analyzed for frequency content and organizational qualities. Measures of absolute power, relative power and spectral shape were evaluated for group differences using multiple regression analysis.
Several measures of spectral power differentiated the groups. The esotropic subjects had less absolute power within the 3-15 Hz frequency bands in baseline and stimulation conditions. Analysis of relative power values during stimulation indicated a shift in the esotropics' power concentration to slower frequencies in comparison to controls. These findings were confined topographically to the occipital lobes, indicating compromise to the visual processing substrates only.
These results indicate that congenital esotropes have electrophysiological differences that accompany their binocular processing deficits. This supports the original hypothesis, that early visual experience can initiate functional changes to the substrate that will be identified by differences in the background EEG.
The conventionality of spatial and temporal relations given the special theory of relativity
(Boston University, 1965) Snider, Caroline W
Poincare's examination of the role of convention in the scientific description of nature issues in the conclusion that all natural knowledge contains a small element of convention. The result is that matters of natural fact cannot be instances of a priori knowledge. However, although any given statement may be affirmed or denied if one is willing to adjust the rest of one's statements concerning natural fact, it is experimentally determined which whole systems of statements concerning natural fact correctly characterize nature. Moreover experiment and experience single out those systems of statements which are most convenient. The objective character of this convenience serves to render alternative descriptions of nature "alternatives" only in the weak sense of logically but not practically possible.
Concerning the specific questions of simultaneity and distance relations Poincare, working within the classical conceptual framework, shows both of these relations to be matters of convention in the same sense. He shows such things as color matching, causal relations, and the number of dimensions of space, are matters of convention in this sense.
In Whitehead's philosophy of nature, space and time are the abstract expression of the uniform relations existing among events. Since Whitehead takes as his starting point the experience with which one is in fact faced, he only briefly refers to the possibility that nature could be characterized differently; for example, space might have a different number of dimensions or a different (uniform) geometry if there were experiences which required this. Whitehead is principally concerned to show first, that spatial and temporal relations are ingredient in experience, and second, that since the space-time field does express uniform relatedness it must not be confused with the physical field. [TRUNCATED]
The effects of paternal exposure to xenobiotics on the development of progeny
(Boston University, 1989) Schmidt, Joseph C
The purpose of this thesis is to explore the effects of paternal exposure to a variety of agents on the subsequent development of progeny. This was accomplished through an intensive literature review of studies in both animal and human research. This thesis explores the effects of paternal exposure on reproduction in general, the effects of this exposure on the morphology and brain chemistry of the offspring, and the effects of paternal exposure on the behavioral development of progeny. The greatest emphasis is placed on the last of these categories. The information obtained was then integrated with the goal of producing a comprehensive review as well as suggesting potential directions for future research. The primary conclusion of this thesis is that paternal exposure to xenobiotic agents can affect reproduction and the development of progeny.
An analysis of variables associated with post-traumatic stress disorder among adult women incest survivors
(Boston University, 1989) Ryan-Blaney, Bonnie
Researchers who have studied the effects of incestuous abuse report negative aftereffects including: depression; fear; phobias; impaired sexual problems; intimacy difficulties; suicidality; impoverished self-esteem; alienation; anxiety; and substance abuse. Although, many researchers and clinicians consider the impact of incest to be idiosyncratic and not reflective of a single diagnostic category, many of the symptoms displayed by victims of sexual abuse resemble stress reactions exhibited by victims of war, rape, and natural disasters. As an outgrowth of medical and psychological research related to traumatic experiences, it has been recognized that catastrophically stressful events can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders- Revised (DSM-III-R), the central features of PTSD include: recurrent and intrusive recollection of the event; anxiety; a reexperiencing of the trauma through dreams; and dissociative states. Secondary elaborations include: memory impairment; depression; hypervigilance; guilt; withdrawal; and intimacy problems. These same symptoms are consistently reported by adult women incest survivors.
Attempts to systematically look at the variety of symptoms displayed by incest survivors as constituting one definable syndrome rather than individual pathology is sorely lacking in the incest literature. The purpose of this study was to investigate incest stressors that may contribute to PTSD among adult women incest survivors. The data was collected from a volunteer sample of 95 subjects via a researcher designed questionnaire. Statistical analyses were used to test thirteen hypotheses.
Incest variables of recalled: frequency; number of and perceived stress in sexual abuse acts; coping/coercion stressors; and, reported family stressors were significantly correlated with all dimensions of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The variables of recalled: age at onset; age at termination; multiple abuse; and non-disclosure during childhood were significantly correlated with one or more of the PTSD dimensions: physical symptoms; memory impairment; stigmatization; and intrusive imagery. The presence of retrospectively recalled pre-trauma variables was significantly associated with the PTSD dimension anger/range; while recalled duration and relatedness to offender did not achieve significance. Along with the results of the study, traumatic stress theory in the diagnosis and treatment of incest was discussed.