phd thesis on educational game

Thesis (complete)

Front matter, chapter 1: introduction, chapter 2: claims about games: a literature review of a decade of research on the effects on learning and motivation, chapter 3: mobile game-based learning in secondary education: effects on engagement, motivation and learning, chapter 4: mobile game-based learning and students’ game activities, chapter 5: student learning by creating location-based games in secondary education, chapter 6: teachers’ practice-based perceptions of the value of game-based learning in secondary education, chapter 7: summary and discussion, samenvatting, contributions of authors, disclaimer/complaints regulations.

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• Corpus ID: 61211342

Towards Better Gameplay in Educational Computer Games: A PhD Thesis

• Published 1 November 2010
• Computer Science, Education

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Digital educational games.

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Educational Gaming: Improved Integration Using Standard Gaming Genres

Digital health game on cervical health and its effect on american women's cervical cancer knowledge, 58 references, the use of computer games as an educational tool: identification of appropriate game types and game elements, making educational computer games "educational", game, motivation, and effective learning: an integrated model for educational game design, games for learning: are schools ready for what's to come, cultural framing of computer/video games, exploring the learning mechanism in educational games, video games and education: (education in the face of a “parallel school”), learning and videogames: an unexploited synergy, using a virtual world for transferable skills in gaming education, learning in massively multiplayer online games, related papers.

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A new published article for CHARMING on the benefits and impact of emergency training in a VR environment

A study on dynamic active learning for meta-modelling of process simulations, join us at ichs 2024 symposium (9-11 sep 2024, mechelen), check out “operate your own reactor” by charming researchers – vr chemical operator training.

• Philippe Chan has earned his title as Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Chemical Engineering
• Chioma Udeozor successfully defends her PhD thesis entitled “A Game-Based Assessment Framework for Engineering Education”
• Ryo Toyoda has successfully defended his PhD!
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Silvia successfully defends her PhD thesis on game making as a learning strategy in chemical engineering education

November 23, 2022 1,417 Views

On November 18th, 2022, Silvia Fornós obtained her PhD degree for her research carried out under the supervision of Prof. Daniel Cermak-Sassenrath at IT University of Copenhagen, and summarised in her thesis titled “Students Making Games as a Learning Strategy in Chemical Engineering”. A challenging interdisciplinary topic combining game making /game jams with process design and engineering education.

The PhD research is part of  the H2020-MSCA-ETN CHARMING project , the EU Training Network for Chemical Engineering Immersive Learning. Congratulations, Silvia!

The summary of the PhD research along with a list of Silvia’s publications are available below.

Making games is a common practice to learn game design or programming in higher education. However, here it is hypothesised that beyond game-related or programming skills, the process of making games represents a learning approach that can extend curriculum-based education in different subject areas. Drawing on that hypothesis, the learning activity proposed in this study challenges students to design games through which their expertise in chemical engineering is communicated. Learners practice how to deal with a challenge, which is particularly relevant to thinking critically and proposing innovative solutions in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines.

The aim of this study is twofold. Firstly, the investigation is centred on the main pillars required to integrate a game creation event into the chemical engineering curriculum, i.e. pedagogical background, tools, and context. Secondly, this research explores the implications of students making games in an engineering course, mainly focused on cognitive, motivational, and social outcomes.

In pre-school education, infants play with visual elements, like building blocks, to create and learn during the creation process. Infants observe those blocks to reflect on what can be created and how the blocks can be combined. Similarly, this research proposes a visual game editor where young adults can learn from the game design process. Students take on the role of game designers and learn by exploring and experimenting to create a game autonomously, instead of following instructions.

The Game Editor for Learning (G.E.L.) is a custom-made editing tool for the present study, which has been inspired by 2D drag-and-drop platform game level editors. In addition to the pre-made game items to create levels, the G.E.L. includes a feature to upload 2D pictures, through which new game items can be skinned. With that feature, the editor allows non-game designers to integrate engineering-related content in their creations and, most importantly, to reflect on how the content should be integrated with the different game elements and mechanics, as part of the learning process.

An additional contribution of my research is the development of a CHEM Jam, an event based on the idea of game jams, which are collaborative events where participants try to create games in a relatively short period of time. These events attract participants and engage them cognitively and socially around the creation process. As game jams are fundamentally game-like events to create games, they have the added advantage that they engage participants playfully.

Overall, this interdisciplinary investigation is set at the crossroads of game studies, educational science, and engineering education. Particularly educational practitioners in engineering disciplines may find in this book an inspirational source to integrate a learner-centred activity, with game making at its core, in their lectures or teaching.

List of peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals and conference proceedings:

• S. Fornós. C. Udeozor, J. Glassey, D. Cermak-Sassenrath, The CHEM Jam – how to integrate a game creation event in curriculum-based engineering education, Education of Chemical Engineers , 2022, DOI:10.1016/j.ece.2022.04.001, download
• S. Fornós, Game Making as a Learning Strategy for Chemical Engineering, CHI Play ’20 , 2020, DOI:10.1145/3383668.3419888, download
• S. Fornós, Super Mario Maker 2 as a Tool for Educational Game Design, 14th European Conference on Game-Based Learning (ECGBL) , 2020, 801-804, download
• S. Fornós, D. Cermak-Sassenrath, Towards an Assessment Framework for Learner-Created Game Levels in Chemical Engineering Education, 15th European Conference on Game Based Learning (ECGBL) , 2021, DOI:10.34190/GBL.21.017, download

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• Northeastern University
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• Game Science and Design Master's Theses

Game Science and Design Master's Theses Collection

http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20290007

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Synopsis of PHD thesis: Digital Games as Collaborative Story-Writing Platforms

Thesis abstract outlines the design-led investigation of game-based story writing platforms.

Related Papers

brooke chornyak

READERS/EDITORS/WRITERS

Tania Allen

Inge Sorensen

Ulrika Bennerstedt

This thesis seeks out some answers to the broad question of what one can learn from digital games. In response to prevailing discussions about how, where and what gamers learn, the aim is to examine emerging forms of knowledge embedded in practices in and around digital games. As an alternative to abstract accounts of what members of the gaming culture learn, the thesis describes the reasoning and knowledge displayed by gamers and game developers with respect to their long and short-term commitment to games on the market and games in development, respectively. In conclusion, it is suggested that digital games are establishing autonomy from other forms of entertainment media and software industries as a result of the ways games and gaming as multistable objects of knowledge have become deeply embedded in society.

Angela Colvert

This thesis represents the first academic study to explore, and theorise, the pedagogical potential of peer-to-peer authorship of Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) in a primary classroom. It reports on the findings of a year-long study in which a class of 10 and 11 year olds designed, produced, distributed and interpreted an ARG with and for a class of 9 and 10 year olds in a large South London school. This thesis presents a pedagogical proposal for the teaching of new literacies in formal education, and a new conceptualisation of transmedia authorship practices and associated literacies, rooted in the authorial concerns expressed by the young designers themselves. For educators hoping to incorporate new literacy practices into the classroom, so that young people may be supported to become powerful participants in the new ‘communicational landscape’ (Kress, 2009) I offer a new model of ludic authorship, grounded in an analysis of the interviews with designers and the texts they generated prior to and during play. In this I explore the designers’ key authorial concerns related to agency, authenticity and fictionality, and critically examine the ways in which they managed modality, co-constructed coherence and directed actions with their peers. I draw on Green’s model of 3D literacy (Green, 2012) with its focus on cultural, critical and operational aspects of literacy practices, in combination with Kress and van Leeuwen’s concept of communicational strata (2001) which highlights the socio-semiotic processes involved in shaping discourse through multimodal design, production, distribution and interpretation. Although I apply and extend socio-semiotic approaches and appropriate Green’s model in this study, this thesis makes an original contribution to the field of education, and more specifically the study of new literacies, through presenting an ‘integrated perspective in theory and practice’ (Green and Beavis, 2012). The model of ludic authorship I establish in this thesis not only reframes literacies, it reframes play as a literacy practice which has cultural, operational and critical dimensions.

Sofia Romualdo

This Master's thesis aims to explore the rationale for the increasing use of play, games and gamification in contemporary art museums, as well as discuss their possible benefits and drawbacks, and give useful insight into the development of game technologies for museums. In order to achieve this, this thesis investigates a multidisciplinary approach, focusing on the intersection between games, contemporary art, education and curating. This work starts by defining play and games while exploring their pedagogical and cognitive benefits. Then, the importance of audience development and education in art museums is addressed. Finally, some case studies were used to demonstrate current and future uses of games in educational and curatorial contexts. The conclusion is that games are promising tools for activities in art museums. The few experiments that have been done, while innovative and encouraging, did not yet utilize the full potential of games. Researchers, educators and curators must work in unison to identify the best practices for the future of games in museums.

Georgia Institute of Technology

Hank Blumenthal

A storyscape is the new medium of storytelling. It originates in the model of transmedia storytelling defined by Henry Jenkins (2006a) in Convergence Culture and applied to The Matrix franchise. The storyscape medium is conceptualized from the author/designer perspective as four gestalts that create a whole from stand-alone parts. The four gestalts are mythopoeia, character, canon, and genre. This approach frames the authoring of this story-centric model in opposition to the design approaches of world-building or storyworlds. The four gestalts also provide an academic approach that unites theory and practice with a unified design vocabulary and an orientation toward the creation of a cultural and creative product that is defined as the storyscape medium. Storyscapes, such as The Star Wars franchise or the Marvel Universe, consume the lion’s share of our cultural capital (Johnson 2014). Therefore, the development of a consistent vocabulary, a design approach, and an understanding of how they create meaning and define worldviews is critical to our understanding and practice of a new medium (Dena 2009). This recently ascendant medium (Johnson 2014) evolved from the affordances of digital media and the aggregation and remediation (Bolter and Grusin 2000) of new and old media into a new medium. Starting with the frame of storytelling as a practice and previous aesthetic models such as The Poetics, this research charts the evolution of the storyscape medium across topics of academic transmedia approaches, principles, affordances, and the connecting or conceptualizing principles that act as gestalts. As a central contribution, this work develops a design vocabulary employed in practice across multiple established media. Henry Jenkins (2006a; 2007b; 2010a) worked to establish and define this new medium as a practice of transmedia storytelling but he did not name it. The field is haunted by the multiplicity of story forms that challenge a consistent approach or terminology. For example, canon was explored and defined by Geoffrey Long (2007) as the unifying principle, and Elizabeth Evans (2008) has investigated character as another central element of the transmedia storyscape. These terms and others are refined and coupled with design affordances then applied to my transmedia research project: The Ghost Club storyscape. I apply and validate the storyscape design method through a methodology of “research through design” using the gestalts and affordances that define the medium. A storyscape is a new, rich medium that can be authored and created with a common vocabulary. It implements the gestalts that allow us to design or imagine an expanded story medium with the breadth and power of an ecosystem that has the cultural descriptive capacity and meaning-making power of ancient religions and their extensive mythologies. It is an open work (Eco 1989), told across new and old media with their own affordances, that has the potential to be the most descriptive medium for approximating a complex narrative world without Aristotle’s beginning, middle, and end.

Theresa Devine , James Gee

His and Hers, strategy: board game: on page 572

Jason Wilson

The first chapter gives the theoretical underpinnings of the thesis's critical approach to videogames. The thesis compares games to other media as a result of criticisms of medium specificity in philosophical aesthetics and considerations of media convergence. It offers Manovich's concepts of information design and information behaviour as the basis of a comparative approach. The thesis generalises from particular experiences of play, and it draws on prior critical practice in justifying this approach.

Helen Stuckey

The importance of the work of retro gamers and fan communities within the field of videogame preservation has been acknowledged and the need for institutional collaboration with these communities has also been recognised. There are, however, minimal examples of how museums might realize this opportunity. This thesis examines the curation of a local history of Australian videogames for the era of the microcomputer and, in the process, provides an example of how museums can effectively engage with online communities to document and display videogames. Local game histories form a crucial component of a response to the call for a critical historiography of videogames. Notable scholars to have proposed the need for such a historiography include Raiford Guins, Henry Lowood, Jakko Suominen and Melanie Swalwell. Responding to this need, I undertake research on an important chapter of Australian videogame history. In addressing the challenges of curating videogames, which are understood as both ‘artefacts and experiences’, I explore what museums can learn from the practices of retro game communities. Online retro gamer communities have created extensive archives of early microcomputer games, developing systems and procedures for their preservation and documentation. Through examination of retro gamer sites and other player made artefacts, I develop a novel argument for the importance of player memory in capturing how people experienced videogames and engaged with broader game culture. The importance of personal memories for videogame history is further explored in the case study of the Popular Memory Archive (PMA). The PMA website is designed as both exhibition and archive with the intent of engaging online communities in sharing their recollections of 1980s games. Through an analysis of the PMA I examine new ways of documenting and displaying born digital work. This thesis contributes to broader questions about the display and collection of digital heritage by museums confronted with the challenges of a future in which screen culture will no longer leave material traces. Born digital artefacts need to be recorded and represented through the documentation of their systems and the experiences they afford their users. Through an analysis of retro gamer sites and the PMA, I present an exemplar for future collaborative practice between museums and online communities for the display and documentation of born digital artefacts.

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The Teaching Game: Integrating HCI and SoTL By Adapting Video Game Research Methods

D’Arcy Norman , PhD

University of Calgary

Program: Computational Media Design

Supervisors: Patrick Finn, Ehud Sharlin

Preferred citation:

Norman, D. (2023). The teaching game: integrating HCI and SoTL by adapting video game research methods (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1880/115879

Map of the dissertation as a game environment

This dissertation proposes and systematically explores the potential for integrating the distinct but overlapping disciplines of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). This work of integration is approached through a series of research projects from different perspectives, demonstrating the potential for adapting concepts from the design and formal analysis of video games to enrich the study of course designs and of understanding the varied experiences of instructors and students. Video games provide a useful point of integration between HCI and SoTL, specifically through concepts and principles employed in the design of video games, and through the adaptation of research methods that have been developed to enable formal analysis of video games.

It is our hope that integrating HCI and SoTL helps to address limitations in each discipline – to move HCI away from technical evaluation within contrived or laboratory contexts, and to move SoTL toward more deeply understanding the roles of technology, design, and performance.

The dissertation is organized into three parts. Part 1 introduces the reader to the dissertation, situates it within existing scholarship, and describes the research methods that will be utilized. Part 2 presents the findings of a series of research projects that explore aspects of HCI/SoTL integration. Part 3 synthesizes these findings into a novel framework that has the potential to extend our ability to design and describe teaching and learning, and to add meaningful context to research into the design of and interactions with technology.

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Educational and Psychological Studies Theses and Dissertations

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Predictors of Behavior Problems in the Context of Peer Play Interactions: A Sample of Low-Income Latino Preschoolers , Olivia Hernandez Gonzalez

Parent Perceptions of Treatment Effectiveness and Attendance Rates in a Behavioral Parent Training Program: Do They Predict Treatment Outcomes for Children? , Natalie A. Hofmann Leedy

Robustness of the Within- and Between-Series Estimators to Non-Normal Multiple-Baseline Studies: A Monte Carlo Study , Seang-Hwane Joo

Extending the Model with Internal Restrictions on Item Difficulty (MIRID) to Study Differential Item Functioning , Yong "Isaac" Li

Health Literacy, Depression, Anxiety, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder as Predictors of Biological Markers of Immune Functioning in Youth and Young Adults with HIV , Courtney A. Lynn

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Home > Dissertations and Theses > Education (PhD) Dissertations

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Below is a selection of dissertations from the Attallah College of Educational Studies. Additional dissertations from years prior to 2019 are available through the Leatherby Libraries' print collection or in Proquest's Dissertations and Theses database.

Dissertations from 2024 2024

Rising from the Abyss: A Grounded Theory Exploration on How Afghani and Ukrainian Mothers Navigate Major Milestones Following the Onset of Political Conflict , Rabab Atwi

Investigating Factors Influencing Chinese Private College Students’ Engagement in Emergency Online Learning , Limei Cao

“Caught in the Continuum”: How Special Educators Facilitate Access for Students With Extensive Support Needs , Megan Doty

Exploring Community College Faculty and Administrators Work Providing Educational Opportunities for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD): An Integral Framework for Inclusive Postsecondary Education , Stacy Eldred

Leading Towards Racial Justice: Counterstories of TK-12 Latinx Men Administrators , Pedro Espinoza

Experiences of Latine LGBTQ+ High School Students in California , Michael Gorse

Shattering the Glass Ceiling: A Grounded Theory Exploration of Barriers and Facilitators to Women Leaders’ Career Advancement Within Private Universities in China , Xiuying Han

Peacing it Together: Post 9/11 Enlisted Student Veterans’ Awakening to Peace Leadership , Nicholas J. Irwin

New Ways of Being White: White Families Striving to Raise Young Antiracists , Katie Kitchens

Sustainable Development of Private Art Museums in China: A Narrative Inquiry Study , Chaoran Li

Language Ideologies and Use Among Latine Children in a Dual Language Program in Southern California: A Qualitative Approach , Xochitl Morales

The Experiences of Postsecondary Students with Disabilities Utilizing One Stop Student Services: A Grounded Theory Approach , Ivan Noe

Personalized Learning for Art Major Students Based on Learner Characteristics , Jiayu Shao

Influences of Cultural Capital and Internationalization on Global Competence: Evidence from China’s Higher Vocational Education , Yiying Teng

Visit the Imprisoned: A Heuristic Inquiry into the Experiences of Catholic Detention Ministry Volunteers , Christopher Tran

"Wait, watch this....What do you see?": Conceptualizing Mentor Practice in the Context of a Video Club for Induction Mentors , Victor Vega

Teaching to the Heart: A Grounded Theory Exploration of Elementary Educators’ Journey Toward Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice , Breána Victoria-Delgado

Factors Influencing College Students’ Learning Satisfaction With Educational Videos , Fei Wang

A Positive Psychology Perspective on Chinese EFL Students’ Well-Being, Language Mindset, and English Performance , Qian Wei

Becoming and Thriving as an EFL Instructor: Exploring Key Factors Contributing to Positive Identity Construction , Weiyi Xia

Fair or Unfair? Chinese Undergraduates’ Perceptions of College Classroom Assessments , Ying Zhu

Dissertations from 2023 2023

All Things Weird and Wonderful: A Creative Exploration of Disability Representation , Lara Ameen

Generalizability of the Scale of Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC) to School Psychologists , Abraham Aryadad

Understanding the Relationship Between Organic Chemistry Misconceptions and Students’ Chemistry Self-efficacy in Higher Education Organic Chemistry Courses , Lauren A. Dudley

Women’s Pornography Use and Sexuality Education in U.S. Public Schools , Julie Fraumeni-McBride

Educator Professional Development in Universal Design for Learning and Social-Emotional Learning: A Collective Case Study , Sara Morgan

Phenomenological Study on Veteran Resource Center (VRC) in California Community Colleges , Darl Park

Equipped for Change: A Grounded Theory Study of White Antiracist School Leaders’ Attitudes and Perceptions of Racial Consciousness in Educational Leadership , Thomas Joseph Peterson

A Discourse Analysis of Parents' and Teachers' Social Constructions of School Readiness and Transition to Kindergarten for Children With Disabilities , Ronica Senores Toyota

How Market-Driven Policies Impact a Private Vocational College Department in China , Huiru Zhu

Dissertations from 2022 2022

Disabled IDF Veterans in Israeli Higher Education: Disability Identity and Use of Support , Einat Ben Dov

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Teacher Preparation Standards within Inclusion-Intensive States , Kay Lynn Ceja

Beta Drift: Forecasting the Manifold Relationships between Students and their Pursuit of STEM Careers , Douglas D. Havard

Radical Belonging: School as Communion of Peoples, Place, and Power , Joey Yung-Jun Liu

“I Just Learn Differently”: The Experiences of Dis/abled Students of Color Interpreting and Resisting Normalizing Forces in the Mathematics Classroom , Dina Mahmood

The Efficacy of a Key Word Signing Workshop , Krista McMorran-Maus

The Relationship Among Social and Psychological Inclusion, Marginalized Group Membership, and Student Outcomes , Katheryn Munguia

Higher Education Housing Professionals and Disability: A Grounded Theory Exploration of Resident Directors’ Understandings of Disability , Christopher Toutain

Dissertations from 2021 2021

Understanding First-Generation Latinx Students' Experiences in a Predominantly White Private Institution: A Grounded Theory Study , Jacqueline Aparicio

Constructing Critical Change: Learning from Elementary Teachers' Engagement with Inclusive Critical Education , Courtney Beatty

Fighting An Uphill Battle: Black Undergraduate Women Navigating Higher Education While Acknowledging and Challenging Media Portrayals of Black Women , Kandace Branch

Community College Success of Students with Disabilities , Shayne Brophy-Felbab

Searching for Balance: The Reading Choices, Experiences, and Habits of Women in Higher Education Leadership Roles , Laura Burns

Leading Climate Action Planning: A Case Study of Local Community Practices , Mackenzie Crigger

Bidimensional Assessment of Youth Mental Health: Evaluation of the California Healthy Kids Survey as a Measure of Youth Subjective Well-Being , Michael Doria

Exploring the Relationship Between Religion and Resilience Among Latina Academics in Higher Education , Rocio Garcia

Special Education Parent Perceptions of Involvement and Parent–Educator Relationships During IEP Meetings at Nonpublic Schools , Alex Huynen

Systemic Functional Linguistics in the Community College Composition Class: A Multimodal Approach to Teaching Composition Using the Metalanguage of SFL , Jennifer James

School Psychologists as Leaders in Professional Practice: An Examination of Leadership Roles and Perceived Support , Jodi LaChance

An Examination of Chinese Private College Students’ Intercultural Competence , Li Li

Relationships Among Mentoring Support and Student Success in a Chinese First-Year Experience Program , Tianxiang Liu

Contributing to Engineering Colleges Students' Development Through Out-of-Class Involvement: A Survey of Chinese Private Colleges' Engineering Students , Wanlu Li

Understanding the Lived Experiences of Autistic Adults , Sneha Kohli Mathur

Using a Dual-Factor Model to Understand the Mental Health of Students with School Refusal Behavior , Zachary D. Maupin

The Effects of Internationalization Activities on Undergraduates' Global Competence: An Exploratory Study at A Chinese Private University , Haiying Meng

Resilience and Mental Health of Students Attending California's Continuation High Schools , Brianna Meshke McLay

'Training' the Body Politic: Essays on the School Reform Orthodoxy , Jahan Naghshineh

Mitigating Risks for Youth in At-Risk Living Conditions Through School-Based Protective Factors , Cora Palma

Seeing the Tress For the Forest: An Analysis of Novice and Experienced Teachers' Self-Efficacy and Stress , Allison Serceki

An Examination of Chinese Undergraduates’ Contemplativity and Academic Stress , Ran Tao

Teachers’ Experiences of a District’s Transformational Leadership Design Program: A Qualitative Study , Jarit Unrau

California Elected City Council Women of Color: Building a Collaborative Vision With Inclusive Voice , Beatriz T. Valencia

Equality of Educational Opportunity in China: Factors from Family, School, and Shadow Education , Qin Xiang

An Examination of Chinese Adolescents’ Resilience and Their Perceptions of Parental and Peer Attachment , Jingwen Xing

Do Academic Characteristics Predict Chinese Private University Students’ Success in English Language Testing? , Feijun Yu

Empathy Among Nursing Undergraduates at a Chinese Private University , Yuanyuan Zhang

A Study of Critical Thinking Dispositions of Undergraduates in Foreign Language Discipline at One Private College in Mainland China , Yuanyuan Zheng

Dissertations from 2020 2020

Hidden Power: Journalistic Representations of Mental Health Labels , Elise Anguizola Assaf

Finding Voice from the Inside: How Postsecondary Education Impacted Perceptions of Higher Education for Long-Term Incarcerated Juveniles , Gregory Barraza

Experienced Pediatric Oncology Nurses Using Self-Reflective Practices in the Clinical Setting: A Descriptive Phenomenological Investigation , Daniel Josue Bonilla

The Labyrinth of Autism: Heuristic Journeys of Fathers Who Have a Child on the Autism Spectrum , Lisa Boskovich

Developing Trust in a Cross-Functional Workgroup: Assessing the Effectiveness of a Communication Intervention , Scott De Long

A Place of Yes? Experiences of Educators Participating in Site-based Teacher-led Reform , Elizabeth Hind

Vietnamese Resilience Assessment: Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis for Scale Validation , Loan Le

School Psychologists and School Counselors’ Perceptions of Preparation Received for the Provision of School-Based Mental Health Services , Sherika McKenzie

The Perceived Effectiveness of School-Based Accommodations for Students with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus , MaryAnn Seng

Secondary Traumatic Stress in Teachers and School Communities Impacted by the Opioid Epidemic , Anne Steketee

Performative Possibilities in the Development of Protagonistic Agency Among Graduate Students in China , Yan Wang

Dissertations from 2019 2019

Laughing Back: A Phenomenological Study of Disability Humor Using Culturally Responsive Methodologies , Kinda Abujbarah

Women’s Right and Education in Saudi Arabia: Raising Critical Consciousness in Arabic Studies Courses in Female High Schools in Saudi Arabia , Eman Almutairi

Exploring Gender Roles and Gender Equality within the Evangelical Church , Christopher Bishop

Minding the Gap: A Grounded Theory Exploration of Transition from Secondary School to Community College for Students Identified with Autism , Douglas Highlen

#BLACKQUEERLIVESMATTER: Understanding the Lived Experiences of Black Gay Male Leaders in Los Angeles , Christopher Jackson

The Power of Partnership: Understanding the Dynamic of Co-Teaching Pairs , Amanda M. Lozolla

The Intersection of Speech-Language Pathologists’ Beliefs, Perceptions, and Practices and the Language Acquisition and Development of Emerging Aided Communicators , Margaret Vento-Wilson

On the Move: Storying the Authentic Leadership Development of Millennial Gay Men , Kyle Williams

The Media, Education, and the State: Arts-Based Research and a Marxist Analysis of the Syrian Refugee Crisis , Meng Zhao

Dissertations from 2018 2018

Collegiate Women in Saudi Arabia: Leading Collectively for the Development of Self, Others, and Society , Miznah Alomair

Counter-stories of First-Generation Latinx Alumnae: A Critical Race Theory Analysis , Pamela Ezell

Practitioner Research in Schools: Revealing the Efficacy Agency Cycle , Edward Resnick

An Analysis of Mentoring and Job Satisfaction in Public and Private College and University Academic Libraries in California , Kevin M. Ross

Dissertations from 2017 2017

Queer Teachers in Catholic Schools: Cosmic Perceptions of an Easter People , Kevin Stockbridge

Dissertations from 2016 2016

Young, Urban, Professional, and Kenyan?: Conversations Surrounding Tribal Identity and Nationhood , Charlotte Achieng-Evensen

Inside/Outside/In-between: Understanding how Jewish Identity Impacts the Lives and Narratives of Ashkenazi Female Public School Educators , Mindi Ellen Benditson

The Repatriation Experiences of American Third Culture Kids , Nicole Mazzo Bennett

Academic Factors that Predict Community College Students’ Acceptance of Evolution , Meredith Anne Dorner

Operation Transition: Post-9/11 Combat Marines Transitioning to Civilian Life and the Role of Higher Education in their Identity Formation , Jamie M. Fenton

Towards a New Understanding: Complex Familial Constructs of Autism , Joanne Kim

The Development of the Scale of Contemplative Practice in Higher Education , Maryann Krikorian

Bridgers in the Third Space: An In-Country Investigation of the Leadership Practices of US-Educated Chinese Nationals , Maria L. Martinez

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Olympic Breakdancer Raygun Has PhD in Breakdancing?

Rachael gunn earned a zero in breakdancing at the paris 2024 olympic games., aleksandra wrona, published aug. 13, 2024.

About this rating

Gunn's Ph.D. thesis, titled "Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: a B-girl's Experience of B-boying," did cover the topic of breakdancing. However ...

... Gunn earned her Ph.D. in cultural studies. Moreover, a "PhD in breakdancing" does not exist as an academic discipline.

On Aug. 10, 2024, a rumor spread on social media that Rachael Gunn (also known as "Raygun"), an Australian breakdancer who competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, had a Ph.D. in breakdancing. "This australian breakdancer has a PhD in breakdancing and dance culture and was a ballroom dancer before taking up breaking. I don't even know what to say," one X post on the topic read .

"Australian Olympic breakdancer Rachael Gunn has a PhD in breakdancing and dance culture," one X user wrote , while another asked, "Who did we send? Raygun, a 36-year-old full-time lecturer at Sydney's Macquarie University, completed a PhD in breaking culture and is a lecturer in media, creative arts, literature and language," another X user wrote .

The claim also spread on other social media platforms, such as Reddit and Instagram . 

"Is she the best break dancer? No. But I have so much respect for going on an international stage to do something you love even if you're not very skilled at it," one Instagram user commented , adding that, "And, I'm pretty sure she's using this as a research endeavor and will be writing about all our reactions to her performance. Can't wait to read it!"

In short, Gunn's Ph.D. thesis, titled "Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-girl's Experience of B-boying," indeed focused on the topic of breakdancing. However, Gunn earned her Ph.D. in cultural studies, not in breakdancing. Furthermore, it's important to note that a "PhD in breakdancing" does not exist as an academic discipline. 

Since Gunn's research focused on the breakdancing community, but her degree is actually in the broader field of cultural studies, we have rated this claim as a "Mixture" of truths.

Gunn "secured Australia's first ever Olympic spot in the B-Girl competition at Paris 2024 by winning the QMS Oceania Championships in Sydney, NSW, Australia," the Olympics official website informed . 

Gunn earned a zero in breakdancing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and clips of her routine went viral on social media, with numerous users creating memes or mocking dancer's moves. "As well as criticising her attire, social media users mocked the Australian's routine as she bounced around on stage like a kangaroo and stood on her head at times," BBC article on the topic read . 

The website of the Macquarie University informed Gunn "is an interdisciplinary and practice-based researcher interested in the cultural politics of breaking" and holds a Ph.D. in cultural studies, as well as a bachelor of arts degree (Hons) in contemporary music: 

Rachael Gunn is an interdisciplinary and practice-based researcher interested in the cultural politics of breaking. She holds a PhD in Cultural Studies (2017) and a BA (Hons) in Contemporary Music (2009) from Macquarie University. Her work draws on cultural theory, dance studies, popular music studies, media, and ethnography. Rachael is a practising breaker and goes by the name of 'Raygun'. She was the Australian Breaking Association top ranked bgirl in 2020 and 2021, and represented Australia at the World Breaking Championships in Paris in 2021, in Seoul in 2022, and in Leuven (Belgium) in 2023. She won the Oceania Breaking Championships in 2023.

Gunn's biography further revealed that she is a member of the Macquarie University Performance and Expertise Reasearch Centre, and has a range of teaching experience at undergraduate and postgraduate levels "across the areas of media, creative industries, music, dance, cultural studies, and work-integrated learning." 

Moreover, it informed her research interests included, "Breaking, street dance, and hip-hop culture; youth cultures/scenes; constructions of the dancing body; politics of gender and gender performance; ethnography; the methodological dynamics between theory and practice."

Gunn earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Media, Music, Communications, and Cultural Studies within the Faculty of Arts at Macquarie University. Below, you can find the abstract of her paper, shared by the official website of Macquarie University:

This thesis critically interrogates how masculinist practices of breakdancing offers a site for the transgression of gendered norms. Drawing on my own experiences as a female within the male-dominated breakdancing scene in Sydney, first as a spectator, then as an active crew member, this thesis questions why so few female participants engage in this creative space, and how breakdancing might be the space to displace and deterritorialise gender. I use analytic autoetthnography and interviews with scene members in collaboration with theoretical frameworks offered by Deleuze and Guttari, Butler, Bourdieu and other feminist and post-structuralist philosophers, to critically examine how the capacities of bodies are constituted and shaped in Sydney's breakdancing scene, and to also locate the potentiality for moments of transgression. In other words, I conceptualize the breaking body as not a 'body' constituted through regulations and assumptions, but as an assemblage open to new rhizomatic connections. Breaking is a space that embraces difference, whereby the rituals of the dance not only augment its capacity to deterritorialize the body, but also facilitate new possibilities for performativities beyond the confines of dominant modes of thought and normative gender construction. Consequently, this thesis attempts to contribute to what I perceive as a significant gap in scholarship on hip-hop, breakdancing, and autoethnographic explorations of Deleuze-Guattarian theory.

In a response to online criticism of her Olympics performance, Gunn wrote on her Instagram profile: "Don't be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that's gonna take you":

We have recently investigated other 2024 Paris Olympics' -related rumors, such as:

• Lifeguards Are Present at Olympic Swimming Competitions?
• Hobby Lobby Pulled $50M in Ads from 2024 Paris Olympics?
• 2024 Paris Olympics Are 'Lowest-Rated' Games in Modern History?

Gunn, Rachael Louise. Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-Girl's Experience of B-Boying. 2022. Macquarie University, thesis. figshare.mq.edu.au, https://doi.org/10.25949/19433291.v1.

---. Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-Girl's Experience of B-Boying. 2022. Macquarie University, thesis. figshare.mq.edu.au, https://doi.org/10.25949/19433291.v1.

Ibrahim, Nur. "Lifeguards Are Present at Olympic Swimming Competitions?" Snopes, 8 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/lifeguards-paris-olympics-swimming/.

"Olympic Breaking: Criticism of Viral Breakdancer Rachael Gunn - Raygun - Condemned by Australia Team." BBC Sport, 10 Aug. 2024, https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/articles/c2dgxp5n3rlo.

ORCID. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1069-4021. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.

Paris 2024. https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/-raygun_1940107. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.

Saunders, Grant Leigh, and Rachael Gunn. "Australia." Global Hip Hop Studies, vol. 3, no. 1–2, Dec. 2023, pp. 23–32. Macquarie University, https://doi.org/10.1386/ghhs_00060_1.

Wazer, Caroline. "2024 Paris Olympics Are 'Lowest-Rated' Games in Modern History?" Snopes, 1 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/paris-olympics-lowest-rated-games/.

---. "Hobby Lobby Pulled $50M in Ads from 2024 Paris Olympics?" Snopes, 8 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/olympics-hobby-lobby-ads/.

By Aleksandra Wrona

Aleksandra Wrona is a reporting fellow for Snopes, based in the Warsaw, Poland, area.

Article Tags

A breaking hero emerges: Meet Australia's Raygun

An australian professor had some breaking moves, and people had thoughts., by nbc staff • published august 9, 2024 • updated on august 9, 2024 at 3:19 pm.

As Dr. Rachel Gunn, she's a 36-year-old lecturer at Macquarie University in Australia . She holds a PhD in cultural science. She researches and lectures on the cultural politics of breaking .

As Raygun, she's an Olympian breaker, competing for Australia.

Raygun lost all three of her matches, against B-Girls named Nicka, Syssy and Logistx. Yes, that sentence is accurate.

24/7 New York news stream: Watch NBC 4 free wherever you are

But Raygun had some moves. And people had some thoughts.

What my nephew does after telling all of us to “watch this” pic.twitter.com/366LjIRl4j — Liz Charboneau (@lizchar) August 9, 2024

There has not been an Olympic performance this dominant since Usain Bolt’s 100m sprint at Beijing in 2008. Honestly, the moment Raygun broke out her Kangaroo move this competition was over! Give her the #breakdancing gold 🥇 pic.twitter.com/6q8qAft1BX — Trapper Haskins (@TrapperHaskins) August 9, 2024

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All I can think about when I see this is the hip hop dance teacher from Bob’s Burgers but if instead she was from Australia and was a 36 year old woman named Raygun https://t.co/nUwYVLnrms pic.twitter.com/Wl5FResHw7 — Shereef Sakr (@ShereefKeef) August 9, 2024

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when Raygun hit the kangaroo jawn I couldn't see the screen I was crying so hard pic.twitter.com/jcICfTu11d — Bradford Pearson (@BradfordPearson) August 9, 2024

I think I found the source of inspiration for the Raygun breakdance at the Olympics. https://t.co/t94Iyu1dPZ pic.twitter.com/a7DL9etwRz — Noodson (@noodson) August 9, 2024

Raygun was like pic.twitter.com/KvXVPVGScx — Charles J. Moore (@charles270) August 9, 2024

Raygun did THE SPRINKLER at this breakdance thing, this is the worst thing Australia has ever done. — Luis Paez-Pumar (@lppny) August 9, 2024

This article tagged under:

'QUEEEEEN': Raygun of Olympics breakdancing fame spotted busting moves, gains fan in Adele

Rachael gunn, also known as raygun, was spotted breakdancing in front of cheering fans on the heels of the 36-year-old's newfound fame stemming from her performance at the 2024 paris games.

Rachael Gunn , also known by her breakdancing name Raygun, went viral during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games , but the Australian is garnering even more attention after she was recently filmed busting a move or two in front of adulating fans.

Gunn is a 36-year-old university lecturer from Sydney who made waves with her performance at Place de la Concorde during the Paris Games' breakdancing competition. Many people online, and even Grammy-winning singer Adele, poked fun at Gunn's unique moves.

"I think it's the best thing that's happened in the Olympics the entire time," the British singer said about Gunn's dancing while on stage during a concert in Munich, Germany. "Did anyone see the breakdancing lady? Now I didn't even know that breakdancing was an Olympic sport these days. I think that's (expletive) fantastic."

Watch: Adele praises breakdancer Raygun during concert

Adele continued to say that she and her friends had been "laughing" for "nearly 24 hours" about Gunn's dancing, but she said it made her "very very happy."

Despite the jokes, Gunn continues to embrace the spotlight and some lucky fans even got a chance to see her breakdance in person. TikTok user @jeanmitchell posted a video of Gunn dancing in the street as fans surrounded her and yelled after each move. The caption was: "(Expletive) QUEEEEN"

@jeanmitchell_ FKN QUEEEEEN #RAYGUN #breaking #breakdancing #paris2024 ♬ original sound - Jeanos

How did Raygun do at the Paris Olympics?

Although Gunn is gaining fans, the Olympic judges were anything but as they didn't give the "B-girl" a single point throughout the competition. She was defeated by USA’s Logistx, France’s Syssy and Lithuania’s Nicka, losing 18-0 on each occasion.

Gunn, who wrote her PhD thesis on the intersection of gender and Sydney’s breaking culture, also repped Australia at the world championships in 2021 and 2022 before earning a spot at the Olympics through the Oceania championships in 2023, CNN reported.

"In 2023, many of my students didn’t believe me when I told them I was training to qualify for the Olympics and were shocked when they checked Google and saw that I qualified,”  Gunn told CNBC earlier this month .

While most of the 32 B-boys and B-girls at the Paris Games had been breakdance battling since they were young, Gunn did not participate in her first battle until 2012.

“All my moves are original,” Raygun told CNN after competing in Paris. “Creativity is really important to me. I go out there and I show my artistry. Sometimes, it speaks to the judges, and sometimes, it doesn’t. I do my thing and it represents art. That is what it is about.”

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PhD Oral Exam - Tzu-Hua Chen, Education

Comparing second language english speakers' engagement with and perception of collaborative versus competitive board games from a self-determination theory perspective, date & time.

This event is free

Organization

Nadeem Butt

Faubourg Ste-Catherine Building 1610 St. Catherine W. Room 5.415

Wheel chair accessible

When studying for a doctoral degree (PhD), candidates submit a thesis that provides a critical review of the current state of knowledge of the thesis subject as well as the student’s own contributions to the subject. The distinguishing criterion of doctoral graduate research is a significant and original contribution to knowledge.

Once accepted, the candidate presents the thesis orally. This oral exam is open to the public.

International students pursuing further studies in English-speaking countries often encounter challenges, such as insufficient English proficiency, lack opportunities for social interaction, lack access to social contact and interaction with others using English, and lack of engagement with learning opportunities available. However, few solutions have been proposed to connect them with other international students and increase their psychological needs satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness and engagement during L2 interaction. In addition, few studies have investigated international students’ perception of the extent to which out-of-class task-based interaction may support their basic psychological needs and factors affecting their engagement.

Drawing on Deci and Ryan’s (1985) self-determination theory and adapting Philp and Duchesne’s (2016) model of task engagement, this study compared the effects of a collaborative (Mysterium) and a competitive (Camel up) commercial board game on 60 international students’ perceived basic psychological needs satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness on their engagement during board game interactions with other international students in an English-medium university in Canada. This study also explored the relationship between perceived psychological needs satisfaction and aspects of engagement with board game interactions. The secondary goal of this study is to explore international students’ perceptions of needs satisfaction as a result of board game interactions and factors influencing their engagement with board game interactions. Adopting a counterbalanced design, transcripts of players’ interactions were analyzed in terms of three dimensions of engagement: cognitive (asking questions, making evaluative comments, justifying an argument, elaborating and expanding ideas, generating new ideas, deciding on how to play the game), social (repeating each other’s utterance, completing each other’s utterance, use of simple and affiliative backchannels, encouraging each other to talk, reflecting on each other’s utterances and contributions), and emotional (self-perceived positive and negative emotions). Post-game questionnaires on psychological needs satisfaction and on overall engagement with board game interactions, as well as interaction data were analyzed through Wilcoxon signed-rank tests to compare the two types of board games. The relationships between psychological needs satisfaction and aspects of task engagement and were analyzed through Spearman’s rho correlation analyses. Two groups of international students’ responses to open-ended post-game questionnaires about needs satisfaction and factors affecting their engagement (N = 8), focus group interviews, and transcripts of interactions were analyzed through the lens of self-determination theory.

The findings showed that participants playing the competitive board game experienced significantly higher level of autonomy than playing the collaborative board game, whereas participants playing the collaborative board game experienced significantly higher level of relatedness than playing the competitive board game.

In terms of engagement with the board games, they had significantly higher level of cognitive engagement while playing the collaborative board game than the competitive board game, which was manifested in both their actual language use and questionnaire responses. However, although they reported significantly higher level of social engagement while playing the collaborative board game than playing the competitive board game, they produced significantly fewer responsiveness instances while playing the collaborative board game than playing the competitive board game. With respect to the link between BPN and aspects of engagement with the board game, it was found that international students who felt satisfied with their psychological needs of autonomy were emotionally engaged with the two types board games, whereas those who felt satisfied with their psychological needs of relatedness were socially engaged with both types of board games. Additionally, playing the collaborative board game enhanced their feeling of relatedness, which additionally made them emotionally engaged in English interaction with international students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Moreover, their feelings of competence were associated with responding to the coded measure of social engagement (peer players’ utterances and contribution). The study found that peer support and collaboration played a key role in satisfying the players’ psychological need of relatedness, regardless of board game types. Game design also played a crucial role in fulfilling or thwarting their psychological need of autonomy and competence for both competitive and collaborative board games. As for factors affecting L2 English international students’ engagement, the most prominent influencing factor for engagement with the two board games is game design, followed by game type. Collaboration with and support from peer players also played an important role in their engagement with the board games, especially the collaborative board game. Based on research results, implications for study abroad education were discussed.

© Concordia University

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Interdisciplinary Approaches to Higher Education and Food Safety in International Development in Agriculture

The following dissertation contains a series of articles from a diverse set of research experiences over my five years as a PhD student at Purdue University. Each of the following articles relay how my interdisciplinary studies in food safety, gender, and higher education contribute to a comprehensive understanding of international development in agriculture. After an introductory chapter, chapters two and three include systematic literature review articles on the state of food safety in Lao PDR and Cambodia. Each review discusses available knowledge and potential development opportunities surrounding food safety, a significant threat to public health, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Building upon the food safety literature, chapters four and five are based upon research aimed at reducing foodborne illnesses in Cambodia’s informal vegetable value chain. Toward this end, the chapters present two articles that study the lives of Cambodian women vegetable producers to inform future food safety engagement. The final three chapters are a collection of articles based on my experiences working with agricultural higher education in international development contexts. Chapters six and seven present two articles about the employability of Egyptian agriculture university graduates. Chapter eight includes my final research article and explores how a service learning-based study abroad in Romania encouraged agricultural engagement interest and skills in undergraduate agricultural students. Lastly, chapter nine concludes the dissertation with final remarks and reflections about how each discipline provided a different perspective to international development in agriculture, and the value of applying interdisciplinary approaches to complex challenges.

Degree Type

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Animal Sciences

Campus location

• West Lafayette

Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair

Additional committee member 2, additional committee member 3, additional committee member 4, additional committee member 5, usage metrics.

• Other agricultural, veterinary and food sciences not elsewhere classified

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The Australian Professor Who Turned Breaking on Its Head

Rachael Gunn, known as B-girl Raygun, displayed some … unique moves as she competed in a field with breakers half her age. The judges and the internet were underwhelmed.

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By Dodai Stewart and Talya Minsberg

Reporting from Paris

Breaking made its debut as an Olympic sport Friday, and among the competitors was Dr. Rachael Gunn, also known as B-girl Raygun, a 36-year-old professor from Sydney, Australia, who stood out in just about every way.

By day, her research interests include “dance, gender politics, and the dynamics between theoretical and practical methodologies.” But on the world’s stage in Paris, wearing green track pants and a green polo shirt instead of the street-style outfits of her much younger fellow breakers, she competed against the 21-year-old Logan Edra of the United States, known as Logistx.

During the round robin, as Raygun and Logistx faced off, Raygun laid on her side, reached for her toes, spun around, and threw in a kangaroo hop — a nod to her homeland. She performed a move that looked something like swimming and another that could best be described as duckwalking. The high-speed back and head spins that other breakers would demonstrate were mostly absent.

The crowd cheered Raygun politely. The judges weren’t as kind. All nine voted for Logistx in both rounds of the competition; Logistx won, 18-0.

Online, Raygun’s performance quickly became a sensation, not necessarily in a flattering way.

“The more I watch the videos of Raygun, the Aussie breaker, the more I get annoyed,” one viewer posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “There’s 27.7 million Australians in the world and that’s who they send to the Olympics for this inaugural event??? C’mon now!”

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