Postmodernism is a philosophical description that encompasses philosophy, the arts, a period of history, and many other aspects of today’s existence. This dissertation examines the extent to which Indiana public school superintendents use postmodern philosophy as opposed to modern philosophy to inform their practice. This was accomplished by examining eight leadership concepts through the application of questions with decisions related to either modernism or postmodernism. The study described by this dissertation used a quantitative research method assembling data and determining the (...) correlation of operant philosophy by a superintendent with their tenure. (shrink)

Several commentaries have been written about the role that Nature has played in the literature of early America, including books by Wilson Ober Clough,Hans Huth and Norman Foerster. Each of these studies, however has virtually ignored a vital aspect of the Man-Nature relationship as it was conceived and as it matured in the young nation. From the beginning, the American view of Nature was influenced and often dictated by the American view of God and a complete picture of the role (...) of Nature in this nation's literature cannot be gained without a consideration also of the role of God in those same writings. The thrust of this study is a consideration of the inter-relationships between God,Man,and nature as they were perceived and recorded by Jonathan Edwards, Philip Morin Freneau, William Cullen Bryant and Ralph Waldo Emerson. These four writers of the 18th and 19th centuries represent not only the essayists and poets of their respective centuries, but also some of the foremost religious, political and philosophical movements of their day. Edwards, like many Puritans before him, viewed Nature with a critical eye, recording the intricacies of her minutest forms with scientific interest. But more than this, he reveled in her beauties, finding in them a muted reflection of the ineffable beauty and majesty of God. Seeing in the workings of Nature shadows of Divine percepts, he began to compile a catalogue of those lessons which god had revealed for the edification of the Saints. Puritan doctrine imposed rigid controls upon the acquisition of these teachings, however. As Edwards taught these lessons, which were not new revelations of God, but rather illustrations of Biblical truths, could only be perceived by God’s Elect and then only when God chose to reveal them. Freneau’s view of Nature as teacher placed her in a role of greater importance. As a Deist, he believed that nature did not simply illustrate Biblical truths but was herself Man’s Bible. Like a book of ready answers about life and death, nature had been prepared in advance by a new remote God, who having fashioned a perfect universe to function in faultless rhythm, then sat back to simply watch it work. Rejecting the Puritan doctrine of the Elect, Freneau argued furthermore that Nature’s lessons were available to any individual who in earnestness sought them. Like Freneau, Bryant rejected any suggestion that nature’s secrets could be understood only by a chosen few. He found instead in the forests and mountains a vast and majestic cathedral in which an individual could reach upward with nature in earnest and loving worship of the creator. But he saw in nature, as well, an eager and sympathetic confidant, a comforter and a guide whose voice spoke freely to any who sought communion with her. Emerson, the Transcendentalist believed that through the very act of creation the Spirit of God flowed into and through every aspect of nature, making every particle in existence from the mightiest king to the smallest grain of sand partakers of his divinity. Man and nature were therefore one, sharing being within the over-soul. And since in the beginning god had thought each rock and tree and mountain into being, they existed as corporeal symbols of spiritual realities. Nature thus became the symbol of the spirit and as Emerson chose not to recognize the Bible as god’s guideline for mankind, nature became also an individual’s only avenue to God. Each of these four men Edwards, Freneau, Bryant and Emerson viewed nature from a slightly different perspective, their views influenced, in part at least by their understanding of God’s relationship to his creation. Yet what are most striking are not the differences in their beliefs, but rather the consistencies. Nature was for each of them, as indeed for most Americans to be admired for her majestic beauty preserved in her innocence and looked to her insight into the workings of God among Men. (shrink)

Previous scholarship has suggested that the frescoes of the Spanish Chapel at Santa Maria Novella in Florence were influenced by the celebration of Corpus Domini and by the philosophy of St.Thomas Aquinas.Although scholars have agreed that such influences exist,few have demonstrated the supposed relationships among frescoes images and Aquinas words or Corpus Domini's text.This Study presents an analysis of the frescoes in the terms of Aqunia's stated philosophy and the text for the mess of Corpus Domini.The frescoes contain images of (...) Aquinas enthroned and Aquinas teaching.The image of Aquinas enthroned above figures representing theological and secular knowledge seems to have been drawn from Aquinas Summa Theologica.In support of the theory that Summa Theologica inspired the image of Aquinas on the west wall,passages from Summa Theologica are cited.The east wall contains an illustration of Aquinas teaching heretics.Aquinas Summa Contra Gentiles may have inspired the image of Aquinas on the east wall.Passages from Summa Contra Gentiles are cited to support that theory.It seems that the Spanish Chapel's founder desired that the chapel should reflect the clebration of Corpus Domini.Although previous scholarship has suggested a relationship between the celebration of Corpus Domini and the frescoes,no specific texts from the celebration had been cited.This thesis,however examines the founder's will as it relates to Corpus Domini and relates the texts of the mass and prcoession of Corpus Domini to appreciate sections of the fresco.Based upon comparisons between the chapel's frescoes and the texts mentioned above,the study offers an explanation of the Spanish Chapel frescoes as a combination of elements from Corpus Domini and Aquinas writings.The celebration of Corpus Domini advocated belief in a transubstantiated Eucharist,a belief which distinguished the faithful from the heretics.Aquinas Summa Theologica contains guidelines for identifying heretics and for persuading them to return to the Catholic faith.Aquinas Summa Contra Gentiles contains instructions for converting Muslims and Jews to Catholicism.Considering these facts,the study offers a theory that the purpose of the frescoes in the Spanish Chapel seems to ahve been to instruct the Dominican friars at Santa Maria Novella about how to recognize and combat hereby and unbelief. (shrink)

The American society, especially the workplace, is becoming increasingly diverse in terms of race/ethnicity, culture, national origin, sexual orientation, familial status, age, religion, disability, and educational attainment (where there are people from different backgrounds and cultures the potential for suspicion and prejudices occur). This study examines diversity and inclusion in the information technology sector and assesses whether differences in group members perceptions and expectations are influenced by gender, race/ethnicity, position, and educational status. This study adopts a descriptive, quantitative approach utilizing (...) a survey in the form of a questionnaire constructed using the Web-based survey software SurveyMonkey. This researcher designed a 12-item instrument administered to information technology (IT) professionals who are members of a national IT association. Statistical analyses, including descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and t-tests were used to answer the research questions. It was found that perceptions and expectations of diversity and inclusion initiatives within the IT industry do not differ significantly by race/ethnicity, gender, education, and position. Details of the results, limitations, recommendations for future research, and applications for practice in organizations by human resources development professionals and technology managers are discussed. (shrink)