UMD Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

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2018 - 20192

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    Consuming the (Postmodern) Self: Sneaker Customization and the Symbolic Creation of Meaning and Identity
    (2019) Wallace, Brandon Tyler; Andrews, David L; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    With regard to the centrality of symbolic cultural consumption in late capitalism (Jameson, 1991; Mandel, 1978), this thesis broadly details how consumers negotiate meaning and construct identity through engagement with cultural commodities. I examine this phenomenon through the athletic sneaker: a commodity that’s value largely derives from the cultural meanings it exhibits (Baudrillard, 1983; Miner, 2009; Turner, 2015). Specifically, I analyze sneaker customization, or the act of personal modification of traditional sneakers. Drawing from 15 in-depth interviews with individuals who have experience with sneaker customization, I explicate the various meanings that participants attach to sneaker customization, along with articulating its emergence, current position, implications and significance within its broader sociocultural contexts. This thesis contributes to understandings of how everyday individuals engage with popular cultural practices – such as sneaker customization – to create and define the means of their existence amidst the societal conditions with which they are confronted (Hall, 1996).
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    From the Solar Decathlon to Sustainable Communities
    (2018) Courtney, Christopher; Rockcastle, Garth; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This thesis explores the potential to use the fundamental elements of UMD’s decathlon submission, and transform it into scalable, modular, fully customizable, and sustainable houses for the Native Tribes, including Apache reservation in Bylas, Arizona. The thesis summarizes the various prototypes and possible arrangements of a solar home, but first lays out significant precedent analysis for sustainable solar communities to form a strong baseline of rich context. The history and culture of the resilient nomadic Apache tribe is then analyzed in order to better understand what is and is not appropriate design-wise for this culture. It explores options, a decision-matrix using a smartphone application, and layouts using the courtyard, compact and cluster arrangements. It concludes with sample houses and building designs that would be in the community.