Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis And Conductor's Guide To Allen Webber'sThree American Poets, John Wayne Weatherspoon

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Allen Webber’s Three American Poets is a three-movement choral work based on texts by several American poets. This monograph shines light on the compositional style of Webber by means of an in-depth score analysis of this work. Webber’s experience as a written theory and aural skills professor informs his writing style. Frequent correspondence and interviews with the composer informed the study through qualitative data. Though the piece is accessible to advanced high school choruses and beyond, it will at times challenge those choirs with unexpected chromatic movements. This study provides conductors with a guide to develop a creative and scholarly …

The Solo Guitar Works Of Emiliana De Zubeldia: Towards A Performing Edition, Erick Quijada

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This project lays the groundwork for a performing edition of Emiliana de Zubeldia's solo guitar works. It involves a comparative analysis between the autographs and the unpublished critical edition, uncovering discrepancies and errors that need correction in the performing edition. Decisions regarding the omission of notes are made to align the musical text with traditional guitar possibilities. These decisions are rooted in a meticulous musical analysis aimed at ensuring a deep understanding of the works. Additionally, the abstract includes a biography of the composer, providing contextual background.

Dimitris Kafyris: The Legacy And Pedagogy Of A Trailblazing Greek Trumpeter, Stephen M. Wadsack

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Dimitris Kafyris (Δημήτρης Κάφυρης, 1932–2020) is regarded as one of the most talented trumpeters of the twentieth century, within his native homeland of Greece. From the early 1950s into the mid-1980s, Kafyris performed with the Athens State Orchestra (Greece’s premier orchestral ensemble), the Greek Radio Symphony, and the National Opera. During this period, Kafyris also maintained a teaching position at the Hellenikon Conservatory (Ελληνικόν Ωδείον) in Athens. Following what many would already consider to be a robust career, Kafyris returned home to the Greek island of Corfu, where he assumed the roles of Bandmaster and Director of the Corfu Philharmonic …

The Forgotten Trio: Tenor, Bass, And Basso Continuo An Exploration Of Music For The Tenor/Bass Ensemble From The 17th And 18th Centuries, Joshua Golden

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Music written for and performed by tenors and basses has permeated vocal expressions since medieval chant. The history of male choral singing is as lengthy and storied as the history of all choral singing. However, the current canon of programming for this type of ensemble reveals a significant gap in historical tradition and presentation.

This research delves into the historical, cultural, and artistic milieu that influenced the development of tenor/bass choral music throughout this time period. Utilizing primary sources, as well as a rich body of secondary literature, the study employs a comparative analytical approach to dissect the musical styles, …

Exploring How Music Therapy Can Support Transition-Aged Young Adults With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities: An Adapted Multiple Case Study, Hayley Davis

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Young adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) face barriers and challenges after their transition from high school to their post-high school lives. While in high school, a student with IDD receives support and services through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, but once a student with IDD graduates high school, they no longer have access to the services that they were once receiving. While this phenomenon (often referred to as the “disability cliff”) has been examined, there is a lack of research surrounding the perspectives and lived experiences of young adults with IDD. Furthermore, there is very limited research …

Humor Matters: An Adapted Multiple Case Study Exploring Music Therapists’ Perspectives Of Humor With Older Adults, Caleb M. Posey

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Humor is a ubiquitous human experience and a skill retained in older adulthood. It is also an integral but elusive therapeutic tool with numerous benefits and risks to well-being. Therapeutic humor – the application of humor to client well-being – is an emerging area of study. However, scant music therapy literature on humor is available. The purpose of this qualitative thesis was to explore the use and function of humor in music therapy with older adults from the perspectives of experienced music therapists. There were three research questions: (1) how do music therapists describe their use of humor with older …

Understanding The Effects Of Hormone Treatments On The Transgender Singer: A Pedagogical Study And Voice Studio Guide, Erin M. Hannon

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Transitioning from one gender to another can be an arduous and emotionally charged experience, accompanied by many physical and mental transformations. The journey of self-discovery and vocal explorations is both unique and deeply personal. Modifications that emerge in an individual's vocal characteristics have a profound influence on their capacity to communicate and express themselves.

Transgender vocal students and professional singers must navigate the delicate balance between their vocal and gender identities while considering the possible risks of Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy. Though these therapies may significantly alter one's appearance and overall well-being, they are also capable of causing notable declines …

Honk!: Meaning And Activism In 21st Century American Street Bands, Isaac Maupin

Theses and Dissertations--Music

In this dissertation, I explore activism, music, and meaning through the lens of HONK! Bands in the United States. HONK! A Festival of Activist Street Bands began in Sommerville, Massachusetts, in 2006. Since its inception, the festivals have grown on a national and global scale. The festivals, however, operate as a convenient organizing structure for the bands themselves and are not a primary focus of this work. Instead, I examine activism, learning, and value as systems within the HONK! culture (each topic with a devoted chapter) to, through a phenomenological lens, better understand how HONK! bands fit within American culture. …

Barriers And Pathways To Music Teacher Professional Agency, David Dockan

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Teacher agency has been a burgeoning topic of research in education and music education. In education research, professional agency has been associated with the influence of policy, teacher demographics, teacher beliefs, professional developments, and teaching environments. In music education, music teacher professional agency is a music teacher’s perception of their capacity to exert power, act, or cause change in their curriculum. Although many researchers and scholars assume that music teachers have agency in their classroom regarding their curriculum, the landscape is shifting due to recent policy changes in the United States, specifically concerning Divisive Concept Laws. Since recent Divisive Concept …

How Spirituals Influenced Both Resistance To Nazis And Civil Rights Protests, Chandi Plummer

Theses and Dissertations--Music

How have American Negro Spirituals inspired later generations of oppressed and marginalized people? Which songs of suffering and hope were particularly poignant in providing courage and inspiration? Questions such as these sparked my research journey, reaching a crescendo during a lecture recital on November 10, 2023, and now culminating in a dissertation.

Spirituals inspired Albert Franklin Fisher and Dietrich Bonhoeffer in New York City in 1930 during the Harlem Renaissance and traveled (via phonograph and music books) with Bonhoeffer to Nazi Germany during World War II. In America, spirituals influenced Myles and Zilphia Horton, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King, …

Expert Perceptions Of Needs Of Pregnant Individuals With Substance Use Disorder In Kentucky: A Qualitative Multiple Case Study, Emma Foret Latham

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Substance misuse is a pandemic with far reaching effects on those personally affected, their families, and their communities. Kentucky has one of the highest rates of substance use disorder (SUD) in the country, and most research has focused on how to help men in recovery. There is very little research regarding how to support pregnant individuals with SUD. The purpose of this qualitative thesis was to identify the perceived needs of pregnant individuals with SUD, define characteristics of effective care, and learn how music therapists can support this population in substance use rehabilitation settings from the perspectives of experienced professionals. …

Sculpting Time: A Performance Guide To Four Fragments Of Time By Marcus Siqueira, Luis Felipe Vargas Magdaleno De Moraes

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This dissertation investigates the musical and phenomenological aspects of Four Fragments of Time by Marcus Siqueira (b. 1974) and provides a performance guide for this work. Furthermore, this dissertation analyzes previous guitar works by the composer, seeking to understand Siqueira’s compositional idiosyncrasies and to provide context for the interpretation of Four Fragments of Time. This dissertation includes a biography of the composer, an analysis of the compositional process of Four Fragments of Time, an analysis of the recurrent idiomatic procedures in Siqueira’s guitar works, and an overview of the collaborative process between the composer and the author. Additionally, an analysis …

Conceptual Blending: A Singer’S Analysis Of Libby Larsen’S Try Me, Good King: Last Words Of The Wives Of Henry Viii And A Conversation With The Composer, Kelsey Paige Ann Loeslie

Theses and Dissertations--Music

American composer Libby Larsen is celebrated for her versatility and expertise in crafting intricate text-music relationships, notably exemplified in her song cycle Try Me Good King: Last Words of the Wives of Henry VIII. This research explores Larsen's innovative compositional techniques in this cycle using Cross-Domain Mapping and Conceptual Blending Theory. Drawing from Lawrence Zbikowski's work, the study employs Conceptual Integration Networks to analyze Larsen's music, revealing the intricate interplay between text and music. By synthesizing these methodologies, the research comprehensively examines Larsen's song cycle, enhancing our understanding of her composition both from a music theory perspective and from a …

Border Bones – Between Borders: A Performer’S Guide To The Formation Of A Music Ensemble, Commissioning, And Recording, Juan Saldivar Jr

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Border Bones, a trombone duo formed in 2023, is committed to encouraging marginalized and underrepresented composers from Mexico and the United States. In its first project, Border Bones commissioned ten new works for the trombone repertoire. The focus and representation of this projected included Mexican, female, and LGBTQ+ composers. Once commissioned, Border Bones recorded these works through New Branch Records and released them as an album titled, Between Borders.

This dissertation is a performer’s guide to forming an ensemble, commissioning new works, and recording an album. It also includes interviews with well-known individuals from the music industry that have commissioned, …

The Aesthetics Of Environmental Risk In Paolo Bacigalupi’S The Windup Girl And The Water Knife, David Schwartz

Theses and Dissertations--English

Any work of environmentally oriented fiction that seeks to represent the wide-reaching effects of climate change is faced with the problem of scale. These texts must render visible change which is at once ubiquitous and microscopic, along with the cascade of side-effects generated in the wake of rising temperature, rising sea levels, and winnowing biodiversity. In short order, these texts must fully imagine what it means to live within the modern global risk society. Borrowing this sociological model from the late Ulrich Beck, I analyze the literary work of Paolo Bacigalupi, one of the foremost authors in the growing genre …

Spaces Of Citizenship: Negotiating Belonging Through Cold War Literature And Culture, Daria Goncharova

Theses and Dissertations--English

At the height of Cold War containment culture, when fears of Communism and nuclear warfare overlapped with anxieties about homosexuality, gender inversion, miscegenation, and juvenile delinquency, formal citizenship—narrowly defined as one’s legal status—did not provide all American citizens with a sense of belonging, equal access to civil liberties, and a reasonable degree of safety. Instead, spatialized identity, rather than civic responsibilities and legal rights, came to define the boundaries of proper citizenship. In this context, highly exclusionary suburbs, which sprang up outside major metropolitan areas in the late 1940s-1950s, emerged as a cornerstone of the cultural narratives defining American citizenship. …

Trust And Knowing In Nineteenth-Century American Literature: Fictional Genres And Metacognitive Disruptions, Jessica Marie Van Gilder

Theses and Dissertations--English

This dissertation investigates how constructions of trust can be undermined or reinforced by examining trust’s entanglement with our compulsive and subjective desire to know in nineteenth-century American literature. Specifically, I analyze how different fictional genres – satire, historical romance, fantastic, and gothic – respond to our desire to know through the types of trust fictional texts feature and construct with the reader. In doing so, I demonstrate how genres of fiction in nineteenth-century America function as dynamic social contracts that amplify and undermine the reader’s trust in larger sociopolitical systems (e.g., national identity) and the epistemologies that underpin those systems …

Different Cohort, Disparate Results: Selection Bias Is A Key Factor In Autopsy Cohorts, Kathryn Gauthreaux, Walter A. Kukull, Karin B. Nelson, Charles Mock, Yen-Chi Chen, Kwun C. G. Chan, David W. Fardo, Yuriko Katsumata, Erin L. Abner, Peter T. Nelson

Neurology Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Research-oriented autopsy cohorts provide critical insights into dementia pathobiology. However, different studies sometimes report disparate findings, partially because each study has its own recruitment biases. We hypothesized that a straightforward metric, related to the percentage of research volunteers cognitively normal at recruitment, would predict other inter-cohort differences.

METHODS: The National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) provided data on N = 7178 autopsied participants from 28 individual research centers. Research cohorts were grouped based on the proportion of participants with normal cognition at initial clinical visit.

RESULTS: Cohorts with more participants who were cognitively normal at recruitment contained more individuals who …

Essays On Corporate Debt Structure, Kyuyoung Oh

Theses and Dissertations--Finance and Quantitative Methods

The dissertation consists of three chapters exploring three different facets of corporate debt structure choice. In the first chapter, “Risk Management and the Choice between Secured and Unsecured Debt: Evidence from Natural Experiment,” I study whether and how corporate hedging affects firms’ choice between secured and unsecured debt. Exploiting the introduction of steel futures as a natural experiment, I provide causal evidence that risk management enables firms to switch from secured to unsecured debt without sacrificing debt capacity. Cross-sectional evidence supports the interpretation that risk management drives the results. The effects are stronger for firms that are more likely to …

A Cytosine Analogue 5-Azacitidine Improves The Accumulation Of Licochalcone A In Licorice Glycyrrhiza Inflata., Xiaoling Ma, Ningxin Jiang, Jingxian Fu, Yuping Li, Lijun Zhou, Ling Yuan, Ying Wang, Yongqing Li

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Licochalcone A (LCA) is a characteristic compound of Glycyrrhiza inflata with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antitumor activities. However, G. inflata produces LCA in low quantities that does not meet the market demand. In this study, we found that DNA methylation inhibitor 5-azacitidine (5-azaC) successfully improved the LCA contents in G. inflata seedlings. Transcriptome analysis revealed a series of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including transcription factors such as MYB, ERF, WRKY, and some structural genes related to flavonoid biosynthesis. However, whole genome bisulfite sequencing (BS-seq) results showed little effect of the 5-azaC treatment on the alteration of DNA methylation on these genes, …

Welcome To The Fruit Farm: How Queer Farmers Are Shaping The Agroecology Of The Future, Alessandra Del Brocco

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

The question of sustainability has many different facets, but one of the most urgent issues is that of sustainable agriculture. Decades of agricultural policy demanded farmers go big or get out, more colloquially known as the government directive of the 20^th century to farm “fencerow to fencerow”. In the 21^st century, we now face a near-critical consolidation of farmland and decline in the overall number of farmers. If sustainability calls for a resilient, diversified agrisystem, how can we change direction at this point in the trajectory?

In this study, I demonstrate how queer farmers make valuable contributions to …

“You Said Burnout? Whew, Chile!” A Multigenerational Collaborative Autoethnography On The Complexities Of Burnout And Care Among Black Women Researching Substance Use, Natalie Malone, Kaylee A. Palomino, Valerie P.A. Verty, Mona K.M. Goggins, Jasmine K. Jester, Brittany Miller-Roenigk, Paris Wheeler, Jardin Dogan-Dixon, Mekaila Keeling, Kendall A. Mccleod, India Mccray, Zoe A. Sigola, Jovonna D. Atkinson, Candice N. Hargons, Danelle Stevens-Watkins

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Researchers and participants who are members of minoritized populations experience negative psychosocial and wellness outcomes like burnout. Burnout may manifest uniquely for Black women in academia conducting research with Black women participants navigating similar sociocultural contexts. Objectives: This article qualitatively interprets our experiences as 15 Black women scholar-practitioners at a midwestern university conducting community-engaged research. We discuss our experiences of care and burnout while working to reduce opioid use disparities among Black women community members as we simultaneously navigate multilevel challenges in academia. Design: We employ collaborative autoethnography, an autobiographical writing method, using a Black feminist framework and intersectionality …

A Gis Tool For Optimal Forage Species Selection, David B. Hannaway, Christopher Daly, Michael D. Halbleib, Linda Brewer, Sophie Baur, Chelsea Clark, Emilie Krecklow, Scott Bassett

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

To determine appropriate forage species for US ecoregions, geographic information technologies (GIS) are being used to create climatic and soil factor maps. Excel spreadsheets and RStudio are used to create response functions of forage species to minimum and maximum temperature, annual precipitation, soil pH, soil salinity, and salinity. National forage data and expert opinion will evaluate quantitative tolerances, seasonal yield profiles, and pollinator suitability. These maps and agronomic and livestock use information will be shared with forage specialists and farmers to provide alternatives for improved perenniality, increased diversity, and system circularity. Future work will include development and evaluation of climate …

Cd8+ T Cell Metabolic Flexibility Elicited By Cd28-Ars2 Axis- Driven Alternative Splicing Of Pkm Supports Antitumor Immunity, G. Aaron Holling, Colin A. Chavel, Anand P. Sharda, Mackenzie M. Lieberman, Caitlin M. James, Shivana M. Lightman, Jason H. Tong, Guanxi Qiao, Tiffany R. Emmons, Thejaswini Giridharan, Shengqi Hou, Andrew M. Intlekofer, Richard M. Higashi, Teresa W. M. Fan, Andrew N. Lane, Kevin H. Eng, Brahm H. Segal, Elizabeth A. Repasky, Kevin P. Lee, Scott H. Olejniczak

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Metabolic flexibility has emerged as a critical determinant of CD8+ T-cell antitumor activity, yet the mechanisms driving the metabolic flexibility of T cells have not been determined. In this study, we investigated the influence of the nuclear cap-binding complex (CBC) adaptor protein ARS2 on mature T cells. In doing so, we discovered a novel signaling axis that endows activated CD8+ T cells with flexibility of glucose catabolism. ARS2 upregulation driven by CD28 signaling reinforced splicing factor recruitment to pre-mRNAs and affected approximately one-third of T-cell activation-induced alternative splicing events. Among these effects, the CD28-ARS2 axis suppressed the expression of the …

Abnormal Regulation Of Mitochondrial Sphingolipids During Aging And Alzheimer’S Disease, Simone M. Crivelli, Zainuddin Quadri, Ahmed Elsherbini, Hemendra J. Vekaria, Patrick G. Sullivan, Wenbo Zhi, Pilar Martinez-Martinez, Stefka D. Spassieva, Erhard Bieberich

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

During pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), mitochondria suffer alterations that lead to low energy production and reactive oxygen species formation. However, the mechanism of impaired mitochondria homeostasis in AD is not fully understood. We hypothesized that abnormal sphingolipid metabolism in mitochondria could be one of the contributing factors to mitochondrial dysfunction. Synaptic and non-synaptic mitochondria were isolated from 5xFAD and wild type (WT) mice at 3 and 7 months using Ficoll gradient ultracentrifugation, and their function was analyzed using Seahorse assay. Additionally, mitochondria were ana- lyzed using mass spectrometry for proteomics and sphingolipidomics analyses. Sphingolipid levels were also determined in …

Cognitive Decline, Aβ Pathology, And Blood–Brain Barrier Function In Aged 5xfad Mice, Geetika Nehra, Sasivimon Promsan, Ruedeemars Yubolphan, Wijitra Chumboatong, Pornpun Vivithanaporn, Bryan J. Maloney, Anusorn Lungkaphin, Bjoern Bauer, Anika M. S. Hartz

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Background

Patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) develop blood–brain barrier dysfunction to varying degrees. How aging impacts Aβ pathology, blood–brain barrier function, and cognitive decline in AD remains largely unknown. In this study, we used 5xFAD mice to investigate changes in Aβ levels, barrier function, and cognitive decline over time.

Methods

5xFAD and wild-type (WT) mice were aged between 9.5 and 15.5 months and tested for spatial learning and reference memory with the Morris Water Maze (MWM). After behavior testing, mice were implanted with acute cranial windows and intravenously injected with fluorescent-labeled dextrans to assess their in vivo distribution in the …