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An Essay On Musical Narrative Theory And Its Role In Interpretation, With Analyses Of Works For Saxophone By Alfred Desenclos And John Harbison, Ian Macdonald Jeffress

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years the field of semiotics has increasingly been applied to musicology, with particular attention paid to the area of narrative theory. This study will provide an introduction to the essential concepts of semiotics and narrative theory, the development of a methodology of narrative analysis with examples from the saxophone repertoire, and the application of that analytical approach to Alfred Desenclos' Prélude, Cadence, et Finale and John Harbison's San Antonio. The goal of this study will be the demonstration of narrative theory's applicability to a variety of styles pertinent to the concert saxophone repertoire. It is hoped that this …

The Role Of The Trickster Figure And Four Afro-Caribbean Meta-Tropes In The Realization Of Agency By Three Slave Protagonists, David Sebastian Cross

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I aim to demonstrate that the figure of the trickster is a key trope for the achievement of agency by the narrators of the three slave narratives Autobiografia de un esclavo, "Routes in North Africa by Abu Bekr es siddik" [sic], and Biografia de un cimarron. I also intend to show how both the realization of the trickster's role and the achievement of agency to which such a role is oriented are dependent on the use of the four Afro-Caribbean meta-tropes ndoki, nkisi, nganga, and simbi. To demonstrate this, I plan to analyze these four meta-tropes; their …

Putting Place Back Into Displacement: Reevaluating Diaspora In The Contemporary Literature Of Migration, Christiane Brigitte Steckenbiller

Theses and Dissertations

In order to improve the engineering properties of soft soils, materials, such as cement and fiber, can be introduced to the soil mass. Currently, design criterion for a cement-soil mixture requires only the measurement of unconfined compressive strength. This simple measurement may not be adequate to describe the behavior that results from differing field loading conditions. A series of consolidation tests and unconfined compression tests were conducted with special attention being paid to the effects of curing time and vertical curing stress. It is shown that the introduction of cement into soft soils results in decreased compressibility and increased unconfined …

Second Language Learnerhood Among Cross-Cultural Field Workers, Thor Andrew Sawin

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation studies second language learnerhood (ideologies about why and how to acquire a target language) among American field workers of a multinational, faith-based development organization, "Love the World". This organizational ethnography is longitudinal, tracking how learnerhood changes across the first years of field service. It is also multi-sited, tracing learnerhood across an assemblage of interconnected nodes. Field workers' learnerhoods are shaped by two larger ideologies of language learning which interact across the nodes of and individual trajectories through Love the World. One ideology, rooted in academic tradition, developmental second language acquisition and modernist missiological theory, valorizes the individual learner …

Contested Identities And Language Education: Inculcating Nationalist Ideologies In The Basque Region, William Joseph Hogan

Theses and Dissertations

Nationalist sentiment has a long history in the Basque regions of northern Spain. Culturally separate from the dominant Castilian society, separatists have for many years advocated for an independent Basque state. Following democratic reforms under the Constitution of 1978, regional cultures and languages were explicitly recognized and protected in Spain. This allowed for the current set of language laws in the Autonomous Community of Pa├â┬¡s Vasco in which Castilian Spanish and the Basque language of Euskara are held in equal status and recognition. Furthermore, Euskara has been recognized as a defining characteristic of Basque identity. The regional government has instituted …

Is It A Small World After All: An Examination Of Scientific Collaborations In Public Administration, James Earl Orr Jr

Theses and Dissertations

Peer reviewed journal articles are one way in which scholars communicate with each other and the public. Such publications create networks of collaboration. This study uses social network analysis techniques and theory to examine the network of collaborations that occur in public administration. Social network analysis is a perspective that takes into account the structure of relationships that can exist among individuals, organizations or other entities (Wellman, 2008). The small world theory is the specific theoretical framework that guides this study. The small world theory is based on the notion that despite a population being very large, individuals in that …

Hearth And Home: Life In And Around A "Kitchen" From Ancient Judah As Excavated At Tell Halif, Tim Frank

Theses and Dissertations

A room with many well-preserved artifacts was excavated at Tell Halif in a level associated with Ancient Judah. By using analogy the use of these artifacts can be compared with that of other similar objects. Analogy is at the heart of archaeological interpretation and allows a more explicit determination of the possible uses of artifacts and their patterning. The artifacts serve as evidence for reconstructing life in and around an archaeologically excavated space. By discerning the patterns of artifact distribution we can interpret how the space might have been used. The room excavated at Tell Halif has strong evidence for …

Thin Soils And Sacbes: The Soil Resources Of Uci, Yucatan, Mexico, Zachary S. Larsen

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to use pedological evidence in conjunction with Geographic Information Systems, and soil physical and chemical analyses as means to better understand the agricultural landscape surrounding the ancient Maya city of Uci. Specifically, the query of this thesis is to determine whether there is an association between settlement density and soil resources, and what relationship if any there is between the ancient sacbe of Uci and its surrounding agricultural potential. Stable carbon isotope analysis of the humin fraction of the soil organic matter was conducted on several profiles from karst depressions known as rejolladas near …

Roman And Early Byzantine Burials At Fag El-Gamus, Egypt: A Reassessment Of The Case For Religious Affiliation, Kristin Hacken South

Theses and Dissertations

The Late Roman necropolis of Fag el-Gamus on the eastern edge of Egypt's Fayum Oasis is a valuable archaeological site for exploring issues of personal and cultural identity in Roman Egypt. Former scholarship regarding the people buried at Fag el-Gamus has claimed-based on narrow evidence--that they represent an exceptionally early Christian community in Egypt. However, a more careful look at the evidence-using recent theoretical approaches, data-driven analyses, and comparisons with contemporary sites throughout Egypt and neighboring areas-reveals a more complicated portrait of their religious affiliation and other aspects of their identity. This study examines several potential markers of religious affiliation …

Art Criticism, Scholarly Interpretation, And Curatorial Intent: A Reassessment Of The 1998 Jackson Pollock Retrospective At The Museum Of Modern Art, Andrea Alvarez

Theses and Dissertations

In 1998, the Museum of Modern Art held a retrospective exhibition of artworks by Jackson Pollock. Curators Kirk Varnedoe and Pepe Karmel worked in an art historical context that had been significantly shaped by the early critical writings by Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg. The curators’ stated intention for the exhibition installation was to provide “a fresh chance for new generations of artists to come to terms with a legendary figure” and to enable “the broader public to reassess a quintessentially American artist in light of three decades of new scholarship,” without “ hewing to any particular critical dogma.” Despite …

The Acoustic Qualities Of Embera Katío Stops, Gisella Teresa Greenfield Vélez

Theses and Dissertations

Embera Katío is a Chocó language of Colombia. This thesis presents the results of an acoustic analysis of the stops as produced by speakers from the departments of Córdoba and Antioquia. The analysis of the stops allows me to establish more conclusively their actual physical correlates and corresponding phonological categories.

Five male adult native speakers of Embera Katío were recorded on location. Each one pronounced sixty-one words in a constant sentential frame, five times each. The utterances were analyzed acoustically, measuring duration, formant onset time, pre-voicing, and burst.

Analysis of the data verifies that Embera Katío has three series of …

Discovering How Community Organizing Leads To Social Change: Developing Formal Practice Theory For Social Workers Engaged In Empowering Community Organizing, Shane Brady

Theses and Dissertations

Community organizing as an area of social work practice has historic roots in challenging inequality, building capacity, and meeting the needs of local peoples through taking collective action. While the literature of community organizing is rich in conceptual frameworks, practice approaches, and case studies, it lacks the level of formal theory that exists in clinical social work. Formal practice theories provide social workers with evidence informed guidance about “what to do”, “how to do it”, and “what to expect”; however, social workers engaging in community organizing have little formal practice theory. The results of this study build the beginning foundation …

Eastern Shore Stories: Technology, Place, And Local Culture, Patricia Bloxom

Theses and Dissertations

The Eastern Shore of Virginia is a narrow peninsula separating the Chesapeake Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Residents of the rural counties of Accomack and Northampton County share a strong sense of cultural identity based on geography, rooted in a distinct communal sense of place reinforced by an agricultural lifestyle. Storytelling around dinner tables and on front porches at dusk, speeches at high school graduations, family recipes talked through in a grandmother’s kitchen – it is through oral language that Eastern Shore people have primarily shared the knowledge that sustains their sense of communal identity. Oral knowledge of farming techniques …

The Unclothed Body In Francisco Goya's The Disasters Of War, Elizabeth Sanderford

Theses and Dissertations

Francisco Goya (1746-1828) created a series of prints entitled The Disasters of War (1810-1820) (Los Desastres de la Guerra) depicting the Napoleonic Wars in Spain, the famine that subsequently occurred in Madrid, and symbolic representations similar to his print series Los Caprichos (1797-1799). This thesis will consider Goya’s use of the unclothed human body in his series of prints The Disasters of War. This thesis will place these representations within the contexts of other works produced by Goya that portray the unclothed figures, as well as within the Spanish artistic tradition of Goya’s time. Through this investigation, I will situate …

Speaking Of Rivers: Demystifying Foreign-Born Blacks Through A Secondary Esl Context, C. D. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Linguistic imperialism and societal assumptions can become dominant issues that lessen the significance of the identity, language, culture, and communication of minorities in English as a second language (ESL) settings, which may hinder the possibilities of acceptance and success (Amin, 1997; Ibrahim, 1999; Morgan, 1997; Ogbu, 1992a). Students from Africa and West Indies, foreign-born Blacks, represent English language learners (ELLs) who have distinct cultural and linguistic mores that often go unnoticed. Foreign-born Blacks possess uncommon mother tongues and cultural behaviors that present struggles with salient entrenched racialization in ESL because the historical aspects of English are associated with Whiteness, dominance, …

Transfer Seminars: The Impact On Transfer Student Collegiate Adjustment, Amanda Farina

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to investigate the impact transfer seminars at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey had on transfer students' adjustment to college. The study explored the college goals/outcomes, and study strategies students used both before and after taking the transfer seminar. This study utilized archival data from 328 surveys collected since 2003. Students were administered a survey at the beginning of the transfer seminar course and then again at the end of the semester. Results from the data analysis showed some statistically significant changes from pre to post survey. Most notably, students were concerned about …

In-Text And Out-Of-Text Engagement: Interactional Features In Students' Academic Writing And Academic Engagement, Florette Press

Theses and Dissertations

While student engagement theory recognizes writing as an engaging activity, there have been few studies that explore the levels of engagement within college students' academic writing. Analyses of in-text interactions between writers and their imagined reader(s) can uncover writers' attitudes about themselves as writers and as participants in the academic community. This study looked specifically at students' in-text interaction in the context of overall student engagement. Making a connection between interactional features in writing and overall student engagement provided a new perspective by which professors and administrators can evaluate students' academic integration. This study combined text analysis and interviews with …

Addressing Sample Bias And Representativeness At The Kinlock Site (22su526) A Freshwater Mussel Shell Ring In The Mississippi Delta, Joseph Alan Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

Applied zooarchaeology provides baselines which can be used in modern conservation biology to better understand how faunal communities have changed over time. This goal can only be accomplished, however, by first accounting for the multiple biases present within the archaeological record, and how they may affect sample representativeness. Taxonomic analysis was conducted on freshwater mussel shell from the late prehistoric (ca. A.D. 700 - 1200) Kinlock site, Sunflower County, Mississippi. Species-area curves and biodiversity indices demonstrate that random sampling of surface clusters of shell, up to about 4,000 valves, provides an adequate picture of the overall surface assemblage. Comparison of …

Dental Microwear And Diet Change During The Greek Bronze And Iron Age In Coastal East Lokris, Greece, J Rocco De Gregory

Theses and Dissertations

This research utilizes two analytical methods to examine the dental microwear of two skeletal samples from East Lokris, Greece. The samples are from the Bronze age/Early Iron age sites of Mitrou and Tragana Agia Triada. The samples were tested according to various temporal and geographic designations in an attempt to determine if any differences in dietary constituent could be discerned from their dental microwear signatures. Both traditional dental microwear analysis using a scanning electron microscope and dental microwear texture analysis employing scale sensitive fractal analysis and a Sensofar Plµ Confocal Profiler were used. The results of analysis for both methods …

Sustainable Construction Practices Of Intentional Communities: A Pilot Investigation In Loudoun County, Virginia And Frederick County, Maryland, Jason Lee Shedd

Theses and Dissertations

This project investigated the sustainability of homes within three intentional communities. Semi-structured interview and photographic walkthroughs examined the variability of architectural and technological approaches toward sustainability. These include: passive solar design, green roofs, radiant flooring, composting toilets, ground assist heat pumps, solar water heaters, multiamily units and modular construction. It was hypothesized that variation in sustainable construction is related to socioeconomic status and that economics would be a constraint. This project investigated whether communities were transmitting their practices to wider society, if individuals were copying vernacular architecture and if architectural practices followed individual beliefs regarding sustainability. It was found that …

The Influence Of One Scholar On Another: A Citation Analysis Of Highly Cited Authors In Instructional Design And Technology, Tyler Randall Small

Theses and Dissertations

While many historical articles and chapters on the foundations of Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) have painted an accurate picture of the field, it has been 21 years since anyone has given emphasis to the relationships of influence among IDT scholars. Many have written on various elements of the field, emphasizing events according to their own experience, which have increased our overall understanding of IDT. However, without insight on the connections between these pieces, the field appears to be only a broad array of isolated silos, each filled with its own research interest. This research sought to discover IDT's genealogy …

Courtroom Discourse As Verbal Performance: Describing The Unique Sociolinguistic Situation Of The American Trial Courtroom, Seth William Wood

Theses and Dissertations

Individual events within courtroom discourse, such as lawyer-witness interactions have been studied extensively, particularly within a framework of powerful vs. powerless language (Adelsward, 1987; Archer, 2006; Bogoch, 2000; Eades, 2010; Fuller, 1993; Gnisci & Bakeman, 2007; Hobbs, 2007; Keating, 2009; Penman, 1990; Philips, 1984; Roberts, 1990). However, this thesis will show that courtroom discourse is sufficiently unique to warrant a distinct framework. It will also explore the explanatory power of a Courtroom Discourse Verbal Performance framework influenced by Verbal Art as Performance (Bauman, 1977). In particular this work will create a framework (Courtroom Discourse Verbal Performance) that explains the sociolinguistic …

Parowan Fremont Faunal Exploitation: Resource Depression Or Feasting?, Sara E. Stauffer

Theses and Dissertations

The faunal remains of large game such as mule deer, pronghorn, and mountain sheep are abundant at Fremont sites, as are jackrabbits and cottontails. The proportions of these species in Fremont faunal assemblages fluctuate through time. Explanations for these variations range from resource depression to communal activities. This thesis provides the results of the faunal analysis from three previously unreported sites. Paragonah (42IN43), Summit (42IN40), and Parowan (42IN100) are large Fremont sites in the Parowan Valley located 20 miles north of Cedar City in Utah. The purpose of this thesis is to determine if the variations in the faunal assemblage …

The Evolution Of Conservative Attitudes As A Complement To Cognitive Threat Detection Mechanisms, Russ Clay

Theses and Dissertations

Conservatism reflects a general attitude structure characterized by a preference for traditional social practices and an aversion to uncertainty and threat. Though the social environment undoubtedly plays a role in shaping conservative attitudes, recent studies suggest that trait-level characteristics may contribute to their development as well. The present research investigated trait-level cognitive threat detection ability as a factor which may influence the development and maintenance of conservative social attitudes. A computer simulation indicated that socially conservative attitudes may function as a strategy for increasing the survival rate of an individual with poor threat detection ability living in a relatively dangerous …

Oral History Heirlooms: Vitality And Substance In Learning, Arlene Abate Carpenter

Theses and Dissertations

The major problem confronting educators is incorporating a simple, profitable, stimulating, and integrated learning technique in the classroom that motivates students, internalizes lessons, and produces active, enriched learners. This thesis demonstrates that the oral history genre is the viable solution. Nine planned project stages guide educators in establishing a new dimension of knowledge for students where interviews and research combine living memories with documented resources to create and preserve personalized history. The author obtained information through personal interviews with family members from the descendents of Vito Antonio Mevoli, Filomena (Onorato) Mevoli, Dominick Abate, and Catherine (Lorusso) Abate and researched data …

Improving Student Engagement: An Evaluation Of The Latinos In Action Program, Jose Elder Enriquez

Theses and Dissertations

Hispanic students make up 12% of the enrollment in Utah elementary and secondary schools but only 3.4% of the enrollment at Utah's colleges and universities, according to Alemán and Rorrer (2006). The intervention Latinos in Action (LIA) seeks to increase high school completion and college graduation rates among emergent bilingual Latinos by involving them as paraprofessional literacy tutors for younger Spanish-speaking students. This dissertation, written in article-ready style, reports on two studies of the program. Study 1, a survey of 128 high school students, found that those involved in the service and literacy program scored higher than their bilingual Latino …

The Personal Characteristics And Pedgagogical Styles Of Effective Abstinence Education Instructors, Karen D. Hill

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the personal characteristics and pedagogical styles of effective abstinence instructors. Abstinence instructors receive regular training and evaluation and tend to remain in the abstinence education field for multiple years. Abstinence education programs are offered throughout the United States and present a pool of participants in which to sociologically examine the dynamics of the relationship of adolescents and instructors in a youth prevention program. This qualitative study is based on in-depth personal interviews of eight abstinence instructors who shared insights into their own teaching experiences, expressed their thoughts about who they are as …

Effect Of Antioxidants And Oxidative Stress On Different Cancer Cell Types, Gaytri Devi Gupta Elera

Theses and Dissertations

Vaccinium cyanococcus, most commonly known as blueberry, is a fruit native to North America that is known for its unique taste and high antioxidant content. The skin, seed and juice of both organically and conventionally grown blueberry extract were analyzed for antioxidant content using both the Hydrophilic and Lipophilic Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) assays. Results from the Hydrophilic ORAC test showed that conventionally grown blue berries had a higher antioxidant capacity across all samples, while the Lipophilic ORAC assay showed that the antioxidant concentration of organically cultivated blueberry juice was highest, but conventionally grown blueberry seed and skin …

The Church In The Square: Negotiations Of Religion And Revolution At An Evangelical Church In Cairo, Egypt, Anna Dowell

Theses and Dissertations

In the wake of the Egyptian January 25, 2011 popular uprisings that deposed Hosni Mubarak from the presidency, youth and leaders from Kanisset Kasr el Dobara (KDEC) in Tahrir Square embarked on new and unpredictable political projects and activisms. This ethnographic study is an engagement with these new revolutionary negotiations on the part of the largest Protestant congregation in the Middle East. Using participant observation, focus groups, and interviews this research seeks to elucidate the ways that youth and leaders utilized institutionalized discourse, religious imagery, and relational networks in order to carve out a place in the Egyptian public sphere …

Trickle Down This Effect: Negotiations Of Culture, Care, And Freedom In Contemporary Cairo International Schools, Anne Caldwell

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis attempts to analyze the contradictions and practices of a neoliberal ethical project among a privileged class in contemporary Cairo. The growing presence and availability of international schools in Cairo has reconfigured particular aspects of culture, care, and freedom for elite subjects over the past forty years. The main research question is: how are globalized notions of well being, self-realization, and personal fulfillment transmitted through the work of neoliberal discourse and staff at international schools in Cairo. It has been identified in this thesis that certain forms of care and responsibility are tightly bound and shaped by a neoliberal …