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Student Perspectives of Music Courses in a Southwest Missouri School District: An Exploratory Case Study
No full textThe purpose of this study was to investigate student personal perspectives (grades 8-12) of music courses, their value, and what music courses they might choose or recommend. Numerous researchers and educators have debated and researched how music course offerings and instructional approaches used are central to the relevance, inclusiveness, accessibility, and equity in music education (Abramo, 2011; Clauhs & Cremata, 2020; Cooper, 2013; Green, 2006; Kelly & Heath, 2015). However, few researchers have investigated how students think about the motivations and barriers to different types of music courses. A semi-structured interview was used to explore secondary music students’ (a) perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes of music courses, (b) perceived value of both traditional and nontraditional music courses, and (c) motivations for enrolling in particular nontraditional music courses. The results explore student insights on the motivations and barriers in school secondary music ensembles and how these experiences relate to their own musical experiences after high school graduation. I analyzed the results with a qualitative lens and a lived awareness of the music curriculum as a former teacher in the district. I found that participants were motivated to play an instrument that aligned with their sense of self and to perform in ensembles that they perceived to produce beautiful sounds. The desire for authenticity, autonomy, and identity were common themes in the students’ responses. Based on the results, I provide strategies for teachers that will help them to get to know students personally and learn about their motivations. Given that there is still much that remains unknown about the motivations for different approaches to music education, I also recommend that future researchers explore the perceptions of students who do not participate in school music courses and investigate the motivations of students from different communities and school environments
Saprotrophic
No full textUsing the foundational lens of poets like Carl Phillips and Louise Glück and philosopher Derrida, this poetry collection emphasizes the recognition and exploration of complex human experiences through the power of deconstruction. I occupy conflicting emotional spaces and multifaceted identities using the vehicle of poetry, challenging societal norms that villainize the open discussion of complex experiences like grief, sexuality, and addiction
Natural Transmission of Grapevine Vein Clearing Virus
No full textMore than 60 million tons of grapes are produced annually in the world, making them one of the most widely grown fruit crops. Despite grapes’ economic and health benefits, biotic stressors, such as viruses, cause significant loss to the grape and wine industry. One such virus is grapevine vein clearing virus (GVCV) which seriously threatens grape cultivation in the Midwest region of the United States. This virus has caused the removal of seven commercial vineyards since its discovery in 2004. About 34% of Ampelopsis cordata wild vines are infected with GVCV and serve as a primary inoculum for the spread of the virus by grapevine aphids to commercial vineyards. About 40% of grapevine aphids carry GVCV and it takes only a few seconds for grapevine aphids to transmit this virus. However, the presence of GVCV in its vector does not mean automatic transmission to a new host. In a greenhouse study, in which grapevine aphids were fed only on GVCV-infected vines, their transmission efficiency was 28%, but the natural transmission efficiency of GVCV by grapevine aphids is unknown. In this study, I asked two questions: 1) What is the natural transmission efficiency of GVCV by grapevine aphids? 2) Can GVCV be transmitted vertically via seeds? To answer these questions, grapevine aphids were collected from their hosts at native sites and placed onto the leaves of Chardonel grapevines in the greenhouse. One year later, I collected leaf tissue from these Chardonel grapevines and tested them for GVCV by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Only 3% of the Chardonel grapevines tested GVCV positive, which means grapevine aphids have low natural transmission efficiency of GVCV. I detected GVCV in the seeds of infected grapevines and A. cordata but did not find it in the seedling vines. This indicates that GVCV is seed-borne but not seed-transmitted. Knowledge of the natural transmission of GVCV by grapevine aphids and by seeds helps design strategies to prevent the spread of GVCV to vineyards
Continuing
No full textTaking something whole, breaking it apart, and making it into another form of wholeness is the essence of both papermaking and grief. The papermaking process involves separation, maceration, and forming of new life; the grieving process involves a similar evolution. Creating this body of work has been a pursuit of continuation—a part of me forming new life. Using papermaking processes, I create work that is visually quiet. The details are only noticeable through sustained attention and close proximity. The quiet visual qualities are intended to create a viewing experience that is meditative and slow. The lack of details of the material world is meant to encourage viewers to look within rather than focus on what is on the surface, just as I do when creating them. As viewers linger with my work they are basked with a warm, gentle glow that illuminates through the paper. I use light to symbolize hope and offer a form of reciprocation for those who choose to slow down with the work. The quiet qualities stand as antithetical to the contemporary visual culture and consumption habits
The Future of Alternative Energy? Simulating Methyl Stearate Pyrolysis via Molecular Dynamic Processes
No full textThe process of extracting and refining crude oil is both expensive and environmentally hazardous. The synthesis of biodiesel sourced from vegetable oils is a renewable process and less hazardous to the environment. Therefore, we seek to understand the pyrolysis procedure at an atomic level in hopes of optimizing future fuel viability. Herein, I analyze methyl stearate (a component of biodiesel) using an in-house database of ab initio trajectories, each simulating 1.0 ps (with 1.0 fs resolution). These jobs were observed for significant bond-breaking/forming events, the type of fragments produced, and the exact position and time for each event. Statistical analysis was performed on the data to coalesce significant pathways. Programs that employ density functional theory were used to determine their thermodynamic properties with increased accuracy. Understanding the unique characteristics of these fragments is important in engineering future biodiesel formulations as a source of alternative energ
A Component Analysis of Behavior Skills Training to Train School Staff to Implement Noncontingent Attention
No full textAs the field of Applied Behavior Analysis expands into multiple disciplines, efficient and effective training becomes an increasingly important aspect of implementing behavior analytic methods and procedures in these additional disciplines. Specifically, as behavior analysis in schools increases, the need for an efficient method of training in implementing behavioral interventions increases due to multiple responsibilities held by school professionals and an occasional high student to teacher ratio. Behavior Skills Training (BST) is among the most researched forms of training for multiple levels of participants in increasing new skills. In evaluating the individual components of BST, effectiveness and efficiency may increase when only the necessary components for each participant are implemented. Additionally, eliminating unnecessary components of the BST training method may also minimize social punishers through participants feeling belittled or less than. By fostering a training environment rich in reinforcement, the trainer also increases the probability of correct implementation of Behavior Analytic methods
Activity Patterns of the Critically Endangered Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys Mawii)
No full textThe Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii) is native to southern Mexico, eastern Guatemala, and Belize and is primarily restricted to watersheds that drain into the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Hunting, both for personal consumption and market meat, has been the primary driver of declines, and the species is now classified as critically endangered. Results from past studies that have used netting and visual surveys to detect D. mawii suggest that the species is chiefly nocturnal. However, it is unclear to what extent the perception of nocturnality has been biased by the timing of survey efforts (e.g., animals may appear to be nocturnal if efforts to detect them are restricted to nighttime surveys). A more detailed understanding of activity patterns is important, in part because it informs many other aspects of the species’ biology (foraging patterns, environmental effects, etc.), but also because understanding when individuals are most likely to be moving can help to inform hunting regulations and research efforts. Therefore, to quantify the daily and seasonal activity patterns of D. mawii in a natural river system in Belize, I equipped 8 males, 8 females, and 8 juveniles with archival dataloggers to record acceleration (movement), temperature, and pressure (water depth), and sonic transmitters to aid in relocating and recapturing turtles. Over the course of five sampling trips, from June 2021 to July 2022, I recaptured and downloaded data from 18 of the 24 tagged individuals, resulting in intervals of consecutive data for each turtle ranging from 1–13 months. Surprisingly, and contrary to previous assertions that the D. mawii are chiefly nocturnal, my results indicate that this species exhibits a crepuscular activity pattern, with lowest rates of activity occurring at night. Overall, males were more active than juveniles, which were more active than females. Additionally, I observed a distinct seasonal pattern in activity for males and females, with higher levels of nocturnal activity in the rainy season and higher levels of diurnal activity during the dry season. Temperature negatively correlated with activity, and depth was positively correlated with activity, suggesting D. mawii are more active at greater depths and cooler temperatures. Additionally, females spend more time at greater depths than males or juveniles, and all three demographic groups go deeper during the dry season
Pulsed Laser Deposition Approach to Metal Organic Thin Film Growth With Thin Film Developments and Applications in Electrochemical Sensing of Heavy Metal
No full textIn recent years metal organic frameworks (MOFs), have drawn a lot of attention for their vast and tunable properties. This work is an approach to solve device application issues at the interface of the crystals by introducing a thin-film approach to the self-assembly of the metal organic. The growth using Pulsed Laser Deposition to solve this issue is a novel approach to device and film development. Films have been characterized using Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray Diffraction, Ellipsometry, laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM), electrical measurement. Studying the properties of the grown film to compare and extrapolate the differences between it and its bulk counterpart. In large the XPS data details the chemical state of the film and its correlation to the bulk counterpart. This work entails the process engineering and developments made to overcome a seemingly impossible task. Electrochemical devices were made on Ti/Au working electrodes and tested with cyclic voltammetry as well as square wave stripping voltammetry
Auto-Exploited: Narrative Explorations of the Commodification of Time
No full textThis thesis is an exploration of the phenomenon of the auto-exploitation of the modern individual through and in conjunction with the commodification of time. It explores the eruption of gig-work in recent decades in the United States, and the ways in which the modern individual is both consumer and product, buying and selling her own constructions of identity in order to gain time, fiscal currency and a sense of socioeconomic worth from herself and others. Using theoretical frameworks of Karl Marx, Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Catherine Rottenberg and Byung-Chul Han, I explore the ways in which the modern individual is simultaneously auto-subjected and systemically subjected to both the exploitation and auto-construction of her identity. I explore this phenomenon through the lens of my own experiences as a modern individual existing in a feminine-coded body through creative writing, employing lyric essays and poetry to convey my experiences within a gig-saturated society
On-Campus Experiences of International Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic
No full textCOVID-19 has affected the mental health of college students, especially international students. Previous studies show the group’s challenges associated with language barriers, cultural differences, and social support. Greater understanding is needed as the pandemic has aggravated these challenges. Several studies have investigated the impact on international students; however, it is not clear what social-emotional competencies they are using to adjust during COVID-19. This study investigated international students’ social-emotional experiences, coping strategies, and university services used during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was guided by the social-emotional competency and resiliency models used in mental health. Data was collected using a survey and focus groups. This study’s findings were that emotional challenges were caused by factors such as financial challenges associated with loss of on-campus jobs, retaking of COVID-19 tests, and the unprecedented support cut from family abroad which affected their emotions. Factors like consistent use of masks and fear of testing positive for COVID-19 caused further distress. Changes in mode of instruction resulted in pressure to learn using online platforms before students adjusted. Precautions set to prevent COVID-19 from spreading resulted in social isolation. Participants reported being away from family caused fear of infection. Feelings of uncertainty affected their mental health. Skills used to cope were communication using different platforms to reach family and friends, empathizing with leadership, a positive attitude, and engaging in activities such as cooking, exercise, entertainment and learning new skills for emotional regulation. They engaged in responsible decision making by taking precautions before socializing and avoiding sources of stress. They used relational skills to seek support through services provided on-campus. The most used services were Magers Health Clinic, International Services, Bear Claw, Career Center, and the food pantry. This research may help higher education institutions understand areas to invest in support of international students’ strategies and resilience during and after a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic including high quality and quantity communication, more visibility for peer-assisted services, and recognition of the importance of community resources especially churches