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The Tradition of Illusion: Guitar Arrangement as a Post-Canonical Patchwork
Get PDFThis paper proposes an underpinning terminology for scholarly discussions of contemporary arrangement practices in the field of classical guitar performance. The introduction provides some historical foundations for the topic, aiming to present the roots of different approaches and methods in the work of important guitar arrangers. The paper continues by contextualizing arrangement processes within linguistics and language philosophy, discussing the topic of translation, and giving an overview of relevant terminologies. The centre of the paper is the theoretical investigation of arrangement and the identification of translating acts related to musical space, instrumental choreography, texture, timbre, or a combination of those, demonstrated in various examples by contemporary guitar arrangers
The social cost of unpaid student loans
No full textFederal student loans represent a multibillion-dollar investment by American taxpayers. Although most student loans are repaid on time, a significant minority of borrowers struggle to repay their debts. This is particularly true when the education obtained using the loans does not translate into higher earning potential for the borrower. Policymakers have periodically focused attention on easing the burden of student debt. The sympathetic plight of many borrowers makes it easy to consider only their best interests. However, on the opposite side of every debtor is a creditor; in this case, it is the federal government as a representative of taxpayers. Failure to consider the best interests of creditors when considering debt forgiveness can lead to inefficient and unfair outcomes. When making decisions to forgive student debt, policymakers would do better to consider the repayment interests of taxpayers and grant loan forgiveness only when the costs of attempting to collect from borrowers exceeds the likely recovery, or when borrowers demonstrate an inability to satisfy all of their debts. Bankruptcy proceedings can offer targeted and efficient solutions to the student loan debt forgiveness problem and should be better implemented in this space. Furthermore, administrators of student loan programs should update lending criteria for future loans based upon past student loan performance
When the entrepreneurial subject fails: The neoliberal governance of consumer debtors
No full textNeoliberalism ushered in a debt-based economy for American society. The existing scholarship linking neoliberalism to personal indebtedness has mainly been at the macrolevel of analysis. There remains a need to investigate how neoliberalism operates at the microlevel and impacts the everyday lived experiences of consumers struggling with debt. Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality offers a useful analytical framework for unearthing the technologies that result in the subjectification of consumer debtors. A governmentality framework enables us to better understand how indebtedness presents both material and psychological harms for individuals and how neoliberal discourses are interiorized and facilitate a resurrection of financial identity. This research adds to existing governmentality studies by reporting on the responsive strategies to creditor demands and the moral self-accounting indebted individuals engage in when they fail to live up to the neoliberal model of the “entrepreneurial subject.” Based upon thirty-six in-depth interviews with individuals possessing unmanageable debt and on the precipice of filing for bankruptcy, I argue that technologies of neoliberal governance serve to both discipline and recenter debtors as responsibilized entrepreneurial subjects who will reenter the economy and once again turn to a state of credit dependency
Integrating Authentication Schemes in Augmented and Virtual Reality Classrooms
No full textAugmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) technologies are revolutionizing educational experiences, but their widespread adoption hinges on addressing critical security and usability challenges, particularly in the domain of user authentication. This research presents an investigation into the security landscape of AR/VR and explores a graphical authentication scheme called “Things” that enhances both security and usability in immersive learning environments. Through a systematic evaluation of popular AR/VR devices and applications, potential vulnerabilities and limitations were identified, such as high usage of pin/passwords which are susceptible to shoulder-surfing attacks, lack of multi-factor authentication, and unclear data-sharing practices. A review of existing knowledge-based authentication schemes revealed a scarcity of shoulder-surfing-resistant methods suitable for AR/VR. Subsequent technical evaluations and user studies validated the effectiveness, memorability, and user acceptance of the “Things” scheme, which employs familiar object images for authentication. The replication study conducted in AR and VR environments demonstrated the scheme’s superior performance on the Valve Index VR platform compared to the Microsoft HoloLens AR device. Interestingly, integrating the “Things” scheme into a VR classroom setting resulted in high authentication success rates, low perceived workload, and improved knowledge retention among participants. Our study aims to address the security and usability challenges of authentication in AR/VR, we contribute to the responsible development and adoption of immersive technologies in education, paving the way for secure and engaging learning experiences
Reproductive Coercion and Intergenerational Trauma: The Role of Reproductive, Sex, and Relationship Education and Family Messaging
Get PDFWomen’s knowledge of reproductive choices as well as ability to decide and implement those choices are critical to promoting healthy parent-child relationships and avoiding potentially harmful family dynamics. Reproductive coercion (RC) is a form of intimate partner violence in which abusive partners control reproductive outcomes of their partners. The field of RC is a relatively new field of study compared to the literature on IPV, and this study is one of the first to examine the role of formal and informal messaging women received in childhood related to sex, dating, and relationships in relation to RC. Furthermore, parenting attitudes were also examined related to these factors to begin to establish evidence for the intergenerational transmission of RC. A total of 66 women participated in the study session, responding to standardized measures and measures developed for this study. Results from this study highlight the relationship between informal childhood messaging, RC, and reproductive autonomy, demonstrating the mediating role of reproductive autonomy. Findings also demonstrated evidence suggesting that RC is likely to occur intergenerationally through maladaptive parenting practices in the context of children’s sexual development. Research, clinical, and policy implications are discussed
The Lumbee Tribe and MMIWG2S: How a Crisis Hides Behind Unreported Data
Get PDFThe Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S) crisis has existed since European settlers first came to the continent and has the potential to affect all Indigenous communities in the United States (Schilling 2018). Despite what federal data shows, I argue that the MMIWG2S crisis affects the Lumbee Tribe based on conversations on MMIWG2S that are coming from the Lumbee community. The primary objective of this thesis research project has been to conduct exploratory research through a case study to understand how the MMIWG2S crisis affects the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. I use the critical lenses of the theories of settler colonialism and Indigenous feminisms to understand this thesis research project\u27s findings.
This thesis also looks at what has been done thus far to mitigate the issues caused by the MMIWG2S crisis within the community. Information was obtained through multiple research methods, including semi-structured interviews and surveys. After an analysis of what has been done and understanding how the MMIWG2S crisis affects the community, further suggestions are made based on community-driven conversations that can be further implemented to lessen the crisis\u27s effects on the community. The MMIWG2S crisis deeply affects the Lumbee community; more changes are needed to protect the community further
My Superpower: Research Collaborator Strategies Among Faculty Members Who Are First-Generation College Graduates
Get PDFThis inductive study examined the intersectional experience within research collaborations of tenure-track faculty who are both first-generation college graduate students and from racial and ethnic groups (as defined in the United States) that are underrepresented in STEM fields (as defined by the National Science Foundation). I interviewed twelve current and former faculty members from doctoral-granting universities in the United States. I used identity as the theoretical lens to explore research collaborations at the individual level. The interviews revealed three themes reflecting identity\u27s role in selecting and being selected as a collaborator and working with a collaborator. The themes are: an authentic identity of self that is shaped through lived experience from both inside and outside the academy that is simultaneously obvious and revealed in collaborative environments; intentional attention to an external identity that connects the individual to their community while creating and enhancing pools of collaborators; and finally, identity informed and non-identity informed engagement as a collaborator and during collaboration. I contribute to the expansion and application of identity theory within collaboration. I found evidence that identity is an individual, reflexive process involving intentional decision-making before and during collaboration. I provide a conceptual model of identity-informed collaboration that includes identity alignment and evaluation of the value and cost of the collaboration. I move variables from social capital to cultural capital and add the following variables to cultural capital: language(s), ethnicity, and geographic location, as part of the specification of cultural experience within the Scientific and Technical Human and Cultural Capital (STHC) model. I provide recommendations for supporting and encouraging identity-informed collaboration that can accelerate the necessary diversification of the professoriate
Investigating the Role of Tetherin Protein in Multivesicular Bodies Fusions in Lung Cancer Cells
No full textCells rely on the secretion of exosomes to communicate with one another and this process is potentially mediated by a protein called tetherin, which anchors exosomes to the cell surface to limit their spread. Tetherin protein has attracted a lot of attention because of its capacity to hinder the propagation of viruses by attaching virions to the surface of host cells. Treatment with interferon-alpha (IFNα) increases the production of tetherin, although it is not known how this affects tetherin localization and exosome-mediated communication. This thesis looks at how the expression of tetherin, which IFNα boosts, affects the dynamics of intercellular communication through exocytosis or the exosome release in A549 (lung cancer) cells. Another poorly understood point is that the tetherin protein is predominately found in human cells though multiple studies proposed on cell membranes. The study uses a multidisciplinary methodology to visualize tetherin’s location both on membranes and in cytosol and colocalization with multivesicular bodies (MVBs) by combining immunofluorescence and Confocal microscope imaging. A nanoparticle (tracking) counter measures secreted extracellular vesicles in different conditions, while Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy makes examining MVBs fusion events at the cell membrane easier. MATLAB-based quantitative analysis clarifies how tetherin expression affects the kinetics of exosome release. The results of this study provide insights into possible treatment approaches that target tetherin expression and exosome mechanisms governing cellular defense and communication dynamics in diseases or infections spreading
We’re Not in Texas Anymore: Archaeological Investigations in Historic Dallas, Colorado
Get PDFThis work is the product of an archaeological investigation of the former townsite of Dallas, Colorado. Archival research, drone photography, shovel test pits (STPs), and a test excavation unit were employed to learn more about how the people of Dallas lived, and how they interacted with national systems. Probabilistic and purposive sampling were used to collect data, and both quantitative and qualitative analysis were performed. The goal of this research was to determine which theoretical model best explains how Dallas was connected to national cultural and economic systems
Assessing the Performance of Model Fit Indices in Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling: A Comparison of the Standard Approach, Level-Specific Evaluation, and Equivalence Testing
No full textMultilevel Structural Equation Modeling (MSEM) is a method suitable for analyzing data with multi-level structure. This method is particularly useful for exploring relationships across different levels of analysis. The objective of this dissertation was to assess the performance of model fit indices in MSEM using a standard approach (SA), level-specific (LS) evaluation, and equivalence testing (ET) methods. Monte Carlo Simulations were implemented to contrast the performance of common fit indices in each method in MSEM under three design factors: sample size (SS), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and specification model (SM). Additionally, the effectiveness of SA, LS, and ET approaches were evaluated using real-world data, utilizing emotional intelligence as a personality state dataset.
The results demonstrated that the SA model fits, assessed using CFI and RMSEA, effectively identified the correct specification model (CSM) and rejected the measurement misspecification model (MMM) across all SSs and ICCs. However, these fit indices failed to detect the structure misspecification model (SMM). Furthermore, the LS model fits, including CFILSW, CFILSB, RMSEALSW, and RMSEALSB, successfully retained the CSM and rejected the MMM. Only the CFILSW was sensitive to detecting the misfit of SMM when the ICC was 0.3. In the examination of ET for the CSM, the T-size (CFIETWt, RMSEAETWt, and RMSEAETBt) indicated excellent fit across all SSs and ICCs, while the CFIETBt showed excellent fit with an ICC of 0.1 and close fit with an ICC of 0.3. All T-sizes measures except RMSEAETBt, rejected MMM, while only CFIETBt consistently detected SMM across all SSs and ICCs. ANOVA results indicated that specification model (SM) had the most significant effect on the performance of fit indices, followed by ICC and SS. Real-world data analysis supported these findings, highlighting the limitations of traditional fit indices and emphasizing the need for comprehensive evaluation methods to detect model misspecifications accurately. Although no single approach performed successfully in all scenarios, a combined approach, especially LS and ET, using multiple indices and methodologies is recommended for a more robust and accurate assessment of model fit in MSEM