Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection

This project is intended to fill gaps in the professional knowledge of music educators in the state of Arizona concerning the pedagogy, content, and importance of a visual education program in the scholastic marching band. It also aims to contribute to the general pool of knowledge surrounding visual education. While music educators are often expected to begin teaching marching band immediately following their graduation, many do not ever receive proper training in the visual aspect of the marching arts. The marching band is the most visible element of a holistic educational music program, and often represents the school to the community and the educator to their administrators. While significant music training is given at the collegiate level, many educators have not had further experience in the marching arts. The author uses his experience in Drum Corps International, as well as in teaching marching band to synthesize research-based practices into a handbook of immediately applicable visual pedagogical information that would be immediately useful to any music educator.

Throughout history, music has evolved. Composition and songwriting have changed in order to create fresh and original sounds. However, production has been emphasized more than ever in the modern music industry. Due to the fact that music generated with an instrument can only be organized using a specific range, diversity can be limited. Musical production and audio editing introduced an innovative solution. After the creation of the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), recording transitioned from “being primarily a technical to an artistic matter” (Moorefield). Technology that established reverb, pitch shift, loop, pan, and countless other effects broadened melodic horizons and changed the way that musicians practiced their craft. Notably, once the recording process had been polished by the 1960s, the music industry entered an experimental phase. The term “producer” gained traction along with engineers. To this day, artists prioritize the individuals they choose to produce their album because this factor will drive the overall sound of a song or project. Moreover, an artist may choose to produce their own music as they grow more comfortable with creating music and working with editing software. There is an abundance of music being released into the world on an annual basis. Without production, the community would come to a monotonous halt, making music production the driving force behind musical evolution.

Collaborating with others is a crucial part of growing creatively, and gaining perspective. With different artistic mediums like dance, film, music and design, there is a lot artists can learn from one another. Art is also a way to convey important messages that reflect social, political and cultural issues, and artists have become increasingly responsible for presenting these issues in a way that will provoke thought and create change. “Luna” is a series of compositions with a goal of inviting the audience into a different world. The use of sound design and electronic music production paired with piano arrangements creates a vast, sonic landscape, and the titles of each piece are related to space. The live performance of the album also involves dance, which adds another human element to the experience.

The concept of rape has been a prominent part of historical U.S. criminal law, and legislation and statutes have changed significantly over time. Despite numerous reforms, however, there is still a lack of reporting, arrests, and convictions for sexual assault cases. This is due to several factors influencing the judgement of criminal justice actors, such as how cases are handled by police officers and prosecutors, who decide whether to further investigate a case, send the case to prosecution for sentencing, or bring the case to trial. Some of these influences include legal and extra-legal factors and certain beliefs or assumptions about sexual assault victims, which affect these officials’ discretionary decisions. As a result, criminal justice officials tend to dismiss or unfound a sexual assault case, especially with acquaintance rape, contributing to the substantial lack of arrests and convictions. These facts, which are examined in the paper, emphasize the need to reassess our criminal justice system's current response to sexual assault cases. This includes adjusting the evaluation markers for prosecutors, improving the communication between the relevant criminal justice actors, and implementing evaluations of prosecutorial ethics and community satisfaction.

Stoicism is a philosophy that emerged in the Hellenistic Age, between 323 BCE and 30 BCE in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (Irvine, 2009). Stoicism was born into an exceptionally transitional social and political time period, and three major philosophers, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus, rose to fame and established this manner of interacting with the world around them. These teachings and writings, still read throughout the world today due to their practicality and effectiveness, provide a major framework for “(It is [Stoicism]) the power of the mind to be unconquerable,” (Seneca, The Stoic Letters). Stoicism can be used as a tool in the pursuit of perseverance, wisdom, self control, and self mastery, which can ultimately lead to a more fulfilling and happy life. This philosophy is a practical one, and is designed with the intention to help those who practice it live well rather than just provide a theoretical understanding of the teaching of the world. Stoicism is a way to interact with others and the world in a way that reduces the amount of suffering experienced and can increase the capacity for joy. As a high achieving college student, it may not be feasible or entirely practical to live as Stoics did in the ancient world. Yet, aspects of ancient Stoicism can still be applied to modern-day living and can be used to make college students more resilient, happier, and allow them to live a fuller, more satisfied life. In this 7 week asynchronous program designed for high achieving college students, we will explore the most common barriers to happiness that college students face and explore what Stoic philosophies offer to help remedy these barriers.

The nonprofit sector exists as one of three working groups which contribute to the flow of the economy and society. Unlike the government and for-profit sectors, the nonprofit world has faced a growing responsibility alongside a lack of emphasis on the sector’s importance. Nonprofits have often faced a lack of resources needed to combat these gaps. However, since Covid-19, resources have been diminishing even further. These resources can be identified as a variety of elements, from volunteers and paid staff to funds and access to overseas goods and services. A case study of the world-renowned Make-A-Wish Foundation and its Arizona Chapter perfectly illustrates the journey back to full mission-accomplishment in present times through their actions taken to combat common sector struggles. This case study proves importance of the nonprofit sector, accompanied by a call for education and re-emphasis of the nonprofit sector.