ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 194
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Music Education
- All Subjects: Physiology
Description
Speciation is the fundamental process that has generated the vast diversity of life on earth. The hallmark of speciation is the evolution of barriers to gene flow. These barriers may reduce gene flow either by keeping incipient species from hybridizing at all (pre-zygotic), or by reducing the fitness of hybrids (post-zygotic). To understand the genetic architecture of these barriers and how they evolve, I studied a genus of wasps that exhibits barriers to gene flow that act both pre- and post-zygotically. Nasonia is a genus of four species of parasitoid wasps that can be hybridized in the laboratory. When two of these species, N. vitripennis and N. giraulti are mated, their offspring suffer, depending on the generation and cross examined, up to 80% mortality during larval development due to incompatible genic interactions between their nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. These species also exhibit pre-zygotic isolation, meaning they are more likely to mate with their own species when given the choice. I examined these two species and their hybrids to determine the genetic and physiological bases of both speciation mechanisms and to understand the evolutionary forces leading to them. I present results that indicate that the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway, an essential pathway that is responsible for mitochondrial energy generation, is impaired in hybrids of these two species. These results indicate that this impairment is due to the unique evolutionary dynamics of the combined nuclear and mitochondrial origin of this pathway. I also present results showing that, as larvae, these hybrids experience retarded growth linked to the previously observed mortality and I explore possible physiological mechanisms for this. Finally, I show that the pre-mating isolation is due to a change in a single pheromone component in N. vitripennis males, that this change is under simple genetic control, and that it evolved neutrally before being co-opted as a species recognition signal. These results are an important addition to our overall understanding of the mechanisms of speciation and showcase Nasonia as an emerging model for the study of the genetics of speciation.
ContributorsGibson, Joshua D (Author) / Gadau, Jürgen (Thesis advisor) / Harrison, Jon (Committee member) / Pratt, Stephen (Committee member) / Verrelli, Brian (Committee member) / Willis, Wayne (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
This philosophical inquiry explores the work of philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari and posits applications to music education. Through the concepts of multiplicities, becoming, bodies without organs, smooth spaces, maps, and nomads, Deleuze and Guattari challenge prior and current understandings of existence. In their writings on art, education, and how might one live, they assert a world consisting of variability and motion. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari's emphasis on time and difference, I posit the following questions: Who and when are we? Where are we? When is music? When is education? Throughout this document, their philosophical figuration of a rhizome serves as a recurring theme, highlighting the possibilities of complexity, diverse connections, and continual processes. I explore the question "When and where are we?" by combining the work of Deleuze and Guattari with that of other authors. Drawing on these ideas, I posit an ontology of humans as inseparably cognitive, embodied, emotional, social, and striving multiplicities. Investigating the question "Where are we?" using Deleuze and Guattari's writings as well as that of contemporary place philosophers and other writers reveals that humans exist at the continually changing confluence of local and global places. In order to engage with the questions "When is music?" and "When is education?" I inquire into how humans as cognitive, embodied, emotional, social, and striving multiplicities emplaced in a glocalized world experience music and education. In the final chapters, a philosophy of music education consisting of the ongoing, interconnected processes of complicating, considering, and connecting is proposed. Complicating involves continually questioning how humans' multiple inseparable qualities and places integrate during musical and educative experiences. Considering includes imagining the multiple directions in which connections might occur as well as contemplating the quality of potential connections. Connecting involves assisting students in forming variegated connections between themselves, their multiple qualities, and their glocal environments. Considering a rhizomatic philosophy of music education includes continually engaging in the integrated processes of complicating, considering, and connecting. Through such ongoing practices, music educators can promote flourishing in the lives of students and the experiences of their multiple communities.
ContributorsRicherme, Lauren Kapalka (Author) / Stauffer, Sandra (Thesis advisor) / Gould, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Schmidt, Margaret (Committee member) / Sullivan, Jill (Committee member) / Tobias, Evan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
ABSTRACT Two qualitative studies described the effects of parent's participation in the music therapy session on parent-child interaction during home-based musical experiences learned in music therapy session. Home-based musical play was based on two current programs: Sing & Grow (Abad & Williams, 2007; Nicolson, 2008 Abad, 2011; Williams, et al; 2012) and Musical Connection Programme(Warren & Nugent, 2010). The researcher utilized the core elements of these programs, such as session structures and parenting strategies for improving parent-child interaction during music therapy interventions. Several questions emerged as a result of these case studies as follows 1) does parent's participation affect parent-child interaction during music therapy interventions 2) does musical parenting strategies promote parent-child interaction while practicing musical play at home 3) does parent's interaction increase when they practice parental strategies listed on parent's self-check list. Music therapy session was provided once per week during an eight week period. The participants were referred by Arizona State University (ASU) music therapy clinic. Sessions took place either in the ASU music therapy treatment room or the participant's home. There were four participants- one diagnosed with Down syndrome and the other with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and two parents or caregivers (each subject was counted as one participant). The parent/caregiver filled out the parental self-checklist 3-4 times per week and the survey after the end of the program. The case study materials were gathered through with parent/caregiver. The case studies revealed that all of the parents responded that the parent's participation in music therapy helped to improve their interactions with their child. Furthermore, all parents became more responsive in interacting with their child through musical play, such as sing-a-long and movements. Second, musical parenting strategies encouraged parent-child interaction when practicing musical play at home. Third, the parent's self-checklist was shown to be effective material for increasing positive parent-child interaction. The self-checklist reminded the parents to practice using strategies in order to promote interaction with their child. Overall, it was found that the parent's participation in home-based musical play increased parent-child interaction and the musical parenting strategies enhanced parent-child interaction.
ContributorsChoi, Yoon Kyoung (Author) / Crowe, Barbara J. (Thesis advisor) / Rio, Robin (Committee member) / Sullivan, Jill (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Our eyes never stop moving, even during attempted gaze fixation. Fixational eye movements, which include tremor, drift, and microsaccades, are necessary to prevent retinal image adaptation, but may also result in unstable vision. Fortunately, the nervous system can suppress the retinal displacements induced by fixational eye movements and consequently keep our vision stable. The neural correlates of perceptual suppression during fixational eye movements are controversial. Also, the contribution of retinal versus extraretinal inputs to microsaccade-induced neuronal responses in the primary visual cortex (i.e. area V1) remain unclear. Here I show that V1 neuronal responses to microsaccades are different from those to stimulus motions simulating microsaccades. Responses to microsaccades consist of an initial excitatory component followed by an inhibitory component, which may be attributed to retinal and extraretinal signals, respectively. I also discuss the effects of the fixation target's size and luminance on microsaccade properties. Fixation targets are frequently used in psychophysical and electrophysiological research, and may have uncontrolled influences on experimental results. I found that microsaccade rates and magnitudes change linearly with fixation target size, but not with fixation target luminance. Finally, I present ion a novel variation of the Ouchi-Spillmann illusion, in which fixational eye movements may play a role.
ContributorsNajafian Jazi, Ali (Author) / Buneo, Christopher (Thesis advisor) / Martinez-Conde, Susana (Thesis advisor) / Macknik, Stephen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
This mixed methods research study explores the experiences of Board Certified music therapists who completed a university-affiliated (UA) internship as part of their education and clinical training in music therapy. The majority of music therapy students complete a national roster (NR) internship as the final stage in clinical training. Limited data and research is available on the UA internship model. This research seeks to uncover themes identified by former university-affiliated interns regarding: (1) on-site internship supervision; (2) university support and supervision during internship; and (3) self-identified perceptions of professional preparedness following internship completion. The quantitative data was useful in creating a profile of interns interviewed. The qualitative data provided a context for understanding responses and experiences. Fourteen Board Certified music therapists were interviewed (N=14) and asked to reflect on their experiences during their university-affiliated internship. Commonalities discovered among former university-affiliated interns included: (1) the desire for peer supervision opportunities in internship; (2) an overall perception of being professionally prepared to sit for the Board Certification exam following internship; (3) a sense of readiness to enter the professional world after internship; and (4) a current or future desire to supervise university-affiliated interns.
ContributorsEubanks, Kymla (Author) / Rio, Robin (Thesis advisor) / Crowe, Barbara (Committee member) / Sullivan, Jill (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
In recent years, machine learning and data mining technologies have received growing attention in several areas such as recommendation systems, natural language processing, speech and handwriting recognition, image processing and biomedical domain. Many of these applications which deal with physiological and biomedical data require person specific or person adaptive systems. The greatest challenge in developing such systems is the subject-dependent data variations or subject-based variability in physiological and biomedical data, which leads to difference in data distributions making the task of modeling these data, using traditional machine learning algorithms, complex and challenging. As a result, despite the wide application of machine learning, efficient deployment of its principles to model real-world data is still a challenge. This dissertation addresses the problem of subject based variability in physiological and biomedical data and proposes person adaptive prediction models based on novel transfer and active learning algorithms, an emerging field in machine learning. One of the significant contributions of this dissertation is a person adaptive method, for early detection of muscle fatigue using Surface Electromyogram signals, based on a new multi-source transfer learning algorithm. This dissertation also proposes a subject-independent algorithm for grading the progression of muscle fatigue from 0 to 1 level in a test subject, during isometric or dynamic contractions, at real-time. Besides subject based variability, biomedical image data also varies due to variations in their imaging techniques, leading to distribution differences between the image databases. Hence a classifier learned on one database may perform poorly on the other database. Another significant contribution of this dissertation has been the design and development of an efficient biomedical image data annotation framework, based on a novel combination of transfer learning and a new batch-mode active learning method, capable of addressing the distribution differences across databases. The methodologies developed in this dissertation are relevant and applicable to a large set of computing problems where there is a high variation of data between subjects or sources, such as face detection, pose detection and speech recognition. From a broader perspective, these frameworks can be viewed as a first step towards design of automated adaptive systems for real world data.
ContributorsChattopadhyay, Rita (Author) / Panchanathan, Sethuraman (Thesis advisor) / Ye, Jieping (Thesis advisor) / Li, Baoxin (Committee member) / Santello, Marco (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Jazz continues, into its second century, as one of the most important musics taught in public middle and high schools. Even so, research related to how students learn, especially in their earliest interactions with jazz culture, is limited. Weaving together interviews and observations of junior and senior high school jazz players and teachers, private studio instructors, current university students majoring in jazz, and university and college jazz faculty, I developed a composite sketch of a secondary school student learning to play jazz. Using arts-based educational research methods, including the use of narrative inquiry and literary non-fiction, the status of current jazz education and the experiences by novice jazz learners is explored. What emerges is a complex story of students and teachers negotiating the landscape of jazz in and out of early twenty-first century public schools. Suggestions for enhancing jazz experiences for all stakeholders follow, focusing on access and the preparation of future jazz teachers.
ContributorsKelly, Keith B (Author) / Stauffer, Sandra (Thesis advisor) / Tobias, Evan (Committee member) / Kocour, Michael (Committee member) / Sullivan, Jill (Committee member) / Schmidt, Margaret (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the acute effects of two novel intermittent exercise prescriptions on glucose regulation and ambulatory blood pressure. Methods: Ten subjects (5 men and 5 women, ages 31.5 ± 5.42 yr, height 170.38 ± 9.69 cm and weight 88.59 ± 18.91 kg) participated in this four-treatment crossover trial. All subjects participated in four trials, each taking place over three days. On the evening of the first day, subjects were fitted with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). On the second day, subjects were fitted with an ambulatory blood pressure monitor (ABP) and underwent one of the following four conditions in a randomized order: 1) 30-min: 30 minutes of continuous exercise at 60 - 70% VO2peak; 2) Mod 2-min: twenty-one 2-min bouts of walking at 3 mph performed once every 20 minutes; 3) HI 2-min: eight 2-min bouts of walking at maximal incline performed once every hour; 4) Control: a no exercise control condition. On the morning of the third day, the CGM and ABP devices were removed. All meals were standardized during the study visits. Linear mixed models were used to compare mean differences in glucose and blood pressure regulation between the four trials. Results: Glucose concentrations were significantly lower following the 30-min (91.1 ± 14.9 mg/dl), Mod 2-min (93.7 ± 19.8 mg/dl) and HI 2-min (96.1 ± 16.4 mg/dl) trials as compared to the Control (101.1 ± 20 mg/dl) (P < 0.001 for all three comparisons). The 30-min trial was superior to the Mod 2-min, which was superior to the HI 2-min trial in lowering blood glucose levels (P < 0.001 and P = 0.003 respectively). Only the 30-min trial was effective in lowering systolic ABP (124 ± 12 mmHg) as compared to the Control trial (127 ± 14 mmHg; P < 0.001) for up to 11 hours post exercise. Conclusion: Performing frequent short (i.e., 2 minutes) bouts of moderate or high intensity exercise may be a viable alternative to traditional continuous exercise in improving glucose regulation. However, 2-min bouts of exercise are not effective in reducing ambulatory blood pressure in healthy adults.
ContributorsBhammar, Dharini Mukeshkumar (Author) / Gaesser, Glenn A (Thesis advisor) / Shaibi, Gabriel (Committee member) / Buman, Matthew (Committee member) / Swan, Pamela (Committee member) / Lee, Chong (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Type 2 diabetes affects approximately 7.3% of Americans, leading to debilitating and life-threatening comorbidities. Estrogen and testosterone levels have been linked to inflammatory and oxidative stress markers, as well as glucose and insulin concentrations. The present study was designed to determine the link between sex differences, glucose control, and inflammation and oxidative stress related to daily almond ingestion among subjects with type 2 diabetes. Subjects were randomized to an intervention group, which received 1.5 oz. almonds daily for 12 weeks, or to the matched control group, which maintained their current diet. No significant differences were found in changes in glucose control in response to ingestion of almonds. However, CRP was significantly reduced by an average of 36.2% in those that received almonds daily (p = 0.017). Although not significant, women randomized to the intervention group appeared to have improvements in insulin resistance compared to women with no dietary change. Results suggest that the addition of almonds to the diet may be an effective intervention for managing inflammation associated with type 2 diabetes. The addition of almonds to the diet is a low cost intervention that is easily implemented into daily lifestyle. Due to the small sample size, additional studies are needed to determine the impact and mechanisms of almond ingestion in subjects with type 2 diabetes.
ContributorsPetersen, Katherine Nicole (Author) / Karen, Sweazea (Thesis advisor) / Carol, Johnston (Committee member) / Christy, Lespron (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The purpose of this study was to compare perceptions of success and failure, attributions of success and failure, predictions of future success, and reports of out-of-class engagement in composition among middle school band students composing in open task conditions (n = 32) and closed task conditions (n = 31). Two intact band classes at the same middle school were randomly assigned to treatment groups. Both treatment groups composed music once a week for eight weeks during their regular band time. In Treatment A (n = 32), the open task group, students were told to compose music however they wished. In Treatment B (n = 31), the closed task group, students were given specific, structured composition assignments to complete each week. At the end of each session, students were asked to complete a Composing Diary in which they reported what they did each week. Their responses were coded for evidence of perceptions of success and failure as well as out-of-class engagement in composing. At the end of eight weeks, students were given three additional measures: the Music Attributions Survey to measure attributions of success and failure on 11 different subscales; the Future Success survey to measure students' predictions of future success; and the Out-of-Class Engagement Letter to measure students' engagement with composition outside of the classroom. Results indicated that students in the open task group and students in the closed task group behaved similarly. There were no significant differences between treatment groups in terms of perceptions of success or failure as composers, predictions of future success composing music, and reports of out-of-class engagement in composition. Students who felt they failed at composing made similar attributions for their failure in both treatment groups. Students who felt they succeeded also made similar attributions for their success in both treatment groups, with one exception. Successful students in the closed task group rated Peer Influence significantly higher than the successful students in the open task group. The findings of this study suggest that understanding individual student's attributions and offering a variety of composing tasks as part of music curricula may help educators meet students' needs.
ContributorsSchwartz, Emily, 1985- (Author) / Stauffer, Sandra L (Thesis advisor) / Tobias, Evan (Committee member) / Schmidt, Margaret (Committee member) / Broatch, Jennifer (Committee member) / Sullivan, Jill (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014