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 67
Description
This document is intended to show the various kinds of stylistically appropriate melodic and rhythmic ornamentation that can be used in the improvisation of the Sarabandes by J.S. Bach. Traditional editions of Bach's and other Baroque-era keyboard works have reflected evolving historical trends. The historical performance movement and other attempts to "clean up" pre-1950s romanticized performances have greatly limited the freedom and experimentation that was the original intention of these dances. Prior to this study, few ornamented editions of these works have been published. Although traditional practices do not necessarily encourage classical improvisation in performance I argue that manipulation of the melodic and rhythmic layers over the established harmonic progressions will not only provide diversity within the individual dance movements, but also further engage the ears of the performer and listener which encourages further creative exploration. I will focus this study on the ornamentation of all six Sarabandes from J.S. Bach's French Suites and show how various types of melodic and rhythmic variation can provide aurally pleasing alternatives to the composed score without disrupting the harmonic fluency. The author intends this document to be used as a pedagogical tool and the fully ornamented Sarabandes from J.S. Bach's French Suites are included with this document.
ContributorsOakley, Ashley (Author) / Meir, Baruch (Thesis advisor) / Campbell, Andrew (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Pagano, Caio (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Many manmade chemicals used in consumer products are ultimately washed down the drain and are collected in municipal sewers. Efficient chemical monitoring at wastewater treatment (WWT) plants thus may provide up-to-date information on chemical usage rates for epidemiological assessments. The objective of the present study was to extrapolate this concept, termed 'sewage epidemiology', to include municipal sewage sludge (MSS) in identifying and prioritizing contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). To test this the following specific aims were defined: i) to screen and identify CECs in nationally representative samples of MSS and to provide nationwide inventories of CECs in U.S. MSS; ii) to investigate the fate and persistence in MSS-amended soils, of sludge-borne hydrophobic CECs; and iii) to develop an analytical tool relying on contaminant levels in MSS as an indicator for identifying and prioritizing hydrophobic CECs. Chemicals that are primarily discharged to the sewage systems (alkylphenol surfactants) and widespread persistent organohalogen pollutants (perfluorochemicals and brominated flame retardants) were analyzed in nationally representative MSS samples. A meta-analysis showed that CECs contribute about 0.04-0.15% to the total dry mass of MSS, a mass equivalent of 2,700-7,900 metric tonnes of chemicals annually. An analysis of archived mesocoms from a sludge weathering study showed that 64 CECs persisted in MSS/soil mixtures over the course of the experiment, with half-lives ranging between 224 and >990 days; these results suggest an inherent persistence of CECs that accumulate in MSS. A comparison of the spectrum of chemicals (n=52) analyzed in nationally representative biological specimens from humans and MSS revealed 70% overlap. This observed co-occurrence of contaminants in both matrices suggests that MSS may serve as an indicator for ongoing human exposures and body burdens of pollutants in humans. In conclusion, I posit that this novel approach in sewage epidemiology may serve to pre-screen and prioritize the several thousands of known or suspected CECs to identify those that are most prone to pose a risk to human health and the environment.
ContributorsVenkatesan, Arjunkrishna (Author) / Halden, Rolf U. (Thesis advisor) / Westerhoff, Paul (Committee member) / Fox, Peter (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The purpose of the paper is to outline the process that was used to write a reduction for Henry Brant's Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, to describe the improvements in saxophone playing since the premiere of the piece, and to demonstrate the necessity of having a reduction in the process of learning a concerto. The Concerto was inspired by internationally known saxophonist, Sigurd Rascher, who demonstrated for Brant the extent of his abilities on the saxophone. These abilities included use of four-octave range and two types of extended techniques: slap-tonguing and flutter-tonguing. Brant incorporated all three elements in his Concerto, and believed that only Rascher had the command over the saxophone needed to perform the piece. To prevent the possibility of an unsuccessful performance, Brant chose to make the piece unavailable to saxophonists by leaving the Concerto without a reduction. Subsequently, there were no performances of this piece between 1953 and 2001. In 2011, the two directors of Brant's Estate decided to allow for a reduction to be written for the piece so that it would become more widely available to saxophonists.
ContributorsAmes, Elizabeth (Pianist) (Author) / Ryan, Russell (Thesis advisor) / Levy, Benjamin (Committee member) / Hill, Gary (Committee member) / Campbell, Andrew (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Urban water systems face sustainability challenges ranging from water quality, leaks, over-use, energy consumption, and long-term supply concerns. Resiliency challenges include the capacity to respond to drought, managing pipe deterioration, responding to natural disasters, and preventing terrorism. One strategy to enhance sustainability and resiliency is the development and adoption of smart water grids. A smart water grid incorporates networked monitoring and control devices into its structure, which provides diverse, real-time information about the system, as well as enhanced control. Data provide input for modeling and analysis, which informs control decisions, allowing for improvement in sustainability and resiliency. While smart water grids hold much potential, there are also potential tradeoffs and adoption challenges. More publicly available cost-benefit analyses are needed, as well as system-level research and application, rather than the current focus on individual technologies. This thesis seeks to fill one of these gaps by analyzing the cost and environmental benefits of smart irrigation controllers. Smart irrigation controllers can save water by adapting watering schedules to climate and soil conditions. The potential benefit of smart irrigation controllers is particularly high in southwestern U.S. states, where the arid climate makes water scarcer and increases watering needs of landscapes. To inform the technology development process, a design for environment (DfE) method was developed, which overlays economic and environmental performance parameters under different operating conditions. This method is applied to characterize design goals for controller price and water savings that smart irrigation controllers must meet to yield life cycle carbon dioxide reductions and economic savings in southwestern U.S. states, accounting for regional variability in electricity and water prices and carbon overhead. Results from applying the model to smart irrigation controllers in the Southwest suggest that some areas are significantly easier to design for.
ContributorsMutchek, Michele (Author) / Allenby, Braden (Thesis advisor) / Williams, Eric (Committee member) / Westerhoff, Paul (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The teaching of singing remained remarkably stable until, at the end of the twentieth century, advances in the understanding of voice science stimulated dramatic changes in approach to vocal pedagogy. Previously, the technology needed to accurately measure physiologic change within the larynx and breath-support musculature during the process of singing simply did not exist. Any prior application of scientific study to the voice was based primarily upon auditory evaluation, rather than objective data accumulation and assessment. After a centuries-long history, within a span of twenty years, vocal pedagogy evolved from an approach solely derived from subjective, auditory evidence to an application grounded in scientific data. By means of analysis of significant publications by Richard Miller, Robert Sataloff, and Ingo Titze, as well as articles from The Journal of Singing and The Journal of Voice, I establish a baseline of scientific knowledge and pedagogic practice ca. 1980. Analysis and comparison of a timeline of advancement in scientific insight and the discussion of science in pedagogical texts, 1980-2000, reveal the extent to which voice teachers have dramatically changed their method of instruction. I posit that voice pedagogy has undergone a fundamental change, from telling the student only what to do, via auditory demonstration and visual imagery, to validating with scientific data how and why students should change their vocal approach. The consequence of this dramatic pedagogic evolution has produced singers who comprehend more fully the science of their art.
ContributorsVelarde, Rachel (Author) / Doan, Jerry (Thesis advisor) / Campbell, Andrew (Committee member) / Solis, Theodore (Committee member) / Elgar Kopta, Anne (Committee member) / Britton, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Hydrocarbon spill site cleanup is challenging when contaminants are present in lower permeability layers. These are difficult to remediate and may result in long-term groundwater impacts. The research goal is to investigate strategies for long-term reduction of contaminant emissions from sources in low permeability layers through partial source treatment at higher/lower permeability interfaces. Conceptually, this provides a clean/reduced concentration zone near the interface, and consequently a reduced concentration gradient and flux from the lower permeability layer. Treatment by in-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) was evaluated using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8). H2O2 studies included lab and field-scale distribution studies and lab emission reduction experiments. The reaction rate of H2O2 in soils was so fast it did not travel far (<1 m) from delivery points under typical flow conditions. Oxygen gas generated and partially trapped in soil pores served as a dissolved oxygen (DO) source for >60 days in field and lab studies. During that period, the laboratory studies had reduced hydrocarbon impacts, presumably from aerobic biodegradation, which rebounded once the O2 source depleted. Therefore field monitoring should extend beyond the post-treatment elevated DO. Na2S2O8 use was studied in two-dimensional tanks (122-cm tall, 122-cm wide, and 5-cm thick) containing two contrasting permeability layers (three orders of magnitude difference). The lower permeability layer initially contained a dissolved-sorbed contaminant source throughout this layer, or a 10-cm thick non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL)-impacted zone below the higher/lower permeability interface. The dissolved-sorbed source tank was actively treated for 14 d. Two hundred days after treatment, the emission reduction of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and p-xylene (BTEX) were 95-99% and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) was 63%. The LNAPL-source tank had three Na2S2O8 and two sodium hydroxide (NaOH) applications for S2O82- base activation. The resulting emission reductions for BTEX, n-propylbenzene, and 1,3,5 trymethylbenzene were 55-73%. While less effective at reducing emissions from LNAPL sources, the 14-d treatment delivered sufficient S2O82- though diffusion to remediate BTEX from the 60 cm dissolved-sorbed source. The overall S2O82- utilization in the dissolved source experiment was calculated by mass balance to be 108-125 g S2O82-/g hydrocarbon treated.
ContributorsCavanagh, Bridget (Author) / Johnson, Paul C (Thesis advisor) / Westerhoff, Paul (Committee member) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Committee member) / Bruce, Cristin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This thesis research focuses on developing a single-cell gene expression analysis method for marine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana and constructing a chip level tool to realize the single cell RT-qPCR analysis. This chip will serve as a conceptual foundation for future deployable ocean monitoring systems. T. pseudonana, which is a common surface water microorganism, was detected in the deep ocean as confirmed by phylogenetic and microbial community functional studies. Six-fold copy number differences between 23S rRNA and 23S rDNA were observed by RT-qPCR, demonstrating the moderate functional activity of detected photosynthetic microbes in the deep ocean including T. pseudonana. Because of the ubiquity of T. pseudonana, it is a good candidate for an early warning system for ocean environmental perturbation monitoring. This early warning system will depend on identifying outlier gene expression at the single-cell level. An early warning system based on single-cell analysis is expected to detect environmental perturbations earlier than population level analysis which can only be observed after a whole community has reacted. Preliminary work using tube-based, two-step RT-qPCR revealed for the first time, gene expression heterogeneity of T. pseudonana under different nutrient conditions. Heterogeneity was revealed by different gene expression activity for individual cells under the same conditions. This single cell analysis showed a skewed, lognormal distribution and helped to find outlier cells. The results indicate that the geometric average becomes more important and representative of the whole population than the arithmetic average. This is in contrast with population level analysis which is limited to arithmetic averages only and highlights the value of single cell analysis. In order to develop a deployable sensor in the ocean, a chip level device was constructed. The chip contains surface-adhering droplets, defined by hydrophilic patterning, that serve as real-time PCR reaction chambers when they are immersed in oil. The chip had demonstrated sensitivities at the single cell level for both DNA and RNA. The successful rate of these chip-based reactions was around 85%. The sensitivity of the chip was equivalent to published microfluidic devices with complicated designs and protocols, but the production process of the chip was simple and the materials were all easily accessible in conventional environmental and/or biology laboratories. On-chip tests provided heterogeneity information about the whole population and were validated by comparing with conventional tube based methods and by p-values analysis. The power of chip-based single-cell analyses were mainly between 65-90% which were acceptable and can be further increased by higher throughput devices. With this chip and single-cell analysis approaches, a new paradigm for robust early warning systems of ocean environmental perturbation is possible.
ContributorsShi, Xu (Author) / Meldrum, Deirdre R. (Thesis advisor) / Zhang, Weiwen (Committee member) / Chao, Shih-hui (Committee member) / Westerhoff, Paul (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The influence of climate variability and reclaimed wastewater on the water supply necessitates improved understanding of the treatability of trace and bulk organic matter. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) mobilized during extreme weather events and in treated wastewater includes natural organic matter (NOM), contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), and microbial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The goal of my dissertation was to quantify the impacts of extreme weather events on DOM in surface water and downstream treatment processes, and to improve membrane filtration efficiency and CECs oxidation efficiency during water reclamation with ozone. Surface water quality, air quality and hydrologic flow rate data were used to quantify changes in DOM and turbidity following dust storms, flooding, or runoff from wildfire burn areas in central Arizona. The subsequent impacts to treatment processes and public perception of water quality were also discussed. Findings showed a correlation between dust storm events and change in surface water turbidity (R2=0.6), attenuation of increased DOM through reservoir systems, a 30-40% increase in organic carbon and a 120-600% increase in turbidity following severe flooding, and differing impacts of upland and lowland wildfires. The use of ozone to reduce membrane fouling caused by vesicles (a subcomponent of EPS) and oxidize CECs through increased hydroxyl radical (HO●) production was investigated. An "ozone dose threshold" was observed above which addition of hydrogen peroxide increased HO● production; indicating the presence of ambient promoters in wastewater. Ozonation of CECs in secondary effluent over titanium dioxide or activated carbon did not increase radial production. Vesicles fouled ultrafiltration membranes faster (20 times greater flux decline) than polysaccharides, fatty acids, or NOM. Based upon the estimated carbon distribution of secondary effluent, vesicles could be responsible for 20-60% of fouling during ultrafiltration and may play a vital role in other environmental processes as well. Ozone reduced vesicle-caused membrane fouling that, in conjunction with the presence of ambient promoters, helps to explain why low ozone dosages improve membrane flux during full-scale water reclamation.
ContributorsBarry, Michelle (Author) / Barry, Michelle C (Thesis advisor) / Westerhoff, Paul (Committee member) / Fox, Peter (Committee member) / Halden, Rolf (Committee member) / Hristovski, Kiril (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The Sonata for Violin and Piano in E-flat Major, Op. 18 (1888), was the last major work of chamber music by Richard Strauss (1864-1949). Although for only two instruments, the Sonata reflects Strauss's growing interest in symphonic writing both in his tone poems and orchestral songs, anticipating his style of orchestration and his expressive use of tone colors. This study examines instances of orchestral writing in the piano and makes suggestions for their performance. An overview of Strauss's compositions, from his early chamber music to the `heroic' symphonic works, places the Sonata in context. An analytical description of each of the Sonata's three movements shows the structure and content of this large work and provides the framework for examination of the orchestral effects in the piano. Comparison of excerpts from the Sonata with passages from Strauss's orchestral writing in Don Juan (1889), "Cäcilie," "Morgen!," and "Lied der Frauen" leads to suggestions for the collaborative pianist of ways to re-create the various orchestral effects.
ContributorsNixon, Thomas (Pianist) (Author) / Ryan, Russell R (Thesis advisor) / Campbell, Andrew (Committee member) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Committee member) / Hamilton, Robert (Committee member) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Chloroform (CHCl3) is an important atmospheric pollutant by its direct health effects as well as by its contribution to photochemical smog formation. Chloroform outgassing from swimming pools is not typically considered a source of atmospheric CHCl3 because swimming pools are scarce compared to other sources. However, large urban areas in hot climates such as Phoenix, AZ contain a substantial amount of swimming pools, potentially resulting in significant atmospheric fluxes. In this study, CHCl3 formation potential (FP) from disinfection of swimming pools in Phoenix was investigated through laboratory experiments and annual CHCl3 emission fluxes from swimming pools were estimated based on the experimental data.
Swimming pool water (collected in June 2014 in Phoenix) and model contaminants (Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs), Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs), artificial sweeteners, and artificial human waste products) were chlorinated in controlled laboratory experiments. The CHCl3 production during chlorination was determined using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) following solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Upon chlorination, all swimming pool water samples and contaminants produced measureable amounts of chloroform. Chlorination of swimming pool water produced 0.005-0.134 mol CHCl3/mol C and 0.004-0.062 mol CHCl3/mol Cl2 consumed. Chlorination of model contaminants produced 0.004-0.323 mol CHCl3/mol C and 0.001-0.247 mol CHCl3/mol Cl2 consumed. These numbers are comparable and indicate that the model contaminants react similarly to swimming pool water during chlorination. The CHCl3 flux from swimming pools in Phoenix was estimated at approximately 3.9-4.3 Gg/yr and was found to be largely dependent on water temperature and wind speed while air temperature had little effect. This preliminary estimate is orders of magnitude larger than previous estimates of anthropogenic emissions in Phoenix suggesting that swimming pools might be a significant source of atmospheric CHCl3 locally.
Swimming pool water (collected in June 2014 in Phoenix) and model contaminants (Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs), Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs), artificial sweeteners, and artificial human waste products) were chlorinated in controlled laboratory experiments. The CHCl3 production during chlorination was determined using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) following solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Upon chlorination, all swimming pool water samples and contaminants produced measureable amounts of chloroform. Chlorination of swimming pool water produced 0.005-0.134 mol CHCl3/mol C and 0.004-0.062 mol CHCl3/mol Cl2 consumed. Chlorination of model contaminants produced 0.004-0.323 mol CHCl3/mol C and 0.001-0.247 mol CHCl3/mol Cl2 consumed. These numbers are comparable and indicate that the model contaminants react similarly to swimming pool water during chlorination. The CHCl3 flux from swimming pools in Phoenix was estimated at approximately 3.9-4.3 Gg/yr and was found to be largely dependent on water temperature and wind speed while air temperature had little effect. This preliminary estimate is orders of magnitude larger than previous estimates of anthropogenic emissions in Phoenix suggesting that swimming pools might be a significant source of atmospheric CHCl3 locally.
ContributorsRose, Christy J (Author) / Herckes, Pierre (Thesis advisor) / Fraser, Matthew (Committee member) / Hayes, Mark (Committee member) / Westerhoff, Paul (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014