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Description
The concert vocalise, a dazzling wordless vocal etude intended for performance, is largely a phenomenon of the twentieth century. Made famous by composers such as Sergei Rachmaninoff and Maurice Ravel, the concert vocalise is generally a short, non-programmatic work with a relatively simple form. In contrast, Nikolai Medtner’s two monumental Op. 41 vocalises, the Sonata-Vocalise mit einem Motto “Geweihter Platz and the Suite Vocalise, are staggering in their length and formal complexity. They are also programmatically conceived, sharing the Goethe poem “Geweihter Platz” as their inspiration.
The innovation of adding a textual element to a traditionally textless genre introduces a tantalizing new layer of complexity that demands further research and exploration. However, as with any innovation, it also offers new challenges to performers wishing to program either or both works. Current scholarship has yet to offer any kind of in-depth analysis of either work, leaving questions as to the structural and motivic elements which bind these large works together, not to mention questions related to exactly how Medtner addresses the challenge of linking specific parts of Goethe’s text to the textless portions of music. Furthermore, neither work is considered standard repertoire, and recordings and performances are limited, leaving aspiring performers in something of an informational desert.
In this paper, I endeavor to fill this informational gap for performers and scholars alike by providing them with a brief biography of Medtner, an outline of the development of the concert vocalise genre, and the background of the Goethe poem that inspired Medtner. Then my in-depth analyses reveal underlying structural, motivic, and programmatic links both within and between the works. Finally, my performer’s guide, based on the analyses and my experience performing both works, offers suggestions regarding the interpretational, ensemble, and technical challenges presented by these great works.
The innovation of adding a textual element to a traditionally textless genre introduces a tantalizing new layer of complexity that demands further research and exploration. However, as with any innovation, it also offers new challenges to performers wishing to program either or both works. Current scholarship has yet to offer any kind of in-depth analysis of either work, leaving questions as to the structural and motivic elements which bind these large works together, not to mention questions related to exactly how Medtner addresses the challenge of linking specific parts of Goethe’s text to the textless portions of music. Furthermore, neither work is considered standard repertoire, and recordings and performances are limited, leaving aspiring performers in something of an informational desert.
In this paper, I endeavor to fill this informational gap for performers and scholars alike by providing them with a brief biography of Medtner, an outline of the development of the concert vocalise genre, and the background of the Goethe poem that inspired Medtner. Then my in-depth analyses reveal underlying structural, motivic, and programmatic links both within and between the works. Finally, my performer’s guide, based on the analyses and my experience performing both works, offers suggestions regarding the interpretational, ensemble, and technical challenges presented by these great works.
ContributorsUhl, Nathan Leonard (Author) / Campbell, Andrew (Thesis advisor) / Carpenter, Ellon (Thesis advisor) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
The pipe organ, a musical instrument historically, culturally, and conceptually associated with Christian worship, is being negatively affected in terms of condition and continued use in the United States by rising rates of secularity, declining mainline Protestant and Catholic adherents, declining worship attendance, and, most directly, the closure of church buildings. No scholarly research addresses the relationship of secularization and the organ, and no professionals in the field acknowledge its seriousness or have presented plans to counter it.
This paper lays the groundwork for future research while exploring the landscape of the organ’s possible secular uses. The organ’s relationship to secularization is defined through the interdisciplinary lens of secular studies, bolstered through an exploration of its past. This thesis analyzes the use of the organ in secularized churches in the United States through case studies of fourteen organs in thirteen former churches. While these examples reveal some promising adaptive reuses of church buildings and their organs, the prevailing conclusion is that the instrument’s future is severely endangered. There are few paid secular positions and insignificant educational opportunities that stem from secularized churches. The public lacks exposure to the instrument because of the infrequency of organ-related events.
Yet because the organ’s principal aesthetic is not Christian but communal, the instrument has the potential to thrive in secular contexts. This reframing and often literal repositioning requires stronger leadership: organizations and individuals promoting the organ must be proactive in working with the new owners of secularized churches to help them incorporate the instrument in new, revitalized contexts. A dynamic future for the organ requires the creative work of many.
This paper lays the groundwork for future research while exploring the landscape of the organ’s possible secular uses. The organ’s relationship to secularization is defined through the interdisciplinary lens of secular studies, bolstered through an exploration of its past. This thesis analyzes the use of the organ in secularized churches in the United States through case studies of fourteen organs in thirteen former churches. While these examples reveal some promising adaptive reuses of church buildings and their organs, the prevailing conclusion is that the instrument’s future is severely endangered. There are few paid secular positions and insignificant educational opportunities that stem from secularized churches. The public lacks exposure to the instrument because of the infrequency of organ-related events.
Yet because the organ’s principal aesthetic is not Christian but communal, the instrument has the potential to thrive in secular contexts. This reframing and often literal repositioning requires stronger leadership: organizations and individuals promoting the organ must be proactive in working with the new owners of secularized churches to help them incorporate the instrument in new, revitalized contexts. A dynamic future for the organ requires the creative work of many.
ContributorsMeszler, Alexander Francis (Author) / Marshall, Kimberly (Thesis advisor) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Schmelz, Peter (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
The honors thesis explores the relationship between academic majors and the entrepreneurial mindset, focusing on whether Computer Science students have a perceived edge. The study involves a survey of 121 diverse Arizona State University students, complemented by in-depth interviews with 12 participants across various majors. Insights reveal the complex interplay of psychological factors influencing major selection, with Computer Science students advocating for more entrepreneurship-related courses. Challenges include time constraints for STEM majors in pursuing extracurricular activities and a call for universities to proactively integrate entrepreneurship education. While acknowledging the study's limitations, the thesis emphasizes the need for universities to adapt to changing student mindsets. Despite hurdles, the collective belief is that internal determination and effort drive students forward.
ContributorsAgarwal, Sarthak (Author) / Meuth, Ryan (Thesis director) / Sebold, Brent (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2023-12
Description
Social media platforms provide a rich environment for analyzing user behavior. Recently, deep learning-based methods have been a mainstream approach for social media analysis models involving complex patterns. However, these methods are susceptible to biases in the training data, such as participation inequality. Basically, a mere 1% of users generate the majority of the content on social networking sites, while the remaining users, though engaged to varying degrees, tend to be less active in content creation and largely silent. These silent users consume and listen to information that is propagated on the platform.However, their voice, attitude, and interests are not reflected in the online content, making the decision of the current methods predisposed towards the opinion of the active users. So models can mistake the loudest users for the majority. To make the silent majority heard is to reveal the true landscape of the platform. In this dissertation, to compensate for this bias in the data, which is related to user-level data scarcity, I introduce three pieces of research work. Two of these proposed solutions deal with the data on hand while the other tries to augment the current data. Specifically, the first proposed approach modifies the weight of users' activity/interaction in the input space, while the second approach involves re-weighting the loss based on the users' activity levels during the downstream task training. Lastly, the third approach uses large language models (LLMs) and learns the user's writing behavior to expand the current data. In other words, by utilizing LLMs as a sophisticated knowledge base, this method aims to augment the silent user's data.
ContributorsKarami, Mansooreh (Author) / Liu, Huan (Thesis advisor) / Sen, Arunabha (Committee member) / Davulcu, Hasan (Committee member) / Mancenido, Michelle V. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Gerrymandering involves the purposeful manipulation of districts in order to gain some political advantage. Because legislators have a vested interest in continuing their tenure, they can easily hijack the redistricting process each decade for their and their political party's benefit. This threatens the cornerstone of democracy: a voter’s capability to select an elected official that accurately represents their interests. Instead, gerrymandering has legislators to choose their voters.
In recent years, the Supreme Court has heard challenges to state legislature-drawn districts, most recently in Allen v. Milligan for Alabama and Moore v. Harper for North Carolina. The highest court of the United States ruled that the two state maps were gerrymandered, and in coming to their decision, the 9 justices relied on a plethora of amicus briefs- one of which included the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method, a computational method used to find gerrymandering.
Because of how widespread gerrymandering has become on both sides of the political aisle, states have moved to create independent redistricting commissions. Qualitative research regarding the efficacy of independent commissions is present, but there is little research using the quantitative computational methods from these SCOTUS cases. As a result, my thesis will use the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to answer if impartial redistricting commissions (like we have in Arizona) actually preclude unfair redistricting practices.
My completed project is located here:
https://dheetideliwala.github.io/honors-thesis/
ContributorsDeliwala, Dheeti (Author) / Bryan, Chris (Thesis director) / Strickland, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2023-12
ContributorsDeliwala, Dheeti (Author) / Bryan, Chris (Thesis director) / Strickland, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2023-12
ContributorsDeliwala, Dheeti (Author) / Bryan, Chris (Thesis director) / Strickland, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2023-12
Description
This creative thesis project consists of a singing performance and literary review analysis. The interest for this project was fueled by my own experiences as an Undergraduate student with a musical background pursuing a major in Biological Sciences and minor in Business at Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University. Through an exploration of current research, this project analyzes the transformative impacts of playing music on individuals’ academic, creative, and life skills. Through the literature review, I found that music improves academic performance in students, leads to cognitive brain development, develops critical life skills including communication and leadership, as well as increases self-expression as an emotional outlet. The main goal of this project was to shed light on the benefits of playing music through a singing performance of five pieces to showcase my musical abilities, as well as advocate for the necessity of music in the school curriculum.
ContributorsArora, Victoria (Author) / O'Flaherty, Kathrine (Thesis director) / FitzPatrick, Professor Carole (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor)
Created2023-12
Description
Everyone deserves the chance to explore their voice as an expression of individuality and musical fulfillment. There are many considerations for modern voice teachers who desire to create accessible and inclusive paths to vocal study. Inspired by interactions with prospective and beginning voice students in both individual and group class settings, this document examines several of the interests and perceptions that have been most frequently expressed by singers in my studio and classrooms. The application of both student-centered and community-centered approaches within varied learning environments may better meet the needs of diverse groups of singers and welcome more amateur musicians and community music makers as prospective voice students. Confronting and addressing potentially discouraging perceptions may empower more singers to pursue vocal study. Such perceptions include feelings of unworthiness, exposure to standards of unattainable perfection promoted by the use of voice-altering technology, and lack of perceived talent. With these considerations in mind, this study aims to facilitate the creation of a concise basic resource that will benefit the self-guided singer as well as voice teachers who work in individual and classroom settings. This document includes discussions on singing as an aspect of individual identity and community, various pedagogical models of singing instruction, and the impact of technology on the understanding of vocal function. A literature review examines the relevance and effectiveness of the resource material that is frequently used to guide beginning singers. Included are the survey results of “Individual Singer and Teacher Perspectives of Vocal Study,” which gathered perspectives on various topics, such as the use of beginner resource texts, singers’ feelings on talent and worthiness, the use of gender-inclusive techniques in the vocal studio, and the incorporation of somatic practices to vocal study. When provided with a variety of resources, voice teachers can be effective and nurturing guides on every singer’s path to vocal discovery and artistic musical expression. The ultimate goal of this study is to incorporate relevant research on pedagogical techniques and philosophies and the survey results into the design of such a resource—an inclusive and accessible eBook.
ContributorsBlair, Kirsten Ann (Author) / Weiss, Stephanie (Thesis advisor) / DeMaris, Amanda (Committee member) / Knowles, Kristina (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Human civilization within the last two decades has largely transformed into an online one, with many of its associated activities taking place on computers and complex networked systems -- their analog and real-world equivalents having been rendered obsolete.These activities run the gamut from the ordinary and mundane, like ordering food, to complex and large-scale, such as those involving critical infrastructure or global trade and communications.
Unfortunately, the activities of human civilization also involve criminal, adversarial, and malicious ones with the result that they also now have their digital equivalents.
Ransomware, malware, and targeted cyberattacks are a fact of life today and are instigated not only by organized criminal gangs, but adversarial nation-states and organizations as well.
Needless to say, such actions result in disastrous and harmful real-world consequences. As the complexity and variety of software has evolved, so too has the ingenuity of attacks that exploit them; for example modern cyberattacks typically involve sequential exploitation of multiple software vulnerabilities.Compared to a decade ago, modern software stacks on personal computers, laptops, servers, mobile phones, and even Internet of Things (IoT) devices involve a dizzying array of interdependent programs and software libraries, with each of these components presenting attractive attack-surfaces for adversarial actors.
However, the responses to this still rely on paradigms that can neither react quickly enough nor scale to increasingly dynamic, ever-changing, and complex software environments.
Better approaches are therefore needed, that can assess system readiness and vulnerabilities, identify potential attack vectors and strategies (including ways to counter them), and proactively detect vulnerabilities in complex software before they can be exploited. In this dissertation, I first present a mathematical model and associated algorithms to identify attacker strategies for sequential cyberattacks based on attacker state, attributes and publicly-available vulnerability information.Second, I extend the model and design algorithms to help identify defensive courses of action against attacker strategies.
Finally, I present my work to enhance the ability of coverage-based fuzzers to identify software vulnerabilities by providing visibility into complex, internal program-states.
ContributorsPaliath, Vivin Suresh (Author) / Doupe, Adam (Thesis advisor) / Shoshitaishvili, Yan (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Ruoyu (Committee member) / Shakarian, Paulo (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023