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About piano students who display disruptive behavior and perform far below reasonable expectations, teachers first conclude that they are lazy, rude, disinterested, and/or lacking intelligence or ability. Most dismiss such students from studios and advise parents to discontinue lessons. In truth, many of these students are both highly gifted and

About piano students who display disruptive behavior and perform far below reasonable expectations, teachers first conclude that they are lazy, rude, disinterested, and/or lacking intelligence or ability. Most dismiss such students from studios and advise parents to discontinue lessons. In truth, many of these students are both highly gifted and also have a learning disability. Examined literature shows that the incidence of dyslexia and other learning disabilities in the gifted learner population is several times that of the regular learner population. Although large volumes of research have been devoted to dyslexia, and more recently to dyslexia and music (in the classroom and some in individual instrumental instruction), there is no evidence of the same investigation in relation to the specific needs of highly gifted dyslexic students in learning to play the piano. This project examines characteristics of giftedness and dyslexia, gifted learners with learning disabilities, and the difficulties they encounter in learning to read music and play keyboard instruments. It includes historical summaries of author's experience with such students and description of their progress and success. They reveal some of practical strategies that evolved through several decades of teaching regular and gifted dyslexic students that helped them overcome the challenges and learn to play the piano. Informal conversations and experience exchanges with colleagues, as well as a recently completed pilot study also showed that most piano pedagogues had no formal opportunity to learn about this issue and to be empowered to teach these very special students. The author's hope is to offer personal insights, survey of current knowledge, and practical suggestions that will not only assist piano instructors to successfully teach highly gifted learners with dyslexia, but also inspire them to learn more about the topic.
ContributorsVladikovic, Jelena (Author) / Humphreys, Jere T. (Thesis advisor) / Meir, Baruch (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Hamilton, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
Aluminum alloys and their composites are attractive materials for applications requiring high strength-to-weight ratios and reasonable cost. Many of these applications, such as those in the aerospace industry, undergo fatigue loading. An understanding of the microstructural damage that occurs in these materials is critical in assessing their fatigue resistance. Two

Aluminum alloys and their composites are attractive materials for applications requiring high strength-to-weight ratios and reasonable cost. Many of these applications, such as those in the aerospace industry, undergo fatigue loading. An understanding of the microstructural damage that occurs in these materials is critical in assessing their fatigue resistance. Two distinct experimental studies were performed to further the understanding of fatigue damage mechanisms in aluminum alloys and their composites, specifically fracture and plasticity. Fatigue resistance of metal matrix composites (MMCs) depends on many aspects of composite microstructure. Fatigue crack growth behavior is particularly dependent on the reinforcement characteristics and matrix microstructure. The goal of this work was to obtain a fundamental understanding of fatigue crack growth behavior in SiC particle-reinforced 2080 Al alloy composites. In situ X-ray synchrotron tomography was performed on two samples at low (R=0.1) and at high (R=0.6) R-ratios. The resulting reconstructed images were used to obtain three-dimensional (3D) rendering of the particles and fatigue crack. Behaviors of the particles and crack, as well as their interaction, were analyzed and quantified. Four-dimensional (4D) visual representations were constructed to aid in the overall understanding of damage evolution. During fatigue crack growth in ductile materials, a plastic zone is created in the region surrounding the crack tip. Knowledge of the plastic zone is important for the understanding of fatigue crack formation as well as subsequent growth behavior. The goal of this work was to quantify the 3D size and shape of the plastic zone in 7075 Al alloys. X-ray synchrotron tomography and Laue microdiffraction were used to non-destructively characterize the volume surrounding a fatigue crack tip. The precise 3D crack profile was segmented from the reconstructed tomography data. Depth-resolved Laue patterns were obtained using differential-aperture X-ray structural microscopy (DAXM), from which peak-broadening characteristics were quantified. Plasticity, as determined by the broadening of diffracted peaks, was mapped in 3D. Two-dimensional (2D) maps of plasticity were directly compared to the corresponding tomography slices. A 3D representation of the plastic zone surrounding the fatigue crack was generated by superimposing the mapped plasticity on the 3D crack profile.
ContributorsHruby, Peter (Author) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Thesis advisor) / Solanki, Kiran (Committee member) / Liu, Yongming (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
This six month IRB approved qualitative study was held at Arizona State University to see how a group of seven university dancers' body appreciation and body perception would be affected by introduction and familiarized with Bartenieff Fundamentals and other somatic practices. During this process the individuals gained knowledge about their

This six month IRB approved qualitative study was held at Arizona State University to see how a group of seven university dancers' body appreciation and body perception would be affected by introduction and familiarized with Bartenieff Fundamentals and other somatic practices. During this process the individuals gained knowledge about their own bodies through somatic movement activities, journal writings, group discussions, and personal interviews. Movers then used this knowledge to create movement phrases that represented their own personal journeys with body image struggles, doubts, and insecurities. These movement phrases were then linked together in a 40-minute expressive movement piece that represented the journey the group of movers had made and was still making together.
ContributorsRodgers, Patricia (Author) / Jackson, Naomi (Thesis advisor) / Britt, Melissa (Committee member) / Vissicaro, Pegge (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
Transformation Is... is an arts practice-led research in Dance and Design, embodying and materializing concepts of structure, leadership and agency and their role in bringing about desired social transformation. My personal experiences as a foreign student interested in transformative experiences gave origin to this arts practice-led research. An auto-ethnographic approach

Transformation Is... is an arts practice-led research in Dance and Design, embodying and materializing concepts of structure, leadership and agency and their role in bringing about desired social transformation. My personal experiences as a foreign student interested in transformative experiences gave origin to this arts practice-led research. An auto-ethnographic approach informed by grounded theory methods shaped this creative inquiry in which dance was looked at as data and rehearsals became research fields. Within the context of social choreography, a transformational leadership style was applied to promote agency using improvisational movement scores to shape individual and collective creative explorations. These explorations gave birth to a flexible and transformable dance installation that served as a metaphor for social structure. Transformation revealed itself in this research as a sequence of process and product oriented stages that resulted in a final performance piece in which a site-specific interactive installation was built before the audience's eyes. This work became a metaphor of how individual actions and interactions effect the construction of social reality and how inner-transformation and collaboration are key in the process of designing and building new egalitarian social structures.
ContributorsSibauste Bermudez, Janelle (Author) / Kaplan, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Britt, Melissa (Committee member) / Standley, Eileen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
Concrete is the most widely used infrastructure material worldwide. Production of portland cement, the main binding component in concrete, has been shown to require significant energy and account for approximately 5-7% of global carbon dioxide production. The expected continued increased use of concrete over the coming decades indicates this is

Concrete is the most widely used infrastructure material worldwide. Production of portland cement, the main binding component in concrete, has been shown to require significant energy and account for approximately 5-7% of global carbon dioxide production. The expected continued increased use of concrete over the coming decades indicates this is an ideal time to implement sustainable binder technologies. The current work aims to explore enhanced sustainability concretes, primarily in the context of limestone and flow. Aspects such as hydration kinetics, hydration product formation and pore structure add to the understanding of the strength development and potential durability characteristics of these binder systems. Two main strategies for enhancing this sustainability are explored in this work: (i) the use of high volume limestone in combination with other alternative cementitious materials to decrease the portland cement quantity in concrete and (ii) the use of geopolymers as the binder phase in concrete. The first phase of the work investigates the use of fine limestone as cement replacement from the perspective of hydration, strength development, and pore structure. The nature of the potential synergistic benefit of limestone and alumina will be explored. The second phase will focus on the rheological characterization of these materials in the fresh state, as well as a more general investigation of the rheological characterization of suspensions. The results of this work indicate several key ideas. (i) There is a potential synergistic benefit for strength, hydration, and pore structure by using alumina and in portland limestone cements, (ii) the limestone in these systems is shown to react to some extent, and fine limestone is shown to accelerate hydration, (iii) rheological characteristics of cementitious suspensions are complex, and strongly dependent on several key parameters including: the solid loading, interparticle forces, surface area of the particles present, particle size distribution of the particles, and rheological nature of the media in which the particles are suspended, and (iv) stress plateau method is proposed for the determination of rheological properties of concentrated suspensions, as it more accurately predicts apparent yield stress and is shown to correlate well with other viscoelastic properties of the suspensions.
ContributorsVance, Kirk (Author) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Thesis advisor) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Committee member) / Mobasher, Barzin (Committee member) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Committee member) / Marzke, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
For decades, microelectronics manufacturing has been concerned with failures related to electromigration phenomena in conductors experiencing high current densities. The influence of interconnect microstructure on device failures related to electromigration in BGA and flip chip solder interconnects has become a significant interest with reduced individual solder interconnect volumes. A survey

For decades, microelectronics manufacturing has been concerned with failures related to electromigration phenomena in conductors experiencing high current densities. The influence of interconnect microstructure on device failures related to electromigration in BGA and flip chip solder interconnects has become a significant interest with reduced individual solder interconnect volumes. A survey indicates that x-ray computed micro-tomography (µXCT) is an emerging, novel means for characterizing the microstructures' role in governing electromigration failures. This work details the design and construction of a lab-scale µXCT system to characterize electromigration in the Sn-0.7Cu lead-free solder system by leveraging in situ imaging.

In order to enhance the attenuation contrast observed in multi-phase material systems, a modeling approach has been developed to predict settings for the controllable imaging parameters which yield relatively high detection rates over the range of x-ray energies for which maximum attenuation contrast is expected in the polychromatic x-ray imaging system. In order to develop this predictive tool, a model has been constructed for the Bremsstrahlung spectrum of an x-ray tube, and calculations for the detector's efficiency over the relevant range of x-ray energies have been made, and the product of emitted and detected spectra has been used to calculate the effective x-ray imaging spectrum. An approach has also been established for filtering `zinger' noise in x-ray radiographs, which has proven problematic at high x-ray energies used for solder imaging. The performance of this filter has been compared with a known existing method and the results indicate a significant increase in the accuracy of zinger filtered radiographs.

The obtained results indicate the conception of a powerful means for the study of failure causing processes in solder systems used as interconnects in microelectronic packaging devices. These results include the volumetric quantification of parameters which are indicative of both electromigration tolerance of solders and the dominant mechanisms for atomic migration in response to current stressing. This work is aimed to further the community's understanding of failure-causing electromigration processes in industrially relevant material systems for microelectronic interconnect applications and to advance the capability of available characterization techniques for their interrogation.
ContributorsMertens, James Charles Edwin (Author) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Thesis advisor) / Alford, Terry (Committee member) / Jiao, Yang (Committee member) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
"Linked Together" is a choreographic piece inspired by at-risk youth and their ability to learn, grow, and transform their lives through dance. The idea for the piece originated from dance programs implemented with under-resourced populations in Virginia, Panama, and India. My teaching experiences in these places sparked the development of

"Linked Together" is a choreographic piece inspired by at-risk youth and their ability to learn, grow, and transform their lives through dance. The idea for the piece originated from dance programs implemented with under-resourced populations in Virginia, Panama, and India. My teaching experiences in these places sparked the development of a longer, more comprehensive dance program in Arizona, with a Boys and Girls Club. The Arizona dance program included specific somatics exercises, focused on the integration of mind and body, as well as other types of improvisations, to help the participants learn about movement concepts and develop original movement.

The title "Linked Together" suggests that all people are connected in many ways, regardless of personal differences such as socioeconomic status or language. The dancers included myself, Arizona State University (ASU) dance students, as well as Boys and Girls Club dance program participants. For the concert, all dancers portrayed stories and concepts related to empowerment through emotionally charged movement, and thereby provided audience members with a visceral lens through which to see the transformative powers of dance. The data collected from this project through observations, surveys, and interviews suggest that constructive behaviors that are internalized through dance can flow seamlessly into the non-dance world, encouraging people to think creatively, collaborate with others, gain a sense of ownership, and feel empowered in all parts of life.
ContributorsDaniel, Chareka (Author) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Britt, Melissa (Committee member) / Manning, Linda (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
As one of the most promising materials for high capacity electrode in next generation of lithium ion batteries, silicon has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. Advanced characterization techniques and atomic simulations helped to depict that the lithiation/delithiation of silicon electrode involves processes including large volume change

As one of the most promising materials for high capacity electrode in next generation of lithium ion batteries, silicon has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. Advanced characterization techniques and atomic simulations helped to depict that the lithiation/delithiation of silicon electrode involves processes including large volume change (anisotropic for the initial lithiation of crystal silicon), plastic flow or softening of material dependent on composition, electrochemically driven phase transformation between solid states, anisotropic or isotropic migration of atomic sharp interface, and mass diffusion of lithium atoms. Motivated by the promising prospect of the application and underlying interesting physics, mechanics coupled with multi-physics of silicon electrodes in lithium ion batteries is studied in this dissertation. For silicon electrodes with large size, diffusion controlled kinetics is assumed, and the coupled large deformation and mass transportation is studied. For crystal silicon with small size, interface controlled kinetics is assumed, and anisotropic interface reaction is studied, with a geometry design principle proposed. As a preliminary experimental validation, enhanced lithiation and fracture behavior of silicon pillars via atomic layer coatings and geometry design is studied, with results supporting the geometry design principle we proposed based on our simulations. Through the work documented here, a consistent description and understanding of the behavior of silicon electrode is given at continuum level and some insights for the future development of the silicon electrode are provided.
ContributorsAn, Yonghao (Author) / Jiang, Hanqing (Thesis advisor) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Committee member) / Phelan, Patrick (Committee member) / Wang, Yinming (Committee member) / Yu, Hongyu (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
Increasing demand for high strength powder metallurgy (PM) steels has resulted in the development of dual phase PM steels. In this work, the effects of thermal aging on the microstructure and mechanical behavior of dual phase precipitation hardened powder metallurgy (PM) stainless steels of varying ferrite-martensite content were examined. Quantitative

Increasing demand for high strength powder metallurgy (PM) steels has resulted in the development of dual phase PM steels. In this work, the effects of thermal aging on the microstructure and mechanical behavior of dual phase precipitation hardened powder metallurgy (PM) stainless steels of varying ferrite-martensite content were examined. Quantitative analyses of the inherent porosity and phase fractions were conducted on the steels and no significant differences were noted with respect to aging temperature. Tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation to fracture all increased with increasing aging temperature reaching maxima at 538oC in most cases. Increased strength and decreased ductility were observed in steels of higher martensite content. Nanoindentation of the individual microconstituents was employed to obtain a fundamental understanding of the strengthening contributions. Both the ferrite and martensite hardness values increased with aging temperature and exhibited similar maxima to the bulk tensile properties. Due to the complex non-uniform stresses and strains associated with conventional nanoindentation, micropillar compression has become an attractive method to probe local mechanical behavior while limiting strain gradients and contributions from surrounding features. In this study, micropillars of ferrite and martensite were fabricated by focused ion beam (FIB) milling of dual phase precipitation hardened powder metallurgy (PM) stainless steels. Compression testing was conducted using a nanoindenter equipped with a flat punch indenter. The stress-strain curves of the individual microconstituents were calculated from the load-displacement curves less the extraneous displacements of the system. Using a rule of mixtures approach in conjunction with porosity corrections, the mechanical properties of ferrite and martensite were combined for comparison to tensile tests of the bulk material, and reasonable agreement was found for the ultimate tensile strength. Micropillar compression experiments of both as sintered and thermally aged material allowed for investigation of the effect of thermal aging.
ContributorsStewart, Jennifer (Author) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Thesis advisor) / Jiang, Hanqing (Committee member) / Krause, Stephen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
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Description
The mechanical behavior of Pb-free solder alloys is important, since they must maintain mechanical integrity under thermomechanical fatigue, creep, and mechanical shock conditions. Mechanical shock, in particular, has become an increasing concern in the electronics industry, since electronic packages can be subjected to mechanical shock by mishandling during manufacture or

The mechanical behavior of Pb-free solder alloys is important, since they must maintain mechanical integrity under thermomechanical fatigue, creep, and mechanical shock conditions. Mechanical shock, in particular, has become an increasing concern in the electronics industry, since electronic packages can be subjected to mechanical shock by mishandling during manufacture or by accidental dropping. In this study, the mechanical shock behavior of Sn and Sn-Ag-Cu alloys was systematically analyzed over the strain rate range 10-3 - 30 s-1 in bulk samples, and over 10-3 - 12 s-1 on the single solder joint level. More importantly, the influences of solder microstructure and intermetallic compounds (IMC) on mechanical shock resistance were quantified. A thorough microstructural characterization of Sn-rich alloys was conducted using synchrotron x-ray computed tomography. The three-dimensional morphology and distribution of contiguous phases and precipitates was analyzed. A multiscale approach was utilized to characterize Sn-rich phases on the microscale with x-ray tomography and focused ion beam tomography to characterize nanoscale precipitates. A high strain rate servohydraulic test system was developed in conjunction with a modified tensile specimen geometry and a high speed camera for quantifying deformation. The effect of microstructure and applied strain rate on the local strain and strain rate distributions were quantified using digital image correlation. Necking behavior was analyzed using a novel mirror fixture, and the triaxial stresses associated with necking were corrected using a self-consistent method to obtain the true stress-true strain constitutive behavior. Fracture mechanisms were quantified as a function of strain rate. Finally, the relationship between solder microstructure and intermetallic compound layer thickness with the mechanical shock resistance of Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu solder joints was characterized. It was found that at low strain rates the dynamic solder joint strength was controlled by the solder microstructure, while at high strain rates it was controlled by the IMC layer. The influences of solder microstructure and IMC layer thickness were then isolated using extended reflow or isothermal aging treatments. It was found that at large IMC layer thicknesses the trend described above does not hold true. The fracture mechanisms associated with the dynamic solder joint strength regimes were analyzed.
ContributorsYazzie, Kyle (Author) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Thesis advisor) / Sane, Sandeep (Committee member) / Jiang, Hanqing (Committee member) / Krause, Stephen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012