Alexander Tcherepnin, a prominent Russian composer living in Paris for most of his life, left an indelible mark on music of the 20th century, reflecting a journey through various musical genres while maintaining an evolving yet internally consistent compositional style. This dissertation explores Tcherepnin's Op. 71, Seven Songs on Chinese Poems, employing an interdisciplinary approach that combines historical analysis with a detailed examination of its musical complexities. Focussing on the historical context illuminates how a new generation of Russian emigré composers navigated the challenges of their living circumstances while embracing the ideology of Eurasia in their musical compositions. Simultaneously, I offer musical analyses that reveal the ways in which Tcherepnin weaves musical folkloric elements into distinctive musical textures, demonstrating his profound appreciation for and insightful understanding of Chinese poetry. Composed in the aftermath of World War II and premiered at the 1946 Prague Spring Festival, the Op. 71 song cycle exemplifies Tcherepnin's pioneering exploration of vocal expressions in Chinese music, reflecting an innovative synthesis of Chinese musical elements acquired during his 1934–37 stay in China. For Tcherepnin, musical folklore transcends mere musical vocabulary; for his compositional approach actually shapes a unique Eurasian musical narrative as a musical response and intervention. Tcherepnin's recognition today remains limited despite his significant contributions, particularly in the vocal genre. The research goals of this dissertation aim to rectify this oversight by showcasing Tcherepnin's innovative embrace of folk idioms, thus enhancing our understanding of his dynamic life and legitimate artistic legacy.

An ultraviolet instrument compatible with a CubeSat form factor is currently being developed at Virginia Tech for the purpose of measuring nitric oxide in the polar night through the stellar occultation technique. This instrument will allow the investigation of how the Sun and Earth systems are related via energetic particle precipitation in the auroral regions. The work performed in this thesis supports the instrument design and requirements development by modelling the stellar occultation geometry to identify orbit parameters and target stars that could yield nitric oxide measurements during the polar winter at consistent latitudes, to best observe the build-up and fall-off of nitric oxide. The orbit study was accomplished through the development of an open-source tool in MATLAB, the Stellar Occultation Mission Planner. The results of this analysis were used to model the instrument performance and identify the required narrowband filter parameters to meet science requirements. Additional studies were performed to explore system performance for a future flight opportunity. / Master of Science / A small, light weight instrument is being designed at Virginia Tech to allow for nitric oxide in the atmosphere to be measured during the long polar nights that occur during winter in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. This instrument will allow scientists to explore how the Sun and Earth interact through space weather at high latitudes. This will be accomplished by using star light to probe the atmosphere while the instrument is onboard a small spacecraft called a CubeSat. The work performed in this thesis simulated the spacecraft orbit to determine which stars yielded the best measurements over the course of the polar night. Using these results, the instrument performance was simulated to inform the design of a filter for the instrument. Additional studies were performed to support the design of a future mission to fly the instrument in space.

Syftet med föreliggande studie är att ur ett genusperspektiv synliggöra fyra trummisars uttryckta upplevelser och tankar av att vara trummis. Två kvinnliga och två manliga trummisar har intervjuats och därefter har deras upplevelser och tankar analyserats utifrån ett genusperspektiv för att hitta likheter och skillnader i hur det är att vara trummis som man respektive kvinna. För att komma fram till studiens resultat användes semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultatet visar att det både finns likheter och skillnader i manliga och kvinnliga trummisars upplevelser och tankar om att vara trummis. De största skillnaderna rör ämnena förebilder, orosmoment och bemötandet av andra.

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Background: One in every nine school-age children in Ontario has special needs (SN) as a result of developmental disorders, however, the distribution of SN is unequal among schools. This prompted a group level exploration of the developmental health outcomes of typically developing children in schools with SN children. Methods: This study uses data from the Early Development Instrument (EDI; kindergarten measure of child development), administered in Ontario between 2010-2012, and neighbourhood-level socioeconomic status (SES) from the 2006 Canadian Census to examine associations between school SN prevalence and typically developing children’s development. Relationships between school SN prevalence and developmental health in those schools were explored in Grade 3 using Education, Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) tests. Findings: Kindergarten multivariable regression model showed that school SN prevalence was associated with school level kindergarten vulnerability rates after controlling for SES and demographic factors. However, school SN prevalence was not a significant predictor of school performance in Grade 3 reading, writing and math test scores. Our exploration revealed that school kindergarten vulnerability rate, which was itself associated with the school prevalence of children with SN, was a stronger predictor of school Grade 3 academic outcomes than school SN prevalence after controlling for demographic and SES factors. Conclusions: This study provides a snapshot of population level inequalities in child health outcomes by demonstrating associations between school SN prevalence and kindergarten vulnerability, and kindergarten vulnerability and Grade 3 achievement. These findings further emphasize the importance of adequate early intervention programs in schools, and appropriate resource allocation for the health outcomes of typically developing children. / Thesis / Master of Health Sciences (MSc)