Thesis (M.M.)--Boston University

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No description available.

abstract: The College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) began holding national conferences in 1941, and the organization's six divisions have held biennial conferences on alternating years beginning in 1950. The CBDNA Statement of Purpose specifies, "CBDNA is committed to serving as a dynamic hub connecting individuals to communities, ideas and resources." The regional and national conferences are one of the strongest means to that end. This study presents a history and documentation of the events of the College Band Directors National Association Western/Northwestern Divisional Conference held in Reno, Nevada from 1990 to 2016. The events leading up to the first conference are reported. The details of the clinics and concerts are chronicled to provide a foundation for analyses of various trends and threads regarding number and types of ensembles that performed, types and content of clinics presented, trends in repertoire selection, details of featured composers and commissions, and a discussion of gender disparity across all of these facets. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music Education 2016

abstract: This study investigates the lived experience of competition in high school band and the manner in which competition influences and frames band curricula. A hermeneutic phenomenological method based on the works of van Manen and Vagle was used to investigate what it was like for participants to be in competition. A theoretical framework organized around Schwab's commonplaces of education was used to interpret findings related to the curricular areas of the teacher, learner, subject matter, and milieu. I examined data through a lens incorporating principles of John Dewey's philosophy related to each of the commonplaces. Twelve individuals participated in the study representing experiences had both as students and as music educators. Participants lived and taught in communities throughout the United States and brought differing levels of teaching and competitive experience. Data were generated through in-depth interviews and collaborative phenomenological texts. Research questions included: What is the lived experience of competing in a high school band like?; and, How does competition frame and influence high school band curricula? Findings indicate that competition was a meaningful and influential part of participants' work as band directors and educational experiences as students. Competition was approached with tension as participants acknowledged negative concerns over the influence of competitions on their students, yet chose to engage in competitive activities. Marching band contests offered a creative outlet where directors could develop custom materials and they did so with a significant motivation to win. Competition was perceived as an influence on band directors' professional reputations, feelings of competence, and how band programs were viewed in the community. Students were motivated by competitions and reacted strongly to competitive results such as rankings, ratings, and other distinctions. Findings also indicate that band curricula emphasizing competition share similar curricular facets: (a) teachers carefully control and manage classroom activities and curricular choices; (b) students are viewed as skilled performers who are dependent upon their teachers for learning; (c) subject matter is narrowly considered around measurable behavioral objectives and repertoire selection; and, (d) the educational environment is dominated by the teacher who may use competition to motivate students to work and practice more. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music Education 2016

The objective of this composition was to provide a piece for concert band in a large form with the ultimate aim of submitting the number for publication for performance by a college, or good high school band, with the additional hope this number might eventually be included on a high school band contest list. With the thought of publication in mind, it was necessary to cross-cue certain parts and limit the technical scope of the composition.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / The Wideband Code Division Multiple Access is a third generation air interface, initiated in European Union research projects at the start of the 1990s. The standard emerged by the end of 1999 as part of the 3GPP standardization process. It was designed to support multiple simultaneous services with high quality services through an increased data rate. This research examines the properties and parameters of the WCDMA system to determine the feasibility of intercepting and exploiting this technology with known assets. It explores this possibility by looking at link analysis, adaptive antennas and co-channel interference canceling techniques to determine if the interception of WCDMA signals is possible. / Lieutenant Junior Grade, Hellenic Navy

We have studied luminescence properties of Mg-doped GaN grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy. Steady state photoluminescence (PL) spectra have been analyzed. Exciton, ultraviolet luminescence (UVL) and blue luminescence (BL) bands are the dominant PL bands in the spectra. At low temperature, Exciton and UVL bands show almost no shift with excitation intensity, whereas the BL band blueshifts by almost 0.4 𝑒𝑉 with increasing excitation intensity by seven orders of magnitude. Such shifting nature of bands with excitation intensity is explained by assuming that the BL band is detected from the region of the sample where potential fluctuations are very large, but the UVL and exciton bands originate from the region of the sample where there are no potential fluctuations. After the careful analysis of potential fluctuations model and the donor-acceptor pair model, we conclude that the BL band in the studied GaN:Mg sample is not a separate band but the UVL band itself, which is significantly distorted by potential fluctuations. Now, we call this band the BL* band. Temperature dependence of the BL*, UVL and Exciton peak intensity is analyzed. We see abrupt and tunable thermal quenching of the BL* and Exciton bands. Temperature dependence of the BL* and UVL bands at fixed excitation intensities but at different environmental conditions is also investigated. Finally, giant redshift of the BL* band with increasing temperature is explained by a combination of potential fluctuations and abrupt quenching of the BL* band with temperature.

In this paper, an asymmetric compact multiband slot antenna is proposed for global positioning system (GPS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), and wireless area network (WLAN) applications. The top plane, a ground is composed of a rectangular slot with a trapezoidal-like stub, an inverted U-shaped slot at the right side of the rectangular slot, an inverted L-shaped slot at the left side of the rectangular slot, and three stubs. The proposed antenna is fed by an asymmetric cross-parasitic strip on the bottom plane. By properly designing the slots and stubs, four resonant frequency bands are achieved with -10 dB reflection coefficient bandwidths of 50 MHz, 400 MHz, 390 MHz, and 830 MHz in the 1.57 GHz GPS band, 2.4 GHz WLAN band, 3.5 GHz WiMAX band, and 5.5 GHz WLAN bands, respectively. The antenna has a total compact size of 13 mm x 32 mm x 0.8 mm. Simulated and measured results indicate that the proposed antenna has sufficient bandwidth and good radiation performance in each band.

Black band disease (BBD) is a cyanobacterial dominated pathogenic consortium that affects corals worldwide. Recently two cyanobacteria (Oscillatoria strains 101-1 and 100-1) were isolated into culture from BBD. The aim of this study was to characterize the strains and assess their role in BBD pathogenesis. Light, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy, coupled with 16S rRNA gene sequencing, were used for taxonomic characterization. Cyanotoxin production was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Toxin identification was performed by high performance liquid chromatography. The ability of the strains to initiate BBD was tested on host coral fragments of Siderastrea siderea and Diploria strigosa under controlled laboratory conditions. Results showed that both Oscillatoria sp. strains caused infection that resulted in complete lysis of coral tissue. Both strains produced a cyanotoxin, identified as microcystin-LR, with production affected by different environmental factors. This study provides evidence that BBD Oscillatoria is a key component in BBD pathogenicity.