Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-55). Also available via the Internet.

Dominick Argento's Miss Havisham's Wedding Night is the least explored of his artistic output. A monodrama in one act for soprano, Miss Havisham's Wedding Night contains some of Argento's most beautiful and challenging music of his compositional output. The purpose of a detailed analysis of the structure and content of Argento's Miss Havisham's Wedding Night is to facilitate the solo vocal performer's interpretation. Argento's setting of Miss Havisham's Wedding Night is unique in that he musically translates the manic psychological state of the literary character. Argento structured the one act opera in such a manner that the music would illuminate the text and the audience might connect with the unstable psychological episodes and outbursts demonstrated by Miss Havisham. To that end, each section and phrase has its own psychological motivation, which in turn demands a varied musical and dramatic interpretation. Utilizing selected scenes from Miss Havisham's Wedding Night, the researcher will analyze Argento's musical manifestation of Dickens's literary work. This research will include an investigation into the manner in which Argento uses the shape of melody and the musical phrase along with the harmonic materials to enhance the text and dramatic content. The author will explore the musical nuances Argento incorporates in an effort to develop and portray Miss Havisham's psychological state. Through an analysis of the orchestral writing the author will show how Argento's aesthetic balance between the music and text represents the emotional and psychological implications of the monodrama.

The increased reliance on night operations by the military over the last few decades has led to the development of various night imaging devices. Night vision goggles (NVGs) are one device which have gained widespread use in nighttime helicopter operations. However, rotorcraft accident data have indicated an increased occurrence of "pilot error" type accidents when NVGs are in use. NVG related accidents often can be linked to extremely poor ambient lighting and contrast conditions during nighttime operations as well as the imaging limitations of the NVGs. Research has shown that NVGs reduce visual acuity and depth perception when compared to unaided daylight viewing conditions. In this study the effects of illumination and contrast on stereoscopic vision with and without AN/AVS-6 goggles were investigated. Stereoacuity was measured using a modified Howard-Dolman apparatus with four levels of illumination and three levels of contrast. Testing was performed with NVGs for nighttime illuminations and unaided for daytime levels of illumination. Image measurements were performed on the NVGs to determine the impact of illumination on resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. Stereoscopic vision with NVGs was found to be significantly worse than under daylight conditions. Low levels of contrast also were found to reduce stereoacuity significantly. It was found that the worst stereoacuity in this study occurred under half moon or higher illumination levels. This research revealed that further NVG development should focus on the limitations of the NVGs under high light levels, and special considerations should be made for using NVGs in low contrast, high luminance situations. / Master of Science

This Diploma thesis deals with minimum night flows issue. Basic findings about minimum night flows were summarized in the introductory part of thesis. Findings like the minimum night flow components, affecting parameters and used methodologies for assessment of minimal night flows. In the practical part of this thesis was this knowledge applied to real water distribution system in the municipality Hrádek u Sušice. The part of this thesis was also determinate the measurement accuracy of used water meter, which was formerly installed at the outlet in the Hrádek water tank. Measurement errors was determinate for the flow values, that are close to the real measured minimum night flow data in the water distribution system in municipality Hrádek u Sušice.

The first night effect (FNE) has been described as a phenomenon that affects sleep quality as measured by objective parameters by polysomnography (PSG) tests that show decreased sleep efficiency, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, total sleep time and increased sleep latencies and REM latencies. Music therapy has been an effective tool in treating anxiety in a number of patient populations as well as helping patients improve sleep quality when measured by questionnaires administered pre and post intervention. It is hypothesized that music therapy may help alleviate the FNE by improving sleep quality and the current study investigates this music intervention by observing objective parameters through PSG. A total of ninety-eight subjects completed the study of determining effectiveness of intervention in a recently constructed sleep laboratory at Boston Medical Center. Results have shown that there are no significant improvements in the sleep parameters investigated: sleep latency, sleep efficient, non-REM sleep, REM sleep, REM latency, time spent awake after initial sleep onset, arousal index, and total sleep time in the total population examined. Men and subjects that did not receive night-time respiratory treatments showed longer REM latencies when an intervention was involved. At this time, there is no reason to suggest that music therapy can help improve sleep quality on the first night in sleep laboratories when sleep quality is assessed using objective parameters. Further studies investigating anxiety levels and looking at particular patient populations on the first night pre and post music intervention may help determine the true efficacy of music intervention in helping lessen the FNE.

Stream living salmonids are generally regarded as drift feeders that rely upon their vision when foraging. It has been shown that salmonids become nocturnal at low water temperatures, but have a low foraging efficiency as light intensity is low, due to their dependence upon vision. Shifting from drift feeding to benthic feeding, has been suggested, and analyses of gut contents during winter have shown that the diet of salmonids mainly consists of benthic invertebrates. Most experimental studies of salmonid foraging have only offered the fish drifting prey or only given the fish access to benthic prey in total darkness. Such conditions rarely occur in nature and the importance of benthic foraging to salmonids may therefore have been underestimated. In this study I conducted a stream laboratory experiment to test if low light intensity caused juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) (age 0+) to forage more on benthic than drifting prey. The salmon foraged on both drifting and benthic prey during high light but consumed only benthic prey during low light (by one of six fish). Trout foraged on both drifting and benthic prey during both high and low light, but foraging efficiency was lower during low than high light and foraging efficiency was lower for benthic prey than for drifting prey. These results indicate that both species forage more opportunistically than previously thought. / Strömlevande laxfiskar anses generellt vara driftätare som förlitar sig på synen när de födosöker. Det har visats att laxfiskar blir nattaktiva vid låga vattentemperaturer, men har en låg födosökseffektivitet då ljusintensiteten är låg, på grund av sitt beroende av synen. Skifte från driftätande till att äta bentiska byten, har föreslagits, och analyser av maginnehåll under vintern har visat att laxfiskars diet huvudsakligen består av bentiska evertebrater. De flesta experimentella studier av laxfiskars födosök har endast erbjudit fisken driftande byten eller endast gett fisken tillgång till bentiska byten vid totalt mörker. Sådana förhållanden förekommer sällan i naturen och betydelsen av bentiskt födosök för laxfiskar kan därför ha underskattats. I den här studien utförde jag ett experiment i en laboratorieström för att testa om låg ljusintensitet fick juvenil Atlantlax (Salmo salar) och öring (Salmo trutta) (ålder 0+) att födosöka mer på bentiska än driftande byten. Laxen födosökte på både driftande och bentiska byten vid högt ljus men bara bentiska byten åts vid lågt ljus (av en av sex fiskar). Öringen födosökte på både driftande och bentiska byten vid både hög och låg ljusintensitet, men födosökseffektiviteten var lägre vid låg än hög ljusintensitet och födosökseffektiviteten var lägre för bentiska än förbiflytande byten. Dessa resultat indikerar att båda arterna födosöker mer opportunistiskt än vad man tidigare ansett.

Timbre is an important aspect of music, particularly in the twentieth century. Relatively little serious work on this subject has been published, however, either from a historical standpoint or from an analytical view. The purpose of this present study was to clarify the nature of timbre and to demonstrate the structural role it can have in music. The development of the timbre concept was traced from as early as the fifteenth century to present. From a very simple idea, timbre evolved into a complex phenomenon involving scientific, acoustical analysis and subjective, perceptual evaluation. It was found that currently timbre is not merely a physical manifestation, but also a function of aesthetic judgment and human response to stimuli. A brief historical survey was made of the importance of timbre in music. It was shown that timbre emerged as a significant musical element, forming the characteristic sound structure of a composition and (by extension) the distinctive sonorous style (Klangstil) of a composer. In developing to this point, the idea of timbre metamorphosed into a particular concept of "sound," a term that includes any sound quality that contributes to the character and structure of a composition. A process of analysis was developed to determine musical sound structure. It was shown that the sound-related aspects of the parameters of pitch, dynamics, time, texture, and timbre can act and interact to construct formal shape through cohesion and differentiation. It was established that the music of George Crumb shows a high regard for sound as a structural element. His Night of the Four Moons was analyzed, demonstrating the process of sound analysis. The analysis also showed that various qualities of sound itself are used as compositional material as well as for cohesion and differentiation. This aurally perceived, characteristic structure formed by or related to the action of sound was termed the "audiogenic image."

No description available.

This study was conducted on a family of nine ranging in age from thirteen to fifty-two, to examine dark adaptation during physical activities.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1986 G35 / Master of Science / Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering