This dissertation examines aspects of the creative practice of Muhal Richard Abrams, composer, improviser, pianist, and cofounder of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Abrams’s work intersects with various facets of creative music. I focus on free improvisation, both as a stand-alone performance and in conjunction with through composed music, his engagement with writings by theorist Joseph Schillinger, and his work as a composer. This study provides an historical overview of Abrams’s life and output, supplies analytical accounts of his music and creative practice, contributes to critical issues in music theory and analysis through these examinations, and diversifies the music, musicians, and topics that comprise the discipline of music theory. My examinations position Abrams as an important figure in twentieth century music, both improvised and composed, and expand studies in music theory and analysis. I offer new perspectives on and a framework for the analysis of free improvisation and intra-ensemble interaction, challenge traditional binaries between music theory and black experimental music, explore the influence of Schillinger’s theoretical treatise, The Schillinger System of Musical Composition ([1946] 1978), on Abrams’s work as a composer, explicate a set of idiosyncratic theoretical publications to suggest an underground genealogy of music theory, and posit an analytical vista that sits at the intersection of music performance, disability, and critical race studies. My overview of Abrams’s life and work draws on historical scholarship to tease out details of his development and practice in Chicago and New York, and analyzes contemporaneous articles from magazines, newspapers, and journals in order to provide a snapshot of the reception of Abrams’s work and the various scenes that he traversed. In response to Abrams’s individual approach to interactive free improvisation, which functions as either a stand-alone performance or alongside composed music, I employ the concept of affordances from ecological psychology. My affordance based analytical framework facilities a reappraisal of musicians’ interactions during free improvisation and also theorizes the relationship that emerges when free improvisation is preceded and/or followed by composed material. I analyze Abrams’s improvised duet with Fred Anderson, “Focus, ThruTime…Time—>” (2011) and his quartet rendition of “Munktmunk” (1987) to illustrate my framework and elucidate the richness of these performances. I perform a close reading of Schillinger’s theoretical treatise to suggest resonances between Abrams’s creative practice and the text. I do not aim to elect Schillinger as a kind of fountainhead for Abrams’s practice. Rather, I argue that the numerous resonances between Schillinger’s text and Abrams’s practice connote reasons why the treatise strongly appealed to Abrams, such that he employed it both compositionally and pedagogically for a large portion of his life. I extrapolate from this discussion to outline and theorize an underground genealogy of music theory that represents a more diverse set of music theoretical practices than is often discussed in the discipline. Finally, I analyze composed portions of four works by Abrams: “Inner Lights” (1985), “Charlie in the Parker” (1977), “Hearinga” (1989), and “Piano Duet #1” (1987). My analyses of the first three of these pieces intimate the presence of some of Schillinger’s theoretical principles. Abrams does not simply realize Schillinger’s theoretical method in his work, but rather maintains artistic agency by selectively filtering those suggestions through his own pluralistic aesthetic. Finally, I combine recent work on disability in music and critical race theory to analyze “Piano Duet #1,” in which the two pianists’ bodies are restricted in performance. This analysis offers a generative reappraisal of music performance and disability studies in light of race while also elucidating some of the richness of Abrams’s composition.

[pt] O tema da pesquisa aqui relatada trata do uso integrado das narrativas não verbais e verbais em livro de literatura, que possibilitam a contextualização gráfica tão importante quanto o seu texto literário. Teve como questão norteadora a sensorialidade do livro físico que, frente aos avanços da tecnologia e do surgimento de diferentes suportes de leitura, geram novos parâmetros editoriais para a presente e às futuras gerações. S. - O navio de Teseu, um livro de literatura de ficção sem indicação de faixa etária definida, cujo design diferenciado permite a construção da narrativa não-verbal imbricada com a narrativa textual, intensificando a experiência e a imersão na leitura foi estudado como caso exemplar. Inicialmente, a pesquisa embarcou na concepção e no processo de design de S. apresentando uma entrevista exclusiva com o designer norte-americano Paul Kepple e o designer brasileiro Antonio Rhoden; navegou nos variados signos utilizados no design do livro e dos efêmeros, suas articulações e significados por meio da semiótica e na fundamentação da construção de sua narrativa não-verbal demonstrando como as escolhas do design de S. - O navio de Teseu se articulam criando mecanismos de inferências associativas ao longo da leitura. E, finalmente, aportou em suas singularidades concluindo que design editorial torna-se fundamental na cadeia produtiva do livro. Dos profissionais deste campo requer-se a pertinência e o empenho de fornecer os aportes sensoriais e interativos necessários aos diversos suportes de leitura que promovem a produção de sentido e a imersão numa história. / [en] The subject of the research reported here deals with the integrated use of verbal and nonverbal narratives in a literature book, which make possible the graphic contextualization as important as its literary text. It had as a guiding question the sensoriality of the physical book that, in face of the advances of technology and the emergence of different reading supports, generate new editorial parameters for present and future generations. S. - The ship of Theseus, a fiction literature book with no defined censorship rating, was studied as an exemplary case because of its unconventional design that allows the construction of the nonverbal narrative imbricated with the textual narrative, intensifying the experience and the immersion while reading. Initially, this research embarked on the design and design process of S. - The ship of Theseus presenting an exclusive interview with American designer Paul Kepple and Brazilian designer Antonio Rhoden; navigated in the varied signs used in the design of the book and the ephemeris, their articulations and meanings through semiotics and in the visual-verbal narrative, demonstrating how the choices of graphic design are articulated by creating associative inference mechanisms. And, finally, it confirmed its singularitiy, concluding that editorial design becomes fundamental in the productive chain of the book. From the professionals of this field is required the pertinence and the commitment to provide the necessary sensorial and interactive contributions to the diverse reading supports that promote the production of meaning and immersion in a story.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of English, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-133).

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / The U.S. Army uses a Unit Readiness Index to track the combat readiness of systems. The Unit Readiness Index relies on the accuracy of automated and manual testing of the hardware and related software of the Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) that comprise the system. These tests are based on a GO/NOGO scenario. When an LRU fails, vehicle commanders, and commanders up the chain of command, can override the failure and continue with a mission. Overriding the NOGO recommendations produces a false combat readiness status for the unit, and creates a number of problems related to unit combat decisions as well as logistical support. This thesis introduces a new process for more effectively tracking combat readiness. It outlines some of the problems associated with the current GO/NOGO scenario and examines the current tests, artifacts and data available from the current process. It proposes an additional Report process and shows how this new process will eliminate the readiness tracking problems associated with the GO/NOGO scenario. It also presents the design of a Vehicle Database and Master Fault Database to support the proposed process, and presents several sample reports generated from this Master Fault Database. / Civilian, United States Army RDECOM - TARDEC

This dissertation combines performance analysis, rhetorical criticism, and psychoanalytical theory to analyze three performance “texts” as sites of haunting in post-9/11 America: Tony Kushner’s 2001 U.S. debut of Homebody/Kabul, the Broadway musical Wicked, and ABC’s television drama Lost. It contributes a nuanced, theorized reading of the civil implications of post-9/11 popular American culture as “more than memory” by demonstrating how these performances suggested “what might be” in ways that subverted Bush’s responses to the attacks. The first chapter reads Homebody/Kabul against the national addresses delivered by Bush in the first weeks after the attacks and argue that the 2001 New York Theatre Workshop performance created a space for audiences to reconsider the version of “mourning” encouraged by the Bush administration. The type of mourning modeled/enabled by Homebody/Kabul, I assert, is different from that against which Derrida warns. Rather than “silencing ghosts” (Gunn 82) through the integration of loss, Homebody/Kabul makes a space for conversing with, and models living with, ghosts. The second chapter argues that the Wicked’s Ozians are stuck in a state of melancholia, refusing to speak to/with the ghost of Elphaba. Because they refuse to reckon with Elphaba, they literally finish exactly where they began—with “No One Mourn[ing] the Wicked.” By reading Wicked against the celebratory rhetoric of the Bush administration after declaring “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq, we can understand the way the United States as a nation was (and may still be, in 2010) haunted by the Bush administration's failure to lead the nation in mourning effectively and ethically and by its incessant rhetoric of evil. The third chapter advocates for Lost as a hauntological reckoning with 9/11 that models ethical witnessing as a potentially generative meeting of human beings across cultures at the site of trauma. An alternative to the fear that the Bush administration encouraged leading up to Lost’s premiere and through its final season, ethical witnessing as modeled on Lost suggests that civilization stands to thrive where difference is honored—and risks toppling into chaos where the alternative “us against them” mentality (Other anxiety) prevails. / text

Honors Project--Smith College, Northampton, Mass., 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 49-52).

This dissertation focuses on the roles played by the United Nations experts Charles Abrams and G. Holmes Perkins in the foundation of METU Faculty of Architecture. It aims to highlight the ideas and ideals that informed Abrams&rsquo / s and Perkins&rsquo / s METU projects, and to delineate an integrative and multifaceted picture of their political and educational contexts. This picture may serve as a basis for future researches on the institutional and educational histories of METU Faculty of Architecture. It may also help to better understand the contributions of other administrators and instructors -- including First Acting Dean Thomas B. A. Godfrey and Dean Abdullah Kuran -- who played important parts in the formation of the educational direction of the Faculty. Abrams, as a United Nations consultant, paved the way for the foundation of METU Faculty of Architecture by recommending a school of architecture and community planning in Ankara, for the education of professionals competent in responding to the problems caused by rapid industrial expansion and urbanization. Perkins contributed to the foundation process of METU Faculty of Architecture. As the head of the team of experts from the University of Pennsylvania School of Fine Arts, who were sent by the United Nations to Ankara in 1955, he advised the Government of Turkey on &ldquo / the creation of a Faculty of Architecture, a Faculty of City and Regional Planning&rdquo / and two research institutes, as a first step towards an institution of university rank, and with a view to promoting &ldquo / a newer, more practical and modern approach to architecture and urban planning&rdquo / in Turkey. In this dissertation, Abrams&rsquo / s and Perkins&rsquo / s METU projects constitute a starting point for exploring significant themes in the changing political and educational trajectories in America in the mid-twentieth century. The influence of different interpretations of the notions of democracy, individuality and society on technical assistance, urban development policies and architectural education is also investigated. Abrams&rsquo / s professional and academic position as a &ldquo / reflective practitioner&rdquo / is appraised in the light of John Dewey&rsquo / s concepts of democracy, democratic education and &ldquo / reflective thinking.&rdquo / The changing professional and societal roles of the architect and the changing demands upon architectural education in the 1950s framed the background of Perkins&rsquo / s educational approach. The reappraisal of liberal education as part of professional education of the architect, the rising significance of an interdisciplinary pedagogical approach, and the development of &ldquo / organized research&rdquo / in architecture were among the major themes shaping new orientations in the field of architectural education in America in those years. In the dissertation, the lasting validity of these themes for today is highlighted.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Agronomy / Stephen J. Thien / Range and Training Land Assessment (RTLA) and Land Rehabilitation and Maintenance (LRAM) are key components of The United States Army's Integrated Training Area Management (ITAM) Program, which outlines its commitment to support the sustainable use of military training lands. The primary purpose of the RTLA Program is to provide information and recommendations regarding the condition of training lands to range managers for scheduling of training areas and monitoring the effectiveness of rehabilitation projects. The goal of the LRAM component of ITAM is to reduce the long-term impacts of training on installations through the implementation of improvements to vegetation cover and repairs to landscape damage in disturbed areas. Fort Riley Military Installation, located in the largest remaining expanse of tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills of northeastern Kansas, is a major training reservation, with seventy percent of its 40,434 ha used for mechanized maneuvers. A randomized complete block design composed of M1A1 tank traffic in a figure-eight pattern during wet and dry soil conditions was established in each of two soil types, a silty clay loam and a silt loam, and recovery of physical, chemical, and biological indicator variables was monitored from 2005 through 2007. In a second study, the effectiveness of LRAM procedures, including leveling, mulching, and reseeding, was evaluated following wheeled vehicle disturbance. The goals of this study were to identify disturbance indicators appropriate for assessing soil quality and, based on the status of these indicators, develop a method for modeling the stage and rate of ecological degradation and potential response to remediation. Disturbance increased significantly during wet compared to dry soil conditions, for increased traffic intensity, and for curve compared to straight-a-way areas in both soil types. The greatest impacts were on above and below ground community structure, providing an effective bioindicator of ecosystem health for military training land managers. Remediation of wheeled vehicle disturbance with leveling and mulching, but not reseeding, increased total vegetation production. The tallgrass prairie typically is considered to be among the most resilient of military training lands, but resiliency is dependent upon soil type and training conditions, and may require longer periods of recovery than previously thought.

The use of cement in the building industry accounts for a large part of the world's CO2-emissions. In the developing part of the world where materials are costly and labour is cheap, cement is expensive. In Nepal, a country which is frequently hit by earthquakes, low-cement-content building blocks are already being made and research on how to reduce the cement content further is currently going on. The manufacturing process for these blocks varies significantly, so a method to predict block strength easily and implement cost-effective quality control could substantially enhance production quality. The purpose of this study is to investigate how to predict the strength of building blocks using the water content, cement content and bulk density. Additionally, it examines whether bulk density could serve as a reliable indicator of strength, which could simplify quality control by allowing blocks to be weighed. This, together with an evaluation of the production site performance, is used to calculate the theoretical improvement potential and a proposed cement reduction. Through experiments, the compressive strength was measured for blocks of mixes with different cement percentages under various water content conditions, resulting in blocks with differing bulk densities. This data was used to create a model that predicts the compressive strength. Field visits to five sites were conducted to evaluate the current performance and this data was used to calculate the improvement potential. The results show the importance of water for the workability of the mix and in turn the compressive strength of the blocks. More water and more material into the mold lead to an increase in the strength and the theoretical improvement potential for cement reduction is 50\% by only these measures. The bulk density is a promising indicator of the compaction and compressive strength and weighing the blocks at creation could potentially reduce the variability in the strength of the blocks.

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