Many cochlear implant (CI) recipients report the sound quality of their devices to be poor, for listening to music. The latest MED-EL speech processing strategy, Fine Structure Processing (FSP), aims to improve sound quality by encoding some of the low-frequency fine structure (FS) information. The goals of this study were twofold. The first was to develop a music quality rating test battery (MQRTB) for the New Zealand and Australian populations using commercially available songs. The second was to pilot test the MQRTB in a study comparing the MED-EL speech processing strategies FSP and High Definition Continuous Interleaved Sampling (HDCIS) for music appreciation. The research questions for the second part of this study were: (1) Does familiarity with a speech processing strategy affect musical quality ratings?; (2) Do CI recipients notice a significant difference between FSP and HDCIS when listening to music and if so, what aspects of the sound are different?; (3) Does song familiarity affect the quality ratings of music in CI recipients?; (4) Does music genre affect the quality ratings of music in CI recipients? The MQRTB used visual analogue scales for the attributes of pleasantness, naturalness, richness, fullness, sharpness, and roughness while listening to a home stereo. The scales were displayed on a computer touchscreen with the stimuli being presented via a home stereo system. There were ten songs in the MQRTB; a familiar and obscure song from each of the following genres: classical, modern, country and western, and common (such as a national anthem or iconic melody) genres, as well as two of the participant’s favourite songs. Five post-lingually deafened MED-EL SonataTI100 or PulsarCI100 CI recipients using the FSP strategy took part in the FSP versus HDCIS comparison study. Each participant spent three weeks acclimatising to either FSP or HDCIS before completing speech perception testing and the MQRTB task. Following this the participants were switched to the other speech processing strategy to acclimatise to for a further three weeks before re-assessment with the second strategy. At the conclusion of the study, the participants’ speech processors were returned to the pre-study settings. The results of the study showed an effect of acclimatisation on music quality ratings; when the participants were acclimatised to FSP, the group tended to prefer FSP; however, when acclimatised to HDCIS, the participants did not prefer HDCIS. As a group they rated FSP to sound closer to ‘what they would like music to sound like’ than HDCIS, and that HDCIS sounded significantly sharper and rougher than FSP. This suggested that music appreciation was better with FSP, but participants needed to be acclimatised to the strategy first. No effect of familiarity or genre was observed in the averaged group data, however, effects for some individuals were noted. Overall it would appear that FSP may improve music sound quality for some MED-EL CI recipients, however, it does not solve this issue. The MQRTB was also shown to be an effective tool to assess some aspects of music sound quality.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

This experimental study tested the effects of an extended art experience on selected personality and cognitive style factors. The treatment was a class in art appreciation on the college level and extending for one semester, and its purpose was to enable students to experience an approach to the organization of art phenomena which was directly related to the cognitive style and personality factors described by Irvin L. Child in his research in aesthetic sensitivity. The pre- and post test was a randomized compilation of the items from the seven measures used by Child, namely, (1) tolerance of ambiguity, ambivalence, and unrealistic experience, (2) scanning, (3) regression in the service of the ego, (4) independence of judgment, (5) anxiety, (6) tolerance of complexity and (7) extroversion v. introversion; and five measures from the California Psychological Inventory, (1) To, tolerance, (2) Ai, achievement via independence, (3) Sa, self-acceptance, (4) Fx, flexibility, and (5) Ps, psychological-mindedness. Four intact groups were used, two treatment groups, one with 14 students and the second with 24 students, and two control groups, an art class with 15 students and a mathematics class with 21 students.Analysis of covariance was used to test a null hypothesis for each of the 12 variables contained in the data gathering instrument. The F ratio for four of the measures reached the .05 level of significance. They were Scanning and Regression in the Service of the Ego for Treatment Group 2 and To and Fx for Treatment Group 1. No measure reached significance for both treatment-groups.Correlation coefficients were obtained to establish the presence of relationships between the two sets of measures. Regression in the Service of the Ego correlated negatively with To and Ai at the .05 level of significance. The correlation of Independence of Judgment with Fx was significant at the .001 level and with Ps at the .05 level. Anxiety correlated negatively with To, Ai and Ps and all were significant at the .001 level. Tolerance of Complexity correlated with Fx and Ps, both significant at the .05 level. Extroversion v. Introversion correlated with Sa at the .001 level of significance.Correlations were obtained for the post test variables for both the control groups and the treatment groups to determine if the magnitude of the correlations were greater for the treatment group than for the control group. The t test for difference between independent correlations was used to test for significance. The correlation between Tolerance of Complexity and Sa was the only one in which a significant difference was found in favor of the treatment group. The other post test correlation that was significant was that of Scanning with To, which favored the control group.The data was subjected to factor analysis and seven factors emerged, (1) resourcefulness and self assurance, (2) inhibition and compliance, (3) social extroversion and self-confidence, (4) narrow focusing of attention, (5) explicitness and single-mindedness, (6) intolerance and submission, and (7) independence and tolerance. It was concluded that the teaching method for art appreciation used in this study does not substantially increase the general capacity for responding aesthetically as measured by the selected personality factors.

There are three appendices - an analysis of Erasmus Schmid's policy in establishing his text of the first Pythian, a note on Milton and Pindar, and a transcription of Thomas Gray's notes on Pindar.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Conservatory of Music and School of Education. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2007. / "A dissertation in music education and education." Advisor: Joseph Parisi. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed Jan. 2, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-176). Online version of the print edition.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2000. / Title from title screen (viewed Apr. 21, 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Degree awarded 2000; thesis submitted 1999. Includes bibliography. Also available in print form.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1967. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Dissertation Committee: Charles W. Walton, Gladys Tipton, . Includes bibliographical references (leaves 425-429).

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1963. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Gladys G. Tipton. Dissertation Committee: A. Harry Passow. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1975. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Includes tables. Sponsor: Philip H. Phenix. Dissertation Committee: Elizabeth P. Hagen. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-85).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Michigan, 2001. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 209-219).