Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 232 p. : ill. (some col.), col. maps. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-195).

The lack of availability of a single, complete paper on the analysis of a digital data acquisition system for in situ oceanographic measurements brought about the present work. In order to compile an accurate technical paper on such a complex system, it was necessary to design, construct, and calibrate a system for the in situ measurement of various physical and chemical properties of sea water. A unique digital encoding circuit was developed which utilizes the basic principles of null balance, resistance ratio bridge and potentiometer measurements. The circuit is a uniquely loaded binary ladder resistance network. Variation of the loading allows resistance ratio and potentiometric measurements to be made over different ranges with a constant high degree of resolution. The developed system has the capability of measuring any parameter which can be converted into a varying voltage, current, or resistance. The range over which the measurement can be made is adjustable; and the resolution equals ± 0.006% of the full range value. The resolution is constant over the full range, as a result of the analog-to- digital converter linearity characteristics. / Graduation date: 1968

Graduation date: 1998

By analyzing my three composition works, the thesis is to discuss the creative ideas of contemporary compositions for Chinese traditional instruments, and to explore musical styles and thoughts of contemporary compositions for Chinese traditional instruments. These three compositions, ¡§Dialogue¡¨, written for erhu and yangqin, ¡§Yangqin Capriccio¡¨, written for yangqin and zheng, and ¡§Yunya¡¨, written for four Chinese traditional instruments and four western instruments, combine the composition techniques of Western music and the emphasis on the concept of lines and timbre of the East, and transform thoughts of traditional music into innovative spirit of contemporary music. Using traditional music and traditional instruments as the main elements of music is one way of composing for many contemporary Eastern composers. In addition to inputting the idea of traditional music into works, composers experiment their own musical thoughts in the music, as well as combining the composition techniques and theory of the Western modern music. This new way of composing has opened up a different world for the Chinese traditional music and instruments, and has shown great varieties of music.

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This dissertation is an attempt to understand the role of instruments in the process of knowledge production in science. I ask: how can we trust scientific instruments and what do we learn about when we use them? The dissertation has four parts. First, I construct a novel account of “epistemic possibility,” the possibility of knowing, that captures the dependency of knowledge on action, and I introduce the notion of “technological possibility,” which depends on the availability of material and conceptual means to bring about a desired state of affairs. I argue that, under certain circumstances, technological possibility is a condition for epistemic possibility. Second, I ask how instruments become reliable. I argue that when the material capacities and conceptual functions of a scientific instrument correspond, the instrument is a reliable component of the process of knowledge production. I then describe how the instrument design process can result in just such a correspondence. Instrument design produces the material device, a functional concept of the device revised in light of experience, a measure of the closeness of fit between material and function, and practices of trust such as calibration routines. ii Third, I ask what we learn from instruments such as those used for experimentation and simulation. I argue that in experiments, instruments function to inform us about the material capacities of the object of investigation, while in simulations, instruments function to inform us about the conceptual model of the object of investigation. Fourth, I put these philosophical distinctions into historical context through a case study of Monte Carlo simulations run on digital electronic computers in the 1940s-70s. I argue that digital electronic computers made the practice of Monte Carlo simulation technologically possible, but that the new method did not meet existing scientific standards. Consequently, Monte Carlo design practices were revised to address the worries of potential practitioners.

This dissertation is an attempt to understand the role of instruments in the process of knowledge production in science. I ask: how can we trust scientific instruments and what do we learn about when we use them? The dissertation has four parts. First, I construct a novel account of “epistemic possibility,” the possibility of knowing, that captures the dependency of knowledge on action, and I introduce the notion of “technological possibility,” which depends on the availability of material and conceptual means to bring about a desired state of affairs. I argue that, under certain circumstances, technological possibility is a condition for epistemic possibility. Second, I ask how instruments become reliable. I argue that when the material capacities and conceptual functions of a scientific instrument correspond, the instrument is a reliable component of the process of knowledge production. I then describe how the instrument design process can result in just such a correspondence. Instrument design produces the material device, a functional concept of the device revised in light of experience, a measure of the closeness of fit between material and function, and practices of trust such as calibration routines. ii Third, I ask what we learn from instruments such as those used for experimentation and simulation. I argue that in experiments, instruments function to inform us about the material capacities of the object of investigation, while in simulations, instruments function to inform us about the conceptual model of the object of investigation. Fourth, I put these philosophical distinctions into historical context through a case study of Monte Carlo simulations run on digital electronic computers in the 1940s-70s. I argue that digital electronic computers made the practice of Monte Carlo simulation technologically possible, but that the new method did not meet existing scientific standards. Consequently, Monte Carlo design practices were revised to address the worries of potential practitioners.

Texte remanié de: Thèse de doctorat--Économie--Université d'Orléans, 2002. / En appendice, choix de documents. Bibliogr. p. 445-453. Notes bibliogr.

Texte remanié de: Diss.--Fachbereich Philologie--Mainz--Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, 1999. / Résumé en anglais et en grec. Notes bibliogr.

Reproduction de : Thèse de doctorat : Musique et musicologie : Lyon 2 : 2004. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre. Bibliogr. Notes bibliogr. Lexique.