Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Title from opening screen (viewed June 14, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

<p> This thesis, presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration/Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Management, investigates the business models used by performing arts festivals known as "fringe festivals." In the United States, there are three basic fringe festival models: the open access or Edinburgh model, the limited access model, and the adjudicated model. Interviews with artists who participated in fringes as producers reveal that the model impacts the participant experience less than the degree of scaffolding the fringe offers and the degree to which the fringe constrains producing choices. This thesis suggests a fringe festival framework, classifying fringes by degree of scaffolding and constraint, which can be used by producers to identify festival settings that will be the best fit for their needs. The framework can also be used by fringe festival organizers as a tool for self-reflection and festival assessment.</p>

Faced with the ephemeral nature of the art of performance, performing arts archivists must decide whether it is appropriate for them to intervene to ensure the creation of documents, what documents should be created, and how they should be created. In order to adequately answer these questions, archival theory, with its traditional focus on objectivity and non-interference, must meet with theories of documentation from performance and theatre studies, which question the possibility of adequately capturing or saving performance given the subjective and perspective nature of both the work and documents arising from it. This study addresses these questions both theoretically and practically through a survey of performing artists and a case study observing an archivist interacting with a performing arts community to facilitate the preservation of its work. The artists surveyed in this study demonstrated both an interest in improved documentation of their own work and an understanding of the limits of documentation. The archivist in the case study, after experimenting with various levels of involvement in the creation of documentation, concluded that the best approach would be a focus on building connections between the archival and performing arts communities, providing artists with the education and support they need to document themselves, and giving them secure homes for the documents they choose to create. / text

The current report reviews the literature on school-based performing arts and its impact on students’ academic and social lives. As a result of our nation’s current economic downturn, many school districts are facing difficult decisions of which school-based programs to continue or cut. The benefits and challenges of keeping school-based performing arts programs are explored. According to the literature, students may profit socially, emotionally, and academically from participating in music, theater, and dance. Additionally, research has found that school-based performing arts have the greatest impact on students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Despite the many benefits of participation in the performing arts, the reality of our nation’s current situation is explored and suggestions are provided regarding how to maintain the performing arts while adhering to a limited budget. Finally, this report outlines several suggestions for future research. / text

Since the "Nation at Risk" report, there has been a social microscope on the growing achievement gap and factors that contribute to the increasing lack of academic improvement from African American students. In the State of Texas, there are no publicized examples of at-risk schools that have traditionally been successful with African American students in mathematics. Therefore, there was a need to investigate researched-based strategies that promoted African American student achievement in mathematics. This study utilized surveys, interviews, focus groups, and data to determine why specific middle schools in the State of Texas were successful with African American student achievement in mathematics. Data was collected from selected schools with academically successful African American students. Pertinent information was gathered through the investigation of factors that fostered the success of African American students in mathematics. Organizational factors such as quality of leadership, positive school community structures, and instructional student leadership were examined to determine methods successful in motivating African American students to succeed in mathematics. Instructional factors such as teacher quality and teacher educational belief systems were also analyzed for components leading to successful performance of African American students in mathematics. The findings were that a progression of success factors must be present to ensure "exemplary" performance. Schools' ability to facilitate positive organizational factors, instructional factors, group processes, and faculty sponsorship was more likely to help African American students perform better than their marginal peers. Additional research at the high school level was recommended to investigate strategies proved to be effective in raising mathematical achievement of African American students at middle schools / text

Not available / text

<p> Contemporary commercial music (CCM) singers may be at a high risk for voice damage due to their increased vocal demands and the chronic exposure to chemical irritants associated with unhealthy lifestyle choices. Continuous mechanical damage, confounded with chemical trauma, has detrimental effects on the biomechanical properties of the vocal folds. Prior research on CCM singers has been limited, with efforts focused on physiologic aspects of voice production. The objective of the study was to report on the lifestyle choices of CCM singers and evaluate their vocal abilities according to healthy vs. unhealthy profile status via acoustic analyses as well as auditory perceptual assessments. The second objective was to evaluate if there were differences in lung volume associated with healthy vs. unhealthy lifestyle profiles. </p><p> Thirteen CCM singers participated in the study where they were assigned to either a healthy or unhealthy lifestyle vocal profile. Acoustic analyses of sound pressure level (SPL), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), fundamental frequency (F0), and jitter/shimmer were collected during a prolonged singing /i/ in isolation as well as a singing /i/ in context of the &ldquo;Star Spangled Banner&rdquo; at three different vocal intensities <i>(low, comfortable, high)</i>. Lung volume was recorded via a vital capacity maneuver. Voice recordings were then rated via an auditory perceptual assessment (CAPE-V). Results were compared with a Wilcoxon rank-sum test. </p><p> Differences with regard to group trends were observed across all dependent measures. SNR median values for unhealthy singers were significantly lower in both singing tasks during <i>low</i> vocal intensity (p&lt;0.05), with differences approaching significance found during prolonged singing /i/ in isolation at <i>comfortable</i> vocal intensity (p&lt;0.10). F0 analysis noted significantly lower median values for unhealthy singers during isolated /i/ productions at <i>low</i> vocal intensity (p&lt;0.05). Jitter analysis among unhealthy singers showed significantly higher median values during isolated /i/ productions at <i>comfortable</i> vocal intensity (p&lt;0.05), with differences approaching significance found during singing /i/ in context at <i>low</i> vocal intensity (p&lt;0.10). Shimmer analysis among unhealthy singers showed significantly higher median values during isolated /i/ productions at low and comfortable vocal intensity (p&lt;0.05), with differences approaching significance found during singing /i/ in context at low vocal intensity (p&lt;0.10). Unhealthy singers showed lower vital capacity as compared to healthy singers, however results were nonsignificant (p>0.05). Auditory perceptual assessment of voice was perceived to be essentially normal for all participants regardless of healthy versus unhealthy profile status. </p><p> The findings provide a descriptive profile of contemporary commercial music singers and contribute to the existing literature on the harmful effects of exposure to cigarette smoke on voice production. Unhealthy singers displayed significant acoustic differences most often observed in <i>low</i> vocal intensity conditions, which suggest a decreased vocal ability. This may be explained by their repeated exposure to chemical irritants (i.e. cigarette smoke) and possible phonotrauma, causing changes in the biomechanical properties of the vocal folds. Given the disparity between acoustic measures and auditory perceptual assessment, it was concluded that the biomechanical changes might be in the early onset and suggest future voice difficulties.</p>

<p> Controlled acoustic environments are important in voice research. Recording environment affects the quality of voice recordings. While sound booths and anechoic chambers are examples of controlled acoustic environments widely used in research, they are both costly and not portable. The long-term goal of this project is to compare the voice usage and efficiency of trained and untrained singers onsite immediately before and after vocal performance. The specific goal of this project is the further of development a Portable Sound Booth (PSB) and standardization of onsite voice recording procedures under controlled conditions. We hypothesized that the simple and controlled acoustic environment provided by the PSB would enable consistent reliable onsite voice recordings and the immediate differences as a consequence of voice usage were measurable. Research has suggested that it would be possible to conduct onsite voice recordings. Proof of concept research titled "Construction and Characterization of a Portable Sound Booth for Onsite Measurement" was conducted before initiating the full research effort. Preliminary findings revealed that: (1) it was possible to make high-quality voice recordings onsite, (2) the use of a Portable Sound Booth (PSB) required further acoustic characterization of its inherent acoustic properties, and (3) testable differences before and after performance were evident. The specific aims were to (1) develop and refine onsite objective voice measurements in the PSB and (2) evaluate use of the PSB to measure voice quality changes before and after voice usage. </p>

<p> This work explores the occurrence of school sponsored rock music ensembles and pedagogy in secondary education within the state of New Jersey. The purpose of this research was three&ndash;fold: 1) to document the occurrence of rock music performance ensembles in New Jersey secondary schools, 2) to highlight the details of a select group representing a sample of these programs, and 3) to contribute to the body of knowledge relating to rock music in the school curriculum. A two part, mixed&ndash;methods research process involved the use of both a quantitative survey instrument and a qualitative interview process. The part one survey was distributed to 720 public secondary schools across the state of New Jersey. Questions were written to seek data regarding school population, budget, types of music programs available to students, regional classifications, and enrollment. Based on survey data, five programs, in which students learn and perform rock music using authentic rock music instrumentation, were selected for part two faculty interviews. These interviews uncovered reasons for the existence of these programs (i.e. teacher and student interest), information about student participation, instrumentation, relationships to the other music programs within the school, intended outcomes, measures of success, and the existence of authentic learning, informal learning practices, and the concept of bi&ndash;musicality.</p>

No description available.