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This thesis describes the ideal properties of an adaptable music classification system based on unsupervised machine learning, and argues that such a system should be based on the fundamental musical properties of timbre, rhythm, melody and harmony. The first two properties and the signal features associated with them are then explored in more depth. In the area of timbre, the relationship between musical style and commonly-extracted signal features within a broad range of piano music is explored, in an effort to identify features which are consistent among all piano music but different for other instruments. The effect of lossy compression on these same timbre features is also investigated. In the area of rhythm, a new tempo tracking tool is provided which produces a series of histograms containing beat and sub-beat information throughout the course of a musical recording. These histograms are then shown to be useful in the analysis of synthesized rhythms and real music. Additionally, a novel method based on the Expectation-Maximization algorithm is used to extract features for classification from the histograms. / Master of Science

This paper is an investigation of polyrhythms and their practical application in architecture. It includes a musical definition of the term "polyrhythms" and application of these theories into a design for a multi-story, urban, residential structure to serve Georgetown Law School in Washington, DC with accessory retail and parking components. / Master of Architecture

This thesis is a study of the act of traveling in its pure form: as a journey between two points; it is an act that requires both a point of origin and a point of destination. Yet, this study is not concerned with the logistics of either. Rather, it depends only upon the existence of these two locations as limits of both space and time between which exists a transient environment. Complimentary to the constant movement embodied in the act of travel, the act of pausing and resting is fundamental to fulfilling a biological need that arises from the exhaustion that accompanies continuous movement. The modern highway rest area was selected as this thesis project because of its nature as neither a permanent origin nor destination of transit. It currently exists as an oft forgotten building type in architectural design, despite its significant role in the commonplace activity of transit. This project seeks to provide the programmatic functions that satisfy these fundamental needs while engaging the nature of the building typology as a threshold through which the traveler passes. The architectural and structural expression and detailing are based upon the inherently rhythmic nature of the act of vehicular travel and are intended to reflect the changes in rates of movement that aid in the transition from moving to pausing. Thus, the average rates of movement embodied in various modes of mobility throughout the building inform the architectural decisions that aid in the choreographed movement into, through, and out of the design. / Master of Architecture

Introduction: The present study aims to understand how the absence of food security and breastfeeding in children at one year of age, which can be considered as adverse childhood experiences, may be associated with brain function as measured by the relative and absolute power spectral density of four frequency bands of brain waves (theta, alpha, beta, and gamma) among a sample of infants from low-socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds at age 12 months old. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was used by the parent study, Baby’s First Years (BFY), to collect quantitative data to understand the associations between breastfeeding, food insecurity, and brain function in a sample of 243 low-SES mothers and their infants at age 12 months old. Breastfeeding was measured as ever breastfed, to understand if a mother had ever initiated breastfeeding of their infant, and breastfeeding duration, measured in months. Household food insecurity (HFI) was measured using the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module Short Form devised by the USDA. Electroencephalography (EEG) data was collected to assess brain function. Data Analysis: Data was analyzed to determine associations between being ever breastfed, breastfeeding duration, and the presence of HFI and EEG measured relative and absolute theta, alpha, beta, and gamma power in infants at 12 months of age using multiple linear regression (MLR) models based on ordinary least squares (OLS). Results: 77% (n=187) of mothers reported breastfeeding their child at least one time. The mean breastfeeding duration (including the mothers that never breastfed) was 3.6 months (SD=4.12). 27.6% (n=67) of mothers were found to be food insecure. Ever breastfeeding an infant during the first year of life was found to be associated with higher absolute theta power (p<0.05), and higher relative and absolute alpha power (p<0.01). Breastfeeding duration was not found to be associated with relative and absolute theta, alpha, beta or gamma power. Finally, the presence of food insecurity was not found to be associated with relative and absolute theta, alpha, beta or gamma power. Discussion: Differences in brain function may be adaptive for children experiencing adversity because of their lower SES, amongst other factors (Ellis et al., 2020). Ever breastfeeding an infant was associated with higher absolute theta power, which was an unexpected finding. However, relative theta power was not associated with ever breastfeeding, and therefore this finding must cautiously be interpreted. Ever breastfeeding an infant was associated with higher relative and absolute alpha power. It is possible that the increases in relative and absolute alpha power within the sample of infants who were ever breastfed are in part due to the emotional connection that breastfeeding elicits and the characteristics of mothers that decide to initiate breastfeeding as compared to those that do not initiate breastfeeding. This research demonstrates significant associations between ever breastfeeding an infant with brain function in a population of infants from diverse, low SES backgrounds. In contextualizing these changes in brain function as plausible adaptations that infants are developing due to their experiences, an opportunity exists to further explore these associations with brain function to understand the skills that low SES infants are developing during the first year of life.

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The purpose of this study is to present a personal interpretation of progressive education and its function in "teaching" primary music. A few supplementary aids are provided to correlate with the Amarillo, Texas, Course of Study for Primary Grades to lend aid and encouragement toward a rhythmic approach to child learning.

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