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WHAT? The interconnectedness of acoustics and architecture is one that is too often overlooked. Many architects tend to focus solely on visual aesthetics, when in reality, it is the architect's job to create a space that is pleasing to all of the senses. Although all senses are important to the experience of a space, in most instances architects only have control over sight, sound, and touch. While architects usually make calculated decisions to improve the visual and touch experience, it seems that acoustics are an afterthought and rarely brought to attention unless there are special requests from the client or complaints from the user. WHY? The issues caused by poor acoustic considerations range from a space that is simply annoying to occupy, such as a desk fixed under the constant hum of an air vent, to rooms that are unusable for their intended purpose, such as a lecture hall with a long reverberation time making it impossible to distinguish syllables and understand the speaker. In the case of musical performances, the acoustical considerations of a design can completely alter the way sound travels from the performers to the audience. For example, a rock concert in a small room finished in marble would be unbearable, while a high school orchestra would be inaudible from the back of a large amphitheater. Therefore, it is important to design a space in which the architecture strengthens the performances that it was intended for. HOW? In this thesis I examine the balance of visual aesthetics and acoustical performance into a single building, the Shrine Hill Music Center. Located in Roanoke, Virginia, the Shrine Hill Music Center is imagined as a supplement to the surrounding educational buildings by housing a small performance hall, several practice rooms, and a recording studio to be enjoyed by students and members of the community. During my research I found myself asking questions such as; what architectural choices can be made that are both visually and audibly pleasing? What acoustical factors should be considered when designing a performance hall and how do these differ from those of a practice room or a recording studio? Is there an opportunity to tune a space just as one is able to tune an instrument? By the end I was not only left with a building that utilizes the architecture to enhance the acoustics, but also an abundance of acoustical knowledge that will benefit me in my future endeavors as a designer. / Master of Architecture / The interconnectedness of acoustics and architecture is one that is too often overlooked. Potential issues caused by poor acoustic considerations range from a space that is simply annoying to occupy, such as a desk fixed under the constant hum of an air vent, to rooms that are unusable for their intended purpose, such as a poorly treated lecture hall where it impossible to distinguish syllables and understand the speaker. In the case of musical performances, the acoustical considerations of a design can completely alter the way sound travels from the performers to the audience. Therefore, it is important to design a space in which the architecture strengthens the performances that it was intended for. In this thesis I examine the balance of visual aesthetics and acoustical performance into a single building, the Shrine Hill Music Center. I found myself asking questions such as; what architectural choices can be made that are both visually and audibly pleasing? What acoustical factors should be considered when designing a performance hall and how do these differ from those of a practice room or a recording studio? Is there an opportunity to tune a space just as one is able to tune an instrument? By the end I was not only left with a building that utilizes the architecture to enhance the acoustics, but also an abundance of acoustical knowledge that will benefit me in my future endeavors as a designer.

A quest for agelessness in what we make seems to hold great allure. The spotless, the seamless, the immaterial, the idealized all labor in an attempt to escape the collection of dust and to transcend time, evincing neither origin nor decay. There is a rift between that manner of making which strives for an imperishable, ageless quality and the manner of making that embraces the poetics of material and temporality and mortality. It is beautiful to imagine the made thing that embodies a fable about welcoming inevitable change. From the moment it is made, it is gracefully, eloquently transforming; it willingly trades youth for handsome qualities that it did not first possess. It is commendable when a made thing achieves timelessness without striving vainly for agelessness. This thesis uses the vehicle of making an outdoor sitting room- composed of a wall, a bench, and a tree- to explore questions of the passage of seasons, of weathering, and of how the made thing can celebrate its own temporal nature. / Master of Architecture / There is a rift between that manner of making which strives for an imperishable, ageless quality and the manner of making that embraces the poetics of material and temporality and mortality. It is commendable when a made thing achieves timelessness without striving vainly for agelessness. This thesis uses the vehicle of making an outdoor sitting room- composed of a wall, a bench, and a tree- to explore questions of the passage of seasons, of weathering, and of how the made thing can celebrate its own temporal nature.

Yes / This paper evaluates the use of specialist software within university trading rooms in order to enable students to experience a simulated environment which allows them to gain an appreciation of “real life” decision-making within the nance and banking industry and become familiar with real-time data. An important additional aim of trading room-based instruction is to encourage responsible nancial decision-making. Our analysis focuses on business schools within the United Kingdom and provides a detailed illustration of use of such resources, in particular, as deployed at the Bradford University School of Management. We provide a critical overview of the main challenges involved in making e ective use of a trading room. We also offer recommendations to other academics to enable productive and appropriate use of resources such as Bloomberg Professional in order to enhance the student learning experience and to facilitate the development of valuable skills.

The traditional rowhouse form was a result of economical use of available space and materials that provided its occupants a home that fulfilled functional and societal needs. The result was a series of rooms along a travel corridor with a distinct underlining organization. The typology was established by certain characteristics of spatial configuration, constructional methods and ordering systems that kept the building economical. Popular attempts to accommodate modern needs into these buildings have lead to implementing the "open-plan" concept and creating a series of floors verses a series of rooms. This thesis explores the rowhouse within the modern context of Washington D.C. and attempts to redefined the typology for new construction. The desire is to resort back to the historical relevance of the individual room and create a typology appropriate for modern single-family needs. Four empty sites, each with their own context and conditions within the cityscape, are used to create four individual rowhouses that exemplify this new typology. The proposed row houses exhibit architectural structuralism and phenomenology, resulting in four rowhouses that complete the context they are set in, yet emerge with their own identity. / Master of Architecture / The exploration of typology in architecture is a historical and contemporary phenomena that classifies physical characteristics of the built environment into distinct types. An architectural typology instills historical continuity and spatial hierarchy, which guides and develops each design. This thesis explores the historical characteristics that make the typology of a rowhouse distinctive and re-examines it to accommodate the modern needs of a newly built rowhouse. The narrow space enclosed by two parallel walls creates a unique list of challenges for the typology. The need for light and air, the economic use of space, and personal desire drive architectural design decisions and a hierarchical order must be established to achieve this. This exploration ends with four different proposed rowhouse designs located in Washington D.C.

M.Cur. (Nursing Science) / The need for improved nursing leadership. especially in the nursing service situation, within an ethnicheterogenous nursing society demands appropriate leadership development to meet the needs of dynamic health care delivery. Nursing leadership from an ethnographic perspective has not been researched in this country. Hence, the views of senior black professional nurses, within a particular research context (operating theater department), have been explored in relation to the influence of their occupational life histories on their particular views. The results have been controlled with an extensive literature review...

Emergency department (ED) crowding is a patient safety concern that has been increasing for more than a decade. Increased visits have resulted in ED crowding, longer wait times, ambulance diversions, and boarding of admitted patients (Hing & Bhuiya, 2012). Numerous factors affect ED crowding. Once various extraneous issues are resolved and a bed is available for a patient, it becomes the responsibility of nurses across unit boundaries to coordinate the patient transfer. This study applies Relational Coordination Theory (RCT) as a framework to provide nurses insight into the relational aspects of their work in the transfer of ED patients to inpatient beds. Relational coordination is a mutually reinforcing process of interaction between communication and relationships that is carried out for the purpose of task interaction. It is useful for coordinating work that is highly interdependent, uncertain, and time constrained (Gittell, 2002). Nurses work during ED transfers requires task interaction as they coordinate their efforts. This study, guided by RCT, will examine relational and communication dynamics among nurses within their own units and across unit boundaries as they interact during ED transfers. A cross-sectional, descriptive design will explore the seven dimensions of Relational Coordination (RC) during ED admissions and explain nurses relational and communication dimensions that may influence ED boarding times. The results of this study provide new information and a sound theoretical model on which to base future research.