Makiko Kinoshita, a living Japanese female composer, has gained attention in Asia with more than eighty published works. This includes a diverse array of piano music written for a multitude of difficulty levels. This document acts as a supplement to my recordings of Kinoshita’s complete works for solo piano. It contains background information about the composer and a description of the compositional characteristics of each piano work. The discussions include stylistic overviews, as well as pedagogical considerations that encompass technical challenges and interpretive issues. I have also rated the difficulty of each piece. / School of Music

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Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda / C. Monteverdi -- On Wenlock Edge / R. Vaughan Williams -- Selections from L'elisir d'amore / G. Donizetti. / text

Friedrich Kuhlau (1786-1832) ranks as a minor master of the early nineteenth century. As a composer of keyboard music he is perhaps best known for his sets of sonatinas, but the twenty-two sonatas he composed from 1809 to 1831 form a significant part of his extensive output. This study examines three of his sonatas -- Op. 4, Op. 46 No. 2 and Op. 127 -- and places them in historical context through a discussion of the importance of this genre in the repertoire of that era. A survey of contemporary keyboard performance practices is also included, as well as an introductory biographical sketch. Kuhlau's style is undeniably conservative, with phrases of regular and predictable length in evidence throughout, and his music is often derivative of that of earlier composers from C.P.E. Bach through Beethoven. However, his works also reflect numerous traits of early Romanticism. They are melodically rich, widely spaced sonorities are frequently employed, and his textures range from delicate nuances to thickly scored passages. From a purely pianistic point of view, he displays a fondness for scalewise and arpeggiated passages so often used to excess by lesser composers of his era, but he also clearly demonstrates that he was aware of more innovative approaches to keyboard writing. Throughout history, countless minor composers such as Kuhlau were highly respected during their lifetimes; nevertheless, most of their compositions, including those under consideration here, have not survived on the concert stage. Consequently, there exists a vast body of literature of which little or nothing is known. It is both necessary and useful to study such works in order to gain a more complete understanding of music of their period. Moreover, a closer examination of them might well lead to a reassessment of their worth, which in turn may encourage more frequent performances. / Arts, Faculty of / Music, School of / Graduate

Conventional drug discovery focuses on single protein targets and follows a “sequence, structure, and function” paradigm for selecting best protein targets to screen lead chemical compounds. This established paradigm simply avoids addressing directly the challenge of evaluating chemical toxicity and side effects until a later stage of drug discovery, resulting in inefficiencies and increased time and cost. We developed a new “network biology” perspective to assess proteins as potential drug targets using emerging biomolecular network data sets. To do so, we integrated several types of biological data for current drug targets from DrugBank, protein interaction data from the HAPPI and HPRD databases, literature co-citation data from PubMed, and side effects data from FDA-approved drug usage warnings. We used the Bayes factor and Positive Predictive Values to examine the use of certain network properties, such as network node degrees and essentiality, to predict candidate drug targets. We also developed a metric to evaluate a protein target’s overall side effects by taking into account aggregated side effect scores of all FDA-approved drugs targeting the protein. We discovered that non-essential protein with lower-to-medium network node degree could better serve as drug targets when combined with conventional protein function information. Integrated biomolecular associations, instead of physical interactions, are better sources for predicting drug targets with network biology methods. Our network biology framework presents exciting promises in developing better drug targets that lower the side-effects at later stages of drug development and help establish the field of “network pharmacology.”

This study presents pertinent information for singers and teachers of singers about selected vocal works written by three significant composers who were active during the first half of the twentieth century: Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, and Alban Berg, also referred to as The Second Viennese School. The vocal works of these composers are often neglected due to the assumption that the works will be atonal and, therefore, musically unachievable for performers and unsatisfying for audiences. For each composer, information about his educational background and compositional style is provided, in addition to commentary on representative vocal works supported by musical examples. A significant part of this research includes interviews with renowned singers who supply advice for practice and performance-related suggestions. In order for singers and teachers to obtain essential information regarding these solo vocal works, a complete catalog is provided. / Introduction -- Arnold Schoenberg -- Anton Webern -- Alban Berg -- Vocal and rehearsal techniques -- Conclusions and suggested further research. / School of Music

This study investigated the significant differences and correlations on college students' quality of life and their occupational selections. A total of 870 college students were stratified randomly selected from 15 Taiwanese colleges. All participants completed "quality of life" and "occupational selections" scales. In addition, 4 target students with either the highest total scores on quality of life or with the highest total scores on occupational selections were recruited for individual follow-up interview. Independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and canonical correlation assessed the similarities and differences between groups. The initial findings were as follows: 1. College students¡¦ quality of life and occupational selections appear to have upper middle satisfaction and identification. 2. Female college students' mean score on the dimension of "domestic factor' was significantly higher than their male counterparts. 3. The first birth born college students' total mean on the "quality of life' and the dimension of "mental health' were significantly higher than the last birth born college students. 4. College students with high educational expectation had significantly higher mean scores on the "occupational selections", dimensions of "domestic factor' and "occupational / social factor' than these low educational expectation participants. 5. College students from mothers with high educational levels presented significantly higher means on "quality of life ' and the dimension of "occupational / social factor" than their counterparts. 6. College students from mothers with high educational levels presented significantly higher means on "quality of life', "occupational selections' and the dimension of "occupational /social factor' than their counterparts. 7. Students come from private technology colleges presented significantly higher mean scores on "quality of life', "occupational selections', and dimensions of "physical health' ,"individual factor' and "domestic factor' than their counterparts. 8. High academic achievement college students' mean scores on the "quality of life', and the dimensions of "social health' and "individual factor' were significantly higher than these low academic college students. 9. College students from high income families presented significantly higher means on the dimensions of "mental health' and "social health' than these low income families¡¦ college students. 10. There were significant canonical correlations between college students' quality of life and occupational selections. Based on these results, some educational implications and suggestions are discussed.

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