Thesis (M.S. in Computer Science)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Cynthia E. Irvine, Scott Cote. Includes bibliographical references (p. 169-171). Also available online.

Incline, O Maiden is a large-scale work cast as a dramatic scene for mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble. It is an exploration of space between music and drama, and the problems inherent in creating a single-character operatic scene. This paper, which serves as an accompaniment to the musical score, is a detailed analysis of the work and focuses on the ways in which form and recurring music motives are used to establish a dramatic conflict with only a single character. The libretto for this dramatic scene is extracted from the play, Faust: A Tragedy, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), written in 1808, with English translation by Bayard Taylor (1825-1878). This libretto is centered on the character of Margaret, an original addition to the Faust legend by Goethe, and is a depiction of her inner psychological turmoil as she becomes a willing victim of Faust's seduction. The story begins as Margaret has just met Faust and quickly becomes infatuated with him, and continues through the death of her mother. Composed as a single movement, this piece is divided into two major parts for each of the two sections of action in the libretto. Each major part is further divided into smaller formal sections that are supported and delineated by five major motives that serve as the vast majority of the musical material, and are at the forefront of each formal and dramatic division in the work. Recurring musical motives, sometimes known as leitmotivs, have a long history in opera dating back to Wagner, and in this work, explore how tradition is part of the modern creative process. In Incline, O Maiden, despite the absence of interplay between characters, and given the internal struggle at the heart of the libretto, an indelible link between the drama and music is made meaningful by the unified thematic nature of the music. / text

As a native of El Paso, Texas my work reflects on autobiographical narratives and violent events that have taken place along the US-Mexico border. For the past two years my research and artwork have focused on the Femicidios (women murders) in Ciudad Juárez (Chihuahua, Mexico). The specific case of Campo Algodón (2001), where eight young women were found in a mass grave in the center of the city, led me to investigate and produce a group of works in reference to loss, justice, memory and erasure. My purpose is to create works that inform the viewer of something that has occurred and continues to happen. My artistic approach involves concept, research and process, which eventually result in installations and sculptural objects. My aim in this thesis is to outline my research methodology and explore the intersections of my work with theoretical discourses in art, human rights, and neoliberalism. With a minimalist aesthetic, my work often masks the labor intensive process involved in research and production. By mining the archives of classified documents used in international human rights courts, I use this material as the base for my work. The nature of this material often dictates its visibility or illegibility as a classified source that cannot be revealed. This body of work requires collaboration across disciplines in which the research and communication with specialists have helped in the formation of each piece. / text

Der Nussbaum : from Myrten, op. 25, 3 ; Marienwurmchen : from Lieder-Album fur die Jugend, op. 79, 13 ; Weit, weit : from Myrten, op. 25, 20 ; Du bist wie eine Blume : from Myrten, op. 25, 24 ; Erstes Grun : from 12 Gedichte, op. 35, 4 / Robert Schumann - La Boheme. Act I. Chi e la? ; Si sente meglio? ; Che gelida manina ; Si, mi chiamo Mimi ; O soave fanciulla / Giacomo Puccini -- Piano trio in A minor / Maurice Ravel. / text

published_or_final_version / Speech and Hearing Sciences / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Not available / text

This project is concerned with the role of the storyteller in the production and maintenance of human community. Starting with Roland Barthes's critique of romantic and modernist authorship in "The Death of the Author," I trace the parallels between literary and political authority in the globalized modern world, and ask if they mean that a revision of the author opens space for the reimagination of political community. To answer this question, I draw on recent discussions of cross-cultural comparison and theories of oral tradition to redefine literary voice and its relationship to modern textual authority. I then refer to the distinct cultural traditions that inform McCarthy, Hurston, and Young Bear to understand each author's focus on the material aspects of human speech, such as breath. The emphasis on these aspects of voice changes its use from a way to claim metaphysical certainty and political authority into a means for physical interaction that founds community in mutual vulnerability. The individual author thus becomes a participant in conversation, rather than one who intuits truth from the margins of human society, and the storyteller or political leader is able to take part in but not define the continuance of a given community. In making this argument, I use a study of poetics to ask students and teachers of modern American literatures to see the field as a site for the ongoing legislation of American community and identity, and suggest a method for engaging in comparative analyses that allows for the distinctiveness of different literary and cultural traditions while appreciating the possibilities in their resonating responses to the modern world.

In modern organizations, individuals frequently choose silence over voice (e.g., Milliken, Morrison, & Hewlin, 2003), which can have a variety of detrimental effects on individuals and organizations. This choice of silence is partially due to self-protective implicit voice theories that employees have internalized from interactions with authority over time. In this research, I investigate self-protective implicit voice theories (abbreviated as IVTs throughout), defined as taken-for-granted beliefs about when and why speaking up at work is risky or inappropriate (Detert & Edmondson, 2011). I present three studies employing lab and field research methods to further understand various aspects of IVTs. In the first study, I explored activation and suppression of IVTs from anger and fear primes. I found that IVTs were generally stable and not susceptible to emotional primes, suggesting that they are well-developed beliefs that are strong enough to remain constant in varied emotional states. In the second study, I investigated the extent to which IVTs and evolutionarily significant facial cues of dominance predicted voice in a vignette-based study. IVTs did not predict voice, but further analysis revealed that the dependent variable was more appropriately categorized as helping. There was a significant interaction between gender and face type on helping. Broadly, the results of this study suggest that people may help others after subconsciously calculating their power and predicted reciprocity from the person being helped. Finally, in a third study, I explored the degree to which personality and demographics affect IVTs and how IVTs are related to withholding in four organizations. I found that IVT scores did not cluster in teams, suggesting that they are best analyzed at the individual level and that workplace context has minimal effect on IVTs. Second, I found that IVTs explain withholding above and beyond contextual and personality variables. Last, I found that IVTs mediate the effect of conflict aversion on withholding. The stability and significance of IVTs is further supported from this research, providing additional research opportunities and possibilities to reduce withholding in organizations.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Linguistics / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this study is to determine appropriate choral literature for the adolescent male. Historically, scholars have focused on the lowering of the maturing male voice into the newly-formed chest register. During the change process, the male voice is unpredictable and can have a limited range. While a vast amount of repertoire for the adolescent male accommodates this downward progression and anticipates the narrow range, most adolescent boys are, in fact, capable of singing pitches above the chest register.Registers will be identified in this study. Discussion will pertain to registration shifts between chest register, head register, and falsetto in the adolescent male. I will investigate the use of the head register, which is a legitimate and vital component in healthy singing during adolescence. I will then compare registration to the historical knowledge of the male changing voice, which focuses mostly on the range and development of the newly-forming chest register.I will apply the concept of registration to choral repertoire taken from the 2005 and 2007 American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) national convention reading session packets. I will identify music that best and least facilitates the use and mixture of head-register and chest-register singing. Music for treble voices in various combinations (SA, SSA, SSAA, etc.) and three-part mixed music (SAB) will be examined. Each category presents a set of advantages and disadvantages for the adolescent male. Specific musical examples will illustrate the discussion. Careful repertoire selection with registration as a criterion is a key factor in unlocking male singing potential during adolescence. Although boys have unpredictable ranges, as it will be shown, registers are constant.