3 pp. / A description of the popular bird of paradise shrubberies available for use in the desert southwest.

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This thesis examines _The Desert Music_ by Steve Reich in the context of the composer's artistic perspective and advocates studying the subjective listening experience as a tool for musical analysis. Challenging conventional approaches in musicology and music theory, this work examines how a specific analytical approach in turn shapes the values assigned to that work. Systematic documentation of the author's listening experience is presented as an application of this premise and as a template to use in subsequent investigations of how other listeners respond to the work. The author concludes, mirroring the ideas implied in _The Desert Music_ itself, that instead of suppressing individual responses as opinions too myriad and divergent to be relevant, we should recognize that these reactions are products of shared cultural experience and that discussing them collectively may lead to powerful revelations about artistic meaning that may not emerge any other way.

The USDA’s “My Plate” recommends that preschool-aged children consume specific amounts of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. These foods contain essential nutrients that children and adults alike require to maintain good health. Researchers have shown, however, that a significant number of children do not consume the recommended amounts of these foods, specifically vegetables and whole grains. Investigators have become increasingly interested in food deserts and whether living in these areas results in lower consumption of healthy foods. Food deserts by definition are areas where inhabitants have limited access to nutritious food. This study investigated the fruit, vegetable and whole grain consumption levels for preschool age children living in food desert or non-food desert areas. The NATFAN (National Food and Nutrition Questionnaire) survey of WIC participants was compared to the USDA’s food desert location data in order to learn the impact of living in a food desert. Using IBM SPSS to test the hypothesis, separate two-sample t-tests were conducted to determine if the mean difference between frequencies of fruit, vegetable, and whole grain consumption equaled zero. The data showed no difference in consumption of fruits and vegetables between food desert residing children and their non-food desert counterparts. There was, however, a difference in means for the consumption of whole grains. Specifically, food desert residing participants were consuming less brown rice. Using consumption amounts estimated from frequency data, it was discovered that, overall, WIC participants were under consuming fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

This thesis provides a detailed case study of the havelis of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Jaisalmer was selected as the study area not only because of the abundance and richness of the havelis in this region, but also because of the extreme nature of the climate in and around the area. In addition, the haveli has the added advantage of being a high-density urban form; economically and ecologically significant in the context of India's rapidly expanding urban population and associated energy and environmental crisis. Environmental data was collected in and around two havelis within the fort, over a period of twelve months, focusing on the larger of the two monitored buildings, Hotel Suraj. In addition a short transverse comfort survey was conducted on the streets of Jaislamer, and subsequently evaluated in the wider context of accepted adaptive model comfort prediction equations. The results of the survey are applied to the assessment of the collected environmental data, in terms of predicted occupant thermal comfort. The relationship between indoor and outdoor temperature is examined in detail and an attempt made to develop indoor temperature prediction equations for each of four long term monitored zones in Hotel Suraj. With all results revealing mass as the governing factor for the modification of climate in the havelis, a substantial portion of this thesis is subsequently focused on developing methodologies for determining the decrement factor and time lag of indoor zones in relation to outdoors. A new finding is the impossibility of a shift in daily temperature cycle of more than 6 hours (or 0.25 of the cycle frequency). Considerable effort has been expended on the visual presentation of data for this study. This has involved the development of two stand-alone computer programs for the presentation of thermal data, included on the CD at the end of this thesis.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 4, 2008) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2008. / "December, 2008." Includes bibliographical references. Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2008. / "May 2008." Includes bibliographical references. Online version available on the World Wide Web.