Thesis (MMus)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Nowadays Music Community Projects are a common phenomenon in South Africa. These projects start with great ambition to uplift underprivileged communities through music education, but due to various reasons many of these projects unfortunately do not last very long. The Frank Pietersen Music Centre (FPMC) in Paarl, which recently celebrated its fortieth year, suffered many drawbacks during its existence, but also showed unbelievable progress during the same time. At the moment the FPMC is a noticeable institution and the only one of its nature in the Drakenstein district. The centre was established in the Paarl Coloured community during the early years of Apartheid as a result of a shortage of music facilities for this population group. As music was one of the few activities in which this population group could express themselves during this time, various music activities resulted and the need for formal music education for the Paarl Coloured community became more prominent. Mr Frank Pietersen took notice of this need and in 1970 he established the Paarl Schools Music Centre (PSMC). This music centre showed immense progress, but as a result of various reasons it started declining during the late eighties and finally in 1988 it experienced a period of recess. After Mr Pietersen's death in 1989, his son, Mr Vaughan Pietersen, decided to let the PSMC relive. In October 1991 the PSMC celebrated its 21st year and at this occasion it was renamed after its founder and was known thereafter as the Frank Pietersen Music Centre. Since, the centre has reached many milestones and its existence was ensured when it was taken over by the Western Cape Education Department in 1994. At the moment the FPMC provides music education to children and adults, in and outside the borders of the Drakenstein area. Education is provided in nearly all the instruments of the Classical Symphony Orchestra, as well as African instruments and Jazz instruments. It has various instrumental ensembles and choirs and the FPMC is especially well known for its Youth Orchestra. The centre also provides for the needs of the surrounding underprivileged communities by means of outreach programmes that are presented at reasonable fees. The latest addition to the centre's education is the presentation of the full Subject Music programme for scholars and it forms part of the Western Cape Education Department's programme for Further Education and Training. This thesis attempts to research and document the unique history of the FPMC, as well as studying the current functioning of the centre in order to serve as a guide and motivation for other music centres or -projects of a similar nature. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Musiekgemeenskapsprojekte is deesdae ʼn algemene verskynsel in Suid-Afrika. Hierdie projekte begin gewoonlik met groot ambisie met die doel om minderbevoorregte gemeenskappe deur middel van musiekonderrig op te hef, maar as gevolg van verskeie redes gaan baie daarvan net so vinnig weer tot niet. Die Paarlse Frank Pietersen Musieksentrum (FPMS) wat onlangs sy veertigste bestaansjaar gevier het, het tydens sy bestaan deur diep waters gegaan, maar terselfdertyd ook vooruitgegaan. Tans is die FPMS ʼn gerekende instelling en die enigste van sy aard in die Drakensteindistrik. Die sentrum het tydens die vroeë Apartheidsjare in die Paarlse Bruin gemeenskap ontstaan, as gevolg van ʼn tekort aan musiekfasiliteite vir hierdie bevolkingsgroep. Aangesien musiek in daardie tyd een van die min aktiwiteite was waarin hierdie bevolkingsgroep hulself kon uitdruk, het daar verskeie musikale aktiwiteite ontstaan en het die behoefte aan formele musiekonderrig vir die Paarlse Bruin gemeenskap al hoe groter geraak. Mnr. Frank Pietersen het hierdie behoefte raakgesien en het in 1970 die Paarl Skole-Musieksentrum (PSMS) gestig. Hierdie musieksentrum het sterk ontwikkeling getoon, maar as gevolg van verskeie redes het dit in die laat tagtiger jare agteruitgegaan en het uiteindelik in 1988 ʼn periode van reses beleef. Na mnr. Pietersen se dood in 1989, het sy seun, mnr. Vaughan Pietersen besluit om die PSMS te laat herleef. Die PSMS het in Oktober 1991 sy 21ste bestaansjaar gevier en is by hierdie geleentheid vernoem na sy stigter en staan sedertdien bekend as die Frank Pietersen Musieksentrum. Sedertdien het die sentrum vele mylpale bereik en sy voortbestaan is verseker deur die oorname daarvan deur die Wes-Kaapse Onderwysdepartement in 1994. Tans bied die FPMS musiekonderrig aan skoliere èn volwassenes, binne en buite die grense van die Drakensteingebied. Onderrig word aangebied in byna al die instrumente van die Klassieke simfonie-orkes, asook Afrika-instrumente en Jazz-instrumente. Daar bestaan verskeie instrumentale ensembles en kore en die FPMS is veral bekend vir sy Jeugorkes. Die sentrum sien ook om na die behoeftes van die omliggende minderbevoorregte gemeenskappe deur middel van uitreikprogramme wat teen billike tariewe aangebied word. Die nuutste toevoeging tot die sentrum se onderrig is die aanbieding van die volwaardige Vakmusiekprogram vir skoliere, wat ook deel vorm van die Wes-Kaapse Onderwysdepartement se program vir Verdere Onderrig en Opleiding. Met hierdie tesis is gepoog om die unieke geskiedenis van die FPMS so deeglik as moontlik na te vors en op skrif te stel, asook om die huidige funksionering van die sentrum te belig sodat dit as riglyn en aanmoediging kan dien vir ander musieksentra of -projekte van ʼn soortgelyke aard.

In the western classical tradition, the violoncello has developed a reputation for its soulful, vocal qualities. Because of this distinction, many composers have written elegiac works for the cello. This document comprises studies of three twentieth-century British elegies for cello and piano, each explored against a backdrop of poetic, societal and musical influences. The results reveal several common tropes of mourning, both musical and extra-musical, which can be applied to further studies of musical works.

This purpose of this paper is to assess the effects of increased accounting regulations on financial reporting practices. Specifically, this paper provides an in-depth look into two specific regulations, The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) and the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. SOX was enacted as a result of the many accounting scandals that occurred in the late 1990s, and its main intention was to reduce the likelihood that fraud would occur by establishing additional oversight and increasing the number of regulations for public accounting firms. This paper examines the costs associated with specific provisions within SOX and the effects that they have on public companies. Ultimately, this paper finds that SOX imposes an unfair burden to smaller public companies. Secondly, this paper examines the effect that regulations in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act had on the financial services industry. The 2008 financial crisis was caused by poor regulations of large financial institutions, which failed to prevent these institutions from engaging in behavior that would later have a negative impact on many Americans. In order to prevent this type of behavior from affecting the stability of the entire U.S. economy, Congress enacted the Dodd-Frank Act. Due to the recent enactment of this act, and because most of its provisions are still being implemented, this paper focuses on identifying and presenting valid arguments for and against some of the act’s most important provisions.

The idea of home, the ownership of property, and the impact of the home on the moral character and identity of its inhabitants were important concepts in the late nineteenth century. These views were perpetuated by a wide range of supporters including writers, religious leaders, social reformers, politicians. Architects and developers became aware of these ideas and capitalized on the hopes and dreams of middle-class North America by designing, marketing and building the right kind of houses, but perhaps more importantly, by building them in the right location which most often meant the suburban areas around major cities. Architect and writer Franklin Townsend Lent (1855-1919) is but one of many architects practicing in North America who appreciated the contemporary consumers’ sensibilities, and their attachment to their homes. Not only did Lent understand the importance of the concept of home, he was able to develop a design vocabulary that drew on the contemporary fascination with the American colonial period. In addition, he appreciated the consumer’s desire for a beautiful home in the suburbs, and took advantage of this in his work in New Jersey notably on the development of a suburban neighbourhood called Roosevelt Manor. Lent contributed to the built environment by designing and building many suburban houses, island and seaside cottages, and other structures. He also wrote three books and several pamphlets that provide an understanding of his personal contribution to architecture in suburban American, and to the early development of resort architecture in the Thousand Island region of Upstate New York and Ontario, an area that has received very little scholarly attention. This paper will focus on the domestic architecture of Lent in an attempt to construct an understanding of this unique contribution in the context of late nineteenth century and early twentieth century society by examining his published architectural writings, his advertisements, and some representative houses that he designed and built in the United States and Canada. / Thesis (Master, Art History) -- Queen's University, 2012-10-12 14:16:06.91

As harmful as the financial crisis of 2007-2009 was, some organizations professed some benefits as a result; “we know our risks better,” “we can better manage risks.” Many of the organizations that hailed such positives undoubtedly had what would generally be considered sound risk management systems/practices (RMS). So, what happened? What prevented organizations RMS from perhaps better mitigating risk during the recent financial crisis than was the case? Said another way, “what are barriers to effective risk management?” This study proposes a risk governance framework (RGF) that helps distinguish phases of RMS, and is grounded in Risk principles versus a controls based foundation that many view as part of the current problem with RMS. Based on our survey of 41 Risk Managers (RM) and 96 Regulators (REG), we obtained perspectives on barriers to effective risk management including barriers to effective risk management leading up to the financial crisis of 2007-2009, the importance of Risk principles, and suggestions to improve the effectiveness of RMS. We also obtained RM and REG perspectives of the impacts to RMS from our banking environment providing a type of “insurance,” impacts to RMS due to perceptions of the state of the financial/economic environment, how complete must phases of RMS be, compensation practices and its impacts to RMS, and the notion of quantitative/qualitative methods in current RMS. Leading up to the financial crisis of 2007-2009, identified barriers to effective risk management include a lack of risk culture and under estimating risks. Some suggestions to improve RMS include improving the risk function and developing more dynamic, forwarding looking and preemptive risk management tools and techniques that blend quantitative and qualitative methods. The proposed RGF and the rich context on barriers to effective risk management obtained from our study may help practitioners and academia alike in considering ways to analyze and improve RMS.

In accordance with the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, conflict minerals refer to gold, tantalum, tin, and tungsten bearing minerals sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that have been mined illegally and used to funnel funds to rebel forces. In response to an increasing demand for these metals used in cellphones, computers, and other popular technologies, Dodd-Frank mandates that industrial consumers demonstrate due diligence and assure that the materials they use have been extracted legally. Because current chain-of-custody methods have not been effective in sourcing ores, a study was undertaken whereby the range of mineralogical characteristics of 15 samples along the wolframite solid solution series were determined in order to ascertain if differences in these characteristics would permit fingerprinting of the source deposit of wolframite, of which the DRC is the world's fifth largest producer. For these 15 samples, single-crystal X-ray structure and powder X-ray diffraction studies have been conducted; major, minor and trace element chemistry has been determined using ICP-MS and ICP-OES; and Raman spectroscopy has been carried out. Finally, statistical methods were used to determine relationships between samples, and the results of that mathematical work show that there is no firm method at the present time of determining the provenance of a sample based on the information of the crystal structure, diffraction patterns, vibrational frequencies/scattering, or major and trace elemental chemistry. This study elucidates the range of mineralogical properties along the hübnerite-ferberite solid solution series while working towards to development of an analytical technique that is affordable, practical, accessible and effective for industrial consumers seeking product certification and compliance with the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

Titin is a giant protein spanning from the Z-disk to the M-band of the cardiac sarcomere. In the I-band titin acts as a molecular spring, contributing to passive mechanical characteristics of the myocardium throughout a heartbeat. RNA Binding Motif Protein 20 (RBM20) is required for normal titin splicing, and its absence or altered function leads to greater expression of a very large, more compliant N2BA titin isoform in Rbm20 homozygous mice (Rbm20(Delta RRm)) compared to wild-type mice (WT) that almost exclusively express the stiffer N2B titin isoform. Prior studies using Rbm20(Delta RRm) animals have shown that increased titin compliance compromises muscle ultrastructure and attenuates the Frank-Starling relationship. Although previous computational simulations of muscle contraction suggested that increasing compliance of the sarcomere slows the rate of tension development and prolongs cross-bridge attachment, none of the reported effects of Rbm20(Delta RRm) on myocardial function have been attributed to changes in cross-bridge cycling kinetics. To test the relationship between increased sarcomere compliance and cross-bridge kinetics, we used stochastic length-perturbation analysis in Ca2+-activated, skinned papillary muscle strips from Rbrn20<^>R'Rm and WT mice. We found increasing titin compliance depressed maximal tension, decreased Ca2+-sensitivity of the tension-pCa relationship, and slowed myosin detachment rate in myocardium from Rbm20(Delta RRm) vs. WT mice. As sarcomere length increased from 1.9 to 2.2 mu m, length-dependent activation of contraction was eliminated in the Rbrn20<^>R'Rm myocardium, even though myosin MgADP release rate decreased similar to 20% to prolong strong cross-bridge binding at longer sarcomere length. These data suggest that increasing N2BA expression may alter cardiac performance in a length-dependent manner, showing greater deficits in tension production and slower cross-bridge kinetics at longer sarcomere length. This study also supports the idea that passive mechanical characteristics of the myocardium influence ensemble cross-bridge behavior and maintenance of tension generation throughout the sarcomere.

This study examines the presence of poetic form in First and Second Generation New York School Poetry. Because New York School writing—where its existence is conceded—seems formless, it has yet to be viewed under a formal lens. Therefore, this study is the first of its kind. In what follows, works by Frank O’Hara, Ted Berrigan, Alice Notley and Ron Padgett are contextualized and closely read for form, with an attention to the shaping propensity of inhabited spaces. While it is agreed that the external environment has the potential to influence shapes and forms of writing, domestic spaces also offer parameters which are traceable onto the page. New York School poets lived in and wrote from alternative domestic spaces—untidy, disordered, congested apartments in downtown New York City. The forms of their poems are accordingly untraditional. New York School stanzas often take on the contours of these spaces, becoming linguistic rooms riddled with the tensions of indoor urban life. After outlining New York School poetry and addressing contemporaneous urban theories, this study asks: what role does the space of writing have on the shape of writing? More specifically, are New York City apartments reflected in the forms of New York School poems? Through close-reading and formal analysis, it becomes possible to affirm that New York School Poetry is formal, and that its form is distinctive in that in its variances, it makes it possible for the tensions and dynamics of living within the constraints of inner urban spaces to be fully pronounced and inflected. This is a study of the formal representations of those inflections.

The aim of the thesis is to analyse the non-bank regulatory framework with particular attention devoted to hedge funds and private equity funds. The thesis describes functioning of the funds, discusses their performance during the global financial crisis of 2007-present and, predominantly, describes and analyses the EU and U.S. regulatory reforms with respect to these institutions which have arisen as a response to the crisis. Based on the analysis of the measures incorporated in these reforms, the thesis outlines its own proposal of an alternative investment fund regulatory framework which, if applied, would lead to a more efficient functioning of the alternative investment industry than what is likely to be the outcome of the already adopted reforms. The nature of the thesis is institutional; its methodology is characterized by a broad literature survey. Hedge funds and private equity funds are considered both in pre-crisis context as well as in circumstances that have been brought about by the crisis. Several hypotheses concerning systemic risk and the approach of the regulatory reforms to it are assessed. Mostly qualitative analysis is employed to evaluate the hypotheses.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Frank Tracz / The following report is a comprehensive analysis of two works for wind band and one work for brass ensemble, prepared by Adam Ladd. The report was completed during the Spring semester of 2014 and culminated with live performances of each piece by the Kansas State University Concert Band and Brass Ensemble with Adam Ladd conducting. Audio and video recordings of the conducted performances can be found within the K-State Research Exchange database. The following report includes three comprehensive Unit Studies or Teacher Research Guides in the format that is described in the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band book series. The report also includes three Tracz Analysis Grids in the format that is found in The Art of Interpretation of Band Music. The examined pieces are as follows. Toccatta for Band, by Frank Erickson, Mutations from Bach, by Samuel Barber, and Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, by John Philip Sousa, arranged by Philip Sparke.