This dissertation is an ethnographic study of Taiwan's hip-hop scene and an examination of rap music's emergence as a trenchant form of musical narrative discourse in the post-martial law era (1987 to the present). Its central argument is that performers have invoked rap as a storytelling practice to make sound and sense of the dramatic social and political transformations that transpired in the wake of Taiwan's democratization at the dusk of the twentieth century, and in the years thereafter. My discussion draws on a vibrant archive of materials collected over eighteen months of fieldwork and proceeds from two primary assumptions: first, that Taiwan rap is a narrative genre, with antecedents in an array of Afro-diasporic oral narrative traditions as well as local narrative traditions that employ speech-song techniques; and second, that storytelling can be understood as a process of collaborative social and political engagement that empowers artists and audiences to a sense of agency in the world they see around them. The document is divided into three main parts, the first of which approaches the history of rap in Taiwan as itself a narrative construction, subject to revision and reinterpretation at the hands of multiple authors. In this spirit, it unfolds not one but three distinct histories, each anchored by a different term used locally to designate "rap." The second part of the dissertation examines the people and places that collectively comprise the Taiwan rap community, with a dual focus on demographic representation vis-a-vis the interlocking categories of ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status, and the emplaced qualities of the music vis-a-vis its emergence from specific localities, places of learning, and places of production. The third and final part foregrounds rap’s specificity as a narrative genre to examine more closely the music’s poetics and politics. It considers the stories rappers tell and the means by which they tell them, in the process exploring works that reflect or construct larger narratives about Taiwan as a nation, as well as those that engage smaller, more specifically contextual narratives about relationships, family, school, and work. / Music

abstract: Alongside New York City, Los Angeles, and Atlanta, Minneapolis, Minnesota has become a cradle of hip-hop, breeding a distinct style that has grown swiftly from the 1980s to the present day. While Minneapolis is more commonly associated with the upbeat funk rhythms and prominent synthesizers of its favorite son, Prince (1958 – 2016), Minnesota hip-hop provides a strikingly contrasting listening experience characterized by dark, self-deprecating, and introspective traits. Minnesota and other regional hip-hop scenes have been overshadowed by academic studies that focus principally on New York City or Los Angeles. In this thesis, I advocate for a shift away from the Billboard charts and the East and West Coast, into the world of underground hip-hop of the Upper Midwest. This thesis explores and documents the development of hip-hop in Minnesota, specifically the Twin Cities and independent label Rhymesayers Entertainment, who have established Minneapolis as one of the largest hip-hop hubs in the country. A location that thrives on the “Minneapolis sound” of artists such as Prince and Morris Day (b. 1956), Minnesota hip-hop offered an alternative and more calloused genre for artistic expression. Following the arrival of hip-hop in Minnesota in the early 1980s, a group of like-minded youths gathered together to practice the art of hip-hop, which led to the creation of the Headshots Crew. Despite not having much of a local scene, the Headshots Crew created opportunities and performance spaces to showcase their talents, which eventually led to the creation of their own label, Rhymesayers Entertainment. Unlike many other independent labels Rhymesayers has found a way to sustain their success for over 25 years while maintaining their independence. Their most famous artist act is rap duo Atmosphere. By incorporating primarily biographical and historical methodologies this study means to create a cohesive understanding and foundation of Minnesota hip-hop. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Music 2020

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In the late 1970s the culture of hip hop emerged from the streets of New York. It was an outlet for identity, expression and boasting among communities of young people who were raised in disadvantaged circumstances. Hip hop allowed for creative innovators to form a niche within the entertainment industry that has generated billions of dollars. The purpose of our study is to investigate how hip hop artists utilize entrepreneurial methods in their ventures. Specifically, we explore how these entrepreneurs build empires from storytelling and narrative creation. Entrepreneurial research has found storytelling as an increasingly validated method towards success. Much has been written about how entrepreneurs frame their ideas, how they have to be raconteurial in the early stages of their ventures in order to access resources, and how a “great” pitch is invaluable in capital raising. Hip hop artists rely on stories and storytelling, and the listeners response to the pitch dictates its value.  The primary methods used in our study were theoretical and text analysis. We relied on content analysis, discourse analysis and critical discourse studies to analyze our data. We compared literature from various research disciplines including cultural studies, business studies, entrepreneurial research, post structuralism and philosophy.  Our results indicate that hip hop artists negotiate experiences and create narratives that are then commodified.  Our conclusions indicate that narratives that provide consumers a glimpse into communities of “others” while keeping listeners at a safe distance, sell. Furthermore, we find that rappers who exploit vulgarity and glamorize violence, misogyny and aggression are time and again rewarded with fame and fiscal success.

I 1920-talets Sverige gjorde jazzen sitt officiella intåg. Genren och framförallt livsstilen lockade till sig många ungdomliga anhängare samtidigt som deras föräldrar och media stod på sidan om och förfasades över deras sätt att bete sig och hur de klädde sig. Jazzen höll sig kvar och utvecklades till Swing och Sverige fick sin första tonårsidol i form av 16-åriga Alice Babs. Nästa våg av ungdomskultur kom på 1950-talet i form av rocken som i likhet med sin släkting jazz också härstammade från afro-amerikansk kultur. Den traditionella rocken utvecklades sedan på 1960-talet till någonting som lät hårdare och råare, nämligen hårdrock. År 1976 hade den amerikanska hårdrocksgruppen Kiss sin första spelning i Sverige på nöjesfältet Gröna Lund i Stockholm. Tonåringar över hela landet flockades för att se den nya supergruppen. Kiss blev däremot inte lika välkomnande i media som menade att gruppen uppmuntrade sina fans att leka våldslekar på rasterna. I mitten av 1980-talet och början av 1990-talet introducerades närmast följandeungdomskultur, hip-hoppen som likt rocken och jazzen härstammande från afro-amerikansk kultur. 1994 debuterade en av de första kända hip-hopp grupperna i Sverige, Latin Kings med albumet Välkommen till förorten. Albumet väckte stor uppmärksamhet i media och journalister reste ut till främst Stockholms förorter för att intervjua gruppens fans om den nyahippa ungdomskulturen och huruvida texterna innehöll någon sanning eller inte. Uppsatsen som genomförts är en kvalitativ massmedieretorisk analys vars syfte är att svara på frågeställningen hur ungdomsfenomen har gestaltats i fyra svenska tidningar utifrån tre historiska ungdomsfenomen. Tidningarna som analysen har utgått ifrån är Aftonbladet, Expressen, Dagens Nyheter samt Svenska Dagbladet. Resultatet av analysen visar att gestaltningen av ungdomskultur oftast har präglats av det finns en pågående konflikt som tidningarna själva ofta omedvetet eller medvetet medverkar till.

This qualitative, multi-case study examined the process of lyric creation and nontraditional modes of communication (using themes from hip-hop and battle rap) as a mechanism for developing a teaching and learning strategy in STEM education. This manuscript style dissertation, examines the experiences of 24 postsecondary students and five battle rappers who created science-themed lyrics, used them as a learning strategy, and delivered content in a college and community setting. Insights into teaching and learning were revealed through the study of these lyrics from a constructivist and intellectual warrior theoretical framework. This research showed that as a result of utilizing battle rap, learning spaces were improved. Students’ interviews, lyrics, and reflections uncovered that they appreciated the opportunity to be more creative in class were more engaged, communicated and networked more than they did in their traditional science classroom. The battle rappers discussed and displayed the characteristics that allow them to engage audiences in hopes that teachers can learn how to incorporate engaging techniques within their own classrooms. Through interviews and a performance, battle rappers’ attempt to keep students engaged revealed their transparency; ability to freestyle; get hyped; and demonstrate charisma, presence, character, and energy. This information helped to explain, describe, and understand the experiences of both students and battle rappers and their potential relationships to science and the community. This work supports arguments for the use of culture (art/music/experiences) through music in the science classroom.

There are many issues that limit the performance of wireless mobile multi-hop ad hoc networks (MANETs). One of them is that TCP is not well adapted to networks where routes can change or disappear often. In this paper the behaviour of a standard TCP implementation is studied in situations typical for MANETs and compared to the behaviour of a partial implementation of a ATCP, a TCP modification that is intended to increase performance in MANETs. Simulations with simple scenarios show that TCP easily creates a full network load which causes send failures and decreased throughput performance. In some cases the partial ATCP implementation increases throughput but more often it causes an increased amount of duplicate retransmissions. In these scenarios it is unlikely that even a complete ATCP implementation would increase throughput performance. A few modifications to ATCP and TCP are analysed. Especially a limit of the congestion window size shows a large throughput increase. The results are inconclusive, the simulations are too simple to show if the results are applicable in more complex scenarios. It is not clear if ATCP actually is useful in a MANET. / Många faktorer begränsar prestandan i trådlösa mobila multi-hopp ad hoc-nätverk (MANET:er). En av dem är att TCP inte är anpassat till nätverk där rutter ofta kan förändras eller försvinna. I den här rapporten studeras hur en vanlig TCP-implementation uppför sig i typiska MANET-situationer. Detta beteende jämförs mot en partiell implementation av ATCP, en TCPmodifiering som är tänkt att öka prestanda i MANET:er. Simuleringar med enkla scenarier visar att TCP lätt genererar en full nätverkslast vilket orsakar misslyckade sändningar och en minskad genomströmningsprestanda. I vissa fall ökar den partiella ATCP-implementationen genomströmningen, men oftare ger den en ökad mängd onödiga omsändningar. I dessa scenarier är det inte troligt att ens en komplett ATCP-implementation skulle öka genomströmningsprestanda. Några mindre förändringar av ATCP och TCP analyseras. Särskilt ger en begränsning av stockningsfönstret en stor ökning av genomströmningen. Resultaten är ofullständiga. Simuleringarna är för enkla för att kunna visa om om resultaten är tillämpliga i mer komplexa scenarier. Det är inte klarlagt ifall ATCP verkligen är användbart i ett MANET.

This paper presents an innovative system for taxi hailing service using V2X communication platform. This proposed system does not require any established operational center or explicit prior booking request through central operator like existing automated taxi dispatching systems. Rather, it provides distributed, self-organized and real time service of hailing a taxi cab in urban area. Our proposed application can be implemented using the state of the art DSRC communication platform in both V2V and V2I mode. In this paper, we introduce our designs of the system and the protocols, and present preliminary evaluation results that reveals numerous benefits of implementing this system. Based on the primary results obtained from real world GPS traces, it can be predicted that, our proposed system can significantly increase the availability of taxi cabs while reducing the wait time for the passenger. At the same time, from the perspective of a taxi driver, it can reduce the empty cruising time and increase daily trip count and eventually help increase the revenue of the taxi company.

The Bluetooth wireless transmission standard provides a low-power data link between electronic devices over relatively short ranges. These links, also known as piconets, transmit using frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) to send information over the air. As more applications for Bluetooth technology become available, the number of Bluetooth devices will continue to increase. With this increase in use, there will be a decrease in performance that can be attributed to Bluetooth "inter-piconet" interference. To date, very little has been published on the subject of inter-piconet interference. Previous studies have derived mean packet error rates for an increase in the number of piconets present. To come up with the mean rate, many papers make the assumption that the probability of a Bluetooth device hopping to a channel is random. However, making this assumption does not explain what happens in real time. This research gives some insight into what really happens when multiple piconets are interfering in real time. Bluetooth devices actually use a frequency hopping algorithm to determine the hopping sequence. This algorithm has been implemented in software to test various aspects of inter-piconet interference. Previous studies have shown that synchronizing the clocks among neighboring piconets will result in an increase in performance. This study shows that there are cases where synchronization alone will not provide sufficient improvement. Experimental testing has been conducted to validate some of the simulated results. Adjacent channel interference was observed during experimentation. This contradicts previous research, which has assumed that adjacent channel interference is insignificant. / Master of Science

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / Plaaslike owerheidsaangeleenthede in Suid-Afrika het in die algemeen deurlopend heelwat aandag vanaf owerheidsweë geniet (cf. die talle verslae en bevindings van komitees van ondersoek na aangeleenthede rakende plaaslike bestuur sedert Uniewording in 1910). Hierdie proses is sedertdien voortgesit, maar vanaf 1994 het dit verdere momentum verkry met die nuwe grondwetlike bedeling wat tot stand gebring is. 'n Verskeidenheid van wetgewing het gevolg wat spesifiek op plaaslike owerhede van toepassing is. Die belangrikste hiervan is die Grondwet van die Republiek van Suid-Afrika, 1996; die Oorgangswet op Plaaslike Regering, 1993; Oorgangswet op Plaaslike Regering Tweede Wysigingswet, 1996; Wet op Ontwikkelingsfinansiering, 1995; Wet op Plaaslike Regering: Munisipale Strukture, 1998; Wet op Plaaslike Regering: Munisipale Stelsels, 2000; asook' die belangrike Witskrif op Plaaslike Regering van 1998. Hierdie verwikkelinge vestiq weer eens die aandag op die belangrikheid van instellings op die derde owerheidsvlak. Soos aanvanklik die geval was, is die oogmerk tans ook om onder andere werkverrigting en dienslewering te bevorder en effektiewe en doeltreffende aanwending van skaars hulpbronne te verseker. Hierdie aangeleentheid het veral momentum verkry met die Heropbou- en Ontwikkelingsprogram (HOP), wat in 'n groot mate op plaaslike oweheidsvlak afgestem is. Met die nuwe beleid van die sentrale regering om die huidige aantal plaaslike owerhede deur samesmelting ingrypend te verminder, maar hulle terselfdertyd te verplig om steeds voort te gaan met bestaande basiese dienslewering en om bykomend ook infrastruktuur vir voorheen benadeelde gemeenskappe te skep en in stand te hou sonder noemenswaardige verhoogde finansiële bystand vanaf sentrale owerheidsvlak, is plaaslike owerhede al hoe meer aangewese op eie hulpbronne. Plaaslike owerhede .gaan reeds gebuk onder ingrypende finansiële en personeeltekorte wat op sigself meebring dat diens van hoë gehalte nie te alle tye gelewer kan word nie (verwys in dié geval. na Sake Rapport, 16 Junie 2002: 18). Gepaard hiermee word plaaslike owerhede onder druk geplaas om aan die verwagtinge, behoeftes en aspirasies van die plaaslike samelewing te voldoen. Dit bring volgens Fourie (1998: 221) mee dat "ten einde 'n diens van uitnemendheid te lewer, is dit van belang dat die publiek se behoeftes begryp word, nastrewenswaardige doelwitte gestel word en dat die doelwitte aan die publiek gekommunikeer word". Daar is egter terselfdertyd ook 'n 2 verpligting op plaaslike owerhede om onrealistiese verwagtinge van die publiek te temper in die lig van wat werklik bekostigbaar is. Gevolglik word plaaslike owerhede verplig om weer eens hulomstandighede in oenskou te neem ten einde daadwerklik effektiewe en doeltreffende aanwending van skaars hulpbronne te verseker.' Resultate salook op 'n gereelde grondslag gemoniteer moet word ten einde vas te stelof doelwitte bereik is al dan nie (Fourie, 1998: 221). Hiervoor sal kundigheid op plaaslike owerheidsvlak ontwikkel moet word ten einde die bevordering van die algemene welsyn van plaaslike gemeenskappe te verseker. Persone met die nodige kwalifikasies en vaardighede sal dus in sleutelposte aangestel moet word.