Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toledo, 2010. / Typescript. "Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Masters of Musical Performance Degree." "A thesis entitled"--at head of title. Title from title page of PDF document. Bibliography: p. 84-86.

Zugl.: Kiel, Univ., Diss., 2008

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart uses humor to explore, analyze, and criticize current media and political trends, politicians, and campaigns. Reappropriation uses video as an argument against the original producers of that content, one of the tools used to highlight the problems with the political and current media coverage. The effectiveness of using reappropriated video is analyzed through a rhetorical analysis, combining argumentative analysis and functional analysis. Through this analysis a structure is developed for three types of arguments used by The Daily Show: highlighting absurdity, the political fact check and highlighting contradictions, and exposing social and media patterns. The analysis explores the strengths and weaknesses of each type of reappropriation, and the structural form of the argument.

En metastudie som använder sig av en specifikt anpassad tolkning av grounded theory för att undersöka The Daily Shows satiriska kritik och funktion, samt hur detta relaterar till det sociologiska perspektivet. Fynden visar på en problematik som väl överrensstämmer med mer allmänna sociologiska teorier hos Foucault, Bourdieu och Habermas. Satiren visar sig utöva en serie meningsfulla funktioner som har potential att verka som en populistisk samhällskritik med stort inflytande. Satiren visar sig dock inte vara en problemfri diskurs och ett antal problem identifieras som behöver adresseras för att diskursen ska kunna åberopa någon form av legitimitet. / A meta-study which uses a specifically tailored interpretation of grounded theory to explore The Daily Shows satiric critique and function, as well as how it relates to the sociological perspective. The findings show a complex of problems that well corresponds to the more general sociological theories of Foucault, Bourdieu and Habermas. The satire is found to perform a series of meaningful functions with potential to act as a populist form of social criticism with a large influence. However, satire is also found to be a problematic discourse and a series of problems are identified that needs to be addressed for the discourse to invoke any form of legitimacy.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 417-476).

Jon Christopher Nelson’s Fantasies and Flourishes: An Interactive Concerto for Disklavier and Orchestra (1995) is the first interactive work to present the Disklavier as the solo instrument in a concerto with orchestra. The purpose of this study is to provide an analysis of Fantasies and Flourishes and advice on how to successfully present it in performance. Fantasies and Flourishes reveals the composer’s interest in the music of Elliot Carter, in particular his A Symphony of Three Orchestras. The entire work is based on the two all-interval tetrachords also used by Carter; in Fantasies and Flourishes, these tetrachords are combined to form seven octachords that are used in various manipulations. The Disklavier is an acoustic piano that can be played by a performer, can play by itself, or can be controlled by a computer program. In interactive works for Disklavier, a pianist plays on the Disklavier while the Disklavier plays by itself, much like if a pianist were to play on a player piano while the piano was also playing by itself. However, in interactive Disklavier music the pianist’s performance affects what the Disklavier plays; particular notes in the piano part trigger the Disklavier’s music. Chapter I provides an introduction to the dissertation and background on the composition. Chapter II gives a formal analysis of the work, with focus on the composer’s use of musical constraints to delineate form. Chapter III supplies information that will help a pianist to prepare for a performance of the concerto and includes discussion of extended techniques used in performance. Chapter IV gives a detailed discussion of Max, the computer program used to control the Disklavier. Analysis and description of the computer program give the performer insight into how the Disklavier’s music works, especially for algorithmically-composed sections that vary between performances. A chart is provided that details information regarding each trigger that the performer must play in order for the Disklavier to function properly.

High employee turnover rates are problematic in the retail banking industry because turnover increases the risk of costly regulatory compliance mistakes. The factors that predict turnover in this industry are not well understood, however. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between the independent variables of job satisfaction, burnout, time on the job, generational identity, and the dependent variable of turnover intention for retail banking employees in the United States. Mannheim's theory of generations was the framework for this study. A random sample of 100 individuals from the banking industry responded to an online survey that combined elements of a job satisfaction survey by Babin and Boles, a turnover intention survey by Boshoff and Allen, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results of the multiple linear regression analysis suggested statistically significant (p < .001) relationships between burnout and turnover intention �� = 0.297) and between job satisfaction and turnover intention (� = 0.683). These findings are congruent with research that shows that satisfied employees report less burnout and are more likely to remain in their job. Positive social change may occur because reduced employee turnover allows banks to serve businesses and consumers in local communities better and to accomplish their financial goals and objectives, thus potentially leading to improvements in community stability. Reduced employee turnover in turn increases the likelihood of positive contributions to economic activity, as well increased employment and improvements in the overall employment experience for retail banking employees through increased job satisfaction.

The Daily Show är ett halvtimmeslångt amerikanskt humorprogram som sänds på kabelkanalen Comedy Central. Programmet tar upp nyheter, främst om politik, på ett humoristiskt sätt med hjälp av klipp från etablerade nyhetskanaler. Vår undersökning syftar till att ta reda på hur The Daily Show förändrats efter valet 2008 då Barack Obama valdes till president. Vi har jämfört inslagen i 32 The Daily Show-avsnitt från hösten 2005 med lika många från samma period 2009. Extra fokus har lagts på hur programmet behandlar nyhetsmedier. Dessutom har vi undersökt programmets gästlistor från hela dessa år, samt tagit hjälp av en tidigare studie från 2007 för att se vilken sorts gäster som får framträda och om det skett någon förändring. Vår studie visar att The Daily Show gått mot att kritisera och rikta satir mot nyhetsmedier som CNN och Fox News i större utsträckning än tidigare. Särskilt Fox News har fått en mycket större andel av programmets uppmärksamhet. Färre underhållare finns med som gäster, till förmån för fler politiska kommentatorer, journalister och författare. Programmet fokuserar till största del på sakfrågor och inte enskilda personer.

Shows like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, Saturday Night Live, and even South Park represent an underresearched subfield of discourse about political communication and persuasion. These shows manage to reach audiences not traditionally known for high levels of political engagement and draw them in with their comedic framework. This thesis investigates the impact of televised political satire on public perceptions of presidential candidates and campaign issues and the direct result these impacts may have on presidential elections. This thesis first gives some background in the types of communication and personalities of the front-men and women of these shows and then moves into a historical account of how the exigence for this recent explicit hybridization between comedy and news emerged. It then analyzes how these comedians view their own role within media and politics. It provides a thick account of the liberalizing force televised political satire has been for the American political climate so far, and where it will likely lead us in the near future with the growth of new communication technologies.

Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2002. / Bibliography: leaves 122-130.