This statement of my process is a written description and analysis of my personal approach to developing a role or character for a performance. My approach to character development is vastly different today than it was three years ago. This statement of process describes the core of my work as an artist and what I value as an artist. It is an in depth perspective of what I do as a performer. It is what I value in acting, what I find relevant, and a personal evaluation on where I lie in attempting to achieve those aesthetics. It is the process and product that I currently value and pursue; its strengths and weaknesses, and what I would like to change about it in the future. In better clarifying what my process is, I can define what the missing elements are and uncover my work for the future.

Intonation is one of the most important issues facing performers of string quartets. Often, string students learn to play in tune strictly in terms of their own melodic line. To play in tune in a string quartet requires an understanding of the underlying harmony and how intonation can be fluid and flexible in an ensemble. This paper offers students an introduction to harmonic intonation and provides exercises to put this knowledge into practice. The text begins with instruction and exercises related to perfect intervals, which form the basis for intonation. Next, consonant intervals are discussed along with exercises for practice and ear training. Chords are constructed and practiced upon the basis of this interval practice. Student quartets are then asked to play excerpts from the repertoire presented as harmonic reductions and as originally written in order to connect the theoretical knowledge to the string quartet repertoire. Finally, chorales by J.S. Bach arranged for string quartet are provided for continuing practice of intonation in tonal harmony. It is not the attempt of this project to teach music theory or present a comprehensive study of the many issues and challenges related to intonation in string quartet playing. The aim of this essay is to provide students with a solid foundation and practical application of basic principles of playing in tune in a string quartet.

The work explores the body and its limitations through the lens of printmaking.The surface of the body acts as a barrier between our internal and external selves exposing the vulnerabilities between mind and body. As fragile and receptive beings, the past builds up and manifests itself through our daily actions and repetitive tendencies. There is a strong desire to control our appearance and physical signs of well-being.

The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of the Iowa Sex Offender Risk Assessment (ISORA) instrument used in the Iowa Department of Corrections to assess for future occurrences of female offender recidivism. Using a sample of 105 females convicted of a sexual offense in the State of Iowa, the current study examined rates of recidivism using the ISORA. The goal of this study was to determine the validity of the ISORA in predicting recidivism rates as measured by (a) new convictions for sex offenses and other violent crimes, (b) new convictions for sex crimes using a strict definition, and (c) any new conviction for any new crime. Data were collected on all female participants in this study using case file information from various database resources. Mean-cost rating scores and Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve analyses were conducted to explore the relationships between risk assessment categories on the ISORA and each type of recidivism as well as between raw ISORA scores and each type of recidivism. Results showed the overall recidivism rate of female offenders was 22% for this study, while the sexual recidivism rate in this study was 2%. Results also provided evidence that the ISORA can be used to predict sexual and violent recidivism (AUC = .85) as well as general recidivism (AUC = .64) for female sex offenders. In conclusion, the ISORA is a valid risk assessment tool when predicting general and sexual or violent recidivism for female sexual offenders. However, further research examining improvements in the instrument could be conducted to enhance the validity of the instrument.

The analysis of human walking gait is a complex skill for physical therapy students to learn. As a result, students are at risk for a cognitive overload when confronted with these materials. Cognitive load consists of both intrinsic and extraneous loads as well as the germane processes that are required by the learners to process the information in working memory. As working memory is limited in its capacity to process new information, it is necessary to manage the cognitive load experienced by the learners. Intrinsic cognitive load is related to the complexity of the materials that must be learned and cannot be altered by instructional design without sacrificing initial understanding. An isolated elements instructional format purports to reduce the intrinsic CL experienced by learners by isolating the content into the individual elements prior to introducing any complex relationships that may exist between the elements. The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive load and learning outcome effects of an isolated elements instructional format versus an interacting elements format when teaching observational gait analysis to physical therapy students. A total of 72 students enrolled in a Doctor of Physical Therapy program participated in this study. Mixed factorial designs assessed both between-group and within-group outcomes. The independent variables were the group assignments (isolated or interacting) and time. The dependent variables were cognitive load and learning outcomes. Cognitive load was measured with 7-point Likert-type scales for both mental effort and task difficulty at five separate time points. Learning outcomes were assessed through performance scores and confidence ratings on a posttest and a 1-week follow-up test. Animated videos were used as the medium for instructional delivery. In the isolated elements group, the learners received the content in several separate videos that isolated each of the sub-phases of gait prior to viewing a summary video that included all of the interacting gait cycle components. Learners in the interacting elements group received the content in one video that included the full gait cycle followed by the same summary video. Students in the isolated elements groups reported lower mental effort ratings immediately after viewing the isolated elements videos than did the interacting group after viewing the single video tutorial. However, there was no differences in either mental effort or task difficulty ratings at the other time points during the lesson or during the assessments. Performance scores and confidence ratings did not differ between the two groups. Within-group analyses found that there were significant changes over time in both groups for mental effort, performance scores, and confidence ratings. A statistically significant change was noted over time for task difficulty in the interacting elements group. The reduction in mental effort ratings immediately following the tutorial content for the isolated elements group lends support the theory that isolating the individual elements prior to teaching the complex interactions can reduce cognitive load for learners. However, this reduction in cognitive load did not translate into improved test scores or confidence compared to the interacting elements group. Future research is needed to identify instructional methods that can further reduce the cognitive load and increase the learning outcomes of students learning observational gait analysis. In addition, alternative objective methods of assessing cognitive load should be explored.

The National Football League (NFL) stands as one of the most visible and dominant organizations within American popular culture. However, despite being at the pinnacle of its popularity and the precipice of its seemingly last obstacle of international expansion, the last decade has seen the league confronting a series of crises that have destabilized and challenged the previously coherent meanings of the sport put out by the league and broadly recirculated within popular discourses. Propelled by these crises, the previously accepted framing of the league as “America's game” has come under increased scrutiny as media, citizens, and public officials critically reevaluate the role and merits of the league in contemporary American society. In this project I examine three cases situated in or around these crises: (1) the increased awareness of the medical dangers of playing the game, (2) the emergence of luxury stadiums, and (3) the league's philanthropic efforts. These case are an important heuristic lens for examining contemporary tensions between the NFL, identity, community, and commerce. As the league increasingly positions itself as a global media and sport corporation, it is upsetting and reshaping its historical localisms: the relationships to its fans, the cities that host its teams, and even the country which it calls home. Furthermore, the economic pressures of continual capitalist expansion as guided by neoliberal restructuring—favoring privatization, the primacy of unregulated markets, and ideologies of individual determination—require the incessant commodification of not only the NFL and its players, but also its constructed meanings. In examining these cases, this dissertation establishes and analyzes the often contradictory and contested motivations, aspirations, and meanings of the league in contemporary U.S. society.

A measured cross section of simultaneously produced Υ(1S) and J/ψ mesons is performed using 20 fb-1 integrated luminosity in proton-proton collisions at √s=8 TeV center of mass energy recorded by the CMS detector. Both mesons are fully reconstructed from their final states, μ+ μ-. To extract the signal yield, an extended maximum likelihood fit is used on two (invariant mass of Υ(1S) and J/ψ) and three (invariant mass of Υ(1S) and J/ψ, cτ) dimensional components. A two-dimensional extended likelihood fit is used for the signal yield of data and a three-dimensional extended likelihood fit is used to know the possibility of displaced J/ψ candidate events arising from a B meson decay. A data embedding method is used to correct the efficiency in the data. The cross section in the fiducial region, defined as |y|<2.0, is determined to be 16.5±3.6(stat)±2.6(syst) pb. In order to improve the physics measurements capabilities for the harsh radiation environments at Large Hadron Collider (LHC), radiation hard detectors are needed. Secondary Emission Method (SEM) is a technique to measure the energy of particles such as e, n, and p in extreme radiation environments. Secondary Emission Ionization Calorimetry is a new technique for high radiation conditions. We designed two different types of test boards to test Hamamatsu single anode R7761 and multi-anode R5900-00-M16 PMTs and compared average gain values for both SE and PMT modes. We found that both values (SE and PMT) were comparable, which means the test boards that were developed perform very well and they could be used at Fermilab Test Beam Facility or in the CERN H2 beam area for the detection of minimum ionizing and showering particles.

An interweaving of text and image.

Vortices interacting with the solid surface of aerodynamic bodies are prevalent across a broad range of geometries and applications, such as dynamic stall on wind turbine and helicopter rotors, the separated flows over flapping wings of insects, birds and micro-air vehicles, formation of the vortex wakes of bluff bodies, and the lift-producing vortices formed by aircraft leading-edge extensions and delta wings. This study provides fundamental insights into the formation and evolution of such vortices by considering the leading-edge vortices formed in variations of a canonical flapping wing problem. Specifically, the vorticity transport within three distinct experimental cases--2D plunging airfoil, 3D plunging airfoil and 2D plunging airfoil with suction applied at the leading edge--were analyzed in order to characterize the formation and evolution of the leading-edge vortex (LEV). Three-dimensional representations of the velocity and vorticity fields were obtained via multi-plane particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements and used to perform a vorticity flux analysis that served to identify the sources and sinks of vorticity within the flow. Time-resolved pressure measurements were obtained from the surface of the airfoil and used to characterize the flux of vorticity diffusing from the solid surface, and a method for correcting dynamic pressure data was developed and validated for the application within the current study. Upon characterizing all of the sources and sinks of vorticity, the circulation budget was found to be fully accounted for. Interpretation of the individual vorticity balance terms demonstrated vorticity generation and transport characteristics that were consistent among all three cases that were investigated. Three-dimensional vorticity fluxes were found to be an almost negligible contributor to the overall circulation budget, mostly due to the individual terms canceling each other out. In all cases, the diffusive flux of vorticity from the surface of the airfoil was shown to act primarily as a sink of LEV vorticity, with a magnitude roughly half that of the flux of vorticity emanating from the leading-edge shear layer. Inspection of the chordwise distribution of the diffusive flux within the 2D case showed it to correlate very well with the evolution of the flow field. Specifically, the diffusive flux experienced a major increase during the phase interval in which the LEV remained attached to the downstream boundary layer. It was also noted that the accumulation of secondary vorticity near the leading edge prevented the diffusive flux from continuing to increase after the roll-up of the LEV. This result was validated within the 3D case, which demonstrated that maintaining an LEV that stays attached to the downstream boundary layer produces a larger diffusive flux of vorticity--presumably enhancing both lift and thrust. Through the use of a spanwise array of suction ports, the suction case was able to successfully alter the total circulation of the flow by removing positive vorticity from the opposite-signed vortex (OSV) that formed beneath the LEV. This removal of positive vorticity produced a measured increase in the total lift, and it was noted that weakening this region of secondary vorticity allowed the LEV to impose more suction on the surface of the airfoil. However, it was also noted that weakening the OSV resulted in a loss of thrust, which was attributed to the loss of suction that occurred near the leading edge when the removal of secondary vorticity caused the energetic OSV to be reverted into a low energy region of separated flow. The physical insights provided by this work can form the basis of novel flow control strategies for enhancing the aerodynamic loads produced in unsteady, separated flows.

I present my work in five parts. The introduction is devoted to my process and creative evolution, a catalog of sorts, documenting the accumulation of ideas, objects, projects and events that that make up my artistic practice. The second section 'Mama,' is an anecdotal reflection on how and where I find truth in experiences and relationships outside the traditional studio practice. The third section 'You' is a continued narrative incident that helps explain and contextualize my non-normative perspective as a person and as a maker. The fourth section 'Make' will analyze my thesis exhibition "Hey Mama, Diana, Where You At?" The final section 'Magic' will propose the propulsion of my work into the future through radical tenderness and the body. The arrangement of this thesis is chronological with a photo essay influence. My intent is not only to capture finished work, but also illuminate my process. To do this I have married text and image to enhance the experience each reader has engaging in my world. Drawing from interdisciplinary sources my work focuses on natural processes, the body, and how we orient ourselves within hegemonic social and political landscapes. Often searching to locate myself, I experiment with the potential of environments as conduits for performance and sculptural interventions. Enticed by the relationships between the body and its surroundings my work seeks to understand gender, race, and corporeality through endurance, games, and gesture.