Thesis advisor: Ellen Winner / Public polling and anecdotal evidence suggests that the general public greatly values music education. I argue that this is not because of content, discipline-specific skills like reading music notation or playing the trumpet, but because of the generalizable habits of mind, or broad thinking dispositions, that teachers teach in ensembles. Through analysis of systematic observation and interview data from multiple rehearsals of six band, choir and orchestra ensembles, eight Ensemble Habits of Mind emerged: Evaluate, Express, Imagine, Listen, Notice, Participate in Community, Persist, and Set Goals & Be Prepared. Using methodology similar to that of parallel work identifying Studio Habits of Mind in visual arts education (Hetland et al., 2013), this study shows many similarities between habits of mind in the two disciplines. However, two habits of mind that were specifically sought out in observations because they are frequently reported in advocacy arguments, Use Creativity and Recognize More than One Correct Answer, were not observed even under broad inclusion criteria. Suggestions are given for the practical application of these findings and discussion of how this framework can simultaneously support the good thinking happening in traditional large ensembles while bolstering rationale that informal music learning and other means of student-centered music making should be included in music programs in order to advance students’ creative thinking and tolerance for ambiguity. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Psychology.

Water is a very important element in our daily life, being able to check the water quality by ourselves would be a useful project to improve our life quality. My idea is to create something cheap and easy to examine the water quality and test it to see if it is capable for outdoor using as well. In this project I chose a DS18B20 as a temperature sensor. To get a system which can work as a water pump I chose an L298P as a motor driver board to support the electric motor, a Hall flow meter to get the flow and quantity, and a Water sensor to get the conductivity. With the Arduino and the Visual Studio user interface program, the system can extract the data that we want. The result of the measurement shows it is possible to analyse the water quality by comparing the conductivity of the known liquid to a test sample in a controlled environment. The system shows great promise of being a cheaper and easier system but still needs to improve accuracy, by reducing outside influence (like temperature), thereby enabling the system to work in more harsh environments.

This work compares two of the biggest opera houses – La Scala and the Metropolitan opera New York and focuses on its Opera Studios. The main goal is to collect as many information as possible and to get to know which one of these institutions provides better possibilities for beggining singers. Besides finding new information I have used my connections with current participants in these institutions, so I could compare their experiences with mine. I have found out two ways of getting into opera studios in general and got to a conclusion which one is more efficient for me personally. Besides practical tips, this work includes historical facts as well as data on notable operatic performers. My thesis should be primarily useful for singers who aspire to have an international carreer.

The Gesture and the Drip investigates our increasing reliance on digital media as a means to encounter and view art works online as photographic documentation. This body of work attempts to place significance on the human gesture in relation to the loss of the human presence that often accompanies digital documentation. The gesture is a reoccurring element that can be traced throughout my thesis body of work. Occasionally, gestures are tactile marks made by my hand and in other cases they are the result of photographic reproduction, silk-screened onto the surface. A paradox is formed between the real and illusion that are interchangeable on the canvas. My paintings encompass authentic and mediated gestures to challenge the visual experience and disrupt a logical reading.

My paintings are done from my memory of nature experienced at different moments in time and place in Canada and Europe, discovered during my frequent travels. Colour, light, movement, smell and sound recalled in memory, lead to abstract formulations in which an expressive softness is mixed with harsh reality.

This paper is intended to serve as a supporting document for the exhibition Word Birds that was held at the Render Gallery at the University of Waterloo, April 22-27, 2008. The drawing and sculpture in this exhibition attempt to address the complex relationship humans have with animals and the ways we have charged them with symbolic and anthropomorphic characteristics. The work examines the human tendency to observe, name, and ascribe meaning to animals and speaks to the connection between natural history and human nature. The narrative element of the work is derived from a variety of sources including observation, philosophical speculation, and literary sources.

In this project, Heidi Overhill explores her own home as a case study of the roles played by objects in the expression of self; as a microcosm of meaning in material culture. By examining her different kinds of collections through contemporary methodologies of museum collections management, she seeks to better understand herself, the collections, and the methodology of museum collecting in general. The exhibition focuses on the accessioning of the permanent collections, and provides a gift shop where visitors may purchase postcards and other souvenirs.

Within the context of relational art, the ongoing series, Maturity Playground, incorporates pre-fabricated playground components used as sculptural material. The use of slides, swings, trampolines, and merry-go-rounds has been disrupted. These structures are manipulated through placement and colour to the point where they become socially tense or awkward situations for adults. Playground structures in the art gallery subvert conventional notions of art, the understanding of appropriate behavior in an art environment and the understanding of play as an aesthetic element. Such re-placement creates a disruption to the psychological associations attached to the activity of the object. In this new context, the works allow participation and promote the idea that play can be a model for co-operative behavior.

My paintings are done from my memory of nature experienced at different moments in time and place in Canada and Europe, discovered during my frequent travels. Colour, light, movement, smell and sound recalled in memory, lead to abstract formulations in which an expressive softness is mixed with harsh reality.

This paper is intended to serve as a supporting document for the exhibition Word Birds that was held at the Render Gallery at the University of Waterloo, April 22-27, 2008. The drawing and sculpture in this exhibition attempt to address the complex relationship humans have with animals and the ways we have charged them with symbolic and anthropomorphic characteristics. The work examines the human tendency to observe, name, and ascribe meaning to animals and speaks to the connection between natural history and human nature. The narrative element of the work is derived from a variety of sources including observation, philosophical speculation, and literary sources.