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Choral conductor perceptions of ensemble success and failure: an application of dimensional attribution theory
(2025) Wittkopp, Jacob Henry; Hendricks, Karin S.
Attribution theory literature provides various ways to discuss the relationships between success or failure and the reasons perceived to be responsible for an outcome. This study is based on Weiner’s (1986) attribution theory of achievement motivation and explores the attributions of choral ensemble performances made by choral directors who work in academic settings. The aims of this research were to determine whether participants’ own successful performances are attributed differently from those they consider unsuccessful and to determine the relationships between attribution responses and personal or work-related differences. An online survey was distributed to collect choral directors’ responses. Participants were asked about their degree backgrounds, the number of years at their current institutions, how many choral ensemble classes they conducted, the size of their institutions’ choral programs, the grade levels of students with whom they worked, whether their institutions were public or private, and demographic self-identifications. The second part of the questionnaire prompted participants to recall their most and least successful choral performances in recent history, then to rate their beliefs regarding 12 statements along a 9-point scale based on McAuley et al.’s (1992) Revised Causal Dimension Scale (CDSII). The statements corresponded to four subscales: locus, internal controllability, external controllability, and stability of the cause they believed most responsible for each prompt. A sample of N = 167 choral directors completed the questionnaire. The sample included choral directors in elementary, secondary, post-secondary, and multiple settings. Reliability testing was particularly poor on one stability test item, which was removed from subsequent analyses. Testing consisted of both parametric and non-parametric tests when applicable. Results from paired Wilcoxon and t-tests both revealed that participants significantly rated attributions of successful and unsuccessful performances differently on three subscales: locus, internal control, and stability. Among the personal and vocational questions, Pearson’s correlation revealed that years at institution negatively correlated with internal control with both success (R = -.220) and failure (R = -.227). The size of choral program was also related to internal control with success according to Spearman’s rho (ρ = -.155). External control with success was also related to level of teaching via Welch’s one-way ANOVA (F = 3.678) and related to public versus private school via independent samples t-test (t = -2.513). Finally, stability with failure significantly varied according to both gender (t = 1.982) and race (t = 02.474). Linear regression was initially used to test which variables could predict each subscale score, but no model produced sufficient R2 values. After converting subscale totals to Z-statistics and reorganizing them into ordinal quartiles, ordinal logistic regression (OLR) produced three modest but statistically significant models for locus with success, external control with success, andexternal control with failure. Alternatively, generalized linear mixed-effect model (GLMM) regression indicate at least one variable as predictive of each dimension for both success and failure. Private versus public institution, level of student taught, size of choral program, and number of ensembles appeared to predict more than one subscale. Limitations and concerns with the instrument and data are subsequently addressed. Discussion includes implications for how choral ensemble leaders might more intentionally reconsider the possible reasons for their own performance disappointments and how they convey those reasons to others. Results may additionally help those who serve in mentorship or adjudication capacities. Directions for future research are also offered.
Domenico Dragonetti and his twelve waltzes: sexuality and the double bass
(2025) Granger, Jacob; Yudkin, Jeremy; Melchor-Barz, Gregory
Venetian double-bass virtuoso Domenico Dragonetti (1763–1846) had a significant hand in establishing the double bass as a strong and capable ensemble and solo instrument. As with many virtuosos of his time, Dragonetti was often described by his associates as eccentric and bizarre. In fact, many aspects of his personal life seem enigmatic and strange. One of the least understood aspects of Dragonetti as a person is his sexual identity. He remained a bachelor his entire life and seemed not to pursue any sexual or romantic relationships. Instead, he referred to his double bass as his “wife.” To make sense of this sexual ambiguity, I have deployed contemporary theories on gender and sexuality in an attempt to unearth a more descriptive sexual identity for Dragonetti. Through analysis, I argue for a possible asexual and aromantic identity.
To explore the relationship Dragonetti had with his bass, I analyze what is believed to have been one of Dragonetti’s last compositions, a set of twelve unaccompanied waltzes for double bass. These compositions seem to have been very personal to the virtuoso and were only heard by a single, close friend, Vincent Novello. The waltzes seem to be private and personal engagements between Dragonetti and his “wife.” By analyzing the inner workings of these dances, I aim to gain a better understanding of Dragonetti’s sexual and romantic orientations as well as his relationship with his beloved double bass.
Using digital clinical simulations to support early career teachers’ sensemaking about ambitious and equitable mathematics teaching
(2025) Barno, Erin; Dietiker, Leslie
This dissertation investigates how early career teachers' orientations of students and their mathematical activity, as surfaced their experience in a simulation, can reveal when their well-intentioned decisions might negatively impact traditionally underserved students. Three early career teachers engaged in two online simulations where they could speak, write, or select a response to a classroom scenario described with text and images, where their choices impact what part of the scenario they engage with next. The simulations were designed to elicit a tension between the teachers’ intended positive orientations about students and their decisions made in the simulations. A narrative analysis (Slocum-Bradley, 2010; Wortham, 2001) of the participants’ choices in the simulations, and their rationale behind those choices, revealed multiple instances where the teachers aligned themselves with the same orientations but sometimes positioned their role as teachers in conflict with that orientation. The narratives that emerged regarding these specific moments, the teachers' interpretation of that moment, and their decisions in the simulation showed multiple ways the rationalization of decisions can conflict with their intention. This dissertation informs how making sense of the narratives early career teachers make when engaging with simulations could help teachers' interpretations and actions better align with their intentions. Therefore, teacher learning could shift from focusing on content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and pedagogical choices to the continual attention and decision-making around the interpretation that supported that decision.
Cortical function, gait alterations, and central sensitization in people with knee osteoarthritis
(2025) Lee, Soyoung; Kumar, Deepak
For healthy individuals, walking is an automatic locomotion. However, for people with knee osteoarthritis (OA) who often have chronic knee pain and reduced physical function, walking can be less automatic movement that accompanies altered patterns and requires fine motor control. Over-recruitment of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), a region of executive function, during walking can be the underlying neurobiology of disrupted gait automaticity. Therefore, the aim of the Study 1 was to determine the association between the over-recruitment of PFC and altered gait patterns in single- and dual-task walking paradigms. We found that higher activation in subregions of PFC is associated with low variability in step duration (better gait automaticity) during dual-task walking in people with knee OA. In Study 2, we investigated whether the presence of central sensitization, a major biological cause of chronic knee pain, is related to the over-recruitment of PFC and the loss of gait automaticity. Since central pain sensitization involves alterations in activity and connectivity across multiple brain regions, including PFC, central sensitization could be one mechanism by which chronic pain leads to plasticity in brain function and less automatic gait patterns. Study 2 has found that people with a low-pressure pain threshold (PPT) at the unaffected joint (indicating the presence of central sensitization) show greater activation in subregions of the PFC and higher stride length variability (worse gait automaticity) compared to those with a high-PPT during walking. Overall, these findings suggest that people with knee OA may require greater executive control through PFC modulation during complex walking conditions to maintain gait automaticity. Additionally, Study 2 suggests that individuals with knee OA and central pain sensitization may need enhanced executive control during walking compared to those without, highlighting central sensitization as a potential therapeutic target for restoring normal walking function.
Shadow Cathedral
(2025) Lim, Joogwang; Fineberg, Joshua
In Shadow Cathedral, the listener is invited to step into an inverted place—a cathedral not of stone and glass, but of shadow and abstraction. This imagined space resounds not with the shining lights and echoes of people, but with the acoustic and psychological reverberations of solitude. As one might hear an empty chapel "sing" in its stillness, the music seeks to evoke a deeply personal, introspective, and raw resonance. Shadow Cathedral draws inspiration from the Adagio movements of late Romantic symphonies, whose slow, expansive passages evoke a sense of timeless contemplation. However, instead of using traditional triadic harmonies, this piece presents raw “sound icons”—bells, chants, and drums—that serve as focal points around which the music orbits. These icons guide the listener toward moments of ferocious self-exposure, reflecting the composer’s own vulnerabilities. Shadow Cathedral is a meditation on the power of emptiness—a sonic journey that discovers sublimity in raw human expression and the transformative nature of solitude.
Image reconstruction through multiple 1D approximations
(2025) Wang, Bohan; Considine, Jeffrey
Function approximation is a fundamental aspect of computational models and machine learning, often relying on neural networks due to their ability to effectively model complex functions and relationships. However, neural networks can be computationally intensive and lack interpretability. In this thesis, we explore an alternative approach to approximating two-dimensional (2D) functions by decomposing them into multiple one-dimensional (1D) approximations. Our method aims to enhance computational efficiency and interpretability while maintaining high approximation quality. We propose a framework that projects to approximate 2D functions through a series of 1D interpolations and also uses greedy sampling. By generating uniformly distributed projections and projecting pixel coordinates onto these projections, we form 1D curves and use interpolation to predict the values of the original function. Linear interpolation is employed for its simplicity and speed in estimating values between sampled points. A greedy algorithm is used to select sampling points that significantly reduce approximation error, optimizing the sampling strategy. We conducted extensive experiments on some images to evaluate the performance of our method. Metrics such as Mean Squared Error (MSE) and Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) were used to assess reconstruction quality. Additionally, we ran neural network model and some other traditional models for comparison. Our results demonstrate that the proposed method provides a different focus compared to other methods, especially excelling in the restoration of high-contrast details in images. The findings suggest that multiple 1D approximations can reconstruct 2D functions with efficiency. Contrary to our initial intuition, the results reveal that increasing the number of sample points has a more significant impact on reconstruction quality than increasing the number of projections. Specifically, we observed that under the same parameter count, using as many sample points as possible led to better reconstruction results. Increasing the number of projections, while beneficial for reducing artifacts, has a less pronounced effect compared to increasing sample points. However, adding more projections can improve edge clarity and enhance the accuracy of each step in the greedy selection process, which helps in achieving better sample point locations during reconstruction. Additionally, we tested various sampling methods, such as uniform sampling and greedy MSE selection, and found that greedy selection of sample points based on MSE yielded significantly improved clarity, particularly around key features of the image. The experiments also showed that incorporating spatial diversity and edge information into the selection process did not always yield better results, highlighting the importance of selecting sample points that balance both edge and surrounding details. This work contributes to the field by providing an alternative method for function approximation that addresses some limitations of neural networks, particularly in terms of computational efficiency. Future work includes extending the approach to higher-dimensional data, exploring advanced interpolation techniques, and integrating the method with machine learning models to balance performance and transparency. Additionally, further research is needed to optimize the balance between projections and sample points to achieve the best reconstruction quality under different parameter constraints.
“He Cares About All of Us”: nine middle school chorus students’ lived experiences with teachers as carers
(2025) Bauman-Field, Betty; Goodrich, Andrew M.
Music educators value positive, caring relationships with their students. In large ensemble classes, however, music teachers have historically prioritized the needs of the group over the needs of individuals, making it difficult for music teachers to give students the individual attention often associated with caring relationships. If students do not feel that their needs are met, they may not believe their music teachers care for them. Noddings’s (2013) care ethics served as the theoretical framework for this study. The purpose of this study was to understand how middle school chorus students perceive their chorus teachers as carers and what actions, if any, they believe their chorus teachers take to make students feel cared for as individuals. I engaged in hermeneutic phenomenology to examine the essence of caring relationships in middle school chorus from the perspective of the students. I conducted semi-structured interviews with three eighth grade chorus students from each of three middle schools for a total of nine student participants. I analyzed the data using in vivo coding to prioritize students’ thoughts and beliefs about the ways in which their chorus teachers demonstrated care. Once the data were coded, I themed codes phenomenologically using “Caring is…” as a sentence starter.
The middle school chorus students in this study felt cared for when their chorus teachers created positive classroom environments by including and welcoming all students, providing a social space, supporting student safety, and encouraging teamwork and participation; listened and addressed individual needs; taught effectively; demonstrated certain personality traits, such as being fun, kind, and enthusiastic; and deepened connections with students over time. I determined that in many instances, the behaviors students identified as caring were group-oriented behaviors, suggesting that individual participants felt cared for by their chorus teachers when caring behaviors were demonstrated toward the group rather than between a teacher and individual student. Additionally, none of the participants described feeling that their teacher did not care about them, further indicating that individual students in this study felt cared for despite the large group setting of a middle school chorus. Although there may be benefits to prioritizing caring interactions with individual students when possible, findings from this study suggest that middle school chorus students perceive group-oriented behaviors, such as establishing a positive classroom environment, engaging in high quality instruction, and presenting a kind and humorous demeanor, to be ways in which their teacher demonstrate care.
The orphaned subject and moral debilitation: accounting for postcolonial pessimism
(2024) Hong, Hyebin; Fluker, Walter E.; Rambo, Shelly
This dissertation investigates the concept of “moral debilitation” as it pertains to the “orphaned subject” in Korean society, a notion that denotes the diminished moral agency consequential to colonial and neocolonial legacies. The term “orphaned subject” describes certain characteristics prevalent among a group of contemporary Koreans characterized by moral debilitation due to the enduring sense of dislocation and psychological distress. The author traces these characteristics through literary representations, notably the motif of the “orphan consciousness” and the recurring depiction of the absent Father figure in modern Korean literature. This dissertation maintains that acknowledging and addressing the compromised moral agency of the colonized is essential for postcolonial theological analysis. This approach reveals how colonial harms extends beyond the material, political, economic, and psychological realms to affect the moral constitution of the colonized subject. The author posits this pessimistic account of moral debilitation not as an indictment of the colonized but as a means to a deeper, more integrated comprehension of the postcolonial condition.
Adapting to a warming climate: electricity demand, air conditioning, and the health impacts of extreme heat
(2023) Romitti, Yasmin; Sue Wing, Ian
The increasing incidence and intensity of days and spells of extreme heat is expected to continue with climate change, with interconnected and cascading consequences across multiple scales and sectors. In particular, high temperature exposures directly affect population health (e.g., increased risk of hospitalization and death) and cooling energy demand (i.e., the use of residential air conditioning (AC) as adaptation). Heat extremes are often amplified in urban areas due to the thermodynamic properties of the built environment. While we have a strong understanding of the relationship between heat and energy demand, energy and AC, and the impacts of heat on morbidity and mortality, there remain notable knowledge gaps in the dynamics that underpin these relationships, and only a handful of studies are able to explore their linkages together, especially at fine spatial scales. In this dissertation, I combine econometric and epidemiological methods to provide further insights into several dimensions of the intersection of heat, electricity, AC, and health in urban populations, and holistically assess these linked relationships together. In my first chapter, I characterize the response of urban electricity demand to temperature at fine temporal resolution across a subset of world cities, and quantify the impacts of future heat adaptation on net and peak energy demand under mid-century warming. Temperature-demand response functions and future demand impacts are heterogeneous across temperate and tropical cities, highlighting the important role that the structure of electricity demand plays alongside distributional temperature shifts in evaluating the impacts of climate change on future energy demand. In my second chapter, I construct fine spatial resolution estimates of any residential AC across a large set of US metropolitan areas. Inter-urban availability of AC exhibits a strong latitudinal gradient, while intra-urban AC is systematically unequally distributed within cities. This inequality is also negatively correlated with social vulnerability (SVI) and surface urban heat island intensity (SUHI), suggesting that differential AC compounds existing heat health disparities. In my third chapter, I additionally compute individual and ZCTA-level estimates of AC use on extreme heat days alongside individual probability of AC in California cities, and evaluate the differences in the moderating effects of these related attributes of heat vulnerability on heat-related hospital admissions. AC prevalence and AC use are correlated, but both measures of adaptation are only weakly correlated with social vulnerability within cities. The spatial distribution of health risks from extreme heat echoes spatial patterns of increasing social vulnerability, and both AC prevalence and use significantly modify the association between extreme heat and a number of health outcomes. However, effect estimates differ between AC prevalence and AC use, suggesting that AC ownership does not necessarily reflect AC usage, and, crucially, that there remain additional unobserved dynamics driving the heat-adaptation-health relationship. Identifying the underlying factors and determinants of population heat health vulnerability at the local scales in which impacts and adaptation decisions take place is necessary as cities and municipalities develop and refine heat resilience policies and climate adaptation strategies aimed at reducing heat health inequities and improving community well-being.
Forecasts from the deep past: using paleoclimate analogues to inform climate projections
(2023) Watkins, Aja; Bokulich, Alisa N.
This dissertation lies at the intersection of philosophy of climate science, philosophy of the historical sciences, philosophy of model-based science, and philosophy of data. I focus on epistemological and methodological issues concerning how scientists use episodes of climate change in Earth’s deep past that significantly resemble incipient climate change ("paleoclimate analogues") to inform their climate projections. I argue that we should conceptualize paleoclimate analogues as kind of climate model - a naturally-occurring, full-size, concrete model – and that viewing paleoclimate analogues through this lens has important philosophical implications. It follows, for instance, that the usefulness of models does not depend on our ability to experimentally manipulate them (we cannot manipulate the deep past). I also argue that the historical sciences can be predictive: they can use the past as a guide to the future. I give several recommendations for scientists, including some guidance on how to manage, process, and evaluate paleoclimate data in order for it to be used to inform our climate projections, despite various sources of error and uncertainty inherent to our reconstructions of the deep past. I close with some general reflections on "using the past as a guide to the future," within the context of paleoclimate analogues and beyond.