The Use of Wienerisch in Der Rosenkavalier: A Dialect Analysis

This thesis analyzes the use of Viennese (Wienerisch) in Der Rosenkavalier—an opera composed by Richard Strauss with libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. This analysis will be used to discuss how proper representation can help make characters more relatable and enjoyable for the participating audience, as well as give proper insight into the background of a character and how that may influence their motives throughout the performance. To support this analysis, a brief historical and sociolinguistic analysis of Viennese is introduced. A phonetic comparison, by way of specific scene examples, of Nico Castel’s 2002 International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcription and translation, phonetic transcription based on David Adams’ traditional Standard German Diction Rules for Singers, and the performers’ choice in the use of Viennese is also introduced. Scenes are compared from performance examples by The Royal Opera Covert Garden (1985), Film with the Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra (1994), Festspielhaus Baden-Baden (2009), and The Metropolitan Opera (2017)

Water Inaccessibility in South Africa: Current Spatial Patterns and Future Impacts of Climate Change

Globally, billions of people face water insecurity, negatively impacting not only health but other facets of their lives. Prior research indicates that water security is not evenly distributed between nor within populations, and inequities are predicated upon many factors, including gender and wealth. One aspect in the complex landscape of water insecurity is accessibility, the focus of this research. We aim to explore water accessibility in South Africa, a nation with a complicated relationship with water, by examining the association of current water access with various sociodemographic characteristics. Further, we look at the potential effects of future climate change on existing water inaccessibility. Using a nationwide, representative survey, we mapped water inaccessibility hotspots across the country. We used a logistic regression model to study the association between water inaccessibility and household characteristics. Using predictions for precipitation levels under various climate models, we mapped and plotted the relationship between locations of current water inaccessibility and decreases in precipitation in the coming decades. We found rural location and larger household size to be associated with increased water inaccessibility. Increasing wealth index was associated with decreased water inaccessibility. While hotspots of water inaccessibility were detected, we did not find relationship between these locations of current water inaccessibility and projected precipitation declines. This research is significant in its potential to influence policy decisions about where to target water accessibility interventions in the present. Although the data did not show future declines in precipitation to be associated with current water inaccessibility, there are likely other factors that are associated with these changes, highlighting the need for more research to influence targeted interventions in the coming decades as the climate crisis continues

“To Follow the Bright Star”: American Involvement in the Spanish Civil War and the Shaping of the U.S. Popular Front, 1937-1938

This thesis explores how American volunteers in the Spanish Civil War worked to create a unified Popular Front, a coalition of left-leaning political groups, in the United States in the late 1930s. Between 1937 and 1938, approximately 2800 Americans volunteered in the Spanish Republican Army to defend the Spanish Republic in the civil war that followed General Francisco Franco’s Nationalist coup. At the start of the war, Germany, Portugal, and Italy declared support for the insurgents and turned an isolated civil war into an international conflict centered around fascism. While the United States established a policy of non-intervention, the Soviet Union and International Communist Party officially supported the Spanish Republicans. Because of this, American involvement in the Spanish Civil War was largely coordinated by the International Communist Party and the Soviet Union. This, coupled with the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States following World War II, has created the tendency to equate American volunteers in Spain with an arm of the Soviet Union. Examining their correspondence during the Spanish Civil War, however, reveals a diversity of political motivations for volunteering in Spain. This thesis argues that volunteers minimized political differences within the Popular Front in order to appeal to moderates back in the United States and persuade the U.S. government to end its position of neutrality. United States volunteers intentionally unified the American Left during the Spanish Civil War in response to the threat of fascism, a threat that volunteers believed included domestic concerns regarding race, ethnicity, and class oppression

Big Data, Congress, and the Rhetoric of Technology: Or, How to Industrialize Cyberspace

As new and developing technologies impact public and private life, rhetoricians would be remiss to overlook the deliberative rhetorics that justify their development, implementation, use-value, and impact. Using the 2013 joint congressional hearing “Next Generation Computing and Big Data Analytics” as an example, I argue that justificatory rhetorics about technology intersect with rhetoric from technology, obscuring information vital to critical deliberation. I demonstrate that the expert witnesses at this hearing draw upon rhetoric traditionally associated with American industrialization. Doing so allows them to articulate Big Data as a resource situated upon a metaphorical, American landscape and thus encourages the public to treat it as a natural resource that must be exploited for the betterment of the nation. Ultimately, I argue the use of this rhetoric dissuades critical analysis of the worth of Big Data and investigation of its technical aspects. This raises troubling questions about the ability of rhetoric about technology to both veil and guides what the public accepts as ethical rhetoric from technology

The Rhetoric of Big Data: Collecting, Interpreting, and Representing in the Age of Datafication

Rhetorical studies of science, technology, and medicine (RSTM) have provided critical understanding of how argument and argument norms within a field shape what we mean by “data.” Work has also examined how questions that shape data collection are asked, how data is interpreted, and even how data is shared. Understood as a form of argument, data reveals important insights into rhetorical situations, the motives of rhetorical actors, and the broader appeals that shape everything from the kinds of technologies built, to their inclusion in our daily lives, to the infrastructures of cities, the medical practices and policies concerning public health, etc. Big data merits continued attention from RSTM scholars as our understanding of its pervasive use and its ethos grows, but its arguments remain elusive (Salvo, 2012). To unpack the elusivity of big data, we explore one particularly illustrative case of big data and political, democratic influence: the Cambridge Analytica scandal. To understand the case, we turn to social studies of data to explore the range of ethical issues raised by big data, and to examine the rhetorical strategies that entail big data

NFL Penalty Analysis, Referee Influence and Penalty Trends Over Time

One of the biggest determinants of how American football is played are the rules which dictate what actions within the game are legal. Violations result in penalties of varying degrees, which can significantly impact the course of a game. This thesis examines NFL penalties over the last twenty years, focusing on understanding the effect of individual referees and home-field bias, changes in penalties over time, and the differences between NFL teams’ penalties. While a statistical analysis did not find evidence supporting individual referee bias, there was a significant decrease in penalties for the years 2005 through 2008. Additionally, there was a consistent and significant difference in penalties by team, with the Las Vegas Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, and Los Angeles Rams as the most-penalized teams, and the New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts as the least-penalized. Overall, the findings suggest structural explanations for penalty trends, such as major rule changes and organizational culture, rather than individual referee influence

The impact of adding fetal MRI to sonographically diagnosed intrauterine ventriculomegaly: a prospective cohort study

Objective: Intrauterine fetal ventriculomegaly (IVM) is one of the most commonly detected fetal anomalies. Prenatal diagnosis in IVM is considered a challenge with a significant impact on management. The current study aims to evaluate the added value of performing fetal MRI to sonographically diagnosed IVM. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted at a tertiary University Hospital in the period between January 2017 and March 2019. We included pregnant women with a single fetus sonographically diagnosed IVM (symmetrical or asymmetrical). First, a basic obstetric sonographic examination was done, followed by a detailed (2D/3D) fetal CNS anomaly scan for the detection of other associated anomalies. A fetal MRI brain scan was performed for all cases. Results: Sixty women were included in the study. Of the 60 fetuses with IVM, additional findings were seen on MRI in 14 cases (23%), and most of these findings were identified in fetuses with severe IVM (about 50%). No additional abnormalities were identified in fetuses of less than 24 weeks gestation. Callosal and septum pellucidum lesions (29%), along with posterior fossa abnormalities (28%) and cortical malformations (21%) accounted for the most common additional significant fetal MRI findings. Fetal MRI sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values in correlation with those of prenatal ultrasound turned out to be notably higher, approaching nearly 100 %. Conclusions: Fetal MRI for sonographically diagnosed moderate or severe IVM is recommended to guide clinical management