Social networking friendships: A cross-cultural comparison of network structure between MySpace and Wretch

A cross-cultural comparison of social networking friendship between MySpace (in USA) and Wretch (in Taiwan) was conducted utilizing the high- and low-context framework proposed by Edward T. Hall (1976). Three network indicators were used to describe the network structure of both social network sites: size, density, and heterogeneity. Data were drawn from the forum “Jobs, Work, Careers” on MySpace and “Job-Related” on Wretch over a 2-month period from mid-October to mid-December in 2007. For each of the 2 sites, 6 users (3 men and 3 women) were randomly selected as sources or “seeds” from which to crawl the friendship networks. From the 6 seed users, a snowball sample was constructed by crawling 2 degrees out along the networks. The results indicated that Wretch, although it followed the expected direction predicted by Hall’s model, did not have significantly larger and denser networks than MySpace. Finally, no differences in same-sex and cross-sex friendships were found between the 2 sites either. The overall findings are discussed with implications for future studies

New Media & Youth Identity. Issues and Research Pathways

Media have held a considerable and growing place in the social environment of industrial society in recent decades, transforming the perception that a people have of their place in the world and of their memberships and belonging, creating new paths for social relations, affecting lifestyles, socialization, and communication processes, and the construction of identity itself. The relationship between young people (especially teenagers and adolescents) and new media shows some peculiarities which are worth further reflection to understand the extent and outcomes of these social changes. This article aims to investigate the discourse on youth identity and new media in the social science literature, determining which are the key trends and exploring the more relevant research questions about this theme and the way these topics relate to one another. Titles and abstracts of articles published during the period 2004 \u2013 2013 were selected from the Scopus social sciences database and they were analysed using different content analysis techniques supported by the T-Lab software. The international literature on these topics presents a certain liveliness and heterogeneity in themes and its perspectives on theoretical and empirical research. Nevertheless, it has been possible to identify some key trends, focusing mainly on the idea of active identity construction by new media

The Role of Electronic Communication Processes Across the College Transition: Relations to the Maintenance and Formation of Friendships, Psychological Well-Being, and College Adjustment

Friendship experiences play a vital role in the adjustment of adolescents. Late adolescents transitioning to college negotiate the important developmental tasks of both maintaining close hometown friendships and developing new college friendships. Electronic communication has become a prevalent way to quickly and easily communicate, and friendships that incorporate electronic communication with in-person communication are higher in quality (Baiocco et al., 2011). For some adolescents, however, Internet use becomes excessive and problematic (Ha et al., 2007). The purpose of this investigation was to examine how individuals use different communication technologies with their existing hometown friends and their newer college friends, and how this relates to their friendship quality with both types of friends. The current study also explored how friendship quality relates to students’ college adjustment, whether social anxiety and depressive symptoms moderate the relationship between communication modality and friendship quality, how these psychological factors are related to problematic Internet use, and whether there are gender differences in these associations. Participants included 469 first-year undergraduate students (mean age 18.20 years, 48% male). Participants completed self-report measures online including measures of social anxiety and depressive symptoms, college adjustment, friendship quality, loneliness, and problematic Internet use. The current study revealed key findings, including that phone and in-person communication predicted college friendship quality for both genders. For males, texting and social networking site communication predicted hometown and college friendship quality, and for females, these modes of communication predicted college friendship quality. For females, college friendship quality significantly moderated the relationship between depressive symptoms and problematic Internet use, and hometown friendship quality marginally significantly moderated the relationship between social anxiety symptoms and problematic Internet use. For males, hometown friendship quality significantly moderated the relationship between depressive symptoms and problematic Internet use. Also, for the overall sample, college friendship quality marginally significantly moderated the relationship between loneliness and problematic Internet use. These findings indicate that different friendship experiences can have a protective effect in different situations. The results also reveal which types of communication may be most effective in strengthening friendships and facilitating students’ adjustment to college. Study limitations and future directions for research are discussed

Multiplicity as a process of experimental music

This PhD explores my practice through six new compositions of experimental music: Far Infrared (2015/18/19), “As Sure as Time…” (2016-), Amalgamations (2016-), Continuum (2017-), ُ وِيَّةُه (Huia) (2018-) and postcard-sized pieces (2020). Using the philosophical concept of multiplicity (discussed by Henri Bergson, Gilles Deleuze, and Alain Badiou) as a framework for the composition, realisation, and experience of this music, I highlight the heterogeneity of seemingly quantitative multiplicities. Key points of focus include considering the experience of sound, silence and durations, indeterminacy and interpretation, the notation, and musical situations (including space and collaboration) as qualitative multiplicities. Extensive research in experimental music, recent approaches to experimental music, and practice research methodologies form the background of this project. Prior knowledge within the field of experimental music is examined and extended, with case studies including Wandelweiser, and specific Wandelweiser composers such as Antoine Beuger and Emmanuelle Waeckerlé, as well as Éliane Radigue. Realisations of the six new compositions have been documented through audio recordings, videos, photographs, and scores, and are analysed and reflected upon in the exegesis, which influenced future situations and compositions in an iterative, reflexive cycle. As well as new compositions of experimental music, this research offers new perspectives on the concept of multiplicity as a paradigm to understand experimental music, particularly through the compositional process, realisation and listening experience. The compositions of this project explore multiplicity in various ways, such as series, flexibility of score and situations, types and experiences of silences, sustained sounds, duration, and instrumentation. Despite these traditionally being considered as quantitative multiplicities, I argue that they are qualitative through Badiou’s ontology of multiplicity due to their subjectivity, simultaneous and interwoven experiences of past and present, and all experiences not being complete. By considering multiplicities in this way, it highlights the complexity of experimental music practice

An Examination of the Educational and Pedagogical Correlations Between the Arizona State Standards for Musical Proficiency and an Annotated List of Select Wind Band Repertoire

abstract: ABSTRACT Wind band directors in the State of Arizona are required by the Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association (ABODA) to choose at least one music selection from the “State Lists of Required Compositions” of Florida, Texas, and/or Virginia for their ABODA scholastic concert band festival presentation and adjudication. The works could also be used for school performance. Additionally, the Arizona State Department of Education requires Certified Wind Band Teachers to use the Arizona Academic Standards in the Arts Music – Performing Ensembles (updated in 2015) as source material for the standard that should be met by the conclusion of the academic year. This research explores the educational and pedagogical correlations between the state standards and an annotated list of select Wind Ensemble repertoire. The Florida Bandmasters Association, Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association, and Texas’s University Interscholastic League’s lists of required compositions include thoughtfully selected titles that promote musical growth. A fourth list found in Richard Miles’ textbook series entitled Teaching Music Through Performance in Band (Volume 1-11) which promotes music education through rehearsal preparation and performance-based practices. This list will only include compositions that all four compilations selected. The list will convey the following information: 1. The average grade, title, composer and date of the composition 2. A brief program note about the composition 3. A description of each teaching standard covered by the selected repertoire Additionally, the author has decided to add some works to the list to ensure the inclusion of race and gender diversity. These additional works may one day make the state required performance lists as time allows the selection process to catch up with the volume of repertoire added.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Music 201

The conceptualization of a theoretical framework for a music intervention to improve auditory development in very preterm infants

Very preterm infants are at a high risk for language delays that can persist throughout their lifetime. The auditory system is rapidly developing and highly sensitive to acoustic stimulation during the third trimester of pregnancy. The acoustic nature of the womb provides the essential foundation for auditory perceptual skills necessary for language acquisition. In contrast, the NICU environment presents a wider spectrum of sounds that can alter the early development of the auditory system and cause delays in language acquisition. Research supports the importance of early exposure to speech sounds for optimal development of auditory perceptual ability and the critical role of the intrauterine characteristics of language. Pitches below 300 Hz, as well as rhythmic patterns and prosodic contours are highly salient intrauterine features of language that make up the infant’s initial auditory experience. The purpose of this study is to form a theoretical framework as a structure for understanding how intrauterine speech characteristics of pitch, rhythm, and prosody can be implemented as active ingredients in a music intervention to improve auditory development and long-term language outcomes in very premature infants. The framework is presented and described in detail. Implications for a future research agenda and applications for clinical practice are explored

Winthrop University Undergraduate Scholarship & Creative Activity 2018

University College and Winthrop University proudly present Undergraduate Scholarship and Creative Activity 2018. This seventh annual University-wide compilation of undergraduate work chronicles the accomplishments of students and faculty mentors from at least 32 academic departments and programs, spanning all five colleges of the university: College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), College of Business Administration (CBA), College of Education (COE), College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) and University College (UC).https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/undergradresearch_abstractbooks/1016/thumbnail.jp

A Phenomenology of Collaboration in Contemporary Composition and Performance

ABSTRACT A PHENOMENOLOGY OF COLLABORATION IN CONTEMPORARY COMPOSITION AND PERFORMANCE This thesis considers how collaboration between composer and performer affects the practice of these musicians. The established paradigm for the creation of new work in the context of contemporary classical music promotes separation between composers and performers. Typically the composer is seen as ‘creator’, the performer as ‘interpreter’, and the audience as the ‘recipient’ of the music. This inherent hegemony creates division between these musicians, creating expressive barriers in the development and the dissemination of new work. In this research, the creative processes of both composition and performance are assessed in the context of collaborative practice, in a continuum where both composers and performers are seen as integrated elements within music making. In order to evaluate collaborative practice between composer and performer I commissioned five Irish composers to write solo bass clarinet pieces for me to perform. These five individual cases provided an opportunity to examine collaboration in a practical framework. An integral part of each commission was the examination of collaboration through the careful documentation of the creative processes of interactive practice. Over the course of a year I worked collaboratively with the composers concerned in a series of practical sessions where the new works were discussed and tried out. A key part of these meetings was the investigation of various elements relating to collaboration, including notation, improvisation and transmission. A significant amount of data was collected in the course of this examination including audio recordings and transcripts of meetings. The findings from this research indicate that collaboration between composers and performers can have significant beneficial effects on musicians’ practice. These benefits include increased motivation, creative stimulation, multiple communication modes and notational clarification. These represent some of the practical findings from this investigation of the effect collaboration has on the practice of composers and performers