Emergence

Emergence was one of the first pieces I wrote when I came to Cedarville. It was a significant step in my learning experience as I employed different writing styles and scales. The name Emergence came about as I was listening to the finished piece. At first, the piece seems triumphant and glad, but then it retreats into a piercing dark for a time. However, the triumphant tune returns in the end, brighter than before. The piece reminded me of a walk a dark place. The dark portion reminded me of cautious steps through mysterious, eerie circumstances, but the ending signifies the traveler stepping into the light of a meadow beyond his dark journey

Locrian Rain Dance

I wrote this piece based on the first movement of a Ravel sonata. It is written primarily in the mode Locrian, which resembles a natural minor scale with a lowered second and a lowered fifth. It is commonly referred to as the darkest mode, which you may notice by the dissonance in this piece. Some staples of this piece are syncopation, rhythmic motifs, repeated melodic shapes, and, of course, dissonance. I called it Locrian Rain Dance, because the duet between the violin and cello remind me of fleet-footed routines. As you listen to the piece, try to feel the sense of yearning that underlies the piece. Let it remind you of a longing for rain

Film Score: The Romantic Ideal

Though film scores bear the marks of modern music in many ways, they are, in themselves, a Romantic endeavor. In this paper, I will discuss the history and development of film score as a musical style. I will then discuss the modern elements of film score. Finally I will categorize film score as a Romantic endeavor and make some predictions based on the implications of this idea. This style developed during the 20th century, so it does indeed bear some marks of modern composition. The biggest influence form the modern era is simply the vast diversity in compositional approaches and musical styles presented in film scores. Some of these approaches and styles can be identified with any of the music eras, including the modern era. However, what makes film score Romantic is the ideal. Romantic composers were obsessed with portraying emotion and feeling. The ultimate Romantic composition was always programatic, meaning it was a response to an extra-musical subject matter. Film score’s primary aim is to elicit an emotional response from its audience, which is, as I mentioned, a Romantic endeavor. Also, the music in films is incredibly programmatic since it is entirely dictated by the film. In fact, it would not be an appreciated classical art form if it were taken away from the film, because it often lacks aesthetic depth. Therefore, film music is, in itself, a Romantic endeavor

Heavy Droplets in the Light Rain

Heavy Droplets in Light Rain is a Bach-inspired, fast-paced violin solo. It’s a piece filled with minimalistic changes. Listen for the heavy droplets, the changing notes, among the light rain (the repeated patterns)

Aromatic Diimides - Potential Dyes for Use in Smart Films and Fibers

New aromatic diimide fluorescent dyes have been prepared with potential for use as chemical sensors and in chromogenic polymers. These dyes have been designed to utilize excited state electron transfer reactions as the means for sensing chemical species. For example, an aniline en-dcapped anthryl diimides functions effectively as an "on-off" sensor for pH and the detection of phosphoryl halide based chemical warfare agents, such as Sarin. In the absence of analytes, fluorescence from this dye is completely quenched by excited state electron transfer from the terminal amines. Reaction of these amines inhibits electron transfer and activates the fluorescence of the dye. Another substituted anthryl diimide is presented with the capability to detect pH and nitroaromatic compounds, such as TNT. Films prepared by doping small amounts (less than 0.1 weight percent) of several of these dyes in polymers such as linear low density polyethylene exhibit thermochromism. At room temperature, these films fluoresce reddish-orange. Upon heating, the fluorescence turns green. This process is reversible cooling the films to room temperature restores the orange emission

Giving Voice to the Voiceless: The Use of Digital Technologies by Marginalized Groups

This paper reports on a workshop hosted at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in September, 2018. The workshop, called “Giving Voice to the Voiceless: The Use of Digital Technologies by Marginalized Groups”, focused on discussing how marginalized groups use digital technologies to raise their voices. At the workshop, a diverse group of scholars and doctoral students presented research projects and perspectives on the role that digital technologies have in activist projects that represent marginalized groups that have gained momentum in the last few years. The studies and viewpoints presented shed light on four areas in which IS research can expand our understanding about how marginalized groups use digital technologies to address societal challenges: 1) the rise of cyberactivism, 2) resource mobilization for cyberactivism, 3) cyberactivism by and with marginalized groups, and 4) research methods for examining how marginalized groups use digital technologies

Self-disclosure in initial interactions amongst speakers of American and Australian English

Getting acquainted with others is one of the most basic interpersonal communication events. Yet there has only been a limited number of studies that have examined variation in the interactional practices through which unacquainted persons become acquainted and establish relationships across speakers of the same language. The current study focuses on self-disclosure practices in initial interactions between first language speakers of English from Australia and the United States. It was found that while both American and Australian participants volunteered self-disclosures in the context of presentation-eliciting questions, there was a noticeable tendency for the American participants to self-disclose without being prompted by questions from the other participant. We also found that there was a tendency for the Australians to use positive assessments in response to self-disclosures less often and with a lesser degree of intensity than the American participants. These tendencies in self-disclosure practices are argued to reflect the ways in which underlying cultural premises are used by participants. However, given that a significant degree of inter-speaker and same-speaker variability was also observed, it is concluded that the study of pragmatic variation be situated on the level of interactional routines, relational dyads, and upwards that are engaged in particular social activities