California's Proposition 8: What Happened, and What Does the Future Hold?

Analyzes the characteristics of voters most likely to have supported or opposed Proposition 8 in 2008, including party affiliation, religiosity, and age. Reviews exit poll data suggesting strong African-American support for the measure

Accretion and Acrylics: Composition Portfolio with Commentary

This portfolio consists of nine compositions and an accompanying commentary on each of the pieces. The earlier compositions represent the exploration of preoccupations with canon, counterpoint, and rhythmically-charged, pulsating mobiles. This led to the further research elements incorporating the development of rhythmic motifs and their proliferation, culminating in static sonic canvases, slowing the rate of harmonic change. Investigative research into the various gradations applied to amplitude levels, first explored in my electronic music and then applied in the form of dynamics in my acoustic writing, represents another highly-featured process in this thesis. The opening chapters chart the processes of the compositional techniques attained over the course of the degree, with reference to my musical background, my interest in timbre and rhythmic development, through the exploration of electronic music. With reference to the study of softwares, for sampling and synthesis allowing for the manipulation of sounds, by changing registers, pitch, by time stretching alongside the myriad of synthesis applications available, I reference some of the cross-fertilization processes with regards to my acoustic compositions. The nine compositions ranging from duo to orchestral works mark the culmination of four years of research embracing the aforementioned features, leading to the development of my current aesthetic of music

The perception of the desirability of instituting peer Critical Incidence Stress Debriefing within a local Municipal Fire and Rescue Service

Bibliography: leaves 75-84.This study explores the perceived desirability within a sample of fire fighters of introducing a peer Critical Incidence Stress Debriefing (CISO) support structure within the Fire and Rescue Services of Blaauwberg Municipality. The research took the form of a descriptive inquiry by means of a semi-structured interview using a questionnaire developed by the writer. The research findings indicated that generally support was given to the notion of peer CISD structures, subject to some concerns that would need to be addressed through effective training and planning. From the finding it can be identified that peer support is desirable, and provided a CISD system is structured in a careful, nonthreatening manner, wiHlead to development on both a micro and macro level

Effecting Data Quality Through Data Governance: a Case Study in the Financial Services Industry

One of the most significant challenges faced by senior management today is implementing a data governance program to ensure that data is an asset to an organization\u27s mission. New legislation aligned with continual regulatory oversight, increasing data volume growth, and the desire to improve data quality for decision making are driving forces behind data governance initiatives. Data governance involves reshaping existing processes and the way people view data along with the information technology required to create a consistent, secure and defined processes for handling the quality of an organization\u27s data. In examining attempts to move towards making data an asset in organizations, the term data governance helps to conceptualize the break with existing ad hoc, siloed and improper data management practices. This research considers a case study of large financial services company to examine data governance policies and procedures. It seeks to bring some information to bare on the drivers of data governance, the processes to ensure data quality, the technologies and people involved to aid in the processes as well as the use of data governance in decision making. This research also addresses some core questions surrounding data governance, such as the viability of a golden source record, ownership and responsibilities for data, and the optimum placement of a data governance department. The findings will provide a model for financial services companies hoping to take the initial steps towards better data quality and ultimately a data governance capability

The Effects of Physical and Mental Foci on Self-Regulatory Persistence

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Indiana University, Psychology, 2015Given the tendency for humans to dichotomize phenomena into mental and physical categories, the present work explored the consequences of this dichotomization within the domain of self-control exertion. In particular, these studies develop an individual difference of mental-physical interactionism, manipulate situational features promoting a focus on mental or physical phenomena, and examine how these factors influence perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral responding in self-control contexts. Results show that these factors show independent and interactive effects on metrics of task construal, subjective pain, and overall self-control exertion. Such findings warrant future inquiry on the role of metaphysical representations within the domain of self-control, as well as within other domains of psychological and physiological science

Understanding Conflict of Interest for Academic Entrepreneurs

A conflict of interest (COI) is defined as the presence of a risk for an undue influence on primary goals due to a secondary goal such as financial gain. Individuals must understand that the mere presence of the risk, and not the actual occurrence of the undue influence, constitutes a potential COI. In biomedical research, COI policies protect human subjects and research integrity while preserving public trust. Damage caused by actual research misconduct is severe and creates wide and long-lasting public mistrust. Thus, individuals should not view COI policies as burdensome and instead should consider them as preventative strategies that protect them from broader repercussions after a concern for research bias has been raised. The disclosure of individual financial relationships is a critical but limited first step in the process of identifying and managing COIs. The presence and severity of a COI in an individual’s disclosure are assessed by the insti­tution’s COI committee to determine appropriate strategies for the management of the COI, such as the need for more specific disclosure information, restriction of the individual’s role in the research, or even, in some circumstances, the elimination of a conflicting relationship

Foreign direct investment and inequality in developing countries: does sector matter?

Scholars have studied the relationship between inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and within-country income inequality in cross-national contexts, but have not empirically investigated how FDI in different sectors might affect inequality in different ways. We use error correction models to analyze sectoral FDI data compiled from UNCTAD investment reports in 41 middle-income countries from 1989 to 2010, arguing that FDI in services is more likely to be associated with inequality than FDI in other sectors. We argue that skill biases and changes in employment patterns associated with service sector investments can help explain these findings

Enriching Metadata for Irish Traditional Music at the American Folklife Center

In the past ten years, a number of digital projects have demonstrated the possibilities afforded by developing semantic ontologies. Linked Jazz, for example, continues to demonstrate how discoveries can aid libraries and archives in re-imagining the representation of their holdings that contain music. The recently published Linked Irish Traditional Music project (or LITMUS), is further testimony to value of Linked Data for Irish traditional music, song and dance. Connections in Sound (CIS) is a Linked Data case study focused on exploring Irish traditional music in audio collections from the American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress. The project team worked closely with reference librarians to identify metadata from fieldworker and recordist documentation and transcribing audio data from a range of performance contexts. The resultant wide range of metadata allowed CIS to make connections between and unite metadata descriptions of audio material that had previously existed within separate sections of the archive. The study demonstrates the particularities of a range of metadata, formats and fieldwork methods from material in collections that span the twentieth century at the AFC. CIS pilots a number of digital methods to explore how material from disparate sources may be brought together and visualised with the digital re-combination of metadata. The project progressed in an iterative, experimental way. This pilot seeks to contribute to discussions on Linked Data, for best practices, methods for analyzing, gathering and representing data. CIS suggests potentials for continued research in this area and offers insight into advancements for Linked Data with traditional music in general. The project is also supported up by a survey of musicians across North America who perform Irish traditional music in order to understand the nuances of their interaction with sound files from archives such as those within the American Folklife Center

Insider or outsider? Exploring some digital challenges in ethnomusicology

This paper considers debates that have taken place in ethnomusicology as a result of engagement with the classification of data. Landmark projects over the past century introduced various classification systems and initiated important debates within the field. From the author’s perspective, classification of data is understood as a necessary precursor to computation in these projects. Classificatory thinking is used here as a theme to explore debates that have arisen when abstractions of musical practice have been suggested for use with ethnomusicology. The paper proposes that a recent approach to research practice for embedding computation adds to ongoing interdisciplinary work, demonstrating novel ways of contextualizing archival materials with ethnography alongside computation. The approach attempted to strike a balance for engaging large amounts of data in ethnomusicology. The paper argues that some resulting tensions arising from classification lead to insights, which cannot be drawn by ethnomusicological methods alone