The classical guitar in Paris: Composers and performers c.1920-1960

The rise in status and popularity, and even the acceptance of the classical guitar, is a twentieth-century phenomenon which owes much to the labour of the famed Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia. It is because of the talents of Segovia and his contemporaries that the classical guitar has a wealth of first-class repertoire to call its own. Since the conception of the first twentieth-century work composed specifically for the classical guitar by Manuel de Falla, and because of the efforts of Segovia, a great interest in the instrument-and a large body of guitar music has come out of France. This dissertation examines the key figures in relation to the guitar in Paris in the mid twentieth-century, approximately between the years 1920 to 1960. Special emphasis has been given to important French guitarists and French composers who wrote for the guitar. The nature and importance of the works composed for guitar and their relevance and popularity (both in the past and at present) will also be discussed. It is with hope that this thesis may open the doors to a body of works to which many guitarists may be ignorant

Variable Patterns in Spur and Groove Reef Morphology Explained by Physical Controls and their Relevance for Platform-Top Sedimentology

Spur and groove (SaG) morphology is a common ornamentation of reef-armored Holocene carbonate platform margins. Composed of margin-normal promontories constructed of coral framestone, termed “spurs”, interleaved with similarly orientated gullies, “grooves”, this morphology varies based on a host of physical controls. Primarily, the surrounding oceanographic conditions as well as the size and shape of the platform the SaG is encompassing, directly influence the development and organization of SaG. Since grooves act as conduits for carbonate sediment transport, this study seeks to examine the relationship between SaG organization dictated by platform size and shape and how that in turn influences platform-top sedimentation. The analysis reveals trends that suggest platform shape plays a larger role than platform size in allowing highly organized SaG to develop on multiple margins around the platform. In turn, those trends would suggest these sites to have more stable platform top sediment deposits. However, many variables go in to the creation and maintenance of platform top cays. While this study enhanced the current understanding of how oceanographic conditions influence SaG development and organization, expanding on the concepts and results found in this study coupled with coring data of SaG and platform-top cays, could further link the connection between SaG and sediment transport

Flight Investigation of a Roll-stabilized Missile Configuration at Varying Angles of Attack at Mach Numbers Between 0.8 and 1.79

A missile research model was flown at supersonic speed to determine the quality of automatic roll stabilization at varying angles of attack. Aerodynamic rolling and pitching derivatives were determined from the flight record. It was concluded that the combination of the gyro-actuated automatic pilot with wing-tip ailerons provided adequate roll stabilization under conditions encountered in flight

Method for determining the frequency-response characteristics of an element or system from the system transient output response to a known input function

A method is presented for the determination of the frequency-response characteristics of an element or system by utilizing the transient output response to a known but arbitrary input to the system. Since the application of special inputs, such as step functions or sinusoids, is often imperfect or impractical, a method for utilizing arbitrary inputs is desirable. Simple flight-test data may be reduced by this method to give the frequency response of an aircraft. Examples are given as determinations of aircraft frequency responses; however, the method can be applied to any type of dynamic system, such as automatic-control components, vibration-absorption equipment, and many types of instruments. The method requires that the arbitrary input function tend to a finite value after a finite time and that the system or element output be measured as a representative quantity having a static sensitivity. (author