14,822 research outputs found

    Doctor of Philosophy

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    dissertationThis dissertation is composed of three essays about style discourse in fashion consumption. For the first chapter I developed a conceptual model to unravel the political process of meaning making between marketers and consumers. In particular, I draw on the concepts in the discourse theory of Laclau and Mouffe to develop the conceptual model to analyze the data of Chapter 2 and 3. The second chapter explores the mainstream discourse of having personal style with respect to fashion. For this second study, data have been collected from the TLC TV series What Not to Wear, an American reality television show that is based on a British Show of the same name. I chose episodes selected in What Not to Wear: Best of DVD with run time of 10 hours and 45 minutes. Transcripts of these episodes were produced and I analyzed how the notions of self, fashion, and style are intertwined in the discourse of the program. In this program the conflicts between the nominee and fashion consultants are prevalent components and there is some extent of negotiation between the two parties. Therefore, I also focus on this negotiation process and reveal how the hosts of the show win over the nominees. For the third chapter, I turn to the fans of the show What Not to Wear. Using postings on the web forum of the program I examined the ways fans integrate the cultural discourse of fashion on the program into their lives. Since there was an ample amount of data on the web forum, I sampled only the postings that were related to the episodes used in the second study. The focus of analysis is on the identification process of audience members: who do audience members identify with and how does such identification lead to specific ways of incorporating the fashion knowledge of the program? This study is expected to contribute to better understanding of how fashion reality shows have influence on consumption behaviors of audience members

    OVERTURE TO A DREAM

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    ABSTRACT Title of dissertation: OVERTURE TO A DREAM Hyun Jeong Kim, Doctor of Musical Arts, 2010 Dissertation directed by: Professor Lawrence Moss School of Music This piece is not intended as program music. The title does not literally represent the piece itself, but rather my thoughts (my "dreams") while I was writing the piece - in short, my vision, hope, and desires - - all the things that I have always dreamed of. In traditional opera, the overture raises the curtain on the action which will follow. It gives the audience a sense of expectancy as well as a hint of how the plot will turn out. Similarly, my "Overture to a Dream" raises the "curtain" of hope that opens on my journey to my life's dreams. I wrote this piece in a free-rondo structure. Then, I let my inner instinct guide me so that musical material comes into play "naturally" rather than following a rigid structural formula. I wanted to follow a flow which keeps coming back to the dynamic theme introduced in the beginning. Its last appearance brings down the curtain. A word that I¬¬ engraved in my mind while I was composing throughout this music was: contrast. The word led me to compose a Western piece that expresses an apparent contrast with an Eastern sensibility that uses thematic material and motive development from Western compositional technique. From the very beginning of this musical journey I have constantly strived towards an ideal orchestral sound using standard orchestral instruments, rather than pursuing distinctive, innovative, or experimental music. In conclusion, I had a wonderful opportunity to transform my Eastern way which emphasizes slow movement, chamber sonorities and absence of beat, with a dynamic Western language which emphasizes rhythm, "strong" sound and complicated texture

    Development of the functional progress measure for residents with dementia in long-term care facilities (FPM-D)

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    Aside from a change in their physical environment from home to a long-term care facility, most clients with dementia in a long-term care (LTC) setting experience an advanced level of degenerative change in both cognitive and body functions, which leads to increasing challenges in engagement in occupation. To analyze their occupational performance, establish therapy goals, and measure the outcomes of intervention, occupational therapy practitioners use assessment tools in the therapy process (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2014). However, there is the significant mismatch between existing assessment tools and the clinical need to properly capture functional progress in residents with dementia in a LTC setting. Therefore, this project introduces the FPM-D, which was specifically designed for residents with moderate to moderately severe dementia in LTC facilities. To maximize the usefulness of this new instrument, the author reviewed previous attempts made to address the need and obtained feedback from current occupational therapy practitioners in this setting. This new assessment tool is 1) designed to assess the function of clients with dementia; 2) has a progress-tracking feature with different timelines; 3) takes less than 15 minutes for administration; 4) allows customization of target activities, 5) includes only items appropriate for a LTC setting; and 6) assesses both cognitive and physical aspects of function based on the Cognitive Model in occupational therapy practice (Lazzarini, 2005). Along with the development process, this project includes plans for evaluation and dissemination. The follow-up study for evaluation aims to investigate the usefulness of the instrument in the LTC clinical setting and dissemination activities focus on disseminating this innovation in occupational therapy practice. The author believes that this new instrument will make a positive contribution to the quality of occupational therapy services in LTC facilities by effectively meeting the clinical needs of residents with dementia
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