ORIGINAL CLARINET QUARTET WORKS OF MIKE CURTIS AND JOSH SPAULDING: AN ANALYSIS AND PERFORMANCE GUIDE

The clarinet quartet genre is a popular chamber ensemble for the instrument and is one that has little to no history available discussing its origins and development. Following a brief theoretical history of the clarinet quartet genre, the works of two 21st century composers are explored throughout the remainder of the document. Mike Curtis and Josh Spaulding’s compositions for clarinet quartet are extraordinary examples of the works that exist for this chamber ensemble. A biography and compositional background is supplied for each composer, followed by individual chapters discussing the composers’ original works for clarinet quartet that utilize the instrumentation of four B-flat soprano clarinets or three B-flat soprano clarinets and B-flat bass clarinet. Those works are: Bulgarian Bat Bite, Global Tour, Polyglot, and Mexican Fantasies by Mike Curtis and Conversial Hairbows, Shadows of Ourselves, and Trois Emblèmes de la Solitude by Josh Spaulding. Each chapter provides an analysis of the work as well as a performance guide to provide ensembles with useful information

Open Educational Resource (OER) Adoption in Higher Education: Examining Institutional Perspectives

The costs associated with education, including tuition and learning resources, continue to rise causing affordability issues for learners. It has been reported that the cost of traditional textbooks and materials has risen by as much as 103% over the past decade (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). Due to this increase, many students have opted out of purchasing required textbooks for classes. A study conducted in Florida found that 67% of students did not purchase required textbooks (Florida Virtual Campus, 2016). Institutions of Higher Education are becoming increasingly concerned with textbook affordability and the impact on academic performance, achievement, and completion (Jhangiani, Dastur, LeGrand, & Penner, 2018). These institutions have begun delving deeper into the issues associated with textbook affordability and seeking ways to reverse the negative effects experienced by learners due to rising textbook costs. The implementation of open educational resources (OER) may be the solution, however, the impact of these resources is still undefined. OERs are being examined as cost-effective substitutions to traditional textbooks and literature suggests that OERs are equally effective and are comparable in quality to traditional textbooks (Hilton, n.d.). Current literature recommends further exploration concerning stakeholder perspectives of OER adoption and integration as well as examining the impact of OERs across educational institutions globally. A case study conducted at a state college in Florida sought to examine the perspectives of a group of four identified stakeholder groups (i.e., faculty, librarians, instructional designers, and students) in order to better understand the impact of these OERs at the institutional level (Wright, 2018)

Teaching Qualitative Research Online: Using Technology to Leverage Student Engagement

Three faculty colleagues collaborated to effectively pilot the concept of an online community to integrate innovative technologies for learning qualitative research concepts and skills in an online research course. The strategies implemented resulted in engaged students with improved research skills. Students also expressed how much they enjoyed learning and implementing concepts of qualitative research. Technologies that were integrated included cutting-edge apps, social media, and Blackboard collaboration tools. The team followed the ASSURE model (Smaldino, Lowther, Russell, & Mims, 2015) to plan and implement for effective integration of technology and media

What skills and knowledge do clothing and textile graduates need for the workforce? Qualitative reflections from clothing and textile faculty and industry professionals

The question of how to best prepare students for jobs in the fast-paced and ever-changing clothing and textiles (CT) industry is important because students face an increasingly competitive job market upon graduation. CT scholars have consistently conducted research with this question as their foundation (e.g., Albloushy, Frazier, & Yun, 2012; Hodges, Yurchisin, Karpova, Marcketti, Hegland, & Yan, 2012; Kean, Eckman, Ellis, Miller, & Vineyard, 2013; Ma & Hahn, 2014). The purpose of this study was to provide an updated assessment of the skills and knowledge that CT faculty and industry professionals have deemed critical and marketable for students to succeed in industry jobs. In so doing, the work of the aforementioned scholars is updated and available for faculty use to assist with teaching and curriculum development processes

Student and faculty perceptions of the development and use of Massive Open Online Courses in clothing and textiles education

Online learning environments are increasingly common in clothing and textiles (CT) education (e.g., see “Special Courses” on itaaonline.org). The newest variation is called a Massive Open Online Course (or MOOC). MOOCs are similar to college courses, but were developed in an attempt to revolutionize higher education. They are online courses aiming at large-scale global participation (e.g., up to thousands of students). Students can work at their own pace and on their own time, as well as further enhance learning through the use of social media for peer-interaction

Student and faculty perceptions of online clothing and textile courses

An exploratory evaluation of ITAA proceedings from the past five years indicates that there have been limited studies regarding practices and assignments in online clothing and textile (CT) courses. It is important to continue assessment of online education in the CT discipline because the most recent “Going the Distance: Online Education in the United States” report indicates that 31.1% of college students are enrolled in an online course with a 10% or more increase in enrollment each year since 2002 (Allen & Seaman, 2013). The purpose of this research was to obtain perceptions and evaluations regarding CT online courses. In so doing, the current status of online education in this discipline can be assessed and potentially improved

Student, faculty, and industry perceptions of the development and use of Massive Open Online Courses in clothing and textiles education: Continuing studies

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) rose to popularity in 2012. Jawaharlal (2015) explains that MOOCs are transforming from a “social experiment to becoming a standard” as online courses and learning platforms become more accepted in higher education (para. 11). This paper extends the ongoing discussion about MOOCs in clothing and textile education (CT) (see Reeves-DeArmond, Mower, & Nishida, 2013, 2014) and presents the results of a study that explored student, faculty, and industry professionals’ perceptions of MOOCs in CT education. This paper also adds to the ongoing discussion by including the perceptions of CT industry professionals

Teaching Qualitative Research Online: Using Technology to Leverage Student Engagement

Three faculty colleagues collaborated to effectively pilot the concept of an online community to integrate innovative technologies for learning qualitative research concepts and skills in an online research course. The strategies implemented resulted in engaged students with improved research skills. Students also expressed how much they enjoyed learning and implementing concepts of qualitative research. Technologies that were integrated included cutting-edge apps, social media, and Blackboard collaboration tools. The team followed the ASSURE model (Smaldino, Lowther, Russell, & Mims, 2015) to plan and implement for effective integration of technology and media

Optical Readout in a Multi-Module System Test for the ATLAS Pixel Detector

The innermost part of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, CERN, will be a pixel detector. The command messages and the readout data of the detector are transmitted over an optical data path. The readout chain consists of many components which are produced at several locations around the world, and must work together in the pixel detector. To verify that these parts are working together as expected a system test has been built up. In this paper the system test setup and the operation of the readout chain is described. Also, some results of tests using the final pixel detector readout chain are given.Comment: 6 pages, 10 figures, Pixel 2005 proceedings preprin