Music as a Cultural Gateway: A Short-Term Folk Music Program in Albania

Folk songs have been described as a musical representation of a society’s entire culture. The field of ethnomusicology combines aspects of music and anthropology, and the study of folk music can give considerable insight into worldviews, histories, and traditions. Yet there are few study abroad program providers using this discipline as an approach to cultural analysis and exploration. The proposed Middlebury Music Studies in Albania program would introduce diverse folk music traditions in three distinct cities, giving students the chance to learn the basics of the Albanian language, understand the historical, geographical, and social influences on the music in the past, and analyze the significance of folk music as it relates to current issues of Albanian identity. A series of individual interviews was conducted, and the resulting data informed the program design and supported the rationale and needs assessment. This program would be proposed as a one-time Summer Study course at Middlebury, and would tie in well with the institutional goal of developing Middlebury’s global network. The combination of coursework, co-curricular activities, and guided reflection would provide an appropriate and effective introduction to Albanian folk music, complete with the cultural learning and engagement that is at the heart of Middlebury’s international programs

Studio e controllo di una trasmissione ibrida elettrica per macchine operatrici

La crescente necessità di ridurre i consumi energetici e le emissioni inquinanti ha incrementato, negli ultimi anni, l'interesse verso i veicoli a propulsione elettrica e ibrida elettrica. Il settore dei veicoli industriali può trarre notevoli benefici dall’utilizzo di queste propulsioni alternative, grazie alle basse velocità operative, ai frequenti start and stop durante l’esecuzione dei cicli di lavoro e le lunghe fasi di idling in cui il veicolo rimane fermo ed il motore termico viene impiegato per gestire l’attuazione degli organi utensili. In questo lavoro di tesi è stata studiata un’innovativa propulsione ibrida elettrica con architettura serie-parallelo per pale gommate, con lo scopo di aumentare l'efficienza complessiva del veicolo, ottimizzando il flusso energetico sia per la propulsione che per l'attuazione. La configurazione serie è un’ottima soluzione quando la richiesta di potenza è limitata, mentre, nelle fasi di massima trazione, si sfruttano i benefici dell’ibrido parallelo per assistere il motore termico e gestire le richieste impulsive di potenza con il sistema elettrico, riducendo così il consumo di combustibile. Utilizzando un ingranaggio epicicloidale è possibile scindere il movimento del motore termico da quello delle ruote, mantenendo l’intero powertrain sempre nel punto di lavoro corrispondente alla massima efficienza. In questo lavoro è stato realizzato un modello matematico della pala gommata con propulsione ibrida elettrica, un supervisore per la gestione dei flussi energetici ed un controllo per la propulsione e l’attuazione degli organi ausiliari. The increasing necessity of reducing energy consumption and pollutant emissions has involved automotive industry promoting, in recent years, electric and hybrid electric vehicle propulsions. The industrial vehicles can obtain important benefits using these alternative powertrains, thanks to low operating speeds, frequently start and stop during duty cycles and long idling phases in which the vehicle is stationary and the engine is used to manage the tools. In this thesis, a novel series-parallel hybrid electric powertrain for wheel loaders was studied, with the aim of increasing global vehicle efficiency, optimizing energy flow for propulsion and actuation. The series configuration is the best solution when the power demand is limited, while, in the maximum traction phases, we exploit the benefits of the parallel hybrid solution to assist the engine and manage the pulse power demand with the electrical system, thus reducing fuel consumption. Using a planetary gearset we can separate the engine working point from the wheel movement, keeping the entire powertrain always in the maximum efficiency working point. In this work a mathematical model of the wheel loader with hybrid electric powertrain has been studied, and a energy flows management supervisor and a control for propulsion and auxiliary actuation have been proposed

Incorporating Music into the Classroom

Music itself has a way of changing what we all think and how we behave. It simulates the mind, body, and soul. Although, music changes with different generations and it remains one of the most important ways to teach students, from early childhood education through elementary school. As teachers we see the successes of each student and sometime with one it just takes, “... a moment in the middle of the song when [she] suddenly felt every heartbeat in the room and after that [she] never forgot that [she] was part of something much bigger” (Andreas). The idea of bringing music into elementary classrooms may be considered difficult for some teachers. What if with the support of teachers, music integrated academics could support students’ concentration and memorization, and lead to a more engaged learning environment? Therefore, the purpose of this study is to discover the strategies that teachers use to create a classroom full of music, one that incorporates music into the classroom daily. This study addresses the following research question: How does the use of music in a general education classroom affect the learning of elementary school students? In order to collect data, the researcher observed music in the classroom in two different elementary school classrooms in California. Observations notes were taken at the time when teachers incorporated music into academic lessons. The anticipated results indicate that teachers use a variety of different approaches to incorporating music in the classroom. The researcher is anticipating how teachers might change their curriculum based on the positive results on attention and academic performance

LiDAR in extreme environment: surveying in Antarctica

This study was performed under the patronage of the Italian National Research Programme in Antarctica (PNRA) with the aim to realize a high resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the moraine named "Boulder Clay" which insists approximately 7 km far from the Italian Research Base "Mario Zucchelli Station" in the Terra Nova Bay area. The DEM will be included in the project for the construction of two runways to be used as support facilities for the scientific research campaigns which take place on regular basis each year. Although the research efforts to realize a detailed cartography of the area is on-going, for the specific aim and urgency of this project it was decided to perform a laser scanning survey in this extreme environment in order to obtain contour lines describing the terrain elevation each 50 cm and volume analysis. The final result will be super imposed on a photogrammetric DEM with contour lines each 2.5 m and satellite images. This paper focus both on the final scientific data and on all the challenges have to be faced in such extreme and particular environment during the laser scanning survey

The spatio-temporal variability of frost blisters in a perennial frozen lake along the antarctic coast as indicator of the groundwater supply

Remote sensing, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in particular, can be a valid tool for assessing the dynamics of cryotic features as frost blisters and to monitor the surface changes and the sublimation rates on perennially frozen lakes that host important ecosystems. In this paper, through the use of these remote sensing techniques, we aim to understand the type of groundwater supply of an Antarctic perennial frozen lake that encompasses two frost blisters (M1 and M2) through the temporal analysis of the features\u2019 elevation changes (frost blisters and lake ice level). The frozen lake is located at Boulder Clay (northern Victoria Land, Antarctica). We relied on several photogrammetric models, past satellite images and ground pictures to conduct differencing of digital elevation models, areal variations and pixel counting. In addition, in situ measurements of the ice sublimation or snow accumulation were carried out. The two frost blisters showed different elevation trends with M1 higher in the past (1996\u20132004) than recently (2014\u20132019), while M2 showed an opposite trend, similarly to the ice level. Indeed, the linear regression between M2 elevation changes and the ice level variation was statistically significant, as well as with the annual thawing degree days, while M1 did not show significant results. From these results we can infer that the groundwater supply of M1 can be related to a sublake open talik (hydraulic system) as confirmed also by pressurized brines found below M1, during a drilling in summer 2019. For M2 the groundwater flow is still not completely clear although the hydrostatic system seems the easiest explanation as well as for the uplift of the lake ice

Analisi degli elementi in traccia su reperti umani antichi: Fivizzano, un caso studio.

La curiosità nei confronti di una popolazione del passato è alla base del presente elaborato. Il lavoro si concentra su un gruppo umano antico, di cui analizza reperti scheletrici e odontologici, indizi non solo di una particolare dieta, di uno stato sociale ed eventualmente patologico, ma anche di un'interazione tra gli organismi e l'ambiente in cui vivono; tenendo conto di età, sesso, provenienza, epoca in cui sono vissuti gli individui e stato di conservazione. Lo scopo dello studio è quello di discriminare e convalidare le possibili alterazioni del dato con cause multifattoriali quali: origine ambientale sia ante che post mortem, stato di conservazione del reperto, natura chimica degli elementi, tipo di reperto analizzato, alimentazione e patologia. Le analisi spettroscopiche basate sul contenuto degli elementi in traccia (elementi con concentrazione minore allo 0,01%, espressi sul totale della massa corporea riferita al peso secco) nelle ossa umane da scavo devono considerare che le concentrazioni degli elementi investigati dovrebbero riflettere quelle contenute dall'osso ante mortem; in realtà durante la loro permanenza nel terreno si possono verificare alterazioni nelle proporzioni, in conseguenza all'interscambio di elementi tra osso e suolo e viceversa. I campioni oggetto di tesi sono provenienti dal cimitero della chiesa di San Giovanni Battista a Fivizzano (XIV sec.). Il campionamento è stato effettuato su individui e animali prelevando coste, ossa lunghe e denti; inoltre sono stati presi vari campioni di terreno. I dati sulle concentrazioni rilevati dai soggetti sono ottenuti tramite spettroscopia ad assorbimento atomico (A.A.S.); sono poi elaborati e standardizzati (correzione col sito) per poi essere confrontati con altri sincroni, diacronici ed eterotopici. I valori ottenuti sono stati successivamente analizzati statisticamente tramite software specifici

Crohn's disease exclusion diet in children with Crohn's disease: a case series.

Exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) represents an established, evidence-based dietary therapy used in Crohn's disease (CD); although successful, EEN is extremely restrictive with limited acceptability and prolonged use. The Crohn's disease exclusion diet (CDED) is a new, sustainable and patient-friendly dietary therapy used for the management of pediatric CD. CDED is designed to reduce exposure to dietary components hypothesized to negatively affect the microbiome, intestinal barrier and immunity. By focusing on five clinical cases, this article illustrates the benefits of using CDED as mono- or co-therapy with partial enteral nutrition in children with mild to moderate CD. CDED combined with partial enteral nutrition is a safe and effective therapeutic option for both induction and maintenance therapy in children with mild to moderate CD. It ensures sustained remission and can induce mucosal healing in children with mild to moderate Crohn's disease

Flexural characterization of a novel recycled-based polymer blend for structural applications

The use of recycled plastic in construction fields, among others, is becoming a turning point for resolving significant related problems such as resource management, sustainability and plastic waste generation. Hence, in the context of sustainability, the "Three R’s": reduce, reuse and recycle, are getting more attention day after day. There has been a huge surge in the recycling and reuse of plastic composites due to their eco-friendliness, lightweight, life cycle superiority and low cost. However, because of a lack of knowledge of their performance and behavior, their application is still limited in the real world. The aim of this research is to understand the behavior of recycled plastic and derive its material properties which can be used in the design of structural and non-structural elements. In the present study, three stiffened plates are manufactured from 80% of recycled plastic (around 50% of recycled Polypropylene rPP, and around 50% of High Density Polyethylene PEHD with a little part of Low Density Polyethylene PELD) and 20% of virgin polypropylene PP Copolymer. Three-point bending test is performed on the three specimens. In the experimental campaign, the behavior of these stiffened plates under pure bending loads has been studied. After that, the material properties are extracted from the data collected during the experiment using Ramberg–Osgood equation. Then, once implemented in finite elementcmodels, it was observed that the simulated material shows similar behavior to the one registered during the experiment. As a conclusion, the derived material properties show reliability and they can be used to study a design of a structural or non-structural component including recycled plastic

Estudio de prefactibilidad para la instalación de un local de comida saludable de servicio rápido y amigable con el medio ambiente

Memoria (Ingeniero Industrial)Actualmente, en Santiago de Chile y particularmente en el sector oriente ha habido un crecimiento exponencial de oficinas, lo que implica una mayor cantidad de ejecutivos, quienes deben satisfacer sus necesidades alimenticias durante la jornada laboral. Muchos de ellos, almuerzan en restaurantes tradicionales; pagando un precio más elevado que quienes lo hacen en locales de comida rápida, que si bien son más económicos, ofrecen -en su mayoría- comida poco saludable. Además, un estudio reveló que el 80% de la población chilena que trabaja prefiere maximizar su tiempo comiendo rápidamente y lo más cerca del lugar de trabajo. Por eso, la importancia de ofrecer una alternativa de un producto saludable, rápido y eficiente para este nicho. Respondiendo, además, al creciente interés que existe por el cuidado del medioambiente

Crustal structures under the active volcanic areas of central and eastern Mediterranean (M-44)

Programs are being adapted to the UNIVAC 1000 computer and others are being developed for immediate utilization in processing MAGSAT data. stability intermediate for lower continental crust and to upper manele conditions. Attempts to residuate crustal anomalies from one selected profile passing through western mediterranean using procedures commonly used at NASA yielded dubious results because of uncertainties in the adoption of coefficients in the expression accounting for the effect of equatorial ring currents and the empirical approach used for other corrections. Instead, filtering techniques are to be applied to each profile once investigator B tapes relative to the whole planet are received