UMD Theses and Dissertations

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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.

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    Internal Migration to Osaka Prefecture, Japan
    (1956) Lewis, David Michael; Hoffsommer, Harold; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
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    A Comparative Study of Certain Personality Characteristics of College Women Participating in Basketball and Modern Dance
    (1965) Bird, Anne Marie; Johnson, Warren R.; Health Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
    Twenty-five college women attending the University of Maryland during the spring semester of 1963 were studied in an effort to determine whether or not there were any identifiable personality characteristics among those (14) who chose to participate in basketball, as compared to those (13) who chose to participate in modern dance. The subjects used in this study voluntarily chose the activity in which they participated. The California Psychological Inventory was used to evaluate the personality characteristics of the subjects. Analysis of the data showed that the basketball group scored significantly higher, at the 5 percent level of confidence, on the community scale. The modern dance group scored significantly higher, at the 5 percent level of confidence, on the scales measuring flexibility and femininity. A comparison of the group means for all other scales proved insignificant at the 5 percent level of confidence.
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    An Empirical Analysis of the Determinants of Initial Occupational Choice by Male High School Graduates
    (1986) Cox, Donald Francis; Brechling, Frank; Economics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
    This dissertation consisted of an empirical analysis of the determinants or initial occupational choice by male high school graduates. The approach used was based on the theory of random utility. According to this approach, the individual selects a particular outcome from a set of possible outcomes based on both observed and unobserved characteristics of the individual and the particular possible outcome. In this analysis, the occupational choice set contained three possible outcomes. These possibilities were civilian sector employment, military service and college enrollment. For empirical analysis, a sample of 1,748 male high school graduates was drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youths (1979-1981). The empirical model consisted of a mixed discrete/continuous simultaneous 4 equation system. Three estimation strategies were used. The first was a sample two stage logit/ordinary least squares procedure. The second was a modified two stage logit/ordinary least squares procedure that corrected for self-selectivity bias. the third strategy consisted of a modified two stage logit/ordinary least squares procedure that corrected for both self-selectivity and choice-based sampling bias. The estimation results indicate that the decision to enlist is most sensitive to the net income of the individual's family and the predicted civilian sector wage. The military experience of the individual's father and the desire to acquire additional training are also important in this decision. In addition, the differences in the estimates across the three estimation procedures illustrate the importance of correcting for sample biases.
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    The Effect of an Integrated Knowledge Management Architecture on Organizational Performance and Impact: The Case of the World Bank
    (2003) Fonseca, Ana Flavia; Soergel, Dagobert; Information Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
    Using the World Bank as Case Study, this dissertation investigates the impact of knowledge management programs on the organization performance by using a combination of three methods: Records Analysis, Interviews and Outcome Mapping. The study had two phases: quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis. The Knowledge Management Program of the World Bank has had a direct and beneficial impact on its operations. The Program changed internal staff behavior, improved the sharing of information and knowledge within the organization, and promoted the design and application of participatory knowledge strategies in the countries. New knowledge products as well as strong country participation and ownership to the projects studied resulted from these changes. However, the study also shows that this impact is far from being sufficiently significant to influence or help make the knowledge management program fully integrated with the organization core processes and products. The gap between the KM Program architecture and other programs and initiatives focusing on making this concept operational within the Bank remains an issue. In spite of the fact that knowledge management principles are being mainstreamed in core services, the difference is still very wide between the overall goals of the Knowledge Bank and their translation into the implementation of knowledge products and services in the countries. The research did confirm previous research in the field of knowledge management and validated the findings from other case studies. The results of the study also allowed for the identification of 10 criteria for mainstreaming knowledge management programs within organizations and identified characteristics of knowledge delivery processes that were effective for knowledge absorption . . The importance of "how to" and "procedural knowledge"; the importance "horizontal knowledge exchanges" and a number of other elements, were confirmed as factors affecting knowledge absorption and positive changes in user behavior.
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    Paolo and Francesca: Unfulfilled Love in Nineteenth-Century French Art
    (1986) Hall, Pamela Rae; Hargrove, June E.; Art History & Archaeology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
    During the nineteenth century, the Divine Comedy became an important source of inspiration for French artists. Chief among the episodes represented was Dante's account of Paolo and Francesca, illicit lovers condemned to the Inferno's Circle of the Lustful. This paper examines specific portrayals of the Francesca tragedy and seeks to explain why the theme became especially favored by the French. The method is three fold: First, to trace the history of Dante's popularity in France; second, to analyze the thematic changes which occurred in depictions of Paolo and Francesca between 1800 and 1880; and finally, to consider the ways in which these works were influenced by contemporary philosophies and events. An historical survey of the popularity of the Divine Comedy closely indicates that France's admiration for Dante was linked to the appearance of numerous French translations of his chef d'oeuvre. Artists responded to the public's growing appreciation of the epic by incorporating Dantesque themes into their subjects: at least 111 works inspired by the Divine Comedy were exhibited at the Salon during the first three-quarters of the nineteenth century -- of these 43 were based on Francesca's tale. The Francesca episode enjoyed prominence throughout the century largely because it was relevant to the advancing political, social, religious and artistic mores of society. The motif could be adapted to address sentimentality or melancholy. It could provide a moralizing lesson on lascivious living or serve as a pretext for eroticism. The theme of unfulfilled love, popular throughout the century, was embodied in Paolo and Francesca as either chaste, lamentable, deplorable or impassioned.
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    Student Choice Among Large Group, Small Group, and Individual Learning Environments in a Community College Mathematics Mini-Course
    (1986) Baldwin, Eldon C.; Davidson, Neil; Mathematics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
    This study describes the development and implementation of a model for accommodation of preferences for alternative instructional environments. The study was stimulated by the existence of alternative instructional modes, and the absence of a procedure for accommodation of individual student differences which utilized these alternative modes. The Choice Model evolved during a series of pilot studies employing three instructional modes; individual (JM), small group (SGM), and large group (LGM). Three instructors were each given autonomy in designing one learning environment, each utilizing her/his preferred instructional mode. One section of a mathematics course was scheduled for one hundred students. On the first day the class was divided alphabetically into three orientation groups, each assigned to a separate class room. During the first week, the instructors described their respective environments to each group, using video taped illustrations from a previous semester. Environmental preferences were then assessed using take-home student questionnaires. In the final pilot, fifty-five students were oriented to all three environments. Each student was then assigned to his/her preferred learning environment. The distribution of environmental preferences was 24% for IM, 44% for SGM, and 33% for LGM. The following student characteristics were also investigated: 1)sex, 2)age, 3)academic background, 4)mathematics achievement, 5)mathematics attitude, 6)mathematics interest, 7)self-concept, 8)communication apprehension. and 9)interpersonal relations orientation. This investigation revealed several suggestive preference patterns: 1)Females and students with weak academic backgrounds tended to prefer the SGM environment. 2)Students with higher levels of communication apprehension tended to avoid the SGM environment. 3)New college students and students with negative mathematics attitudes tended to avoid the IM environment. 4)Students with higher grades in high school tended to prefer the LGM environment. Student preferences were successfully accommodated, and student evaluations of the Choice Model were generally positive. The literature suggests that opportunities to experience choice in education tend to enhance student growth and development; adaptation and institutionalization of the Model were addressed from this perspective. Additional studies with larger samples were recommended to further investigate environmental preferences with respect t o student and instructor characteristics of gender, age, race, socioeconomic background, academic background, and learning style.
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    Topics in the Syntax and Semantics of Coordinate Structures
    (1993) Munn, Alan Boag; Hornstein, Norbert; Linguistics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
    This thesis is concerned with developing a syntax for coordinate structures which is compatible with both the syntactic behaviour of conjunction structures and with their semantics. It argues that coordinate structures are asymmetrical, hierarchical structures that conform with X-bar theory. The conjunction head projects a phrase which is adjoined to the first conjunct. This provides an account of a number of syntactic asymmetries in conjunct ordering including agreement and binding asymmetries and provides a principled analysis of Across-the-Board extraction as instances of parasitic gaps. It further argues that the Coordinate Structure Constraint cannot be a syntactic constraint, but rather must be a condition on conjoining identical semantic categories. This provides an account of unlike category coordination which is shown to be freely possible if semantic identity is preserved and no independent syntactic constraints are violated, a result which follows from the adjunct nature of the coordinate structure. In order to account for the semantic identity, it is proposed that at Logical Form, each conjunct is a predicate in an identification relation with the conjunction head, which raises to take scope over all the conjuncts. Assuming theta role assignment at LF, only the conjunction head receives a theta role; none of the conjuncts does. Because each conjunct is in a predication relation with the conjunction head at LF, the semantic identity constraint follows directly. The fact that the conjuncts do not receive a theta role accounts for their inability to act as antecedents for reflexive binding and for fact that modal adverbs can appear inside conjoined NPs. The proposed analysis assimilates coordinate structures directly to plurals, and argues that a consequence of the proposed LF is that all natural language conjunction and disjunction is group forming rather than propositional. All semantic ambiguities between distributed and collective coordination can then be derived with the appropriate logical representation for plurals in general, rather than having a separate semantics altogether for coordination.
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    Learning Newton's Second Law Using a Microcomputer Based Laboratory Curriculum
    (1995) Morse, Robert Alan; Layman, John W.; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
    This study investigated the effect of theory-based Microcomputer Based Laboratory instruction on high school students' understanding of Newton's second law in a high school physics course taught by the teacher-researcher. The study focused on 1) the effect of the theory-based MBL instructional design on student understanding of Newton's second law, 2) on the changes in conceptual understanding that occurred, and 3) on the effect of student learning beliefs on conceptual change. Data sources included pretest and posttest measures of conceptual understanding, audiotape debriefings of students during a seven day unit, and pretest and posttest measures of students' motivational and self-regulated learning beliefs. The design of the instructional unit was based on prior research and theory. It is important to specify the characteristics as well as the content of the knowledge we would like students to construct. Desirable characteristics of physics knowledge are that it be accurate, extendable, integrated with other knowledge, recognized as knowledge, related to experience and experiment, strategic, and available in multiple representations including verbal, graphical, algebraic, pictorial, and story representations. Proponents argue that appropriately designed Microcomputer Based Laboratory instruction can promote construction of such knowledge. The theory-based instructional unit employed real-time computer graphing of force and motion variables in a novel "iconographic" experiment which enabled students to determine the relationship between force and motion variables by simple recognition. The study found that the nature of students' conceptual change was consistent with the mechanisms postulated for MBL instruction, that the short chain of reasoning in the iconographic force and motion experiment allowed students to readily identify and focus on the goals of the experiment rather than be distracted by a profusion of sub-goals, that this instruction is more effective than some traditional instruction and as effective as some other theory-based instruction in Newton's second law, based on Force Concept Inventory (Hestenes, Wells, & Swackhamer, 1992) and Force and Motion Concept test (Thornton, 1992a) scores. The study failed to achieve the goal of relating motivational, cognitive and performance measures using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Pintrich & DeGroot, 1990).
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    MOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF CYCLOPHILIN FUNCTION IN THE YEAST SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE
    (1994) Davis, Edward S.; Brennan, Miles S.; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
    The cyclophilins are a family of proteins first identified as receptors for cyclosporin A (CsA), a cyclic peptide of fungal origin. CsA inhibits T-lymphocyte activation, and is thus a potent immunosuppressant. Although cyclophilins are ubiquitous, and highly conserved, among eukaryotes, their normal physiological functions are unknown. As the receptors for CsA, cyclophilins might be involved in regulating signal transduction pathways. Cyclophilns also have peptidyl-prolyl, cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) activity in vitro, suggesting a role in protein folding in vivo. While CsA inhibits cyclophilin's PPIase activity, this inhibition is insufficient to account for the pharmacological activity of CsA. Therefore, previous results cannot be readily synthesized into a model for cyclophilin function. The goal of this project was to define and characterize physiological roles of cyclophilins using the yeast S. cerevisiae. Three S. cerevisiae cyclophilin genes were cloned and inactivated by insertional mutagenesis. I demonstrated that one, CPR3, is necessary for the efficient metabolism of non-fermentable carbon sources. The CPR] gene product, Cpr3, is localized to the mitochondrial matrix, and a truncated version of Cpr3 expressed in bacteria binds CsA. CPR3 inactivation does not significantly compromise the induction of transcription of two nuclear cytochrome genes. Thus, Cpr3 is not necessary for the signal transduction pathway governing cytochrome gene expression. To identify biochemical targets of Cpr3, I demonstrated that inactivation of a mitochondrial lactate dehydrogenase is insufficient to account for the growth defect of cpr3 mutants. An exhaustive search for high-copy suppressors of the growth defect of cpr3 mutants led to the identification of a novel gene, JEN1, that suppresses the growth defect at elevated temperature. JEN1 encodes a protein that is probably a lactate transporter, and thus not a direct biochemical target of Cpr3. A dominant mutation in a nuclear gene, JEN2, suppresses the growth defect of cpr3 mutants on lactate at 30°C and 37°C. JEN2 might encode a direct biochemical target of Cpr3. In summary, the cyclophilin, Cpr3, plays a general role in the efficient function of yeast mitochondria, and presents an excellent model system for studying cyclophilin function.
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    TEACHERS' PEDACOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE OF RECURSION
    (1995) Neagoy, Monica M. M.; Fey, James T.; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
    "Pedagogical Content Knowledge" (PCK) consists of topic-level knowledge of learners, of learning, and of the most useful forms of representation of ideas, the most powerful analogies, illustrations, examples, explanations, and demonstrations --in a word, the ways of representing and formulating the subject that makes it comprehensible to others" (Shulman, 1986). Recursion is a process that permeates many aspects of the real world-both natural and man-made. In discrete mathernatics, recursion is a powerful idea, a problem solving strategy that enables us to describe or predict future results as a function of past results. The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of high school teachers' PCK of recursion prior to, and as a result of, their participation in a carefully designed summer institute that focused on the important emerging concept of discrete dynamical systems. The study also explored how teachers plan to use this knowledge in teaching recursion. The framework for studying teachers' PCK was one inspired by Shulman's model ( 1987), but modified in its connectedness among components and its dynamics of change. The in-service program that served this study was the 1991 Summer Institute in Mathematics Modeling with Discrete Mathematics, (SIMM) offered at Georgetown University and partially funded by NSF. Forty high school math teachers from Washington metropolitan area schools, who attended the SIMM were the subjects of this research. The instruments that helped assess the nature and growth of teachers' PCK as a result of the SIMM intervention were: A personal data questionnaire, a pretest, and a post-test; follow-up, one-on-one interviews were conducted with a random sample of nine teachers. The test results and interview transcripts were analyzed in terms of teachers' subject matter and pedagogical knowledge (knowledge of teaching and learning) of recursion: For that purpose, this study developed an original model of six categories of knowledge for each domain. Overall, teachers' PCK of recursion, as exhibited by their performance on the totality of the test items, grew as a result of the in-service intervention. The only category in which teachers' knowledge showed no growth was Student Errors.
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    Inter-Ethnic Relations on New England's Frontier: A Survey of the Formative Period
    (1969) Cole, Robert A.; Van Ness, James S.; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
    In many respects, the form and progression of the New England frontier reflects a collision, of sorts, between two disparate peoples and their two divergent cultures. As the European confronted the native American in the wilderness setting, it soon became apparent that the demise of the Indian culture was inevitable, the only salient question being as to the nature of its decline. A close examination of early Seventeenth Century relations shows the English as ambitious and militant expansionists who not only rejected the idea of cultural coexistence, but, in regarding the Indian solely from a European frame of reference, failed to make any substantial progress toward a theory of toleration. The English were highly organized, strongly motivated, and eminently successful in their pursuit of the long range goals of settlement; and it is the very cohesiveness of the Puritan frontier which best illuminates the fateful dilemma of the indigenous population. While fragmented by tribal particularism and internecine warfare, the native New Englanders were beset on all sides by enemies, European and Indian. Though willing, at first, to contest a permanent European colonial effort, their cultural resiliency was undermined by disease, and a multiplicity of negative factors which developed as their relationships with the English settlements moved toward interdependency. As the confrontation moved into the climactic period following the Pequot War, the weight of the English presence had already brought about irreversible trends in the Indian way of life. With his lands diminishing under the pressure of two converging lines of frontier settlement, he was finally left, with two impractical options, acculturation or resistance. Both charted a course to futility.
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    THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SENSATION SEEKING, ANXIETY, SELF-CONFIDENCE AND AIDS-RELATED SEXUAL RISK-TAKING IN A COLLEGE STUDENT SAMPLE
    (1994) Isralowitz, Stuart Adam; Teglasi, Hedwig; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
    The researcher investigated how the personality traits of sensation seeking, anxiety, and self-confidence are associated with AIDS-related sexual risk-taking of college students. It was hypothesized that individuals who exhibited high levels of sensation seeking, low anxiety, and low self-confidence in specific domains would participate in a significant amount of sexual risk-taking. If this were true, then preventive approaches could be geared toward helping risk-takers cope with the characteristics that place them at-risk. The researcher administered the following measures to 313 college students: the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V (SSS V), the Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales-Trait (EMAS-T), the Personal Evaluation Inventory (PEI), a modified Sexual Behavior Questionnaire, and a demographic questionnaire. Two aspects of sensation seeking (Disinhibition and Boredom Susceptibility) on the SSS V were significantly associated with AIDS-related sexual risk-taking. High sensation seekers engaged in more sexual risk-taking than low sensation seekers in these areas. In addition, moderate sexual risk-takers only exhibited less anxiety than low risk-takers in the Daily Routines aspect of anxiety on the EMAS-T. Moderate risk-takers displayed greater self-confidence regarding Romantic Relationships than low risk-takers on the PEI. The association between sensation seeking and anxiety was negative. High sexual risk-takers showed a greater worry about getting AIDS and higher perception of AIDS risk than low sexual risk-takers. No gender differences were found in sexual risk-taking. Implications for research included conducting studies regarding sensation seeking and AIDS-related sexual behavior with gay and lesbian college students, and with individuals of college age not attending college. Studies measuring the psychometric qualities of the SSS V and the PEI were also suggested. A practical outcome of this study was the proposed use of an updated measure to assess participation in novel, varied, and risky activities. Clinicians could employ this measure in public schools and college counseling centers, under certain circumstances.
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    Battery Studies with Particular Reference to Organic Depolarizers
    (1955) Monson, William L.; Huff, W. J.; Chemical Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
    Since Volta's invention of the first primary cell, using silver and zinc, numerous other cell combinations have been studied, covering a wide variety of anode and cathode materials. The latter have included both inorganic and organic substances capable of electrochemical reduction, although, historically, organic cathode materials have received very much less attention than the inorganic. It was the purpose of this investigation to study the actual behavior of a selected number of quinones as depolarizers in primary cells. Performance of experimental cells was compared with cells of the usual dry cell composition but of the same size and construction as cells of experimental composition. The results show that certain substituted anthraquinones possess good depolarizing ability as measured by discharge voltage and coulombic capacity. Energy output in some cases was higher than that of the manganese dioxide control cells (zinc anodes in all cases) because of higher effective coulombic capacities. A qualitative study of the effect of substituents on the discharge voltages of various quinones showed that cell working voltages were much more sensitive to quinone substitution than were the calculated reversible potentials. Also, in the case of nitro-substituted anthraquinones more coulombic capacity was obtained than could be accounted for by the simple reduction to the corresponding hydroquinone. The possibility of a reduction of the nitro-group of this compound was considered. Substances investigated were benzoquinone, naphthoquinone, anthraquinone, and certain of their derivatives, using various electrolytes. The size of the experimental cells was such that about 0.2 gram of the various depolarizers could be studied conveniently.
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    Prediction of Marine Timber Pile Damage Ratings Using a Gradient Boosted Regression Model
    (2023) Willmott, Carly; Attoh-Okine, Nii O.; Civil Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Marine pilings are critical structural elements exposed to harsh environmental conditions. Specialized routine inspection and regular maintenance are essential to keep marine facilities in good working condition. These activities generate data that can be exploited for knowledge gain with machine learning tools. A gradient boosted random forest regressor machine learning algorithm, XGBoost, was applied to datasets that contain timber pile underwater inspection and repair data over a period of 23 years. First, the data was visualized to show the longevity of different timber pile repair types. An XGBoost model was then tuned and trained on a dataset for timber piles at one pier. Variables in the dataset were evaluated for feature importance in predicting damage ratings assigned during routine underwater inspections. Next, an ensemble of XGBoost models was trained and applied to a second dataset containing the same features for an adjacent pier. This dataset was reserved for testing to demonstrate whether the ensemble trained on one pier’s data could be generalized to predict timber pile damage ratings at a nearby but separate pier. Finally, the ensemble was used to predict damage ratings on piles that had earlier data but were not rated in the two most recent inspection events. Results suggest that the ensemble is capable of predicting timber pile damage ratings to approximately +/- one damage rating on both the training and test datasets. Feature importances revealed that half of the variables (time since the first event, repair type, exposed pile length, and time since the last repair) contributed to two thirds of the relative importance in predicting damage ratings. Data visualization showed that a few repair types, such as pile replacements and encapsulations, appeared to be most successful over the long term compared with shorter-lived repairs like wraps and encasements. These results are promising indications of the advantages machine learning algorithms can offer in processing and gleaning new insights from structural repair and inspection data. Economic benefits to marine facility owners can potentially be realized through earlier anticipation of repairs and more targeted inspection and rehabilitation efforts. There are also opportunities for better understanding of deterioration rates if more data is gathered over the lifespans of structures, as well as more detailed data that can be introduced as new features.
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    Shaping Sound: Engineering Adaptable Spaces
    (2023) Majka, Nicholas Charles; Bell, Matthew J; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Music and architecture share a unique series of connections, not only in their terminology, rational fundamentals, and creative potential, but also in their special public-facing role in society. These two realms provide opportunities to deeply connect with the people who encounter them and unify groups under shared experiences. However, many projects that have attempted to blend music and architecture simply use sound as a design driver for architectural form, much to the degree that this thesis had originally intended. Instead, what if the architecture of a space could adapt itself to the performances taking place, and allow artists or performers to be themselves without feeling the need to bend their styles to conform to the venue. What if the venue could change and conform to the artist? This thesis aims to explore that possibility, and investigate how architectural solutions could alter a space through dynamics and materiality to better optimize the variety of genres that would exist there, allowing music and sound to perform at its best no matter what qualities of space are needed.
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    The Invisible Neighborhood: Designing for Intersectionality
    (2023) Clark, Kiara; Matthews, Georgeanne; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This thesis explores a resilient neighborhood and school for Black and Brown disabled communities displaced by climate change in New York City, New York. Marginalized communities around the world are constantly displaced due to climate disasters. But the people most affected are those at the intersection of those groups. These communities typically live in lower-status neighborhoods incapable of withstanding a climate disaster, which is becoming more frequent as climate change becomes a more persistent issue. Black and brown disabled communities are at the heart of the groups, often overlooked during a climate crisis and often displaced from their support groups and at a higher risk for mortality during an event. Exploring the design of a resilient neighborhood that prioritizes these communities would set the framework for future development and prevention of disproportionate impact on them.
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    COMMUNAL INTERGRATION: LIVING AND LEARNING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
    (2023) Spanier, Dylan Thomas; Noonan, Peter; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The University of Maryland has seen continued challenges to meet the needs of affordable housing for its students, leaving many students in fear of displacement and financial hardships. The lack of housing opportunities through the University – coupled with inflation and increasing property value – strains students’ ability to find affordable housing options within proximity to campus. This thesis aims to provide affordable housing options that enhance the quality of living and learning environments and expand upon the current living-learning program found at the University of Maryland. By establishing residential learning communities, the University will promote people to work together towards a common goal and foster a close-knit community that engages the university fabric.
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    Co-Habitat: Harmonious Coexistence and Wildlife Rehabilitation
    (2023) Kelly, Emily; Williams, Joseph; Tilghman, James; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    In a world dominated by the human existence, it is important to acknowledge and respect the natural world by designing for more than just humans. Through seamless integration of the building and landscape, Co-Habitat will create an ecosystem where humans and non-humans can coexist harmoniously. The ultimate goal is to achieve mutualistic symbiosis, in which every species benefits from the ecological relationship network. As a new home for a wildlife rehabilitation organization, the complex will support their mission to mitigate damage to the environment caused by human activities. In addition to meeting program needs, the facility aspires to provide a method of safe observation. This unique aspect of the visitor experience will offer enjoyment as well as education for the public. The project will enhance the organization’s positive impact by channeling principles of meaningful placemaking and incorporating strategies of regenerative design. Co-Habitat challenges the typically anthropocentric focus of buildings and proposes a synergistic approach, in which the built environment forms an inclusive habitat for all beings.
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    Art as Architecture: Abstract Modernist Painting Techniques and the Viewer Experience
    (2023) McClure, Katherine; Tilghman, James; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The reciprocal relationship between art and architecture has been a longstanding practice in the design process of both fields. The geometric forms, textures, and colors of various forms of art, but especially painting, have been known to inspire the architectural design process. Similarly, the shape and environmental experience of buildings can inspire or host works of art. Certain paintings, like those of Mark Rothko, are often cited in foundational architectural courses as examples of comprehensive and layered forms suggestive of architecture. However, these references are not typically taken beyond the parti phase in the early stages of architectural design. But how far can this reciprocal inspiration be taken? How can architecture evolve as not just a place for art, but as art itself? This thesis will explore the ways in which the abstract modernist painting techniques of the late works of Mark Rothko can affect the compositional form and experience of a mixed-use artist residency in Georgetown, DC.
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    SOCIAL URBANISM IN MEDELLIN – INTEGRATION OF LANDSCAPE, LIFE, AND CULTURE
    (2023) Farieta, Maria Fernanda; Matthews, Georgeanne; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Over the last 50 years, the city of Medellín, Colombia has experienced a drastic urban transformation. The drug war and armed conflict in the late 20th century expedited urbanization as people were forced to leave their rural homes and seek shelter in major cities. However, the infrastructural capacity of larger cities has been unable to accommodate the basic needs of the growing population. As a result, people had to build habitats in the peripheries of the cities. These “informal settlements” were born out of necessity, with limited resources, and often under unsafe conditions. Nonetheless, these self-built neighborhoods are “the most common form of urbanization on the planet,” and as such, the processes behind “informal city making” are key to understanding the potential for development, innovation, and integration of a city. This paradigm shift regarding informality intends to bring visibility to the perseverance and creativity of migrants under limited resources, to challenge policies that shape urbanization and to explore alternative methods to address population growth.