BA, Oberlin College, 2017, Music

With a career spanning almost forty years, Canadian composer Howard Shore has become one of the most respected and sought after film composers working in the industry today. Much of his work, in particular his scores for the Lord of the Rings films, have received much academic attention; his longstanding working relationship with Canadian horror filmmaker David Cronenberg, however, has not yet benefited from such academic inquiry. Using the films The Brood, Videodrome, The Fly, and Naked Lunch as case studies, this thesis examines the way that Shore uses the arena of Cronenberg's films as a laboratory for personal musical experimentation. Examples include Shore's use of electronic synthesizer sounds alongside a string orchestra for Videodrome, implementations of against-the-grain writing for The Fly, and the incorporation of free-jazz aesthetics in Naked Lunch. Using as sources Howard Shore's words and what academic inquiry exists in this field, but more often utilizing my own analysis and observations of the music and films, I argue that Shore's scores incorporate such musical experimentation to work in tandem with Cronenberg's own experimental art. As such, Shore's scores for Cronenberg's films are a prime illustration of the practical value of experimental composition, showing that there is room for experimental composition in music outside of the realm of academia and indeed that such music can have commercial potential.

Committee: Stephen Hartke (Advisor); Charles Edward McGuire (Committee Chair); Rebecca Fülöp (Committee Member); Jesse Jones (Committee Member) Subjects: Film Studies; Music

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2017, Environmental Science

Varroa mites (Varroa destructor) are the most damaging pest in modern beekeeping, and have been linked with elevated levels of colony loss. Experts increasingly recommend an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy to manage Varroa, which incorporates both preventative and therapeutic controls. However, Varroa IPM is complicated and knowledge-intensive. Small-scale beekeepers in particular seem to have difficulty adopting effective Varroa control strategies, and suffer especially high rates of colony loss. This study took an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the adoption of Varroa IPM among small-scale beekeepers. First, I used surveys and interviews to characterize mite management strategies among Ohio small-scale beekeepers, and to explore the effect of experience and risk perception on behavior. Second, as a case study, I took a closer look at the efficacy and adoption of one complex IPM tool – drone brood removal (DBR) – through interviews, surveys, and an on-farm trial. Overall, I found no relationship between beekeeping experience and mite management strategies, but sampling (risk perception) was associated with the use of “soft” miticides (organic acids/essential oils) and DBR. I also found that most beekeepers who used DBR combined it with drone sampling (adjusting DBR based on sampled mite levels), and that labor was the biggest barrier to DBR use. In the on-farm trial, DBR significantly reduced mites in year one but not year two. These results suggest that mite management failures among small-scale beekeepers are not due to inexperience and may indicate a broader communication breakdown. They also suggest that risk perception – beekeepers' understanding that they even have mites – may be a key factor driving adoption of mite management practices. Finally, they point to the fact that DBR is already being used in nuanced ways as a combined management and sampling strategy. They suggest that DBR is not a silver bullet, but can be an effective tool (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Casey Hoy Ph.D. (Advisor); Reed Johnson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Anna Willow Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Agriculture; Entomology; Environmental Science