Recent policy initiatives instituted by major accrediting bodies require the implementation of specific assessment tools to provide evidence of student achievement in a number of areas, including applied music study. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of a multidimensional assessment rubric, which was administered to all students performing instrumental and vocal juries at a private Midwestern university during one semester (N = 359). Interjudge reliability coefficients indicated a moderate to high level of agreement among judges. Results also revealed that performance achievement was positively related to participants' year in school (freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior), which indicates that a multidimensional assessment rubric can effectively measure students' achievement in the area of solo music performance.From the earliest elementary grades to the highest levels of our nation's graduate schools, schools increasingly are being held accountable for documenting student learning. This phenomenon presents a unique challenge in the area of university-level jury performance. Because performance evaluation often is seen as a highly subjective endeavor, those responsible for judging solo music performances may have difficulty supplying data in a measure that provides evidence of student achievement. According to Fiske (1983), many evaluators are unaware of how they determined their performance ratings. To alleviate such difficulty, it is imperative for faculty to establish understandable criteria and objectives when creating assessments for university-level jury performances.Likert-type scales have been used to assess solo music performance in a number of studies (

The purpose of this study was to test a hypothesized model that proposes a causal relationship between motivation and academic achievement on the acquisition of jazz theory knowledge. A reliability analysis of the latent variables ranged from .92 to .94. Confirmatory factor analyses of the motivation (standardized root mean square residual [SRMR] = .067) and jazz theory (SRMR = .063) measures indicated a good fit of the predicted model to the observed data. Results of the latent path model indicated good fit (χ 2 = 20.08, p = .692, df = 24, N = 102) and large, positive, and statistically significant direct effects of motivation (β = 0.65) and academic achievement (β = 0.56) on jazz theory knowledge acquisition. The successful identification of this proposed model lends enough support for continued investigation into the process surrounding the acquisition of jazz theory knowledge. Keywords jazz theory knowledge, motivation, academic achievement, path analysis, theoretical model Jazz improvisation is a unique art form that necessitates spontaneous performance within a specific musical structure. Experienced jazz improvisers draw information from a well-developed knowledge base of both theory and experience that evolves over a lifetime of practice (Kenny & Gellrich, 2002 292Journal of Research in Music Education 62(3) for improvisatory performance in both familiar and unfamiliar musical situations (e.g., harmonic function, compositional form, etc.). Iconic jazz musician Miles Davis stressed the importance of an education in jazz theory and held that a jazz musician with a solid knowledge of jazz theory could develop his or her improvisational abilities much further than a jazz musician who uses aural skills alone (Adams, 1988). In addition to anecdotal support, several research studies suggest that acquiring jazz theory knowledge can influence instrumental and vocal improvisation achievement significantly (Ciorba, 2009;Madura, 1992). Unfortunately, no paradigm exists that explains the process of jazz theory knowledge acquisition, which raises the question, how do we acquire jazz theory knowledge necessary for successful improvisation?Jazz musicians have traditionally learned through a process of trial and error (e.g., jam sessions and live performance). More recently, academia has kept the tradition alive through the development of jazz studies programs. Acquiring a requisite amount of jazz theory understanding within the confines of a specific degree program requires efficiency of instruction. The development of a theoretical model would help to identify the factors that influence the acquisition of jazz theory knowledge. The development of theoretical models has helped to understand complex processes in music, such as (a) extramusical influences (Bergee, 2006) (Russell, 2010). The identification of a theoretical paradigm illustrating the process of acquiring jazz theory knowledge can help students wishing to learn the art of jazz improvisation, while providing important information to music educators...

The primary purpose of this study was to create a model to predict jazz improvisation achievement. The dependent variable was defined as jazz improvisation achievement and the independent variables were defined as: (a) self-assessment, (b) self efficacy, (c) motivation, (d) jazz theory knowledge, (e) academic achievement, (f) sight-reading ability, and (g) listening experience. A sample of high school students (N = 102) in grades 9 through 12 were chosen from 3 high schools in south Florida (n = 59) and 4 high schools in southeast Michigan (n = 43). The seven independent variables combined to account for 50% of the variance in jazz improvisation achievement. The path model revealed an adequate fit between theory and data (X² = 10.67, df= 11, p < .471), indicating that a model to predict jazz improvisation achievement can be created and statistically tested.

Many scheduling algorithms have been devised for nested loops with and without dependencies on general heterogeneous distributed systems ([1] and references therein). However, none addressed the case of dynamically computing and allocating chunks of nonindependent tasks to processors. We propose a theoretical model that results in a function that estimates the parallel time of tasks in loops with dependencies on heterogeneous systems. We show that the minimum parallel time is obtained with a synchronization frequency that minimizes the function giving the parallel time. The accuracy of the model is validated through experiments from a practical application. For more details refer to [2].To find the optimal synchronization frequency, we build a theoretical model for heterogeneous dedicated systems, in which workers have different computational powers. Loops with dependencies are efficiently scheduled on heterogeneous systems with selfscheduling algorithms [1]. The self-scheduling algorithms are based on the master-worker model. The master assigns work to workers upon request. Due to the data dependencies, applying self-scheduling algorithms to loops with dependencies yields a pipelined parallel execution. In the case of one master and N P workers, each assignment round corresponds to a pipeline with N P stages. Our approach assumes that the nested loop is represented in Cartesian space with at least 2 dimensions. One dimension is partitioned by the master into chunks according to a self-scheduling algorithm. In a pipeline organization, each worker synchronizes with its neighbors. Thus, synchronization points are inserted along the other dimension. A synchronization interval, denoted by h, represents the number of elements in the index space along the synchronization dimension. Data produced at the end of one pipeline are fed to the next pipeline. It is obvious that the synchronization frequency plays an important role in the total parallel time. Frequent synchronization implies excessive communication, whereas infrequent synchronization may limit the parallelism.In order to estimate the theoretical parallel time on a heterogeneous system for the case of multiple assignment rounds (pipelines), i.e., the number of processors is smaller than the total number of chunks, we assume that a problem of the original index space size can be decomposed into p subproblems (pipelines) of (equal) size in which each processor is assigned one chunk. Thus, one subproblem corresponds to one assignment round. These subproblems are inter-dependent in the sense that (part of) the data produced by one subproblem are consumed by the next subproblem. Upon completion of one subproblem, the processor assigned the last chunk of the subproblem transmits (in a single message) all necessary data to the processor assigned the first chunk of the next subproblem. The time to complete this data transfer, represents the time to send and receive a data packet of size equal to the size of the synchronization dimension.Hence, the theoretical parallel ...

The primary purpose of this study was to determine how the K-12 educational community in the state of Oklahoma perceived the importance of music education. An analysis of responses derived from the Music Education Perception Measure indicated that music educators’ overall perceptions toward music education were significantly higher than those reported by administrators, teachers of other subject areas, and support staff. The secondary purpose of this study was to ask members of the K-12 educational community how they would improve music in the schools. While administrators, music teachers, and support staff reported increased funding for music education to be the number 1 response to this question, teachers of other subject areas were more inclined to suggest improvements in the areas of curriculum and scheduling.