No Way Out: A Historical Documentary (open access)

No Way Out: A Historical Documentary

No Way Out: A Historical Documentary is the written companion to a forty-minute documentary film entitled "No Way Out". The film deals with a 1974 inmate standoff at a prison in Huntsville, Texas known as the Carrasco Incident. The film examines the prison takeover through the eyes of those who lived through it. Composed of five interviews, "No Way Out" is a compilation of various points of view ranging from former hostages, members of the press, and law enforcement. The written companion for this piece discusses the three phases of the production for this film. These chapters are designed to share with the reader the various intricacies of documentary filmmaking. The thesis also explores theoretical issues concerning collective memory, coping behavior, and the ethics of historical documentary filmmaking.
Date: August 2003
Creator: Holder, Elizabeth Suzanne
System: The UNT Digital Library

James Earl Rudder: A Lesson in Leadership

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
This thesis is the about the life of Rudder. The emphasis of this work, however, is that Rudder was successful primarily because of his character and leadership style. Much of the study was drawn from primary sources. Secondary sources were also consulted. This thesis opens with a brief Introduction, which discusses the need for this work. Chapter 1 discusses Rudder's life prior to WW II, emphasizing particular characteristics that benefited his leadership ability. Chapter 2 examines the 2nd Ranger Battalion's transformation under Rudder's leadership and guidance. Chapter 3 chronicles the 2nd Ranger Battalion's assault on the Pointe du Hoc battery, ending in December 1944, when Col. Rudder was reassigned to the 109th Infantry Regiment. Moreover, the controversy surrounding the Ranger's mission is also examined in this chapter. Chapter 4 describes Col. Rudder's leadership with the 109th in the Battle of the Bulge. A chapter accounting Rudder's political career and leadership follows. Chapter 6 examines his term as chancellor and president of the Texas A&M University system, until his death in 1970, and the major institutional changes that he enacted during his tenure, which resulted in A&M becoming the respected research university it is today. This significance and recapitulation of Rudder's …
Date: December 2003
Creator: Bean, Christopher B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Feminist Design Methodology: Considering the Case of Maria Kipp (open access)

Feminist Design Methodology: Considering the Case of Maria Kipp

This thesis uses the work and career of the textile designer Maria Kipp to stage a prolegomena concerning how to write about a female designer active during the middle of the twentieth century. How can design historians incorporate new methodologies in the writing of design history? This thesis explores the current literature of feminist design history for solutions to the potential problems of the traditional biography and applies these to the work and career of Kipp. It generates questions concerning the application of methodologies, specifically looking at a biographical methodology and new methodologies proposed by feminist design historians. Feminist writers encourage scholarship on unknown designers, while also they call for a different kind of writing and methodology. The goal of this thesis is to examine how these new histories are written and in what ways they might inspire the writing of Kipp into design history.
Date: December 2003
Creator: Lawrence, Anne
System: The UNT Digital Library
Vieques: Island of Conflict and Dreams (open access)

Vieques: Island of Conflict and Dreams

This written thesis is a companion to a 30-minute documentary video of the same title. The documentary is a presentation of the historical conflict between the United States Navy and the people of the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. For over 60 years the island was used by the United States Navy as a military training facility. The documentary attempts to present an analysis of the struggle between citizens of the island and the Navy. This written component presents a summarized history of Puerto Rico, Vieques and the conflict with the United States Navy. In addition, the preproduction, production and post-production process of the documentary are discussed. A theoretical analysis of the filmmaker's approach and technique are addressed and analyzed as well. The thesis's goal is to provide a clear understanding of the Vieques conflict to United States audiences who do not a familiarity with the topic. The thesis is presented from the perspective of a person who grew up in Puerto Rico.
Date: December 2003
Creator: Borges, Cristóbal A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Laboratory and field studies of cadmium effects on  Hyalella azteca in effluent dominated systems. (open access)

Laboratory and field studies of cadmium effects on Hyalella azteca in effluent dominated systems.

Laboratory single-species toxicity tests are used to assess the effects of contaminants on aquatic biota. Questions remain as to how accurately these controlled toxicity tests predict sitespecific bioavailability and effects of metals. Concurrent 42-day Hyalella azteca exposures were performed with cadmium and final treated municipal effluent in the laboratory and at the University of North Texas Stream Research Facility. Further laboratory testing in reconstituted hard water was also conducted. Endpoints evaluated include survival, growth, reproduction, and Cd body burden. My results demonstrate that laboratory toxicity tests may overestimate toxicity responses to cadmium when compared to effluent dominated stream exposures. Discrepancies between endpoints in the three tests likely resulted from increased food sources and decreased cadmium bioavailability in stream mesocosms
Date: August 2003
Creator: Stanley, Jacob K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Symptoms of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents: The impact of residential fire. (open access)

Symptoms of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents: The impact of residential fire.

This study examined symptoms of anxiety and depression in 99 children and adolescents following a residential fire. Children and their parents completed self-administered questionnaires regarding the fire and their current functioning. The most commonly experienced symptoms were worry/ oversensitivity, anhedonia, negative mood, and fear of failure and criticism. There were no significant ethnic differences across symptomology. Exposure was directly related to parental report of child internalizing behaviors, whereas loss was unrelated to symptoms. Level of support (general and fire related) and active coping were directly associated with positive child adjustment. The impact of negative life events was related to poorer functioning. Overall, a child's environment and coping strategy appear to be the best predictors of adjustment following a residential fire.
Date: August 2003
Creator: Conde, Joann M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Content-Based Image Retrieval by Integration of Metadata Encoded Multimedia Features in Constructing a Video Summarizer Application. (open access)

Content-Based Image Retrieval by Integration of Metadata Encoded Multimedia Features in Constructing a Video Summarizer Application.

Content-based image retrieval (CBIR) is the retrieval of images from a collection by means of internal feature measures of the information content of the images. In CBIR systems, text media is usually used only to retrieve exemplar images for further searching by image feature content. This research work describes a new method for integrating multimedia text and image content features to increase the retrieval performance of the system. I am exploring the content-based features of an image extracted from a video to build a storyboard for search retrieval of images. Metadata encoded multimedia features include extracting primitive features like color, shape and text from an image. Histograms are built for all the features extracted and stored in a database. Images are searched based on comparing these histogram values of the extracted image with the stored values. These histogram values are used for extraction of keyframes from a collection of images parsed from a video file. Individual shots of images are extracted from a video clip and run through processes that extract the features and build the histogram values. A keyframe extraction algorithm is run to get the keyframes from the collection of images to build a storyboard of images. In …
Date: May 2003
Creator: Anusuri, Ramprasad
System: The UNT Digital Library
Differences in Depressive Symptoms as a Function of Gender, Roles, and Rumination (open access)

Differences in Depressive Symptoms as a Function of Gender, Roles, and Rumination

Research indicates that women are more likely to experience depression than are men. The current study examined the effects of gender, socialized gender roles, rumination, and neuroticism on symptoms of depression in young adults. As predicted, rumination mediated the relationship between gender and depression, and socialized gender roles had a greater explanatory power for rumination, neuroticism, and depression than did gender. Contrary to predictions, rumination did not mediate neuroticism's effects on depression. Structural equation modeling reveled that rumination-on-sadness positively predicted neuroticism and depression. However, rumination-in-general, while positively predicting neuroticism, negatively predicted symptoms of depression. Finally, once socialized gender roles, rumination, and neuroticism were controlled, male gender was modestly predictive of depression.
Date: December 2003
Creator: Wupperman, Peggilee
System: The UNT Digital Library

Theoretical Study Using the Sense of Touch in Interior Design for Senior Living Environments

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Through my work, I explored the application of texture and materials as a means to identify specific functions. I show how texture and material selections that specifically engage the sense of touch can aid in effective environments for the elderly. By means of this study, I demonstrated how the sensory perception of the elderly is utilized in designing productive environments for the senior population in regards to the sense of touch. The interior design of senior living environments can greatly enhance the retirement experience for the elderly population. With the information I have gained through my research and work will reflect in my future design projects. I also wish to share this enlightenment with others in my field of study.
Date: August 2003
Creator: Kile, Mia
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Concept of Dignity in the Early Science Fiction Novels of Kurt Vonnegut.

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Kurt Vonnegut's early science fiction novels depict societies and characters that, as in the real world, have become callous and downtrodden. These works use supercomputers, aliens, and space travel, often in a comical manner, to demonstrate that the future, unless people change their concepts of humanity, will not be the paradise of advanced technology and human harmony that some may expect. In fact, Vonnegut suggests that the human condition may gradually worsen if people continue to look further and further into the universe for happiness and purpose. To Vonnegut, the key to happiness is dignity, and this key is to be found within ourselves, not without.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Dye, Scott Allen
System: The UNT Digital Library
Social Discourse in the Savoy Theatre's Productions of The Nautch Girl (1891) and Utopia Limited (1893): Exoticism and Victorian Self-Reflection (open access)

Social Discourse in the Savoy Theatre's Productions of The Nautch Girl (1891) and Utopia Limited (1893): Exoticism and Victorian Self-Reflection

As a consequence to Gilbert and Sullivan's famed Carpet Quarrel, two operettas with decidedly "exotic" themes, The Nautch Girl; or, The Rajah of Chutneypore, and Utopia Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress were presented to London audiences. Neither has been accepted as part of the larger Savoy canon. This thesis considers the conspicuous business atmosphere of their originally performed contexts to understand why this situation arose. Critical social theory makes it possible to read the two documents as overt reflections on British imperialism. Examined more closely, however, the operettas reveal a great deal more about the highly introverted nature of exotic representation and the ambiguous dialogue between race and class hierarchies in late nineteenth-century British society.
Date: August 2003
Creator: Hicks, William L.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Comparative Bioavailability of Dietary and Dissolved Cadmium to Freshwater Aquatic Snails

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Heavy metal bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms may occur through direct or indirect uptake routes. Research indicates that the significance of uptake route varies with contaminant and organism exposed. The relative importance of different metal sources in aquatic systems was investigated by exposing freshwater snails to dietary or dissolved sources of cadmium. Snails were exposed to control, contaminated food only, contaminated water only, and contaminated food and water treatments. During the 15-day exposure, samples were taken to determine Cd concentration in snail soft tissue, snail shell, algal food, and overlying water. Analyses of snail soft tissue and shells indicate that exposure route significantly affects Cd concentrations in the tissues. In both cases, dissolved Cd is the primary contributor to metal body burden.
Date: December 2003
Creator: White, Jessica C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Applications of Remote Sensing and GIS to Modeling Fire for Vegetative Restoration in Northern Arizona (open access)

Applications of Remote Sensing and GIS to Modeling Fire for Vegetative Restoration in Northern Arizona

An accurate fire model is a useful tool in predicting the behavior of a prescribed fire. Simulation of fire requires an extensive amount of data and can be accomplished best using GIS applications. This paper demonstrates integrative procedures of using of ArcGIS™, ERDAS Imagine™, GPS, and FARSITE© to predict prescribed fire behavior on the Kaibab-Paiute Reservation. ArcGIS was used to create a database incorporating all variables into a common spatial reference system and format for the FARSITE model. ArcGIS Spatial Analyst was then used to select optimal burn sites for simulation. Our predictions will be implemented in future interagency efforts towards vegetative restoration on the reservation.
Date: August 2003
Creator: Hardison, Tanya
System: The UNT Digital Library
Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway: A Literary Relationship (open access)

Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway: A Literary Relationship

Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway met in Key West in 1937, married in 1941, and divorced in 1945. Gellhorn's work exhibits a strong influence from Hemingway's work, including collaboration on her work during their marriage. I will discuss three of her six novels: WMP (1934), Liana (1944), and Point of No Return (1948). The areas of influence that I will rely on in many ways follow the stages Harold Bloom outlines in Anxiety of Influence. Gellhorn's work exposes a stage of influence that Bloom does not describe-which I term collaborative. By looking at Hemingway's influence in Gellhorn's writing the difference between traditional literary influence and collaborative influence can be compared and analyzed, revealing the footprints left in a work by a collaborating author as opposed to simply an influential one.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Salmon, H. L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of Factors Related to Teacher Retention (open access)

A Study of Factors Related to Teacher Retention

Teacher attrition is a problem with a number of implications, not the least of which is the teacher shortage. Almost half of all new teachers leave the profession within the first five years, creating a difficult model where more teachers leave the teaching profession compared to teachers entering the profession. Part of the problem is a result of career progression. However, most of teacher attrition is a result of factors such as inadequate pay, administrative support, workplace conditions, student related issues, and collegiality with peers. Without a thorough understanding of the factors that contribute to teacher attrition it is impossible to create an environment where "No Child is Left Behind". Although teachers do not enter the profession with the notion of getting rich, they do need to make enough money to support themselves and their families. Furthermore, professional status in America is closely tied to socioeconomic status. Therefore, while salary may be the largest component of teacher attrition, school and district characteristics, teacher qualifications, and demographics also affect a teacher's decision to leave the profession.
Date: December 2003
Creator: McKee, Kerry Lyn
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Descriptive Study of the Intelligence Community in the United States of America (open access)

A Descriptive Study of the Intelligence Community in the United States of America

This treatise represents a descriptive study of the intelligence community in the United States. It explores the ramifications of terrorism on the intelligence function, post September 11, 2001. In-depth discussions concerning the structure of the U.S. intelligence community are presented as well as a focus on the defined steps of the intelligence process: planning and directions, collection, analysis, production, and dissemination. The final aspect of this study poses questions and issues relating to the restructuring of the U.S. intelligence community in light of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Ucak, Hursit
System: The UNT Digital Library
New Surveillance Technologies and the Invasion of Privacy Rights (open access)

New Surveillance Technologies and the Invasion of Privacy Rights

Definition of privacy has changed by the changes and improvements in information and surveillance technologies. These changes and improvement need new legal decisions for new kinds of privacy invasions. This study explores the scope of privacy right, particularly when a technological surveillance has occurred by law enforcement agencies. It focuses in particular on increasing law enforcements' surveillance technologies and devices that have the potential to impact citizens' information privacy. These increasing changes in surveillance technologies have important implications both for law enforcements and citizens. This study also discusses increasing law enforcement surveillance for the public's security, changes of the laws that allow law enforcements to use new surveillance powers as a war on terrorism, and the citizens concerns of information privacy. A particular attention is given to the recent public opinion surveys which show citizens' increasing privacy concerns. Finally, a set of recommendations to figure out security-privacy debate and reduce the privacy concerns of the citizens is offered.
Date: August 2003
Creator: Simsek, Yilmaz
System: The UNT Digital Library
Police officers: Perception of self, occupational role, and occupational events. (open access)

Police officers: Perception of self, occupational role, and occupational events.

This study examined police officers' perceptions of self, occupational role and their relation to perceived stress and posttraumatic stress symptomology. Self-report measures for the study variables were completed by 101 police officers. Hypotheses predicted that perception of self and role would be associated with perception of stress and that perception of the stress would mediate PTSD symptomology. Neuroticism, job quality and general job satisfaction were the main predictors of stress. Stress levels mediated between 1) job quality and the symptoms of anxious arousal and impaired self-reference; 2) general job satisfaction and the symptoms of defensive avoidance and dissociation; and 3) neuroticism and the symptom of defensive avoidance. This implies that police officers' job quality, their feelings of general job satisfaction, and low levels of neuroticism are important in alleviating stress and subsequent psychological sequela.
Date: December 2003
Creator: Piper, Lynn J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Predicting institutional behavior in youthful offenders: The role of individual and family factors in risk assessment. (open access)

Predicting institutional behavior in youthful offenders: The role of individual and family factors in risk assessment.

A vigorous debate persists in the literature about the efficacy of clinical judgment and actuarial models of risk assessment. This study was designed to augment those commonly used methods by integrating a variety of factors that produce risk and protective effects among 101 youthful offenders. Adolescents and young adults in a maximum-security facility were interviewed with the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV), and completed self-reports of psychopathy, impulsivity, and perceived parental care and protection. This selection of empirically-supported predictors was enhanced by criminal history and family information obtained through extensive file review. Markedly different prediction models emerged based on age. ADHD and PCL Factor 2 predicted adolescents' institutional maladjustment. In contrast, young adults' institutional behavior was influenced by impulsivity, family substance abuse, and gang membership. Treatment progress also differed depending on age; the absence of certain risk factors predicted success for adolescents, while academic achievement and intelligence facilitated young adults' advancement. Importantly, support was demonstrated for the moderating effects of protective factors on violence. Finally, the predictive validity of newly-developed psychopathy self-reports was examined in relation to the PCL:YV. Both the SALE PS-24 and the APSD were modestly effective at differentiating between high and low levels of psychopathy.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Martin, Mary A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Whole as a Result of Its Parts: Assembly in Aaron Copland's Score for  The Red Pony (open access)

The Whole as a Result of Its Parts: Assembly in Aaron Copland's Score for The Red Pony

Aaron Copland's music for The Red Pony (1948-49), based on John Steinbeck's story collection, is probably the best known of his film scores. The effectiveness of The Red Pony score stems from Copland's belief that film music should be subordinate to the film it accompanies. Copland composed The Red Pony score using his self-described method of "assembly," augmenting this process with devices to synchronize the music with the picture. Examination of archival sources shows how the score reflects the acknowledged influence of Igor Stravinsky, the needs of the film medium, and the plot of The Red Pony specifically. Despite Copland's modern style characteristics, the music functions much like a conventional Hollywood film score.
Date: May 2003
Creator: McGinney, William Lawrence
System: The UNT Digital Library
Jean-Georges Kastner's  Traité general d'instrumentation: A Translation and Commentary (open access)

Jean-Georges Kastner's Traité general d'instrumentation: A Translation and Commentary

Georges Kastner's (b Strasbourg 9 March 1810; d Paris 19 December 1867) Traite général d'instrumentation (1837), an important contribution to instrumentation study, is often overlooked because of its chronological proximity to Berlioz's Grand traité d'instrumentation (1843). Kastner's complete and concise treatise discusses the standard orchestral instruments and several obscure and ancient instruments. Intended principally for young composers, it provides the most detailed descriptions of the standard wind instruments of his day and discusses recent developments like the ophicleide and valved brass instruments. After the publication of the Traité, Kastner released a supplement including Aldophe Sax's newest innovations, entitled Cours d'instrumentation, which included musical examples of principals discussed in the Traité. Both the Traité and the Cours were accepted by the Academy and adopted by the Paris Conservatoire.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Woodward, Patricia Jovanna
System: The UNT Digital Library