This thesis concentrates on a local union of the International Association of Machinists (IAM), District Lodge 776, of Fort Worth, Texas, during the war years. The main argument of the thesis runs along three basic lines. First, it demonstrates that the experiences of the Fort Worth Machinists clearly fit into the national labor movement during the war years. Second, it argues that the existence, survival, and strength of the union depended greatly on outside forcesan expanding national economy, a powerful national union, and a generally labor-friendly government. Third, it shows that union officers and rank-and-file members used their bases of strengththe national economy, the national IAM, and the federal governmentto build an effective local labor organization.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between a set of cofactors and severity of cognitive impairment, to determine if there were any factors which significantly predicted more severe neurocognitive deficits in persons with AIDS. Twenty-four male volunteers recruited from community groups and physician referrals participated. Subjects completed several self-report questionnaires eliciting information regarding demographics and risk factor variables, in addition to a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests. A severity of cognitive impairment summary score was computed for each subject, reflecting both the number of impaired tests and their distance in the impaired direction from normative data. Neither CD4 count, number of months since diagnosis of AIDS, number of AIDS-related illnesses, number of recent stressors, history of head injury/LOC, history of substance use, current or past psychiatric disorder, history of learning disability nor history of other medical illness were found to be significantly related to severity of cognitive impairment in this sample, after controlling for the effects of age, level of education, estimated premorbid IQ and mood status. However, no reliable conclusions could be drawn from this study because the small sample size resulted in an unacceptably low level of statistical power for the desired regression …

The problem of this study was to review within Dallas and Tarrant Counties the relationship between an "influenza-like" illness within six months prior to contracting Mycobacterium kansasii disease. An interview instrument was developed and used during personal interviews to collect data. Additional data of case rates and reported cases was compiled from local and national governmental public health agencies. Analysis of the data indicated no significant difference between an individual contracting an "influenzalike" illness within six months prior to the acquiring of Mycobacterium kansasii disease. Therefore, there is no relationship between having had influenza-like symptoms within six months of contracting Mycobacteria kansasii.

Over 9 million new cases of tuberculosis (TB) were reported worldwide in 2013. While the TB rate is much lower in the US, its uneven distribution and associated explanatory variables require interrogation in order to determine effective strategies for intervention and control. However, paucity of case data at fine geographic scales precludes such research. This research, using zip code level data from 837 confirmed TB cases in Tarrant County obtained from Texas Department of State Health Services, explores and attempts to explain the spatial patterns of TB and related risk markers within a framework of place vulnerability. Readily available census data is then used to characterize the spatial variations in TB risk. The resulting model will enable estimations of the geographic differences in TB case variables using this readily available census data instead of time-consuming and expensive individual data collection.

The performance of Uneven Parallel Bar skills by junior high girls is hindered by blister formation on the hands. The problem was to investigate certain measures relative to their value in blister prevention.

This study was conducted to determine if drug addict patients tend to select leaders with good rehabilitation potential, as this potential is determined by examination of certain personality characteristics of the addicts.

This dissertation outlines the creation and history of the Fort Worth Stockyards Company from its conception to the time of this dissertation's publication. The Fort Worth Stockyards Company was created by Greenleif W. Simpson and Louville V. Niles. This company would soon cement Fort Worth as the premier livestock producer in America, soon surpassing Chicago.

This dissertation analyzes Fort Worth's Mexican community from 1960 to 2000 while considering the idea of citizenship through representation in education and politics. After establishing an introductory chapter that places the research in context with traditional Chicano scholarship while utilizing prominent ideas and theories that exist within Modern Imperial studies, the ensuing chapter looks into the rise of Fort Worth's Mexican population over the last four decades of the twentieth century. Thereafter, this work brings the attention to Mexican education in Fort Worth beginning in the 1960s and going through the end of the twentieth century. This research shows some of the struggles Mexicans encountered as they sought increased representation in the classroom, on the school board, and within other areas of the Fort Worth Independent School District. Meanwhile, Mexicans were in direct competition with African Americans who also sought increased representation while simultaneously pushing for more aggressive integration efforts against the wishes of Mexican leadership. Subsequently, this research moves the attention to political power in Fort Worth, primarily focusing on the Fort Worth city council. Again, this dissertation begins in the 1960s after the Fort Worth opened the election of the mayor to the people of Fort Worth. No …

The purpose of the present investigation was to explore the relationship of the adolescent experience of parental death to the variables of identity formation, adjustment, and coping. The inclusion of adolescents who had experienced parental divorce and those who had not experienced either loss condition allowed for group comparisons.

The problem of assessment and diagnosis of depression in the elderly begins with the definition of depression being indefinite. In this study, the theory of learned helplessness was chosen because of its value in organizing research within a learning theory framework. The Beck Depression Inventory, measures of fluid and crystallized intellectual ability, locus of control, and attribution of success and failure were chosen as variables for an exploratory factor analysis. The purpose of selecting these variables was to assess the cognitive, motivational, and affective components of learned helplessness as they affected the responses of elderly subjects to depression items. Self report measures of income, education, and health, were included to assess the relationship of these variables to depression. A somatic factor was predicted to correlate with an affective factor of depression.

The purpose of this study was to validate a stress inventory which would differentiate between a normative group and a patient population suffering from environmental illness. The hypotheses of this study were: (1) the Total Stress Load Inventory would be predictive in discriminating between clinical ecology patients and a normative group; (2) each section or subscale of the Total Stress Load Inventory would be predictive of psychological, cognitive, nutritional, and/or medical factors.

The problem with which this investigation was concerned is that of treating agoraphobia with cognitive-behavioral group therapy and cognitive-behavioral group therapy combined with the drug alprazolam (Xanax). The purpose of the research was twofold. The first goal was to determine the relative effectiveness of the two treatment conditions on phobic behavior, anxiety, and depression. A second goal was to analyze the results and make recommendations concerning each of these modalities available to agoraphobics, their families, and to treatment specialists. The research design of this study was a randomized, pretest-posttest, experimental group design. The sample (N = 15) consisted of Group I (N = 7), who received behavioral-cognitive group therapy combined with the medication alprazolam, and Group II (N = 8), who received behavioral-cognitive group therapy only. The treatment included 15, 2-hour weekly group sessions, with the addition of a brief medication evaluation prior to each group meeting for Group I. During these sessions, the subjects received information about agoraphobia in the form of brief didactic segments, treatment materials, homework assignments, group interaction, and various forms of desensitization. Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions were drawn: 1. Multidimensional behavioral-cognitive group therapy can significantly reduce phobic avoidance, anxiety, …

The purposes of the study were: to determine the relationship between class size and academic achievement among university students in first-semester calculus classes, and to compare opinions about the instructor, course, and classroom learning environment of university students in small first-semester calculus classes with those in large classes. The sample consisted of 225 university students distributed among two large and two small sections of first-semester calculus classes taught at the University of Texas at Arlington during the fall of 1987. Each of two tenured faculty members taught a large and small section of approximately 85 and 27 students, respectively. During the first week of the semester, scores from the Calculus Readiness Test (CR) were obtained from the sample and used as the covariate in each analysis of covariance of four periodic tests, a comprehensive final examination, and final grade average. The CR scores were also used in a logistic regression analysis of attrition rates between each pair of large and small sections of first-semester calculus. Three semantic differentials were used to test the hypotheses relating to student opinion of the instructor, course, and classroom learning environment. It was found that for both pairs of large and small first-semester calculus classes …

It has been suggested that the use of standardized intelligence tests is biased against minorities. This study investigates the newly revised Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III in which Wechsler states that the new scale has eliminated biased items. Comparisons of the scores on the WISC-R and the WISC-III of a clinical population of sixteen African American and eighteen Caucasian males, ages ten to sixteen, revealed significant differences between the two groups on the WISC-III. The minority scores decreased predictably from the WISC-R to the WISC-III, but the Caucasian scores increased rather than decreasing. The findings of this study do not support the predictions and goals of revision as stated in the manual of the WISC-III.

Little research has addressed the degree to which domestic violence is mutual and whether patterns are stable across women's relationships. Studies that exist have conflicting results. This study addressed these issues and the effects of sustaining past violence on women's expressions of violence in their current relationship. Archival data from a sample of severely psychologically abused community women (N = 92) and a sample of low-income community women (N = 836) were analyzed. Results showed the presence of mutual violence in women's current relationships which was not related to past partners' violence. Results regarding the stability of violence are weak, but indicate that the frequency and severity of violence across relationships sustained by women does not decrease across relationships. Overall, results supported the hypothesis that violence is mutual in the relationships of community women, although specific patterns may differ by ethnicity.

The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a program being run by the Bedford Police Department’s Repeat Victimization Unit on domestic violence and mental health and mental retardation. The study sought to determine whether the program was effective in reducing instances of repeat victimization in domestic violence and MHMR victims. Additionally the program investigated whether or not the program was effective at reducing victimization severity, and which demographic could be identified as the most victimized. Participants consisted of 157 domestic violence and MHMR victims in the city of Bedford, Tx between November 11, 2012 to July 30, 2013. Findings indicate that levels of repeat victimization for domestic violence and MHMR are relatively low regardless of whether the victim received services through the repeat victimization program or not. Additionally the severity of these repeat victimizations remains relatively constant regardless of whether services were received through the program or not. Implications and findings are discussed.

Since 2008, the United States (USA) has resettled thousands of Bhutanese refugees, providing brief financial support and pathways to citizenship. Despite the efforts of governing bodies and voluntary agencies which facilitate resettlement, many refugees struggle with adapting to the vastly different lifestyle, economy, language and social structures. In particular, effectively addressing psychological needs of this population is a challenge for service providers operating within an expensive health care system based on Western constructs of mental health. In response to this challenge, refugee resettlement agencies throughout the country use community gardens to promote psychological healing, self-sufficiency, community engagement, and a return of human dignity. Though success of these programs is being shared in the media, there has yet to be empirical data examining their impact. The current study tested whether Bhutanese refugee engagement in a community garden impacts symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD and somatic complaints. The study also investigated whether community gardening is associated with perceptions of social support and adjustment to life in the United States. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected from 50 adult Bhutanese refugees in Fort Worth, Texas. Gardening was significantly related to increased social support overall, a key factor in overall functionality within communal cultures; …

During the modern era, the urbanization of water has been facilitated by various privileged discourses, which valorize major engineering interventions for the sake of continued urban growth. This research examines discourse surrounding the 2-th Century proposal and construction of a reservoir near the then-tiny farming community of Grapevine, Texas, for the benefit of urban interests. I argue that urban interests produced Grapevine space as nothing more than a container for city water, by rendering meaningless any conception of space that was not directly articulated with urban economic networks. Modern discourse collapsed Denton Creek space from a watershed and landscape into a dimensionless node in the urban space of flows. In return, rural inhabitants were encouraged to progress and to modernize their own spaces: to become urban. Whereas urban discourse entails an implicit spatial imaginary of networks, I deploy the conceptual framework of settler colonialism to show that a core-periphery relationship remains relevant, and is not reducible to a network spatial ontology.

This study was conducted to detail the history of The Arlington Citizen-Journal newspaper and its editors and the effect of an active newspaper on the orderly growth of a town. The Arlington Citizen-Journal evolved from a merger of two Arlington weekly newspapers, The Arlington Journal and The Arlington Citizen, which for more than fifty years reported Arlington happenings. The study includes historical information about the city, its people, and its institutions, and direct quotations of both editorial comment and news reports of Arlington events and people. It was found that throughout the years of Arlington's rapid growth, The Citizen-Journal was a vital force behind its citizens.

To date, traditional behavioral interventions have done little to reduce the prevalence and transmission of HIV among African American men who have sex with men (AAMSM), a highly at risk group. Some researchers theorize that the lack of success may be because these interventions do not address contextual factors among AAMSM. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is one approach to research with the potential to lead to effective interventions in the future. CBPR is a collaborative, mixed-methods and multidisciplinary, approach to scientific inquiry, which is conducted with, and within, the community. The current study follows the CBPR approach to engage and develop a relationship with the African American communities in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Contextual issues were discussed in order to identify emerging themes regarding HIV health related issues among AAMSM to provide the groundwork for continued CBPR research and future interventions with AAMSM in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. To accomplish this goal, researchers began the CBPR process by conducting interviews and focus groups with a sample of approximately 62 (34 from key informant interviews, 28 from focus groups [gender balanced]) AIDS service organization leaders and workers, advocates, medical doctors and community members with first-hand knowledge of HIV health issues in …

Is there a relationship between work role and information seeking behavior? Three behaviors were examined: choice of information channel, choice of method for information retrieval, and choice of method for storing retrieved information. The Protestant clergy was selected as a profession with clearly identified work roles, including preacher and administrator. Questionnaires were mailed to 150 randomly selected ministers in Tarrant County, Texas. Sixty-four responded. Additionally, fifteen ministers selected at random were interviewed for additional data. The data collected through the questionnaires were analyzed using nonparametric statistical techniques.

The Dallas-Fort Worth International (DFW) Airport is located in a densely urbanized area with one of the fastest-growing populations in the U.S.A. The airport property includes a large tract of "protected" riparian forest that is unique to the urban surroundings. This dissertation explores variables that influence the benthic macroinvertebrate community structure found in urbanized prairie streams that were initially assessed by the University of North Texas (UNT) Benthic Ecology Lab during four, non-consecutive biomonitoring studies (2004, 2005, 2008, and 2014) funded by the DFW Airport. Additionally, land use analysis was performed using 5-meter resolution satellite imagery and eCognition to characterize the imperviousness of the study area watersheds at multiple scales. Overall, flow conditions and imperviousness at the watershed scale explained the most variability in the benthic stream community. Chironomidae taxa made up 20-50% of stream communities and outperformed all other taxa groups in discriminating between sites of similar flows and urban impairments. This finding highlights the need for genus level identifications of the chironomid family, especially as the dominant taxa in urban prairie streams. Over the course of these biomonitoring survey events, normal flow conditions and flows associated with supra-seasonal drought were experienced. Prevailing drought conditions of 2014 did not …

The Trinity River flows through the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex in north central Texas where it receives effluents from numerous point sources including seven large regional wastewater treatment facilities. Historically, the Trinity River has been impacted by massive wastewater loadings which often constitute > 80% of the total river discharge during low flow periods. Normally, high mass loadings correspond to the summer months, compounding the effects of a naturally stressful period, characterized by high temperatures and low dissolved oxygen concentrations. Samples from 12 stations were collected quarterly over an 18 month period from the Trinity River and two tributaries. Water samples were analyzed for a variety of water quality variables, including metals, priority pollutants, pesticides, and general water quality parameters. Water samples were also tested for acute and subchronic effects with several test species. Fish were collected at each station and assemblages were characterized using traditional classification techniques and the Index of Biotic Integrity. In addition, sediment samples were assessed for toxic effects which could have adversely impacted fish recruitment and in situ biomonitoring experiments were performed. Quantitative habitat characterization analyses were performed to gain additional information that could possibly explains differences in fish assemblage structure related to habitat variability. Data …