Living in tune with nature means respecting the natural environment and realizing its power and the ways it manifests in daily life. This essay focuses on the ways in which respect for nature is expressed through animal imagery in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Mark Twain's "The Stolen White Elephant," Roughing It, and Pudd'nhead Wilson, and Jack London's The Call of the Wild. Each author encouraged readers to seek the benefits of nature in order to become better human beings, forge stronger communities, and develop a more unified nation and world. By learning from the positive example of the animals, we learn how to share our world with them and with each other.

Serious and violent juvenile offenders cause a disproportionate amount of harm to society, yet this population receives very little attention within the realm of empirical research. This research study examined the recidivism outcomes of 296 serious and violent offenders previously exposed to rehabilitative treatment in the Capital and Serious Violent Offender Program provided by the Texas Youth Commission. This group of juveniles was followed for three years following their release from institutionalization. This analysis revealed that 52% of those released were rearrested at least once during the follow-up period for any offense, while 48% of those released desisted from crime altogether. Of those 296 released, 34% were rearrested for at least one new felony offense. The analyses indicate that those involved in various forms of institutional misconduct during institutionalization were significantly more likely to recidivate. African-American race and institutional misconduct in the form of rule infractions emerged as the most consistent predictors of recidivism for this sample. This study concludes with a discussion of policy implications and risk assessment related to the decisions that are made to release this population of violent juvenile offenders.

Appointment no-shows are a problem in healthcare organizations. It is important that appointment intake and scheduling processes are effective in both meeting client needs and efficient in meeting organizational business requirements. This study examined baseline levels of appointment keeping in a not-for-profit medical/behavioral pediatric services clinic, analyzed existing administrative processes, introduced additional appointment keeping reminders, and presented systematic, performance management tutorials for clinic employees. Results indicate an increase in percentage of appointments kept and a decrease in appointment lag time.

Wireless sensor networks are ad hoc networks of tiny battery powered sensor nodes that can organize themselves to form self-organized networks and collect information regarding temperature, light, and pressure in an area. Though the applications of sensor networks are very promising, sensor nodes are limited in their capability due to many factors. The main limitation of these battery powered nodes is energy. Sensor networks are expected to work for long periods of time once deployed and it becomes important to conserve the battery life of the nodes to extend network lifetime. This work examines non-uniform grid-based routing protocol as an effort to minimize energy consumption in the network and extend network lifetime. The entire test area is divided into non-uniformly shaped grids. Fixed source and sink nodes with unlimited energy are placed in the network. Sensor nodes with full battery life are deployed uniformly and randomly in the field. The source node floods the network with only the coordinator node active in each grid and the other nodes sleeping. The sink node traces the same route back to the source node through the same coordinators. This process continues till a coordinator node runs out of energy, when new coordinator nodes …

This study evaluates archival data from a home intervention with an at-risk preschool child and her family. The intervention model studied was created by the Developmental Research Lab at Texas Christian University. Data was collected prior to and during the first 4 weeks of intervention to assess change in parent-child interaction, behavior and neurochemical profile. Measures used include coding of videotape recordings of the intervention, neurotransmitter levels taken via subject urine samples, Child Behavior Checklist, Parent Stress Index, and ACTeRS Parent Form. Results suggest positive change in parent-child interaction, behavior and neurochemical profile. However, consistent growth was not observed in several neurochemical results. Future studies should assess the entirety of the home intervention model and with a larger sample size.

Employee turnover has been one of the most serious issues facing the hotel industry for many years. Both researchers and practitioners have devoted considerable time and effort to better understand and indentify ways to decrease employee turnover. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of individual differences focusing on career motivation and polychronicity on job satisfaction and its influence on employee turnover intention in the hotel industry. This study surveyed 609 non-supervisory employees working at two Dallas hotels. Respondents provided information regarding career motivations, polychronicity, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. Career motivations were significantly related to employee job satisfaction which impacted employee turnover intention. This finding can be useful to hotel companies and their managers when attempting to understand employee motivation.

Though the remnants of a stereotype created over two millennia ago still thrive in American popular culture today, redheaded women are enjoying a more positive role in society than they have ever seen before. Women in Red explores the experience of the redheaded woman in America today by examining how the stereotypes have affected a small group of them, how these women relate to the stereotypes, and why, given the verisimilitude of the stereotype, a non-redheaded woman would embrace such an identity with the simple act of dying her hair red. This is the story behind the experience that is Women in Red.

Cardiovascular risk factors have expanded to include personality and other psychological characteristics. Negative affect (NA) has a longstanding history in cardiovascular health, but the path by which NA leads to cardiovascular disease (CVD) is yet to be defined. The following study examined the relationship of high NA and low extroversion (EX) with physiological cardiovascular markers in a sample of non-medical, professional adults. Our results indicated that individuals high in NA and low in EX displayed a significantly lower platelet count and a significantly higher mean platelet volume. Individuals high in NA displayed a significantly lower cholesterol risk ratio, while individuals high in EX displayed significantly higher platelet counts. Personality was not significantly related to blood pressure, high or low density lipoproteins. Understanding the relationships among psychological variables and physiological markers will help clinical researchers design interventions that reduce the likelihood of CVD.

The human resources department of a financial institution implemented a multi-component intervention to replace a paper-based hiring system. Organization-wide impacts included changes in the background check operations. To support changes, training was conducted and procedure manuals distributed. Turn time for background checks decreased, but a combination of factors may be responsible. Other metrics are either inconclusive or suggest a confounding variable, yet quality of work did not suffer was maintained. Desired system use was achieved, accompanied by improvements in time-to-fill, voluntary turnover, and quality of applicants. Considerations for analysis and challenges faced are discussed, along with suggestions for further clarification and improvements.

This research investigated the impact of invertebrates to four species of native aquatic macrophytes: V. americana, P. nodosus, P. illinoensis, and N. mexicana. Two treatments were utilized on each plant species, an insecticide treatment to remove most invertebrates and a non-treated control. Ten herbivore taxa were collected during the duration of the study including; Synclita, Paraponyx, Donacia, Rhopalosiphum, and Hydrellia. Macrophyte biomass differences between treatments were not measured for V. americana or N. mexicana. The biomasses of P. nodosus and P. illinoensis in non-treated areas were reduced by 40% and 63% respectively. This indicated that herbivory, once thought to be insignificant to aquatic macrophytes, can cause substantial reductions in biomass.

The current study consisted of two experiments, both of which were comparisons of choice conditions replicated across four participants. Four typically-developing pre-school children participated in this study. Experiment 1 evaluated participants' preference for choosing consequent stimuli prior to engaging in academic tasks (pre-session choice) versus choosing consequent stimuli each time criterion for reinforcement had been met within the session (within-session choice). In Experiment 2, preference for choice-making was evaluated when outcomes for both choice and no-choice conditions were identical. For two participants, results indicated strong preference for choice-making.

As the United States' baby boom generation ages, the future of nursing home care becomes increasingly important. Through this study the researcher seeks to understand quality in nursing home care from the family's perspective. Surveys were collected at one North Texas nursing home, and data were analyzed to determine how gender and level of family involvement impact their concept of quality. Further, the information in this study is aimed at clarifying if interventions, specifically empowered CNA teams, have an impact on how family members view quality. Findings are identified and recommendations for future study are made.

Mexico's cultural norms have been the subject of repeated inquiries because democratic and authoritarian patterns appear concomitantly. However, few have focused on the potential demographic and contextual sources of these divergent results. This study attempts to clarify the sources of Mexico's political culture, and then determine the extent to which these factors affect political participation. Statistical analysis of a LAPOP dataset from 2006 makes limited progress to this end. The sources of Mexican political culture remain somewhat a mystery, although some intriguing results were found. Most notably, demographic traits appear to have little influence on political culture variables and political participation rates in Mexico. In fact, political culture norms and political participation appears consistent across Mexico's infamous social and economic lines.

This study was designed to examine the opinions of Turkish immigrants living in the Houston metropolitan area about the conflict between secularism and Islam in Turkey. The study examined the role of the practice of religion on the opinions about the clash between secularism and Islam. A final sample consisted of 40 immigrants recruited through purposeful and snowball sampling. In-depth interviews and a survey including screening questions were conducted. The results indicated that practice of religion has a partial impact on the opinions of Turkish immigrants about the conflict between secularism and Islam. Future research should further examine if the experience of living abroad for a long period influence Turkish immigrants' opinions about the same issue.

On three days in March each year, the sleepy little town of Sweetwater, Texas transforms into the rattlesnake capital of the world. Snake hunters and curious tourists converge on the town of 12,000 for the Annual Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup. On the outside of the Nolan County Coliseum, the smell of funnel cakes and hot-dogs fills the air as vendors sell snacks and souvenirs. However the real action is inside where snakes collected from all over the state lay in piles by the thousands, waiting to be sexed, milked and ultimately killed. Through interviews and observational footage, "Snakes Alive!" explores the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup, those that participate in the event, and the elements that make it an unabashed West Texas tradition.

Throughout the colonial period, the Spanish attempted to Hispanicize the Indians along the northern frontier of New Spain. The conquistador, the missionary, the civilian settler, and the presidial soldier all took part in this effort. At La Junta de los Rios, a fertile area inhabited by both sedentary and semi-sedentary Indians, each of these institutions played a part in fundamentally changing the region and its occupants. This research, relying primarily on published Spanish source documents, sets the effort to Hispanicize La Junta in the broader sphere of Spain's frontier policy.

The purpose of the study was to better understand marital conflict and marital satisfaction among Latina mothers in the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program. Latina mothers living in a marriage or in a committed relationship (n = 91) reported levels of marital conflict and marital satisfaction. Between both groups, non-HIPPY mothers reported significantly less marital satisfaction and more conflict associated with affection than HIPPY mothers. A negative correlation (r = -.495, p <.001, n = 91) indicated that more satisfaction was related to less marital conflict. Out of ten marital conflicts, religion, leisure time, drinking, and other women (outside the relationship) best explained how satisfied mothers were in their relationship with their spouse. In this study, participants who were in the HIPPY program may have more support and higher marital quality. Social service programs such as HIPPY may help families build stronger marriages. Further research on Latino/Hispanic culture and values are important when developing culturally sensitive marriage and couples education.

Density functional (ca, BLYP, BPW91, B3LYP and B3PW91), MP2 and CCSD(T) methods in combination with LANL2DZ or cc-pVxZ-PP (where x=D(double), T(triple) Q(quadruple), and 5(quintuple)) basis sets have been employed in computing electronic transition energies of zinc and cadmium monomers. CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pV5Z-PP combination finds values that are 150 cm-1 from the experimental value for the zinc monomer and 240 cm-1 remove from the cadmium monomer excitation experimental value. These method/basis set combinations are also used to find spectroscopic values (re, De, we, wexe, Be , and Te) that rival experimental values for dimers and excimers. Examples of this can be seen with the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pV5Z-PP combination phosphorescent emission results. The values found are within 120 cm-1 of the zinc emission energy and 290 cm-1 of the cadmium emission energy. While this combination rigorously models spectroscopic constants for monomers, dimers, and excimers, it does not efficiently model these constants for larger clusters with available modern computational resources. It is important to show spectroscopic trends (bonding, phosphorescent excitation and emissions) as clusters increase as the monomer and dimer emission energies do not model solid state metallophilic interactions and phosphorescence. The MP2/LANL2DZ combinations show qualitative cooperative bonding trends in group oligomers and extended excimers as size …

This textual record of the making of the social issue documentary film A Native American Dream examines theoretical and practical considerations of the filmmaker during the pre-production, production, and post-production stages. It also examines the disciplines of anthropology and ethnography in terms of modern documentary filmmaking and evaluates the film within these contexts.

The political implications of the OE prose translations of King Alfred (849-899) are overlooked by scholars who focus on the literary merits of the texts. When viewed as propaganda, Alfred's writings show a careful reshaping of their Latin sources that reaffirms Alfred's claim to power. The preface to Pastoral Care, long understood to be the inauguration of Alfred's literary reforms, is invested with highly charged language and a dramatic reinvention of English history, which both reestablishes the social hierarchy with the king more firmly in place at its head and constructs the inevitability of what is actually a quite radical translation project. The translations themselves reshape their readers' understanding of kingship, even while creating implicit comparison between Alfred and the Latin authors.

Efficacy of multidisciplinary inpatient treatment of feeding disordered children was sought through retrospective chart review of 40 G-tube dependent children ages 22 months to 7 years. Premature births were 55% of the sample ranging from 23 to 36 weeks gestation. The majority of co-occurring medical conditions included congenital anomalies (50%), gastroesophageal reflux disease (25%) and chronic lung disease (25%). Treatment effect analyzed from pre and post treatment measures of oral and G-tube caloric intakes resulted in a significant difference from admission to discharge for both oral intake, t (39) = 5.76, p < 0.001, d = 1.02, and G-tube dependency, t(39) = 10.94, p < 0.001, d = 2.03 with both showing strong treatment effects. Results indicated a highly reliable and valid method of treating severe pediatric feeding disorders.

Behavior analysts have proposed a primary measure, the "learn unit," to evaluate educational effectiveness. Past research has indicated this is a useful approach. The benefits of "learn units" may also apply to family interventions in autism. The current analysis evaluated the rates of learn units in a naturalistic parent-training program to determine if (1) definitions of learn units previously described in the literature can be reliably applied to family interventions and (2) an increased number of learn units correlate with increased child responding and attainment of child and family goals. Results from the current analysis demonstrated that the rate of learn units increased from baseline to training for all parent-child dyads and the percent of correct child responses increased for all children. Teaching parents the components of effective education may increase the quantity and quality of interventions for children diagnosed with autism.

Using the principles of systems analysis as a guide, this study compared two class schedule formats used by Behavior Management and Parenting Services (BMAPS) in order to address the following research questions: 1) What effects do 2 different class formats have on student attrition and appointment keeping? 2) What effects do 2 different class formats have on student outcomes on a pre and posttest assessment? 3) What effects do 2 different class formats have on staff procedures? BMAPS provides parent education to individuals referred by Child Protective Services. The current research included approximately 200 referred clients with an appointment or class scheduled with BMAPS between January 1, 2006 and September 22, 2007. Data was collected by reviewing client files for class attendance and performance records. Results of this study allow BMAPS to enlist the class format that is correlated with better attrition rates and client outcomes.

Job satisfaction is one of the most commonly studied variables in the organizational literature. It is related to a multitude of employee-relevant variables including but not limited to performance, organizational commitment, and intent to quit. This study examined two new instruments measuring the components of affect and cognition as they relate to job satisfaction. It further proposed including an evaluative (or true attitudinal) component to improve the prediction of job satisfaction. Results provide some evidence of both two and three factor structures of affect and cognition. This study found minimal support for the inclusion of evaluation in the measurement of job satisfaction. Affect was found to be the single best predictor of job satisfaction, regardless of the satisfaction measure used. Further development is needed to define the factor structures of affect and cognition as well as the role of these factors and evaluation in the prediction of job satisfaction.