12 Études Caractéristiques, Opus 2, by Adolf von Henselt: A Pedagogical Guide with Practical Exercises on Selected Etudes (open access)

12 Études Caractéristiques, Opus 2, by Adolf von Henselt: A Pedagogical Guide with Practical Exercises on Selected Etudes

Adolf von Henselt (1814–1889) was one of the most renowned German pianists and composers of his day. The majority of his compositions are for the piano, one of his most successful being the set of Piano Études, Op. 2. It consists of twelve etudes, each of which is designed for developing a particular technique. Henselt's etudes are as demanding as Chopin's and Liszt's, so this pedagogical guide is designed for advanced-level students. Henselt uses many finger extensions and stretches larger than an octave, which may be difficult for smaller hands to play, but proper flexibility and relaxation should enable all students to play them. This dissertation describes the specific technique for six selected etudes and provides exercises to help students learn each technique effectively. The selected etudes—Nos. 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 11—were chosen to cover all three technical levels of less-advanced, advanced, and very advanced as well as a variety of musical styles and technical challenges.
Date: May 2023
Creator: Kim, Hyunsuk
System: The UNT Digital Library

"The '91 Roos"

The ‘91 Roos is a sports documentary focused in Killeen, Texas. exploring the 1991 Killeen Kangaroos high school football team and their journey to their city's one and only state championship in football. Killeen is a small central Texas town that is directly adjacent and provides support to Ft Hood, one of the world's largest military bases. With the Persian Gulf War raging in 1991, soldiers that lived in Killeen were being sent off to fight, leaving the city almost like a ghost town. In October 1991, the Luby's Massacre occurred in Killeen, bringing the already depleted city further down by tragedy. At the time, this was the worst mass shooting in US history. This high school football team went on a fairy tale type of run during their 1991 season, resulting in winning a state title and bringing big hope back to a small town in need. Using direct interviews, narration and archival footage, this film provides an emotional yet inspirational look at a small town football team and their improbable season.
Date: August 2022
Creator: Graham, Derwin Anthony
System: The UNT Digital Library
3D Printed Self-Activated Carbon Electrodes for Supercapacitor Applications (open access)

3D Printed Self-Activated Carbon Electrodes for Supercapacitor Applications

This study investigated a new approach to achieving high energy density supercapacitors (SCs) by using high surface area self-activated carbon from waste coffee grounds (WCGs) and modifying 3D printed electrodes' porous structure by varying infill density. The derived activated carbons' surface area, pore size, and pore volume were controlled by thermally treating the WCGs at different temperatures (1000˚C, 1100˚C, and 1200˚C) and post-treating with HCL to remove water-soluble ashes and contaminants that block activated carbon pores. Surface area characterization revealed that the carbon activated at 1000˚C had the highest surface of 1173.48 m2 g-1, and with the addition of HCL, the surface area increased to 1209.35 m2 g-1. This activated carbon was used for fabricating the electrodes based on the surface area and having both micropores and macropores, which are beneficial for charge storage. Direct ink writing (DIW) method was utilized for 3D printing SC electrodes and changing the electrode structure by increasing the infill densities at 30%, 50%, and 100%. Upon increasing the infill densities, the electrodes' mass increased linearly, porosity decreased, and the total surface area increased for the 30% and 50% infill electrodes but decreased for the 100% infill electrode. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) test on the assembled …
Date: July 2023
Creator: Disi, Onome Aghogho
System: The UNT Digital Library

3D Printing of Zinc Anode for Zinc Ion Batteries

Recently, 3D printing has received increasing attention for the fabrication and assembly of electrodes for batteries due to the freedom of creating structures in any shape or size, porosity, flexibility, stretchability, and chemistry. Particularly, zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) are favored due to high safety, cheap materials cost, and high volumetric capacity (5,849 mAh/cm3), however, rapid evaporation of Zn due to low melting temperature has limited its 3D printability via conventional laser-based additive manufacturing technique. Here, we develop a printable ink for the fabrication of flexible and 3D printed Zn anode with varied surface areas using the direct ink writing (DIW) method. Our 3D printed porous and high surface area Zn anode structures effectively suppressed the dendrite growth while providing high Zn ion diffusion towards the cathode to significantly enhance the performance of ZIB. By varying filament distancing and path, we 3D printed zinc anode structures with different active surface areas, surface area to volume ratio, porosity, flexible and multiple layer structures that can be incorporated on any device. Carbon in the composite improved conductivity, and mechanical stability of 3D printed zinc anode. Our 3D printed composite anodes allowed flexible designing of batteries surpassing conventional battery designs such as coin cells …
Date: December 2021
Creator: Amoko, Stephen Adot Oyo
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Abraham Solvation Model Used for Prediction of Solvent-Solute Interactions and New Methods for Updating Parameters (open access)

The Abraham Solvation Model Used for Prediction of Solvent-Solute Interactions and New Methods for Updating Parameters

The Abraham solvation model (ABSM) is an experimentally derived predictive model used to help predict various solute properties. This work covers various uses for the ABSM including predicting molar enthalpies of vaporization, predicting solvent coefficients for two new solvents (2,2,5,5-tetramethyloxolane and diethyl carbonate), predicting values for multiple new ionic liquids (ILs). This work also introduces a novel method for updating IL ABSM parameters by updating cation- and anion-specific values using linear algebra and binary matrices.
Date: May 2021
Creator: Churchill, Brittani N.
System: The UNT Digital Library
"Access Points" (open access)

"Access Points"

Access Points explores the different relationships that humans have to land, focusing on the various ways that the area known as the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is used, appreciated, and preserved by disparate groups. The natural beauty of this Wildlife Refuge and its striking appearance amidst encircling plains makes it a popular destination for many groups of people, including the local rock-climbing community and generations of indigenous peoples whose connection with this land is as deep as it is longstanding. While climbing organizations have long had to negotiate access and rules regarding climbing within the park, members of the Kiowa community negotiate a much different relationship to a natural area that is now managed by the United States government. These disparate voices, identities, and ways of thinking about land all impact the modern-day Wildlife Refuge in terms of its appearance, individuals' access to the land, and the conservation efforts happening there.
Date: August 2022
Creator: Dye, Aaron Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Accessibility and Pedagogical Value in Virtuosic American Trombone Solo Literature: A Performance Guide to "Divertimento for Trombone and Band" (2012) by Jack Stamp (open access)

Accessibility and Pedagogical Value in Virtuosic American Trombone Solo Literature: A Performance Guide to "Divertimento for Trombone and Band" (2012) by Jack Stamp

This dissertation is an examination of Divertimento for Solo Trombone and Wind Band by renowned wind band composer and conductor Jack Stamp. The result of this study is the illumination of a 21st-century composition for solo trombone and band that is made accessible for future performers, accomplished by constructing original musical exercises that are influenced by current trombone pedagogical materials that have either been edited, annotated or created by current performers and pedagogues such as Joseph Alessi, Brad Edwards and Michael Mulcahy. The piece also incorporates 20th -century American wind band influences. The careful selection of pedagogical materials serves the purpose of making this challenging solo accessible for the advanced academic trombonist and can serve as a template for surveying advanced literature of the present and future. Additionally, the pedagogical materials selected for use in this dissertation were considered based on their value in the present academic trombone repertory. Thus, this performance guide reflects on the validity of the modern trombone pedagogical literature to guide a performer's study, interpretation, and performance of a 21st-century work for solo trombone.
Date: July 2023
Creator: Umholtz, Jeremiah L.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Accommodating People Safety Curriculum for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

Children with disabilities are three to four times more likely to be abused than their non-disabled peers due to the impact of challenges related to behavior, cognition, language, social skills, and communication skills. In September of 2018, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) specifically noted the need to establish maltreatment prevention and response curricula and promote research and advocacy surrounding maltreatment of children with disabilities. One common curriculum recommended is Kidpower®. While Kidpower® shows promise in increasing people safety skills and offers some basic accommodations for use with disabled populations, a complete accommodation plan for deaf or hard of hearing students has not been developed. The purpose of this study was to explore how Kidpower® curriculum could be accommodated to meet the unique needs of deaf and hard of hearing students from the perspective of the deaf education community, including deaf adults, deaf education teachers, deaf education teacher preparation faculty, and parents with deaf or hard of hearing children. A combination of focus groups and interviews were utilized to review lessons and homework from the Kidpower® curriculum. Participants gave feedback on obstacles and ideas for accommodations and modifications that would mediate the challenges. Data were inductively coded and analyzed for …
Date: May 2021
Creator: Johnson, Jennifer A. L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Acenaphthene and 1,10-Phenanthroline-Fused Βeta-Functionalized Porphyrins (open access)

Acenaphthene and 1,10-Phenanthroline-Fused Βeta-Functionalized Porphyrins

A series of acene-fused porphyrins and 1,10-phenanthroline-fused porphyrins were synthesized and characterized via NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The acene-fused porphyrins exhibit unique optoelectronic properties, most notably they exhibit highly red-shifted absorption bands. The 1,10-phenanthroline-fused porphyrins are of interest for their ability to bond to as variety of metals to form chelation complexes.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Arvidson, Jacob Randall
System: The UNT Digital Library
Achievement Motivation Theory as a Model for Explaining College Athletes' Grit (open access)

Achievement Motivation Theory as a Model for Explaining College Athletes' Grit

This study examined the direct and indirect associations of the perceived coach-created motivational climate, athletes' implicit theory, and athletes' achievement goal orientation in relation to their levels of grit. Five hundred twenty-three Division I and II collegiate student-athletes (male = 246, female = 277) from five institutions across the south-central and southeast areas of the United States completed self-report measures assessing the previously described constructs. The measurement model fit the data well (SRMR = .055; CFI = .938; RMSEA = .067) and demonstrated invariance across the male and female athletes. The structural model demonstrated adequate fit (SRMR = .088; CFI = .918; RMSEA = .068). All direct and indirect paths in the model were significant in the expected direction, with the exception of the direct path from entity theory to ego goal orientation and the indirect path from ego-involving climate to ego goal orientation through entity theory, which were both non-significant. The mastery-incremental constructs accounted for 65% of the variance in grit. Results indicate that achievement motivation theory is an appropriate framework through which to examine grit, and achievement motivation constructs may be significant antecedents of grit's development. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
Date: August 2020
Creator: Albert, Erin
System: The UNT Digital Library
Activating Artistry: Community Engagement Resources and Teaching Artist Strategies for the Bassoonist (open access)

Activating Artistry: Community Engagement Resources and Teaching Artist Strategies for the Bassoonist

This document examines current practices and opportunities in the music performance field related to artistic citizenship, community engagement, and the field of teaching artistry. The relationship of musicians to their audiences and communities has shifted significantly in the twenty-first century, and there is an increasing need to redefine the essential skills of the professional musician. Derived from the field of teaching artistry, the concept of "activating artistry" suggests that our greatest strength and power as artists lies in drawing out individual artistic expression in other people, and it is with this power that artists as a workforce can create meaningful change in society. This intention could be manifested in many different contexts during the course of a given music career, however, developing the tool kit necessary for engaging in such work is not widely emphasized in the training of musicians. What tools can be provided for students and professionals to help them navigate both traditional and evolving career paths in music? How are bassoonists doing as a field in addressing the imperative of community engagement and artistic citizenship? How might we explore more collaborative ways to engage with our diverse communities – ways that value their perspectives? These questions guide …
Date: May 2021
Creator: Spring, Staci
System: The UNT Digital Library
Activation of Small Molecules by Transition Metal Complexes via Computational Methods (open access)

Activation of Small Molecules by Transition Metal Complexes via Computational Methods

The first study project is based on modeling Earth abundant 3d transition-metal methoxide complexes with potentially redox-noninnocent ligands for methane C–H bond activation to form methanol (LnM-OMe + CH4 → LnM–Me + CH3OH). Three types of complex consisting of tridentate pincer terpyridine-like ligands, and different first-row transition metals (M = Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) were modeled to elucidate the reaction mechanism as well as the effect of the metal identity on the thermodynamics and kinetics of a methane activation reaction. The calculations showed that the d electron count of the metal is a more significant factor than the metal's formal charge in controlling the thermodynamics and kinetics of C–H activation. These researches suggest that late 3d-metal methoxide complexes that favor σ-bond metathesis pathways for methane activation will yield lower barriers for C–H activation, and are more profitable catalyst for future studies. Second, subsequently, on the basis of the first project, density functional theory is used to analyze methane C−H activation by neutral and cationic nickel-methoxide complexes. This study identifies strategies to further lower the barriers for methane C−H activation through evaluation of supporting ligand modifications, solvent polarity, overall charge of complex, metal identity and counterion …
Date: May 2020
Creator: Najafian, Ahmad
System: The UNT Digital Library

Acute and Sublethal Impacts of Crude Oil Photo-Induced Toxicity in an Early Life Stage Marine Fish (Sciaenops ocellatus) and Invertebrate (Americamysis bahia)

We investigated the modifying effects of ultraviolet (UV) light and chemical dispersant (Corexit 9500A) on crude oil toxicity in juvenile mysids (≤ 24 h) (Americamysis bahia) and larval red drum (24-72 hpf) (Sciaenops ocellatus). These results demonstrate that crude oil toxicity significantly increases with co-exposure to environmentally relevant UV levels in both species, indicating photo-induced toxicity. This toxicity was further exacerbated by the application of chemical dispersants which increased the dissolution and concentration of oil-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in test solutions. To better understand the mechanisms and initiating events of this observed photo-induced toxicity, the incidence of apoptotic cell death and global transcriptomic changes were assessed in larval red drum (24-72 hpf) following co-exposure to crude oil and UV. These results showed that co-exposure to UV and low concentrations of crude oil (<1 µg/L ∑PAH50) induced apoptotic cell death in skin and eye tissue and altered transcriptomic pathways related to visual processing and dermatological disease. To link these cellular and molecular impacts of photo-induced toxicity to apical endpoints of ecological performance, sublethal impacts to growth, metabolic rate, and visually mediated behaviors were explored in larval red drum at 2 developmental stages. These results suggested that earlier life stages may …
Date: December 2023
Creator: Leads, Rachel Renee
System: The UNT Digital Library

Acute Endocrine Responses to Rest Redistribution with Heavier Loads in Resistance-Trained Men

The purpose of this study was to investigate endocrine responses to redistribution with heavier loads (RR+L) during back squat (BS) exercise in resistance-trained men. Ten men (mean±SE; 23±2 years, 175.6±2.0 cm, 78.0±3.4 kg, 4±1 training years) were assigned using randomization to either RR+L (4 sets of (2×5 repetitions) of BS with 30 s intra-set and 90 s inter-set rest using 75% of their 1RM) or traditional sets (TS; 4 sets of 10 repetitions of BS with 120 s inter-set rest using 70% of their 1RM). Fasted blood samples were collected pre-exercise (PRE), immediately post-exercise (IP), and 5 (+5), 15 (+15), and 30 (+30) minutes post-exercise to analyze the concentrations of testosterone (T), growth hormone (GH), cortisol (C), and blood lactate (BL). Two-way ANOVAs with repeated measures were used (p≤0.05). A main effect of condition (p=0.023) was observed for BL (RR+L; 5.9±0.5 vs TS; 6.7±0.4 mmol/L). A main effect of time point (p≤0.001) was observed for T, GH, C, and BL. T was greater at IP (8.8±1.1), +5 (9.0±1.1), +15 (8.5±1.0), and +30 (8.0±1.0) than PRE (7.1±0.8 ng/mL). GH was greater at IP (58.3±12.7), +5 (62.8±12.7), +15 (67.9±13.3), and +30 (52.8±11.2) than PRE (3.6±1.6 µIU/mL). C was greater at +15 (25.5±2.9) …
Date: August 2020
Creator: Chae, Sungwon
System: The UNT Digital Library
Acute Toxicity of Crude Oil Exposures to Early Life Stage Teleosts: Contribution of Impaired Renal Function and Select Environmental Factors (open access)

Acute Toxicity of Crude Oil Exposures to Early Life Stage Teleosts: Contribution of Impaired Renal Function and Select Environmental Factors

Oil spills are well-known adverse anthropogenic events, as they can induce severe impacts on the environment and negative economic consequences. Still, much remains to be learned regarding the effects of crude oil exposure to aquatic organisms. The objectives of this dissertation were to fill some of those knowledge gaps by examining the effects of Deepwater Horizon (DWH) crude oil exposure on teleost kidney development and function. To this end, I analyzed how these effects translate into potential osmoregulatory impairments and investigated the interactive effects of ubiquitous natural factors, such as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and ultraviolet (UV) light, on acute crude oil toxicity. Results demonstrated that acute early life stage (ELS) crude oil exposure induces developmental defects to the primordial kidney in teleost fish (i.e., the pronephros) as evident by alterations in: (1) transcriptional responses of key genes involved in pronephros development and function and (2) alterations in pronephros morphology. Crude oil-exposed zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae presented defective pronephric function characterized by reduced renal clearance capacity and altered filtration selectivity, factors that likely contributed to the formation of edema. Latent osmoregulatory implications of crude oil exposure during ELS were observed in red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) larvae, which manifested reduced survival …
Date: August 2022
Creator: Bonatesta, Fabrizio
System: The UNT Digital Library
Adaptation and Validation of the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale for Use with Musicians (open access)

Adaptation and Validation of the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale for Use with Musicians

Identity is a powerful concept that influences behavior and health. For over thirty years, researchers in sport psychology have been using the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS) as a research instrument providing insights into the relationships between athletic identity and health variables. While musician identity is recognized as an important factor to be investigated in relation to occupational health, there are no known robust instruments like the AIMS in music psychology research. The current study aimed to adapt and validate the athletic identity measurement scale for use with musicians. The AIMS history includes episodes of modifications for performance enhancement of the instrument that resulted in five different models. The validation process includes evaluating the psychometrical properties across all five models. The sample included student musicians and non-student musicians (N = 1040). The traditional confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the maximum likelihood (ML) estimation method were used. The exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and robust weighted least squares (WLS) was utilized to explore a new method of estimation that was known to resolve issues consistent with the CFA and ML method. The goodness-of-fit indices of CFA and ESEM were compared. The results showed that the MIMS is a reliable and valid …
Date: December 2022
Creator: Zuhdi, Nabeel
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Adaptation of Saxophone-Like Phrasing into the Improvisatory and Compositional Vocabulary of Jazz Guitar: A Comparative Analysis of Phrasing, Articulation, and Melodic Design in the Styles of Jimmy Raney, Jim Hall, and John Scofield (open access)

The Adaptation of Saxophone-Like Phrasing into the Improvisatory and Compositional Vocabulary of Jazz Guitar: A Comparative Analysis of Phrasing, Articulation, and Melodic Design in the Styles of Jimmy Raney, Jim Hall, and John Scofield

This study investigates how different guitarists introduced saxophone-like phrasing into the improvisatory and compositional vocabulary of jazz guitar through their collaborations with saxophonists. This research presents a comparative analysis of phrasing, articulation, and melodic design in solo improvisations. The mixed approach to this study includes analysis of motives, voice leading, articulation, length of phrases, melodic contour, and the execution of bebop vocabulary on the guitar. The findings are based on original transcriptions from significant recordings by guitar-saxophone pairs. These highlight the similarities between and adaptations of musical devices from saxophonists Stan Getz, Jimmy Giuffre, and Joe Lovano into the jazz guitar styles of Jimmy Raney, Jim Hall, and John Scofield. This study supports the argument that the evolution of modern jazz guitar playing is directly connected to the adaptation of saxophone-like phrasing at an improvisatory and compositional level. It also shows that the concept of style in jazz flows between different instruments' lineages. Understanding these findings provides a more complex and accurate concept of the development of style in jazz.
Date: May 2020
Creator: Pinilla, Daniel, 1987-
System: The UNT Digital Library
Adaptive Slot Location in the Design of Slotted Microstrip Multi-Frequency Antenna for Radionavigation and Radiolocation Applications (open access)

Adaptive Slot Location in the Design of Slotted Microstrip Multi-Frequency Antenna for Radionavigation and Radiolocation Applications

In light of incidents and concerns regarding the vulnerability of the global positioning system (GPS), the main purpose of the thesis is to look at alternative systems for radio guidance and to put up a serious study on such alternatives with receive and transmit antenna. There is also the need to design such antennas with multiple frequencies to offer robustness in the unlikely event that such adversarial attacks on the GPS happen. The basis on which such alternative antennas are designed is a slotted microstrip. The characteristics of the slot or slots on the microstrip are analyzed by mapping their exact locations on the patch and then noting the resultant center frequencies, the return losses, and the bandwidth. The activities associated with this also focus on the design, fabrication, validation, and characterization of one or more slotted antennas prototypes. The measurement of the antenna prototypes does confirm several frequencies that coexist to see applications, in aeronautical radionavigation, fixed-mobile radionavigation, and radiolocation. The antennas could also feature in a wide-area augmentation system (WAAS), satellite ground link system (SGLS) as well as in surveillance and precision approach radars. Some variations of the antenna are deployed in the areas of law enforcement, surveillance, …
Date: August 2020
Creator: Agbor, Ikechukwu Wilson
System: The UNT Digital Library

Additive Friction Stir Deposition of Al-Ce Alloys for Improved Strength and Ductility

Additive friction stir deposition (AFSD) is a solid-state additive manufacturing (AM) technique that breaks down large constituent particles into more refined and uniformly disturbed microstructure. AFSD was used to print Al-Ce alloys. Current commercial Al-alloys upon elevated temperatures go through dissolution and coarsening of strengthening precipitates causing mechanical degradation of these alloys. Al-Ce alloys do not have this issue as cerium's low solubility restricts dissolution into the aluminum matrix at elevated temperatures, thus giving great thermal stability to the microstructure. Al-Ce alloys lack solid solubility that affects the solid solution strengthening and precipitation strengthening. Al-Ce alloys have limitation at room temperature as they can only reach a maximum of ~65 MPa yield strength. Elements like magnesium have been added to alloy to enable solid solution strengthening, and scandium to enable precipitation strengthening to improve strength before going through the AFSD process. By adding new elements to the Al-Ce alloys, an increase in the yield strength from ~60 MPa to ~200 MPa was achieved before AFSD. The casted alloys form coarse particles that reach 300 µm in size; resulting in stress concentration that causes material fracture before necking, giving >10% ductility. AFSD breaks down these coarse particles to increase strength and …
Date: December 2023
Creator: Davis, Devin Fredric
System: The UNT Digital Library
Additive Manufacturing of AZ31B Magnesium Alloy via Friction Stir Deposition (open access)

Additive Manufacturing of AZ31B Magnesium Alloy via Friction Stir Deposition

Additive friction stir deposition (AFSD) of AZ31B magnesium alloy was conducted to examine evolution of grain structure, phases, and crystallographic texture. AFSD was carried out using a hollow tool made from tool steel at a constant rotational velocity of 400 rpm on the AZ31B base plate. Bar stock of AZ31B was utilized as a feed material. The linear velocity of the tool was varied in the range of 4.2-6.3 mm/s. The feed rate of the material had to be maintained at a half value compared to the corresponding linear velocity for the successful deposition. The layer thickness and length of the deposits were kept constant at 1 mm and 50 mm respectively. The tool torque and actuator force values were recorded during the process and for calculation of the average input energy for each processing condition. Temperature during the AFSD experiments was monitored using a type k thermocouple located 4 mm beneath the deposition surface at the center of the deposition track. The average input energy values showed a decreasing trend with increasing tool linear velocity. The temperature values during deposition were ∼0.7 times the liquidus of the alloy. The deposited material then was examined by laser microscope and profilometer, …
Date: December 2021
Creator: Patil, Shreyash Manojkumar
System: The UNT Digital Library

Adjustments in Business Operations during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Natural and Cultural Resource Sites in Texas

This research expands the theoretical concept of human adjustment to floods established by Gilbert F. White and incorporates his adjustment concept to examine the range of adjustments in business operations adopted by Texas' natural and/or cultural resources sites during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. This mixed-methods study consisted of an online survey with a follow-up semi-structured phone interview. The survey data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the interview data was inductively coded for thematic analysis as well as quantitative and qualitative content analyses. Specifically, this study identifies the adjustment measures undertaken by these entities to maintain business operations while reducing the virus spread; analyses the direct and indirect factors influencing adjustment measures; examines new business opportunities that emerged from these adjustments; and evaluates whether the impact of COVID-19 on these entities varied in terms of entity characteristics. Findings indicate that cultural and/or natural resource sites implemented adjustments to maintain their fiscal stability and/or to protect human health; these serve as direct underlying motivating factors for these entities. To support these direct measures, indirect factors influenced the operations thus required adjustments such as staffing, volunteers, technology, funding, and donations. Additionally, new opportunities in business practices emerged while implementing …
Date: August 2022
Creator: Tamima, Salvesila
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Administration of Unemployment Relief by the State of Texas during the Great Depression, 1929-1941

During the Great Depression, for the first time in its history, the federal government provided relief to the unemployed and destitute through myriad New Deal agencies. This dissertation examines how "general relief" (direct or "make-work") from federal programs—primarily the Emergency Relief and Construction Act (ERCA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)—was acquired and administered by the government of Texas through state administrative agencies. These agencies included the Chambers of Commerce (1932-1933), Unofficial Texas Relief Commission (1933), Texas Rehabilitation and Relief Commission (1933), Official Texas Relief Commission (1933-1934), Texas Relief Commission Division of the State Board of Control (1934), and the Department of Public Welfare (1939). Overall, the effective administration of general relief in the Lone Star State was undermined by a political ideology that persisted from, and was embodied by, the "Redeemer" Constitution of 1876.
Date: May 2020
Creator: Park, David B.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Adolescent Self-Theories of Singing Ability within the Choral Hierarchy

The purpose of this study was to explore adolescent self-views of singing ability through both implicit theories and self-concept meaning systems. A secondary purpose of this study was to examine these self-views specifically in the context of a choral hierarchy. Using a researcher-designed survey instrument, I gathered data from middle- and high-school students currently enrolled in a choir program organized in a hierarchical structure. I analyzed descriptive statistics of survey responses to items designed to measure implicit theories of singing ability, singing self-concept, and goal orientation. I also examined differences among participants by ensemble placement in implicit theory and self-concept scores, correlation between implicit theory and self-concept, and whether implicit theory, self-concept, goal orientation, or current enrollment could predict future enrollment decisions. In addition to these quantitative measures, I coded open-ended responses to two failure scenarios and examined participant responses by ensemble and gender. Both implicit theory and self-concept scores were higher for participants at the top of the choral hierarchy than at the bottom. Open-ended responses, however, did not align with the implicit theory scale and a number of students presented a false growth mindset. Open-ended responses also indicated that failure scenarios were likely to result in an altered …
Date: May 2020
Creator: Adams, Kari
System: The UNT Digital Library
Adoption of Credit-Hour Reductions in Master of Divinity Programs at the Association of Theological Schools Member Institutions: An Event History Analysis (open access)

Adoption of Credit-Hour Reductions in Master of Divinity Programs at the Association of Theological Schools Member Institutions: An Event History Analysis

Seminaries in the United States have for more than two centuries sought to equip ministerial leaders for service within the community of faith. And yet these institutions have traditionally been the focus of very little quantitative research. This lack of data is particularly noteworthy given the existential crises many seminaries currently face, especially regarding their flagship Master of Divinity (MDiv) programs. Among seminary leadership, a common response to declining MDiv enrollment has been to decrease the length of the program, which historically required at least 90 credit hours. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore change at the Association of Theological Schools member institutions (AMIs) between 2000–2019 through the lens of these credit-hour reductions. Longitudinal data from 113 AMIs were analyzed to examine the relationship between a variety of financial, enrollment, and institutional characteristics and the likelihood that an AMI would reduce its required MDiv credit hours. Results from an event history analysis revealed that, all else being equal, experiencing an increase in total revenues reduced an AMI's likelihood of making a reduction, while being a middle-age institution (founded 1870–1959) and having a higher percentage of peer institutions that made a change increased the likelihood of making a …
Date: December 2021
Creator: McKanna, Nathan Jay
System: The UNT Digital Library