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It's Going to be Different, but It's Going to be Okay: Caregiver Perspectives on Autism, Culture and Accessing Care (open access)

It's Going to be Different, but It's Going to be Okay: Caregiver Perspectives on Autism, Culture and Accessing Care

Through ethnography influenced by public health and anthropological theory, I explored the cultural perceptions of autism among eight caregivers whose children received services from a local Dallas-Fort Worth autism treatment organization. Participant observations and semi-structured interviews with caregivers and program employees provided a rich and nuanced view into the state of care currently available in the DFW area while also highlighting areas for improvement. This research will be used to not only identify the barriers faced by North Texas Families while seeking out care,but also the strategies the organization uses when connecting with families from different backgrounds.
Date: December 2017
Creator: Otwori, Beverly N.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Understanding Perceptions of Community Gardens in the Dallas Area (open access)

Understanding Perceptions of Community Gardens in the Dallas Area

This exploratory research focuses on identifying the roles and perspectives of community gardens in the Dallas area. Results from semi-structured interviews reveal the social and political makeup of the neighborhoods where the garden projects in this study are located. While these findings highlight the benefits of gardening in the city, they can also be contested spaces. In advocating for the proliferation of garden projects in the city, community organizations would benefit from understanding the nuances of garden initiatives and the way in which they are perceived by members of the garden, nearby residents, and policy makers.
Date: December 2017
Creator: Ayyad, Raja
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homecourt: A Nondirective Student Support Group (open access)

Homecourt: A Nondirective Student Support Group

The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze how Homecourt, a nondirective support group at a public high school in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, operates and how it affects students.
Date: August 1994
Creator: Nelson, Robert E., 1945-
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effect of Age or Previous Post-Secondary Experience on Student Evaluation of Instruction (open access)

The Effect of Age or Previous Post-Secondary Experience on Student Evaluation of Instruction

The increase in the number of nontraditional aged undergraduate students (25 yrs. and older) and students transferring between post-secondary institutions has raised the question of whether effective instruction is viewed the same by these different groups of students. This study addressed this question by analyzing the responses of these different groups to 23 instructional questions on a standard faculty evaluation form.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Klassen, James E. (James Edward)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Role of Workstation-Based Client/Server Systems in Changing Business Processes: a Multiple Case Study (open access)

The Role of Workstation-Based Client/Server Systems in Changing Business Processes: a Multiple Case Study

Although several studies question information technology's contribution to productivity, organizations continue to invest in client/server systems (CSSs) particularly as enablers of business process reengineering (BPR). These efforts may be wasted if they do not improve business processes. This study focused on business processes and investigated the role of workstation-based CSSs in changing business processes. A multiple case study of workstation-based CSS databases in three organizations was performed with the proposition that they moderate the relation between managerial action and changes within business processes. The research framework suggested that changes to business processes are achieved by reducing uncertainty. In order to measure change in business processes, this study categorized business process change into: (1) compressing sequential tasks across functions, (2) compressing tasks vertically within the managerial hierarchy, (3) eliminating slack resources, (4) reducing the distance between the point of decision and the point of information or eliminating intermediaries, (5) reconfiguring sequential processes to operate in parallel, and (6) linking parallel activities during the process. Data collected from questionnaires, interviews, and observations from three case studies were used to construct network diagrams, relationship matrices, reachability matrices, and task tables of business processes. The results of this research partially support the proposition that …
Date: December 1995
Creator: Nik Hassan, Nik Rushdi
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of Instructional Methods on Student Performance in Postsecondary Developmental Mathematics (open access)

Effects of Instructional Methods on Student Performance in Postsecondary Developmental Mathematics

This study examined success rates and end-of-semester grades for three instructional methods used in developmental algebra and college algebra. The methods investigated were traditional lecture, laboratory, and computer mediated learning. The population included the 10,095 students who had enrolled in developmental algebra and college algebra at Richland College in Dallas, Texas, for five semesters. Success was defined as earning a grade of A, B, C, or D in a course.
Date: May 1999
Creator: Hernandez, Celeste Peyton
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Role of Contract Training by Academic Institutions in Corporate Education and Training Programs (open access)

The Role of Contract Training by Academic Institutions in Corporate Education and Training Programs

This study explored the role of contract training provided by North Texas higher education institutions in the education and training programs administered by area businesses employing more than 100 people. A survey instrument was mailed to corporate trainers that were members of the Dallas Chapter of the American Society of Training and Development in businesses employing more than 100 people. A total list of 292 trainers generated 71 usable responses. The purposes of this study were to: (a) determine the extent to which corporations use academic institutions for contract training, (b) determine the academic institutions in North Texas that training managers in the Dallas area believe are suitable contract training partners, (c) identify what subject areas are perceived as top educational priorities by training managers and are perceived to be suitable for contract training by academic institutions, (d) determine educational and training subjects for which corporations would be willing or prefer to utilize contract training by academic institutions, and (e) identify the subjects in which corporations currently use contract training by academic institutions.
Date: December 1994
Creator: Ball, Jennie (Jennie Lou)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Role of the U.S. Mass Media in the Political Socialization of Nigerian Immigrants in the United States (open access)

The Role of the U.S. Mass Media in the Political Socialization of Nigerian Immigrants in the United States

A mail survey of Nigerian immigrants in Dallas, Texas, and Chicago, Illinois, was conducted during October and November 1995. Four hundred and sixty-eight Nigerian immigrant families in the two cities were selected by systematic sampling through the telephone books. Return rate was approximately 40% (187). The variables included in the study were media exposure variables, general demographics, immigration traits, U.S. demographics, Nigerian demographics, and political and cultural traits. New variables which had not been included in previous studies were also tested in this study: television talk shows, talk radio, diffuse support for the U.S. political system, authoritarianism, self-esteem, and political participation. This study employed multiple regression analysis and path analysis of the data. This study found that Nigerian immigrants have high preference for television news as their main source of political information. This finding is in consonance with previous studies. Nigerian immigrants chose ABC news stations as their number one news station for political information. Strong positive associations existed between media exposure and length of stay in the United States and interest in U.S. politics. Talk radio positively associated with interest in U.S. politics and negatively associated with length of stay in the United States. Thus, this finding likely means …
Date: August 1996
Creator: Okoro, Iheanyi Emmanuel
System: The UNT Digital Library
Language Contact in the Inner City: the Acquisition of AAVE Features by Bilingual Hispanic Adolescents (open access)

Language Contact in the Inner City: the Acquisition of AAVE Features by Bilingual Hispanic Adolescents

Sociolinguists working in Northern urban areas have shown that Hispanics who come in contact with African Americans sometimes acquire features of African American vernacular English (AAVE). However, the acquisition of AAVE features by Hispanics in the South has yet to be documented. Specifically, no one has studied the kind of English that Hispanics in Texas are acquiring. The present study investigates this issue through research in an inner-city area of Dallas: Oak Cliff. During the past twenty-five years, the population of Oak Cliff has changed from a largely African American community to include a substantial number of Hispanics. Though their neighborhoods remain fairly separate, sports and gangs provide an arena for extended contact. This study investigates the extent to which AAVE grammatical features are being acquired by bilingual Hispanic adolescents who hang out with African Americans. The analysis for this paper focuses on the relationship between contact and depth of acquisition of AAVE syntactic constraints on the use the copula (is/are, be). Preliminary results show that be+V+ing as an habitual form has been incorporated into the grammar of these subjects, suggesting fundamental changes towards an AAVE grammatical system.
Date: August 1998
Creator: Coleman, Jeffrey Alan
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Comparison of a Computer-Administered Test and a Paper and Pencil Test Using Normally Achieving and Mathematically Disabled Young Children (open access)

A Comparison of a Computer-Administered Test and a Paper and Pencil Test Using Normally Achieving and Mathematically Disabled Young Children

This study investigated whether a computer-administered mathematics test can provide equivalent results for normal and mathematically disabled students while retaining similar psychometric characteristics of an equivalent paper and pencil version of the test. The overall purpose of the study was twofold. First, the viability of using computer administered assessment with elementary school children was examined. Second, by investigating items on the computer administered mathematics test for potential bias between normally achieving and mathematically disabled populations, it was possible to determine whether certain mathematical concepts consistently distinguish between the two ability groups.
Date: May 1997
Creator: Swain, Colleen R. (Colleen Ruth)
System: The UNT Digital Library
A System of Selection and Human Resource Development for Small Retailers of Apparel and Accessories (open access)

A System of Selection and Human Resource Development for Small Retailers of Apparel and Accessories

The study has a twofold purpose. The first is to determine the extent to which organized selection and training practices exist in small apparel and accessory retailing establishments, and the general attitude which small retailers of apparel and accessories express toward the value of selection and training functions. The second is to construct a practical system which can be used in small apparel and accessory retailing establishments.
Date: May 1973
Creator: Burr, Patricia LeMay
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Relative Desirability of Two Types of Junior College Operation (open access)

The Relative Desirability of Two Types of Junior College Operation

The problem of this study was to determine whether it is more desirable to operate a two-year college in the Dallas metropolitan area as a county college or to operate a two-year college under the administration of the Dallas Independent School District.
Date: January 1959
Creator: White, Talmadge Thayne
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of English Immersion Mathematics Classes on the Mathematics Achievement and Aspiration of Eighth-Grade Spanish-Speaking LEP Students (open access)

The Effects of English Immersion Mathematics Classes on the Mathematics Achievement and Aspiration of Eighth-Grade Spanish-Speaking LEP Students

This research grew from concerns relative to the mathematical performance of Spanish-speaking limited English proficient (LEP) public school students. This investigation studied the effects of the sheltered mathematics class on eighth-grade Spanish-speaking LEP students with regard to mathematical achievement, attitudes toward mathematics, the dropout rate, and the number of math credits earned in high school. The enrollment of a sheltered mathematics class was limited to LEP students. The purpose was to compare Spanish-speaking LEP students enrolled in sheltered mathematics classes with Spanish-speaking LEP students enrolled in regular mathematics classes. The research hypotheses were that achievement, mathematical attitudes, the dropout rate, and high school math credits earned would favor enrollment in sheltered mathematics classes. The data for achievement, dropout information, and mathematics course work completed were drawn from student records in the school district data bank. A mathematics attitude survey was given to a sample from the 1995-96 eighth-grade advanced level Spanish-speaking LEP students. The research hypotheses were not accepted. All of the populations did show an academic deficit. However, they did have more positive attitudes than negative attitudes toward mathematics. To improve achievement, staying in school, and a higher rate of inclusion in mathematics related careers the following recommendations were …
Date: December 1996
Creator: Hunt, Beverly Thornhill
System: The UNT Digital Library
The History of the Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development of the Dallas County Community College District (open access)

The History of the Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development of the Dallas County Community College District

The Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development is an entity created in the Dallas County Community College District to serve the community in workforce and economic development. The history of the Priest Institute over the last ten years parallels and illustrates the commitment of community colleges nationally to workforce and economic development. The history also reflects similar goals and trends within the state of Texas and, particularly, in the city of Dallas. The Priest Institute is made up of three distinct entities. One entity is the Edmund J. Kahn Job Training Center; another is the Business and Professional Institute, which provides consulting and training services to business clients. The final service area is the complex made up of the regional North Texas Small Business Development Center and its several related local service operations. This study provides an analytical history of each of these components and the process by which they came together in a model facility in Dallas. This study also describes perceptions of persons within the Institute regarding its present mission and purposes and the efficacy of the current organizational structure both internally and within the district operation as an appropriate structure enabling the Institute to meet its …
Date: April 1994
Creator: Hughes, Martha
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Cross-Racial Study of Small Business Managers (open access)

A Cross-Racial Study of Small Business Managers

The objective of this study is to define differences and similarities in certain aspects of education, experience, and business practices of White, Black, and Latin American small businessmen, and approximately fifty questions relating to their operations were asked.
Date: August 1973
Creator: Howard, Kenneth W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Historical Study of the Contributions of Bill J. Priest to the Community College Movement (open access)

An Historical Study of the Contributions of Bill J. Priest to the Community College Movement

This study chronicles the contributions of Bill J. Priest under the headings of Board of Trustees governance model, multi-college district, quality first: facilities and staff, curriculum, counseling, public relations, telecourses and the Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development. Data were gathered from personal interviews, primary sources and secondary sources. The study includes an overview of the emergence and evolution of the junior college with specific focus on the conceptual beginnings of the Dallas County Community College District and the selection of its founding president, Bill Priest. Professional and personal profiles of Priest are documented as background for the study. Conclusions are that Bill Priest established the Dallas County Community College District as a national model of a multi-college district, was instrumental in affecting the change from junior college to comprehensive community college as the standard for two-year higher education institutions, played a significant role in setting the national agenda for the community college movement through his long-term participation in a leadership capacity in the American Association of Junior and Community Colleges and through the establishment and selection of leadership of the League for Innovation, was instrumental in the creation of the Associate Degree of Nursing, was a national leader …
Date: August 1995
Creator: Whitson, Kathleen Krebbs, 1947-
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Comparative Study of Reading Instruction Management for Selected Third-grade Students in an Urban School District (open access)

A Comparative Study of Reading Instruction Management for Selected Third-grade Students in an Urban School District

The specific purposes of the study were (1) to determine the effectiveness of ECRI (Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction), as compared to "traditional" (basal driven) classroom instruction based on a comparative analysis of norm-referenced test data; (2) to determine if there was a significant difference between Blacks, Hispanics and Caucasians on the Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension portions of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills among the third grade ECRI students; and (3) to provide valid information for those charged with the implementation of reading instruction in the Dallas Independent School District, Dallas, Texas.
Date: August 1991
Creator: Cohen, Kellie A. (Kellie Ann)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iranian Access Television of Dallas: Cultural Issues, Preservation, and Community Formation (open access)

Iranian Access Television of Dallas: Cultural Issues, Preservation, and Community Formation

This study focused on the televisual and cultural practices of Iranians via public access television in Dallas, Texas. It includes analysis of format and content. It combines demographic, structural, and statistical information with a culturalist and interpretive viewpoint in examining the efforts of Iranians, via access television programs, in preserving their culture and the formation of a coherent and active community in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
Date: August 1997
Creator: Karimi, Mohammad, 1959-
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of Relationships Between Teachers' Knowledge of and Attitude Toward Selected Teaching Strategies and Their Implementation in the Elementary Classroom (open access)

A Study of Relationships Between Teachers' Knowledge of and Attitude Toward Selected Teaching Strategies and Their Implementation in the Elementary Classroom

The purpose of this study was to explore the variables of content knowledge, individual attitude, and span of time from initial training with regard to implementation of selected teaching practices in the elementary classroom. The sample consisted of thirty-two elementary classroom teachers who teach reading or mathematics in a large suburban school district in the Dallas Metropolitan Area. After completion of the second day's training in an inservice program on teaching strategies, the teachers were given a test to measure content knowledge of and attitude toward the teaching strategies. The test results were used in determining four groups for follow-up classroom observations four weeks and eight weeks after the in-service sessions. Using three-way analysis of variance, the data were analyzed. Results indicated that teachers with high content knowledge of the teaching strategies implemented these strategies to a greater degree than did teachers with low content knowledge. No significant relationship with regard to implementation was found for the variables of attitude or span of time. It can be concluded that teachers who know the content of inservice training are able to and do implement the training in their classrooms. Of equal significance is the conclusion that teachers who do not know …
Date: August 1987
Creator: Speak, Lynda Overton
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of Water Quality, Instream Toxicity, and Habitat Variability on Fish Assemblages in the Trinity River, Texas (open access)

Effects of Water Quality, Instream Toxicity, and Habitat Variability on Fish Assemblages in the Trinity River, Texas

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 …
Date: December 1989
Creator: Arnold, Winfred R., 1960-
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Participation in a Buddy System on the Self-Concept, Academic Achievement, Attrition Rate, and Congruence Level of Community College Developmental Studies Students (open access)

The Effects of Participation in a Buddy System on the Self-Concept, Academic Achievement, Attrition Rate, and Congruence Level of Community College Developmental Studies Students

This dissertation sought to determine the effects of a buddy system on a student's self-concept, academic achievement, attrition rate, and congruence levels. The buddy system treatment randomly paired two students for the purposes of sharing ideas, working on assignments, getting to know each other, and supporting one another. The study included three randomly selected sections of pre-college level, developmental writing classes from the Brookhaven College of the Dallas County Community College District. Three other classes served as the control group, and one instructor taught all six sections of the course. Three instruments were used as measures of change: the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS), designed by William H. Fitts, measured self-concept levels; the Personality and Educational Environment Scale (PEES), created by Roger Boshier, measured congruence levels; and a written paragraph measured achievement levels in English. Attrition percentages were based on the number of students enrolled during the second week of class who were not present during the sixteenth week of class. To test for significance, an analysis of covariance procedure was used on the TSCS, PEES, and written paragraph results, and a test for the difference between proportions for independent groups was used on the attrition percentages. The class sections were …
Date: December 1985
Creator: Cinclair, Carol
System: The UNT Digital Library
Factors of Depression in the Elderly: Assessment and Implications for Diagnosis (open access)

Factors of Depression in the Elderly: Assessment and Implications for Diagnosis

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.
Date: December 1987
Creator: Kunsak, Nancy Elizabeth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Attitudes of Faculty Members Toward the Integration of Faith and Discipline at Selected Southern Baptist Colleges and Universities (open access)

Attitudes of Faculty Members Toward the Integration of Faith and Discipline at Selected Southern Baptist Colleges and Universities

The attitudes toward the integration of faith and discipline of full-time faculty members at five selected Southern Baptist colleges and universities which are members of the Christian College Coalition were explored for this study. The integration of faith and discipline is a concept unique to Southern Baptist higher education. Arthur Walker, Jr., of the Education Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention defines the concept as referring to the mission of the institution, the personal faith of faculty members, and the professional involvement and interaction of faculty members with their students, regardless of disciplines. Since little information exists on faculty attitudes toward this concept, data were collected through a survey instrument on three dimensions of integration: professorial integration in the classroom, professorial integration in and out of the classroom, and institutional integration of faith and discipline.
Date: December 1990
Creator: Cooper, Monte Vaughan
System: The UNT Digital Library
Trends in Strategic Planning in Private Social Service Agencies: A Test of the Ramanujam and Venkatraman Planning Model (open access)

Trends in Strategic Planning in Private Social Service Agencies: A Test of the Ramanujam and Venkatraman Planning Model

This study modified the Ramanujam and Venkatraman (1987) questionnaire that was used to develop their model of planning system dimensions and planning effectiveness, and tested the model on a sample of private social service agencies. The criterion measures were level of planning sophistication, agency size, perceived environmental uncertainty, and relative competitive position. The sample was randomly drawn from private social service agencies which were members of the Community Council of Greater Dallas. Telephone interviews with fifty executive directors were conducted by a trained, impartial interviewer. Stepwise discriminant analysis was used to predict group membership between informal and formal planners. Of the nine dimensions in the model, three dimensions correctly classified 84 percent of the sample. The three dimensions were fulfillment of planning objectives, use of decision making techniques, and lack of resistance to planning. The level of perceived environmental uncertainty was another criterion set. Directors who perceived high uncertainty paid more attention to the external environment, used more decision making techniques, and relied on functional specialists when planning. Large and small agencies were classified by their annual budgets. Stepwise discriminant analysis using the planning system dimensions failed to reject the null hypothesis. Agencies reporting strong relative competitive positions placed greater …
Date: December 1989
Creator: Gilbertson, Diana L.
System: The UNT Digital Library