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The Solo Compositions for Trumpet of Fisher Aubrey Tull: An Analysis of Structural, Technical, and Stylistic Elements for Performance Preparation, with Three Recitals of Selected Works by Bozza, Fasch, Haydn, Tomasi, and Others

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The compositions of Fisher Aubrey Tull are widely performed and many have become standard repertoire. Tull's compositions encompass a multiplicity of performance media including works for orchestra, chorus, symphonic band, jazz band, brass choir, and solo and chamber works. Tull's compositional output for the trumpet is prolific and is acknowledged to be music of high quality. An examination of Trumpet and Brass Programs, compiled and published annually by the International Trumpet Guild, shows Tull's solo and ensemble works for trumpet to be frequently performed. Furthermore, his compositions for trumpet have been performed and recorded by internationally acclaimed artists including Vincent DiMartino, Terry Everson, Håkan Hardenberger, Anthony Plog, Carl "Doc" Severinsen and Allen Vizzutti.This study investigates Fisher Tull's eight solo works for trumpet, which include: Vignette for Trumpet and Piano (1954); Concerto No. 1 for Trumpet and Orchestra (1964); Concerto No. 2 for Trumpet and Band (1974); Three Bagatelles for Trumpet and Piano (1975); Eight Profiles for Solo Trumpet (1978); Rhapsody for Trumpet and Band (1980); Sonata for Trumpet and Piano (1986); and Chromutations for Solo Trumpet (1988). Histories of each composition are chronicled. An analysis of formal organization and significant style features examines musical structure, harmonic language, rhythmic character, instrumentation, …
Date: August 2002
Creator: Wenger, Alan J.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Implementation of Scalable Secure Multicasting

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
A large number of applications like multi-player games, video conferencing, chat groups and network management are presently based on multicast communication. As the group communication model is being deployed for mainstream use, it is critical to provide security mechanisms that facilitate confidentiality, authenticity and integrity in group communications. Providing security in multicast communication requires addressing the problem of scalability in group key distribution. Scalability is a concern in group communication due to group membership dynamics. Joining and leaving of members requires the distribution of a new session key to all the existing members of the group. The two approaches to key management namely centralized and distributed approaches are reviewed. A hybrid solution is then provided, which represents a improved scalable and robust approach for a secure multicast framework. This framework then is implemented in an example application of a multicast news service.
Date: August 2002
Creator: Vellanki, Ramakrishnaprasad
System: The UNT Digital Library

Developmental Stressors and Associated Coping Skills in the Development of Disordered Eating in College Females

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There is a lack of clarity in the current literature in how potential etiological factors interact and result in disordered eating. The purpose of this study was to examine an expanded model of Personality, Social Support, Appraisal/Coping Processes, Abuse History, Internalization of Sociocultural Standards, Psychological Disturbances, and Body Disparagement in the development of disordered eating. The current model was evaluated using 276 women in their transition to college, a time period highly associated with symptoms believed to increase a woman's risk for the development of disordered eating including perceived difficulty coping, weight gain, and negative affect. Structural equation modeling was used to allow simultaneous examination of the causal relationships between the factors. Structural analyses confirmed that college women with previous stressful experiences appraised the adjustment to college as more stressful and reported feeling less able to cope with the transition. Those women who identified the transition as overwhelming were also aware of increased negative mood and psychological states since beginning the school semester. Further, women with previous traumatic sexual experiences appeared to be at additional risk for increased negative affective symptoms. The resulting model confirmed that those women who experience negative mood states and those that endorse strong internalization of …
Date: August 2002
Creator: Tripp, Margaret Murphy
System: The UNT Digital Library
Smoothing the information seeking path: Removing representational obstacles in the middle-school digital library. (open access)

Smoothing the information seeking path: Removing representational obstacles in the middle-school digital library.

Middle school student's interaction within a digital library is explored. Issues of interface features used, obstacles encountered, search strategies and search techniques used, and representation obstacles are examined. A mechanism for evaluating user's descriptors is tested and effects of augmenting the system's resource descriptions with these descriptors on retrieval is explored. Transaction log data analysis (TLA) was used, with external corroborating achievement data provided by teachers. Analysis was conducted using quantitative and qualitative methods. Coding schemes for the failure analysis, search strategies and techniques analysis, as well as extent of match analysis between terms in student's questions and their search terms, and extent of match analysis between search terms and controlled vocabulary were developed. There are five chapters with twelve supporting appendixes. Chapter One presents an introduction to the problem and reviews the pilot study. Chapter Two presents the literature review and theoretical basis for the study. Chapter Three describes the research questions, hypotheses and methods. Chapter Four presents findings. Chapter Five presents a summary of the findings and their support of the hypotheses. Unanticipated findings, limitations, speculations, and areas of further research are indicated. Findings indicate that middle school users interact with the system in various sequences of patterns. …
Date: May 2002
Creator: Abbas, June M.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Application of Thermomechanical Characterization Techniques to Bismuth Telluride Based Thermoelectric Materials

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The thermoelectric properties of bismuth telluride based thermoelectric (TE) materials are well-characterized, but comparatively little has been published on the thermomechanical properties. In this paper, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and differential scanning calorimetry data for bismuth telluride based TE materials is presented. The TE materials' tan delta values, indicative of viscoelastic energy dissipation modes, approached that of glassy or crystalline polymers, were greater than ten times the tan delta of structural metals, and reflected the anisotropic nature of TE materials. DMA thermal scans showed changes in mechanical properties versus temperature with clear hysteresis effects. These results showed that the application of DMA techniques are useful for evaluation of thermophysical and thermomechanical properties of these TE materials.
Date: August 2002
Creator: White, John B.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Tiger; a stage play, and a reflective essay detailing the writing process

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This thesis includes a full length play and a separate section describing the creation of this play. The play depicts family members struggling with the direct and indirect ramifications of alcoholism, depression, and suicide. The play is composed of two acts; act one contains eight scenes, and act two contains six scenes. It is set in the 1950s and 1960s and takes place in various areas of the family home, at a wedding reception, and at a funeral. The essay section includes a description of the process, a record of changes in the play's direction, notations of personal discoveries, and a self evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the play.
Date: August 2002
Creator: Westkaemper, Lisa
System: The UNT Digital Library
Computer Supported Collaboration: Is the Transfer of Cognitive Structures Mediated by Mode of Communication? (open access)

Computer Supported Collaboration: Is the Transfer of Cognitive Structures Mediated by Mode of Communication?

The objective of this study was to observe evidence of structural transfer among subjects in a group problem-solving activity and determine whether mode of collaborative technology or use of a priming agent affected the nature of transferred structures. Evidence for structural transfer is found in three theoretical perspectives: organizational ditransitive (linguistic) verb structures, adaptive structuration theory, and mental model transfer theory. Dependent variables included various grammatical structures and coefficients derived from pretest and posttest scores on David Kolb's Learning Styles Inventory, modified for the experiment. The combination of changes in grammatical frequencies and learning style may suggest that one or more media or the priming agent may affect structural transfer. Results indicate that groups using the GroupSystems™ collaborative technology produced less overall linguistic content than did subjects using a generic chat system, but employed more complex language as indicated by frequency of the organizational ditransitive verb structure. Also, subjects supplied with an organization chart (priming agent) during the group problem-solving session experienced greater change on the learning styles inventory than did those participating in the session without the chart. These findings suggest that mode of communication and use of priming agents may contribute positively or negatively to the transfer of …
Date: May 2002
Creator: Bandy, Kenneth E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effect of Average Grain Size on Polycrystalline Diamond Films (open access)

The Effect of Average Grain Size on Polycrystalline Diamond Films

The work function of hydrogen-terminated, polycrystalline diamond was studied using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. Polycrystalline diamond films were deposited onto molybdenum substrates by electrophoresis for grain sizes ranging from 0.3 to 108 microns. The work function and electron affinity were measured using 21.2 eV photons from a helium plasma source. The films were characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to determine elemental composition and the sp2/sp3 carbon fraction. The percentage of (111) diamond was determined by x-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy was performed to determine average grain size. The measured work function has a maximum of 5.1 eV at 0.3 microns, and decreases to 3.2 eV at approximately 4 microns. Then the work function increases with increasing grain size to 4.0 eV at 15 microns and then asymptotically approaches the 4.8 eV work function of single crystal diamond at 108 microns. These results are consistent with a 3-component model in which the work function is controlled by single-crystal (111) diamond at larger grain sizes, graphitic carbon at smaller grain sizes, and by the electron affinity for the intervening grain sizes.
Date: May 2002
Creator: Abbott, Patrick Roland
System: The UNT Digital Library

Computer Crime as a Barrier to Electronic Commerce: New Solutions for Public Law Enforcement.

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Electronic commerce was expected to grow exponentially, but the actual rate of growth in recent years has been disappointing. Recent surveys of perceptions of the development of electronic commerce clearly focus our attention on the perception and fear of computer crime as the major cause of this disappointing growth pattern. The thesis critiques existing private law solutions to this problem and argues from a normative theory on “the commons” for the application of new public law enforcement solutions in the public trust, sanctions, and public coproduction of order. The thesis argues that given the failures of existing private law solutions to the problem, these public law enforcement solutions should be more effective, efficient, and more satisfactory.
Date: August 2002
Creator: Temur, Nuri
System: The UNT Digital Library

Fabrication of MOS capacitor and transitor structure using contact photolithography.

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This problem in lieu of thesis report describes a practical photolithographic method to produce micro patterns on metal-oxide-semiconductor or metal-oxide-semiconductor-metal layers for electrical measurements. The desired patterns are then transferred from the photo mask to the photoresist-coated metal film by exposure, followed by wet etching. In the procedure described in this report, it was observed that microstructures as small as 27 mm with an edge roughness of ~ 2 mm can be reproducibly generated with this process. MOS capacitors and transistors structures can be fabricated by using this technique. The method described in this report requires access to only simple facilities so that it is relatively inexpensive, and the overall time required for the whole process is short.
Date: August 2002
Creator: Su, Danni
System: The UNT Digital Library

Mechanical Properties of Polymer Modified Mortar

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The mechanical properties of the polymer-modified mortar are markedly improved over conventional cement mortar. We utilized recycled ABS in powder form and a polymer latex emulsion, polymer percentage ranges from 0 to 25 percent by polymer/cement ratio were investigated. The mechanical properties investigated were compression strength and adhesion strength. Compression strength effects did not have an impact on adhesion strength. Adhesion strength was calculated with pullout testing apparatus designed by the author. Results indicate that recycled ABS had a lower adhesive strength than the acrylic latex emulsion and the base mortar, but did increase in adhesive strength when mixed with maleic-anhydride. The adhesive strength was investigated for a Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) made of an "E" glass fiber that is a continuous strand roving oriented and pre-tensioned longitudinally in an isopthalic polyester matrix material. The FRP rebar was compared to standard steel rebars, and found that the standard steel corrugated rebar had a higher adhesive strength, due to mechanical interlocking. This was clarified by measurements using a smooth steel rebar. Characterization of the polymer-modified mortar was conducted by pore analysis and scanning electron microscopy. Scanning Electron Microscopy was implemented to view the polymer particles, the cement fibrils formed by the …
Date: August 2002
Creator: Palos, Artemio
System: The UNT Digital Library
Filial Therapy with Teachers of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Preschool Children (open access)

Filial Therapy with Teachers of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Preschool Children

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Filial Therapy training in increasing teachers of deaf and hard of hearing preschool students': 1) empathic responsiveness with their students; 2) communication of acceptance to their students; 3) allowance of self-direction by their students. A second purpose was to determine the effectiveness of Filial Therapy training in reducing experimental group students': 1) overall behavior problems; 2) internalizing behaviors; and 3) externalizing behavior problems. Filial Therapy is a didactic/dynamic modality used by play therapists to train parents and teachers to be therapeutic agents with their children and students. Teachers are taught primary child-centered play therapy skills for use with their own students in weekly play sessions with their students. Teachers learn to create a special environment that enhances and strengthens the teacher-student emotional bond by means of which both teacher and child are assisted in personal growth and change. The experimental group (N=24) consisted of 12 teachers, who participated in 11 weekly Filial Therapy training sessions (22 total instructional hours) during the fall semester at the preschool of a center for communications disorders, and 12 students chosen by the teachers as their student of focus. Teachers and students met once …
Date: May 2002
Creator: Smith, David Michael
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ability Estimation Under Different Item Parameterization and Scoring Models (open access)

Ability Estimation Under Different Item Parameterization and Scoring Models

A Monte Carlo simulation study investigated the effect of scoring format, item parameterization, threshold configuration, and prior ability distribution on the accuracy of ability estimation given various IRT models. Item response data on 30 items from 1,000 examinees was simulated using known item parameters and ability estimates. The item response data sets were submitted to seven dichotomous or polytomous IRT models with different item parameterization to estimate examinee ability. The accuracy of the ability estimation for a given IRT model was assessed by the recovery rate and the root mean square errors. The results indicated that polytomous models produced more accurate ability estimates than the dichotomous models, under all combinations of research conditions, as indicated by higher recovery rates and lower root mean square errors. For the item parameterization models, the one-parameter model out-performed the two-parameter and three-parameter models under all research conditions. Among the polytomous models, the partial credit model had more accurate ability estimation than the other three polytomous models. The nominal categories model performed better than the general partial credit model and the multiple-choice model with the multiple-choice model the least accurate. The results further indicated that certain prior ability distributions had an effect on the accuracy …
Date: May 2002
Creator: Si, Ching-Fung B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Distant Proximity: Mapping Presence and Absence (open access)

Distant Proximity: Mapping Presence and Absence

Chapter I presents my background as an artist born and raised in Romania, and describes my artwork in connection with my interests and experiences. Maps and traditional Romanian art are important sources of influence. The questions in the statement of problem deal with the way ideas, references to various elements, and installation impact the artwork. Chapter II discusses the installation at the Dallas Visual Art Center, the creative process, and how the artwork addressed the questions in the statement of problem. Important points are: a step into three-dimensionality with the tall, freestanding pieces painted on both sides, the use of topographical contours in creating shapes, issues of form and content as expressed in the painted surfaces, and the interaction of the individual works in the installation.
Date: May 2002
Creator: Mitroi, Tudor
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mentoring the first-year superintendent in Texas public schools. (open access)

Mentoring the first-year superintendent in Texas public schools.

This study determined what mentoring experiences first-year superintendents have had and what they need from a mentoring relationship. Structured interviews and field notes were used in this qualitative study focused on Texas first-year superintendents' perceived needs from mentors. Three patterns of mentoring relationships were found: 1) no mentor in the first year, 2) mentor-protégé relationship - those who developed mentoring relationships early in a career with a more senior person in the same school system, and 3) mentoring relationships of convenience - young relationships which developed outside the same system. Skills and knowledge areas novice superintendents identified as critical for mentor assistance were school finance, development of effective relationships with groups that have expectations of the superintendent while also improving student achievement, and working within the politics of the position. Mentor characteristics novice superintendents considered necessary for a positive effect on job success include: trustworthiness, confidentiality, empathy, encouraging, active listening, and integrity. An attitude in which the mentor problem solved with the protégé, and did not give an immediate solution was displayed. Mentors actively and frequently initiated contact. Ideas were freely exchanged, giving the protégé undivided attention while not making the protégé feel inferior. The effects that previous mentoring experiences …
Date: May 2002
Creator: McNulty, Rock Edward
System: The UNT Digital Library
Graduate Professional Training in Christian Education at Dallas Theological Seminary and Alumni Perceptions of Program Quality (open access)

Graduate Professional Training in Christian Education at Dallas Theological Seminary and Alumni Perceptions of Program Quality

This study assessed the quality of graduate professional training in Christian education at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) in terms of the perceptions of program alumni. The subjects of the investigation were 780 alumni who graduated from DTS between 1984 and 2000. The Christian Education program was assessed utilizing Daniel Stufflebeam's CIPP model and alumni data collected from a survey instrument. A response rate of 65% (N=504) was achieved. The research procedure employed a non-experimental design methodology for the quantitative component and open-ended questions for the qualitative component. Most results were statistically significant at the .05 alpha level utilizing chi-square goodness-of-fit tests.
Date: May 2002
Creator: McLaughlin, Linden D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of Sublethal Copper Exposure on Escape Behavior and Growth of  Rana pipiens Tadpoles (open access)

Effects of Sublethal Copper Exposure on Escape Behavior and Growth of Rana pipiens Tadpoles

This research is designed to test how sublethal exposure to copper affects tadpole predator-escape behavior and how quickly tadpoles recover. After exposure, tadpoles were separated. Escape behavior was recorded for two-thirds of exposed tadpoles while one-third of the exposed population was measured weekly to determine growth and recovery. Control tadpoles were consumed within 15 minutes whereas those exposed to higher concentrations were consumed at a slower rate, which does not support the hypotheses. Although the rate of predation was lower, tadpoles exposed to higher Cu concentrations were on average, 1.47 cm in total body length. Those exposed to 0.93 mg/L averaged 0.86 cm. After being placed into clean water, treatment tadpoles recovered after 20 days.
Date: May 2002
Creator: Redick, Melinda
System: The UNT Digital Library
Detecting the Presence of Disease by Unifying Two Methods of Remote Sensing. (open access)

Detecting the Presence of Disease by Unifying Two Methods of Remote Sensing.

There is currently no effective tool available to quickly and economically measure a change in landmass in the setting of biomedical professionals and environmental specialists. The purpose of this study is to structure and demonstrate a statistical change-detection method using remotely sensed data that can detect the presence of an infectious land borne disease. Data sources included the Texas Department of Health database, which provided the types of infectious land borne diseases and indicated the geographical area to study. Methods of data collection included the gathering of images produced by digital orthophoto quadrangle and aerial videography and Landsat. Also, a method was developed to identify statistically the severity of changes of the landmass over a three-year period. Data analysis included using a unique statistical detection procedure to measure the severity of change in landmass when a disease was not present and when the disease was present. The statistical detection method was applied to two different remotely sensed platform types and again to two like remotely sensed platform types. The results indicated that when the statistical change detection method was used for two different types of remote sensing mediums (i.e.-digital orthophoto quadrangle and aerial videography), the results were negative due to …
Date: May 2002
Creator: Reames, Steve
System: The UNT Digital Library
Working Whiteness: Performing And Transgressing Cultural Identity Through Work (open access)

Working Whiteness: Performing And Transgressing Cultural Identity Through Work

Early in Richard Wright's Native Son, we see Bigger and his friend Gus “playing white.” Taking on the role of “J. P. Morgan,” the two young black men give orders and act powerful, thus performing their perceived role of whiteness. This scene is more than an ironic comment on the characters' distance from the lifestyle of the J. P. Morgans of the world; their acts of whiteness are a representation of how whiteness is constructed. Such an analysis is similar to my own focus in this dissertation. I argue that whiteness is a culturally constructed identity and that work serves as a performative space for defining and transgressing whiteness. To this end, I examine work and its influence on the performance of middle class and working class whiteness, as well as how those outside the definitions of whiteness attempt to “play white,” as Bigger does. Work enables me to explore the codes of whiteness and how they are performed, understood, and transgressed by providing a locus of cultural performance. Furthermore, by looking at novels written in the early twentieth century, I am able to analyze characters at a historical moment in which work was of great import. With the labor …
Date: May 2002
Creator: Polizzi, Allessandria
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Cesium Deposition and Gas Exposure on the Field Emission Properties of Single Wall and Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes (open access)

The Effects of Cesium Deposition and Gas Exposure on the Field Emission Properties of Single Wall and Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes

The effects of Cs deposition on the field emission (FE) properties of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) bundles were studied. In addition, a comparative study was made on the effects of O2, Ar and H2 gases on the field emission properties of SWNT bundles and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). We observed that Cs deposition decreases the turn-on field for FE by a factor of 2.1 - 2.9 and increases the FE current by 6 orders of magnitude. After Cs deposition, the FE current versus voltage (I-V) curves showed non-Fowler-Nordheim behavior at large currents consistent with tunneling from adsorbate states. At lower currents, the ratio of the slope of the FE I-V curves before and after Cs deposition was approximately 2.1. Exposure to N2 does not decrease the FE current, while exposure to O2 decreases the FE current. Our results show that cesiated SWNT bundles have great potential as economical and reliable vacuum electron sources. We find that H2 and Ar gases do not significantly affect the FE properties of SWNTs or MWNTs. O2 temporarily reduces the FE current and increases the turn-on voltage of SWNTs. Full recovery of these properties occurred after operation in UHV. The higher operating voltages in an …
Date: May 2002
Creator: Wadhawan, Atul
System: The UNT Digital Library
And Drops of Rain Fall Like Tears: A Composition for Electroacoustic Music and Video (open access)

And Drops of Rain Fall Like Tears: A Composition for Electroacoustic Music and Video

And Drops of Rain Fall Like Tears is a composition for electroacoustic music with an optional ambient video component. The composition consists of a single movement electroacoustic work twenty-two minutes in duration. The piece creates an immersive sonic environment within the confines of a typical concert space, thereby recreating the powerful temper and subtle beauty of nature from different sonic perspectives. The paper is divided into four chapters, each discussing an element of the piece in detail. The introduction presents background information and compositional approach for the composition. Chapters 1 through 4 present detailed information related to the creation of both the electroacoustic music and video elements of the piece. Chapter 4 contains relevant information to the performance of the piece.
Date: May 2002
Creator: Thompson, Michael Allen
System: The UNT Digital Library
Strategic Versus Sincere Behavior: The Impact of Issue Salience and Congress on the Supreme Court Docket (open access)

Strategic Versus Sincere Behavior: The Impact of Issue Salience and Congress on the Supreme Court Docket

The theory proposed here is that the Supreme Court behaves in a strategic manner at the agenda-setting stage in order to vote sincerely on the merits. To test this, I measure the impact issue salience and ideological distance between Congress and the Supreme Court has on the agenda. The results indicate that whether the Supreme Court behaves either sincerely or strategically depends on the policy area. The strategic nature of the Supreme Court at the agenda-setting phase may be in large part why some research shows that the Court behaves sincerely when voting on the merits. By behaving strategically at the agenda-setting phase, the Court is free to vote sincerely in later parts of the judicial process.
Date: May 2002
Creator: Williams, Jeffrey David
System: The UNT Digital Library
Viewers' Choice (open access)

Viewers' Choice

This paper documents the execution and exhibition of a group of oil paintings exploring themes of spectacle and the construction of reality in contemporary American society. The paintings are composed of figures and fragments of text originating in stills taken from television news and reality TV. This paper describes and assesses the paintings according to a set of questions developed by the artist at the inception of the project. Various strategies employed in the execution of the work are analyzed and compared. The contribution of this project to the field of contemporary visual art is evaluated via comparison with other art, past and present, expressing similar concerns.
Date: May 2002
Creator: Brownlee, Tracie
System: The UNT Digital Library
Hypotheses for Scratch Behavior of Polymer Systems that Recover (open access)

Hypotheses for Scratch Behavior of Polymer Systems that Recover

Scratch recovery is a desirable property of many polymer systems. The reason why some materials have demonstrated excellent scratch recovery while others do not has been a mystery. Explaining the scratch resistance based upon the hardness of a material or its crosslink density is incorrect. In this thesis, novel polymers were tested in an attempt to discover materials that show excellent scratch recovery - one of the most important parameters in determining the wear of a material. Several hypotheses were developed in an attempt to give an accurate picture of how the chemical structure of a polymer affects its scratch recovery. The results show that high scratch recovery is a complex phenomenon not solely dependent upon the presence of electronegative atoms such as fluorine.
Date: May 2002
Creator: Bujard, Bernard
System: The UNT Digital Library