Disease maps are powerful tools for depicting spatial variations in disease risk and its underlying drivers. However, producing effective disease maps requires careful consideration of the statistical and spatial properties of the disease data. In fact, the choice of mapping method influences the resulting spatial pattern of the disease, as well as the understanding of its underlying population characteristics. New developments in mapping methods and software in addition to continuing improvements in data quality and quantity are requiring map-makers to make a multitude of decisions before a map of disease burdens can be created. The impact of such decisions on a map, including the choice of appropriate mapping method, not been addressed adequately in the literature. This research demonstrates how choice of mapping method and associated parameters influence the spatial pattern of disease. We use four different disease-mapping methods – unsmoothed choropleth maps, smoothed choropleth maps produced using the headbanging method, smoothed kernel density maps, and smoothed choropleth maps produced using spatial empirical Bayes methods and 5-years of zip code level HIV incidence (2007- 2011) data from Dallas and Tarrant Counties, Texas. For each map, the leading population characteristics and their relative importance with regards to HIV incidence is identified …

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

Torture survivors find difficulty navigating through an unfamiliar healthcare and social service system. Many survivors who already face Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression also endure a secondary threat which leads to re-traumatization through the struggles of acculturation. The aim of this study is to determine: 1. Identify differences and assumptions between service providers’ and clients’ definitions of self-sufficiency; 2. Examine prominent barriers to self-sufficiency that survivors encounter; 3. Pinpoint the survival strategies that survivors use in order to cope with life in DFW; 4. Determine what resources CST staff, area service providers, and survivors feel need to be improved for CST and the DFW metroplex.

Emissions of air pollutants from non-conventional sources have been on the rise in the North Texas area over the past decade. These include primary pollutants such as volatile organic compound (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) which also act as precursors in the formation of ozone. Most of these have been attributed to a significant increase in oil and gas production activities since 2000 within the Barnett Shale region adjacent to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex region. In this study, air quality concentrations measured at the Denton Airport and Dallas Hinton monitoring sites operated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) were evaluated. VOC concentration data from canister-based sampling along with continuous measurement of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM2.5), and meteorological conditions at these two sites spanning from 2000 through 2014 were employed in this study. The Dallas site is located within the urban core of one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, while the Denton site is an exurban site with rural characteristics to it. The Denton Airport site was influenced by natural gas pads surrounding it while there are very few natural gas production facilities within close proximity to the Dallas …

This thesis describes the organization of two waves of pride parades in the city of Dallas, Texas. Using more than 40 sources, this work details how LGBT organizers have used pride parades to create a more established place for the LGBT community in greater Dallas culture. This works adds to the study of LGBT history by focusing on an understudied region, the South; as well as focusing on an important symbolic event in LGBT communities, pride parades.

Equitable access to healthy food is a multifaceted issue faced by many underserved populations. Intimate understanding of individual communities’ food practices allows for the creation of community-based interventions that elaborate upon specific needs and desires. Through collaborative research and action, this study aims to become better informed of the current eating habits of community members participating in The Happy Kitchen program at Wesley Rankin Community Center in West Dallas, how those habits have changed over time, and the factors that contribute to access and utilization of a healthy diet. This research seeks to develop a dialectical relationship between the participants and GROW North Texas to design relevant cooking classes and interventions in West Dallas; thereby increasing access to and consumption of nutritious food.

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This article examines the longitudinal relationship between moving to more socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods and weight gain as a cardiovascular risk factor.

Interview with Richard Menchaca, an educator, author and businessman from Dallas, Texas. In his interview, Menchaca discusses his upbringing in a segregated San Antonio, experiences as a student athlete, working as a teacher in Dallas, and his Chicano activism, including being president of LULAC.

Unedited video of the first portion of the 2015 Roundtable Writer's Breakfast, "Black Leadership," at The Black Academy of Arts and Letters.

Unedited video of the 11th Annual Weekend Festival of Black Dance, hosted by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters. The festival begins with a performance by the Stella Maris Dance Ensemble to a piece written by Curtis King, titled, "My Language."

Video of a promotional clip for The Black Academy of Arts and Letters' production, "Congo Street: The Musical," with behind the scenes footage of the 2015 Summer Youth Arts Institute.

Video of the 4th Budding Rose concert at The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on April 18, 2015. The video includes an opening solo piano performance and the main choir performance by a group of students from various Dallas ISD schools.

Video of the 4th Budding Rose concert at The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on April 18, 2015. The video includes an opening solo piano performance and the main choir performance by a group of students from various Dallas ISD schools.

Video of the second portion of The Black Academy of Arts and Letters' 2015 Jazz Weekend, including a performance by Najee with a guest appearance by Andrea Wallace.

Video of the second portion of The Black Academy of Arts and Letters' 2015 Jazz Weekend, including a performance by Najee with a guest appearance by Andrea Wallace.

Photograph of an exhibit from a tour of the Bridwell Library at SMU in Dallas during the 2015 Church and Synagogue Library Association conference. The attendees are standing around the displays and a tour guide is speaking to them. The display boxes hold old books open under glass boxes. There is a portrait and a sign on the walls between doorways on one side of the room. The floor is dark tile.

Weekly newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news and advertising of interest to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.

Weekly newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news and advertising of interest to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.

Weekly newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news and advertising of interest to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.

Weekly newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news and advertising of interest to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.

Weekly newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news and advertising of interest to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.

Weekly newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news and advertising of interest to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.

Weekly newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news and advertising of interest to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.