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.

This study examines the events surrounding the firing of Russell Dilday at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary as a social drama. The results suggest that, for application to post-industrial cultures, adaptations need to be made to Victor Turner's original method. The addition of Thomas Farrell's anticipation phase, identification of the breach with the transgression, and examination of unique facets of post-industrial cultures such as economic factors and the role of the media are recommended modifications. In light of these differences, the study concludes that the state of affairs at Southwestern is characteristic of schism in a post-industrial culture.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a difference in opinion between chain and franchise restaurant managers and independent owner/operators toward the effects of a smoking ordinance. Results of this study showed a significant statistical difference between restaurateur groups toward the perception of economic effects.

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.

A study to determine whether the Tarrant County Free Library is meeting the recreational readying needs of elementary school students.

This thesis presents the results of a three year study devoted to discovering the life and phenomena found in Lake Worth near Fort Worth, Texas.

This thesis describes the vertical distribution, quality, and quantity of the fauna found at the bottom of Lake Worth in Texas.

This thesis resulted from an examination of Lake Worth plankton in comparison to plankton found in similar bodies of water throughout the United States.

This study presents an efficacy evaluation of language arts instruction in the Fort Worth, Texas elementary schools.

This thesis concentrates on a local union of the International Association of Machinists (IAM), District Lodge 776, of Fort Worth, Texas, during the war years. The main argument of the thesis runs along three basic lines. First, it demonstrates that the experiences of the Fort Worth Machinists clearly fit into the national labor movement during the war years. Second, it argues that the existence, survival, and strength of the union depended greatly on outside forcesan expanding national economy, a powerful national union, and a generally labor-friendly government. Third, it shows that union officers and rank-and-file members used their bases of strengththe national economy, the national IAM, and the federal governmentto build an effective local labor organization.

The purpose of the present study was to discern a symptom pattern for environmentally ill patients and provide evidence of the uniqueness of the resultant pattern to this population. Patients' environmental exposure was confirmed by the presence of toxins in the blood serum. All patients were administered psychological and physical symptom checklists, the Clinical Analysis Questionnaire, and a standardized intermediate neuropsychological examination. Results indicate a response pattern of symptoms including fatigue, low energy, weakness, poor concentration, poor memory, poor comprehension, headaches, aches and pains, clumsiness, sinus discomfort, mucus, eye problems, restlessness, and present performance inferior to prior level of functioning. Presence of these symptoms, as well as the uniqueness of this symptom pattern was supported by comparisons of the patient and standardization groups on the two standardized tests.

The Trinity River passes through the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex receiving point and non-point source contaminant loadings. Lepomis spp. were collected at twelve sampling locations in the Trinity River in August 1987 and September 1988 and analyzed for organochlorine pesticides and heavy metals. Results from the study were compared to existing U.S. FDA action and tolerance levels, LC50s, and historical data. Various longitudinal trends and some concentration patterns were observed. Continual study of pesticide and metal body burdens in fish allow testing for trends, and thereby, lead to a better understanding of the distribution of contaminants in the Trinity River.

At times called a philosophy and other times called a process, cutting score methodology is an issue routinely encountered by Industrial/Organizational (I/0) psychologists. Published literature on cutting score methodology appears much more frequently in academic settings than it does in personnel settings where the potential for lawsuits typically occurs more often. With the passage of the 1991 Civil Rights Act, it is no longer legal to use within-group scoring. It has now become necessary for personnel psychologists to develop more acceptable selection methods that fall within established guidelines. Designating cutoff scores with the Angoff method appears to suit many requirements of personnel departments. Several procedures have evolved that suggest enhancing the accuracy and reliability of the Angoff method is possible. The current experiment investigated several such procedures, and found that rater accuracy methods significantly enhance cutoff score reliability and accuracy.

This study investigated factors influencing the selection of apparel worn to work by women who attended fashion and wardrobe seminars in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Clothing selection factors were analyzed by computer according to age, marital status, work status and education. The majority most frequently wore suits and separates to work. Single participants preferred separates. Most wore sizes considered average. Respondents most frequently purchased apparel from department stores. Brand name and designer apparel were occasionally purchased. Though interested, few respondents had taken advantage of personal consultant services. It was recommended that retailers make wardrobe services known to the public.

This study documents that external and internal forces were causes of change at VCWTP. External forces caused. Fort Worth to reorganize and introduce new management at VCWTP after 1982. These improvements led to VCWTP being selected best managed wastewater treatment plant in the nation by EPA in 1988. This study first analyzes external and internal forces responsible for changes at VCWTP. A history of plant operations also is reviewed. Personnel interviews were conducted of perceptions of employees. Finally, statistics obtained of the plant operation from 1969 to 1988 are compared with personal interviews. Five forces effect change at VCWTP; population, regulatory requirements, political conflicts, an organizational and managerial factors. Turnaround occurred as external and internal corrections were made.

Since 2008, the United States (USA) has resettled thousands of Bhutanese refugees, providing brief financial support and pathways to citizenship. Despite the efforts of governing bodies and voluntary agencies which facilitate resettlement, many refugees struggle with adapting to the vastly different lifestyle, economy, language and social structures. In particular, effectively addressing psychological needs of this population is a challenge for service providers operating within an expensive health care system based on Western constructs of mental health. In response to this challenge, refugee resettlement agencies throughout the country use community gardens to promote psychological healing, self-sufficiency, community engagement, and a return of human dignity. Though success of these programs is being shared in the media, there has yet to be empirical data examining their impact. The current study tested whether Bhutanese refugee engagement in a community garden impacts symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD and somatic complaints. The study also investigated whether community gardening is associated with perceptions of social support and adjustment to life in the United States. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected from 50 adult Bhutanese refugees in Fort Worth, Texas. Gardening was significantly related to increased social support overall, a key factor in overall functionality within communal cultures; …

In North Texas, the Barnett Shale underlies large areas of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex (DFW), which magnifies debates about the externalities of shale gas development (SGD). Continued demand for natural gas and expansive urbanization in DFW will cause more people to come in contact with drilling rigs, gas transport, and other urban shale gas landscapes. Thousands of gas wells within the DFW region occupy a large, yet scattered land surface area. DFW city planners, elected officials, and other stakeholders must deal with current and future urban growth and the surface impacts that are associated with gas development. This research examines how shale gas landscapes affect urban land uses, landscapes, and patterns of development in DFW. The study focuses on multiple fast growing DFW municipalities that also have high numbers of gas well pad sites. This study asks what are the spatial characteristics of gas well production sites in DFW and how do these sites vary across the region; how do gas well production sites affect urban growth and development; and how are city governments and surface developers responding to gas well production sites, and what are the dominant themes of contestation arising around gas well production sites and suburban growth?

Conventional sources of emissions have been a prime target for policymakers in designing pollution control strategies. However, the evolution of shale gas activities is a growing concern over the impact of unconventional sources on urban and regional air quality. Owing to the development of Barnett Shale production, the fast-growing Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex has encountered both types of these emissions. Oil and gas activities result in emissions of ozone precursors, notably volatile organic compounds (VOC). The major objective of this study was to evaluate the spatio-temporal distribution of VOC in order to highlight the influence of unconventional emissions. The study utilized measurements from automated gas chromatography (AutoGC) monitors to analyze the patterns of the total non-methane organic compounds (TNMOC) and relative contributions from marker species of traffic versus oil and gas activities. In this study, data from 2001-2014 was obtained from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for fifteen monitoring sites within the North Texas region. With over a thousand wells in a 10 mile radius, two of the rural sites measured twice as much TNMOC as compared to the urban site in Dallas. Source apportionment analysis was conducted using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) technique. The target site located …

Today breastfeeding is a common conversation with the ever-growing holistic movement and the effort to 'go green' as demonstrated by the proliferation of the organic food industry in recent years within the United States. Breastfeeding may reduce poor health outcomes including infant morbidity and mortality. Infant mortality is a priority in Tarrant County within southeast Fort Worth as defined by this project’s client Healthy Moms – Healthy Babies – Healthy Community. The purpose of this research was to identify the contextual factors that influence breastfeeding decisions among the zip codes in southeast Fort Worth in which infant mortality is greatest. In analysis of the data among breastfeeding mothers and stakeholders, support was the greatest contribution to successful breastfeeding.

Over 9 million new cases of tuberculosis (TB) were reported worldwide in 2013. While the TB rate is much lower in the US, its uneven distribution and associated explanatory variables require interrogation in order to determine effective strategies for intervention and control. However, paucity of case data at fine geographic scales precludes such research. This research, using zip code level data from 837 confirmed TB cases in Tarrant County obtained from Texas Department of State Health Services, explores and attempts to explain the spatial patterns of TB and related risk markers within a framework of place vulnerability. Readily available census data is then used to characterize the spatial variations in TB risk. The resulting model will enable estimations of the geographic differences in TB case variables using this readily available census data instead of time-consuming and expensive individual data collection.

The relationship between work-family role strain and parenting styles (permissive, authoritarian, and authoritative) was examined. Questionnaires were completed by 45 mothers whose children (ages newborn to three years) were enrolled in early childhood centers in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Denton, Texas, area. Participants were primarily Caucasian, high-income mothers who had attended college. Results indicated no significant relationship between role strain and parenting styles. Open-ended questions revealed insights into mothers' reported role strain. This research may provide employers and professionals who work with families with information to assist mothers in reducing role strain. They may also recognize that parenting style may be independent of a successful balance of work and family.

The purpose of this study is to examine domestic violence as it occurs in same-sex male relationships. Data were collected by in-depth interviews with twenty-five gay males, who were between the ages of 23 and 43, and who had previous experience being in a homosexual relationship where domestic violence was present. The major findings of this study include the respondents': 1) definitions of domestic violence and abuse; 2) the type of domestic violence or abuse personally experienced; and 3) reasons they believe domestic violence or abuse occurs in these types of relationships. This study illustrates the need for further research in this area of domestic violence and for programs or services targeted for this specific population.

With the advent of national storm water regulations, municipalities with populations greater than 100,000 are required to obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permits (NPDES) for storm water discharges. In addition to the sampling required for the permit process, the City of Fort Worth contracted with the University of North Texas' Institute of Applied Sciences to conduct acute toxicity testing using Pimephales prcmelas and Ceriodaphnia dubia on storm water samples received from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. A Toxicity Identification Evaluation (TIE) was performed on four samples that exhibited acute toxicity to C. dubia. High levels of metals as well as diazinon were some of the probable toxicants found.

Chorine is used by the Village Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant to kill pathogenic microorganisms prior to discharge of the effluent into the Trinity River. The residual chlorine in the river impacted aquatic life prompting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in December 1990 to require dechlorination using sulfur dioxide. One pre-dechlorination and four post-dechlorination assessments of phytoplankton, periphyton, and zooplankton communities were conducted by the Institute of Applied Sciences at the University of North Texas. Dechlorination had no effect on the phytoplankton community. The periphyton community exhibited a shift in species abundance with a more even distribution of organisms among taxa. No change occurred in zooplankton species abundance, however, there was a decrease in zooplankton density following dechlorination.