Chronic Ventricular Sympathectomy : Effects on Myocardial Metabolism (open access)

Chronic Ventricular Sympathectomy : Effects on Myocardial Metabolism

Chronic ventricular sympathectomy elicits changes in the coronary circulation, myocardial oxygen consumption and size of infarction resulting fromcoronary occlusion. These changes indicate a change occurring in the basic metabolism of the heart in response to the removal of its sympathetic nervous input. This hypothesis was tested using two groups of dogs, a shamoperated control and a ventricular sympathectomized group. The sympathectomy procedure was an intrapericardial surgical technique which selectively removes ventricular sympathetic input. Four weeks after surgery, left ventricular tissue samples were obtained and rapidly frozen to -80°C. Selected metabolic variables were then compared between the two groups.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Adix Longlet, Nancy J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Characteristics of Administrative Leadership Behavior : A Comparative Study of Municipal and University Administrators (open access)

Characteristics of Administrative Leadership Behavior : A Comparative Study of Municipal and University Administrators

The problem with which this study is concerned is comparative administrative leadership behavior between municipal and university administrators. The specially designed survey instrument elicited respondents' perceptions of their administrative leadership behavior based on the 12 dimensions of the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire- XII.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Akidi, Valentine E. (Valentine Emeka)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Synchronous Chaos, Chaotic Walks, and Characterization of Chaotic States by Lyapunov Spectra (open access)

Synchronous Chaos, Chaotic Walks, and Characterization of Chaotic States by Lyapunov Spectra

Four aspects of the dynamics of continuous-time dynamical systems are studied in this work. The relationship between the Lyapunov exponents of the original system and the Lyapunov exponents of induced Poincare maps is examined. The behavior of these Poincare maps as discriminators of chaos from noise is explored, and the possible Poissonian statistics generated at rarely visited surfaces are studied.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Albert, Gerald (Gerald Lachian)
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Historical Review of the Development of Federal Universities of Technology in Nigeria (open access)

A Historical Review of the Development of Federal Universities of Technology in Nigeria

The overall purpose of this study was to identify the major factors and events that led to the establishment of the Federal Universities of Technology in Nigeria. The study examined and analyzed the growth and development of the three Nigerian Federal Universities of Technology at Owerri, Akure, and Minna.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Asagba, Joseph Obukowho
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Efficient Hybrid Heuristic and Probabilistic Model for the Gate Matrix Layout Problem in VLSI Design (open access)

An Efficient Hybrid Heuristic and Probabilistic Model for the Gate Matrix Layout Problem in VLSI Design

In this thesis, the gate matrix layout problem in VLSI design is considered where the goal is to minimize the number of tracks required to layout a given circuit and a taxonomy of approaches to its solution is presented. An efficient hybrid heuristic is also proposed for this combinatorial optimization problem, which is based on the combination of probabilistic hill-climbing technique and greedy method. This heuristic is tested experimentally with respect to four existing algorithms. As test cases, five benchmark problems from the literature as well as randomly generated problem instances are considered. The experimental results show that the proposed hybrid algorithm, on the average, performs better than other heuristics in terms of the required computation time and/or the quality of solution. Due to the computation-intensive nature of the problem, an exact solution within reasonable time limits is impossible. So, it is difficult to judge the effectiveness of any heuristic in terms of the quality of solution (number of tracks required). A probabilistic model of the gate matrix layout problem that computes the expected number of tracks from the given input parameters, is useful to this respect. Such a probabilistic model is proposed in this thesis, and its performance is …
Date: August 1993
Creator: Bagchi, Tanuj
System: The UNT Digital Library
Saul Bellow's Creation of Ambiguity and Deception in Herzog and The Dean's December (open access)

Saul Bellow's Creation of Ambiguity and Deception in Herzog and The Dean's December

Argues that Bellow purposefully creates ambiguity and deception using impersonal narration and free indirect discourse in order to present Herzog and The Dean's December as reflections of an ambiguous and deceptive world. The discussion of impersonal narration is based on Wayne Booth's theories about the confusion of distance resulting from impersonal narration; the discussion of free indirect discourse is drawn from a number of definitions. Utilizes a number of specific references to the texts and to criticisms of the texts to demonstrate the absence of norms and the effect that the ambiguity and deception may have on readers.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Banks, Paul J. (Paul Jerome)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Association of Self-Directed Learning Readiness, Learning Styles, Self-Paced Instruction, and Confidence to Perform on the Job (open access)

The Association of Self-Directed Learning Readiness, Learning Styles, Self-Paced Instruction, and Confidence to Perform on the Job

Learning styles and readiness for self-directed learning were identified for 125 adult employees enrolled in self-paced training courses. The success of the self-paced instruction was measured by confidence to perform learned skills on the job. Confidence scores were compared across learning style types and self-directed learning readiness. It was concluded that self-paced training programs can be effective for a variety of learning style preferences. Additionally, adult employees who are highly self-directed will experience greater success in self-paced instruction than those less self-directed. The implication for businesses and academic institutions seeking to employ technology based, self-instructional programs is that a return on investment can be maximized by an examination of the target audience. Training programs which are self-paced may not generate the desired success which will translate into effective job performance for those adults who are not ready for self-directed learning.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Baxter, Lynn Z. (Lynn Zander)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wuthering Heights: A Proto-Darwinian Novel (open access)

Wuthering Heights: A Proto-Darwinian Novel

Wuthering Heights was significantly shaped by the pre-Darwinian scientific debate in ways that look ahead to Darwin's evolutionary theory more than a decade later. Wuthering Heights represents a cultural response to new and disturbing ideas. Darwin's enterprise was scientific; Emily Brontë's poetic. Both, however, were seeking to find ways to express their vision of the nature of human beings. The language and metaphors of Wuthering Heights suggest that Emily Brontë's vision was, in many ways, similar to Darwin's.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Bhattacharya, Sumangala
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Exploratory Analysis of the Food Consumption Behavior of Up-scale Asian-American Consumers (open access)

An Exploratory Analysis of the Food Consumption Behavior of Up-scale Asian-American Consumers

The first objective of this research was to identify whether Asian-Americans having higher than average levels of income and education represent an appropriate target market for four food product categories. Second, the impact of national origin membership, demographic variables, and level of acculturation on food consumption was determined. In addition, perceptions related to sensory and nutritional factors and the cultural acceptability of the products were identified and interpreted to determine if the variables differed among specific groups of Asian-American consumers.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Boykin, Nancy J. (Nancy Jo)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Filial Therapy with Single Parents (open access)

Filial Therapy with Single Parents

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of filial therapy as a method of intervention for single parents and their children.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Bratton, Sue Carlton
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Comparison of Traditional Norming and Rasch Quick Norming Methods (open access)

A Comparison of Traditional Norming and Rasch Quick Norming Methods

The simplicity and ease of use of the Rasch procedure is a decided advantage. The test user needs only two numbers: the frequency of persons who answered each item correctly and the Rasch-calibrated item difficulty, usually a part of an existing item bank. Norms can be computed quickly for any specific group of interest. In addition, once the selected items from the calibrated bank are normed, any test, built from the item bank, is automatically norm-referenced. Thus, it was concluded that the Rasch quick norm procedure is a meaningful alternative to traditional classical true score norming for test users who desire normative data.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Bush, Joan Spooner
System: The UNT Digital Library
Violent and Nonviolent Juvenile Offenders: An Assessment of Differences in Impulse, Ego Structure, and Object Relations Using the Psychoanalytic Rorschach Profile (open access)

Violent and Nonviolent Juvenile Offenders: An Assessment of Differences in Impulse, Ego Structure, and Object Relations Using the Psychoanalytic Rorschach Profile

The present study used the Psychoanalytic Rorschach Profile (PRP) to assess differences in personality organization in violent and nonviolent juvenile offenders.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Callahan, Theresa A. (Theresa Ann)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Regulation, Evolution, and Properties of the ato Qperon and its Gene Products in Escherichia coli (open access)

Regulation, Evolution, and Properties of the ato Qperon and its Gene Products in Escherichia coli

The regulation of short chain fatty acid metabolism has been examined. Metabolism of acetoacetate, and short chain fatty acids such as butyrate and valerate, is predicated upon the expression of genes of the ato operon. Acetoacetate induces expression of a CoA transferase (encoded by the atoDA genes) and expression of a thiolase (encoded by the atoB gene). Metabolism of saturated short chain fatty acids requires the activities of the transferase and thiolase and enzymes of 6-oxidation as well. Spontaneous mutant strains were isolated that were either constitutive or that were inducible by valerate or butyrate instead of acetoacetate.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Chen, Chaw-Yuan
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Critical Analysis of Newspaper Development in Taiwan Since the Lifting of Martial Law (open access)

A Critical Analysis of Newspaper Development in Taiwan Since the Lifting of Martial Law

This study reviews the changes in Taiwan's newspaper industry during its current period of transition. Contemporary newspaper development in Taiwan after the lifting of martial law in July 1987 is evaluated in relation to transformations in the newspaper marketplace, journalistic practices, labor relations, and freedom of expression. This study concludes that changes in Taiwan's newspaper business are closely related to changes in the country's political atmosphere. The lifting of the Ban of Newspaper brought freedoms for which journalists had fought for decades; however, journalistic quality has not improved at the same speed. Changes will continue in the journalism industry; whether it grows in a healthy way is a topic for future study.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Chen, Yu-Jen, 1957-
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Last Seven Words (open access)

The Last Seven Words

The Last Seven Words is an orchestral piece with double woodwind, double brass, and two sets of timpani. The duration of the work is seventeen minutes. The forty-six pages which precede the musical score present a discussion and an analysis of the composition. The purpose of this project was to provide the composer an opportunity to write an orchestra piece with a single scale and seven rhythmic patterns.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Chong, Lok-Shing
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effect of Problem Solving Software on the Improvement of Critical Thinking Skills (open access)

The Effect of Problem Solving Software on the Improvement of Critical Thinking Skills

The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of advertised reports by computer software companies claiming to improve critical thinking skills.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Clay, Ernestine K. (Ernestine Ann K.)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Use of Technology in the Delivery of Instruction in Algebra II in Texas Public Secondary Schools (open access)

The Use of Technology in the Delivery of Instruction in Algebra II in Texas Public Secondary Schools

The purpose of this study was to survey Algebra II teachers in the State of Texas to determine the extent to which they use technology for the delivery of instruction. Additionally, the study attempted to determine reasons why teachers do or do not use technology when they have a choice.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Clay, James H. (James Hamilton)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Alterations in Human Baroreceptor Reflex Regulation of Blood Pressure Following 15 Days of Simulated Microgravity Exposure (open access)

Alterations in Human Baroreceptor Reflex Regulation of Blood Pressure Following 15 Days of Simulated Microgravity Exposure

Prolonged exposure to microgravity is known to invoke physiological changes which predispose individuals to orthostatic intolerance upon readaptation to the earth's gravitational field. Attenuated baroreflex responsiveness has been implicated in contributing to this inability to withstand orthostatic stress. To test this hypothesis, eight individuals were exposed to 15 days of simulated microgravity exposure using the 6° head-down bed rest model. Prior to, and after the simulated microgravity exposure, the following were assessed: a) aortic baroreflex function; b) carotid baroreflex function; c) cardiopulmonary baroreflex function; and d) the degree of interaction between the cardiopulmonary and carotid baroreflexes.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Crandall, Craig G. (Craig Gerald)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Animations: A Composition for Percussion and Computer Music on Tape (open access)

Animations: A Composition for Percussion and Computer Music on Tape

Animations is a composition in six movements (Fish, Seals, Birds, Cats, Zebras, Snakes) for percussion and computer music on tape. One percussionist performs on various percussion instruments: two suspended cymbals, crotales, triangle, vibraphone, glockenspiel, marimba, three bongos, snare drum, field drum, large tom-tom, bass drum, kettle drum, temple blocks and vibraslap. The computer music on tape employs sampled sounds in a MIDI sequencing environment. The melodic and harmonic materials for the piece are derived from a matrix of twelve heptatonic scales. The individual movements are notated using both traditional and proportional notation systems. The score is 37 pages long with a twenty-two page analysis preceding the score. Animations is approximately nine minutes in duration.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Criswell, Madeleine L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nonet for Percussion and Tape (open access)

Nonet for Percussion and Tape

Nonet for Percussion and Tape is a twenty-two minute through-composed work for eight percussionists and tape. The instrumentation includes: marimba, xylophone, glass wind chimes, slit drum, woodblock, vibraphone, crotales, metal wind chimes, snare drum, bass drum, tom-toms, temple blocks, bass marimba, log drum, cowbells, medium suspended cymbal, gongs, timbales, bongos, tambourine, roto-toms, timpani, and pre-recorded computer-generated/computer-sampled sound.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Crowley, Timothy R. (Timothy Robert)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical by Gerome Ragni and James Rado: An Annotated Edition with Introduction (open access)

Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical by Gerome Ragni and James Rado: An Annotated Edition with Introduction

The epochal musical Hair is based predominantly on the actions and reactions to the cultural and societal occurrences of the Sixties. So, what can be done to help in the understanding of this historic musical? The answer: to produce an annotated text of the musical that will offer support to director and cast. The study consists of four chapters; the first, an introduction to the study; the second, a historical review (1960-1970); the third, the annotations which seeks to identify and explain all unfamiliar or unusual words, cultural obscurities, or personalities that might confuse, or otherwise mislead a full and comprehensive understanding of the author's original concept; and fourth, the worldwide performances of Hair and revivals after the original Broadway production.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Culver, William Marc
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cultural Identity in Thai Movies and Its Implications for the Study of Films in Thailand (open access)

Cultural Identity in Thai Movies and Its Implications for the Study of Films in Thailand

The primary purpose of this study was to find the content and form of movies which conform to the taste of the majority of Thai audiences and, at the same time, are universal enough to attract international audiences. Because film is an extension of other art forms, this required extensive research into the roots of Thai performing arts.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Dunagin, Kultida Boonyakul
System: The UNT Digital Library
Knightly Gentlemen: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and His Historical Novels (open access)

Knightly Gentlemen: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and His Historical Novels

This thesis analyzes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's contribution to the revival of chivalric ideals in late Victorian England. The primary sources of this study are Doyle's historical novels and the secondary sources address the different aspects of the revival of the chivalric ideals. The first two chapters introduce Doyle's historical novels, and the final four chapters define the revival, the class and gender issues surrounding the revival, and the illustration of these in Doyle's novels. The conclusion of the thesis asserts that Doyle supported the revival of chivalric ideals, and the revival attempted to maintain, in the late nineteenth century, the traditional class and gender structure of the Middle Ages.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Durrer, Rebecca A. (Rebecca Ann)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Judgment of Contingency in Hospitalized Depressives (open access)

Judgment of Contingency in Hospitalized Depressives

Numerous investigations with college students have found that mild depressives perceive environmental contingencies more accurately than do nondepressives. The present study explores this 'depressive realism' phenomenon in a hospitalized sample.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Ee, Juliana Soh-Chiew
System: The UNT Digital Library