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Chaucer and the Rhetorical Limits of Exemplary Literature (open access)

Chaucer and the Rhetorical Limits of Exemplary Literature

Though much has been made of Chaucer's saintly characters, relatively little has been made of Chaucer's approach to hagiography. While strictly speaking Chaucer produced only one true saint's life (the Second Nun's Tale), he was repeatedly intrigued and challenged by exemplary literature. The few studies of Chaucer's use of hagiography have tended to claim either his complete orthodoxy as hagiographer, or his outright parody of the genre. My study mediates the orthodoxy/parody split by viewing Chaucer as a serious, but self-conscious, hagiographer, one who experimented with the possibilities of exemplary narrative and explored the rhetorical tensions intrinsic to the genre, namely the tensions between transcendence and imminence, reverence and identification, and epideictic deliberative discourse.
Date: May 1999
Creator: Youmans, Karen DeMent
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Why Orville and Wilbur Built an Airplane (open access)

Why Orville and Wilbur Built an Airplane

This dissertation comprises two sections. The title section collects a volume of the author's original poetry, subdivided into four parts. The concerns of this section are largely aesthetic, although some of the poems involve issues that emerge in the introductory essay. The introductory essay itself looks at slightly over three centuries of poetry in English, and focuses on three representative poems from three distinct periods: the long eighteenth century and the Romantic period in England, and the Post-war period in the United States. John Dryden's translation of Ovid's "Cinyras and Myrrha," John Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale," and James Dickey's "The Sheep Child," whatever their stylistic and aesthetic differences may be, all share a concern with taboo. Each of the poems, in its own way, embraces taboo while transgressing societal norms in order to effect a synthesis that merges subject and object in dialectical transcendence. For Dryden, the operative taboo is that placed on incest. In his translation of Ovid, Dryden seizes on the notion of incest as a metaphor for translation itself and views the violation of taboo as fructifying. Keats, in his Nightingale ode, toys with the idea of suicide and reconstructs a world both natural and mythic …
Date: August 1999
Creator: Jenkinson, John S.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Comparison of Points Versus Sounds as Reinforces in Human Operant Research (open access)

A Comparison of Points Versus Sounds as Reinforces in Human Operant Research

Research shows that human operant behavior typically differs from non-human operant behavior on schedules of reinforcement. These differences in performance may be related to differences between the experimental preparations used to study human and non-human operant behavior. One such difference is the type of reinforcer used. This experiment analyzed the differential effects of points alone, points backed up by money, and sounds on schedule performance of human subjects. Results show that sounds generated moderate rates of responding, capable of change in either direction. When points backed up with money were the reinforcers, however, high rates of behavior were generated, disrupting the previously established baseline performance. This suggests that while points may be effective in generating high rates of behavior, they may be ineffective in producing sensitive baselines needed to study human operant behavior on schedules of reinforcement.
Date: August 1999
Creator: Rouse, Susan L.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Relationship Between the Grief Process and the Family System: The Role of Affect, Communication, and Cohesion (open access)

The Relationship Between the Grief Process and the Family System: The Role of Affect, Communication, and Cohesion

Sixty-six people who had recently experienced the death of a parent or a spouse completed a questionnaire packet to assess their current grief symptomatology and some characteristics of the relationships within their family. Participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire 4-5 weeks after the death and then again six months later. The present study compared two competing models to explain whether the grief process affects the characteristics of relationships within the family system or that family characteristics affect the experienced grief symptoms.
Date: August 1999
Creator: Schoka, Elaine
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Sexual Identity Development and Heterosexual Mistrust: An Exploratory Study (open access)

Sexual Identity Development and Heterosexual Mistrust: An Exploratory Study

The sexual identity development process in gay men was the focus of this study. It was theorized that, as a result of negative experiences with the dominant heterosexual culture, gay men might feel mistrustful of heterosexuals in various settings. A new theoretical construct, that of heterosexual mistrust, was identified and explored. A new scale, the Heterosexual Mistrust Inventory (HMI), was created to measure this construct. Gay male subjects' stage of homosexual identity formation (HIF) was also determined. Results indicated that heterosexual mistrust existed to a significantly stronger degree among gay men than among heterosexual men. Heterosexual mistrust was strongly related to stage of HIF. The various settings in which heterosexual mistrust was found to occur were discussed. Implications for current knowledge about HIF and about cultural belief systems unique to gay men were identified and explored.
Date: August 1999
Creator: Shepard, William D., 1965-
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Design of a Monitoring System for a Plasma Cleaning Machine (open access)

Design of a Monitoring System for a Plasma Cleaning Machine

Plasma cleaning is the most effective dry process to remove surface contaminates from a SAW (Surface Acoustical Wave) device. Consistent gas pressures, flows, and good electrical connections between the chamber shelves are necessary for the process to function predictably. In addition, operation of the monitoring system must be transparent to the plasma cleaning unit. This thesis describes a simple solution to the complex problem of monitoring a plasma cleaning system. The monitoring system uses the LabVIEW® G programming language and hardware, both products of National Instruments, Inc.®, to monitor critical parameters necessary to achieve a consistent process when cleaning these devices.
Date: May 1999
Creator: Fooks, Terry M. (Terry Max)
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ad-dimers on Strained Carbon Nanotubes: A New Route for Quantum Dot Formation? (open access)

Ad-dimers on Strained Carbon Nanotubes: A New Route for Quantum Dot Formation?

Article on ad-dimers on strained carbon nano-tubes.
Date: November 15, 1999
Creator: Orlikowski, Daniel; Buongiorno Nardelli, Marco; Bernholc, Jerry & Roland, Christopher
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Evolution of Vacancy Supersaturations in MeV Si Implanted Silicon (open access)

Evolution of Vacancy Supersaturations in MeV Si Implanted Silicon

High-energy Si implantation into silicon creates a net defect distribution that is characterized by an excess of interstitials near the projected range and a simultaneous excess of vacancies closer to the surface. This defect distribution is due to the spatial separation between the distributions of interstitials and vacancies created by the forward momentum transferred from the implanted ion to the lattice atom. This dissertation investigates the evolution of the near-surface vacancy excess in MeV Si-implanted silicon both during implantation and post-implant annealing. Although previous investigations have identified a vacancy excess in MeV-implanted silicon, the investigations presented in this dissertation are unique in that they are designed to correlate the free-vacancy supersaturation with the vacancies in clusters. Free-vacancy (and interstitial) supersaturations were measured with Sb (B) dopant diffusion markers. Vacancies in clusters were profiled by Au labeling; a new technique based on the observation that Au atoms trap in the presence of open-volume defects. The experiments described in this dissertation are also unique in that they were designed to isolate the deep interstitial excess from interacting with the much shallower vacancy excess during post-implant thermal processing.
Date: May 1999
Creator: Venezia, Vincent C.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Synthesis and Alkali Metal Extraction Properties of Novel Cage-Functionalized Crown Coronands and Cryptands (open access)

Synthesis and Alkali Metal Extraction Properties of Novel Cage-Functionalized Crown Coronands and Cryptands

A novel crown ether precursor was developed in which a rigid 4-oxahexacyclo (5.4.1.26.3,10.05,9.08,11) dodecyl cage moiety ("cage functionality") was incorporated.
Date: August 1999
Creator: McKim, Artie S.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Father Absence, Onset of Menarche, and Body Dissatisfaction: Importance of Father Absence (open access)

Father Absence, Onset of Menarche, and Body Dissatisfaction: Importance of Father Absence

Relationships between body dissatisfaction, dieting methods, father absence, and puberty timing were investigated in this study. Participants included adolescent females from Wave 1 of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health. Logistic regression results indicated that girls without a biological father in the home were significantly more likely to have an early onset of puberty than on-time or late. Girls who experienced early puberty exhibited higher levels of body dissatisfaction, but didn't use more dieting methods. Early onset girls more likely used dieting methods if their biological father was present than absent; however, no significant difference in body dissatisfaction was shown. A negative relationship with fathers indicated more body dissatisfaction. None of the attained findings were found when the biological mother was absent, and having a stepfather did not seem to matter. Evidence was revealed that fathers play a role in their daughters' view of their own bodies.
Date: August 1999
Creator: Gartrell, Stacey R.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Brief Exposure to Non Traditional Media Messages on Female Body Image (open access)

The Effects of Brief Exposure to Non Traditional Media Messages on Female Body Image

Body image may be defined as the perception or attitude one has regarding the appearance of his or her body. Body image concerns are not only central to the diagnostic criteria of eating disorders, but also create distress for nonclinical populations. Females (n = 167) from three universities participated in a study by completing the Eating Disorder Inventory - 2 (Garner, 1991) and the Figure Rating Scale (Stunkard, Sorenson, & Schulsinger, 1983); watching a video; and then completing the instruments again. Subjects in the treatment group (n = 89) viewed a video designed to increase awareness of unrealistic body sizes and shapes seen in the media (Kilbourne, 1995). Subjects in the comparison group (n = 77) viewed a video unrelated to female body image.
Date: August 1999
Creator: Garber, Carla F.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Cure Kinetics and Processing Parameters of Neat and Reinforced High Performance Epoxy Resins: Evaluation of Techniques

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Kinetic equation parameters for the curing reaction of a commercial glass fiber reinforced high performance epoxy prepreg composed of the tetrafunctional epoxy tetraglycidyl 4,4-diaminodiphenyl methane (TGDDM), the tetrafunctional amine curing agent 4,4’-diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS) and an ionic initiator/accelerator, are determined by various thermal analysis techniques and the results compared. The reaction is monitored by heat generated determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The changes in physical properties indicating increasing conversion are followed by shifts in glass transition temperature determined by DSC and temperature-modulated DSC (TMDSC), thermomechanical (TMA) and dynamic mechanical (DMA) analysis and thermally stimulated depolarization (TSD). Changes in viscosity, also indicative of degree of conversion, are monitored by DMA. Thermal stability as a function of degree of cure is monitored by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The parameters of the general kinetic equations, including activation energy and rate constant, are explained and used to compare results of various techniques. The utilities of the kinetic descriptions are demonstrated in the construction of a useful time-temperature-transformation (TTT) diagram for rapid determination of processing parameters in the processing of prepregs. Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Files: Thesis.pdf Special Conditions
Date: December 1999
Creator: Bilyeu, Bryan
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Symmetrical Features of Nikolai Medtner's Language: The Grzovaya Sonata, Opus 53 No. 2

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Nikolai Medtner's works evidence an intense interest in symmetrical designs. This concern is manifest at all levels, from the large scale proportions of his numerous ingenious sonata forms to the symmetrically constructed themes and motives. Medtner's works include several instances of palindromic themes and periods. Some palindromic contours are achieved through immediate inversion, creating expansive, symmetrical waves. One of Medtner's thumbprints, symmetrical contrary voice-leading, consists of two or more voices which systematically expand or contract in exact mirror fashion. The contrary movement is usually stepwise, and may be either chromatic or diatonic. Occasionally even larger intervals, such as thirds and fourths, are subjected to this favourite mirroring technique. Such symmetrical expansion and contraction often controls the harmonic progression of several consecutive bars. One of the most striking aspects of Medtner's music is his sophisticated harmonic language. He was fascinated with symmetrical harmonic designs, such as the tritone, the French sixth chord, and the octatonic scale, and made endless and increasingly intricate explorations into these stuctures and the ways in which these apparently nontonal, non-hierarchical forms could be coordinated with the fundamental hierarchy of asymmetrical tonal forms, including triads, major and minor scales, and tonic-dominant relations. Medtner's late work, the Grozovaya …
Date: December 1999
Creator: Pitts, James L.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Afro-British Slave Narrative: The Rhetoric of Freedom in the Kairos of Abolition

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
The dissertation argues that the development of the British abolition movement was based on the abolitionists' perception that their actions were kairotic; they attempted to shape their own kairos by taking temporal events and reinterpreting them to construct a kairotic process that led to a perceived fulfillment: abolition. Thus, the dissertation examines the rhetorical strategies used by white abolitionists to construct an abolitionist kairos that was designed to produce salvation for white Britons more than it was to help free blacks. The dissertation especially examines the three major texts produced by black persons living in England during the late eighteenth centuryIgnatius Sancho's Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho (1782), Ottobauh Cugoano's Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery (1787), and Olaudah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African (1789)to illustrate how black rhetoric was appropriated by whites to fulfill their own kairotic desires. By examining the rhetorical strategies employed in both white and black rhetorics, the dissertation illustrates how the abolitionists thought the movement was shaped by, and how they were shaping the movement through, kairotic time. While the dissertation contends that the abolition movement was rhetorically designed to provide redemption, …
Date: December 1999
Creator: Evans, Dennis F.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

A Qualitative Study of the Use and Value of Financial Performance Indicators in Selected Community Colleges in the State of Texas as Perceived by their Chief Executive Officers

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Throughout the United States, colleges and universities are faced with an increasing need for financial funding, while at the same time resources continue to diminish. With the limitations of available funds, community colleges must exhibit efficiencies in the operations of their institutions. External interests, such as governing boards and legislatures, require demonstration of efficient financial management. This evidence is then used to make decisions concerning future financial support for the community college. This study determined if community college chief executive officers use financial performance indicators as provided by the State Auditor's Office and if the chief executive officers of the community colleges value the compilation and the distribution of the financial performance indicators. In the selected colleges, many of the chief executive officers depend on their chief financial officer for understanding and application of financial performance indicators. The performance indicators distributed by the Auditor's Office captured only a snapshot of the college's performance, and failed to fully describe the whole college performance or specific financial events captured by the indicators. Though the indicators had flaws, either through incorrect data or lack of explanation, the CEOs did value their compilation because they provided a means for ‘getting the community college story' …
Date: December 1999
Creator: Hase, Karla Luan Neeley
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Hospitality Students' Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions toward Learning and Using Computer Technology

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Following Ajzen/Fishbein's 1980 Theory of Reasoned Action, influences of hospitality students' external variables (age, gender, university classification, and work experience) on computer attitudes, and relationships between computer attitudes and intentions to learn and use computers were tested. A sample of 412 hospitality students completed two measurements: Loyd/Gressard's 1984 Computer Attitude Scale, and Behavioral Intentions to Learn and Use Computers. Males and females had positive computer attitudes. Graduates had more positive computer attitudes. No interaction effect existed between gender and classification. No relationships existed between age and work experience on computer attitudes. Computer attitudes positively correlated with intentions to learn and use computers. Results supported the Theory of Reasoned Action. External variables partially influence attitudes and attitudes influence intentions.
Date: December 1999
Creator: Chuvessiriporn, Suttichai
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Development of a Coaxiality Indicator

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The geometric dimensioning and tolerancing concept of coaxiality is often required by design engineers for balance of rotating parts and precision mating parts. In current practice, it is difficult for manufacturers to measure coaxiality quickly and inexpensively. This study examines feasibility of a manually-operated, mechanical device combined with formulae to indicate coaxiality of a test specimen. The author designs, fabricates, and tests the system for measuring coaxiality of holes machined in a steel test piece. Gage Repeatability and Reproducibility (gage R&R) and univariate analysis of variance is performed in accordance with Measurement System Analysis published by AIAG. Results indicate significant design flaws exist in the current configuration of the device; observed values vary greatly with operator technique. Suggestions for device improvements conclude the research.
Date: December 1999
Creator: Arendsee, Wayne C.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Techniques of Sensual Perception: The Creation of Emotional Pathways

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Some artists strive to create artwork that has aesthetic value. If a piece of artwork has the ability to capture the attention of an audience, it must contain strong sensual attributes. Thus, understanding how to design an art form to contain strong sensual attributes may increase the possibility of an aesthetic experience. Since aesthetics is an experience of sensations perceived when in contact with a creative form in any artistic discipline, it is necessary for an artist to understand the nature of the sensual experience. In understanding the sensual experience, artists may be able to create techniques to enhance the aesthetic experience of their work. My video piece, entitled Ararat is a study of methods to enhance the sensual experience. I hope to accomplish this by means of using techniques that optimize an audience's perceptual experience.
Date: December 1999
Creator: Henry, Jon L.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Personality Characteristics of Counselor Education Graduate Students as Measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Bem Sex Role Inventory

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This study was designed to investigate the correlation of the variables of gender, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality preferences, and androgyny as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) in Counselor Education graduate students. Instruments were administered to Counselor Education graduate students at nine institutions in five national regions. A total of 172 participants (18 males and 154 females) who were enrolled in Master's level theories courses or practicum courses completed a student information sheet, informed consent, MBTI, and BSRI. Instruments were hand scored and chi-square test was used to determine significance of the hypotheses; the saturated model of log linear analysis was the statistic used for the research question. As predicted, of the sixteen MBTI types, the most common for Counselor Education graduate students emerged as ENFP: extraversion, intuition, feeling, and perception. Additionally, this MBTI type was found to be significantly more common among the population of Counselor Education graduate students than is found among the general population. The expectation that more male Counselor Education graduate students would score higher on the androgyny scale of the BSRI was unsupported; low sample size for male Counselor Education graduate students prevented use of chi-square; however, it was apparent through the …
Date: December 1999
Creator: VanPelt-Tess, Pamela
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

A Sensory Tour of Cape Cod: Thoreau's Transcendental Journey to Spiritual Renewal

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Predominantly darker than his other works, Cape Cod depicts Henry David Thoreau's interpretation of life as a struggle for survival and a search for salvation in a stark New England setting. Representing Thoreau's greatest test of the goodness of God and nature, the book illustrates the centrality of the subject of death to Thoreau's philosophy of life. Contending that Thoreau's journey to the Cape originated from an intensely personal transcendental impulse connected with his brother's death, this study provides the first in-depth examination of Thoreau's use of the five senses in Cape Cod to reveal both the eccentricities inherent in his relationship with nature and his method of resolving his fears of mortality. Some of the sense impressions in Cape Cod--particularly those that center around human death and those that involve tactile sensations--suggest that Thoreau sometimes tried to master his fears by subconsciously altering painful historical facts or by avoiding the type of sensual contact that aggravated the repressed guilt he suffered from his brother's death. Despite his personal idiosyncrasies, however, Thoreau persisted in his search for truth, and the written record of his journey in Cape Cod documents how his dedication to the transcendental process enabled him to surmount …
Date: December 1999
Creator: Talley, Sharon
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

A Descriptive Study of Students Who Were Accepted for Admission at West Texas A&M University But Did Not Enroll

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Each year, institutions of higher education devote valuable financial and personnel resources in the hope of enhancing student recruitment and matriculation. The purpose of this study was to examine the demographic characteristics, the factors that influenced students’ decisions to apply for admission to a university, their educational intentions, and their reasons for not enrolling after they had been admitted. The subjects of the study were first-time freshmen accepted for admission to a mid-size, public, southwestern university who did not enroll for the fall 1997 semester. Statistically significant differences were found when comparing no-shows and enrolled students by gender, ethnicity, age, ACT/SAT score, and distance of their hometown from the university. There were more female no-shows, and more males enrolled than females; a greater percentage of no-shows reported the distance of their hometown to be more than 200 miles; and the mean test score for no-shows was higher. Factors important in the college selection process found to be statistically significant among the groups were: a greater percentage of Minorities than Caucasians reported the importance of the financial aid award or a scholarship offer; students living within 100 miles of the campus reported the proximity of the university as important, advice received …
Date: December 1999
Creator: Barton, Mary Edna
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electronic transport in extended systems: Application to carbon nanotubes (open access)

Electronic transport in extended systems: Application to carbon nanotubes

Article on electronic transport in extended systems and the application to carbon nanotubes.
Date: September 15, 1999
Creator: Buongiorno Nardelli, Marco
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mechanical deformations and coherent transport in carbon nanotubes (open access)

Mechanical deformations and coherent transport in carbon nanotubes

Article on mechanical deformations and coherent transport in carbon nanotubes.
Date: December 15, 1999
Creator: Buongiorno Nardelli, Marco & Bernholc, Jerry
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Southwest Retort, Volume 51, Number [5], February 1999 (open access)

Southwest Retort, Volume 51, Number [5], February 1999

This publication of the Dallas-Fort Worth Section of the American Chemical Society includes information about research, prominent scientist, organizational business, and various other stories of interest to the community.
Date: February 1999
Creator: American Chemical Society. Dallas/Fort Worth Section.
Object Type: Journal/Magazine/Newsletter
System: The UNT Digital Library