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

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 …

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, …

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' …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

A faculty recital performed at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall.

Guest string ensemble concert performed at the UNT College of Music Winspear Hall.

A faculty recital performed at the UNT College of Music Winspear Hall.

A symphonic band concert performed at the UNT College of Music Winspear Hall.

A jazz recital performed at the UNT College of Music Kenton Hall.

A faculty flute recital performed at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall.

In October of 1989, the State of Texas set Kenneth Allen McDuff, the Broomstick Murderer, free on parole. By choosing to murder again, McDuff became the architect of an extraordinarily intolerant atmosphere in Texas. The spasm of prison construction and parole reforms—collectively called the “McDuff Rules”—resulted from an enormous display of anger vented towards a system that allowed McDuff to kill, and kill again. Bad Boy from Rosebud is a chilling account of the life of one of the most heartless and brutal serial killers in American history. Gary M. Lavergne goes beyond horror into an analysis of the unbelievable subculture in which McDuff lived. Equally compelling are the lives of remarkable law enforcement officers determined to bring McDuff to justice, and their seven-year search for his victims. “Texas still feels the pain inflicted by Kenneth Allen McDuff, despite the relentless efforts of law enforcement officials to solve his crimes and bind up its wounds. Bad Boy from Rosebud is an impeccably researched, compellingly detailed account of the crimes and the long search for justice. Gary Lavergne takes us directly to the scenes of the crimes, deep inside the mind of a killer, and in the process learns not only …

Voudou (an older spelling of voodoo)—a pantheistic belief system developed in West Africa and transported to the Americas during the diaspora of the slave trade—is the generic term for a number of similar African religions which mutated in the Americas, including santeria, candomble, macumbe, obeah, Shango Baptist, etc. Since its violent introduction in the Caribbean islands, it has been the least understood and most feared religion of the New World—suppressed, out-lawed or ridiculed from Haiti to Hattiesburg. Yet with the exception of Zora Neale Hurston's accounts more than a half-century ago and a smattering of lurid, often racist paperbacks, studies of this potent West African theology have focused almost exclusively on Haiti, Cuba and the Caribbean basin. American Voudou turns our gaze back to American shores, principally towards the South, the most important and enduring stronghold of the voudou faith in America and site of its historic yet rarely recounted war with Christianity. This chronicle of Davis' determined search for the true legacy of voudou in America reveals a spirit-world from New Orleans to Miami which will shatter long-held stereotypes about the religion and its role in our culture. The real-life dramas of the practitioners, true believers and skeptics of …

“Heartwarming tales of rescued creatures are presented in this collection of vignettes from a large wildlife rehabilitation center.”—Booklist. “Her brief stories are often touching, such as when she describes a young raccoon, rescued from a fire, self-medicating its burned paws with aloe vera plants; or two crab-eating macaques, confined inside a research facility for eighteen years, experiencing the outdoors for the first time.”—Natural History. “This book deserves a spot on every library shelf along with such nonfiction animal story classics as Adamson’s Born Free, North’s Rascal, and the work of Jane Goodall.”—Appraisal: Science Books for Young People

TOL plasmids encode enzymes responsible for utilization of toluene and related aromatic compounds by Pseudomonas putida, ultimately converting them to central metabolic intermediates. The nucleotide sequence for the 5.6 kb xylGFJQK region of the pDK1 TOL meta operon was determined. DNA sequence analysis revealed the presence of five open reading frames corresponding to xylG (1458 bp), xylF (846 bp), xylJ (783 bp), xylQ (936 bp) and xylK (1047 bp), encoding predicted protein products of 51.6, 31.3, 27.8, 32.8, and 36.6 kDa in size, respectively. The average G+C content of the xylLTEGFJQK region was 65.7%, somewhat higher than the 58.9% seen in the immediately upstream xylXYZ region and substantially more than the 50% G+C content reported for the upper TOL operon of this plasmid. Homology comparisons were made with genes and proteins of related catabolic plasmids. The dmpCDEFG and pWWO xylGFJQK regions exhibit consistently high levels of nucleotide and amino acid homology to pDK1 xylGFJQK throughout the entire region. In contrast, although the nucleotide sequence homology of the Acinetobacter atdCDE region to xylGFJ is high, the homology of atdFG to xylQK is markedly less. Such radical changes in homology between corresponding regions of different operons, combined with variable base and codon …

Coelomocyte migration responses, both random and chemotatic, were examined in the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris. Coelomocyte random migration patterns towards non-stimulatory, non-chemotatic solutions were described. Migration responses to immunostimulatory agents lipopolysaccharides (LPS), N-formly-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP), sheep erythrocytes, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aeromonas hydrophila, Eisenia fetida and Rhabditis pellio were characterized. Chemotaxis was reported to LPS, FMLP, sheep erythrocytes, S. cerivesae and E. fetida. Bio-indicator potential of chemotaxis is discussed relative to variability in migration responses.

This dissertation examines the political career of Scottish-born John Buchan (1875-1940) who, through the avenue of the British Empire, formed political alliances that enabled him to enter into the power circles of the British government. Buchan's involvement in governmental service is illustrative of the political and financial advantages Scots sought in Imperial service. Sources include Buchan's published works, collections of correspondence, personal papers, and diaries in the holdings of the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh. Letters and other documents pertaining to Buchan's life and career are also available in the Beaverbrook papers, Lloyd George papers, and Strachey papers at the House of Lords Record Office, London, and in the Liddle Hart Collection at King's College, London. Documents concerning Buchan's association with the War Cabinet, the Foreign Office, and the Department of Information are among those preserved at the Public Record Office, London. References to Buchan's association with the British Expeditionary Force in France are included in the holdings of the Intelligence Corps Museum, Ashford, Kent. The study is arranged chronologically, and discusses Buchan's Scottish heritage, his education, his assignment on Lord Alfred Milner's staff in South Africa, and his appointment as Director of the Department of Information during World War …

‘...and one of time.' is a reinterpretation of a small musical moment from Philip Glass' opera, Einstein on the Beach, centered around the phrase "Berne, Switzerland 1905." This reinterpretation is realized through the use of several different compositional techniques including spectral composition, micropolyphony and dodecaphony, as well as the application of extra-musical models developed by Alan Lightman, John Gardner, Italo Calvino and Albert Einstein.

As Darkness Falls is a composition that explores our interaction with several aspects of darkness through the use of musical imagery. The imagery attempts to reflect the moods, feelings, and impressions of a person as he or she interacts with darkness. The non-programmatic character of the composition allows listeners to superimpose their own experiences onto the musical tapestry in order to manifest a personal connection between the listener and the music. As Darkness Falls is a composition scored for a minimum instrumentation of piccolo, 6 flutes, 3 oboes, 3 bassoons, 9 B-flat clarinets, B-flat bass clarinet, 2 E-flat alto saxophones, B-flat tenor saxophone, E-flat baritone saxophone, 4 B-flat trumpets, 4 horns in F, 3 tenor trombones, bass trombone, 2 euphoniums, 2 tubas, timpani, and 4 percussionists. The music consists of three movements (slow-slow-fast) lasting a total of approximately seventeen minutes. The duration of each of the three movements is six minutes, four and one-half minutes, and six and one-half minutes, respectively. The document also contains an analysis of the work by the composer. The analysis explores the compositional style of the work, focusing on musical aspects within each movement that were governing parameters in the compositional process.