Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Concert Hall in partial fulfillment of the Master of Music (MM) degree.

A collection of five memoiristic essays arranged about themes of family, womanhood and the African-American community with a preface. Among the experiences the memoirs recount are childhood abandonment; verbal and emotional child abuse; mental illness; poverty; and social and personal change. Essays explore the lasting impact of abandonment by a father on a girl as she grows into a woman; the devastation of family turmoil and untreated mental illness; generational identity in the African-American community. One essay describes the transition from the identity-forming profession of journalism to academia. The last essay is about complicated and conflicting emotions toward patriotism and flag-waving on the part of a black woman who has lived through riots, little known police shootings of students on black campuses, and many other incidents that have divided Americans.

Loss of Innocence uses sculpture, two-dimensional imagery, and text to explore the moment when children lose their innocence or realize their mortality. In the introduction, I explain that there are many factors, such as age and personality, which determine how children will deal with traumatic events in their lives and the duration of time that must pass before they move past the event. Often, children will combine childhood fantasy with random facts to create their own satisfactory explanation of what has happened. In my problem in lieu of thesis, I discuss work that I created with these thoughts in mind. I explore how the sculpture, two-dimensional imagery, and text work together to convey the emotion of innocence lost.

The purpose of this study is to assemble information needed to assess, understand and hopefully correct muscular hyperfunction that is related to tongue tension in singing and speech which inhibit freely, efficiently, and comfortably produced beautiful singing. This text will include a definition of freely produced, fully resonating tone for beautiful singing, major components of vocal technique, physiology related to singing and speech production, hyperfunctions associated with tongue tension, tongue involvement in the articulation of the four major singing languages, and will present exercises for training the muscles of coordination in a manner conducive to singing and speech.

This thesis explains the stories and concepts behind each piece that was discussed on the opening night of my MFA Exhibition. The works, entitled Film Noir, Brains, Trains, and Beer, The Boy Next Door, Peterbuilt, and 10-50, H-1, was discussed more specifically and in greater detail. Speaking in public has always been a difficult task, especially on the subject of my art. My images deal with the highly intense subject matter of violence inflicted onto others as a result of human social behaviors. These vile social behaviors are translated into colorful and humorous lithographs, etchings, and drawings. These images are displayed to the public for individual interpretation. This thesis discusses audience interpretation before the literal meaning is revealed, how much information should be revealed to the viewer, and how this information manipulates the aesthetics of the piece.

Competency to stand trial cases constitute the largest percentage of forensic referrals for clinical psychologists. Furthermore, research suggests that the use of forensic measures facilitates the decisions of competency made by forensic examiners. This study investigated the construct validity of three competency measures: (a) the GCCT-MSH, (b) the MacCAT-CA, and (c) the ECST with 100 adult males incarcerated at the Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth, TX. Construct validity was investigated via the use of a multitrait-multimethod research design for the three-prong conceptualization of the Dusky standard. Results indicated that current competency measures do an adequate job of assessing for factual understanding, but lack construct validity for two prongs: rational understanding and the ability to consult with counsel. In addition, the atypical presentation scales of the both GCCT and the ECST performed well at screening individuals for feigning. Finally, prediction of competency from clinical variables was also investigated. Psychotic symptoms and overall impairment were the strongest predictors of incompetency.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medication on auditory skills in clinically depressed subjects. Experimental subjects prescribed an SSRI were tested in a medicated and an unmedicated condition, and the test results were compared. Furthermore, the experimental group was compared with a control group consisting of normal subjects. Test measures included pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, acoustic reflex thresholds, and auditory electrophysiologic measures such as auditory brainstem and auditory late responses. An assessment scale for depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II) was also used. Results indicated statistically significant differences for the BDI-II between the control and experimental groups for both conditions. Electrophysiologic measures indicated a significantly shorter latency for auditory late potential P1 at 55 dBnSL, and a significantly larger amplitude at 45 dBnSL for the N1/P2 component for the unmedicated group. Although the other measures showed trends, they did not reach significance.

Even if the main criminals of an organization are incarcerated, they will be replaced by others who would continue illegal activities, unless their financial assets are removed. Thus, civil forfeiture intends to dismantle the economic infrastructure of drug trafficking networks. Civil forfeiture considers the property as guilty, rather than the owner, and it may exist even if there is not a criminal action. Therefore, it is claimed that police agencies have chosen easy targets, such as wealthy drug users rather than major drug traffickers. Consequently, it has been particularly challenged on the basis of the Excessive Fines, Double Jeopardy, and Due Process Clauses. The use of criminal forfeiture instead of civil forfeiture and the elimination of the equitable sharing provision are considered to be the primary solutions.

This thesis examines the role of Christianity in contemporary American culture using 1990s popular media as cultural artifacts. Building on theories of ideological analysis and hegemony, this project uncovers a balance between progressive and traditionalist ideologies in American culture with progressive ideologies most often superficially acknowledged and incorporated into dominant traditionalist Christian ideologies through hegemonic negotiation. An analysis of the popular Hollywood films The Last Temptation of Christ, Leap of Faith, Michael, City of Angels, Dogma and Keeping the Faith, illustrates this process by addressing Christian dominance in multicultural America, a backlash against feminism constructed through patriarchal and “family values” ideologies, and an integration of popular culture and traditionalist Christianity.

Psychopathy, as conceptualized by Cleckley (1941), describes a constellation of psychological and behavioral correlates including superficial charm, untruthfulness, lack of remorse or shame, poor judgment, and failure to learn from experience. Based on Cleckley's initial work, Hare (1991) developed a two-factor model of psychopathy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles that sensation seeking, impulsivity, ADHD, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder have on adolescents classified as psychopaths. The participants consisted of 79 adjudicated male adolescents in a maximum-security facility. As hypothesized, adolescent male psychopaths had higher levels of sensation seeking, impulsivity, conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. A discriminant function analysis found that sensation seeking, impulsivity, ADHD, Conduct Disorder, and Oppositional Defiant Disorder was moderately useful in classifying adolescent psychopathy. The results suggest that behavioral dysregulation is an important aspect of adolescent psychopathy. The relationship of these data to theories of adolescent psychopathy is discussed.

The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of juvenile offender assessments. Data from 104 juvenile offender assessments were analyzed and followed up with placement, subsequent offending, and outcome data from the juvenile and adult systems. Constructs consistently assessed included intellectual functioning, academic achievement, and personality functioning; however, under-diagnosis of intellectual deficits, learning disabilities, and personality disorders was found. Results indicated the assessment of family functioning, substance use, and social functioning should be included in comprehensive assessments, as they may result in alternative placement and treatment options of benefit to the juvenile offender. A juvenile offender typology proposed by DiCataldo and Grisso (1995) was successfully utilized and proved predictive of recidivism, future harm to others, and outcome.

I have been working with horses as imagery for about seven years and my problem in lieu of thesis continued along this vein by researching the roles of the horse in history, specifically mobility, and developing work that creates visual links between the past and present roles of horses. I am a printmaker and the work involved in the project consists of prints that use layers of related images and juxtaposition of unrelated images to accomplish my goals of cohesion between horses and the machinery that has replaced them. As the project developed the links between past and present society became my impetus rather the horse and mobility, and my future work will respond to this.

As a criminal sanction, community service involves unpaid labor on the part of convicted criminal offenders. Community service was created as an alternative to incarceration for low-level offenders. It now appears, however, that community service is rarely used as a true alternative to prison, but rather as an added condition of probation. The body of research on community service in the United States is modest, so relatively little is known about its characteristics and administration. Data were attained from 88 Texas probation professionals via self-administered written surveys in an effort to gather information about the use of community service as a criminal sanction in Texas. Frequency distribution analyses identified characteristics of both community service programs and offender participants in Texas.

A biodata based personnel selection measure was created to improve the retention rate of Catalog Telemarketing Representatives at a major U.S. retail company. Five separate empirical biodata scoring methods were compared to examine their usefulness in predicting retention and reducing adverse impact. The Mean Standardized Criterion Method, the Option Criterion Correlation Method, Horizontal Percentage Method, Vertical Percentage Method, and Weighted Application Blank Method using England's (1971) Assigned Weights were employed. The study showed that when using generalizable biodata items, all methods, except the Weighted Application Blank Method, were similar in their ability to discriminate between low and high retention employees and produced similar low adverse impact effects. The Weighted Application Blank Method did not discriminate between the low and high retention employees.

Nutrient availability, water depth, competition, and soil management effects on cattail (Typha latifolia) growth in wetland systems were examined. Soluble reactive phosphorous (SRP), nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), and ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) removals were tested at a constructed wetland receiving municipal wastewater effluent. Over all, no significant differences in nutrients occurred between diverse planted and cattail areas. T. latifolia seeds, under the canopy of Eleochoris macrostachya, had low seed germination. Established stands of emergent vegetation can prevent cattail colonization and spread. Germination of T. latifolia at various water depths was tested, and depth impacts on cattail seedling growth and survival were ascertained using various moist soil management techniques in three ponds. Water levels at 0cm and >40cm can adversely impact cattail establishment.

The population percentage, population growth, buying power, and geographic concentration of Hispanic-Americans in the United States is causing marketers and retailers to carefully examine this market segment. Through a better understanding of Hispanic-American consumers, marketers and retailers will be more capable of meeting their wants and needs. Tailoring marketing promotions and strategies can help a company more effectively reach the Hispanic-American market. This study compared Hispanic-Americans and Anglo-Americans in their general shopping characteristics, responses to excitement in the mall, consumption patterns, and repatronage intention. A total of seven hypotheses were developed, all of which were either supported or partially supported.

This study utilized geographic information systems, remote sensing, and infrared-triggered cameras to assess white-tailed deer habitat in Denton County, Texas. Denton County is experiencing tremendous growth in both population and development. Despite their presence here historically, white-tailed deer were all but extirpated by the beginning of the 20th century, and there are no data available which support their presence in Denton County again until the 1980's. This study attempts to equate the increase in white-tailed deer population to Denton County's transformation from an agricultural to an urban economy and lifestyle. Eighteen sites were chosen throughout the county to research the following metrics: geology, soils, landcover, landscape ecology, streams, shorelines, land use, population, roads, structures, and census methods.

This paper analyzes stock index reactions to interest rate actions by the FOMC. Unlike previous analyses this study utilizes macro-economic indicators and accounts for pre-decision market expectations. Results indicate significant reaction of the stock market to the actions of the FOMC regardless of interest rate actions matching pre-decision market expectations. Binary dummy variables representing the five days following an FOMC meeting indicate a significant reaction for days one; two and three of the Dow Jones model and for day five of the NASDAQ model. The magnitude of the coefficients are 0.17%, 0.09%, -0.07% and -.15% respectively. These findings may be sensitive to a priori choices regarding the definition of the market expectation variable.

This Thesis collection contains a critical preface and five stories. The preface, “Reflejos y Reflexiones” (translated: Images and Thoughts), addresses the issues of writing the cultural or gendered Other; these issues include methodology, literary colonialism, a dialogue between works, and creating distance through defamiliarizing the self. “Perennials” is the story of Noemi Tellez, an immigrant to the U.S. who must choose between working and taking care of her family. In “Load Bearing” Luis, the eldest child, faces his family and friends on one of his last days before moving away to college. “La Monarca” deals with Lily's, the youngest daughter, struggle to mediate a place between her friends and her family. In “Reflections in the River,” Arabela, the second youngest, faces the ghost of an unwanted pregnancy and La Llorona. “La Cocina de Su Madre” is the story of Magda, the oldest daughter, and her own teenage girl, Natalia, as they attempt to find themselves in a new town after moving a thousand miles from home.

We investigate some of the mechanical design factors of wafers and the effect on strength. Thin, solid, pre-stressed films are proposed as a means to improve the bulk mechanical properties of a wafer. Three-point bending was used to evaluate the laser scribe density and chemical processing effect on wafer strength. Drop and strike tests were employed to investigate the edge bevel profile effect on the mechanical properties of the wafer. To characterize the effect of thin films on strength, one-micron ceramic films were deposited on wafers using PECVD. Coated samples were prepared by cleaving and were tested using four-point bending. Film adhesion was characterized by notched four-point bending. RBS and FTIR were used to obtain film chemistry, and nanoindentation was used to investigate thin film mechanical properties. A stress measurement gauge characterized residual film stress. Mechanical properties of the wafers correlated to the residual stress in the film.

Embryonic murine neuronal networks cultured on microelectrode arrays were used to quantify acute electrophysiological effects of fluoxetine and ethanol. Spontaneously active frontal cortex cultures showed highly repeatable, dose-dependent sensitivities to both compounds. Cultures began to respond to fluoxetine at 3 µM and were shut off at 10-16 µM. EC50s mean ± S.D. for spike and burst rates were 4.1 ± 1.5 µM and 4.5 ± 1.1 µM (n=14). The fluoxetine inhibition was reversible and without effect on action potential wave shapes. Ethanol showed initial inhibition at 20 mM, with spike and burst rate EC50s at 52.0 ± 17.4 mM and 56.0 ± 17.0 mM (n=15). Ethanol concentrations above 100 -140 mM led to cessation of activity. Although ethanol did not change the shape and amplitude of action potentials, unit specific effects were found. The combined application of ethanol and fluoxetine was additive. Ethanol did not potentiate the effect of fluoxetine.

The inspiration for my undergraduate body of work is derived from my fascination with Henri Matisse, Jacob Lawrence, and the Impressionists. I suddenly became captivated with the Impressionist movement and the independence of abstraction. I set into motion a series of paintings and drawings featuring random African-Americans and African society representatives in vibrant color and abstracting forms, and was specifically concerned with altering the form outside of the realistic area. While in graduate school, I began to think about how the transformation from realism to abstraction combined with the conception of mortal to the immortal. I worked through ideas to see exactly where these views began, and where they would take me as an artist. Almost immediately I experimented with random figures found specifically in the N'debele culture in South Africa. In addition, I incorporated abstraction and expressive marks within the figure and slowly introduced cut paper, flat imagery and abstraction with the realistic figure. This became very challenging but I was determined to unite these ideas successfully. More recently, my work has concentrated on the essential elements that have influenced my work as an artist, which recedes to childhood. The main elements most prevalent within the work is rhythm …

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of women's anger and religiosity on their expression of violence toward their partner. The sample consisted of the 664 women who completed three interviews for Project HOW: Health Outcomes of Women, a study of low-income, ethnically diverse women in Dallas county. Across the waves, women completed measures of relationship violence, anger, and religiosity. Religiosity was not found to moderate the relationship between women's anger and their use of violence. When partners' threats and violence were included in the regression equations, these variables were consistently related to women's behavior. Due to several methodological limitations, clinical implications of the results should be considered with caution.

Breaking Through is a single-movement composition for symphony orchestra based on a fourteen-note melody. Every harmonic and melodic figure except the bass line is derived from this source melody. The structure of the work is based on a number of musical dichotomies that work on both local and large-scale levels. The local dichotomies contrast consonance with dissonance and ambiguity with clarity (in respect to texture and rhythm). The dichotomy of two-part form versus three-part form and the dichotomy of simplicity versus complexity operate on the large scale. The unity lended by the single source melody coupled with the contrasts furnished by the aforementioned dichotomies allow Breaking Through to be both coherent and interesting.