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Damned Good Daughter. (open access)

Damned Good Daughter.

My dissertation is a memoir based on my childhood experiences growing up with a mentally ill mother. She exhibited violence both passive and aggressive, and the memoir explores my relationship with her and my relationship with the world through her. "Damned Good Daughter" developed with my interest in creative nonfiction as a genre. I came to it after studying poetry, discovering that creative nonfiction offers a form that accommodates both the lyric impulse in poetry and the shaping impulse of story in fiction. In addition, the genre makes a place for the first person I in relation to the order and meaning of a life story. Using reverse chronology, my story begins with the present and regresses toward childhood, revealing the way life experiences with a mentally ill parent build on one another.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Yeatts, Karen Rachel
System: The UNT Digital Library
Teaching linguistic mimicry to improve second language pronunciation. (open access)

Teaching linguistic mimicry to improve second language pronunciation.

This thesis tests the hypothesis that a whole language approach to ESL (English As A Second Language) pronunciation with emphasis on suprasegementals through the use of linguistic mimicry is more effective than a focus on segmentals in improving native speakers perceptions of accent and comprehensibility of ESL students' pronunciation of English. The thesis is organized into seven chapters. Chapter 2 is a discussion of the factors that affect the degree of foreign accent in second language acquisition. Chapter 3 gives a background on current ESL pedagogy followed by a description of the linguistic mimicry approach used in this research in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 and 6 are discussion of Materials and Methods and Conclusions and Implications.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Yates, Karen
System: The UNT Digital Library
Jean-Georges Kastner's  Traité general d'instrumentation: A Translation and Commentary (open access)

Jean-Georges Kastner's Traité general d'instrumentation: A Translation and Commentary

Georges Kastner's (b Strasbourg 9 March 1810; d Paris 19 December 1867) Traite général d'instrumentation (1837), an important contribution to instrumentation study, is often overlooked because of its chronological proximity to Berlioz's Grand traité d'instrumentation (1843). Kastner's complete and concise treatise discusses the standard orchestral instruments and several obscure and ancient instruments. Intended principally for young composers, it provides the most detailed descriptions of the standard wind instruments of his day and discusses recent developments like the ophicleide and valved brass instruments. After the publication of the Traité, Kastner released a supplement including Aldophe Sax's newest innovations, entitled Cours d'instrumentation, which included musical examples of principals discussed in the Traité. Both the Traité and the Cours were accepted by the Academy and adopted by the Paris Conservatoire.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Woodward, Patricia Jovanna
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Effects of an Oral History Interview on Counselor Trainees' Confidence and Couples' Intimacy

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
A major concern many counselor trainees face when preparing to see their first couple-client is that of confidence because they have had little to no experience in interacting in a professional capacity with couples. Many beginning counselors experience anxiety, which can inhibit their effectiveness with clients (Scanlon & Baille, 1994). Introducing counselor trainees to a relatively non-threatening interaction with couples might reduce the initial anxiety that characterizes the neophyte counselor venturing into new clinical territory. The interaction may also enhance feelings of warmth and closeness of the couples. John Gottman's Oral History Interview (Gottman, 1999) was the protocol used in the interaction between trainee and couple. An instrument developed for this study to measure couple counseling confidence, the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1983), and the Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships (Schaefer & Olson, 1981) were used to assess levels of counselor confidence, counselor anxiety, and couple intimacy, respectively. The confidence instrument and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were administered to 37 students who were enrolled in four graduate level introductory couple counseling classes and who interviewed couples, as well as to 34 counselor-trainees who were enrolled in five graduate level counseling courses other than couple counseling and who did not …
Date: May 2003
Creator: Toler, Jane K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Candidates' Perception of Training and Self-Efficacy in Traditional and Alternative Teacher Preparation Programs. (open access)

Candidates' Perception of Training and Self-Efficacy in Traditional and Alternative Teacher Preparation Programs.

This research was encouraged by the tremendous demand for teachers. Two million new teachers will be needed in the United States over the next decade. The teacher shortage has school administration, school boards, education agencies, and institutions of higher education investigating how to train and retain more teachers. Alternative certification programs have been developed to address the teacher shortage. This study examined the effectiveness of traditionally and alternatively certified teachers in two separate programs with regard to their self-efficacy, perception of their training, and their ExCET scores. Traditional candidates (10) and alternative candidates (74) were examined using survey research. According to this data on self-efficacy, perception of training, and ExCET passing rates, there is no significant difference between those teachers who receive traditional training and those who are trained in alternative certification programs.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Thompson, Tierney M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effect of a Laboratory-based, In-context, Constructivist Teaching Approach on Preservice Teachers' Science Knowledge and Teaching Efficacy. (open access)

The Effect of a Laboratory-based, In-context, Constructivist Teaching Approach on Preservice Teachers' Science Knowledge and Teaching Efficacy.

This study began with a concern about elementary teachers, as a whole, avoiding the teaching of science in the elementary classroom. The three main factors noted as reasons for this avoidance were: (1) minimum science requirements to reach certification, leading to a lack of preparedness; (2) lack of exposure to science in elementary school; and (3) general dislike for and understanding of science leading to a low self-efficacy in science teaching. The goal of the Environmental Science Lab for Elementary Educators (ESLEE) was to conduct an intervention. The intervention was lab-based and utilized in-context, constructivist approaches to positively influence participants' abilities to retain science content knowledge and to affect their belief in themselves as teachers. This intervention was created to respond to all three of the main avoidance factors noted above. The research utilized a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest control group design. Two pretests and two posttests (science teaching efficacy and content knowledge) were given to all 1,100 environmental science lab students at the participating institution over two long semesters. Three experimental/control groups were formed from this population. The Experimental Group was comprised of 46 students who participated in the ESLEE Intervention. Control Group 1 was comprised of 232 self-described preservice educators …
Date: May 2003
Creator: Thompson, Ruthanne
System: The UNT Digital Library
Now All the Fingers of This Tree (open access)

Now All the Fingers of This Tree

Now All the Fingers of This Tree is a work in two movements based upon a poem of the same name by E. E. Cummings. It is divided into two movements: The first movement is scored for nine part solo soprano, where one performer records each of the nine vocal lines. The second movement is an electro-acoustic work derived from four phrases of the original recording of the first movement. Total duration of the work is approximately 19 minutes. The paper provides a detailed analysis of both movements as well as a discussion on usage of text, problems addressed with traditional notation techniques, and technology utilized in the production of the work.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Wood, Kelly Thomas
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tangible Struggle (open access)

Tangible Struggle

The focus of my graduate work was to find my own voice through my continued efforts in woodcarving. I proposed to produce six to eight wood carved sculptures for my thesis that would be dealing with a juxtaposition of struggle expressively portrayed by the figure between two-dimensional and three-dimensional worlds. I used these works to express my emotions about myself, and my interactions with others in a form of nonverbal communication with the viewer. The result of this process did lead me to find my own voice and with this voice I expressed three-dimensionally, not only my own struggles, but also those that many other women have experienced as well.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Whelan, Shawn
System: The UNT Digital Library
Construct Validity of Psychopathy in Mentally Disordered Offenders: A Multi-trait Multi-method Approach (open access)

Construct Validity of Psychopathy in Mentally Disordered Offenders: A Multi-trait Multi-method Approach

Psychopathy continues to receive increased attention due to the negative outcomes, including recidivism, violence, and poor treatment amenability. Despite the vast amount of attention psychopathy has received, research on its applications to mentally disordered offenders remains sparse. The current study explored the relationship between psychopathy, depression, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. It also investigated the comparative fits of two and three-factor models of the PCL-R with mentally disordered offenders. Participants consisted of 96 inmates placed in the mental health pod at Tarrant County Jail. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) with testlets found the three-factor PCL-R model had excellent fit (Robust Comparative Fit Index = 1.00). Psychopathy was found to be a construct independent of mental disorders. Two exceptions were (a) a modest correlation between anxiety and Impulsive and the Irresponsible Lifestyle factor of the PCL-R (r = 0.20) and (b) a modest negative correlation between Deficient Affective Experience of the PCL-R and mania (r = -.37). Based on the current data, treatment programs for mentally disordered offenders are suggested that focus on both behavioral and personality aspects of psychopathy.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Vitacco, Michael J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
User Modeling Tools for Virtual Architecture (open access)

User Modeling Tools for Virtual Architecture

As the use of virtual environments (VEs) is becoming more widespread, user needs are becoming a more significant part in those environments. In order to adapt to the needs of the user, a system should be able to infer user interests and goals. I developed an architecture for user modeling to understand users' interests in a VE by monitoring their actions. In this paper, I discussed the architecture and the virtual environment that was created to test it. This architecture employs sensors to keep track of all the users' actions, data structures that can store a record of significant events that have occurred in the environment, and a rule base. The rule base continually monitors the data collected from the sensors, world state, and event history in order to update the user goal inferences. These inferences can then be used to modify the flow of events within a VE.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Uppuluri, Raja
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Feasibility of Multicasting in RMI (open access)

The Feasibility of Multicasting in RMI

Due to the growing need of the Internet and networking technologies, simple, powerful, easily maintained distributed applications needed to be developed. These kinds of applications can benefit greatly from distributed computing concepts. Despite its powerful mechanisms, Jini has yet to be accepted in mainstream Java development. Until that happens, we need to find better Remote Method Invocation (RMI) solutions. Feasibility of implementation of Multicasting in RMI is worked in this paper. Multicasting capability can be used in RMI using Jini-like technique. Support of Multicast over Unicast reference layer is also studied. A piece of code explaining how it can be done, is added.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Ujjinihavildar, Vinay
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Descriptive Study of the Intelligence Community in the United States of America (open access)

A Descriptive Study of the Intelligence Community in the United States of America

This treatise represents a descriptive study of the intelligence community in the United States. It explores the ramifications of terrorism on the intelligence function, post September 11, 2001. In-depth discussions concerning the structure of the U.S. intelligence community are presented as well as a focus on the defined steps of the intelligence process: planning and directions, collection, analysis, production, and dissemination. The final aspect of this study poses questions and issues relating to the restructuring of the U.S. intelligence community in light of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Ucak, Hursit
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Nightingale in Poetry and Music

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
This thesis surveys a variety of songs and arias for high soprano which feature the nightingale; examines the musical elements that symbolize, refer to, or imitate the nightingale; and compares these musical elements with transcriptions of the nightingale's song. The first chapter reviews the symbolic development of the nightingale and its role in poetry and literature. The interior chapters address a selection of musical compositions that feature the nightingale and its song. The final chapter establishes a relationship between the sound of the actual sound of the nightingale and the musical gestures created by composers to imitate the nightingale.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Blizzard, Amy
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Effects of Response Restriction on Non-Socially Maintained Self-Injury

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
This study examined the effects of response restriction (blocking and protective equipment) on subsequent durations of self-injury with two female participants with developmental disabilities. First, a functional analysis was conducted with each participant to identify potential maintaining variables of the self-injury. Second, access to the response was systematically restricted in a multiple schedule restriction paradigm. A baseline extended alone was conducted without the restriction component in place as a control condition. For one participant the results suggested that response restriction may have increased subsequent durations of responding once the restriction element was removed. For a second participant responding did not appear to be affected by the restriction component.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Blevins, Travis
System: The UNT Digital Library
Just $10 A Month: A Television Advertising Campaign (open access)

Just $10 A Month: A Television Advertising Campaign

This written thesis accompanies three television public service announcement spots. Two of the spots are 60 seconds and one of the spots is 45 seconds in length. I produced this public service television advertising campaign to highlight the issue of child illiteracy in Pakistan and to encourage expatriate and resident Pakistani's to donate to educational charities. A Website created by the filmmaker is promoted in the campaign. This Website provides information about various charities that educate children in Pakistan. Detailed accounts of pre-production, production and post-production of the campaign allow the viewer to comprehend the challenges in producing television campaigns for social causes. Theoretical issues are also discussed, including the causes of illiteracy, the importance and role of social campaigns, the history and uses of propaganda as well as the aesthetic concerns of a public service campaign producer. I discuss the importance of creating the culture of public service campaigns in a third world country like Pakistan, and states that the Pakistani community needs to look inwards to overcome the challenge of illiteracy.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Mumtaz, Danish Kasim
System: The UNT Digital Library
Investigation of Pyrimidine Salvage Pathways to Categorize Indigenous Soil Bacteria of Agricultural and Medical Importance and Analysis of the Pyrimidine Biosynthetic Pathway's Enzyme Properties for Correlating Cell Morphology to Function in All Phases of Growth (open access)

Investigation of Pyrimidine Salvage Pathways to Categorize Indigenous Soil Bacteria of Agricultural and Medical Importance and Analysis of the Pyrimidine Biosynthetic Pathway's Enzyme Properties for Correlating Cell Morphology to Function in All Phases of Growth

This dissertation comprises three parts and is presented in two chapters. Chapter 1 concerns Arthrobacter, a bacterium with an intriguing growth cycle. Whereas most bacteria exist as either a rod or coccus, this bacterium shares the rod/coccus lifestyle. It therefore seemed important to examine the growth regulatory pathways from the rod and coccus. The committed step, that catalyzed by aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase), in the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway was chosen. The ATCase in Arthrobacter is like the well known Pseudomonas enzyme except that it has an active dihydroorotase (DHOase) associated. Included in Chapter 1 is the description of a microorganism, Burkholderia cepacia, whose ATCase has characteristics that are at once reminiscent of bacteria, mammals, and fungi. It differs in size or aggregation based on environmental conditions. In addition, it has an active DHOase associated with the ATCase, like Arthrobacter. B. cepacia is important both medically and for bioremediation. Since B. cepacia is resistant to most antibiotics, its unique ATCase is a prime target for inhibition. Whereas the first chapter deals with the de novo pathway to making pyrimidines, which is found mainly in the lag and log phase, Chapter 2 addresses the salvage pathway, which comes more into play during the …
Date: May 2003
Creator: Meixner, Jeffery Andrew
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Whole as a Result of Its Parts: Assembly in Aaron Copland's Score for  The Red Pony (open access)

The Whole as a Result of Its Parts: Assembly in Aaron Copland's Score for The Red Pony

Aaron Copland's music for The Red Pony (1948-49), based on John Steinbeck's story collection, is probably the best known of his film scores. The effectiveness of The Red Pony score stems from Copland's belief that film music should be subordinate to the film it accompanies. Copland composed The Red Pony score using his self-described method of "assembly," augmenting this process with devices to synchronize the music with the picture. Examination of archival sources shows how the score reflects the acknowledged influence of Igor Stravinsky, the needs of the film medium, and the plot of The Red Pony specifically. Despite Copland's modern style characteristics, the music functions much like a conventional Hollywood film score.
Date: May 2003
Creator: McGinney, William Lawrence
System: The UNT Digital Library
Microfabrication of an Implantable silicone Microelectrode array for an epiretinal prosthesis (open access)

Microfabrication of an Implantable silicone Microelectrode array for an epiretinal prosthesis

Millions of people suffering from diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration are legally blind due to the loss of photoreceptor function. Fortunately a large percentage of the neural cells connected to the photoreceptors remain viable, and electrical stimulation of these cells has been shown to result in visual perception. These findings have generated worldwide efforts to develop a retinal prosthesis device, with the hope of restoring vision. Advances in microfabrication, integrated circuits, and wireless technologies provide the means to reach this challenging goal. This dissertation describes the development of innovative silicone-based microfabrication techniques for producing an implantable microelectrode array. The microelectrode array is a component of an epiretinal prosthesis being developed by a multi-laboratory consortium. This array will serve as the interface between an electronic imaging system and the human eye, directly stimulating retinal neurons via thin film conducting traces. Because the array is intended as a long-term implant, vital biological and physical design requirements must be met. A retinal implant poses difficult engineering challenges due to the size of the intraocular cavity and the delicate retina. Not only does it have to be biocompatible in terms of cytotoxicity and degradation, but it also has to be structurally …
Date: June 10, 2003
Creator: Maghribi, M
System: The UNT Digital Library
Microphysical Properties of Single and Mixed-Phase Arctic Clouds Derived from AERI Observations (open access)

Microphysical Properties of Single and Mixed-Phase Arctic Clouds Derived from AERI Observations

A novel new approach to retrieve cloud microphysical properties from mixed-phase clouds is presented. This algorithm retrieves cloud optical depth, ice fraction, and the effective size of the water and ice particles from ground-based, high-resolution infrared radiance observations. The theoretical basis is that the absorption coefficient of ice is stronger than that of liquid water from 10-13 mm, whereas liquid water is more absorbing than ice from 16-25 um. However, due to strong absorption in the rotational water vapor absorption band, the 16-25 um spectral region becomes opaque for significant water vapor burdens (i.e., for precipitable water vapor amounts over approximately 1 cm). The Arctic is characterized by its dry and cold atmosphere, as well as a preponderance of mixed-phase clouds, and thus this approach is applicable to Arctic clouds. Since this approach uses infrared observations, cloud properties are retrieved at night and during the long polar wintertime period. The analysis of the cloud properties retrieved during a 7 month period during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic (SHEBA) experiment demonstrates many interesting features. These results show a dependence of the optical depth on cloud phase, differences in the mode radius of the water droplets in liquid-only and mid-phase …
Date: June 1, 2003
Creator: Turner, David D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Fabrication of Yttria stabilized zirconia thin films on poroussubstrates for fuel cell applications (open access)

Fabrication of Yttria stabilized zirconia thin films on poroussubstrates for fuel cell applications

A process for the deposition of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) films, on porous substrates, has been developed. These films have possible applications as electrolyte membranes in fuel cells. The films were deposited from colloidal suspensions through the vacuum infiltration technique. Films were deposited on both fully sintered and partially sintered substrates. A critical cracking thickness for the films was identified and strategies are presented to overcome this barrier. Green film density was also examined, and a method for improving green density by changing suspension pH and surfactant was developed. A dependence of film density on film thickness was observed, and materials interactions are suggested as a possible cause. Non-shorted YSZ films were obtained on co-fired substrates, and a cathode supported solid oxide fuel cell was constructed and characterized.
Date: June 16, 2003
Creator: Leming, Andres
System: The UNT Digital Library
Adsorbate structures and catalytic reactions studied in the torrpressure range by scanning tunneling microscopy (open access)

Adsorbate structures and catalytic reactions studied in the torrpressure range by scanning tunneling microscopy

High-pressure, high-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (HPHTSTM) was used to study adsorbate structures and reactions on single crystal model catalytic systems. Studies of the automobile catalytic converter reaction [CO + NO {yields} 1/2 N{sub 2} + CO{sub 2}] on Rh(111) and ethylene hydrogenation [C{sub 2}H{sub 4} + H{sub 2} {yields} C{sub 2}H{sub 6}] on Rh(111) and Pt(111) elucidated information on adsorbate structures in equilibrium with high-pressure gas and the relationship of atomic and molecular mobility to chemistry. STM studies of NO on Rh(111) showed that adsorbed NO forms two high-pressure structures, with the phase transformation from the (2 x 2) structure to the (3 x 3) structure occurring at 0.03 Torr. The (3 x 3) structure only exists when the surface is in equilibrium with the gas phase. The heat of adsorption of this new structure was determined by measuring the pressures and temperatures at which both (2 x 2) and (3 x 3) structures coexisted. The energy barrier between the two structures was calculated by observing the time necessary for the phase transformation to take place. High-pressure STM studies of the coadsorption of CO and NO on Rh(111) showed that CO and NO form a mixed (2 x 2) structure …
Date: May 23, 2003
Creator: Hwang, Kevin Shao-Lin
System: The UNT Digital Library
Delta Electroproduction in 12-C (open access)

Delta Electroproduction in 12-C

The Delta-nucleus potential is a crucial element in the understanding of the nuclear system. Previous electroexcitation measurements in the delta region reported a Q2 dependence of the delta mass indicating that this potential is dependent on the momentum of the delta. Such a dependence is not observed for protons and neutrons in the nuclear medium. This thesis presents the experimental study of the electroexcitation of the delta resonance in 12C, performed using the high energy electron beam at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, and the near 4(pie) acceptance detector CLAS that enables the detection of the full reaction final state. Inclusive, semi inclusive, and exclusive cross sections were measured with an incident electron beam energy of 1.162GeV over the Q2 range 0.175-0.475 (GeV/c)2. A Q2 dependence of the delta mass was only observed in the exclusive measurements indicating that the delta-nucleus potential is affected by the momentum of the delta.
Date: January 31, 2003
Creator: McLauchlan, Steven
System: The UNT Digital Library
Measurement of the Lambda 0(b) -> Lambda +(c) pi- branching ratio (open access)

Measurement of the Lambda 0(b) -> Lambda +(c) pi- branching ratio

The authors present a measurement of the {Lambda}{sub b}{sup 0} {yields} {Lambda}{sub c}{sup +} {pi}{sup -} branching ratio in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV using 65 pb{sup -1} data collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF). The measurement starts from reconstructing two decay modes: {Lambda}{sub b}{sup 0} {yields} {Lambda}{sub c}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}, where {Lambda}{sub c}{sup +} {yields} p K{sup -} {pi}{sup +}; and {bar B}{sup 0} {yields} D{sup +}{pi}{sup -}, where D{sup +} {yields} {pi}{sup +} K{sup -} {pi}{sup +}. The authors obtained 96 {+-} 13 {Lambda}{sub b}{sup 0} and 321 {+-} 22 {bar B}{sup 0} candidates from the CDF Run II Two-Track Hadronic Trigger data sample. The relative branching ratio of the two decays is then measured based on the equation: f{sub {Lambda}{sub b}} BR({Lambda}{sub b} {yields} {Lambda}{sub c}{sup +} {pi}{sup -})/f{sub d} BR({bar B}{sup 0} {yields} D{sup +} {pi}{sup -}) = BR(D{sup +} {yields} K{pi}{pi}) N{sub {Lambda}{sub b}} {epsilon}{sub B{sup 0}}/BR({Lambda}{sub c}{sup +} {yields} pK{pi}) N{sub {bar B}{sup 0}} {epsilon}{sub {Lambda}{sub b}}. The measurement gives f{sub {Lambda}{sub b}} BR({Lambda}{sub b} {yields} {Lambda}{sub c}{sup +}{pi}{sup -})/f{sub d} BR({bar B}{sup 0} {yields} D{sup +}{pi}{sup -}) = 0.66 {+-} 0.11(stat) {+-} 0.09(syst) {+-} 0.18(BR). The {Lambda}{sub b}{sup …
Date: January 1, 2003
Creator: Le, Yi
System: The UNT Digital Library
A measurement of forward-backward charge asymmetry of electron-positron pairs in proton-antiproton collision at 1.8 TeV (open access)

A measurement of forward-backward charge asymmetry of electron-positron pairs in proton-antiproton collision at 1.8 TeV

The authors present a measurement of the mass dependence of the forward-backward charge asymmetry for e{sup +}e{sup -} pairs resulting from {gamma}*/Z decays with mass M{sub ee} > 40 GeV/c{sup 2}. The Run II data sample consists of 72 pb{sup -1} of data, which was collected by the CDF detector in {bar p}p collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron. The measurement is compared with predictions from the Standard Model.
Date: December 1, 2003
Creator: Veramendi, Gregory Francisco
System: The UNT Digital Library