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Faculty Recital: 2003-03-03 - Faculty Chamber Music Ensembles

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
A faculty and guest artist recital performed at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall.
Date: March 3, 2003
Creator: Faculty Chamber Music Ensembles
Object Type: Sound
System: The UNT Digital Library
Posthearing Questions Related to Proposed DOD Human Capital Reform (open access)

Posthearing Questions Related to Proposed DOD Human Capital Reform

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "On June 4, 2003, GAO testified before the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs at a hearing entitled "Transforming the Department of Defense Personnel System: Finding the Right Approach." This letter responds to a request that we provide answers to posthearing questions from Senator George V. Voinovich and Senator Thomas R. Carper concerning the proposed Department of Defense (DOD) Human Capital Reform."
Date: July 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Minimizing Inappropriate Levies in IRS's Federal Payment Levy Program (open access)

Minimizing Inappropriate Levies in IRS's Federal Payment Levy Program

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Each year, thousands of taxpayers who owe delinquent federal taxes receive billions of dollars in federal payments. To help the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collect these delinquent taxes more effectively, the Congress passed the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, the provisions of which authorized the establishment of the Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP), which allows IRS to continuously levy up to 15 percent of the payments made to delinquent taxpayers. The Department of the Treasury's Financial Management Service (FMS), which receives payment records from and makes payments on behalf of most federal agencies, collects the continuous levy from the federal payment after IRS has authorized the levy. Subsequent payments are continuously levied until such time that the tax debt is paid or IRS releases the levy. In a prior report, we noted that inappropriate levies--which subsequently must be refunded--could undermine support for the continuous levy authority, by generating negative public reaction to the program and frustrating taxpayers whose payments are inappropriately levied. Since October of 2001, the inclusion of Social Security recipients and others in the levy program has extended levy use substantially. This expansion heightens the importance …
Date: January 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Questions for Competitive Sourcing Hearing Record (open access)

Questions for Competitive Sourcing Hearing Record

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs requested GAO's views on various competitive sourcing issies, including the recent revisions made by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to its Circular A-76. GAO answered questions on (1) making "best value" instead of "lowest cost" the factor that agencies must use in determining who will win a public-private competition; (2) agencies' capability to effectively manage public-private competitions and overseeing contracts; and (3) whether the 12-month time limit placed on competitions in the revised OMB Circular A-76 is appropriate and how much of the time taken to conduct competitions in the past was used to do things that could be handled before the competition begins."
Date: October 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Securities Exchange Act: Review of Reporting Under Section 10A (open access)

Securities Exchange Act: Review of Reporting Under Section 10A

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report responds to Representative John Dingell's request that GAO update our February 4, 2000, report on reporting under Section 10A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Section 10A requires reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) when, during the course of a financial audit, an auditor detects likely illegal acts that have a material impact on the financial statements and appropriate remedial action is not being taken by management or the board of directors. In addition to reporting on the number of Section 10A reports submitted to the SEC and the status of SEC actions pertaining to Section 10A reports, we also agreed with Rep. Dingell's office to report on the current initiatives by the accounting profession pertaining to the auditor's responsibility for detecting fraudulent financial reporting. On October 1, 2002, we briefed his office on the number of Section 10A reports submitted to the SEC since our last report. This report responds to his February 25, 2003, request that we update that work, which we have updated to reflect Section 10A reports submitted to the SEC through May 15, 2003."
Date: September 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Coast Guard National Pollution Funds Center: Claims Payment Process Was Functioning Effectively, but Additional Controls Are Needed to Reduce the Risk of Improper Payments (open access)

U.S. Coast Guard National Pollution Funds Center: Claims Payment Process Was Functioning Effectively, but Additional Controls Are Needed to Reduce the Risk of Improper Payments

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (Fund) is a $1 billion fund authorized by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) to pay for (1) federal removal actions, (2) certain claims for uncompensated removal costs and damages,and (3) natural resource damage and restoration activities resulting from oil spills or the substantial threat of oil spills to the waters or shorelines of the United States. The Fund is administered by the National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC) of the U.S. Coast Guard. In May 2002, our Office of General Counsel reported on legal issues and limitations of the Fund and concluded that certain administrative costs were inappropriately being paid out of the Fund. In light of this conclusion, we reviewed the internal controls over disbursements from the Fund. Specifically, we reviewed the Fund to determine whether (1) the design of internal controls over the claims process provides reasonable assurance that improper payments will not occur or will be detected in the normal course of business and (2) internal controls over the claims process are operating as designed to help ensure proper payment of claims."
Date: October 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Comparison of States' Highway Construction Costs (open access)

Comparison of States' Highway Construction Costs

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We are reporting to Congress on whether Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) data can help transportation stakeholders understand how states' costs to build, reconstruct, and maintain federally financed highways, roads, and bridges (termed "constructing highways" for this report) compare. Durig our review, we became aware of significant issues regarding the quality of the data that FHWA collects and reports, a topic also discussed in this report."
Date: November 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Prescription Drug Discount Cards: Savings Depend on Pharmacy and Type of Card Used (open access)

Prescription Drug Discount Cards: Savings Depend on Pharmacy and Type of Card Used

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "While prescription drugs have become an increasingly important part of health care for the elderly, more than one-quarter of all Medicare beneficiaries have no prescription drug coverage. Over the past decade, private companies and not-for-profit organizations have sponsored prescription drug discount cards that offer discounts from the prices the elderly would otherwise have to pay for their prescriptions. These cards are typically administered by pharmacy benefit managers (PBM). Pharmaceutical manufacturers also sponsor and administer their own discount cards. The Administration has been interested in endorsing specific drug cards for Medicare beneficiaries to make the discounts more widely available. Legislative proposals in the Senate and House of Representatives have included drug cards as a means to lower prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries. GAO was asked to examine how existing drug discount cards work and the prices available to card holders. Specifically, GAO evaluated the extent to which PBM-administered drug discount cards offer savings off non-card prices at 40 pharmacies in California, North Dakota, and Washington, D.C., and the differences between PBM-administered cards and cards sponsored by pharmaceutical manufacturers."
Date: September 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Drug Control: Financial and Management Challenges Continue to Complicate Efforts to Reduce Illicit Drug Activities in Colombia (open access)

Drug Control: Financial and Management Challenges Continue to Complicate Efforts to Reduce Illicit Drug Activities in Colombia

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The United States has been providing assistance to Colombia since the early 1970s to help reduce illicit drugs. In 1999, the Colombian government introduced Plan Colombia--program that, among other things, proposed reducing illicit drug activities by 50 percent over 6 years. In fiscal years 2000-03 alone, the United States provided more than $2.5 billion in counternarcotics assistance. Despite this aid, Colombia remains the world's leading producer and distributor of cocaine and a major source of the heroin used in the United States. This testimony discusses the status of U.S. counternarcotics assistance to the Colombian Army and for a U.S.-supported Colombian police aerial eradication program. It also addresses challenges Colombia and the United States face in sustaining these programs."
Date: June 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Freedom of Information Act: Agency Views on Changes Resulting from New Administration Policy (open access)

Freedom of Information Act: Agency Views on Changes Resulting from New Administration Policy

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is based on principles of openness and accountability in government. FOIA establishes that federal agencies must provide the public with access to government information, unless the information falls into one of nine specifically exempted categories (for example, certain information compiled for law enforcement purposes). However, agencies can use their discretion to disclose information even if it falls into one of the nine exempted categories; this is known as a "discretionary disclosure." At the beginning of a new administration, the Attorney General traditionally issues a policy memorandum regarding FOIA, including policy on discretionary disclosure. Attorney General Ashcroft issued such a memorandum on October 12, 2001, replacing Attorney General Reno's 1993 FOIA memorandum. GAO was asked to determine (1) to what extent, if any, Department of Justice guidance for agencies on FOIA implementation has changed as a result of the new policy; (2) the views of FOIA officers at 25 agencies regarding the new policy and its effects, if any; and (3) the views of FOIA officers at 25 agencies regarding available FOIA guidance."
Date: September 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Human Capital Management: FAA's Reform Effort Requires a More Strategic Approach (open access)

Human Capital Management: FAA's Reform Effort Requires a More Strategic Approach

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1996, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) undertook a human capital reform effort under one of the most flexible human capital management environments in the federal government, including broad exemptions from title 5 laws governing federal civilian personnel management. GAO was asked (1) to examine the changes FAA initiated in its reform effort, including whether they required an exemption from title 5 and their implementation status; (2) determine the effects of the reform effort according to available data and the views of FAA officials, managers, and employees; and (3) assess the extent to which FAA's reform effort incorporated elements that are important to effective human capital management."
Date: February 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electronic Government: Progress in Promoting Adoption of Smart Card Technology (open access)

Electronic Government: Progress in Promoting Adoption of Smart Card Technology

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Smart cards--credit-card-like devices that use integrated circuit chips to store and process data--offer a range of potential uses for the federal government, particularly in increasing security for its many physical and information assets. GAO was asked to review the use of smart cards across the federal government (including identifying potential challenges), as well as the effectiveness of the General Services Administration (GSA) in promoting government adoption of smart card technologies."
Date: January 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Executive Reorganization Authority: Balancing Executive and Congressional Roles in Shaping the Federal Government's Structure (open access)

Executive Reorganization Authority: Balancing Executive and Congressional Roles in Shaping the Federal Government's Structure

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has sought to assist the Congress and the executive branch in considering the actions needed to support the transition to a more high performing, results-oriented, and accountable federal government. At the Committee's request, GAO provided perspective on the proposal to reinstate the authority for the President to submit government restructuring plans to the Congress for expedited review."
Date: April 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Combating Terrorism: Observations on National Strategies Related to Terrorism (open access)

Combating Terrorism: Observations on National Strategies Related to Terrorism

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In GAO's past work, we have stressed the importance of a national strategy to combat terrorism. We stated that such a national strategy should provide a clear statement about what the nation hopes to achieve. A national strategy should not only define the roles of federal agencies, but also those of state and local governments, the private sector, and the international community. A national strategy also should establish goals, objectives, priorities, outcomes, milestones, and performance measures. In essence, a national strategy should incorporate the principles of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, which requires federal agencies to set strategic goals, measure performance, and report on the degree to which goals are met."
Date: March 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Reforming Federal Grants to Better Meet Outstanding Needs (open access)

Homeland Security: Reforming Federal Grants to Better Meet Outstanding Needs

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The challenges posed in strengthening homeland security exceed the capacity and authority of any one level of government. Protecting the nation calls for a truly integrated approach bringing together the resources of all levels of government. The Council on Foreign Relations study--Emergency Responders: Drastically Underfunded, Dangerously Unprepared--states that in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the United States must prepare based on the assumption that terrorists will strike again. Although it acknowledges the nation's preparedness has improved, the Council's report highlights gaps in preparedness including shortfalls in personnel, equipment, communications, and other critical capabilities. Given the many needs and high stakes, it is critical that the design of federal grants be geared to fund the highest priority projects with the greatest potential impact for improving homeland security. This testimony discusses possible ways in which the grant system for first responders might be reformed."
Date: September 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
No Longer Under Our Control: The Nature and Role of Standards in the 21st Century Library (open access)

No Longer Under Our Control: The Nature and Role of Standards in the 21st Century Library

This lecture script examines the nature and role of standards for the emerging 21st century library. Given the dynamic character of the networked environment, when are standards appropriate and how can they be developed in a manner consistent with the volatility of information technologies and changing library services? What are the roles and responsibilities of standards developing organizations, technology vendors, content creators, and librarians for standards? Do local practices of libraries threaten standards-based resource sharing and resource access technologies? Can local needs be balanced with broader library community responsibilities, and how do standards affect this balance? The speaker's assumption is that adherence to standards has never been more critical, yet his implementation experience with Z39.50 and MARC suggests that the commitment to national and international standards by librarians, technology vendors, and content creators are often an example of good intentions rather than actual practice. This standards disconnect threatens the emerging 21st century library's ability to deliver fundamental services in appropriate ways to their users.
Date: December 3, 2003
Creator: Moen, William E.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Transmission electron microscopy of oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) molybdenum: effects of irradiation on material microstructure (open access)

Transmission electron microscopy of oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) molybdenum: effects of irradiation on material microstructure

Oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) molybdenum has been characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to determine the effects of irradiation on material microstructure. This work describes the results-to-date from TEM characterization of unirradiated and irradiated ODS molybdenum. The general microstructure of the unirradiated material consists of fine molybdenum grains (< 5 {micro}m average grain size) with numerous low angle boundaries and isolated dislocation networks. 'Ribbon'-like lanthanum oxides are aligned along the working direction of the product form and are frequently associated with grain boundaries, serving to inhibit grain boundary and dislocation movement. In addition to the 'ribbons', discrete lanthanum oxide particles have also been detected. After irradiation, the material is characterized by the presence of nonuniformly distributed large ({approx} 20 to 100 nm in diameter), multi-faceted voids, while the molybdenum grain size and oxide morphology appear to be unaffected by irradiation.
Date: March 3, 2003
Creator: Baranwal, R. and Burke, M.G.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Review of the margins for ASME code fatigue design curve - effects of surface roughness and material variability. (open access)

Review of the margins for ASME code fatigue design curve - effects of surface roughness and material variability.

The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code provides rules for the construction of nuclear power plant components. The Code specifies fatigue design curves for structural materials. However, the effects of light water reactor (LWR) coolant environments are not explicitly addressed by the Code design curves. Existing fatigue strain-vs.-life ({var_epsilon}-N) data illustrate potentially significant effects of LWR coolant environments on the fatigue resistance of pressure vessel and piping steels. This report provides an overview of the existing fatigue {var_epsilon}-N data for carbon and low-alloy steels and wrought and cast austenitic SSs to define the effects of key material, loading, and environmental parameters on the fatigue lives of the steels. Experimental data are presented on the effects of surface roughness on the fatigue life of these steels in air and LWR environments. Statistical models are presented for estimating the fatigue {var_epsilon}-N curves as a function of the material, loading, and environmental parameters. Two methods for incorporating environmental effects into the ASME Code fatigue evaluations are discussed. Data available in the literature have been reviewed to evaluate the conservatism in the existing ASME Code fatigue evaluations. A critical review of the margins for ASME Code fatigue design curves is presented.
Date: October 3, 2003
Creator: Chopra, O. K.; Shack, W. J. & Technology, Energy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The AWM-SIAM Sonia Kovalesvky Lecture - 3 part Lecture Series (open access)

The AWM-SIAM Sonia Kovalesvky Lecture - 3 part Lecture Series

The Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) in cooperation with the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) and with funding from the Department of Energy initiated a new lecture series. The purpose of the lecture series is to increase the visibility of women who have made significant contributions in applied or computational mathematics. The AWM-SIAM Sonia Kovalevsky Lecture is presented at the SIAM Annual Meeting which is a national conference. The lecturer is a woman who has made distinguished contributions in applied or computational mathematics. The lecturer is determined by the Selection Committee which consists of two members of AWM and two members of SIAM, appointed by the presidents of these organizations. The committee may solicit nominations from other members of the scientific and engineering community. The lectureship may be awarded to any woman in the scientific or engineering community.
Date: June 3, 2003
Creator: Lenhart, Suzanne & Lewis, Jennifer
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
UC Berkeley Seismic Guidelines, Appendix II: Ground Motion TimeHistories for the UC Berkeley Campus (open access)

UC Berkeley Seismic Guidelines, Appendix II: Ground Motion TimeHistories for the UC Berkeley Campus

Three sets of ten time histories each were developed to represent the ground motions for each of the three return periods. All of the time histories are provided as pairs of fault-normal and fault-parallel components. The ground motion time histories are provided in two forms: unmodified, and spectrally modified to match the probabilistic response spectra. The unmodified time histories can be scaled to match the probabilistic response spectra at a specified period, such as the first mode period of the structure being analyzed, while leaving the shape of the response spectrum unmodified. This approach preserves the particular characteristics of the individual time history, together with the peaks and troughs of its response spectrum. These individual characteristics are modified in the spectrally matched time histories, resulting in a suite of ten time histories (for a given return period) that all have the same response spectrum for a given component (fault normal or fault parallel) that follows the smooth shape of the probabilistic response spectrum.
Date: June 3, 2003
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Analyzing flow patterns in unsaturated fractured rock of YuccaMountain using an integrated modeling approach (open access)

Analyzing flow patterns in unsaturated fractured rock of YuccaMountain using an integrated modeling approach

This paper presents a series of modeling investigations to characterize percolation patterns in the unsaturated zone of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, a proposed underground repository site for storing high-level radioactive waste. The investigations are conducted using a modeling approach that integrates a wide variety of moisture, pneumatic, thermal, and isotopic geochemical field data into a comprehensive three-dimensional numerical model through model calibration. This integrated modeling approach, based on a dual-continuum formulation, takes into account the coupled processes of fluid and heat flow and chemical isotopic transport in Yucca Mountain's highly heterogeneous, unsaturated fractured tuffs. In particular, the model results are examined against different types of field-measured data and used to evaluate different hydrogeological conceptual models and their effects on flow patterns in the unsaturated zone. The objective of this work to provide understanding of percolation patterns and flow behavior through the unsaturated zone, which is a crucial issue in assessing repository performance.
Date: November 3, 2003
Creator: Wu, Yu-Shu; Lu, Guoping; Zhang, Keni; Pan, Lehua & Bodvarsson,Gudmundur S.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Engineering surface functional groups on silica aerogel for enhanced cleanup of organics from produced water (open access)

Engineering surface functional groups on silica aerogel for enhanced cleanup of organics from produced water

None
Date: December 3, 2003
Creator: Love, A; Hanna, M L & Reynolds, J
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Interfacial behavior of polymer electrolytes (open access)

Interfacial behavior of polymer electrolytes

Evidence is presented concerning the effect of surfaces on the segmental motion of PEO-based polymer electrolytes in lithium batteries. For dry systems with no moisture the effect of surfaces of nano-particle fillers is to inhibit the segmental motion and to reduce the lithium ion transport. These effects also occur at the surfaces in composite electrodes that contain considerable quantities of carbon black nano-particles for electronic connection. The problem of reduced polymer mobility is compounded by the generation of salt concentration gradients within the composite electrode. Highly concentrated polymer electrolytes have reduced transport properties due to the increased ionic cross-linking. Combined with the interfacial interactions this leads to the generation of low mobility electrolyte layers within the electrode and to loss of capacity and power capability. It is shown that even with planar lithium metal electrodes the concentration gradients can significantly impact the interfacial impedance. The interfacial impedance of lithium/PEO-LiTFSI cells varies depending upon the time elapsed since current was turned off after polarization. The behavior is consistent with relaxation of the salt concentration gradients and indicates that a portion of the interfacial impedance usually attributed to the SEI layer is due to concentrated salt solutions next to the electrode surfaces …
Date: June 3, 2003
Creator: Kerr, John; Kerr, John B.; Han, Yong Bong; Liu, Gao; Reeder, Craig; Xie, Jiangbing et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 1, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 3, 2003 (open access)

University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 1, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 3, 2003

Semiweekly newspaper from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas that includes local, national, and campus news along with advertising.
Date: September 3, 2003
Creator: Gurski, Patrick
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History