Degree Level

338 Matching Results

Results open in a new window/tab.

Doctoral Recital: 2010-04-26 - Armin Abdihodzic, guitar

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.
Date: April 26, 2010
Creator: Abdihodzic, Armin
Object Type: Sound
System: The UNT Digital Library
Determination of the Optimal Number of Strata for Bias Reduction in Propensity Score Matching. (open access)

Determination of the Optimal Number of Strata for Bias Reduction in Propensity Score Matching.

Previous research implementing stratification on the propensity score has generally relied on using five strata, based on prior theoretical groundwork and minimal empirical evidence as to the suitability of quintiles to adequately reduce bias in all cases and across all sample sizes. This study investigates bias reduction across varying number of strata and sample sizes via a large-scale simulation to determine the adequacy of quintiles for bias reduction under all conditions. Sample sizes ranged from 100 to 50,000 and strata from 3 to 20. Both the percentage of bias reduction and the standardized selection bias were examined. The results show that while the particular covariates in the simulation met certain criteria with five strata that greater bias reduction could be achieved by increasing the number of strata, especially with larger sample sizes. Simulation code written in R is included.
Date: May 2010
Creator: Akers, Allen
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Faculty Members' Readiness for E-learning in the College of Basic Education in Kuwait (open access)

Faculty Members' Readiness for E-learning in the College of Basic Education in Kuwait

E-learning exposes students and instructors to different learning models such as constructivism rather than the traditional learning. E-learning as a part of today's technology has proven that it is appropriate for most students' mentalities and is a mind tool which promotes different learning models, such as problem solving strategy, collaborative learning, and critical thinking. The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) in Kuwait consists of more than 10 academic colleges with a total number of 120 faculty members. The College of Basic Education (CBE) is one of them. The implementation of e-learning at the College of Basic Education requires that all the learning community members, instructors and students, understand that an e-learning course is like a learning community with the privilege of sharing knowledge, opinions, experiences related to class subject, and productive outcomes that are beneficial to this learning community. This study indentified the statistically significant differences in demographic characteristics of e-learning adopters and non-adopters among faculty members at CBE, examining faculty members' attitudes and skills toward e-learning readiness. The study will explore perceived barriers that face e-learning at CBE. Applying the Rogers diffusion of innovation theory, the influence of 4 factors was examined regarding faculty readiness for …
Date: August 2010
Creator: Alajmi, Mohammed
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Works for Clarinet Commissioned by the Concours International d'Exécution Musicale de Genève: A Critical Survey and Performance Guide (open access)

The Works for Clarinet Commissioned by the Concours International d'Exécution Musicale de Genève: A Critical Survey and Performance Guide

Beginning in 1939, the Concours International d'Exécution Musicale de Genève (CIEM; Geneva International Music Competition) is unique among international music competitions in its multidisciplinary approach. To date, fifteen works have been commissioned for clarinet for the years in which the clarinet was involved. The most well-known of these works is the unaccompanied work by Heinrich Sutermeister, Capriccio for Solo Clarinet in A, written in 1946 for the 1947 competition. This work is a staple in the unaccompanied clarinet repertoire. However, the other fourteen works commissioned for the competition are little known and to date no document has been prepared that examines each of these works in the context of the competition and clarinet literature. While perhaps less notable, works were also commissioned for a sight reading portion of the competition for many of the years in which the clarinet was a discipline chosen for the competition, two of which were published. These works are examined as well. This survey provides a critical, analytical, historical, performance-related and biographical review of the published and unpublished works commissioned for the clarinet by CIEM. The composers, competitors and the significance of these works and winners in the clarinet literature and history are included. A …
Date: August 2010
Creator: Allgeier, Anthony Joseph, III
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Doctoral Recital: 2010-04-13 - Reuben Allred, piano

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.
Date: April 13, 2010
Creator: Allred, Reuben
Object Type: Sound
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Creative Process in Cross-Influential Composition (open access)

The Creative Process in Cross-Influential Composition

This dissertation describes a compositional model rooted in cross-influential methodology between complementary musical compositions that share generative source material. In their simultaneous construction, two composition pairs presented challenges that influenced and mediated the other's development with respect to timbre, transposition, pitch material, effects processing, and form. A working prototype first provides a model that is later developed. The first work Thema is for piano alone, and the companion piece Am3ht is for piano and live computer processing via the graphical programming environment Max/MSP. Compositional processes used in the prototype solidify the cross-influential model, demanding flexibility and a dialectic approach. Ideas set forth in the prototype are then explored through a second pair of compositions rooted in cross-influential methodology. The first work Lusmore is scored for solo contrabass and Max/MSP. The second composition Knockgrafton is scored for string orchestra. The flexibility of the cross-influential model is revealed more fully through a discussion of each work's musical development. The utility of the cross-influential compositional model is discussed, particularly within higher academia.
Date: May 2010
Creator: Anderson, Jonathan Douglas
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Sensitization of Lanthanides and Organic-Based Phosphorescence via Energy Transfer and Heavy-Atom Effects (open access)

Sensitization of Lanthanides and Organic-Based Phosphorescence via Energy Transfer and Heavy-Atom Effects

The major topics discussed are the phosphorescence sensitization in the lanthanides via energy transfer and in the organics by heavy atom effects. The f-f transitions in lanthanides are parity forbidden and have weak molar extinction coefficients. Upon complexation with the ligand, ttrpy (4'-p-Tolyl-[2,2':6',2"]-terpyridine) the absorption takes place through the ligand and the excitation is transferred to the lanthanides, which in turn emit. This process is known as "sensitized luminescence." Bright red emission from europium and bright green emission from terbium complexes were observed. There is ongoing work on the making of OLEDs with neutral complexes of lanthanide hexafluoroacetyl acetonate/ttrpy, studied in this dissertation. Attempts to observe analogous energy transfer from the inorganic donor complexes of Au(I) thiocyanates were unsuccessful due to poor overlap of the emissions of these systems with the absorptions of Eu(III) and Tb(III). Photophysics of silver-aromatic complexes deals with the enhancement of phosphorescence in the aromatics. The heavy atom effect of the silver is responsible for this enhancement in phosphorescence. Aromatics such as naphthalene, perylene, anthracene and pyrene were involved in this study. Stern Volmer plots were studied by performing the quenching studies. The quenchers employed were both heavy metals such as silver and thallium and lighter …
Date: May 2010
Creator: Arvapally, Ravi K.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
EEG, Alpha Waves and Coherence (open access)

EEG, Alpha Waves and Coherence

This thesis addresses some theoretical issues generated by the results of recent analysis of EEG time series proving the brain dynamics are driven by abrupt changes making them depart from the ordinary Poisson condition. These changes are renewal, unpredictable and non-ergodic. We refer to them as crucial events. How is it possible that this form of randomness be compatible with the generation of waves, for instance alpha waves, whose observation seems to suggest the opposite view the brain is characterized by surprisingly extended coherence? To shed light into this apparently irretrievable contradiction we propose a model based on a generalized form of Langevin equation under the influence of a periodic stimulus. We assume that there exist two different forms of time, a subjective form compatible with Poisson statistical physical and an objective form that is accessible to experimental observation. The transition from the former to the latter form is determined by the brain dynamics interpreted as emerging from the cooperative interaction among many units that, in the absence of cooperation would generate Poisson fluctuations. We call natural time the brain internal time and we make the assumption that in the natural time representation the time evolution of the EEG variable …
Date: May 2010
Creator: Ascolani, Gianluca
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Role of Attachment in the Intergenerational Transmission of Abuse: From Childhood Victimization to Adult Re-Victimization and Distress (open access)

The Role of Attachment in the Intergenerational Transmission of Abuse: From Childhood Victimization to Adult Re-Victimization and Distress

Research indicates that victims of childhood abuse are at increased risk for transmitting violence in adulthood-a phenomenon known as the intergenerational transmission of abuse (ITA). Adult survivors of childhood victimization (i.e., child abuse or witnessed parental violence) are at increased risk for becoming abusive parents, perpetrators of intimate partner violence, and victims of intimate partner violence. The current study examined the latter form of ITA, in which a survivor of childhood victimization is re-victimized in adulthood by intimate partner violence. Attachment theory has been used to explain the ITA by positing that abuse is transmitted across generations via insecure attachment. The purpose of this study was to use structural equation modeling to test the attachment theory of ITA by examining the role of childhood and adult attachment in predicting re-victimization and symptoms of distress in adulthood. In the hypothesized model, childhood victimization by one's parents was hypothesized to predict adult intimate partner violence victimization through insecure attachment relationships in childhood (with one's parents) and adulthood (with one's partner). Furthermore, adult romantic attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were hypothesized to predict different symptoms of distress. Self-report measures from 59 adult woman seeking services for intimate partner victimization at a domestic violence …
Date: December 2010
Creator: Austin, Aubrey A.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Doctoral Recital: 2010-04-18 - Jeff Baker, tuba

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Main Auditorium in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.
Date: April 18, 2010
Creator: Baker, Jeff
Object Type: Sound
System: The UNT Digital Library
Comparing the Readability of Text Displays on Paper, E-Book Readers, and Small Screen Devices (open access)

Comparing the Readability of Text Displays on Paper, E-Book Readers, and Small Screen Devices

Science fiction has long promised the digitalization of books. Characters in films and television routinely check their palm-sized (or smaller) electronic displays for fast-scrolling information. However, this very technology, increasingly prevalent in today's world, has not been embraced universally. While the convenience of pocket-sized information pieces has the techno-savvy entranced, the general public still greets the advent of the e-book with a curious reluctance. This lack of enthusiasm seems strange in the face of the many advantages offered by the new medium - vastly superior storage capacity, searchability, portability, lower cost, and instantaneous access. This dissertation addresses the need for research examining the reading comprehension and the role emotional response plays in the perceived performance on e-document formats as compared to traditional paper format. This study compares the relative reading comprehension on three formats (Kindle, iTouch, and paper) and examines the relationship of subject's emotional response and relative technology exposure as factors that affect how the subject perceives they have performed on those formats. This study demonstrates that, for basic reading comprehension, the medium does not matter. Furthermore, it shows that, the more uncomfortable a person is with technology and expertise in the requested task (in this case, reading), the …
Date: May 2010
Creator: Baker, Rebecca Dawn
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Soldier Boys of Texas: The Seventh Texas Infantry in World War I (open access)

Soldier Boys of Texas: The Seventh Texas Infantry in World War I

This study first offers a political, social, and economic overview of Texas during the first two decades of the twentieth century, including reaction in the Lone Star state to the declaration of war against Germany in April, 1917; the fear of saboteurs and foreign-born citizens; and the debate on raising a wartime army through a draft or by volunteerism. Then, focusing in-depth on northwest Texas, the study examines the Texas National Guard unit recruited there, the Seventh Texas Infantry Regiment. Using primarily the selective service registration cards of a sample of 1,096 members of the regiment, this study presents a portrait of the officers and enlisted soldiers of the Seventh Texas based on age, occupation, marital status, dependents and other criteria, something that has not been done in studies of World War I soldiers. Next, the regiment's training at Camp Bowie, near Fort Worth, Texas, is described, including the combining of the Seventh Texas with the First Oklahoma Infantry to form the 142nd Infantry Regiment of the Thirty-Sixth Division. After traveling to France and undergoing nearly two months of training, the regiment was assigned to the French Fourth Army in the Champagne region and went into combat for the first …
Date: August 2010
Creator: Ball, Gregory W.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Networking of North and West Texas Superintendents (open access)

Networking of North and West Texas Superintendents

This study examined the professional networking of North and West Texas public school superintendents. It looked at how these superintendents professionally network, use professional organizations in networking, and how they extend opportunities beyond the organizations to gain knowledge and information about their demanding and stressful responsibilities. Lastly, it looked at superintendents in the field on whom others rely for knowledge and understanding. Surveys were mailed out to 443 North and West Texas public schools. Only the superintendents from those districts were asked to complete the survey. This limitation was desired to restrict the population to only the superintendents of schools, thus focusing the study on the professional networking of only superintendents. Three hundred sixty (360) superintendents responded to the survey, a return rate of 81.3%. This research concluded that superintendents professionally network by communicating through monthly meetings, organizational conferences or meetings, or email. Their networks are facilitated through communication, contacts, location, longevity, and organizational associations. These organizations provide the superintendent's primary network contact. The number of contacts in a network is usually a small group of 5 to 9 professionals who are known from longevity in the profession, prior educational positions, similar district size, being located in or near a …
Date: May 2010
Creator: Barber, Glenn E.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Doctoral and Guest Artist Recital: 2010-09-22 – Ania Bard, violin and Melanie Hadley, piano

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.
Date: September 22, 2010
Creator: Bard-Schwarz, Ania & Hadley, Melanie
Object Type: Sound
System: The UNT Digital Library

Doctoral Recital: 2010-04-01 - Stephen Beall, viola

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Main Auditorium in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.
Date: April 1, 2010
Creator: Beall, Stephen
Object Type: Sound
System: The UNT Digital Library
Doctoral Lecture Recital: 2010-04-12 – Brad Bennight, harpsichord transcript

Doctoral Lecture Recital: 2010-04-12 – Brad Bennight, harpsichord

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Organ Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.
Date: April 12, 2010
Creator: Bennight, Brad
Object Type: Sound
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Keyboard Music of Peter Philips (open access)

The Keyboard Music of Peter Philips

The keyboard works of the English virginalist Peter Philips have been little studied in comparison with his more famous contemporaries, William Byrd, John Bull and Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. While Philips left comparatively fewer keyboard works than these composers, his music contains very unique attributes. This study compiles the latest research of Philips' life as well as an analysis of representative works showing many of the individual and uncommon features to be found in Philips' works for keyboard. Pieces from all genres of Philips' keyboard output are represented and discussed, including Pavanes and Galliards, Fantasias and Intabulations of madrigals. Musical examples of each of these works are provided. A description of the instruments needed for the performance of the music and an illustration of the rare type of keyboard instrument required in the Pavana and Galliarda Dolorosa is included. A discussion of Philips' style, particularly regarding ornamentation, is included with a comparison to the works of his contemporaries.
Date: August 2010
Creator: Bennight, Brad
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Living-learning communities and ethnicity: A study on closing the achievement gap at Regional University (open access)

Living-learning communities and ethnicity: A study on closing the achievement gap at Regional University

This quasi-experimental study examined the impact of living-learning communities on GPA and fall-to-fall retention rates for college freshmen at Regional University (RU). The specific focus of this study was the effect of these communities on students of different ethnic groups and on the potential of these communities to reduce the academic performance gap. RU was a small public university that offered both undergraduate and graduate degree programs. RU required all freshman students to live on campus in living-learning communities beginning with the 2007-2008 academic year. This study utilized the 343 student freshman cohort class of 2008 in the living-learning communities as the treatment group. This treatment group was compared against the 193 student freshman cohort class of 2008 living off campus and against the 643 student freshman cohort class of 2006 living on campus prior to the implementation of living-learning communities. In addition, the statistics were analyzed by ethnicity to examine the impact of these communities on White, Hispanic, African American, and Native American students and their ability to reduce the academic performance gap. The research revealed that the communities implemented at RU were not statistically significant at improving academic performance or at reducing the achievement gap. The results of …
Date: May 2010
Creator: Bewley, Jason Loyd
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
QEEG and LORETA findings in children with histories of relational trauma. (open access)

QEEG and LORETA findings in children with histories of relational trauma.

Abuse and neglect occurring in childhood have been associated with a number of functional and physiological effects on the brain. This study extends previous research that investigated the quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) patterns in children with histories of relational trauma through the inclusion of additional participants and measures. As in previous studies, the relative power, absolute power, and coherence values in children with histories of abuse were compared to the Neuroguide database. Results did not show any significant differences in relative or absolute power in the theta range. Similarly, there were no significant coherence differences. Database comparisons were also made using low resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) in order to determine which sub-cortical brain structures may be affected by abuse or trauma, though there were no significant differences in any frequency (0-30Hz). A review of the literature suggests that the prevalence of mu in normal adults and children ranges from 0 to 19%. The present study found a mu prevalence rate of 60.6% in the children who experienced abuse or neglect. Finally, comparisons were made between participants who demonstrate a mu pattern and those who do not to determine if this pattern is associated with certain behavioral and/or attention problems as assessed …
Date: May 2010
Creator: Bigby, Janice A.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Doctoral Recital: 2010-03-06 - Marty Bishop, trumpet

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.
Date: March 6, 2010
Creator: Bishop, Marty
Object Type: Sound
System: The UNT Digital Library

Doctoral Recital: 2010-10-26 - Marty Bishop, trumpet

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Voertman Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.
Date: October 26, 2010
Creator: Bishop, Marty
Object Type: Sound
System: The UNT Digital Library
Surface Chemical Deposition of Advanced Electronic Materials (open access)

Surface Chemical Deposition of Advanced Electronic Materials

The focus of this work was to examine the direct plating of Cu on Ru diffusion barriers for use in interconnect technology and the substrate mediated growth of graphene on boron nitride for use in advanced electronic applications. The electrodeposition of Cu on Ru(0001) and polycrystalline substrates (with and without pretreatment in an iodine containing solution) has been studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), current-time transient measurements (CTT), in situ electrochemical atomic force microscopy (EC-AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The EC-AFM data show that at potentials near the OPD/UPD threshold, Cu crystallites exhibit pronounced growth anisotropy, with lateral dimensions greatly exceeding vertical dimensions. XPS measurements confirmed the presence and stability of adsorbed I on the Ru surface following pre-treatment in a KI/H2SO4 solution and following polarization to at least −200 mV vs. Ag/AgCl. CV data of samples pre-reduced in I-containing electrolyte exhibited a narrow Cu deposition peak in the overpotential region and a UPD peak. The kinetics of the electrodeposited Cu films was investigated by CTT measurements and applied to theoretical models of nucleation. The data indicated that a protective I adlayer may be deposited on an air-exposed Ru electrode as the oxide surface is electrochemically reduced, and that this …
Date: December 2010
Creator: Bjelkevig, Cameron
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Doctoral Recital: 2010-03-22 - Jeremy Blackwood, bass

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.
Date: March 22, 2010
Creator: Blackwood, Jeremy
Object Type: Sound
System: The UNT Digital Library

Doctoral Recital: 2010-11-19 - Tyrone Block, bass trombone

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Voertman Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.
Date: November 19, 2010
Creator: Block, Tyrone
Object Type: Sound
System: The UNT Digital Library