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Alignment of Middle School Core TEKS with Visual Arts TEKS (open access)

Alignment of Middle School Core TEKS with Visual Arts TEKS

This descriptive study uses a qualitative, content analysis to examine the middle school visual arts and core Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) to determine the potential common learning activities that can be aligned between the two. By performing an alignment of the potential common learning activities present in the middle school visual art TEKS and the middle school core TEKS, I demonstrate that there is a foundation for curriculum integration in the Texas middle school visual arts classroom.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Hartman, Jennifer
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Schoolyard Politics: Ethics and Language at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (open access)

Schoolyard Politics: Ethics and Language at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has been both contentious and successful. By examining the ICTY from a Levinasian ethical standpoint, we might be able to understand how the court uses language to enforce ethical and moral standards upon post-war societies. Using linguistic methods of analysis combined with traditional data about the ICTY, I empirically examine the court using ordinary least squares (OLS) in order to show the impact that language has upon the court's decision making process. I hypothesize that the court is an ethical entity, and therefore we should not see any evidence of bias against Serbs and that language will provide a robust view of the court as an ethical mechanism.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Hatcher, Robert
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Practices and Policies in High Schools to Prevent Educator-to-Student sexual Misconduct: A Principal's Study of Knowledge and Experiences (open access)

Practices and Policies in High Schools to Prevent Educator-to-Student sexual Misconduct: A Principal's Study of Knowledge and Experiences

The purpose of this study was to investigate high school policies and procedures that address educator sexual misconduct. High school principals completed an online questionnaire which addressed administrator knowledge of state and federal laws and regulations; knowledge of district policies and procedures; experience with educator sexual misconduct; training and communication available in their schools and school districts for staff, parents, and students; the policies and procedures in place in secondary schools to prevent educator sexual misconduct; and related problems that are reported to school administrators. Responses were compared by school size, community type, and Title I eligibility. The findings of the study revealed that principals feel they have knowledge of the federal and state laws and regulations, as well as the district policies and procedures. However, principals reported a lack of specific policies addressing sexual harassment and discrimination of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender students; training for students and teachers in recognizing and responding to sexual misconduct; and sexual misconduct related to students with disabilities. In addition, most principals stated that their schools have not surveyed students to determine the extent of sexual harassment on the campus. Principals of the largest schools and the urban and suburban schools were more …
Date: December 2010
Creator: Spain, Carolyn
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Framework for Analyzing and Optimizing Regional Bio-Emergency Response Plans (open access)

A Framework for Analyzing and Optimizing Regional Bio-Emergency Response Plans

The presence of naturally occurring and man-made public health threats necessitate the design and implementation of mitigation strategies, such that adequate response is provided in a timely manner. Since multiple variables, such as geographic properties, resource constraints, and government mandated time-frames must be accounted for, computational methods provide the necessary tools to develop contingency response plans while respecting underlying data and assumptions. A typical response scenario involves the placement of points of dispensing (PODs) in the affected geographic region to supply vaccines or medications to the general public. Computational tools aid in the analysis of such response plans, as well as in the strategic placement of PODs, such that feasible response scenarios can be developed. Due to the sensitivity of bio-emergency response plans, geographic information, such as POD locations, must be kept confidential. The generation of synthetic geographic regions allows for the development of emergency response plans on non-sensitive data, as well as for the study of the effects of single geographic parameters. Further, synthetic representations of geographic regions allow for results to be published and evaluated by the scientific community. This dissertation presents methodology for the analysis of bio-emergency response plans, methods for plan optimization, as well as methodology …
Date: December 2010
Creator: Schneider, Tamara
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Fashioning the Domestic Ideology: Women and the Language of Fashion in the Works of Elizabeth Stoddard, Louisa May Alcott, and Elizabeth Keckley (open access)

Fashioning the Domestic Ideology: Women and the Language of Fashion in the Works of Elizabeth Stoddard, Louisa May Alcott, and Elizabeth Keckley

Women authors in mid to late nineteenth century American society were unafraid to shed the old domestic ideology and set new examples for women outside of racial and gender spheres. This essay focuses on the ways in which Elizabeth Stoddard's The Morgesons, Louisa May Alcott's Behind a Mask, and Elizabeth Keckley's Behind the Scenes, or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House represent the function of fashion and attire in literature. Each author encourages readers to examine dress in a way that defies the typical domestic ideology of nineteenth century America. I want my readers to understand the role of fashion in literature as I progress through each work and ultimately show how each female author and protagonist set a new example for womanhood through their fashion choices.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Villafranca, Brooke
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Hugo Wolf's Interpretation of Paul Heyse's Texts: An Examination of Selected Songs from the Italienisches Liederbuch (open access)

Hugo Wolf's Interpretation of Paul Heyse's Texts: An Examination of Selected Songs from the Italienisches Liederbuch

In a Romantic song cycle or songbook, songs tend to share many common ideas because they are used to set to the poems from one collection written or collected by one author. Many composers designed the same motivic or structural elements to a group of songs for unity, and sometimes they made chronological narratives for the series of poems. Music theorists have tried to find out a way of giving a sense of unity or narrative to the songs in a song cycle or songbook by analyzing its musical language and text setting. They have suggested plausible explanations for the relationships among the songs in a song cycle or songbook, and some theorists have traced the tonal movements and provided a visual explanation for them. Hugo Wolf's two volumes of the Italienisches Liederbuch (1890-91, 1896) were set to the forty-six poems from Paul Heyse's well-selected works. Wolf's way of selecting poems from Heyse's collection seems inconsistent, and his song ordering in the both volumes does not show evident rules. However, a closer study for relationships between the songs could widen our perspective to comprehend the whole songbook as a unified storyline. This study selected the first four songs from each …
Date: December 2010
Creator: Shin, Dong Jin
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Situational Small World of a Post-disaster Community: Insights into Information Behaviors after the Devastation of Hurricane Katrina in Slidell, Louisiana (open access)

The Situational Small World of a Post-disaster Community: Insights into Information Behaviors after the Devastation of Hurricane Katrina in Slidell, Louisiana

Catastrophes like Katrina destroy a community's critical infrastructure-a situation that instigates several dilemmas. Immediately, the community experiences information disruption within the community, as well as between the community and the outside world. The inability to communicate because of physical or virtual barriers to information instigates instant isolation. Prolonged, this scarcity of information becomes an information poverty spell, placing hardship on a community accustomed to easily accessible and applicable information. Physical devastation causes the scarcity of what Abraham Maslow calls basic survival needs-physiological, security, and social-a needs regression from the need to self-actualize, to meet intellectual and aesthetic needs. Because needs regress, the type of information required to meet the needs, also changes-regresses to information regarding survival needs. Regressed information needs requires altered information behaviors-altered methods and means to meet the information needs of the post-disaster situation. Situational information behavior follows new mores-altered norms-norms constructed for the post-disaster situation. To justify the unconventional, situational social norms, residents must adjust their beliefs about appropriate behavior. Situational beliefs support situational social norms-and situational information behaviors prevail. Residents find they must trust strangers, create makeshift messaging systems, and in some cases, disregard the law to meet their post-disaster survival needs.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Slagle, Tisha Anne
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Source-bonding as a Variable in Electroacoustic Composition: Faktura and Acoustics in Understatements (open access)

Source-bonding as a Variable in Electroacoustic Composition: Faktura and Acoustics in Understatements

Understatements for two-channel fixed media is a four-movement study of the sonic potential of acoustic instruments within the practice of electroacoustic studio composition. The musical identity of the entire composition is achieved through consistent approaches to disparate instrumental materials and a focused investigation of the relationships between the various acoustic timbres and their electroacoustic treatments. The analytical section of this paper builds on contemporary research in electroacoustic arts. The analysis of the work is preceded by a summary of theoretical and aesthetic approaches within electroacoustic composition and the introduction of primary criteria of sonic faktura (material essence) used in the compositional process. The analyses address the idiosyncratic use of the concept of faktura to contextualize and guide the unfolding of the work. The reconciliation of the illusory electronic textures and the acoustic sources that parented them may be considered the ultimate goal of Understatements.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Rostovtsev, Ilya Y.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Induced Bradycardia Effects on Angiogenesis, Growth and Development in Early Development in Chicken Embryos, Gallus Domesticus (open access)

Induced Bradycardia Effects on Angiogenesis, Growth and Development in Early Development in Chicken Embryos, Gallus Domesticus

Cardiac performance, angiogenesis and growth was investigated during early chicken development. Heart rate, and thus arterial pulse pressure and cardiac output, were altered with the bradycardic drug ZD7288. Heart rates at 72 h of development of control embryos and those dosed with chicken Ringer were not different at 171 bpm. Acute and chronic application of ZD7288 caused significant bradycardia. Chronic dosing of Ringer and ZD7288 changed neither eye diameter nor development rate. Chronic dosing of ZD7288 did not significantly alter CAM vessel density close to the embryo (2, 3 and 4 mm) but at farther distances (5 and 6 mm) chronic dosing with both Ringer and ZD7288 decreased vessel density by 13 - 16%. Chronic dosing with ZD7288 also reduced body mass by 20%. Thus, lowered heart rate and cardiac output had little effect on vessel density or developmental stage, but did reduce embryo growth.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Ruck, Sylvia A.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A select study of Texas Principal Preparation Programs and their Relationship to Adult Learning and the Professional Leadership Responsibilities of their Graduates (open access)

A select study of Texas Principal Preparation Programs and their Relationship to Adult Learning and the Professional Leadership Responsibilities of their Graduates

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between principal preparation programs in Texas and professional leadership practices and responsibilities based on Mid-continent Research for Educational and Learning's (McREL) 21 leadership responsibilities. The study also examined the relationship between Texas principal preparation programs and Knowles's principles of adult learning. Through an online survey, the study solicited practicing principals' perceptions as to whether McREL's 21 leadership responsibilities and Knowles's principles of adult learning were included in their principal preparation programs. Quantitative findings indicated there were no significant differences between principals' perceptions of their principal preparation programs and the university/certification program in which they obtained their principal certification. Additionally, there were no significant differences between principals' perceptions of their programs and the year their principal certification was completed. There were also no significant differences between principals' perceptions of their programs and the geographic location of the school district in which they were presently employed. However, the study found there were significant differences in two areas of leadership responsibilities when comparisons were generated between principals who were fully certified before assuming the role of principal and those who were not fully certified: 1) ideas/beliefs and 2) optimizer. Principals who had not …
Date: December 2010
Creator: Styles, Delesa Haynes
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Implementation of Turbo Codes on GNU Radio (open access)

Implementation of Turbo Codes on GNU Radio

This thesis investigates the design and implementation of turbo codes over the GNU radio. The turbo codes is a class of iterative channel codes which demonstrates strong capability for error correction. A software defined radio (SDR) is a communication system which can implement different modulation schemes and tune to any frequency band by means of software that can control the programmable hardware. SDR utilizes the general purpose computer to perform certain signal processing techniques. We implement a turbo coding system using the Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP), a widely used SDR platform from Ettus. Detail configuration and performance comparison are also provided in this research.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Talasila, Mahendra
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Thermal Identification of Clandestine Burials: A Signature Analysis and Image Classification Approach (open access)

Thermal Identification of Clandestine Burials: A Signature Analysis and Image Classification Approach

Clandestine burials, the interred human remains of forensic interest, are generally small features located in isolated environments. Typical ground searches can be both time-consuming and dangerous. Thermal remote sensing has been recognized for some time as a possible search strategy for such burials that are in relatively open areas; however, there is a paucity of published research with respect to this application. This project involved image manipulation, the analyses of signatures for "graves" of various depths when compared to an undisturbed background, and the use of image classification techniques to tease out these features. This research demonstrates a relationship between the depth of burial disturbance and the resultant signature. Further, image classification techniques, especially object-oriented algorithms, can be successfully applied to single band thermal imagery. These findings may ultimately decrease burial search times for law enforcement and increase the likelihood of locating clandestine graves.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Servello, John A.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Habitat Fragmentation by Land-Use Change: One-Horned Rhinoceros in Nepal and Red-Cockaded Woodpecker in Texas (open access)

Habitat Fragmentation by Land-Use Change: One-Horned Rhinoceros in Nepal and Red-Cockaded Woodpecker in Texas

This research focuses on the spatial analysis of the habitat of two vulnerable species, the one-horn rhinoceros in the grasslands of southern Nepal, and the red-cockaded woodpecker in the Piney woods of southeast Texas, in the USA. A study sites relevant for biodiversity conservation was selected in each country: Chitwan National Park in Nepal, and areas near the Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas. Land-use differs in the two study areas: the first is still undergoing agrarian development while the second is in a technological phase and undergoing urbanization processes. Satellite remote sensing images were used to derive land-cover maps by supervised classification. These maps were then processed by Geographic Information Systems methods to apply habitat models based on basic resources (food and cover) and obtain habitat suitability maps. Several landscape metrics were computed to quantify the habitat characteristics especially the composition and configuration of suitable habitat patches. Sensitivity analyses were performed as the nominal values of some of the model parameters were arbitrary. Development potential probability models were used to hypothesize changes in land-use of the second study site. Various scenarios were employed to examine the impact of development on the habitat of red-cockaded woodpecker. The method derived in …
Date: December 2010
Creator: Thapa, Vivek
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Knowledge and Confidence of Speech-Language Pathologists Regarding Autism (open access)

Knowledge and Confidence of Speech-Language Pathologists Regarding Autism

The increased prevalence rate of autism has immense implications for speech language pathologists (SLPs) who are directly involved in the education and service delivery for students with autism. However, few studies have documented the effectiveness of the knowledge and confidence of SLPs regarding autism. The purpose of this study was to measure the knowledge and confidence of SLPs regarding autism and the extent to which their educational and professional training prepared them to work effectively with this population. An online survey was administered to and returned by 336 SLPs nation-wide. Two multiple linear regressions were conducted to determine the variables that explained overall knowledge and confidence. The number of students with autism on one's caseload explained most of the variance. Independent sample t-test results depicted knowledge and confidence scores of SLPs who were behaviorally trained versus those who were not behaviorally trained. SLPs who were behaviorally trained had higher mean scores on measures of knowledge and confidence when compared to those without formal behavioral training. Finally, a bivariate correlation was conducted to explore the relationship between knowledge and confidence of SLPs, however, results were not statistically significant.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Ray, Julie M.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Pediatric Feeding Disorders: A Controlled Comparison of Multidisciplinary Inpatient and Outpatient Treatment of Gastrostomy Tube Dependent Children (open access)

Pediatric Feeding Disorders: A Controlled Comparison of Multidisciplinary Inpatient and Outpatient Treatment of Gastrostomy Tube Dependent Children

The efficacy of multidisciplinary inpatient and outpatient treatment for transitioning children with severe pediatric feeding disorders from gastrostomy tube dependency to oral nutrition was investigated utilizing caloric and fluid intakes as an outcome measure. The study involved 29 children ages 12 months to 5 years of age with gastrostomy tube dependency. Treatments were provided by speech therapists, occupational therapist, dietician and psychologist for a 30 day period. Four treatment groups were evaluated and average intakes compared at 4 observation periods including pretreatment, initiation of treatment, completion of treatment at 30 days and 4 month follow-up. Children receiving inpatient treatment for feeding disorders evidenced significant differences in oral caloric intake from pretreatment to discharge than outpatient treatment (p < .01) and wait list control group (p = .04). Oral caloric intake from discharge to 4 month follow up yielded no significant differences indicating treatment gains were maintained. Change in environment and caretaker showed a significant effect for the inpatient group (d = 1.89). Effects of treatment by age and weight at 4 month follow up were also analyzed.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Cornwell, Sonya L.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Forensic Science Applications Utilizing Nanomanipulation-Coupled to Nanospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry for the Analysis of Ultra-Trace Illicit Drugs (open access)

Forensic Science Applications Utilizing Nanomanipulation-Coupled to Nanospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry for the Analysis of Ultra-Trace Illicit Drugs

Presented in this thesis are two methods that are coupled to the instrumentation for the recovery and analysis of ultra-trace illicit drug residues. The electrostatic dust lifting process is coupled with nanomanipulation-nanospray ionization to retrieve drug particles off of hard surfaces for analysis. For the second method, drug residues from fingerprint impressions are extracted followed by analysis. The methodology of these hyphenated techniques toward forensic science applications is applied as to explore limits of detection, sensitivity, and selectivity of analytes as well as immediacy and efficiency of analysis. The application of nanomanipulation-coupled to nanospray ionization-mass spectrometry toward forensic science based applications is considered as future improvements to trace and ultra-trace analysis.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Wallace, Nicole
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
White Creole Women in the British West Indies: From Stereotype to Caricature (open access)

White Creole Women in the British West Indies: From Stereotype to Caricature

Many researchers of gender studies and colonial history ignore the lives of European women in the British West Indies. The scarcity of written information combined with preconceived notions about the character of the women inhabiting the islands make this the "final frontier" in colonial studies on women. Over the long eighteenth century, travel literature by men reduced creole white women to a stereotype that endured in literature and visual representations. The writings of female authors, who also visited the plantation islands, display their opinions on the creole white women through their letters, diaries and journals. Male authors were preoccupied with the sexual morality of the women, whereas the female authors focus on the temperate lifestyles of the local females. The popular perceptions of the creole white women seen in periodicals, literature, and caricatures in Britain seem to follow this trend, taking for their sources the travel histories.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Northrop, Chloe Aubra
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Global Expansion of Transnational Retailers: A Case Study of the Localization Strategy of Costco in Taiwan (open access)

The Global Expansion of Transnational Retailers: A Case Study of the Localization Strategy of Costco in Taiwan

This research focuses on the global expansion of the transnational retail industry. Globalization is a phenomenon experienced by many industries in the present global economy. The global production network (GPN) framework can be used to explain and interpret the phenomenon of transnational firms' adaptation strategies. Due to market saturation in their home countries, retailers began to expand into East Asia in the 1980s. However, cultural differences and legislative limitations created barriers and restrictions for the transnational retailers making this transition. How do firms overcome these challenges? Through a case study of Costco in Taiwan, this research investigates the ways in which retailers adapt their strategies with regard to three concerns: site decisions, product mix selection, and supply network consolidation. The results shows that Costco opted for a strategy of lesser localization in all three domains. This research provides evidence to support this characterization along with examples of Costco's localization strategies via a case study and focuses on the issue of the balance between localization and standardization in the GPN framework.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Yeh, YunLung
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Educators' Perceptions of the Importance of Selected Competencies for Teachers of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders and their Perceptions of Personal Proficiency (open access)

Educators' Perceptions of the Importance of Selected Competencies for Teachers of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders and their Perceptions of Personal Proficiency

This study investigated educators' perceptions of the importance of competencies for teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders and their own proficiency in the competencies. Participants included educators who had completed university-based coursework on emotional and behavioral disorders. Competencies from the Qualification and Preparation of Teachers of Exceptional Children study were correlated with CEC's content standards and knowledge skill sets for special education teachers of individuals with emotional and behavioral disorders. Participants ranked 88 competencies on importance and proficiency. Results revealed that educators' proficiency in competencies, their years of experience, and level of education contribute a significant percentage of variance in their ratings of the importance of competencies. Implications for further research are provided.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Wanyonyi-Short, Maureen N.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Examination of Parents' Preferred School Counselor Professional Activities (open access)

An Examination of Parents' Preferred School Counselor Professional Activities

The purpose of this study was to examine parent preferences for school counselor professional activities. The primary focus of research was to determine if any relationship exists between (1) parents' demographic factors - gender, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity - and their preferences for school counselors' professional activities; (2) educational factors - parents' level of education and grade level of their student (9-12) - and parents' preferences for professional activities; and (3) parents' experience parenting high school students and their preferences for school counselors' professional activities. I utilized a 7-item demographic questionnaire and an adapted version of the School Counselor Activity Rating Scale (SCARS; Scarborough, 2005). The SCARS is a 48-item standardized instrument that measures how school counselors actually spend their time engaged in professional activities compared to how they would prefer to spend that time. The format was adapted from a verbal frequency scale to a 5-point Likert-type scale. In the current study, parents indicated their preference for school counselors to enact certain tasks, with higher scores indicating greater endorsement of the task. Cronbach's alpha for each of the SCARS subscales indicated good internal consistency: Counseling .879; Consultation .831; Curriculum .933; Coordination .867; and "other" .828. The sample was composed …
Date: December 2010
Creator: Wilder, Christopher
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Examination of the Relationship Between Teacher Efficacy and Teacher Religiosity (open access)

An Examination of the Relationship Between Teacher Efficacy and Teacher Religiosity

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher religiosity and teacher self-efficacy. The present study builds upon previous research which has shown purposeful work in everyday living fosters intrinsic motivation, religious orientation affects daily living, and teacher self-efficacy beliefs predict student achievement. Religiosity and self-efficacy data were gathered from public school teachers from a suburban school district in North Texas and from private Christian schools in Western Washington. The Age Universal I-E scale (a measure of religious orientation intended to capture how one lives out his/her religiosity), Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale, and a teacher characteristic form were used to collect data. In a multiple regression analysis, independent variables included teacher age, gender, grade level taught, experience level, campus type (public or private religious), and teacher religious orientation (intrinsic or extrinsic); the dependent variable was the score for teacher self-efficacy. The regression analysis resulted in an equation that explained only slightly more than 9% of the variance in the score for teacher self-efficacy. Three significant variables were identified--grade level taught, teacher age, and intrinsic religious orientation. Teacher age and teacher intrinsic religious orientation were the two most important contributors according to a comparison of beta weights. …
Date: December 2010
Creator: Wright, Karen K.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Syntheses, X-ray Diffraction Structures, and Kinetics on New Formamidinate-Substituted Triosmium Clusters (open access)

Syntheses, X-ray Diffraction Structures, and Kinetics on New Formamidinate-Substituted Triosmium Clusters

The reaction between the formamidine ligand PriN=CHNHPri and the activated cluster Os3(CO)10(MeCN)2 has been studied. A rapid reaction is observed at room temperature, yielding the hydride clusters HOs3(CO)9[&#956;-OCNPriC(H)NPri] and HOs3(CO)10[&#956;-NPriC(H)NPri] as the principal products. The spectroscopic data and X-ray diffraction structures of those formamidinate-substituted clusters will be present. The thermal reactivity of the clusters has been investigated, with the face-capped cluster HOs3(CO)9[&#956;-NPriC(H)NPri] found as the sole observable product. The relationship between these three clusters has been established by kinetic studies, the results of which will be discussed.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Yang, Li
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Performance Practice of Interactive Music for Clarinet and Computer with an Examination of Five Works by American Composers (open access)

Performance Practice of Interactive Music for Clarinet and Computer with an Examination of Five Works by American Composers

Since the development of interactive music software in the 1980s, a new genre of works for clarinet and computer has emerged. The rapid proliferation of interactive music resulted in a great deal of experimentation, creating a lack of standardization in both the composition and performance of this repertoire. In addition, many performers are reluctant to approach these works due to unfamiliarity with the genre and its technical and musical considerations. Performance practice commonly refers to interpretation of a written score, but the technology involved in interactive music requires a broader definition of performance practice; one that also addresses computer software, coordination between the performer and computer system, and technology such as microphones and pedals. The problems and potential solutions of interactive music performance practice are explored in this paper through review of the relevant published literature, interviews with experts in the field, and examination of musical examples from works for clarinet and computer by Lippe, May, Pinkston, Rowe, and Welch. Performance practice considerations of interactive music fall into the categories of notation, technology, collaboration, interpretation, and rehearsal. From the interviews and the literature, it is clear that the performance of interactive music requires specific knowledge and skills that performers may …
Date: December 2010
Creator: Yoder, Rachel M.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Situating Cost-Benefit Analysis for Environmental Justice (open access)

Situating Cost-Benefit Analysis for Environmental Justice

Cost-benefit analysis plays a significant role in the process of siting hazardous waste facilities throughout the United States. Controversy regarding definitively disparate, albeit unintentional, racist practices in reaching these siting decisions abounds, yet cost-benefit analysis stands incapable of commenting on normative topics. This thesis traces the developments of both cost-benefit analysis and its normative cousin utilitarianism by focusing on the impacts they have had on the contemporary environmental justice discourse and highlighting valid claims, misunderstandings, and sedimented ideas surrounding the popularity of cost-benefit analysis. This analysis ultimately leads to an alternative means of realizing environmental justice that both acknowledges the need for greater democratic interactions and attempts to work with, rather than against, the prevailing paradigm of reaching siting decisions.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Wohlmuth, Erik Michael
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library