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Diimine(dithiolate)platinum(ii) Chromophores: Synthesis, Spectroscopy, and Material Applications (open access)

Diimine(dithiolate)platinum(ii) Chromophores: Synthesis, Spectroscopy, and Material Applications

A series of 28 square-planar dithiol(diimine)platinum(II) chromophoric complexes have been synthesized, characterized, and evaluated for potential efficacy in sensitization of solid state photovoltaic devices to the near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The effect of molecular stacking in the solid state and self-association in solution are shown to influence spectral, electronic, and magnetic properties of the chromophores. Such properties are investigated in the pure form and as partners in donor-acceptor charge transfer adducts. Finally, selected chromophores have been incorporated into single layer schottky diodes as neat films and as dopants in multi-layer organic photovoltaic devices. Evaluation of the devices internal quantum efficiency and voltage-current was measured as proof of concept.
Date: August 2014
Creator: Browning, Charles
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Dining at Ethnic-themed Restaurants: an Investigation of Consumers' Ethnic Experiences, Preference Formation, and Patronage (open access)

Dining at Ethnic-themed Restaurants: an Investigation of Consumers' Ethnic Experiences, Preference Formation, and Patronage

Given unprecedented shifts in the U.S. demography marked by rapid growth in Hispanic, Asian and other ethnic market segments, marketing scholars and practitioners are confronting ways to cultivate ethnic consumers' brand preference formation, retail patronage and their ensuring consumption choices. Food is cited as a common signifier for consumers’ ethnic/cultural identity because food itself is a cultural symbol. However, little research has examined the influences of ethnic identities on consumers’ patronage behaviors of ethnic-themed restaurants. Thus, this dissertation critically explores the impact of ethnic identity and motivational factors to better understand consumers' choices of ethnic-themed restaurants with a mix-method approach. The present research investigates how ethnic identity and consumers’ need for uniqueness interplay with perceived authenticity in consumers’ patronage intention of ethnic-themed restaurants. The findings advocate the interplay among ethnic identity, consumers’ need for uniqueness, and perceived authenticity of general consumers in decision making choices of patronizing ethnic-themed restaurants. The findings have important implications for market segmentation guiding the owners of ethnic-themed restaurant the choice of environmental cues to encourage patronage intentions among general consumers. Furthermore, this study provides additional insights about motivating factors affecting decision making of patronizing ethnic-themed restaurants and contributes to the stream of research by enhancing …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Gai, Lili
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Disaster Experience and Self-efficacy As Factors Influencing Emergency Planning in Community-dwelling Older Adults (open access)

Disaster Experience and Self-efficacy As Factors Influencing Emergency Planning in Community-dwelling Older Adults

This study design was to identify and examine how disaster experience, self-efficacy, and demographic factors influence disaster preparedness in community-dwelling older adults. Current data indicates the United States is rapidly aging. Parallel to this significant increase among the elderly population, natural disasters are more prevalent. Consequently, older adults are affected adversely by these disasters and exposure to social vulnerabilities during the disaster cycle. For the purpose of this study, non-identifiable secondary data were analyzed. Sources of the data were the 2007 and 2008 National Center for Disaster Preparedness surveys. The sample focus of this study was adults 50 and older. Regression analyses identified important predictors of disaster preparedness in the survey respondents. Sample adults with previous disaster experience are two times more likely to be in a higher category for having an emergency plan than those respondents with no observable effects of self-efficacy and no previous disaster experience. The frequency of natural disasters in the United States has generated a renewed interest in disaster management, in particular, disaster preparedness. Nevertheless, the focal point of disaster preparedness is no longer the rudimentary stockpile of water, a first aid kit, and a battery operated radio. To advance the field of disaster management …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Symonette, Erika
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Discrimination and Perceived Stress in Sexual and Gender Minorities: Self-esteem As a Moderating Factor (open access)

Discrimination and Perceived Stress in Sexual and Gender Minorities: Self-esteem As a Moderating Factor

Sexual and gender minorities are subjected to discrimination and stigmatization which increase vulnerability to psychological co-morbidities (Mays & Cochran, 2001). The mechanisms through which discrimination contributes to distress in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (lgbt) communities can be partially elucidated through the minority stress model. The minority stress model argues that minorities are subjected to negative societal attitudes and discrimination that results in excessive psychosocial stress related to their minority position, which is distinct from daily stress. Meyer’s minority stress model is supported by social stress theoriesand data linking discrimination to stress in lgb samples. Researchers suggest that self-esteem buffers the negative effects of adverse experiences but tests of the moderating effect of self-esteem on the discrimination-distress relationship in ethnic and gender minorities yielded mixed results. Szymanski found that self-esteem moderates the relationship between discrimination and psychological distress in a male sexual minority sample, but this has never been tested in a gender-balanced sexual minority sample. We hypothesized that higher levels of self-esteem are associated with lower overall perceived stress in lgbt adults, and that self-esteem acts differentially in lgbt populations to moderate perceived discrimination. We found that discrimination, self-esteem and the interaction effect between discrimination and self-esteem accounted for …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Wike, Alexandra Elizabeth
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Do Minutes Matter? Connecting Tardiness to Academic Achievement (open access)

Do Minutes Matter? Connecting Tardiness to Academic Achievement

Within the scope of all that is expected to be accomplished in education, what difference does a tardy make? This study was designed to examine the significance of tardiness, as it relates to student achievement, as measured by the results of the state math test. It also investigated the generation of change by the campus administrator to improve punctuality, with a new method of enforcing the tardy policy with the use of an electronic data system. This study used archived data from the one high school in a suburban school district in Texas. From a student population of 2,631, two subject groups of 919 and 1,310 were determined. Spearman rho results confirmed a moderate inverse relationship between student tardiness and results on the state math test. Descriptive discriminant analysis indicated that tardiness contributed to 25% of the variance in the results on the state math test, when considered alone, and had a smaller contribution when considered with other variables. A visual review of the data portrayed an inverse relationship between the occurrences of tardiness and the pass/fail results on the state math test; as tardiness increased, passing rates decreased. Wilcoxon signed rank test results revealed a reduction in the magnitude …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Taylor, Tresa S.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Do You Know Your Additional Rights As a Crime Victim? (open access)

Do You Know Your Additional Rights As a Crime Victim?

The brochure provides basic information on additional rights for victims of crime.
Date: August 2014
Creator: Texas. Victim Services Division.
Object Type: Pamphlet
System: The Portal to Texas History
Does Technology = More Knowledgeable Other? an Investigation of the Effects of an Integrated Learning System on the Literacy Learning of Emergent Readers (open access)

Does Technology = More Knowledgeable Other? an Investigation of the Effects of an Integrated Learning System on the Literacy Learning of Emergent Readers

Professionals in education continue to explore technology as a way to instruct young students, and there is an accompanying belief that this technology can make an educational and academic difference. Despite the high percentage of young students in classrooms using technology, the impact of this technology on the early literacy skills of young children remains largely unknown. Guided by Vygotsky’s social learning theory, this study reports a 24-week investigation on whether regular use of Istation®, an integrated learning system used by approximately 3,000,000 students in the United States, had an effect on the early literacy achievement of children in twelve kindergarten classrooms. A mixed-method, quasi-experimental design was constructed using propensity scores. Also investigated were the effects of the level of teacher literacy support on early literacy achievement and the interaction between Istation® use and the level of teacher literacy support. A descriptive discriminant analysis was performed to determine the main effect of Istation®. The level of teacher support and the interaction effect was then tested using a multivariate between-subject analysis. Results indicated that Istation® did have a statistically significant effect on the early literacy skills of the 72 kindergarten students studied and was able to explain 17.7% of the variance …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Putman, Rebecca S.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

[Dress in Oregon Trail exhibit]

Photograph of a dress on a mannequin that a pioneer girl on the Oregon Trail would have worn. A small paper slip attached reads "Yes its okay to touch me" and a little crib with a toy doll in it is at the foot of the mannequin. Behind it is a rocking chair and a wooden rocking horse. The pieces are part of an exhibit for the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive and Visitor Information Center in Oregon City. Attendees from the 47th Church and Synagogue Library Association conference, which was held in Portland, Oregon, took a group trip and tour of the center.
Date: August 1, 2014
Creator: Stowers, Larry
Object Type: Photograph
System: The UNT Digital Library
DRT Accessibility Tool(P1) User Guide(P2) Workshop Materials(P3) (open access)

DRT Accessibility Tool(P1) User Guide(P2) Workshop Materials(P3)

Report discussing the demand-responsive transit system for TxDoT with guides on how to use the tool.
Date: August 2014
Creator: Bhat, Chandra R.
Object Type: Report
System: The Portal to Texas History
Dynamic WIFI Fingerprinting Indoor Positioning System (open access)

Dynamic WIFI Fingerprinting Indoor Positioning System

A technique is proposed to improve the accuracy of indoor positioning systems based on WIFI radio-frequency signals by using dynamic access points and fingerprints (DAFs). Moreover, an indoor position system that relies solely in DAFs is proposed. The walking pattern of indoor users is classified as dynamic or static for indoor positioning purposes. I demonstrate that the performance of a conventional indoor positioning system that uses static fingerprints can be enhanced by considering dynamic fingerprints and access points. The accuracy of the system is evaluated using four positioning algorithms and two random access point selection strategies. The system facilitates the location of people where there is no wireless local area network (WLAN) infrastructure deployed or where the WLAN infrastructure has been drastically affected, for example by natural disasters. The system can be used for search and rescue operations and for expanding the coverage of an indoor positioning system.
Date: August 2014
Creator: Reyes, Omar Costilla
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The ECHO, Volume 86, Number 6, July-August 2014 (open access)

The ECHO, Volume 86, Number 6, July-August 2014

Monthly newspaper produced for inmates in the Texas criminal justice system containing news stories, policy updates, opinion pieces, creative works, and other information.
Date: August 2014
Creator: Texas. Department of Criminal Justice.
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
The Effect of Co-teaching on the Academic Achievement Outcomes of Students with Disabilities: a Meta-analytic Synthesis (open access)

The Effect of Co-teaching on the Academic Achievement Outcomes of Students with Disabilities: a Meta-analytic Synthesis

Co-teaching has been, and continues to be, a growing trend in American schools since the late 1990s. As the popularity of this service delivery model increases, there is an imperative need for empirical research focusing on how co-teaching affects academic outcomes of students who receive special education services. Evidence regarding the academic outcomes of co-teaching is limited, and reports mixed results. The purpose of this study is to provide a synthesis of research examining academic outcomes of co-teaching on students who receive special education services. Quantitative information from each research report was coded, an overall effect size was computed, and a moderator analysis was conducted. Results suggest a significant effect (g = .281, k = 32, p < .05) of co-teaching on the academic outcomes of students with disabilities when compared to students with disabilities who did not receive instruction in co-taught settings; though a larger effect was found among dissertation reports (g = .439, k = 25, p < .001). Additionally, a significant effect was found when examining the academic outcomes of students in co-teaching compared to the academic outcomes of students in a resource classroom setting (g = .435, k = 27, p < .001. Lastly, effects were …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Khoury, Christopher
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effect of Mobility on Wireless Sensor Networks (open access)

The Effect of Mobility on Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have gained attention in recent years with the proliferation of the micro-electro-mechanical systems, which has led to the development of smart sensors. Smart sensors has brought WSNs under the spotlight and has created numerous different areas of research such as; energy consumption, convergence, network structures, deployment methods, time delay, and communication protocols. Convergence rates associated with information propagations of the networks will be questioned in this thesis. Mobility is an expensive process in terms of the associated energy costs. In a sensor network, mobility has significant overhead in terms of closing old connections and creating new connections as mobile sensor nodes move from one location to another. Despite these drawbacks, mobility helps a sensor network reach an agreement more quickly. Adding few mobile nodes to an otherwise static network will significantly improve the network’s ability to reach consensus. This paper shows the effect of the mobility on convergence rate of the wireless sensor networks, through Eigenvalue analysis, modeling and simulation.
Date: August 2014
Creator: Hasir, Ibrahim
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effect of Plasma on Silicon Nitride, Oxynitride and Other Metals for Enhanced Epoxy Adhesion for Packaging Applications (open access)

The Effect of Plasma on Silicon Nitride, Oxynitride and Other Metals for Enhanced Epoxy Adhesion for Packaging Applications

The effects of direct plasma chemistries on carbon removal from silicon nitride (SiNx) and oxynitride (SiOxNy ) surfaces and Cu have been studied by x-photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ex-situ contact angle measurements. The data indicate that O2,NH3 and He capacitively coupled plasmas are effective at removing adventitious carbon from silicon nitride (SiNx) and Silicon oxynitride (SiOxNy ) surfaces. O2plasma and He plasma treatment results in the formation of silica overlayer. In contrast, the exposure to NH3 plasma results in negligible additional oxidation of the SiNx and SiOxNy surface. Ex-situ contact angle measurements show that SiNx and SiOxNy surfaces when exposed to oxygen plasma are initially more hydrophilic than surfaces exposed to NH3 plasma and He plasma, indicating that the O2 plasma-induced SiO2 overlayer is highly reactive towards ambient corresponding to increased roughness measured by AFM. At longer ambient exposures (>~10 hours), however surfaces treated by either O2, He or NH3 plasma exhibit similar steady state contact angles, correlated with rapid uptake of adventitious carbon, as determined by XPS. Surface passivation by exposure to molecular hydrogen prior to ambient exposure significantly retards the increase in the contact angle upon the exposure to ambient. The results suggest a practical route to enhancing …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Gaddam, Sneha Sen
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of Board Training on the Relationship Between Board Members and CEOs (open access)

Effects of Board Training on the Relationship Between Board Members and CEOs

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the opinions of chief executive officers (CEOs) and school board chairs of Texas private schools in educational service center (ESC) Regions 10 and 11 toward board training and the potential benefits for the success of their respective roles. Literature regarding private school board training is limited. As a result, most private school boards face challenges regarding school board training expectations, which could affect their roles and the roles of CEOs. The quantitative and qualitative cross-sectional research design examined Texas private school CEOs’ and school board chairs’ perceptions about school board training and the working relationships between Texas school CEOs and school boards. The researcher developed the survey and interview questions used in this study. Responses to a 4-point Likert-type scale instrument, short answer questions, and interviews were solicited from a population of private school CEO and school board chairs within ESC Regions 10 and 11 from schools with an enrollment of at least 100 students and that contained Grades 9 through 12. In-depth Interviews were conducted with 12 private school CEOs and 12 school board chairs with varying levels of school board training. The research findings indicate that board training does make …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Riley, Beth A.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Inbreeding on Fitness Traits in the Critically Endangered Attwater’s Prairie-chicken (open access)

The Effects of Inbreeding on Fitness Traits in the Critically Endangered Attwater’s Prairie-chicken

The goals of captive breeding programs for endangered species include preserving genetic diversity and avoiding inbreeding. Typically this is accomplished by minimizing population mean kinship; however, this approach becomes less effective when errors in the pedigree exist and may result in inbreeding depression, or reduced survival. Here, both pedigree- and DNA-based methods were used to assess inbreeding depression in the critically endangered Attwater’s prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri). Less variation in the pedigree-based inbreeding coefficients and parental relatedness values were observed compared to DNA-based measures suggesting that errors exist in the pedigree. Further, chicks identified with high parental DNA-based relatedness exhibited decreased survival at both 14- and 50-days post-hatch. A similar pattern was observed in later life stages (> 50 days post-hatch) with birds released to the wild; however, the pattern varied depending on the time post-release. While DNA-based inbreeding coefficient was positively correlated with mortality to one month post-release, an opposite pattern was observed at nine months suggesting purging of deleterious alleles. I also investigated whether immunocompetence, or the ability to produce a normal immune response, was correlated with survival; however, no significant correlation was observed suggesting that inbreeding was a more important factor influencing survival. Pairing individuals for breeding …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Hammerly, Susan C.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Providing a Brief Training Package to Daycare Teachers to Teach a Child a Sign for Social Attention (open access)

The Effects of Providing a Brief Training Package to Daycare Teachers to Teach a Child a Sign for Social Attention

Behavioral skills training (BST) packages have been successful in increasing change agents’ correct implementation of various procedures. The current study evaluated the effects of a brief BST package to train daycare teachers to implement incidental teaching procedures with toddlers. The brief BST consisted of a set of written instructions, a two-minute video model, rehearsal, and feedback during session. Results demonstrated that teachers increased their correct implementation of incidental teaching procedures following training. In addition, two of the three toddlers increased the frequency of signs to request attention.
Date: August 2014
Creator: Zimmerman, Valerie L. V.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of Religious Attendance on Suicidal Ideation: Examining Potential Mediators of Social Support, Locus of Control, and Substance Abuse (open access)

Effects of Religious Attendance on Suicidal Ideation: Examining Potential Mediators of Social Support, Locus of Control, and Substance Abuse

Religion has a well-documented relationship with mental health benefits and has consistently demonstrated an impact on several specific mental health concerns, including suicide, generally finding various religious facets to be inversely associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. More specifically, religion has been found to be associated with suicide in a number of ways, including decreased acceptance of suicide, decreased likelihood of suicidal thoughts, decreased likelihood of suicidal attempts, fewer suicide attempts, lower relative risk of suicide, lower suicide rate, and increased reasons for living. Several studies have proposed potential mediators (e.g., social support, locus of control, and substance abuse) of the relationship between religion and mental health, usually in non-clinical samples. The current study sought to examine the association between religious attendance and suicidal ideation using archival data of a clinical sample collected from the University of North Texas Psychology Clinic. Results from this sample revealed no evidence of mediation, instead suggesting a direct effect of religious attendance on suicidal ideation. Two mediation models demonstrated the effects of external locus of control and social support on suicidal ideation. These models are discussed in terms of their directionality, considering the extant research on these associations. Findings of the current study have …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Price, Samantha Danielle
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Social Structure on Social Movements in Turkey (open access)

The Effects of Social Structure on Social Movements in Turkey

The main objective of this study is to provide an in-depth analysis the association between a set of social structural factors and the certain types of social movement events in Turkey. The changing nature and significance of social movements over time and space makes this study necessary to understand and explain new trends related to the parameters that constitute a backdrop for social movements. Social movements are a very common mechanism used by groups of people who decide to take action against an unfair socio-political system, usually an authoritarian government or dictatorship. This kind of reactions, seen in history before, gives birth to a more multidimensional understanding of the relationship between society and state policies. Understanding social movements depends on understanding our own societies, and the social environment in which they are developed. An effective way of understanding this type of social movements is to recognize the perceived concerns of discontented groups in relation to cultural, ideological, economic, and political institutions and values. Social movement events included in the study refers to collective activities organized by two or more people with the purpose of protesting public policies or of increasing public awareness about certain social issues related to human rights …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Can, Ali
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electrodeposition of Nickel and Nickel Alloy Coatings with Layered Silicates for Enhanced Corrosion Resistance and Mechanical Properties (open access)

Electrodeposition of Nickel and Nickel Alloy Coatings with Layered Silicates for Enhanced Corrosion Resistance and Mechanical Properties

The new nickel/layered silicate nanocomposites were electrodeposited from different pHs to study the influence on the metal ions/layered silicate plating solution and on the properties of the deposited films. Nickel/layered silicate nanocomposites were fabricated from citrate bath atacidic pHs (1.6−3.0), from Watts’ type solution (pH ~4-5), and from citrate bath at basic pH (~9). Additionally, the new nickel/molybdenum/layered silicate nanocomposites were electrodeposited from citrate bath at pH 9.5. The silicate, montmorillonite (MMT), was exfoliated by stirring in aqueous solution over 24 hours. The plating solutions were analyzed for zeta potential, particle size, viscosity, and conductivity to investigate the effects of the composition at various pHs. The preferred crystalline orientation and the crystalline size of nickel, nickel/layered silicate, nickel/molybdenum, and nickel/molybdenum/layered silicate films were examined by X-ray diffraction. The microstructure of the coatings and the surface roughness was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Nickel/molybdenum/layered silicate nanocomposites containing low content of layered silicate (1.0 g/L) had increase 32 % hardness and 22 % Young’s modulus values over the pure nickel/molybdenum alloy films. The potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance measurements showed that the nickel/molybdenum/layered silicate nanocomposite layers have higher corrosion resistance in 3.5% NaCl compared to the pure alloy …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Tientong, Jeerapan
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electrodepostion of Iron Oxide on Steel Fiber for Improved Pullout Strength in Concrete (open access)

Electrodepostion of Iron Oxide on Steel Fiber for Improved Pullout Strength in Concrete

Fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) is nowadays extensively used in civil engineering throughout the world due to the composites of FRC can improve the toughness, flexural strength, tensile strength, and impact strength as well as the failure mode of the concrete. It is an easy crazed material compared to others materials in civil engineering. Concrete, like glass, is brittle, and hence has a low tensile strength and shear capacity. At present, there are different materials that have been employed to reinforce concrete. In our experiment, nanostructures iron oxide was prepared by electrodepostion in an electrolyte containing 0.2 mol/L sodium acetate (CH3COONa), 0.01 mol/L sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) and 0.01 mol/L ammonium ferrous sulfate (NH4)2Fe(SO4)2.6H2O under magnetic stirring. The resulted showed that pristine Fe2O3 particles, Fe2O3 nanorods and nanosheets were synthesized under current intensity of 1, 3, 5 mA, respectively. And the pull-out tests were performed by Autograph AGS-X Series. It is discovering that the load force potential of nanostructure fibers is almost 2 times as strong as the control sample.
Date: August 2014
Creator: Liu, Chuangwei
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Elizabeth Bishop in Brasil: An Ongoing Acculturation (open access)

Elizabeth Bishop in Brasil: An Ongoing Acculturation

Elizabeth Bishop (1911–1979), one of the foremost modern American poets, lived in Brasil during seventeen-odd years beginning in 1951. During this time she composed the poetry collection Questions of Travel, stand-alone poems, and fragments as well as prose pieces and translations. This study builds on the work of critics such as Brett Millier and Lorrie Goldensohn who have covered Bishop’s poetry during her Brasil years. However, most American critics have lacked expertise in both Brasilian culture and the Portuguese language that influenced Bishop’s poetry. Since 2000, in contrast, Brasilian critic Paulo Henriques Britto has explored issues of translating Bishop’s poetry into Portuguese, while Maria Lúcia Martins and Regina Przybycien have examined Bishop’s Brasil poems from a Brasilian perspective. However, American and Brasilian scholars have yet to recognize Bishop’s journey of acculturation as displayed through her poetry chronologically or the importance of her belated reception by Brasilian literary and popular culture. This study argues that Bishop’s Brasil poetry reveals her gradual transformation from a tourist outsider to a cultural insider through her encounters with Brasilian history, culture, language, and politics. It encompasses Bishop’s published and unpublished Brasil poetry, including drafts from the Elizabeth Bishop Papers at Vassar College. On a secondary …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Neely, Elizabeth
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Empirical Study of Quality and Satisfaction with a Focus on Creating a Parsimonious Measurement Instrument in an Information Space (open access)

An Empirical Study of Quality and Satisfaction with a Focus on Creating a Parsimonious Measurement Instrument in an Information Space

Student satisfaction and service quality are interrelated constructs that are associated with improving student retention. This research investigated the relationships between these constructs in the context of an institution of higher education as an information system and sought to reduce the dimensionality of what have traditionally been considered orthogonal factors of these constructs in order to produce a parsimonious model and survey instrument that may be useful in assessing and predicting overall student satisfaction and overall service quality. The methods of analysis used in this study are quantitative in nature and included the use of descriptive univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses; exploratory factor analysis to examine latent dimensions within the data; and multiple linear regressions to measure the predictive efficacy of combinations of variables with respect to overall student satisfaction and overall service quality. It was hypothesized that the statistical treatment of the data would show that some dimensions routinely collapse, leading to possible valuable theoretical implications.
Date: August 2014
Creator: Senn, William Donald
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Employee Engagement: The Impact of Spiritual, Mental, Emotional and Physical Elements on the Relationship Between Employee Engagement and Behavioral Outcomes (open access)

Employee Engagement: The Impact of Spiritual, Mental, Emotional and Physical Elements on the Relationship Between Employee Engagement and Behavioral Outcomes

Data were collected by an external company for a healthcare service firm interested in learning the job-related attitudes of their employees. Thus, archival data from 1,287 employees were collected for a different purpose. The survey consisted of 117 questions covering a broad range of constructs. Consequently, the items were used to derive effective measures of employee engagement and behavioral outcomes, as well as the emotional, mental, spiritual and physical dimensions. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis procedures were used to create scales reflecting these four factors. Interestingly, six scales emerged, logically linking to and further specifying the initial dimensions. These were Organizational Linkage, Manager Relationship, Job Fit, Job Clarity, Work Pressure, and Meaningful Work. To test the hypotheses, six separate regression equations were calculated, which statistically supported modification by each of the dimensions. However, statistical significance of the interactions resulted from having a large sample, given the actual association was too small to be meaningful (e.g., a contribution of 0.6% of the variance). As each of the dimensions had a main effect on the behavioral measure during hypothesis testing, exploratory regression equations were calculated to further understand the interrelationships. Of most interest was finding that in the presence of Engagement, the …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Zobal, Cheryl
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library