Resource Type
Serial/Series Title
Degree Department
Music
191
Department of Teacher Education and Administration
29
Department of Psychology
24
Department of Counseling and Higher Education
23
Division of Instrumental Studies
21
Department of Educational Psychology
17
Department of Learning Technologies
14
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
11
Department of Biological Sciences
10
Department of English
9
31 More
Degree Discipline
Degree Level
Country
States
Year
Month
Interacting complex systems: theory and application to real-world situations
The interest in complex systems has increased exponentially during the past years because it was found helpful in addressing many of today's challenges. The study of the brain, biology, earthquakes, markets and social sciences are only a few examples of the fields that have benefited from the investigation of complex systems. Internet, the increased mobility of people and the raising energy demand are among the factors that brought in contact complex systems that were isolated till a few years ago. A theory for the interaction between complex systems is becoming more and more urgent to help mankind in this transition. The present work builds upon the most recent results in this field by solving a theoretical problem that prevented previous work to be applied to important complex systems, like the brain. It also shows preliminary laboratory results of perturbation of in vitro neural networks that were done to test the theory. Finally, it gives a preview of the studies that are being done to create a theory that is even closer to the interaction between real complex systems.
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Piccinini, Nicola
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Territorial Issue Salience: Escalation, Resources, and Ethnicity
Conflict over territory is a major concern to scholars and policymakers, and much of conflict over territory is driven by the issues that make territory more or less attractive, or salient, to states. I examine the impact that tangible and intangible issue salience has on territorial claims, and in particular, how it drives both conflict and conflict escalation. I argue that intangible issues, such as ethnic or religious kin, plays a greater role in driving more severe forms of armed conflict and conflict escalation, compared to tangible factors such as natural resources. This is theorized to be due to the difficulty in dividing territory with intangible elements, as well as domestic political pressure driving leaders to escalate. These suppositions are supported, with the finding that identity plays a particularly crucial and unique role in driving states to more severe forms of armed conflict. Further, I examine how natural resources may be viewed by states by their type and form of utilization, with certain resources likely to be more valuable or strategic to states based on their rarity, concentration, or ease of substitution, based in part on a state's level of development. The results support a fairly uniform role of natural …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Macaulay, Christopher Cody
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Physical Literacy and Intention to Play Interscholastic Sports in Sixth Grade Physical Education Students
Prevalence of physical inactivity in children and adolescents and the associated epidemic of obesity are increasing concerns. U.S. national health statistics indicate early adolescence (i.e., 10-14 years) appears to be a period of importance regarding physical activity, sedentary behavior, health-related physical fitness, and obesity trends. Considering a significant portion of their waking hours are spent in school, it is widely held that schools' should play a significant role in increasing students' physical activity and health-related physical fitness. To do this, physical education in schools focus on providing quality physical education programs that produce physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of health-producing physical activity. In effect, a call for developing a comprehensive and valid measure of physical literacy has been aptly expressed. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation was to test the psychometric properties of proposed models of physical literacy, examine correlates of the physical literacy factor, and investigate the significance of the relationship between physical literacy and interscholastic sport intention via structural equation modeling. Participants were 400 (231 female, 169 male) sixth-grade physical education students who completed three brief surveys assessing maturation, self-efficacy, self-esteem, knowledge and understanding, motivation, physical activity and sport …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Farren, Gene Lee
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Transfer of Learning in a K-8 STEM Academy Project Based Learning (PBL) Environment
The multiple case study investigated levels and types of transfer observed in a K-8 STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) academy in a project-based learning (PBL) environment. The academy was constructed two years prior to the study and conducive to PBL instruction. The students and teachers were in the second year of using PBL in the subject of science at the time of the study. The grade levels observed were second, fourth, and sixth grade and each grade level had three PBL units examined from the beginning to the end of the unit. The nine case studies, from the three different grade levels, were observed to identify Haskell's levels and types of transfer as determined by project requirements, observation of students, completed projects, and student interviews. The findings from this study showed that while projects moved the students beyond knowledge acquisition to application of knowledge in completed projects such as books, films, dances, etc., higher levels of transfer and more types of transfer were not evident. Therefore, based on the results of this study, the evidence of lower levels of transfer suggests that the PBL units, though inventive and potentially valuable to student learning, were not designed for higher levels of …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Fuller, Mary A.
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
The Acute Toxic Effects of the Synthetic Cannabinoid, JWH-018 on the Cardiovascular and Neuroendocrine Systems in Ictalurus punctatus (Channel Catfish)
Cannabinoid (CB) receptors have been found in most vertebrates that have been studied. The location of various CB receptors in the body and brain are known, but their physiological functions are not fully understood. The effects CBs have on the cardiovascular system have been of growing interest in recent years. Increasing reports from emergency departments and law enforcement agencies detail acute cardiovascular and psychological effects from synthetic CB intoxication, such as JWH-018. This major health concern is substantiated by governmental agencies like the CDC and NIDA. This pilot study investigates the acute toxic effects of the synthetic CB, JWH-018, on the cardiovascular and neuroendocrine systems in Ictalurus punctatus (channel catfish). Research in organisms besides the traditional mammal models can provide new insights into CB function and physiology. Ictalurus punctatus lend multiple benefits as a model organism that permits researchers to investigate in vivo effects of both cardiovascular and neuroendocrine systems without much influence from traditional sampling methods, and further more provide ample size and tissue to perform specific cardiovascular experiments. Multiple methods were used to assess cardiovascular function and sympathetic nervous system activation. Two different doses, low (500 µg/kg) and high 1,500 µg/kg, of JWH-018 were evaluated in the study. …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Taylor, Dedric Esmond
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Transformative Learning Theory as a Basis for Identifying Barriers to Faculty Confidence in Online Instruction
This study applied the stages of transformative learning to faculty perceptions and application of best practices to online learning. Research questions included: Can transformative learning theory constructs be used to identify potential barriers in faculty development and delivery of online instruction?; How does the stage of transformative learning of online faculty relate to their perceptions about online learning and their application of best practices?; Is there a correlation between stage of transformative learning and the amount of experience with online instruction a faculty member has? Principal component analysis and cluster analysis support a four-component solution. The four constructs equate to Mezirow's four stages of learning: transforming frames of reference through critical reflection of assumptions, validating contested beliefs through discourse, taking action on one's reflective insight, and critically assessing it. Multiple regression analyses were run to predict faculty perceptions on the identified components. Three of these were statistically significant based on years of experience teaching online, the number of professional development workshops taken on online teaching, or both. While the instrument appears to be a valid measurement of transformation of frame of reference, examination of previously contested beliefs, and critical assessment of action, further efforts will be needed before this is …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Allen, Julia Elizabeth
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Teacher Self-Efficacy for STEM Talent Development
In order to implement more science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) into K12 classrooms, it is important to find out whether teachers are comfortable with this pedagogy. To determine teachers' current self-efficacy of STEM pedagogy, teachers in a southern state in the United States were asked to enlighten researchers into this phenomenon. Participants were K12 teachers (n = 119) from a public school district undertaking a district-wide STEM initiative. A measure of STEM teacher self-efficacy and a demographic questionnaire were administered online to participants. STEM teacher self-efficacy data were analyzed, along with demographic data, using descriptive discriminant analysis (DDA) and canonical correlation analysis (CCA). Results suggest some demographic variables are more predictive of STEM self-efficacy (gender, grade level taught, feelings of administrative support, and professional development sessions attended) than others (whether or not gifted courses are taught, age, and length of teaching experience. This data should be used by school administrators that seek to begin or improve STEM pedagogy in their schools.
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Margot, Kelly
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Comparing Three Approaches for Handling a Fourth Level of Nesting Structure in Cluster-Randomized Trials
This study compared 3 approaches for handling a fourth level of nesting structure when analyzing data from a cluster-randomized trial (CRT). CRTs can include 3 levels of nesting: repeated measures, individual, and cluster levels. However, above the cluster level, there may sometimes be an additional potentially important fourth level of nesting (e.g., schools, districts, etc., depending on the design) that is typically ignored in CRT data analysis. The current study examined the impact of ignoring this fourth level, accounting for it using a model-based approach, and accounting it using a design-based approach on parameter and standard error (SE) estimates. Several fixed effect and random effect variance parameters and SEs were biased across all 3 models. In the 4-level model, most SE biases decreased as the number of level 3 clusters increased and as the number of level 4 clusters decreased. Also, random effect variance biases decreased as the number of level 3 clusters increased. In the 3-level and complex models, SEs became more biased as the weight level 4 carried increased (i.e., larger intraclass correlation, more clusters at that level). The current results suggest that if a meaningful fourth level of nesting exists, future researchers should account for it using …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Glaman, Ryan
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Fabrication of Photonic Crystal Templates through Holographic Lithography and Study of their Optical and Plasmonic Properties in Aluminium Doped Zinc Oxide
This dissertation focuses on two aspects of integrating near-infrared plasmonics with electronics with the intent of developing the platform for future photonics. The first aspect focuses on fabrication by introducing and developing a simple, single reflective optical element capable of high–throughput, large scale fabrication of micro- and nano-sized structure templates using holographic lithography. This reflective optical element is then utilized to show proof of concept in fabricating three dimensional structures in negative photoresists as well as tuning subwavelength features in two dimensional compound lattices for the fabrication of dimer and trimer antenna templates. The second aspect focuses on the study of aluminum zinc oxide (AZO), which belongs to recently popularized material class of transparent conducting oxides, capable of tunable plasmonic capabilities in the near-IR regime. Holographic lithography is used to pattern an AZO film with a square lattice array that are shown to form standing wave resonances at the interface of the AZO and the substrate. To demonstrate device level integration the final experiment utilizes AZO patterned gratings and measures the variation of diffraction efficiency as a negative bias is applied to change the AZO optical properties. Additionally efforts to understand the behavior of these structures through optical measurements is …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
George, David Ray
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Among the Voices Voiceless: Setting the Words of Samuel Beckett
Among the Voices Voiceless is a composition for flute (doubling piccolo), clarinet (doubling bass clarinet), viola, cello, percussion, piano, and electronics, based on the poem "What would I do without this world faceless incurious" by Samuel Beckett. The piece is a setting for disembodied voice: the vocal part exists solely in the electronics. Having no physical body, the voice is obscured as the point of empathy for the audience. In addition, instrumental solos compete for focus during the work's twenty minute duration. In passages including a soloist, the soloist functions simultaneously as antagonist and avatar to the disembodied voice. Spoken word recordings and electronic manipulation of instrumental material provides further layers of ambiguity. The companion critical essay "Among the Voices Voiceless": Setting the Words of Samuel Beckett proposes the distillation of Beckett's style into the elements of prosaicness, repetition, fragmentation, ambiguity, and symmetry. Discussions of Beckett's works such as Waiting for Godot and Molloy demonstrate these elements in his practice. This framework informs the examination of two other musical settings of Beckett's poetry: Neither by Morton Feldman and Odyssey by Roger Reynolds. Finally, these elements are used to analyze and elucidate the compositional decisions made in Among the Voices Voiceless.
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Lyszczarz, Joseph E.
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Comparison of the Méthode Pour La Guitare by Fernando Sor with the Méthode Complète Pour La Guitare Par Ferdinand Sor, Rédigée Et Augmentée De Nombreux Exemples Et Leçons Suivis D'une Notice Sur La 7e Corde by Napoléon Coste
The nineteenth century presents a great increase in publications of guitar methods. Most authors of the time published several versions of their works. Fernando Sor, perhaps the most prominent guitar composers of the time—whose Méthode is regarded today as the most important of the period—only published one edition. However, Napoleon Coste took on the task to do a second account. The literature reviewed shows substantial existing information regarding background, type of text, tone, and contents of Sor's work, but comparisons to date are not substantial. Therefore, there is a need to compare these two texts side by side to yield a complete view of their pairing. The existing negative views of Coste's edition hinder the importance of Coste's work as reference to Segovia's publication of Sor studies, and as a clearer pedagogical application of many of Sor's concepts which are sidetracked by his response to criticism and his elaborations in matters beyond his main subject matter. I provide a comprehensive review of Sor's method, an outline and a consideration of his concepts. Then I offer a complete English translation of Coste's method which is inexistent until now. The comparison follows pointing at differences and similarities. Results show that Coste clarifies …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Rodriguez, Sergio (Guitarist)
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Elections and Authoritarian Rule: Causes and Consequences of Adoption of Grassroots Elections in China
This dissertation investigates the relationship between elections and authoritarian rule with a focus on the case of China's adoption of elections at the grassroots level. In this dissertation, I look at the incentives facing Chinese local governments in choosing between holding competitive elections or state-controlled elections, and how the selection of electoral rules shapes the public's preferences over political institutions and influences the citizens' political behaviors, especially voting in elections and participation in contentious activities. The overarching theme in this dissertation proposes that the sources and consequences of Chinese local elections are conditioned on the state-owned resources and the governing costs. When the amount of state-owned resources to rule the local society is limited, the paucity of resources will incentivize authoritarian governments to liberalize grassroots elections to offset the governance costs. The various levels of election liberalization will lead to different consequences in the public's political behavior. An abundance of state-owned resources not only discourages rulers from sharing power with the local society, but also supplies the rulers with strong capacity to obtain loyalty from voters when elections are adopted. As a result, elections under authoritarian governments with an abundance of state-owned resources will see more loyalist voters than elections …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Tzeng, Wei Feng
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
The Effect of Instructional Expenditures on College Readiness
With limited state and local funds as well as a growing student population, how elected decision makers allocate money to impact college readiness needs to be explored. The purpose of this research study was to explore the impact of instructional expenditures on educational outcomes. This multivariate multiple regression study specifically explored the impact of instructional expenditure ratios and per pupil instructional expenditures of every public school district in Texas on student performance college readiness indicators measured by state assessments (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness [STAAR] Mathematics and English Language Arts [ELA] test scores) and national assessments (American College Test [ACT] and Scholastic Assessment Test [SAT] scores) over a 5-year period. Fifteen different regression models were established with various significant predictors of expenditures and revenue funds. These models explained up to 46% of the variance for college readiness scores over the 5-year period.
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Blair, Cody
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
The Influence of Chinese Instruments on the Violin: A Practice Guide of Three Violin Techniques
Contemporary professional violinists face constant exposure to multicultural compositions. For best results, they should be able to understand, capture, and express the subtleties of different styles. The violin and its repertoire spread to China through European missionaries during the late seventeenth century and continued to be developed by Chinese scientists and musicians who studied abroad. During the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Chinese composers wrote many violin pieces inspired by the unique sounds of Chinese instruments. Additionally, Chinese music scholars wrote numerous essays to discuss the new Chinese style. However, much of this research has been focused on the composers and the structures of the compositions rather than on the details of violin techniques necessary to play the repertoire. The techniques in Chinese violin compositions are unique and are influenced by the traditional instruments including string, wind, and percussion instruments. Furthermore, the style of such compositions is affected by the elements of Chinese culture, such as the language, the elite society and its poetic tradition, and historical legends and events. This dissertation provides examples of Chinese violin repertoire which demonstrate the principles of three main violin techniques in the Chinese style: slides, chords, and pizzicati. In order to help professional violinists …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Gao, Jie (Violinist)
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
A Guide to Suitable Bass Solo Vocal Repertoire by J. S. Bach for Collegiate Baritone
In the Baroque period, the baritone voice was not yet well-defined, but many composers wrote vocal pieces with a range appropriate for the modern baritone voice. Composers used the general categories of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass for solo voice in their compositions. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was no different from other Baroque composers in writing solo works to be performed by one of the four main voice types. The various ranges and tessituras of J. S. Bach's vocal works for bass solo voice are not limited to being sung by low basses, but may also be sung by more medium ranged baritones. The purpose of this research is to guide collegiate voice teachers and their baritone students in selecting appropriate repertoire from the works of Bach on the basis of each students' level of development and to categorize four groups of bass solos by Bach for collegiate baritone students: beginning level for freshmen, intermediate level for sophomores, advanced level for juniors and seniors, and pre-professional level for seniors and graduate students. This research was prepared in conjunction with a DMA lecture-recital of eight bass solos for collegiate baritone voice, selected from the study; two vocal works for each proficiency …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Chang, Chul Woong
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Controlled Vocabularies in the Digital Age: Are They Still Relevant?
Keyword searching and controlled vocabularies such as Library of Congress subject headings (LCSH) proved to work well together in automated technologies and the two systems have been considered complimentary. When the Internet burst onto the information landscape, users embraced the simplicity of keyword searching of this resource while researchers and scholars seemed unable to agree on how best to make use of controlled vocabularies in this huge database. This research looked at a controlled vocabulary, LCSH, in the context of keyword searching of a full text database. The Internet and probably its most used search engine, Google, seemed to have set a standard that users have embraced: a keyword-searchable single search box on an uncluttered web page. Libraries have even introduced federated single search boxes to their web pages, another testimony to the influence of Google. UNT's Thesis and Dissertation digital database was used to compile quantitative data with the results input into an EXCEL spreadsheet. Both Library of Congress subject headings (LCSH) and author-assigned keywords were analyzed within selected dissertations and both systems were compared. When the LCSH terms from the dissertations were quantified, the results showed that from a total of 788 words contained in the 207 LCSH …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Baker, William
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Saudi Mothers' Perspectives on the Influence of Acculturation on their Childrearing Beliefs and Behaviors of their Children
There are a considerable number of Saudi Arabian students who attend U.S. schools. To date, no published studies exist that relate to the Saudi Arabian students, their families, and how they acculturate to the American society. Acculturation affects parents and children in different ways, and it can affect the way parents raise their children. Using semi–structured interviews, this study examined Saudi mothers' perspectives on acculturation to American society and how those perspectives affect their childrearing beliefs and their children's behaviors. The descriptive qualitative study acknowledges mothers' perceptions about adaptation of Saudi children to American society and if those parents observe behavioral changes in their children. The results showed there are some changes that occurred regarding parental beliefs of parents due to acculturation, but there were not any behavioral problems caused by acculturation to the American culture in the Saudi children.
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Kherais, Walaa
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Place-Based and Intergenerational Art Education
This qualitative inquiry explored how art educators might broaden their views of place through critical encounters with art, local visual culture, and working with older artists. I combined place-based (PB) education and intergenerational (IG) learning as the focus of an art education curriculum writing initiative with in-service art educators within a museum setting to produce PBIG art education. This study engaged art educators in cooperative action research using a multi-modal approach, including identifying and interviewing local artists to construct new understandings about local place and art to share with students and community. I used critical reflection in our cooperative action research by troubling paradoxes in local visual culture, which formed views of place including Indigenous cultures. Using Deleuze's Logic of Sense (LOS) theories of sense and event, enabled concept development through embracing the paradoxes of this research as sense producing. LOS theory of duration complements IG learning by clarifying the contributions of place and time to memory and experience. Duration suggests that place locates the virtual past, which is actualized through memories--one of the shared experiences of IG learning. Rethinking IG relationships as a sharing of experience and memory while positioning place as a commonality, dismantles ageist notions by offering …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Langdon, Elizabeth Ann
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
The Relationship between Teacher Attrition and Student Achievement in Reading among Middle School Students
The purpose of this study was to determine whether a significant relationship existed between teacher attrition and student success in middle school reading by conducting a quantitative analysis. Additionally, the inclusion of school demographic characteristics were included in the model to consider previous findings referencing the challenges schools face in attracting and retaining teachers in low performing urban schools with high populations of economically disadvantaged and minority students. In this analysis, the relationship between teacher attrition and student achievement in middle school as measured by the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) for reading among middle school students in Grades 6, 7, and 8, as reported on the Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR), were examined. The regression models used to analyze the three research questions addressed in the study include an examination of teacher attrition on campus pass rates, and grade level pass rates for sixth, seventh, and eighth grades as measured by the STAAR Reading assessment. The data utilized in this study were collected from seven North Texas middle schools in a fast growth school district together with their comparable campuses as identified by the Texas Education Agency for the school years 2013-2014 through 2015-2016. The results …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Perkins, Gwendolyn Moseley
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
MBE Growth and Characterization of Graphene on Well-Defined Cobalt Oxide Surfaces: Graphene Spintronics without Spin Injection
The direct growth of graphene by scalable methods on magnetic insulators is important for industrial development of graphene-based spintronic devices, and a route towards substrate-induced spin polarization in graphene without spin injection. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), low energy electron diffraction LEED, electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) demonstrate the growth of Co3O4(111) and CoO(111) to thicknesses greater than 100 Å on Ru(0001) surfaces, by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The results obtained show that the formation of the different cobalt oxide phases is O2 partial pressure dependent under same temperature and vacuum conditions and that the films are stoichiometric. Electrical I-V measurement of the Co3O4(111) show characteristic hysteresis indicative of resistive switching and thus suitable for advanced device applications. In addition, the growth of Co0.5Fe0.5O(111) was also achieved by MBE and these films were observed to be OH-stabilized. C MBE yielded azimuthally oriented few layer graphene on the OH-terminated CoO(111), Co0.5Fe0.5O(111) and Co3O4(111). AES confirms the growth of (111)-ordered sp2 C layers. EELS data demonstrate significant graphene-to-oxide charge transfer with Raman spectroscopy showing the formation of a graphene-oxide buffer layer, in excellent agreement with previous theoretical predictions. XPS data show the formation of C-O covalent bonding between …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Olanipekun, Opeyemi B
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Assessment of Competencies among Doctoral Trainees in Psychology
The recent shift to a culture of competence has permeated several areas of professional psychology, including competency identification, competency-based education training, and competency assessment. A competency framework has also been applied to various programs and specialty areas within psychology, such as clinical, counseling, clinical health, school, cultural diversity, neuro-, gero-, child, and pediatric psychology. Despite the spread of competency focus throughout psychology, few standardized measures of competency assessment have been developed. To the authors' knowledge, only four published studies on measures of competency assessment in psychology currently exist. While these measures demonstrate significant steps in progressing the assessment of confidence, three of these measures were designed for use with individual programs, two of these international (i.e., UK and Taiwan). The current study applied the seminal Competency Benchmarks, via a recently adapted benchmarks form (i.e., Practicum Evaluation form; PEF), to practicum students at the University of North Texas. In addition to traditional supervisor ratings, the present study also involved self-, peer supervisor, and peer supervisee ratings to provide 360-degree evaluations. Item-response theory (IRT) was used to evaluate the psychometric properties of the PEF and inform potential revisions of this form. Supervisor ratings of competency were found to fit the Rasch model …
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Price, Samantha
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
The Role Humor Plays in Facilitating Rapport, Engagement, and Motivation in Graduate Online Learning Environments
This study seeks to explore, using an interpretivist phenomenological approach, how humor may impact rapport, engagement, and motivation in graduate online learning environments. Through detailed qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews, direct observation, and demographic survey data, emergent themes were identified that support the use of appropriate humor to create a positive online environment in which learning can take place. Evidence indicates that humor, when used purposefully and appropriately, is a valuable tool for promoting rapport and engagement amongst course members through community-building and enhanced interpersonal connections. The results of this study reveal the importance of finding common ground and shared experiences to improve the overall social and communicative culture of an online course. The results also support the idea that online instructors should make a great effort in connecting with students in online courses and must make a greater effort to appropriately engage in their online courses. Appropriate recommendations are made for practical application of humor to support pedagogy, as well as recommendations for future research on humor in educational environments.
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Steele, James
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Nightmare Disorder Prevalence as Defined by the DSM-5 in a College Sample
The nightmare prevalence literature to date has largely focused on nightmare episode severity (i.e. frequency), with 8%-87% of individuals reporting these events in the past week to year. While this has helped to determine the prevalence of these events, focus on the episode severity alone is problematic because it means little is known about the actual prevalence of nightmare disorder. Moreover, focus on episode severity likely overestimates the actual prevalence of clinically significant nightmares while also obscuring clinically significant consequences of the disorder. Understanding the prevalence of nightmare disorder can help guide treatment planning and interventions. The present study recruited UNT undergraduates (N = 372; 351 analyzed) and managed all participant data using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap). The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of nightmare disorder, as stated in the DSM-5, to facilitate accurate characterization of the disorder. Additionally, as part of the secondary aim the influence of gender on nightmare disorder status and psychological wellbeing as measured by psychological and sleep outcome variables was examined. Finally, comparisons of individuals with DSM-5-defined nightmare disorder to those without the disorder were conducted on previously examined correlates (e.g., trauma symptoms, depression).
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Estevez, Rosemary
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Extended String Techniques and Special Effects in Arnold Schoenberg's String Quartet No. 1 and Its Significance in Chamber Music Literature
Arnold Schoenberg's String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7 stands out as being the first chamber music piece to use a vast number and variety of extended string techniques within one composition. This paper examines a brief history of extended string techniques in chamber music, analyses the unique ways in which Schoenberg applied extended string techniques to manipulate motives in his Op. 7 quartet, and ultimately shows that Schoenberg's use of extended string techniques influenced future composers to employ even more extended techniques and special effects in their own twentieth-century chamber music.
Date:
August 2017
Creator:
Greenfield, Leah
Object Type:
Thesis or Dissertation
System:
The UNT Digital Library