White paper discussing qualitative research conducted by the University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries regarding perceptions of quality by metadata creators and their managers. These perceptions of metadata quality are intended to identify gaps in tools and interfaces used to create metadata.

Photograph of the 1974 art installation by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels in Amarillo, TX known as 'Cadillac Ranch'.

Photograph of the marker located near the sculpture "Ozymandias on the Plains." There is a metal plaque set at an angle in a stone, which is is covered in graffiti; the marker is in a similar style as other Texas State Historical Association Markers, but lacks identifying information.

Panoramic Photograph of the 1974 art installation by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels in Amarillo, TX known as 'Cadillac Ranch'.

Photograph of the 1974 art installation by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels in Amarillo, TX known as 'Cadillac Ranch'.

This qualitative case study explored how school district and campus-level administrators coordinate resources and services for currently enrolled homeless students. Participants in this study included three district-level administrators designated as the homeless liaison and three campus principals. Data collected and analyzed included audio recordings of semi-structured interviews of each participant, documents at the district and campus-levels, school board meeting notes, and research field notes. The findings suggested that district and campus stakeholders embraced a shared vision of collaborative policy implementation to support the needs of students living in homelessness conditions. Findings also suggested that moral purpose is reflected through the intentional, collaborative efforts of district and campus administrators. Additionally, the findings suggested that social capital develops in the collaborative processes between district and campus leaders while they broker resources to foster developing social capital of this student population. Mobilization of resources through collaborative policy implementation can foster cohesion while supporting students and can counter the impact of living in homelessness conditions.

The Dallas Morning News is a leader in using engagement journalism to increase and retain digital subscribers. This ethnography examined the efficacy of the engagement journalism work by the News in rebuilding trust and forming relationships with its audience. This research is exceptionally timely as more newsrooms are erecting paywalls to their content and asking their audiences to offer monetary support in exchange for greater access and engagement by journalists. This work is examined through two mass communications theories: functionalism, which says a society can be viewed like an ecosystem as a "system in balance" consisting of complex sets of interrelated activities, each of which supports the others in maintaining the system as a whole; and the dual responsibility model, which says that companies should operate in the best interests of all in the community who depend on them, not only those who benefit financially. Additionally, the work is considered from a human-interaction design standpoint to evaluate whether the News has created affordances that enable the journalists and the readers to communicate, and whether the journalists are effectively practicing service design when publishing news and information for the audience.

The northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) population decline is a severe, rangewide phenomenon beginning >150 years ago and continuing today. In this investigation, I: 1. document the timeline of bobwhite population decline and unintended genetic consequences of attempted remedies, 2) develop a model useful for predicting possible locations of potentially sustainable bobwhite populations in semiarid rangeland in Texas and Oklahoma, and 3) examine the relationship between population monitoring data and meteorological factors. While breeding season call counts of male bobwhite have been used for >70 years to provide estimates of fall populations for hunting, most studies of call counts have focused on mathematics and statistical accuracy of the count, largely overlooking the influence of meteorological factors on call counts. Here, I present the results of >4,400 individual point counts and examine their relationship with meteorological variables recorded at each stop. Humidity was positively correlated with the number of birds recorded (ρ = 0.275, p < 0.001) and temperature was negatively correlated (ρ = -0.252, p < 0.001). The number of birds recorded was significantly higher in wet years than in drought years. There was no significant correlation between wind velocity and number of birds recorded. These results suggest that, while weather …

Incorporating insulation material with phase change materials (PCMs) could help enhance the insulation capability for further building energy savings by reducing the HVAC loadings. During the phase change process between the solid and liquid states, heat is being absorbed or released by PCMs depending on the surrounding temperature. This research explores the benefits of a polyurethane (PU)-PCM composite insulation material through infiltrating paraffin wax as PCM into PU open cell foam. The new PU-PCM composite provides extra shielding from the exterior hot temperatures for buildings. Through this study, it was demonstrated that PU-PCM composite insulation could potentially help building energy savings through reducing the loads on the HVAC systems based on the building energy modeling using EnergyPlus. The Zero Energy Lab (ZØE) at the University of North Texas was modeled and studied in the EnergyPlus. It is a detached building with all wall facades exposed to the ambient. It was determined that the new PU-PCM insulation material could provide 14% total energy saving per year and reduce the electricity use due to cooling only by around 30%.

Since the adoption of neoliberalism, many cities have taken to integrating nature with capital accumulation to create a sense of place. This has been closely tied to urban greening, or green "revitalization." As part of curating this desired character, city governments are working to roll out plans to restore and renew neighborhoods using their natural landscapes through methods such as reforestation, the creation of parks, and commercial development. These cities, deemed Entrepreneurial cities, are increasingly incorporating natural or green spaces into their development of character as part of their branding schemes. This research focuses on the role of nature as the site of economic development and community revitalization within Dallas, Texas. This research examines how the City of Dallas uses nature to attract capital, and how the narratives of development relate to residents' visions for development in the historically neglected Joppa neighborhood in the Trinity River Corridor. Development near Joppa could be an example of how the natural landscape is being used to not only attract developers but also to bring a different ‘class' of resident into the area. By exploring this intersection of nature and capital in Dallas, we can better understand the nuanced ways through which the neoliberalization …

While the idea of source or teacher credibility dates back to the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, research to connect this perceived credibility with individual affective and cognitive growth is a more recent phenomenon. In 2009, a credibility learning model connecting perceived credibility to cognitive learning with university-aged subjects was established. In contrast, this research project focused on determining a link between K-12 students' perception of teacher credibility, as determined by a student survey, to cognitive academic achievement as rated by a standardized test, the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR). The survey data were obtained through a pre-existing campus climate survey that was created to assist campus and district administrators in determining campus needs and developing a campus improvement plan. The assessment data were obtained through the Texas Education Agency database. The data were analyzed using quantitative research methods, including traditional univariate and multivariate statistical techniques such as principal component analysis, chi-square tests for independence, and binomial logistic regression. The findings of the study revealed no link between the survey instrument used and student academic achievement on the STAAR reading and mathematics assessment. The survey used did not align with the review of literature regarding student's perception of teacher …

The dataset was developed to support research intended to develop a spatially-explicit model that prioritizes riparian areas in terms of potential for ecosystem restoration specifically to improve water quality downstream of the riparian area, and ultimately improve drinking water quality. The model was developed and then tested on the Lewisville Lake watershed (north central Texas, just north of Dallas, Texas, USA). The dataset contains environmental data for 90 sub-watersheds that form the overall Lewisville Lake watershed with a corresponding identification map.

Slides and speaker notes for a portion of the panel “The State of Open Access in Texas Institutions” at the Texas Conference on Digital Libraries 2019.

As a form of tax and expenditure limitations, property tax exemptions result in an utility gap between two groups of population residing in the same community: free-riders who are paying less than they receive and contributors who are paying more than they receive. This utility gap is problematic to municipalities because contributors may exit the city as this gap becomes wider. How do municipalities respond to the increasing amount of property tax exemptions? Using 41 Texas cities data from 2000 to 2016, this dissertation examines how property tax exemptions affect municipalities' fiscal behavior. The analysis indicates that property tax exemptions lead to higher property tax burden, change municipalities' revenue structure, and lead to less capital spending.

Passed in 1985, the Texas Education Code (TEC) §38.003, Screening and Treatment of Dyslexia and Related Disorders, required public school districts and charters to identify and provide remediation services for students with dyslexia. While Texas was the first state to pass such a requirement, the question remains: What is the prevalence and proportionality of dyslexia in Texas public school districts and charters? In Phase 1 of this study, a secondary analysis using point prevalence and disproportionality calculations was conducted to analyze the impact of this more than 30-year-old law. In order to better help understand these findings, semi-structured interviews with district leaders were conducted in Phase 2 to gain insight on how students were identified with dyslexia across the state. The results of Phase 1 showed the estimated prevalence of dyslexia in Texas public school districts and charters to be low in comparison to the literature. Additionally, the findings suggested a discrepancy in identifications between gender and district type (public school versus charter) and across racial and ethnic groups. Meanwhile, the results of Phase 2 revealed that leadership, support, funding, and accountability impact dyslexia identifications. This study emphasizes the need to further explore and analyze how to best identify and …

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Texas in Dallas, Texas offers an array of services and programs to residents in southern Dallas and other areas. However, interest in the state of access to veterinary care has been questioned for southern Dallas residents. In an area that faces certain compounding stressors, such as food deserts and transportation difficulties, a lack of access to veterinary care for pet owners is considered an additional possible stressor. Pet owners in southern Dallas, along with the SPCA of Texas, contemplate how to best provide medical care for local pets. In this body of work, I describe community access to veterinary services in southern Dallas. I provide a resident-centered explanation based on in-depth interviews with locals that discuss the current state of access to veterinary services while simultaneously analyzing the links between access to veterinary care, the area of southern Dallas itself, and ongoing issues with roaming and stray dogs.

Words and Pictures is an exhibition and catalogue of paintings and sculptures by Texas artist Vernon Fisher, dated 1980 to 2019. Curator Tracee Robertson and critic Dave Hickey explore themes and methods in Fisher’s art. Fisher came of age in the twentieth century, characterized as the bloodiest and most brutal century in history. Like many artists of his era, including poets and writers who inspire him, Fisher explores what it means to be lost in the face of indifference. His art is a personal expression of what life feels like. His paintings, typified by compositions of floating imagery and overlaid texts, present an unresolved narrative, intended to leave viewers with an overarching sense of emotion. Embracing postmodern humor, irreverence, and anti-closure, Vernon Fisher paints images of hopeful uncertainty.

Monthly newspaper providing news and information to the Tarrant, Dallas, and Denton County Latino communities along with advertising.

Northward facing photograph from the Fort Davis National Historic Site parade grounds towards the chapel, officers quarters, and the North Ridge.

Photograph of the Marathon Baptist Church, est. 1898, completed in 1910.

Texas Historical Commision Marker Located in the Terlingua, TX Cemetery. Text reads: "Villalba family tradition traces their lineage to Algiers where several generations were members of the Order of Santiago. In 1764, Federico's great-grandfather, Juan Villalba, traveled to New Spain (Mexico). He founded Rancho Villalba in 1773 near present-day Aldama, Chihuahua, where Federico Villalba was born in 1858. Federico left his family's ranch and moved to San Carlos near the U.S.-Mexico border. He set up a store, selling rope, leather goods and sundries; it soon became important in San Carlos, and eventually supplied the military in the area. In the early 1880s, Villalba expanded his business interests into Texas. He settled in an area he called Cerro Villalba and opened a store. In 1889, Federico married Maria Cortez and began purchasing land. In 1902, Villalba located an outcrop of cinnabar, a mineral that produces mercury, and became the first Hispanic in the county to file a mining claim. Villalba, Tiburcio de la Rosa, D. Alarcon, and William study entered into a partnership that covered six parcels of twenty-one acres each, including what became known as the study butte mine. The Associated Mining Community took on the mine's name (Study Butte), …

Track-side photograph of the Alpine Train Depot, commissioned by the Texas and New Orleans Railroad and built in 1946.

Grave in Terlingua Cemetery. Marker reads: "GONZO Mark J. Lemke Arrived: 1/5/56 Departed: 5/14/07 Live Life Large" Memorialized with buddah statues, prayer flags, flowers, an oar, assorted broken pottery.

Photograph of the rear side of the old Southern Pacific Railroad depot. (Located at 3rd and Ave. J.)