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Question of Honor (open access)

Question of Honor

My thesis, Question of Honor, addresses the premise of women's lack of choice in relation to men's honor, and vengeance; concepts that are closely connected to the oppressive world of women in Pakistan. These works deal with concepts of purity and minor transgressions that have an impact on the lives of women in relation to family names and the associative feelings of humiliation linked to men. The subtle nuances of women and their reactions to oppression give a strong emotive content to the work.
Date: May 2004
Creator: Agha, Anila Quayyum
System: The UNT Digital Library

Baeyer-Villiger Oxidation of 1,7- & 1,9-dibromopentacyclo[5.4.0.02,6.03,10.05,9]undecane-8,11-dione

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Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of 1,9-dibromopentacyclo[5.4.0.02,6.03,10.05,9]undecane-8,11-dione (1,9-dibromo-PCU-8,11-dione) was performed by using an excess amount of m-chloroperbenzoic acid (3 equivalents) and resulted in the formation of the corresponding monolactone. The reaction would not proceed to the dilactone stage. The structure of the reaction product was established unequivocally via single crystal X-ray diffraction. Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of 1,9-dibromo-PCU-8,11-dione using ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) was also performed and afforded a mixture of lactones. Only one of these lactones, which also contained an alkene functionality, could be isolated and characterized. 1,7-dibromo-PCU-8,11-dione was also reacted with CAN, yielding the mono-lactone, which has also been characterized.
Date: May 2004
Creator: Akinola, Adeniyi O.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Evaluation of virulence in wild type and pyrimidine auxotrophs of Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the eukaryotic model system Caenorhabditis elegans.

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The human opportunistic pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, has been shown to kill the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. C. elegans has been a valuable model for the study of bacterial pathogenesis, and has reinforced the notion that common virulence and host defense mechanisms exist. Recently, the pyrimidine pathway was shown to regulate virulence levels. Therefore, mutations in the pyrimidine pathway of PAO1 showed decrease virulence in the nematode. When starving the nematode, bacterial resistance was also shown to increase. It was hypothesized that starvation induced the DAF pathway, which regulates the transcription of genes involved with the antibacterial defense mechanism. Further research will be conducted to test this theory by performing RNAi experiments for the genes functioning in the antibacterial defense mechanism.
Date: August 2004
Creator: Anvari, Sara
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Analysis of Adler's Theory and the Female Criminal (open access)

An Analysis of Adler's Theory and the Female Criminal

This research paper addressed the following question: Do select case studies conform to Dr. Freda Adler's theory regarding socio-economic influences on female criminal behavior or dispute her theory? My research involved three female criminals: Karla Faye Tucker, Andrea Yates, and Susan Smith. I addressed Adler's theory in detail, other theories, the makeup of the female criminal and various female crimes. This study provided evidence that all three case studies conform to Adler's theory. nIn accordance with Adler's theory, each of these three females committed crimes of accessibility. None of the three individuals sought to commit a premeditated act or to murder unknown victims. They were motivated by emotions arising at a point in time when access/opportunity presented itself.
Date: August 2004
Creator: Armentrout, Elizabeth G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Dallas as Region: Mark Lemmon's Gothic Revival Highland Park Presbyterian Church (open access)

Dallas as Region: Mark Lemmon's Gothic Revival Highland Park Presbyterian Church

Informed by the methodology utilized in Peter Williams's Houses of God: Region, Religion, and Architecture in the United States (1997), the thesis examines Mark Lemmon's Gothic Revival design for the Highland Park Presbyterian Church (1941) with special attention to the denomination and social class of the congregation and the architectural style of the church. Beginning with the notion that Lemmon's church is more complex than an expression of the Southern cultural region defined by Williams, the thesis presents the opportunity to examine the church in the context of the unique cultural region of the city of Dallas. Church archival material supports the argument that the congregation deliberately sought to identify with both the forms and ideology of the late nineteenth-century Gothic Revival in the northeastern United States, a result of the influence of Dallas's cultural region.
Date: August 2004
Creator: Bagley, Julie Arens
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Descriptive Praise on Instructional Control Over Varied and Stereotyped Play of a Five-Year-Old Boy (open access)

The Effects of Descriptive Praise on Instructional Control Over Varied and Stereotyped Play of a Five-Year-Old Boy

This study investigated the effects of instructional cues on varied and stereotyped play responses of one typically developing 5-year-old child. Responses were observed across four sets of play materials: blocks, DUPLO® blocks, markers and paints. Training included praise contingent upon forms consistent with the instruction. Two instructions were each trained with corresponding instruction signs, "Try something different" (on blue paper) and "Do the same thing" (on yellow paper) for block and DUPLO block forms. Results show differentiated novel responding during the experimental phase. The same differential effect in marker forms occurred in the sign alone phase. When the sign plus instruction was introduced for painting sessions, novel forms in the same condition discontinued and began to occur in the different condition. These findings suggest stimulus control of behavioral variation and behavioral consistency. The implications for both science and society are discussed.
Date: December 2004
Creator: Bank, Nicole L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Modeling the chemical and photophysical properties of gold complexes. (open access)

Modeling the chemical and photophysical properties of gold complexes.

Various gold complexes were computationally investigated, to probe their photophysical, geometric, and bonding properties. The geometry of AuI complexes (ground state singlet) is very sensitive to the electronic nature of the ligands: σ-donors gave a two-coordinate, linear shape; however, σ-acceptors yielded a three-coordinate, trigonal planar geometry. Doublet AuIIL3 complexes distort to T-shape, and are thus ground state models of the corresponding triplet AuIL3. The disproportionation of AuIIL3 to AuIL3 and AuIIIL3 is endothermic for all ligands investigated, however, σ-donors are better experimental targets for AuII complexes. For dimeric AuI complexes, only one gold center in the optimized triplet exciton displays a Jahn-Teller distortion, and the Au---Au distance is reduced versus the ground state distance (i.e., two reasons for large Stokes' shifts).
Date: August 2004
Creator: Barakat, Khaldoon A.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Trends and issues in non-profit business planning.

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Non-profits are increasing in size and scope to meet social needs that are unmet by the government. Declining financial support, government regulations, and increasing competition force non-profits to become more professional and efficient. Non-profits increasingly engage in commercial activities, joint ventures with for-profits, and employ business techniques such as business planning and marketing. An extensive body of research examines issues related to non-profit performance that supplies a framework for business planning. Business planning may help non-profits to sustain competitive advantages and long-term financial stability. This paper examines the challenges of writing a business plan for non-profits concluding with a sample business plan that takes into consideration advantages, risks, and limitations of non-profits.
Date: August 2004
Creator: Barnes, Svetlana V.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Samuel Richardson's Revisions to Pamela (1740, 1801) (open access)

Samuel Richardson's Revisions to Pamela (1740, 1801)

The edition of Pamela a person reads will affect his or her perception of Pamela's ascent into aristocratic society. Richardson's revisions to the fourteenth edition of Pamela, published posthumously in 1801, change Pamela's character from the 1740 first edition in such a way as to make her social climb more believable to readers outside the novel and to "readers" inside the novel. Pamela alters her language, her actions, and her role in the household by the end of the first edition; in the fourteenth edition, however, she changes in little more than her title. Pamela might begin as a novel that threatens the fabric of class hierarchies, but it ends-both within the plot and externally throughout its many editions-as a novel that stabilizes and strengthens social norms.
Date: August 2004
Creator: Bender, Ashley Brookner
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Rate Contingent Consequences and Charting on Response Rates for Two Children with Autism. (open access)

The Effects of Rate Contingent Consequences and Charting on Response Rates for Two Children with Autism.

This study investigated the effects of a precision teaching package on response rates of children with autism. Prior to both experiments a preference assessment was conducted to identify high preference activities for each participant. Experiment 1 investigated whether response rates would shift as a function of rate-contingent consequences during an academic task. Different activities were associated with different rates of responding. The experimental package of 1 minute timings, rate contingent consequences, and charting was successful in increasing the rates of responding when the most highly preferred activity was associated with high rates of responding. When the contingencies were switched and the most highly preferred activity was contingent on lower rates of responding, the participant's responding did not decrease. Experiment 2 was an attempt to replicate the results of Experiment 1 using a multiple baseline across tasks. The experimental package was not successful in increasing the rate of responding.
Date: May 2004
Creator: Berman, Christine M.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Hopfield Networks as an Error Correcting Technique for Speech Recognition

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
I experimented with Hopfield networks in the context of a voice-based, query-answering system. Hopfield networks are used to store and retrieve patterns. I used this technique to store queries represented as natural language sentences and I evaluated the accuracy of the technique for error correction in a spoken question-answering dialog between a computer and a user. I show that the use of an auto-associative Hopfield network helps make the speech recognition system more fault tolerant. I also looked at the available encoding schemes to convert a natural language sentence into a pattern of zeroes and ones that can be stored in the Hopfield network reliably, and I suggest scalable data representations which allow storing a large number of queries.
Date: May 2004
Creator: Bireddy, Chakradhar
System: The UNT Digital Library
Clockwork Plums (open access)

Clockwork Plums

Based on a story by Joshua Forehand with additional lyrics by Joshua Bradford, Clockwork Plums is an original musical work that integrates techniques and ideas from composers and different cultures. The accompanying essay about the work includes a summary of the story, "Clockwork Plums," some historical background covering 30 years of pop music, an analysis focusing on the use of African and Reichian compositional devices, and discussion about controlled improvisation and use of the voice as compositional tools. The music consists of three sections scored for 5 voices (lead male vocalist and SATB), flute (doubling tenor saxophone), Bb clarinet (doubling baritone saxophone), violin, cello, piano, electronic keyboard, electric guitar, electric bass, drum set, and percussion.
Date: May 2004
Creator: Bradford, Joshua
System: The UNT Digital Library
Layered Double Hydroxides: Synthesis, Characterization, and Interaction of Mg-Al Systems with Intercalated Tetracyanonickelate(II) (open access)

Layered Double Hydroxides: Synthesis, Characterization, and Interaction of Mg-Al Systems with Intercalated Tetracyanonickelate(II)

The square-planar tetracyanonickelate(II) anion was intercalated into 2:1 and 3:1 Mg-Al layered double hydroxide systems (LDHs). In the 2:1 material, the anion holds itself at an angle of about 30° to the layers, whereas in the 3:1 material it lies more or less parallel to the layers. This is confirmed by orientation effects in the infrared spectra of the intercalated materials and by X-ray diffraction (XRD) data. The measured basal spacings for the intercalated LDH hosts are approximately 11 Å for the 2:1 and approximately 8 Å for the 3:1. The IR of the 2:1 material shows a slight splitting in the ν(CN) peak, which is suppressed in that compound's oriented IR spectrum, indicating that at least some of the intercalated anion's polarization is along the z-axis. This effect is not seen in the 3:1 material. A comparison between chloride LDHs and nitrate LDHs was made with respect to intercalation of tetracyanonickelate(II) anions. Both XRD data and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) data of the LDH tetracyanonickelates confirms that there are no significant differences between the products from the two types of starting materials. The presence of a weak ν(NO) peak in the IR spectra of those samples made from nitrate …
Date: August 2004
Creator: Brister, Fang Wei
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Effect of Breastfeeding Education on Breastfeeding Initiation Rates Among Teenage Mothers

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The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a breastfeeding education program on breastfeeding initiation rates, breastfeeding knowledge, and attitude towards breastfeeding among teenage mothers at an urban school for pregnant and parenting teens. Breastfeeding initiation rose from 35.7% in the control group to 85.2% in the treatment group. The mean score on the Breastfeeding Knowledge Subscale was significantly higher for the treatment group but not the control group. There was not a significant increase in mean scores on the Breastfeeding Attitude Subscale. Participants who initiated breastfeeding scored also had a significant increase in scores from pretest to posttest on the Breastfeeding Knowledge Subscale, while participants who did not initiate breastfeeding did not.
Date: May 2004
Creator: Brown, Amber L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Heart rate and oxygen consumption during the critical prenatal period in chicken embryos (Gallus gallus): Influence of light cues and the onset of pulmonary ventilation. (open access)

Heart rate and oxygen consumption during the critical prenatal period in chicken embryos (Gallus gallus): Influence of light cues and the onset of pulmonary ventilation.

To examine if a rhythm can be entrained in either heart rate or oxygen consumption in late stage embryos (days 17-19.5) with light as a zeitgeber, chicken embryos were incubated in complete darkness (D:D) and 12:12 light:dark cycle (L:D). Light had no impact on oxygen consumption (390 µL O2∙min-1∙egg-1) but increased heart rate for non-internally pipped embryos (260 to 270 beats∙min-1 during light cycle). Oxygen consumption increased independent of pipping while heart rate increased (255 to 265 beats∙min-1) in D:D embryos due to pipping. A light-induced rhythm or effect occurred in heart rate but not oxygen consumption, suggesting heart rate and oxygen consumption may be uncoupled.
Date: December 2004
Creator: Brown, Jessie W.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Development of a Novel Grease Resistant Functional Coatings for Paper-based Packaging and Assessment of Application by Flexographic Press

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Recent commercial developments have created a need for alternative materials and methods for imparting oil/grease resistance to paper and/or paperboard used in packaging. The performance of a novel grease resistant functional coating comprised of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), sodium tetraborate pentahydrate (borate) and acetonedicarboxylic acid (ACDA) and the application of said coating by means of flexographic press is presented herein. Application criteria is developed, testing procedures described, and performance assessment of the developed coating materials are made. SEM images along with contact angle data suggest that coating performance is probably attributable to decreased mean pore size in conjunction with a slightly increased surface contact angle facilitated by crosslinking of PVA molecules by both borate ions and ACDA.
Date: August 2004
Creator: Brown, Robert W.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Utilization of Corridor Habitat by White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Denton County, Texas

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White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) (N=15) movements were determined with use of radio telemetry techniques to determine the utilization of corridor habitat on the Lake Ray Roberts Greenbelt Corridor (RRGC) in north central Texas. Home ranges were calculated using three estimation types. Male white-tailed deer tend to have home ranges twice that of female home ranges. Seasonal home ranges were largest during spring (Feb. - April) and fall (Aug. - Oct.) seasons. Males had greater seasonal variation in utilization than females. No statistically significant difference (p=0.24) between white-tailed deer locations when the RRGC experiences heavy human traffic compared to days when there is light human traffic. Linearity indices indicated home ranges less linear than expected (LI = 3.02). The RRGC should be maintained at its current status to provide a variety of vegetational types and protective cover for white-tailed deer and other wildlife of Denton County.
Date: May 2004
Creator: Bruce, Troy Kenneth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Within-session session changes in responding as a function of habituation vs. satiation. (open access)

Within-session session changes in responding as a function of habituation vs. satiation.

Behavior analysts refer to a decrease in response rate following repeated, contingent presentations of a reinforcing stimulus as a product of satiation. Other evidence suggests that these decreases may often be due to habituation to the sensory properties of the reinforcing stimulus. The investigation reported here sought to determine whether decreases in operant responding by 3 adults with developmental disabilities were due to satiation or habituation. During baseline, participants placed poker chips into a container, and no reinforcement was available. Within subsequent phases, participants received diet lemon-lime soda on a fixed-ratio (FR) schedule of reinforcement. In one condition, the color of the soda was constant throughout the session, and in another condition food coloring was added several minutes into the session. Results for at least 2 participants indicated that: (a) soda functioned as a reinforcer for placing poker chips in the can; (b) response rates decreased within the session to baseline levels; and (c) response rates increased following a change in the color of the soda within the session. Results for the third participant were less clear. The results support the argument made by other researchers that the terms habituation (a weakening of a behavior following contact with the reinforcing …
Date: August 2004
Creator: Buckner, Lloyd Robert
System: The UNT Digital Library
Maxwell's Equations from Electrostatics and Einstein's Gravitational Field Equation from Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation Using Tensors (open access)

Maxwell's Equations from Electrostatics and Einstein's Gravitational Field Equation from Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation Using Tensors

Maxwell's equations are obtained from Coulomb's Law using special relativity. For the derivation, tensor analysis is used, charge is assumed to be a conserved scalar, the Lorentz force is assumed to be a pure force, and the principle of superposition is assumed to hold. Einstein's gravitational field equation is obtained from Newton's universal law of gravitation. In order to proceed, the principle of least action for gravity is shown to be equivalent to the maximization of proper time along a geodesic. The conservation of energy and momentum is assumed, which, through the use of the Bianchi identity, results in Einstein's field equation.
Date: May 2004
Creator: Burns, Michael E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Transfer of Mand Topographies to Tact Relations and Vice Versa in Two Vocal-Verbal Children with Autism (open access)

Transfer of Mand Topographies to Tact Relations and Vice Versa in Two Vocal-Verbal Children with Autism

Skinner (1957) suggested that verbal responses learned as mands are not necessarily emitted in tact relations and vice versa. Previous empirical research has found that newly acquired mands and tacts can be functionally independent. The present study investigated 1) whether novel responses taught in mand relations would be emitted as tacts when opportunity for tacting was presented; 2) whether novel responses taught in tact relations would be emitted as mands when opportunity for manding was presented; and 3) whether the size of pre-experimental mand and tact repertoires affected the rate of acquisition and/or transfer. Two vocal-verbal children with autism were taught three novel responses as mands and three other responses as tacts. Mand topographies transferred to tact relations and tact topographies transferred to mand relations for both participants. Overall acquisition as well as transfer of mands and tacts was faster for the participant with an entering repertoire of approximately 175 mands and 175 tacts than for the participant with a repertoire of approximately 100 mands and 100 tacts.
Date: May 2004
Creator: Castellani, Jill E.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Topics in micro electromechanical systems: MEMS engineering and alternative materials for MEMS fabrication.

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This paper deals with various topics in micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology beginning with microactuation, MEMS processing, and MEMS design engineering. The fabrication and testing of three separate MEMS devices are described. The first two devices are a linear stepping motor and a continuous rotary motor, respectively; and were designed for the purpose of investigating the frictional and wear properties of silicon components. The third device is a bi-stable microrelay, in which electrical current conducts through a secondary circuit, via a novel probe-interconnect mechanism. The second half focuses on engineering a carbon nanotube / SU-8 photoepoxy nanocomposite for fabricating MEMS devices. A processing method for this material as well as the initial results of characterization, are discussed.
Date: August 2004
Creator: Chapla, Kevin
System: The UNT Digital Library
De-Emphasize Direct Presence (open access)

De-Emphasize Direct Presence

The following paper reveals some aspects of my thoughts about art. The works discussed are featured in my M.F.A. exhibition. All works are mainly based on the ideas of absence, self-reference and utilization in art practice, even though each piece approaches the subject from differing angles. My dissatisfaction with preconceived notions in the contemporary art, rooted in art history, has shifted my focus from concerns of the direct, physical presence of artworks to the indirect or indecisive elements of their context. From this position I have felt free to explore the paradox of self-reference that is involved in performance. In addition, by transferring art works to functional objects, I have found a way to infuse everyday life with my art, and vice-versa. The ambiguity of interpreting artworks with language means that I present this paper with photographic documentation of my artwork. Combined, this will give a clear indication of the thrust of my graduate studies and the current theatrical direction of my art.
Date: August 2004
Creator: Chen, Xinpeng
System: The UNT Digital Library
Thermodynamical Formalism (open access)

Thermodynamical Formalism

Thermodynamical formalism is a relatively recent area of pure mathematics owing a lot to some classical notions of thermodynamics. On this thesis we state and prove some of the main results in the area of thermodynamical formalism. The first chapter is an introduction to ergodic theory. Some of the main theorems are proved and there is also a quite thorough study of the topology that arises in Borel probability measure spaces. In the second chapter we introduce the notions of topological pressure and measure theoretic entropy and we state and prove two very important theorems, Shannon-McMillan-Breiman theorem and the Variational Principle. Distance expanding maps and their connection with the calculation of topological pressure cover the third chapter. The fourth chapter introduces Gibbs states and the very important Perron-Frobenius Operator. The fifth chapter establishes the connection between pressure and geometry. Topological pressure is used in the calculation of Hausdorff dimensions. Finally the sixth chapter introduces the notion of conformal measures.
Date: August 2004
Creator: Chousionis, Vasileios
System: The UNT Digital Library
Combat Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Effect of Intelligence on Symptomatology (open access)

Combat Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Effect of Intelligence on Symptomatology

The objective of this study was to examine the relations between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder symptomatology and intelligence. Thirty American combat veterans of the Vietnam War, diagnosed with chronic PTSD, were given a psychodiagnostic structured interview. Participants were assessed for Intelligence Quotient as well as the veracity of their self report. The study found that there were significant differences in how participants experienced their PTSD symptoms that were correlated with intelligence. The higher IQ participants reported more frequent and intense guilt related symptoms as well as more intense intrusive recollections. The lower IQ participants experienced more frequent startle responses, more intense problems related to falling or remaining asleep and more frequent affective symptoms related to emotional numbing. Psychologists could use these differences in how PTSD is experienced in treatment planning. It may be useful for therapy to address sleep disturbances and affective numbing in lower IQ individuals. Therapy for higher IQ individuals may be more useful if it addresses feelings of guilt and intrusive recollections.
Date: May 2004
Creator: Crisp, William A.
System: The UNT Digital Library