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Anxiously Yours, (fe)mail: A Narrative Exploration of Anxiety, Empathy and Hope in Art Museum Education

This research explores the relationship between narrative, empathy and anxiety in art museum education. The study begins from my personal experience with anxiety and is methodologically rooted in narrative inquiry and friendship as method. In this study, I propose a creative method of narrative postcard writing called (fe)mail – rooted in a feminist ethic of care that seeks to understand and empathize with the experience of others through correspondence. This research asks relevant questions about the future of art museum programming for mental illness and the act of writing (fe)mail as a reflective practice for academics and educators in the field of social science. In my narrative analysis of the program and the data, I also problematizes my role as researcher, educator and friend throughout the study by considering my own biases, expectations and personal educator agenda. The study is divided into two parts. The first comprises correspondence and analysis of (fe)mail between myself and my best friend/co-participant, Atleigh. In Part I, I conduct a narrative analysis of the (fe)mail data produced between us in order to answer the following questions: What qualities of (fe)mail will appear in the exchange? Can (fe)mail be used as a tool for self-care during …
Date: December 2021
Creator: Galuban, Beatriz Asfora
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
App Stole My Gayborhood? A Transforming Ethos at the Intersection of Queer Urban Life and Cyberspace(s) (open access)

App Stole My Gayborhood? A Transforming Ethos at the Intersection of Queer Urban Life and Cyberspace(s)

This thesis demonstrates a queer perspective stemming from a qualitative analysis of data gathered in interviews with LGBTQ+ people to analyze a transforming ethos of gayborhoods and queer desires. In particular, the research focuses on the interactive relationship between self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) participants; the cyberspace(s) of LGBTQ+ mobile-dating applications (apps); and tangible urban places. The topic of gayborhood demise and whether such places are worth saving has been debated by scholars and journalists for the last decade. The demise of gayborhoods is often thought to be a symptom of neoliberal urban processes such as gentrification within the context of the post-gay era and broader societal acceptance of homosexuality. This means the question of "if the gayborhood is worth saving" is inherently imbedded in an assumption that homosexuality is not viewed or treated as different or lesser than heterosexuality. In this imagined post-gay era, gayborhoods are declining because the dangers posed to the LGBTQ+ population are purported to no longer exist, so there is no longer a need for designated queer and/or safe places. This research destabilizes the assumptions embedded within the conception of the post-gay era by asking whether the gayborhood meets the needs and …
Date: May 2021
Creator: Stucky, Farrell
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Apprenticeship to Signs in Art Education (open access)

Apprenticeship to Signs in Art Education

This research looks thoughtfully and deeply at the relationship between art education and signs, as defined by the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze (1964/1998). Signs, as articulated by Deleuze (1964/1998), are violent disruptions to our way of understanding the world, causing us to think again and/or re-consider what we once knew (or thought we knew). This study looks generatively at how these kinds of disruptive and disorienting moments might be mined for possibilities in art education and remind us of our own relationality. As a post-qualitative lived inquiry, it asks how might art education be-with apprenticeship to signs and what might art education do-with sign-encounters? Using the theoretical lens of transcendental empiricism and new materialism, this study considers how art educators might hold open the space of sign-encounters for oneself and one's students by turning towards the rhizomatic cut and staying with uncertainty. It is focused on the doing-with, making-with, and thinking-with of art, pedagogy, and philosophy/theory, investigating their deep entanglements in spaces of disruption and ultimately developing frame-works for engaging in this kind of work in the classroom. Drawing from Erin Manning and Brian Massumi's theory of research-creation, this research was experienced in an emergent, layered, and complex way over …
Date: August 2021
Creator: Wurtzel, Kate Lena
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Artificial Intelligence-Driven Model-Based Analysis of System Requirements for Exposing Off-Nominal Behaviors (open access)

An Artificial Intelligence-Driven Model-Based Analysis of System Requirements for Exposing Off-Nominal Behaviors

With the advent of autonomous systems and deep learning systems, safety pertaining to these systems has become a major concern. The existing failure analysis techniques are not enough to thoroughly analyze the safety in these systems. Moreover, because these systems are created to operate in various conditions, they are susceptible to unknown safety issues. Hence, we need mechanisms which can take into account the complexity of operational design domains, identify safety issues other than failures, and expose unknown safety issues. Moreover, existing safety analysis approaches require a lot of effort and time for analysis and do not consider machine learning (ML) safety. To address these limitations, in this dissertation, we discuss an artificial-intelligence driven model-based methodology that aids in identifying unknown safety issues and analyzing ML safety. Our methodology consists of 4 major tasks: 1) automated model generation, 2) automated analysis of component state transition model specification, 3) undesired states analysis, and 4) causal factor analysis. In our methodology we identify unknown safety issues by finding undesired combinations of components' states and environmental entities' states as well as causes resulting in these undesired combinations. In our methodology, we refer to the behaviors that occur because of undesired combinations as off-nominal …
Date: May 2021
Creator: Madala, Kaushik
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Artificial Intelligence Teammates in a Collaborative Information Seeking Environment from the Perspective of Women Engineers in the United States (open access)

Artificial Intelligence Teammates in a Collaborative Information Seeking Environment from the Perspective of Women Engineers in the United States

The purpose of this study was to collect design requirements from women engineers on artificial intelligence teammates such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Trello. A mixed methods research design was used for this study with an online survey and semi-structure interviews. The study results revealed design requirements from women engineers including solutions to sociotechnical issues that could arise from artificial intelligence teammates in the workplace. The results showed various ways women engineers collaborate in the workplace with and without artificial intelligence. Additionally, women engineers' attitude towards artificial intelligence was examined to identify if there was a correlation to self-efficacy. This research study fills a previous study gap that solicited design requirements from research scientists, by soliciting practitioners. Practitioners such as women engineers are underrepresented in the workplace, and they could benefit from an artificial intelligence teammate with their design requirements. Finally, this study contributes to the information science literature on collaborative information seeking, artificial intelligence design, and engineers' information seeking behaviors.
Date: August 2021
Creator: Floyd, Schenita A
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Artistic Image in "Twelve Children's Pieces of Medium Difficulty," Op. 31 by Reinhold Gliere (1875–1956) (open access)

The Artistic Image in "Twelve Children's Pieces of Medium Difficulty," Op. 31 by Reinhold Gliere (1875–1956)

In his Art of Piano Playing, the renowned Russian pianist and teacher Heinrich Neuhaus asserts that the concept of an "artistic image" can give musical meaning to the score, help pianists to understand the musical content of a composition, and help students to find pianistic expression in the details. The concept of artistic image can be applied in pedagogy, guiding young pianists to learn content and organize their practice. The artistic image is the picture of a musical idea and the musical language, which comes from melody, phrasing, musical structure, and the emotional and poetic content. Twelve Children's Pieces of Medium Difficulty, Op. 31, is one of the important works for young pianists by Reinhold Glière (1875–1956). The set has emotional characteristics that allow intermediate young pianists to grasp its rich content and then develop technically. His piano works have been little studied by scholars as part of a pedagogical approach. This pedagogical guide uses the concept of artistic image in Glière's work to help young pianists, or their teachers, prepare this work thoroughly and perform it successfully on the stage.
Date: August 2021
Creator: Wu, Yuan Nessa
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Assessing the Clinical Experiences and Attitudes of Play Therapists Working with Children of Parental Substance Use (open access)

Assessing the Clinical Experiences and Attitudes of Play Therapists Working with Children of Parental Substance Use

This study aimed to gain insight into the clinical practices and attitudes of currently practicing play therapists working with children with a parent with a substance use disorder. Participants in the study were play therapists credentialed by the Association for Play Therapy, either as a Registered Play Therapist™ or Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor™. A total of 198 play therapists participated in the study. Results demonstrated that variables including prior education, caseload of children affected by parental substance use, and the number of years since obtaining a mental health licensure explained 16% of the variance in participant attitude scores on the Drug and Drug Problems Perceptions Questionnaire (DDPPQ). Specifically, education (β = -.335, rs2 = .884, p < .001) was found to be a significant predictor of play therapist attitudes towards substance users as it explained 88% of the variance accounted for in the effect. Additionally, although not found to be significant, caseload (β = -.134, rs2 = .325, p = .058) was found to explain 33% of the variance accounted for in the effect. This initial exploration of play therapists' attitudes towards substance users provides strong evidence towards the importance of education and training in substance use disorders. Further exploration of …
Date: December 2021
Creator: Yurkovich, Chelsea V
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Association between Sleep Patterns and Singing Voice Quality during the COVID-19 Pandemic (open access)

The Association between Sleep Patterns and Singing Voice Quality during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study investigated the associations between sleep patterns and singing voice quality in 231 adult singers of various skill levels across the United States. The four-part survey using a general questionnaire on demographics, musical background, vocal health, and three established survey instruments: the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Singing Voice Handicap Index-10 (SVHI-10), and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) found that while scores were worse than normative values for the PSQI and the SVHI-10, a Pearson correlation between the two showed a moderate association. A linear regression also yielded that 8.9% of the variance in SVHI-10 scores could be predicted from PSQI scores. While further research is needed in this area, this study suggests that the amount of sleep needed for an optimal singing voice may be different from the amount needed to feel well-rested for some singers. Moreover, singers may overestimate the influence of sleep on their singing voices.
Date: August 2021
Creator: Simmons, Erica Vernice
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Asynchronous Level Crossing ADC for Biomedical Recording Applications (open access)

Asynchronous Level Crossing ADC for Biomedical Recording Applications

This thesis focuses on the recording challenges faced in biomedical systems. More specifically, the challenges in neural signal recording are explored. Instead of the typical synchronous ADC system, a level crossing ADC is detailed as it has gained recent interest for low-power biomedical systems. These systems take advantage of the time-sparse nature of the signals found in this application. A 10-bit design is presented to help capture the lower amplitude action potentials (APs) in neural signals. The design also achieves a full-scale bandwidth of 1.2 kHz, an ENOB of 9.81, a power consumption of 13.5 microwatts, operating at a supply voltage of 1.8 V. This design was simulated in Cadence using 180 nm CMOS technology.
Date: August 2021
Creator: Pae, Kieren
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
At the Junction of Dissemination and Implementation: Facilitating Access to Behavior Analytic Research (open access)

At the Junction of Dissemination and Implementation: Facilitating Access to Behavior Analytic Research

Research in scholarly communication is usually limited to the use and dissemination of scientific material by scholars. This excludes the transfer of knowledge from research producers to service providers. Some may argue the primary function of science is to investigate the conditions in the lab so everyday interactions with the environment are more effective and efficient. This is the underlying philosophy of the science of behavior analysis. Comprised of a basic science, an applied science and a philosophy the field of behavior analysis relies on research developments to inform effective practice. Guided by dissemination processes studied in information science, this investigation revealed the content layer in behavior analysis is primarily comprised of journal articles. Ninety four percent of the research artifacts cited in the current content layer are from journal articles. Other dissemination channels used to develop the behavior analytic content layer included scientific magazine articles, oral reports, dissertations and theses, and unpublished manuscripts. The information use environment for professionals in this field is very different than that of the scholars; most professionals do not have access to a university library. Therefore, the research producers are disseminating developments via communication channels some service providers cannot access. This investigation reveals the …
Date: May 2021
Creator: Bank, Nicole L.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Attachment to God: Pathways to Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth (open access)

Attachment to God: Pathways to Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth

Having a secure attachment to God may act as a buffer against stress. Secure attachment to God has been positively associated with adaptive outcomes following stress, such as higher levels of stress-related growth and fewer maladaptive symptoms including depression, prolonged grief, and traumatic distress. However, relatively few studies have empirically tested the relationship between attachment to God and resilience and posttraumatic growth. Thus, the current study explored the potential associations and pathways through which attachment to God is associated with resilience and posttraumatic growth in a sample of 303 suddenly and/or traumatically bereaved individuals. The current study found that (a) God attachment avoidance is a unique negative predictor of resilience and posttraumatic growth even when controlling for adult attachment, (b) self-compassion and meaning-making mediate the association between God attachment anxiety and resilience/posttraumatic growth, (c) secure attachment to God is associated with higher levels of resilience than insecure attachment styles, but not with posttraumatic growth, and (d) an increased number of secondary losses is associated with lower levels of resilience. I conclude by discussing my findings in light of the extant literature on attachment to God, resilience, and posttraumatic growth. By better understanding attachment to God and how it may relate …
Date: August 2021
Creator: Ellis, Heidi Marie
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
"Bad Paper" (open access)

"Bad Paper"

Bad Paper follows the lives of former military service members, who have received an other-than-honorable discharge, but also have service-connected post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Due to the "suck it up" culture of the military, many of these veterans would not report any psychological troubles in fear of being labeled "weak" and potentially affecting their promotions. With no outlet for their PTSD, drugs and alcohol became a way of "self-medicating," which led to their dismissal from the service. A dishonorable discharge, commonly called "bad paper," from the military disqualifies veterans from receiving help from the VA. The process to overturn this status is arduous and veterans must navigate the bureaucracy of the Veterans Affairs (VA) administration as well as the individual military branches with virtually no help from either.
Date: August 2021
Creator: Beard, Daniel Lee
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Balkan Imbroglio: The Diplomatic, Military, and Political Origins of the Macedonian Campaign of World War I

The Macedonian Campaign of World War I (October 1915-November 1918) traditionally remains one of the understudied theatres of the historiography of the conflict. Despite its vital importance in the outcome of the war, it is still considered as a mere sideshow compared to the Western Front and the Gallipoli Campaign. This dissertation presents a much-needed re-evaluation of the Macedonian Campaign's diplomatic and political origins within the war's early context. In doing so, this study first concentrates on a longue durée perspective and assesses the main historical events in the Balkans and Central Europe from the end of the French Revolution to World War I. In a perspective running throughout the entire nineteenth century, this dissertation integrates the importance of nascent nationalism in the Balkans and examine the Austro-Hungarian Empire's steady decline and subsequent diplomatic realignment toward the Balkans. Similarly, this work depicts the intense power struggle in Southeastern Europe between some of this story's main protagonists, namely the Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Ottoman Empires. This dissertation also evaluates the rise of new regional powers such as Bulgaria and Serbia and examines their connection to the European balance of power and general diplomatic equilibrium. In the first half of this dissertation, I …
Date: August 2021
Creator: Broucke, Kevin R.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Beethoven's Orchestra at the Romantic Piano: Understanding the Piano Transcriptions of "Marcia alla turca" from Beethoven's The Ruins of Athens by Franz Liszt and Anton Rubinstein (open access)

Beethoven's Orchestra at the Romantic Piano: Understanding the Piano Transcriptions of "Marcia alla turca" from Beethoven's The Ruins of Athens by Franz Liszt and Anton Rubinstein

The transcriptions of Franz Liszt (1811-1886) and Anton Rubinstein (1829-1894) on Beethoven's "Marcia alla turca" serve as unique examples within the area of transcription since each of these important virtuosos transcribed the movement with drastically different results. Liszt's Capriccio alla turca (1846) is built on Beethoven's thematic materials although it is presented with a greatly embellished accompaniment providing countermelodies, expanded passages, and vigorous rhythmic features. In contrast, Rubinstein's Turkish March (1848) attempts to capture Beethoven's original (1811) as closely as possible adhering to the form and harmonies. Each composer's approach served to showcase new pianistic innovations capturing orchestral sonorities at the piano previously unimagined. This dissertation offers musical insight for two less well-known works from significant pianist-composers which should receive further attention. Additionally, this research provides greater documentation for the compositions of Rubinstein, supplementing the historical accounts of his abilities as a performer. Examination and comparative analysis of each transcription not only illuminates the creative approaches each composer employed in creating his transcription, but also serves pianists wishing to perform these neglected works.
Date: August 2021
Creator: Yoon, Jeongmi
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Behavior Analytic Account of Humor Responses: Taking a Joke Way Too Seriously (open access)

A Behavior Analytic Account of Humor Responses: Taking a Joke Way Too Seriously

Compared to other examples of human behavior, humor responses have received relatively little attention from the scientific community and by the behavior analytic community in particular. This study investigated what some of the controlling variables for humans to emit a humor response may be. Participants were randomly presented two types of word sequences/jokes: one with a matching punchline and one without a matching punchline. Participants rated whether the jokes were funny or not funny, and reaction time was measured for all stimuli presented. Generally, the results showed that reaction times to punchlines rated as not funny were shorter than punchlines that were rated funny. These differences in reaction time were interpreted with priming, intraverbal control, and multiple control as an experimental foundation. Limitations include the absence of physiological measures due to COVID-19 restrictions and the forced choice of two rating responses. The implications of this research reveal opportunities for future research of humor responses.
Date: December 2021
Creator: Amezquita IV, Edward Brandon
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Behavioral and Neural Correlates of Speech Perception Outcomes in Adults with Cochlear Implants

Postlingually deafened cochlear implant (CI) adults have large variability in speech perception abilities. While CIs are one of the most successful neural prosthetic devices, they are not able to adequately provide fine structure cues which results in a degraded signal for the listener to interpret. While behavioral measures remain the gold standard for determining speech perception abilities, an objective measure is needed for patients who are unable to provide reliable behavioral responses. Behavioral, cognitive, and neural measures were collected in this study to identify potential neural biomarkers that correlate with speech perception performance. Behavioral experiments evaluated participants' abilities to identify, discriminate, and recognize words as well as sentences in quiet and in noise. Cognitive measures were assessed to determine the roles of attention, impulse control, memory, and cognitive flexibility on speech recognition. Auditory event-related potentials (ERP) were obtained with a double oddball paradigm to produce the mismatch negativity (MMN) response, which has been shown to have associations with phonetic categorical perception at the group level. The results indicated that executive function is highly predictive of speech performance and that the MMN is associated with categorical perception at the individual level. These findings are clinically relevant to determining appropriate follow-up care …
Date: December 2021
Creator: Manning, Jacy
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Behind the Curtain of Public Space: Revealing the Narratives of Corporate Street Hawking in Globalizing Accra

All street hawkers are not the same in many Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs) of the global south as often portrayed by the media and documented in extant literature. This perception has created a gap in knowledge as researchers explore street hawking activities in NICs. In this study, I investigated a new informality trend of street hawking is coming into being within the capital city of Accra, Ghana. As governance is increasingly becoming entrepreneurial, informal activities are gradually becoming formal. Formal and registered businesses are increasingly capitalizing on hawking activities to occupy public spaces. The advent of the informality trend, I term corporate street hawking opens up new issues for the political economy, labor, and urban studies. By employing semi-structured interviews with 47 street hawkers in Accra, this paper sought to investigate three broadly interrelated questions. First, how do neoliberal policies impact the production of public space in Accra? Second, is corporate street hawking a form of creative destruction? Finally, how do corporate street hawkers practice agency within Accra?
Date: December 2021
Creator: Ansah, Hilary Ama
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Bell Ringer

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
This is the story of Victor Rodriguez, star track athlete and San Antonio educator. From his earliest days in South Texas in the 1940s he broke many barriers. As a football player and track star he set records and won trophies at Edna High School, at Victoria College, and at North Texas State College. At each stage of his education, he often found himself the only Mexican American in his group. He developed his sports prowess from nine years of early morning running to the church in Edna, to ring the bell before Mass. He earned the first Hispanic scholarships as an athlete at both Victoria Junior College and North Texas State College. After graduating in 1955, he began a career in the San Antonio School District, ultimately retiring in 1994 after twelve years as Superintendent of the District. As a pioneer Mexican American educator in San Antonio, he brought dignity and respect to the people of the Westside, where he remains a role model today.
Date: November 2021
Creator: Rodriguez, Victor
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Beneath Missouri Skies: Pat Metheny in Kansas City 1964-1972

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
The New Yorker recently referred to Pat Metheny as “possibly the most influential jazz guitarist of the past five decades.” A native of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, just southeast of Kansas City, Metheny started playing in pizza parlors at age fourteen. By the time he graduated from high school he was the first-call guitarist for Kansas City jazz clubs, private clubs, and jazz festivals. Now 66, he attributes his early success to the local musical environment he was brought up in and the players and teachers who nurtured his talent and welcomed him into the jazz community. Metheny’s twenty Grammys in ten categories speak to his versatility and popularity. Despite five decades of interviews, none have conveyed in detail his stories about his teenage years. Beneath Missouri Skies also reveals important details about jazz in Kansas City during the sixties and early seventies, often overlooked in histories of Kansas City jazz. Yet this time of cultural change was characterized by an outstanding level of musicianship.
Date: May 2021
Creator: Brewer, Carolyn Glenn
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Benefits of Probiotics on Mortality, Growth Performance, Physiological Condition and Gut Histomophology of Juvenile Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus)

Results from the present study found for the first time that the use of bacterial strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium thermophilum, and Enterococcus faecium from the commercial product PrimaLac® had the potential to act as a possible probiotic for juvenile red drum. The addition of PrimaLac® probiotics [whether as a water-soluble probiotic (WSP) or in a probiotic enhanced starter feed (PESF)] reduced mortality (%M), enhanced growth rates (MW, LT, SGR, and DGR), improved feed conversion efficiencies (FCEs), and physical condition factors in the juvenile red drum. Improvement was quantified using external morphological condition indices (MCIs) and blood physiological condition indices (PCIs). Results showed a strong positive relationship between MCIs and PCIs, which suggested that probiotics treated fish were in better health (lower MCIs) with lower fasting blood glucose and lactate levels than control fish. Addition of probiotics also resulted in improved water quality (lower nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia) in the treatment tanks compared to controls. Application of PrimaLac® probiotics on the morphology and histology of three different regions of the intestine (proximal, mid-and distal) improved intestinal length (Li), mass (Mi), and digesta mass (Md). In 5μm histological sections examined for differences among treatments (probiotics vs. controls), five variables …
Date: May 2021
Creator: Busby, Wren Adell
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Benevolent Assimilation: The Evolution of United States Army Civil Affairs Operations in the Philippines from 1898 to 1945

The history of the United States' occupation and administration of the Philippines is a premiere example of the evolution of the American military's civil administrative approach as it evolved from simple Army security in 1898, through an evolving ‘whole-of-government' method, to what was practically the full military administration of the country by March 1945. The second liberation and subsequent administration of the Philippines by the United States Army was unique, not simply because of the physical characteristics of the operations, but more so because of the theater commander, General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur used a rather self-reliant approach that rejected much of the direction from various authorities in Washington and adopted independently authored local solutions, but he took advantage of external resources when necessary. Ultimately the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) under his command had to accept external direction to gain external resources. The Army's civil administrative planning and execution in the Philippines in 1944-1945 was the direct result of the social, political, economic, and military relationships between Americans and Filipinos from 1898 to 1944, much of which involved MacArthur, and the institutional changes that developed from these interactions. The result was civil administration that met the …
Date: August 2021
Creator: Musick, David C.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Best American Newspaper Narratives, Volume 8

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
his anthology collects the ten winners of the 2020 Best American Newspaper Narrative Writing Contest at UNT’s Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference. First place winner: Christopher Goffard, “Detective Trapp” (Los Angeles Times) is about a complicated murder investigation and its human impact. Second place: Annie Gowen, “Left Behind: American Farm Families in Crisis during Trump’s Trade War” (The Washington Post) tells about a despairing farmer’s suicide and aftermath. Third place: Jennifer Berry Hawes and Stephen Hobbs, “It’s Time for You to Die” (Post & Courier) presents a gut-wrenching drama of America’s deadliest episode of prison violence. Runners-up include Peter Jamison, “The Confession” (The Washington Post); Mark Johnson, “House Calls and Rarest of Diseases” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel); Nestor Ramos, “At the Edge of a Warming World” (Boston Globe); Noelle Crombie, Kale Williams, and Beth Nakamura, “No Mercy” (The Oregonian); Tara Duggan and Jason Fagone, “The Fisherman’s Tale” (San Francisco Chronicle); Jenna Russell, “Brilliant, Faithful, Undaunted” (Boston Globe); and Charles Scudder, “Guardians: When Evil Came Through the Door” (Dallas Morning News).
Date: June 2021
Creator: Reaves, Gayle
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Bio-Inspired Designs to Reduce Human-Exoskeleton Interaction to Prevent Falls in an Aging Population (open access)

Bio-Inspired Designs to Reduce Human-Exoskeleton Interaction to Prevent Falls in an Aging Population

As a large generation ages, the collective financial and ethical responsibility to prevent egregious bodily harm through fall prevention and gait assistant exoskeleton devices increases. Risk for falls increases with age and the severity of the fall does as well. To support this elderly population, motorized exoskeletons can both increase stability as well as respond faster to fall scenarios, but current models do not more around the existing biological framework. Giving participants a range of motion in key pelvic areas can closely approximate synchronous rotation around the femoral head, while limiting an increase in their sagittal profile. Utilizing 3D printed components while incorporating existing orthic methods provide short production times on modular designs. Although primarily mechanically based, these designs consider electronic requirements and are capable for supporting movement for a 200 lbs. user at a brisk walking pace for 1 hour.
Date: August 2021
Creator: Gates, Edward Sean
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Biomonitoring at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport: Relating Watershed Land Use with Aquatic Life Use

The Dallas-Fort Worth International (DFW) Airport is located in a densely urbanized area with one of the fastest-growing populations in the U.S.A. The airport property includes a large tract of "protected" riparian forest that is unique to the urban surroundings. This dissertation explores variables that influence the benthic macroinvertebrate community structure found in urbanized prairie streams that were initially assessed by the University of North Texas (UNT) Benthic Ecology Lab during four, non-consecutive biomonitoring studies (2004, 2005, 2008, and 2014) funded by the DFW Airport. Additionally, land use analysis was performed using 5-meter resolution satellite imagery and eCognition to characterize the imperviousness of the study area watersheds at multiple scales. Overall, flow conditions and imperviousness at the watershed scale explained the most variability in the benthic stream community. Chironomidae taxa made up 20-50% of stream communities and outperformed all other taxa groups in discriminating between sites of similar flows and urban impairments. This finding highlights the need for genus level identifications of the chironomid family, especially as the dominant taxa in urban prairie streams. Over the course of these biomonitoring survey events, normal flow conditions and flows associated with supra-seasonal drought were experienced. Prevailing drought conditions of 2014 did not …
Date: August 2021
Creator: Harlow, Megann Mae Lewis
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library