That Isolation Creeps In: Exploring the Intersection of Public Transit and Mental Health in Dallas County, Texas (open access)

That Isolation Creeps In: Exploring the Intersection of Public Transit and Mental Health in Dallas County, Texas

The primary goal of the research project was to organize a community needs assessment, which culminated in a report attached in the appendix. Data from sixteen interviews with community leaders involved in mental health promotion throughout Dallas County, Texas was used as the foundation of the professional report. This data revealed several key barriers faced by those with mental illness in their ability to access mental health services in Dallas County. The information gathered prompted further exploration into the intersection between public transit and mental health. Transit became the focus of this work when it came up as simultaneously a barrier to care and mode of prevention in the majority of the interviews. Interestingly, Dallas County has public plans to address transit related disparities; however, their intervention pulls from strategies determined to be ineffectual among the poor and disenfranchised. In this work we explore community needs and the civic culture of Dallas with a specific focus on transportation.
Date: August 2020
Creator: Sanderson, Brittney
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Measuring College Readiness: Developing a System of On-Track and Off-Track Metrics for Texas High School Students (open access)

Measuring College Readiness: Developing a System of On-Track and Off-Track Metrics for Texas High School Students

The purpose of this study was to analyze and determine the predictive power of individual and a combination of different indicators that are used to determine college readiness. For this study a logistic regression analysis was conducted due to the dichotomous nature of the dependent variable. The dependent variable for the study was the earning of a post-secondary credential. The independent variables included high school diploma type, Advanced Placement course taken, Advanced Placement test performance, SAT performance, ACT performance, a multidimensional index made up of all the variables, and high school GPA. The study found that high school GPA had the strongest odds ratio, Exp(B), for the participants earning a post-secondary credential (Exp(B) = 6.597), followed by diploma type (Exp(B) = 6.316), taking an Advanced Placement course (Exp(B) = 4.368), earning at least one qualifying Advanced Placement test score (Exp(B) = 3.846), a multidimensional index (Exp(B) = 2.318), ACT score (Exp(B) = 1.161) and SAT score (Exp(B) = 1.003). Future analysis is needed by using live data of student's college performance, stratifying the data to account for differences in post-secondary performance by different racial and socio-economic groups, and studying the effects of the State of Texas' chosen college readiness variables.
Date: August 2020
Creator: Saenz, David Pael
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Texas Jewish Post (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 6, 2020 (open access)

Texas Jewish Post (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 6, 2020

Weekly Jewish newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with extensive advertising.
Date: August 6, 2020
Creator: Wisch-Ray, Sharon
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
Texas Jewish Post (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 20, 2020 (open access)

Texas Jewish Post (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 20, 2020

Weekly Jewish newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with extensive advertising.
Date: August 20, 2020
Creator: Wisch-Ray, Sharon
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
Refugee Employment in Dallas, TX: Experiences and Barriers (open access)

Refugee Employment in Dallas, TX: Experiences and Barriers

Changing national policies in recent years represent an unprecedented attack on refugee resettlement in the United States. In this period of political and social uncertainty, understanding the barriers to refugee economic integration is more critical than ever. Following a review of existing literature on refugee resettlement and economic integration, this research assesses experiences of refugee employment in Dallas, Texas—one of the cities that resettles the most new refugees nationwide—through investigating the experiences of four key populations: resettled individuals themselves (including refugees, asylees, and SIVs), resettlement caseworkers, third-party staffing agencies, and the management/HR staff of refugee employers. These diverse perspectives will assist in understanding the structural constraints that shape refugee employment services, as well as the interaction of these various individuals and organizations as parts of a dynamic system. The project also aims to explore employers' experiences of hiring refugees and working with resettlement programs, as the perspectives of entrepreneurs and the business community are those most likely to influence the attitudes of legislators and encourage renewed support of resettlement in Texas. The conclusion of this study offers recommendations for how resettlement organizations can navigate the ambiguities of a resettlement system driven by neoliberal economics and a push for rapid employment …
Date: August 2020
Creator: Orzech, Mark N.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Early Music Audiences: A Survey and Analysis of Early Music Consumers in Texas (open access)

Early Music Audiences: A Survey and Analysis of Early Music Consumers in Texas

Texas has a rich tradition of Early Music ensembles that dates back to 1969. However, there is little reliable information based on statistical data collection and analysis concerning Texas Early Music consumers. Little is known about why they attend Early Music performances or other important factors that affect the Early Music industry. Through the use of an extensive survey and accompanying statistical analysis, this study answers many questions regarding Early Music consumers in the State of Texas. This study collected demographic and psychographic data in January 2020 about the Early Music concert-going public in three major Texas cities - Dallas, Austin, and Houston. Other factors were identified in two primary areas: audience characteristics and ticket pricing practices.
Date: August 2020
Creator: Emanski, Julianna
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effect of Barrier Height on Magnitude and Character of Hurricane Harvey Washover Fans, Matagorda Peninsula, Texas (open access)

Effect of Barrier Height on Magnitude and Character of Hurricane Harvey Washover Fans, Matagorda Peninsula, Texas

This study uses topographic profiles, washover fan volumes, and shoreline retreat rates to explore relationships between barrier types and Hurricane Harvey storm washover sedimentation. Pre- and post-Hurricane Harvey topographic profiles were created on 15 transects using Bare Earth LiDAR (2016) and surveyed elevations (2019). Depth and area of washover fan measurements were collected to estimate washover fan volumes. An inverse relationship was found between washover fan volume and pre- and post-storm barrier heights. Based on the topographic profiles, one section of shoreline had a scarp up to 3m high which blocked overwash, but appears to have increased shoreline erosion. In contrast, a low-lying section of shoreline generated relatively large washover fans, but experienced less shoreline retreat. Shoreline retreat was further quantified between 2014 and 2019 using Google Earth Imagery from 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019 to track migration of the shoreline. The entire shoreline in the study area is undergoing relatively rapid retreat, but the results suggest that Hurricane Harvey increased erosional rates. The Colorado River Jetty borders the study area and may have acted as an anthropogenic barrier, likely reducing storm surge energy and contributing to marsh aggradation on transects in its close proximity. The study findings indicate that …
Date: August 2020
Creator: Rains, Bradley Jacob
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Texas Jewish Post (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 13, 2020 (open access)

Texas Jewish Post (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 13, 2020

Weekly Jewish newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with extensive advertising.
Date: August 13, 2020
Creator: Wisch-Ray, Sharon
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
Texas Jewish Post (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 27, 2020 (open access)

Texas Jewish Post (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 27, 2020

Weekly Jewish newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with extensive advertising.
Date: August 27, 2020
Creator: Wisch-Ray, Sharon
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History

Hurricane Laura Twitter Dataset

This dataset contains Twitter JSON data for Tweets related to Hurricane Laura that formed August 20, 2020 and dissipated August 29, 2020. This dataset was created using the twarc (https://github.com/edsu/twarc) package that makes use of Twitter's search API. A total of 1,168,178 Tweets make up the combined dataset.
Date: 2020-08-18/2020-09-02
Creator: Phillips, Mark Edward
Object Type: Dataset
System: The UNT Digital Library

Fire Eater in the Borderlands: The Political Life of Guy Morrison Bryan, 1847-1891

From 1847 to 1891, Guy Morrison Bryan was a prominent Texas politician who influenced many of the policies and events that shaped the state. Raised in his Uncle Stephen F. Austin's shadow, he was a Texas nationalist who felt responsible for promoting the interests of his state, its earliest settlers, and his family. During his nineteen years in the Texas Legislature and two years in the United States House of Representatives, he safeguarded land grants, supported internal improvements and education, and challenged northern hostility towards slavery. Convinced that abolitionists would stop at nothing to destroy the institution and Texas, he led his state's walkout of the National Democratic Convention in 1860 and became a leading proponet of secession. During the Civil War, he served as a staff officer, and his ability to mediate conflicts between local and national leaders propped up the isolated Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department. Finally as Speaker of the House, he helped oust Governor Edmund J. Davis in 1874 and "redeem" the state from Republican rule before convincing President Rutherford B. Hayes to adopt a conciliatory policy towards Texas and the South. Despite the tremendous influence Bryan wielded, scholars have largely ignored his contributions. This dissertation establishes his …
Date: August 2020
Creator: Kelley, Ariel Leticia
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library