Process and form have always been important to my work. I emphasize the soft qualities of clay while working with traditional forms that are altered for visual interest. Usability is very important, the forms have to function well according to their intended use. The relationship between form and manipulation relied on usability of the form. Functionality was paramount within this body of work. I consciously searched for balance between form and manipulation, form and glaze, form and function, and overall character. Though altered, the forms were traditional and dependent on function. Manipulations of the forms, surface treatment, and deep colorful glazes contributed to creating harmony between function and expression. Personal stylistic elements became refined through working on this project. The body of work that was made allocated personal expression and new variations on functional forms. This project provided an opportunity for exploration and evaluation of form and my working process.

Mass transit investments continue to be utilized in many cities as means of dealing with various transportation issues. In Dallas Texas, light rail transit was developed with the hopes of encouraging compact and orderly growth. This research uses the DART system as a case study in examining transportation/land use relationships in Dallas. As such, this thesis reviews past research that examined transit systems impacts on urban areas, analyzes historical changes in land use pattern development around the existing twenty stations of the DART light rail starter system, and summarizes the progression of land use trends in the transit corridor as they relate to DART impacts. Results of this study suggest that DART's light rail system has been an effective tool used in achieving the transportation and land use goals for the region. Finally, recommendations are presented with respect to what can be expected for future light rail development in Dallas.

This study examined the relationship between executive and psychosocial functioning in 45 children and adolescents age 6 to 17 years who had been treated for a brain tumor. Executive functioning deficits can profoundly impact an adult's ability to function successfully in life. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the potential impact of executive functioning deficits on the day-to-day functioning in a pediatric population. The domains of executive functioning assessed included cognitive flexibility, conceptual thinking, sustained attention, and response inhibition. Psychosocial functioning was assessed using both parent and child report. Several significant relationships were found for adolescents ages 15 and older, with effect sizes ranging from medium to large. In particular, cognitive flexibility and conceptual thinking were significantly related to parent report of depression and adaptive functioning. Fewer significant relationships with smaller effect sizes were found for younger children. The results may reflect the developmental emergence of executive functioning abilities and late effects of executive functioning deficits upon psychosocial functioning. The correlational design of this study precludes definitive statements regarding the temporal nature of the relationship. Additional research, including longitudinal research and replicatory studies, will be needed to further investigate the developmental consequences of executive functioning impairment.

Power and effect size analysis are important methods in the psychological sciences. It is well known that classical statistical tests are not robust with respect to power and type II error. However, relatively little attention has been paid in the psychological literature to the effect that non-normality and outliers have on the power of a given statistical test (Wilcox, 1998). Robust measures of location exist that provide much more powerful tests of statistical hypotheses, but their usefulness in power estimation for sample size selection, with real data, is largely unknown. Furthermore, practical approaches to power planning (Cohen, 1988) usually focus on normal theory settings and in general do not make available nonparametric approaches to power and effect size estimation. Beran (1986) proved that it is possible to nonparametrically estimate power for a given statistical test using bootstrap methods (Efron, 1993). However, this method is not widely known or utilized in data analysis settings. This research study examined the practical importance of combining robust measures of location with nonparametric power analysis. Simulation and analysis of real world data sets are used. The present study found that: 1) bootstrap confidence intervals using Mestimators gave shorter confidence intervals than the normal theory counterpart …

This study investigated the level of leadership practices and retention rates of freshman students at Texas Woman's University. The data for the study were collected using the Leadership Practices Inventory, Student Version. The sample for the study consisted of 151 freshman students. The students were each placed in one of three control groups. Group A students (the treatment group) were in the Neighbors Educated Together Program (NET). Group B students (control group) were in one of two university-sponsored programs (COLORS or University 1000), and Group C students (control group) were the residual group of first-time college freshmen. These three groups were surveyed prior to their participation in the NET program or a university-sponsored program and again at the end of 14 weeks. In addition, retention rates were examined on the 12 class day of the spring semester. The study found statistically significant differences (p <. 05) on the pretests and posttests between Group C, residual students, and the other two groups on the Enabling the Followers to Act subscale, the Inspiring a Shared Vision subscale, and Encouraging the Heart subscale. Group A, NET students, and Group B, COLORS/University 1000 students, showed no statistically significant differences between groups. The difference from …

Taxonomic composition and spatio-temporal variability of macroinvertebrates inhabiting snags were examined from an 8-km segment of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. Seventy-seven macroinvertebrate taxa were collected from submerged wood during the study. Assemblages were highly variable spatially and temporally, especially among seasons. An ordination of species and environment did not find snag taxa to have striking correlations with many of the selected environmental variables, although there were some trends in flow-mediated species distributions. There were significant seasonal differences in the abundances of some taxa, particularly among the Chironomidae (Diptera). The Tribe Orthocladiini was numerically abundant during the winter, while the Tribes Chironomini and Tanytarsini dominated the summer and autumn. Additionally, this study included a secondary production and microdistribution analysis of a population of the caddisfly Cyrnellus fraternus. Distributions of C. fraternus were restricted to snags, the most stable substratum for retreat building and for resisting periodic high waters. Larvae were not found in the soft sand and mud benthic habitats near submerged wood. The insects were multivoltine with a minimum of three generations per year. Pupae were collected July through September and adults emerged from May through October. The population overwintered as larvae. Estimated annual production was 1,015.4 …

The media are powerful agents of socialization in modern society influencing values, beliefs, and attitudes of the culture that produces them. Both the quantity and quality of Latino images in the media may reflect and reinforce the place of Latinos in United States society. This study examines how Latinos are portrayed in television entertainment programming by addressing two major research questions: 1) What is the extent of Latino recognition on prime-time television? and 2) What is the extent of respect accorded Latinos on prime-time television? A one-week sample of prime-time television programming airing on three networks yielded 47 programs and 807 characters for analysis. Using content analysis methodology, recognition is identified by examining the frequency and proportional representation of Latino television portrayals and respect is measured by examining the types and significance of these roles. The results indicate an overall lack of diversity on prime-time television with only 11 of the 47 programs analyzed reaching 50% or more of the maximum possible diversity in their racial and ethnic portrayals. Specifically, Latinos represent only 3% of primetime television characters, less than one-fourth of their proportion of the nation's population. Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, and Asians, Latinos are the group least …

A graphite foam was developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) by Dr. James Klett and license was granted to POCO Graphite, Inc. to manufacture and market the product as PocoFoam™. Unlike many processes currently used to manufacture carbon foams, this process yields a highly graphitic structure and overcomes many limitations, such as oxidation stabilization, that are routinely encountered in the development of carbon foam materials. The structure, thermal properties, electrical resistivity, isotropy, and density uniformity of PocoFoam™ were evaluated. These properties and characteristics of PocoFoam™ are compared with natural and synthetic graphite in order to show that, albeit similar, it is unique. Thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity were derived from Fourier's energy equation. It was determined that PocoFoam™ has the equivalent thermal conductivity of metals routinely used as heat sinks and that thermal diffusivity is as much as four times greater than pure copper and pure aluminum. SEM and XRD results indicate that PocoFoam™ has a high degree of crystalline alignment and near theoretical d spacing that is more typical of natural flake graphite than synthetic graphite. PocoFoam™ is anisotropic, indicating an isotropy factor of 0.5, and may yield higher thermal conductivity at cryogenic temperatures than is observed in …

The purpose of this dissertation was twofold. First, the study sought to determine if the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) Reading score predicts success on the Examination for the Certification of Educators in Texas (ExCET). Second, the study addressed the effect on individuals of color of raising the minimum TASP Reading score entrance requirement for admission to teacher preparation programs. Data were collected from the ExCET Office of a Carnegie I metropolitan university. The defined sample consisted of 961 participants who had a TASP Reading score and had taken an Elementary Comprehensive ExCET, an Elementary Professional Development ExCET or a Secondary Professional ExCET between September 1999 and January 2001. Linear Regression, Box Test, Predictive Discriminate Analysis, and frequency distribution tables were used for analyses. This investigation examined the effects of the independent variable of TASP Reading score on the performance of participants on the dependent variable, the ExCET. Four null hypotheses were tested at the .05 level of significance. The TASP Reading score was a statistically significant predictor for success on the Elementary Comprehensive ExCET, Elementary Professional Development ExCET, and the Secondary Professional Development ExCET. However, the Predictive Discriminate Analysis indicated that a TASP Reading score of 220 predicted that …

To explore the influence that variations in projective stimuli might have on the respondent's ability to identify with pictorial representations of hands derived from the Hand Test (Wagner, 1961, 1983), 61 young adults (M age = 23) and 60 older adults (M age = 73) were presented with four alternate versions of hand stimuli (young male, young female, old male, and old female) in addition to the original Hand Test. Results indicated main effects for age and gender of respondent, which were primarily consistent with previous Hand Test research. Main effects for gender and age of hand stimuli (p < .05) were also found. Significant interaction effects were revealed for age of respondent by age of hand stimuli and for age of respondent by gender of hand stimuli (p < .05). These interactions resulted in the elicitation of a variety of responses to a differentiated manner than a standard set of Hand Test stimuli. A gender of respondent by gender of hand stimuli interaction effect was also found (p &lt; .05), suggesting that gender alterations of the card may also be beneficial for increasing respondent identification for some individuals. Overall, the results of variations in Hand Test stimuli, as they …

The principal investigator (PI) for this study analyzed mean scores on the National Counselor Examination (NCE) of students from CACREP accredited and non- CACREP accredited programs. Data was provided by the National Board of Certified Counselors, Inc., for a total of ten examination administrations across six years. The fourteen variables examined in the study consisted of the eight common-core knowledge domains identified in CACREP standards, the five counselor work behavior areas identified by NBCC via periodic job analysis of counseling practice, and one overall or total score on the NCE. NCE mean scores of students from CACREP accredited programs were higher than NCE mean scores of students from non-CACREP accredited programs on all variables across all ten NCE administrations. Data seem to indicate that students from CACREP accredited programs perform significantly better on the NCE than students from non-CACREP accredited programs, in all fourteen variables. Sample size was large, totaling 9707, so the PI calculated effect sizes using Cohen's d for each variable to aid interpretation of statistical significance. Five variables had large effect sizes of .70 or higher. The higher effect size statistics were associated with the counselor work behavior areas, with the highest effect size (.85) associated with …

The use of animal models in research has led to a fierce debate between animal rights activists and scientists. The former claim that little useful information is gained from animal studies and the suffering of animals does not preclude any treatments which may be used to treat human illnesses. Yet, research scientists claim that in vivo animal models are of absolute necessity to developing treatments and cures to disease. To determine the necessity of animal use, one must examine the models currently in research. Have the animal models for disorders such as cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy given scientists enough information to develop effective treatments? This paper will examine the role of animal subjects in several disease research protocols, as well as the applicability of the research.

Unlike other Confederate armies at the conclusion of the Civil War, General Edmund Kirby Smith's Trans-Mississippi Army disbanded, often without orders, rather than surrender formally. Despite entreaties from military and civilian leaders to fight on, for Confederate soldiers west of the Mississippi River, the surrender of armies led by Generals Robert E. Lee and Joseph E. Johnston ended the war. After a significant decline in morale and discipline throughout the spring of 1865, soldiers of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department chose to break-up and return home. As compensation for months of unpaid service, soldiers seized both public and private property. Civilians joined the soldiers to create disorder that swept many Texas communities until the arrival of Federal troops in late June.

This study contributes a procedure, based on data analysis and geostatistical methods, to evaluate the distribution of chemical ratios and differentiate natural and anthropogenic contaminant sources of groundwater quality in the East Texas Basin. Four aquifers were studied, Sparta, Queen City, Carrizo and Wilcox. In this study, Carrizo- Wilcox is considered as one aquifer, and Sparta-Queen City as another. These aquifers were divided into depth categories, 0-150 feet for Sparta-Queen City and 300-600 feet and 600-900 feet for Carrizo-Wilcox in order to identify individual sources of contamination. Natural sources include aquifer mineral make up, salt domes and lignite beds. Major anthropogenic sources include lignite and salt dome mining and oil-gas production. Chemical ratios selected were Na/Cl, Ca/Cl, Mg/Cl, SO4/Cl, (Na+Cl)/TDS, SO4/Ca and (Ca+Mg)/(Na+K). Ratio distributions and their relationships were examined to evaluate physical-chemical processes occurring in the study area. Potential contaminant sources were used to divide the Basin into three areas: Area 1 to the east, Area 2 in the west and Area 3 in the center. Bivariate analysis was used to uncover differences between the areas. The waters in Area 1 are potentially impacted primarily from oil field waters. Sources present in Area 2 include lignite beds and oil …

This study utilized GIS and statistical methods to map the spatial variability of nitrate and related groundwater constituents in 30 counties above the Seymour Aquifer, analyze temporal patterns of nitrate pollution, identify probable sources of pollution, and recommend water development strategies to minimize exposure to nitrate and reduce future aquifer contamination. Nitrate concentrations in excess of 44 mg/L (US EPA limit) were commonly observed in the Seymour Aquifer region, especially in the central agricultural belt. Data indicated that this is an ongoing problem in the Seymour Aquifer and that agricultural activity and rural septic systems are the likely sources of the nitrate. Inconclusive results emphasized the need for a more comprehensive spatial and temporal water quality monitoring.

This study examined the effect of active learning seminars and a mentoring program on the use of active learning teaching techniques by college faculty. A quasi-experimental study was conducted using convenience samples of faculty from two private Christian supported institutions. Data for the study were collected from surveys and faculty course evaluations. The study lasted one semester. Faculty volunteers from one institution served as the experimental group and faculty volunteers from the second institution were the comparison group. The experimental group attended approximately eight hours of active learning seminars and also participated in a one-semester mentoring program designed to assist faculty in application of active learning techniques. Several individuals conducted the active learning seminars. Dr. Charles Bonwell, a noted authority on active learning, conducted the first three-hour seminar. Seven faculty who had successfully used active learning in their classrooms were selected to conduct the remaining seminars. The faculty-mentoring program was supervised by the researcher and conducted by department chairs. Data were collected from three surveys and faculty course evaluations. The three surveys were the Faculty Active Learning Survey created by the researcher, the Teaching Goals Inventory created by Angelo and Cross, and the college edition of Learner-Centered Practices by Barbara …

Differences in cardiovascular/aerobic function in heart transplant patients might be attributed to the rate of corticosteroid withdrawal and/or to skeletal muscle function. This hypothesis was tested among nine male, cardiac transplant recipients. Prednisone dosage was monitored, and isokinetic strength testing was performed at 4 different time periods throughout the first year post-transplantation. Cardiovascular/aerobic measurements were obtained at the fourth time period. Pre-surgery characteristics were obtained from the patient's medical record. Significant Pearson-product moment correlations were only found between muscle function and aerobic function and between pre-surgery characteristics and cardiovascular/aerobic performance. The results of this study show no evidence that rapid reduction of prednisone dosage enhances aerobic function by benefiting skeletal muscle function.

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of a filial/play therapy training model with high school juniors and seniors enrolled in a Peer Assistance and Leadership program (PALs). Filial/play therapy is an intervention that focuses on strengthening and enhancing adult-child relationships. The high students are trained to be a therapeutic change agent for primary school children identified as having adjustment difficulties by utilizing basic child-centered play therapy skills in weekly play sessions with young children. Specifically, this study is designed to determine the effectiveness of filial therapy in increasing: 1) the high school students' observed empathic behavior with young children, 2) the high school students' observed attitude of acceptance toward young children, 3) the high school students' observed ability to allow self-direction in young children, and 4) the high school students' observed level of involvement with young children. The experimental group, consisting of 16 volunteer high school students enrolled in a PALs class for high school credit, received a total of 24 weeks of filial/play therapy didactic training, application, and supervision for the playtimes they conducted with pre-kindergarten/kindergarten students identified with adjustment difficulties. The comparison group consisted of 15 volunteer high school students enrolled in a PALs class for …

The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of a conflicting instruction on FR-5 performances by an ABABC design. After all four college students were consistently pressing 1-5-3 followed by sound-clips, the schedule value changed to FR-5 (A). Then they were presented with the written instruction "Press 426" (B) in addition to the previous condition. In the last condition (C), 1-5-3 responses were then scheduled for extinction in three participants and the reinforcer was changed from sound-clips to points for one participant. The results showed that unlike previous experiments, instructions did not override the scheduled contingencies. Instruction-following occurred only when there were no other contingencies (i.e., extinction of 1-5-3) or the scheduled reinforcer for FR-5 performances was weak.

This study investigated the relationships among the variables of parenting stress, academic self-concept, and reading ability. The purpose of this study was to determine whether parenting stress and academic self-concept contributed to the child's reading ability. Two hypotheses were investigated in an effort to accomplish this purpose. The subjects used in this study were forty-nine children and their primary caretakers referred to The Child and Family Resource Center, The University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, during the academic years of 1994 through 1999. Subjects ranged in age from seven to eighteen years of age. Academically, the subjects ranged from first graders through eleventh graders. All subjects lived in and attended schools in Denton County or neighboring counties. Parental employment ranged from unskilled laborers to medical doctors. The participating families included biological, step, adoptive, single, and divorced families. Abidin's Parenting Stress Index was used to measure parental stress experienced by the primary caretaker. The Intellectual and School Status cluster of the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale was used to measure the child's academic self-concept and the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test-Revised provided a measure of the child's reading ability. Test scores were obtained following a review of The Child and Family Resource Center's …

Are computer-administered versions of a multiple choice paper-pencil test equivalent? This study determined whether there were any significant differences between taking a traditional pencil-paper test and taking the same test using a computer. The literature has shown that there are intervening variables that have caused differences when not controlled. To prove equivalency between test modes, scores have to have similar means, dispersions, and shapes; the ranked-order of the scores must also be similar. Four tests were given over the course of a 16-week semester. The sample was divided, half taking paper-pencil tests and half taking the same test administered by a computer. The mode of administration was switched with each test administration. The analysis showed that, when the intervening variables were controlled, the two modes of administration were equivalent. The analysis used a 2x4 ANOVA, which showed no difference between test modes, but showed that each test administration was significantly different. The Levene statistic was used to test whether dispersions were equivalent and confidence intervals were established to test the kurtosis and skewness statistics. Finally, each of the test scores were transformed into their Normal Curve Equivalents so that Pearson's coefficient could be used to determine the equivalency of the …

In Ghana, spatial patterns of TB vary for different regions and variations may occur within the same region. This study examines TB distribution in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Behavioral, cultural and economic variables associated with TB morbidity are examined. From January 1998 to June 1999, data obtained from the Ghana Ministry of Health revealed that, men had a higher TB rate than women, TB was common among the age groups 20-29 and 30-39, and the average TB rate of 67.7 per 100, 000 population in the Greater Accra Region was higher than the national average (58.6 per 100,000 population). Using the human ecology model, this study attempts to explain the spatial distribution of the disease.

Missed appointments by patients are a major problem for health care professionals. To combat this issue, some optometrists use a pre-appointing system in which patients are scheduled for an annual exam a year after their initial visit. Prior to that subsequent appointment, clinic staff often try to contact the patient to confirm the appointment. This study examined baseline levels of appointment keeping, analyzed existing processes for pre-appointing patients, and introduced a revised process package to improve appointment keeping at an eye care clinic. This package included training, mailed postcard reminders and two phone call reminders. Results indicate appointment keeping by pre-appointed patients increased over baseline. The intervention was also shown to be cost-beneficial.

Using data from the Household Component of the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, the study compares (1) the accessibility, and (2) the predictors of health care services utilization among African American and non-Hispanic White males, 18 to 65 years old in the United States. Using ANOVA procedure in comparing the means for use of physicians, hospitals, doctors, and difficulty obtaining care, seven hypotheses were tested in the study. First, it was hypothesized that African American men of working age will have less access to health care services (physicians, hospitals, and dentists), and be more likely to report having experienced delay or difficulty obtaining care, compared to non-Hispanic white males of working age. Second, it was hypothesized that, controlling for health status, African American men of working age will have less access to health care services (physicians, hospitals, and dentists), and will also be more likely to experience delay or difficulty obtaining care, than non-Hispanic white males. This was followed by the third hypothesis which compared utilization of physicians, hospitals, dentists, and difficulty obtaining care among African American and non-Hispanic white males, controlling for health status and insurance coverage (any insurance, private insurance, any public insurance, and Medicaid). Hypotheses four through …