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Knowing is Seaing: Conceptual Metaphor in the Fiction of Kate Chopin (open access)

Knowing is Seaing: Conceptual Metaphor in the Fiction of Kate Chopin

This paper examines the metaphoric structures that underlie Chopin's major novel, The Awakening, as well as those underlying selected short stories. Drawing on the modern theory of metaphor described by Mark Turner, George Lakoff, and Mark Johnson, the author argues that conceptual metaphors are the structural elements that underlie our experiences, thoughts, and words, and that their presence is revealed through our everyday language. Since these conceptual structures are representative of human thought and language, they are also present in literary texts, and specifically in Chopin's texts. Conceptual metaphors and the linguistic forms that result from them are so basic a part of our thinking that we automatically construct our utterances by means of them. Accordingly, conceptual metaphor mirrors human thought processes, as demonstrated by the way we describe our experiences.
Date: May 1997
Creator: Green, Suzanne Disheroon, 1963-
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Structural Approach to Four Theories of Group Development (open access)

A Structural Approach to Four Theories of Group Development

The goal of this study was to attempt to develop a classification scheme that systematically related individual behavior, interpersonal behavior, and group interactions for the purpose of using the resulting classification scheme to evaluate theories of group development proposed by Bion, Bennis and Shepard, Bales, and Tuckman and Jensen. It was assumed that theorists' presuppositions about the structure of groups might influence their theories. Using a qualitative process of analysis, a structural classification scheme (SCS) was developed based upon transformative and generative rules, utilizing the General System Theory subsystem process of self-regulated boundary operations. The SCS protocol was employed to categorize and compare the theories of group development proposed by Bion, Bennis and Shepard, Bales, and Tuckman and Jensen. The resulting categorization of theories indicated that relationships existed among and between a group's structural properties, the complexity and type of communication connections among and between group members, and the size of the group. In addition, a common structural relationship was demonstrated to exist among and between individual, dyadic, and triadic group forms. A similar structural relationship was also speculated to exist between groups of any size. It was concluded that a structural approach to groups may offer insight to group …
Date: May 1997
Creator: King, Dennis J., 1945-
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of the Influence of Kenneth Cooper's Work on the Teaching of Wellness and Fitness in Physical Education Programs in 2-Year Community Colleges in the United States (open access)

A Study of the Influence of Kenneth Cooper's Work on the Teaching of Wellness and Fitness in Physical Education Programs in 2-Year Community Colleges in the United States

Kenneth H. Cooper is considered to be a noted scholar in the field of wellness and fitness. This study explored his contributions to the preventive medicine and wellness movement in community college physical education programs in the United States. It examined Cooper's influence on the development of preventive medicine and wellness from its inception and growth to its impact on changes and factors affecting curriculum in community college programs. A random sample of436 physical education division directors from the nation's 1,400 community colleges yielded a 62% survey response. For purposes of comparison, the sample was stratified into two regions taken fromeast and west of the Mississippi River. Chi-square analysis at the .01 level of significance found no difference between variables due to geographic region. The findings of this study indicate that Kenneth Cooper's contributions to preventive medicine and wellness in community college physical education curriculum are overshadowed by state and local governing bodies that are the force behind curricular development in the nation's 2-year community colleges. However, as an individual contributor, Cooper ranks highly in influencing the wellness and physical education curriculum primarily in the areas of aerobic exercise, physical fitness, and cardiovascular disease. The extent of Cooper's impact on …
Date: May 1997
Creator: Coan, Barbara A. (Barbara Ann)
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
AIDS Preventative Behavior Among Taiwanese University Students (open access)

AIDS Preventative Behavior Among Taiwanese University Students

This study used the Health Belief Model to examine the predictors of AIDS preventive behavior. The independent variables were the variables of individual perception, modifying factors (psychological variables), and likelihood variables. The respondents, the Taiwanese students of the University of North Texas, were influenced both by Chinese sexuality and Western values in their AIDS-risk behavior. The results revealed that 90% of the respondents were misinformed on the availability of AIDS vaccine. In addition, a majority of the students were either abstaining from sex or practicing monogamy. Using Pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis, this study found that the psychological variables rather than cognitive variables significantly influenced the respondents' AIDS preventive behavior. Finally, suggestions were made for future research on AIDS, and for AIDS preventive behavior campaigns.
Date: May 1997
Creator: Wang, Ya-Chien
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Comparison of a Computer-Administered Test and a Paper and Pencil Test Using Normally Achieving and Mathematically Disabled Young Children (open access)

A Comparison of a Computer-Administered Test and a Paper and Pencil Test Using Normally Achieving and Mathematically Disabled Young Children

This study investigated whether a computer-administered mathematics test can provide equivalent results for normal and mathematically disabled students while retaining similar psychometric characteristics of an equivalent paper and pencil version of the test. The overall purpose of the study was twofold. First, the viability of using computer administered assessment with elementary school children was examined. Second, by investigating items on the computer administered mathematics test for potential bias between normally achieving and mathematically disabled populations, it was possible to determine whether certain mathematical concepts consistently distinguish between the two ability groups.
Date: May 1997
Creator: Swain, Colleen R. (Colleen Ruth)
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Strategic Planning for Texas Community Colleges (open access)

Strategic Planning for Texas Community Colleges

Over the past three to four decades the community college has experienced some tremendous periods of growth and success. Much of this has been due to a growing economy and a growing population. However, the future of the community college may be in for some changes. The effects these changes are having can mean opportunity or disaster depending on the readiness of the institution. The change occurring today requires future insight, swifter action, and a proactive response. Community colleges cannot afford to leave planning for crisis situations. A proactive stance must be taken and tough questions must be asked. In 1991 the Seventy-second Texas Legislature tasked the Legislative Budget Board of Texas with the assignment of developing a long-range strategic plan for state government based on individual agency plans. The passing of House Bill No. 2009 required that all agencies of Texas State Government, including community colleges, develop a strategic plan. The purpose of this study was to determine the significance of certain independent variables towards the perceived importance of three dependent variables - statements of purpose, statements of direction and statements of impact - found in the Legislative Budget Board Strategic Planning Template. Research shows that there are a …
Date: May 1997
Creator: Minatra, Rodger W. (Rodger Walton)
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Spectrofluorometric and Solubility Studies of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Hydrogen Bonded Binary Solvent Mixtures (open access)

Spectrofluorometric and Solubility Studies of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Hydrogen Bonded Binary Solvent Mixtures

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the behavior of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in binary solvent systems and determine and/or develop predictive mathematical expressions for describing solutions in which hydrogen-bonding occurs.
Date: May 1997
Creator: Powell, Joyce R., 1968-
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Prediction of Aggressive and Socially Disruptive Behavior among Forensic Patients: a Validation of the Psychopathy Checklist Screening Version (open access)

Prediction of Aggressive and Socially Disruptive Behavior among Forensic Patients: a Validation of the Psychopathy Checklist Screening Version

Psychopathic criminals commit more crimes, are more prone to recidivism, and more likely to engage in violent crimes and other aggressive behavior than nonpsychopathic criminals. Less is known about forensic patients, both with and without psychopathy, and their aggression. In the current study, patients in a maximum security hospital were examined with respect to their psychopathy and its predictive value on institutional management and dangerousness. In this regard, the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL) and the Psychopathy Checklist - Revised (PCL-R) have proven to be valid and reliable measures of psychopathy. The present study was an attempt to establish predictive validity for a new version: the Psychopathy Checklist Screening Version (PCLSV). As such, this study examined the PCL-SV's relationship to (a) diagnoses of Antisocial Personality Disorder according to DSM-III-R criteria and (b) the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) Aggression, Drug Problems, and Antisocial Features scales. The influence of major Axis I disorders on the assessment of psychopathy with the PCLSV was also examined. Participants were 150 male forensic psychiatric patients at Vernon State Hospital who were committed for various reasons: incompetence to stand trial, initial evaluation and treatment after having been found not guilty by reason of insanity, and manifest dangerousness. Chart reviews …
Date: May 1997
Creator: Hill, Christie D.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iconic Ida: Tennyson's The Princess and Her Uses (open access)

Iconic Ida: Tennyson's The Princess and Her Uses

Alfred Lord Tennyson's The Princess: A Medley has posed interpretative difficulties for readers since its 1847 debut. Critics, editors, and artists contemporary with Tennyson as well as in this century have puzzled over the poem's stance on the issue of the so-called Woman Question. Treating Tennyson as the first reader of the poem yields an understanding of the title character, Princess Ida, as an ambassador of Tennyson's optimistic and evolutionary views of human development and links his work to that of visionary educators of nineteenth-century England. Later artists, however, produced adaptations of the poem that twisted its hopefulness into satirical commentary, reduced its complexities to ease the task of reading, and put it to work in various causes, many ranged against the improvement of women's condition. In particular, a series of editions carried The Princess into various nations, classrooms, and homes, promoting interpretations that often obscure Tennyson's cautious optimism.
Date: May 1997
Creator: Guidici, Cynthia (Cynthia Dianne)
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Assessment of the Perceived Competencies Possessed by Women Administrators in Vocational Education at Community Colleges in Texas (open access)

Assessment of the Perceived Competencies Possessed by Women Administrators in Vocational Education at Community Colleges in Texas

The need for a high-quality workforce to meet increased competition in the world economy has increased the need for competent vocational administrators in public 2-year postsecondary institutions. Researchers have agreed that vocational education is in a state of metamorphosis and must change to meet its challenges in the coming century. At the same time, more women are seeking and obtaining vocational administrative positions. Several studies have been done to identify the competencies needed by vocational administrators to perform their duties, but there has been little research on the actual ability to perform the administrative tasks identified by these studies. Two main purposes of this study are: (a) to determine the perceived level of administrative competencies possessed by women administrators in vocational education at the community college level in Texas; (b) to determine the adequacy of the preservice training received by these administrators to perform their administrative functions. Of the 175 women administrators randomly selected to participate in the study, 71% completed the Administrator Task Inventory. In addition to the descriptive statistics, two multiple regression analyses were tested. First, principal component analysis was used to reduce the number of dependent variables from 11 to 2, after which two multiple regression analyses …
Date: May 1997
Creator: Chiawa, Chioma B. (Chioma Bernadette)
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Investigation of the Relationship between Work Value Congruence in a Dyad and Organizational Commitment as Mediated by Organizational Influences (open access)

An Investigation of the Relationship between Work Value Congruence in a Dyad and Organizational Commitment as Mediated by Organizational Influences

Researchers suggest that value congruence in superior-subordinate dyads results in positive outcomes for an organization (Kemelgor, 1980; Meglino, Ravlin, & Adkins, 1989; 1990; Parkington & Schneider, 1979; Senger, 1971; Weeks, Chonko, Kahle, 1989). Further, evidence is presented which suggests that commitment at the organizational level is achieved, in part, through value congruence at the individual level of analysis. Analysis at the individual level reflects the effect of shared values on interpersonal relations. Work value congruence in a dyad enhances the development of a high quality dyadic relationship. The subordinate in such a relationship perceives being allowed more participation in decision making, more positive work experiences, and less role stress (Turban & Jones, 1988). These items have been found to be predictor variables of commitment from Steer's (1977) framework of antecedents. In this study, a research model was proposed which suggests that work value congruence in the subordinate-superior dyad leads to organizational commitment through its effect on subordinate perceptions of role stress characteristics, participation, and work experiences. The model integrates the organizational aspects of the Steer's (1977) framework for organizational commitment with the interpersonal effect of work value congruence. A field study design using a sample of 96 subordinate-superior dyads at …
Date: May 1997
Creator: Dale, Kathleen M. (Kathleen Marie)
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Descriptive Study of Parenting Styles and Behaviors of 4-Year-Old Children When Parents Participate in a Parenting Education Program (open access)

A Descriptive Study of Parenting Styles and Behaviors of 4-Year-Old Children When Parents Participate in a Parenting Education Program

This study described and explored perceptions of the context and behaviors of seven 4-year-old children whose parents attended a parenting education program. The problem was to explore a group of 9 volunteer parents' perceptions of their parenting styles and perceptions of their 4-year-old children at home while the parents participated in, and completed, a minimum of 4 out of 6 Active Parenting Today parenting education classes. Volunteer parents were recruited during public school registration for prekindergarten. In addition, perceptions of 4 teachers and 4 classroom educational aides in regard to behaviors of the 4-year-old children whose parents participated in and completed the Active Parenting Today program were explored.
Date: May 1997
Creator: Redwine, S. Michelle (Sondra Michelle)
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Piano Quintet (open access)

Piano Quintet

The thesis is a traditional piano quintet in the manner of Bartok, incorporating compositional techniques such as golden ratio and using folk materials. Special effects on strings are limited for easy conversion to wind instruments. The piece is about 15 minutes long.
Date: May 1997
Creator: Tan, Chee-Tick
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Impact on the Buyer-Seller Relationship of Firms Using Electronic Data Interchange (open access)

The Impact on the Buyer-Seller Relationship of Firms Using Electronic Data Interchange

This research investigated whether the buyer-seller interorganizational relationship (IOR) differed between a firm and two classes of customers. The first class used electronic data interchange (EDI) with the firm and the second class used the traditional paper-based purchasing system. IOR characteristics included reputation, skill, direct power, indirect power, reciprocity, and efficiency.
Date: May 1997
Creator: Poole, Robyn R. (Robyn Ryan)
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cultural Diversity and Team Performance: Testing for Social Loafing Effects (open access)

Cultural Diversity and Team Performance: Testing for Social Loafing Effects

The concept of social loafing is important with regard to organizational effectiveness particularly as organizations are relying on teams as a means to drive productivity. The composition of those teams is likely to reflect the current movement of racial and ethnic minorities in the work place. The primary purpose of this research was to determine the role cultural diversity plays in enhancing performance and thereby eliminating social loafing. The research study is significant because 1) it is among the first to use culturally diverse work groups while examining the social loafing phenomenon, and 2) the groups were intact project teams, rather than ad-hoc groups commonly found in social loafing experiments. It was anticipated that the members of culturally homogeneous groups would engage in social loafing when their individual efforts were "buried." However, subjects in both culturally diverse and culturally homogeneous groups resisted social loafing behaviors. Additional statistical analysis revealed that as group orientation increased, performance levels increased as well. Group orientation, then, appears to be a more powerful determinant of performance than group composition. It is expected that the time these groups had together and the performance feedback opportunities provided them, prior to the experiment, contributed significantly to these results. …
Date: May 1997
Creator: Heller, Deanna M. (Deanna Marcell)
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Southwest Retort, Volume 50, Number 9, May 1997 (open access)

Southwest Retort, Volume 50, Number 9, May 1997

This publication of the Dallas-Fort Worth Section of the American Chemical Society includes information about research, prominent scientist, organizational business, and various other stories of interest to the community.
Date: May 1997
Creator: American Chemical Society. Dallas/Fort Worth Section.
Object Type: Journal/Magazine/Newsletter
System: The UNT Digital Library
Computer-Supported Collaborative Work and Its Application to Software Engineering in a Case Environment (open access)

Computer-Supported Collaborative Work and Its Application to Software Engineering in a Case Environment

This study investigated, in the context of a field-based case study, possibilities for formation of a synergistic union between CSCW and CASE tools. A major dimension of today's software challenge is in gearing up for large-scale system development necessitating large teams of systems engineers. The principal goal of this research was to advance the body of knowledge regarding the nature of collaborative technological support in the software development process. Specifically, the study was designed to evaluate the potential for using a CSCW tool as an effective front-end to a CASE tool in the furtherance of SDLC goals.
Date: May 1997
Creator: Bailey, Janet L.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Substitution Chemistry of Ruthenium Clusters with the Diphosphine Ligands: 4,5-Bis(Diphenylphosphino)-4-Cyclo-Penten-1,3-Dione (bpcd), (Z)-Ph₂PCH=CHPP₂ and 3,4-Bis(Diphenylphosphino)-5-Methoxy-2(5H)-Furanone (bmf) (open access)

Substitution Chemistry of Ruthenium Clusters with the Diphosphine Ligands: 4,5-Bis(Diphenylphosphino)-4-Cyclo-Penten-1,3-Dione (bpcd), (Z)-Ph₂PCH=CHPP₂ and 3,4-Bis(Diphenylphosphino)-5-Methoxy-2(5H)-Furanone (bmf)

The chemistry of transition metal clusters has been a fast developing area of organometallic research in recent years. Compared to mononuclear metal complexes, polynuclear clusters offer more opportunities to study cooperative effects and electron reservoir properties between contiguous metal centers, in addition to functioning as storehouses for the release of catalytically active small fragments capable of exhibiting heterosite subtrate activation. Theoretically, metal clusters are intermediates between mononuclear complexes and metal surfaces, i.e., they serve as a bridge between molecular and solid-state chemistry. Transition metal clusters are ideal candidates to study M-M interactions stretching from the single bond to the collective metallic behavior found in a three-dimensional network of metal atoms. The reaction between the redox-active diphoshpine ligand bpcd and RU(CO) has been examined under a variety of conditions. The disubstituted cluster Ru3(CO)10(bpcd)(2) has been synthesized and shown to contain a chealating bpcd ligand, on the basis of IR and 31P NMR data. The cluster 2 (chelating isomer) undergoes cluster fragmentation at ambient temperatures in the dark to give the binuclear compound 3 and Ru3(CO)12, with no evidence for the formation of 4. Both 3 and 4 have been isolated and fully characterized in solution by IR and NMR spectroscopy, and …
Date: May 1997
Creator: Shen, Huafeng
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Messages from an Imagination (open access)

Messages from an Imagination

The large scale format allows the images I created to have a more pronounced impact on the viewer. Self-reflective subject matter exhibited within the large attention-getting style allows an audience to better connect and identify with the figures in my work. The piece is a series of large scale paintings butted together both side by side at one hundred thirty-five-degree angles that provides a vehicle to surround the viewer. The paintings, when placed together, form a continuous image and present themselves as one extensive piece.
Date: May 1997
Creator: White, Derrick R.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 51, No. 22, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 29, 1997 (open access)

Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 51, No. 22, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 29, 1997

Weekly Jewish newspaper from Fort Worth, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with extensive advertising.
Date: May 29, 1997
Creator: Wisch, J. A. & Wisch, Rene
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
Texas Teacher Education Reform of 1992: An Analysis of Events, Processes, and Results (open access)

Texas Teacher Education Reform of 1992: An Analysis of Events, Processes, and Results

This was a qualitative study designed to document the historical process which brought about a performance-centered accountability (or results-based) system in educator preparation in Texas as reflected in the documents of the first 17 institutions approved under the new approval process for educator preparation. The study will also serve as a historical record which used the change process in political systems to analyze the adoption of the Accountability System for Educator Preparation (ASEP). Additionally, the study provided a thorough review of the literature on Michael Fullan's Change Process Model and David Easton's Political Systems Model.
Date: May 1997
Creator: Dixon, Marva T. (Marva Thomas)
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effect of Different Forms of Accounting Feedback, Cost Aggregation and Pricing Knowledge on Profitability and Profit Estimation (open access)

The Effect of Different Forms of Accounting Feedback, Cost Aggregation and Pricing Knowledge on Profitability and Profit Estimation

This study extends a research stream calling for further research regarding pricing and accounting feedback. Marketing executives rely heavily on accounting information for pricing decisions, yet criticize accounting feedback usefulness. To address this criticism, this research integrates the cognitive psychology and accounting literature addressing feedback effectiveness with pricing research in the marketing discipline. The research extends the scope of previous accounting feedback studies by using a control group and comparing two proxies of subject task knowledge; years of pricing experience and a measure of the cognitive structure of pricing knowledge. In addition, this research manipulates task complexity by using two different accounting systems. These systems vary in the number of cost pools used in allocating overhead, resulting in differentially projected cost and profit information. A total of 60 subjects participated in a computer laboratory experiment. These subjects were non-accountants with varying amounts of pricing knowledge. Subjects were randomly assigned to six experimental groups which varied by feedback type (no accounting feedback, outcome feedback only, or a combination of outcome and task properties feedback) and task complexity (high or low number of overhead cost pools). The subjects attempted to (1) maximize profits for a product during 15 rounds of pricing decisions, …
Date: May 1997
Creator: Smith, David M., 1961-
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The History of a Model Program for Urban Underrepresented Students to Access Higher Education, 1990-1995 (open access)

The History of a Model Program for Urban Underrepresented Students to Access Higher Education, 1990-1995

This study traced the development of the Equity 2000 Program in the Fort Worth Independent School District from its inception in 1990 to its sixth and final year as an exemplary program for equal access to higher education for minority and underserved youth. Program components included mathematics, counseling, staff development, academic enrichment activities, parent education and higher education linkages. Both primary and secondary sources were evaluated from the perspectives of internal and external criticism. The following conclusions were reached: 1) District policy must change if minority students are going to access algebra and geometry. 2) The lack of involvement of other curriculum areas created primarily a mathematics inservice program. 3) Required inservice was necessary to provide improved and more effective campus and district results. 4) The precollege guidance and counseling component needed integration with the mathematics component. 5) Lack of principals' involvement in the early development of the program contributed to uneven administrative support. 6) There was no definitive strategy for parental inclusion. 7) Funding sources were inadequate to fully implement all parts of the program. 8) There was limited participation of local institutions of higher education. 9) There was a lack of an ongoing, structured evaluation process to document …
Date: May 1997
Creator: Greer, Carolyn Anne Harris Melton
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Resource Evaluation and Presidential Decision-making: Predicting the Use of Force by U.S. Presidents, 1976 - 1988 (open access)

Resource Evaluation and Presidential Decision-making: Predicting the Use of Force by U.S. Presidents, 1976 - 1988

In order to explain presidential decisions to use force, a model is developed that incorporates three distinct decision-making environments. The results indicate the president is responsive not only to domestic and international environments, but also to the resource evaluation environment. The evidence here demonstrates that while these two environments are important the president can't use force arbitrarily; rather, his evaluation of resources available for the use of force can limit his ability to engage the military during crisis situations.
Date: May 1997
Creator: Waterman, Peter A. (Peter Alan)
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library