This poster introduces the faculty lecture series UNT Speaks Out on HIV/AIDS. This series features Dr. Mark Vosvick, associate professor of psychology, Dr. Chwee-Lye Chng, regents professor of kinesiology, health promotion, and recreational studies, Dr. Joseph R. Oppong, professor of geography, and Dr. Ami R. Moore, associate professor of sociology.

Presentation for the 2011 Coalition of Networked Information (CNI) meeting discussing the Aligning National Approaches to Digital Preservation Summit, held in the capital of Estonia in May 2011.

Article on marketing your library collection to your community and becoming a destination for information.

Fields and Armor is a comparative study of English feudalism from the Norman Conquest until the reign of King Henry II (1154-1189) and Japan’s first military government, the Kamakura Bakufu (1185- 1333). This thesis was designed to examine the validity of a European-Japanese comparison. Such comparisons have been attempted in the past. However, many historians on both sides of the equation have levied some serious criticism against these endeavors. In light, of these valid criticisms, this thesis has been a comparison of medieval English government and that of the Kamakura-Samurai, because of a variety of geographic, cultural and social similarities that existed in both regions. These similarities include similar military organizations and parallel developments, which resulted in the formation of two of most centralized military governments in either Western Europe or East Asia, and finally, the presence and real enforcement of two forms of unitary inheritance in both locales.

Computer-based, mathematical models have significant value in describing the processes behind urban development and its inhabitants. The following research describes the theories and concepts behind modeling and offers insight into the potential future of the field. First, the research covers a brief history of applicable modeling strategies. This is followed by a summary of current popular approaches. The numerical background of geo-social engineering is developed through mathematical techniques. Geo-social engineering is the integration of modeling into the basic design human civilization. The mathematical models will be incorporated into a design of a computer program. From this, a possible geo-social model structure is presented and its architecture is described.

This dissertation explores the musical traditions of the Penitentes of New Mexico and how these traditions influenced James (Santa Fe) Galloway’s Alabado for soprano, alto flute, and piano. Due to geographical isolation and religious seclusion the music of the Penitential Brotherhood is not well known outside of these New Mexican communities. The focus of this study, as pertaining to the music of the Penitentes, is the alabado “Por el rastro de la cruz,” and the pito, a handmade wooden flute. Included in this paper are transcriptions of pito melodies performed by Vicente Padilla, Cleofes Vigil, Emilio Ortiz, and Reginald Fisher, which have been transcribed by John Donald Robb, William R. Fisher, Reginald Fisher, and Rebecca Weidman-Winter. Few resources are available on Galloway or Alabado, an unpublished work, yet the popularity of this piece is apparent from the regular performances at the National Flute Association Conventions and by flutists throughout the United States. This paper represents a significant contribution to the study of Alabado, the composer, and how this composition reflects the music, history, and people of New Mexico.

The mission types of 105 current doctoral programs in higher education and the extent to which their missions have changed since a similar study was conducted by Dressel and Mayhew in 1974 was studied. The curricula offerings of these programs by degree type (e.g., Ed.D. & Ph.D.) were compared with Fife’s 1991 findings. Finally, the study examined the various modes of instruction (e.g., classroom, online, cohort, blended) these programs utilize. The population was the 131 U.S. higher education doctoral program coordinators or directors who were identified using the ASHE Higher Education Program Directory. A total of 46 hosted Ed.D. programs and 59 hosted Ph.D. programs for a combined total of 105 doctoral programs. An electronic survey, developed by utilizing an expert panel and the cognitive interviewing technique, was sent to each participant. A total of 46 hosted Ed.D. programs and 59 hosted Ph.D. programs for a combined total of 105 doctoral programs. A total of 77 institutions (59%) returned usable questionnaires, and six other universities (5%) indicated their doctoral higher education programs no longer existed. Twenty-three of the responding institutions identified with a research-focused mission; 25 institutions identified with a practitioner-based mission; and 28 institutions identified with both types of …

The utilization of biodegradable polymers is critical for developing “cradle to cradle” mindset with ecological, social and economic consequences. Poly(hydroxy butyrate-co-valerate) (PHBV) shows significant potential for many applications with a polypropylene equivalent mechanical performance. However, it has limitations including high crystallinity, brittleness, small processing window, etc. which need to be overcome before converting them into useful products. Further the development of biodegradable strain sensing polymer sensors for structural health monitoring has been a growing need. In this dissertation I utilize carbon nanotubes as a self sensing dispersed nanofiller. The impact of its addition on PHBV and a blend of PHBV with poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) polymer was examined. Nanocomposites and blends of PHBV, PBAT, and MWCNTs were prepared by melt-blending. The effect of MWCNTs on PHBV crystallinity, crystalline phase, quasi-static and dynamic mechanical property was studied concurrently with piezoresistive response. In PHBV/PBAT blends a rare phenomenon of melting point elevation by the addition of low melting point PBAT was observed. The blends of these two semicrystalline aliphatic and aromatic polyesters were investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry, small angle X-ray scattering, dynamic mechanical analysis, surface energy measurement by contact angle method, polarized optical and scanning electron microscopy, and rheology. The study …

Paul Creston (1906-1985) was one of the most significant American composers from the middle of the twentieth century. Though Creston maintained elements of the nineteenth-century Romantic tradition and was categorized as a “Neo-Romantic” or “20th-century traditionalist,” many of Creston’s compositions contain elements of Baroque music. His Piano Sonata, Opus 9 provides significant examples of Baroque elements, while already foreshadowing his mature style. The purpose of this study is to explore Baroque elements in the compositional language of Paul Creston’s Piano Sonata, Opus 9. All four movements of the Piano Sonata will be examined in regards to its stylistic features associated with Baroque practices. These features mainly consist of rhythm, texture, imitative writing, and repeated phrase structure. Each category of the study will include comparisons of Domenico Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas with Creston’s sonata. Through an examination of the Piano Sonata and its Baroque elements, this study hopes to inspire renewed interest in the work among musicians and to help the performer give a more stylistically coherent, and accurate, performance.

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that motivate or impede faculty use of learning object repositories (LORs). The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) served as the theoretical framework for this study. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in the study to explore two research questions relating to factors affecting faculty use of LORs. Research subjects were faculty and instructional staff users from two LORs: Orange Grove and Wisc-Online. This study was a two-phase design study. In Phase I, I conducted 13 interviews and analyzed data by a content analysis method. Phase II of the study was designed based on the results of Phase I. I collected data by a survey instrument from 38 respondents and analyzed the data by descriptive statistics and analysis of variance in Phase II. The results of the study indicated 22 factors as motivators for faculty use of LORs and 13 factors as barriers for faculty use of LORs. The study is the first to identify factors affecting faculty use of LORs from actual faculty users’ perspectives based on UTAUT. The study’s findings contribute to understanding the reasons that faculty use or do not use LORs and provide …

Coarse-grained fabrics are comprised of multi-bit configurable logic blocks and configurable interconnect. This work is focused on area and energy optimization techniques for coarse-grained reconfigurable fabric architectures. In this work, a variety of design techniques have been explored to improve the utilization of computational resources and increase energy savings. This includes splitting, folding, multi-level vertical interconnect. In addition to this, I have also studied fully connected homogeneous and heterogeneous architectures, and 3D architecture. I have also examined some of the hybrid strategies of computation unit’s arrangements. In order to perform energy and area analysis, I selected a set of signal and image processing benchmarks from MediaBench suite. I implemented various fabric architectures on 90nm ASIC process from Synopsys. Results show area improvement with energy savings as compared to baseline architecture.

Job satisfaction has, and continues to be an important construct of interest to researchers and practitioners alike. However, conflicting operational definitions and inconsistent measurement systems have reduced the efficacy of the construct in predicting important job-related outcomes for organizations and their employees. The Facet Satisfaction Scale (FSS) was designed to overcome these deficiencies by creating a facet-based measure that assesses job satisfaction in accordance with recent definitions of the construct. Reliability and validity analyses were conducted on both the complete and shortened version of the scale. The FSS exhibited evidence of reliability (ranging from .52 to .93 for the shortened FSS, and .53 to .96 for the complete FSS). Evidence of scale validity was also obtained through the use of construct, content, and criterion-related validity measures. Implications of the study on future research on job satisfaction are discussed.

This study reviews factors that identify U.S. Hispanics as being an ideal target market for adopting Location Based Services (LBS). By using the diffusion of innovation theory, an observed pattern of Hispanics’ adoption of technology, advertisements, smartphones and various smartphone value-added services reveals U.S. Hispanics to be more likely to adopt LBS than non-Hispanics. The study also identifies the top U.S. cell phone wireless providers and analyzes their marketing position towards U.S. Hispanics. AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon are noted as marketing their services to U.S. Hispanics via in-culture messages and campaigns. The four wireless providers also utilize LBS as a profitable tool and market LBS to their customers, regardless of ethnicity.

Exotic invasive aquatic weeds such as alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) threaten native ecosystems by interfering with native plant communities, disrupting hydrology, and diminishing water quality. Development of new tools to combat invaders is important for the well being of these sensitive areas. Integrated pest management offers managers an approach that combines multiple control methods for better control than any one method used exclusively. In a greenhouse and field study, we tested the effects of selective herbicide application frequency, native competitor plant introduction, and their integration on alligator weed. In the greenhouse study, alligator weed shoot, root, and total biomass were reduced with one herbicide application, and further reduced with two. Alligator weed cumulative stem length and shoot/root ratio was only reduced after two applications. In the greenhouse, introduction of competitors did not affect alligator weed biomass, but did affect shoot/root ratio. The interaction of competitor introduction and herbicide did not significantly influence alligator weed growth in the greenhouse study. In the field, alligator weed cover was reduced after one herbicide application, but not significantly more after a second. Introduction of competitor species had no effect on alligator weed cover, nor did the interaction of competitor species and herbicide application. This …

Measurements of intraoral pressure (IOP) and sound pressure level (SPL) were taken of four oboists as they performed two sets of musical exercises: (1) crescendo-decrescendo from pp to ff and back to pp on the pitches D4, G4, C5 and A5, and (2) straight and vibrato performances of the same four pitches at mf. Video images of the vocal tract were also made using flexible fiberoptic nasoendoscopy (FFN). IOP and SPL data were captured in real time by the WinDaq®/Lite software package, with the dB meter located 8-9 inches in directly front of the oboe bell. The study yielded minimum and maximum values from 21.04 to 57.81 mm Hg and from 65.53 to 100.89 dB across all pitches examined. Discussion is included for the following topics: (1) the oboe’s sound envelope, or functional range of IOP and SPL values at different pitch levels, including the nonlinearity in the relationship between IOP and SPL on the oboe, (2) the static activation and kinetic maintenance thresholds for reed vibration, (3) the effect of vibrato on IOP/SPL, (4) the utilization of the vocal tract during execution of dynamic changes and vibrato, and (5) the impact of player experience on control of physical variables.

In this project I investigate the factors shaping compliance with international human rights agreements and I provide a definition of compliance, which goes beyond “ratification.” I argue that compliance is a multistage process, built upon three different steps: ratification/accession, implementation, and what I call “compliant behavior.” As an alternative to the dominant structural and normative explanation of compliance, I suggest that the factors affecting compliance are not only endogenous to state characteristics, such as the democratic/non-democratic nature of governments, but also exogenous, such as the perceived level of threat to national security. I offer a twofold theory that looks at leaders’ behavior under conditions of stability and instability and I suggest that under certain circumstances that threaten and pressure government leaders, state compliance with international human rights law becomes more costly. I suggest that regardless of regime type, threats shape leaders’ behavior toward international law; states are faced with the choice to abide by international obligations, protecting specific human rights, and the choice to protect their national interests. I argue that when the costs associated with compliance increase, because leaders face threats to their power and government stability, threats become the predictor of non-compliant behavior regardless of the democratic or …

Several studies have observed that stocks tend to drop by an amount that is less than the dividend on the ex-dividend day, the so-called ex-dividend day anomaly. However, there still remains a lack of consensus for a single explanation of this anomaly. Different from other studies, this dissertation attempts to answer the primary research question: How can investors make trading profits from the ex-dividend day anomaly and how much can they earn? With this goal, I examine the economic motivations of equity investors through four main hypotheses identified in the anomaly’s literature: the tax differential hypothesis, the short-term trading hypothesis, the tick size hypothesis, and the leverage hypothesis. While the U.S. ex-dividend anomaly is well studied, I examine a long data window (1975 to 2010) of Thailand data. The unique structure of the Thai stock market allows me to assess all four main hypotheses proposed in the literature simultaneously. Although I extract the sample data from two data sources, I demonstrate that the combined data are consistently sampled. I further construct three trading strategies: “daily return,” “lag one daily return,” and “weekly return” to alleviate the potential effect of irregular data observation. I find that the ex-dividend day anomaly exists …

An economically reliable technique for the synthesis of silicon nanowire was developed using silicon chloride as source material. The 30-40 micron long nanowires were found to have diameters ranging from 40 – 100 nm. An amorphous oxide shell covered the nanowires, post-growth. Raman spectroscopy confirmed the composition of the shell to be silicon-dioxide. Photoluminescence measurements of the as-grown nanowires showed green emission, attributed to the presence of the oxide shell. Etching of the oxide shell was found to decrease the intensity of green emission. n-type doping of the silicon nanowires was achieved using antimony as the dopant. The maximum dopant concentration was achieved by post-growth diffusion. Intrinsic nanowire parameters were determined by implementation of the as-grown and antimony doped silicon nanowires in field effect transistor configuration.

This pilot study investigated the impact of group activity play therapy (GAPT) on displaced orphans aged 10 to 12 years living in a large children.s village in Uganda. Teachers and housemothers identified 60 preadolescents exhibiting clinical levels of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. The participants ethnicity was African and included an equal number of females and males. Participants were randomly assigned to GAPT (n = 30) or reading mentoring (RM; n = 30), which served as an active control. Preadolescents in both treatment groups participated in an average of 16 sessions, twice weekly with each session lasting 50 minutes. Sessions were held in the school located within the village complex. A two (group) by two (repeated measures) split plot ANOVA was used to analyze the data. According to teacher reports using the Teacher Report Form (TRF) and housemother reports using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), children receiving the GAPT intervention demonstrated statistically significant decreases (p < .025) in internalizing behaviors (TRF: p < .001; CBCL: p < .001 ) and externalizing behaviors (TRF: p = .006; CBCL: p < .001) from pretest to posttest compared to children who received RM. The GAPT intervention demonstrated a large treatment effect on reducing …

Written in French, this thesis presents a comparative and intertextual study on the theme of « windows » in four poems by Charles Baudelaire, Stéphane Mallarmé, Marie Krysinska and Guillaume Apollinaire. Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867), Stéphane Mallarmé (1842 -1898), Marie Krysinska (1857-1908) and Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) use « windows » as a common theme in their poetry. My study compares this common theme found in four poems: (1) “Les fenêtres” by Charles Baudelaire in Spleen de Paris XXXV, 1869. (2) “Les fenêtres” by Stéphane Mallarmé in Le Parnasse Contemporain, 1863/66. (3) “Les fenêtres” by Marie Krysinska in Rythmes pittoresques, 1890. (4) “Les fenêtres” by Guillaume Apollinaire in Calligrammes (1913-1916), 1918. I focus on what distinguishes these fours poems by following the evolution of poetical forms between symbolism and futurism/surrealism. The common theme (“windows”) provides an opportunity to better underline the formal heterogeneity which separates these different “poetical avenues”: with Baudelaire, the newness of prose poetry; with Mallarmé, the symbolist renewal of a more classic form; with Apollinaire, a form of simultaneity inspired by futurism. The comparative analysis brings to light the original value of the poem written by Krysinska, whose works have not greatly captivated the attention of critics.

This study examined Texas high school teachers’ perceptions of their principals as culturally proficient leaders, focusing specifically on how teacher-, school-, and principal-related factors impacted these perceptions. A sample of 104 teachers in culturally diverse secondary schools from a large urban district in Texas participated. An electronic survey was utilized to collect data. Results yielded an average total cultural proficiency score of 111 out of a possible 175, indicating that teachers perceived their principals “sometimes use” culturally proficient practices. Teachers’ perceptions of their principal’s use of culturally proficient leadership practices varied significantly by years of teachers’ experience and school accountability rating (exemplary, academically acceptable, and academically unacceptable). Perceptions of teachers at an Exemplary school were significantly different (higher than the perceptions of teachers at other schools from the same district). Teachers with 11 to 20 years of teaching experience gave significantly lower ratings (22.45 points) than teachers with 1 to 5 years of experience (125.53) and teachers with over 20 years of experience (118.94). While differences were not statistically significant, black and Hispanic teachers rated their principals’ culturally proficient practices higher than white teachers. Age, subject area taught and teacher’s gender, or race being the same as the principal’s gender …

The multi-reference correlation consistent composite approach (MR-ccCA) was designed to reproduce the accuracy of more computationally intensive ab initio quantum mechanical methods like MR-ACPF-DK/aug-cc-pCV?Z-DK, albeit at a significantly reduced cost. In this dissertation, the development and applications of the MR-ccCA method and a variant of its single reference equivalent (the relativistic pseudopotential ccCA method) are reported. MR-ccCA is shown to predict the energetic properties of reactive intermediates, excited states species and transition states to within chemical accuracy (i.e. ±1.0 kcal mol 1) of reliable experimental values. The accuracy and versatility of MR-ccCA are also demonstrated in the prediction of the thermochemical and spectroscopic properties (such as atomization energies, enthalpies of formation and adiabatic transition energies of spin-forbidden excited states) of a series of silicon-containing compounds. The thermodynamic and kinetic feasibilities of the oxidative addition of an archetypal arylglycerol ?-aryl ether (?-O-4 linkage) substructure of lignin to Ni, Cu, Pd and Pt transition metal atoms using the efficient relativistic pseudopotential correlation consistent composite approach within an ONIOM framework (rp-ccCA-ONIOM), a multi-level multi-layer QM/QM method formulated to enhance the quantitative predictions of the chemical properties of heavy element-containing systems larger than hitherto attainable, are also reported.

Polish composer Witold Lutos?awski (1913-1994) was one of the most representative composers of the twentieth-century. Lutos?awski’s style progressed from traditional to modern avant-garde. His Piano Sonata belongs to his first compositional period, and is the only extant work from his student years. His remarkable synthesis of classical structures and impressionistic harmonic sonorities distinguishes the Sonata. Lutos?awski’s Piano Sonata is divided into three movements, and each movement is written in traditional sonata allegro form, sonata form without development and modified sonata form respectively. The Sonata contains both considerable elements of Classicism and Impressionism, as well as traits of Post-romanticism and Neoclassicism. The evolution of Lutos?awski’s compositional language can be better understood through an in-depth study of his Piano Sonata. Although Lutos?awski did not allow the work to be published during his lifetime, this occurred posthumously, ten years after the composer´s death. The recent publication of the work, paired with its substantial technical demands, both account for the fact that the Sonata is not frequently performed. The complex textures of Sonata place extensive technical and musical demands on the performer. In this study, a detailed description of the composer´s early style and influences as relates to this work will be analyzed and …

Indoor localization consists of locating oneself inside new buildings. GPS does not work indoors due to multipath reflection and signal blockage. WiFi based systems assume ubiquitous availability and infrastructure based systems require expensive installations, hence making indoor localization an open problem. This dissertation consists of solving the problem of indoor localization by thoroughly exploiting the indoor ambient magnetic fields comprising mainly of disturbances termed as anomalies in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by pillars, doors and elevators in hallways which are ferromagnetic in nature. By observing uniqueness in magnetic signatures collected from different campus buildings, the work presents the identification of landmarks and guideposts from these signatures and further develops magnetic maps of buildings - all of which can be used to locate and navigate people indoors. To understand the reason behind these anomalies, first a comparison between the measured and model generated Earth’s magnetic field is made, verifying the presence of a constant field without any disturbances. Then by modeling the magnetic field behavior of different pillars such as steel reinforced concrete, solid steel, and other structures like doors and elevators, the interaction of the Earth’s field with the ferromagnetic fields is described thereby explaining the causes of the …