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Sociological Applications of Topic Extraction Techniques: Two Case Studies (open access)

Sociological Applications of Topic Extraction Techniques: Two Case Studies

Limited research has been conducted with regards to the applicability of topic extraction techniques in Sociology. Addressing the modern methodological opportunities, and responding to the skepticism with regards to the absence of theoretical foundations supporting the use of text analytics, I argue that Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), complemented by other text analysis techniques and multivariate techniques, can constitute a unique hybrid method that can facilitate the sociological interpretations of web-based textual data. To illustrate the applicability of the hybrid technique, I developed two case studies. My first case study is associated with the Sociology of media. It focuses on the topic extraction and sentiment polarization among partisan texts posted on two major news sites. I find evidence of highly polarized opinions on comments posted on the Huffington Post and the Daily Caller. The highest polarizing topic was associated with a commentator’s reference on Hoodies in the context of the Trayvon Martin’s incident. My findings support contemporary research suggesting that media pundits frequently use tactics of outrage to provoke polarization of public opinion. My second case study contributes to the research domain of the Sociology of knowledge. The hybrid method revealed evidence of topical divides and topical “bridges” in the intellectual …
Date: August 2015
Creator: Zougris, Konstantinos
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Scientometric Analysis of a Marketing Theoretician: “Good Will Hunting” (open access)

A Scientometric Analysis of a Marketing Theoretician: “Good Will Hunting”

Albert Einstein notably asserted that “It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure.” Cast against the backdrop of Einstein’s assertion, the present research critically examines the enduring yet unresolved controversy regarding marketing as a science. Consider that the marketing discipline is nearing its first-century of inception, the Journal of Marketing is approaching its eighth decade of publication, and yet marketing academicians still debate the epistemology of marketing itself. Virtually all theories in marketing are adaptations of theory-development from other social science disciplines. The overarching research mission is to critically review a body of marketing theory using a meta-analytic approach to illuminate gaps in the epistemic foundations of marketing knowledge development. Grounded in the theory of composition, an entire body of Shelby D. Hunt's marketing literature – more than 130 effects encapsulating five of the most widely-cited marketing theoretical streams to date – is critically evaluated. Using scientometric analyses, the impact factors, citation indices, and the domain of references across the allied behavioral science literatures are empirically assessed. An epistemic inquiry to the marketing discipline is the …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Zuberi, Mel F.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nonreciprocal and Non-Spreading Transmission of Acoustic Beams through Periodic Dissipative Structures (open access)

Nonreciprocal and Non-Spreading Transmission of Acoustic Beams through Periodic Dissipative Structures

Propagation of a Gaussian beam in a layered periodic structure is studied analytically, numerically, and experimentally. It is demonstrated that for a special set of parameters the acoustic beam propagates without diffraction spreading. This propagation is also accompanied by negative refraction of the direction of phase velocity of the Bloch wave. In the study of two-dimensional viscous phononic crystals with asymmetrical solid inclusions, it was discovered that acoustic transmission is nonreciprocal. The effect of nonreciprocity in a static viscous environment is due to broken PT symmetry of the system as a whole. The difference in transmission is caused by the asymmetrical transmission and dissipation. The asymmetrical transmission is caused solely by broken mirror symmetry and could appear even in a lossless system. Asymmetrical dissipation of sound is a time-irreversible phenomenon that arises only if both energy dissipation and broken parity symmetry are present in the system. The numerical results for both types of phononic crystals were verified experimentally. Proposed devices could be exploited as collimation, rectification, and isolation acoustic devices.
Date: May 2022
Creator: Zubov, Yurii
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Momentarium (open access)

Momentarium

"Momentarium" is a collection of poems that examines the instability of moments. By engaging with photography, the poems examine the strengths and flaws in representation. Qualified accuracy, in other words representations that exact no absolute authenticity, are paradoxically, most accurate. The original poems attempt to express both empathy an end to empathy, "I mean to give you what you cannot keep: a blue twice as true" and "I mean to give you what I cannot." The competing forces animate a contingent moment, before it becomes the past.
Date: August 2017
Creator: Zuehlke, Karl
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Public Administration in Saudi Arabia: Problems and Prospects (open access)

Public Administration in Saudi Arabia: Problems and Prospects

The purpose of this study is to expound the dilemma that, in spite of the huge wealth of Saudi Arabia, its drive for development and modernization is stumbling. This situation is due to a large extent to the country's severe administrative limitations.
Date: May 1973
Creator: Zughaibi, Morshed M.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Adaptation and Validation of the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale for Use with Musicians (open access)

Adaptation and Validation of the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale for Use with Musicians

Identity is a powerful concept that influences behavior and health. For over thirty years, researchers in sport psychology have been using the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS) as a research instrument providing insights into the relationships between athletic identity and health variables. While musician identity is recognized as an important factor to be investigated in relation to occupational health, there are no known robust instruments like the AIMS in music psychology research. The current study aimed to adapt and validate the athletic identity measurement scale for use with musicians. The AIMS history includes episodes of modifications for performance enhancement of the instrument that resulted in five different models. The validation process includes evaluating the psychometrical properties across all five models. The sample included student musicians and non-student musicians (N = 1040). The traditional confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the maximum likelihood (ML) estimation method were used. The exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and robust weighted least squares (WLS) was utilized to explore a new method of estimation that was known to resolve issues consistent with the CFA and ML method. The goodness-of-fit indices of CFA and ESEM were compared. The results showed that the MIMS is a reliable and valid …
Date: December 2022
Creator: Zuhdi, Nabeel
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Attachment Security and Psychological Well-Being

Socioeconomic status (SES) has been shown to reliably predict parenting practices, family well-being, and psychological outcomes throughout the lifespan. The current study employed a cross-sectional, quantitative design in which adult participants (N = 336) completed an online survey measuring demographic variables, financial stress, attachment security, and psychological well-being. The study results suggest that (a) both current and family history of financial stress negatively predicted attachment security, (b) SES positively predicted general psychological well-being, although individual SES factors (e.g., income, subjective SES, financial stress) demonstrated nuanced relationships with well-being, life satisfaction, and resilience, (c) family history of financial stress and attachment security mediated the relationship between calculated social status and psychological well-being, and (d) the mediated relationship between calculated social status and psychological well-being via the pathway of attachment security was significant for racial/ethnic minorities, but not for White participants. The present findings contribute to the current literature by (1) including multidimensional measurements of SES, (2) addressing nuances in the relationship between SES and attachment, (3) emphasizing the role of financial stress on attachment security, and (4) providing initial cross-cultural considerations in the relationships among SES, attachment, and psychological well-being. Future researchers are encouraged to conduct longitudinal analyses, amplify sample recruitment …
Date: December 2023
Creator: Zuniga, Sabrina Graciela
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of the Relationship between Actor Perception and Audience Perception of Vladimir and Estragon in Waiting for Godot (open access)

A Study of the Relationship between Actor Perception and Audience Perception of Vladimir and Estragon in Waiting for Godot

The purpose of this study was to discover what relationship, if any, exists between the actor's perception of audience feedback concerning his portrayal of a character in a drama and the audience's perception of that particular character.
Date: August 1973
Creator: Zupancic, Anthony J.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gustav Mahler's use and cyclic integration of motivic and thematic quotations (open access)

Gustav Mahler's use and cyclic integration of motivic and thematic quotations

All of Mahler's works may be divided into four distinct chronological groups, referred to as "symphonic cycles." Motives and themes from the songs within each symphonic cycle were quoted in symphonies in the same cycle. This system of self reference was unique to Mahler, although earlier composers such as Schubert and Wagner set precedents for some of the techniques used by Mahler. The quotations in the early periods appeared only on the surface and did not blend well with their surroundings, but as time progressed Mahler developed the ability to combine the seemingly incompatible elements more smoothly. Mahler's early fascination with distant sounds was also a factor in his use of quotations. The appendix contains a catalog of 100 quotations.
Date: May 1990
Creator: Zurflieh, Sharon E. (Sharon Elizabeth)
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of Job Stress in Boundary-Spanning and Non-Boundary-Spanning Occupations (open access)

A Study of Job Stress in Boundary-Spanning and Non-Boundary-Spanning Occupations

This study tested the existence of significant differences in levels of perceived job stressors between non-managerial individuals in boundary-spanning and nonboundary- spanning occupations. Correlations between selected demographic characteristics and levels of perceived job stressors were also determined.
Date: August 1982
Creator: Zuzan, Freda Ann
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Thermochemical investigations of crystalline solutes in non-electrolyte solutions: Mathematical representation of solubility data and the development of predictive solubility equations in systems with specific and non-specific interactions. (open access)

Thermochemical investigations of crystalline solutes in non-electrolyte solutions: Mathematical representation of solubility data and the development of predictive solubility equations in systems with specific and non-specific interactions.

Understanding the thermodynamic properties of multicomponent mixtures is of critical importance in many chemical and industrial applications. Experimental measurements become progressively difficult as the number of solution components increases -- producing the need for predictive models. Problems in development of predictive models arise if the mixture has one or more components that interact through molecular complexation or association. Experimental solubilities of anthracene and pyrene dissolved in binary systems containing one or more alcohols were measured in order to address this problem. Alcohols examined in this study were: 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, and 1-octanol. In binary solvent mixtures containing only a single self-associating alcoholic solvent, the alkane cosolvents studied were: n-hexane, n-heptane, n-octane, 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, cyclohexane, methylcyclohexane, tert-butylcyclohexane. Predictive solubility equations were developed using mobile order theory. This approach differs from classical solution models by representing hydrogen bonding with a probability term rather than with expressions derived from stepwise equilibria or expressions to represent hypothetical solution aggregates. Results were compared with the predicted solubilities found from using expressions developed using the Kretschmer-Wiebe and Mecke-Kempter approaches for modeling associated solutions. It was found that the mobile order approach provided reasonably accurate predictions for the solute solubilities in the systems studied. The …
Date: May 2008
Creator: Zvaigzne, Anita Ilze
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Samuel L. Clemens, Journalist (open access)

Samuel L. Clemens, Journalist

The purposes of this thesis are two-fold-: 1) in light of the information which is now available, to record accurately the events of the long newspaper career of Samuel L. Clemens; and, 2) to attempt to assess the influence of his journalistic experiences on him as a man, as an observer of humanity, as a reporter fulfilling his assignments, as a developing artist, and as a future author of books.
Date: August 1970
Creator: Zwahlen, Christine M.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Jazz Improvisation: A Recommended Sequential Format of Instruction (open access)

Jazz Improvisation: A Recommended Sequential Format of Instruction

The problem with which this study is concerned is that of developing a recommended sequential format for jazz improvisation instruction. The method of content analysis is used. Seventeen subject matter categories (instructional areas) are established upon which the data is analyzed. Coding instructions are constructed with adjustments for additional emphasis placed on the instruction areas by the respective authors. By selecting instructional areas recorded above the median per cent of emphasis, and co-ordinating these areas with the mean sequential introduction of each instructional area, a recommended format of instruction is developed.
Date: May 1987
Creator: Zwick, Robert A. (Robert Alan)
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Hemispheres for Wind Ensemble by Joseph Turrin: A Critical Analysis (open access)

Hemispheres for Wind Ensemble by Joseph Turrin: A Critical Analysis

Hemispheres is a three-movement work for winds written by Joseph Turrin in May 2002. Commissioned by Kurt Masur for the New York Philharmonic, he wished to include a piece exclusively for winds and percussion in the programming of his farewell concert that commemorated his eleven years as Music Director. The work is in three movements: Genesis, Earth Canto, and Rajas which represent three different cultural views of creation. Formally, this work is based structurally and thematically on melody rather than harmony. This analysis focuses on three main tools which unify this work. The first is that thematic material from the first movement is reintroduced and developed in the second and third movements. The second is a consistently reoccurring rhythmic grouping in threes. This three note motive, found in all three movements, is used both melodically and as an accompaniment. The third is the unifying pitch center of C. Through an economy of musical means, Turrin composed Hemispheres with only a minimal number of themes and motives, each developed through the course of all three movements.
Date: August 2005
Creator: deAlbuquerque, Joan
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
From "y as plus personne qui parle" to "plus personne ne dit rien": The variable use of the negative particle ne in synchronous French chat. (open access)

From "y as plus personne qui parle" to "plus personne ne dit rien": The variable use of the negative particle ne in synchronous French chat.

This study analyzes negative particle variation (i.e., the variable presence or absence of the negative particle ne) in synchronous French chat discourse within a labovian-inspired framework. Selected morphosyntactic, lexical, and phonological constraints are considered. Multivariate analyses performed by GoldVarb 2001 revealed that subject type (i.e., NP, [- overt] subject environment, pronoun) and the phonological environment preceding the position of neregardless of its presence or absenceare determining factors in the variation. In addition, discursive-pragmatic effect was explored in a sub-sample of data. The results indicate that ne is seldom present in verbal negation during explanatory discourse style, yet it is very likely to be retained in ludic, emphatic, and proverbial styles.
Date: May 2007
Creator: van Compernolle, Rémi A.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Lack of Evaluation as Evaluation: Analysis of an African American Woman’s Narrative (open access)

Lack of Evaluation as Evaluation: Analysis of an African American Woman’s Narrative

This thesis examines an African American woman’s narrative about the day that her daughter was shot. Like many personal narratives of “frightening experiences,” the speaker in this narrative highlights the peak of her story, making sure her point is salient. In earlier analyses, it has been shown that evaluation tends to cluster around the peak of the narrative. In “The day my daughter got shot” we see that this event-filled narrative is not evaluated as predicted as there is no increased usage of evaluative devices at one single point in the narrative. Instead, it is a change in patterning of a number of linguistic and paralinguistic devices that conspire to bring special attention to the peak of the narrative. By examining multiple devices at once, it is seen that they create a cumulative effect that makes the story interesting and exciting, resulting in a successful narrative.
Date: August 2011
Creator: van Drunen, Vanessa
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Faculty Participation in the Decision-Making Process in Small Private Black Colleges of Texas (open access)

Faculty Participation in the Decision-Making Process in Small Private Black Colleges of Texas

The problem with which this study is concerned is determining the degree of faculty participation in the decision-making process within six small private black colleges in Texas. The decision areas investigated are faculty personnel (which includes appointments, promotions, tenure, and merit pay increases), curriculum, and administration. Respondents to this study include 189 administrators and faculty members from six small private black colleges in Texas. A continuum designed by a task force of the American Association of Higher Education (1967), which is composed of administrative dominance, administrative primacy, shared authority, faculty primacy, and faculty dominance, was used in the survey. Data from responses are presented by number, percentage, and mean.
Date: May 1983
Creator: vanBolden, Vernon
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Performance Guide and Theorical Study of Keiko Abe's Marimba d'Amore and Prism Rhapsody for Marimba and Orchestra (open access)

A Performance Guide and Theorical Study of Keiko Abe's Marimba d'Amore and Prism Rhapsody for Marimba and Orchestra

Keiko Abe's contributions to the contemporary marimba repertoire have been a milestone in the development of the marimba as a solo concert instrument. Besides the creation of a new repertoire through commissions and her own compositions, Abe's contributions to the marimba include the improvement of the sound quality of the marimba and the establishment of the five octave instrument as the standard concert marimba. During the last four decades, Abe's compositions have been performed and studied worldwide and become standard literature for the marimba. Abe has written more than sixty compositions for marimba, including concertos, duets and solo pieces. The goal of this dissertation is to provide a comprehensive method for the performance and preparation of two major Keiko Abe's compositions, Marimba d'Amore composed by Abe in 1998 and Prism Rhapsody for Marimba and Orchestra composed in 1996. This dissertation will discuss theoretical as well as performance issues related to these two compositions. Each piece is discussed with regard to its distinctive compositional approach and inherent performances issues. In order to provide the reader an explanation of the compositional procedures used by Abe, specific directions for the performance and preparation of these two works are offered.
Date: December 2008
Creator: Àlamo Santos, Juan Manuel
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Re-Assessing Nationalism in the Art Songs of Jaime León (open access)

Re-Assessing Nationalism in the Art Songs of Jaime León

Colombian composer Jaime León (1921-2015) is known for his art songs. Most of the current scholarly literature about León defines him as a nationalist composer even though a majority of his songs do not appear to have nationalist traits. This document examines a representative selection of León's songs divided into three categories: songs influenced by the bambuco (the Colombian genre most present in his songs); songs whose text refers to Colombian culture; and songs without Colombian elements present in their text or music. After examination of these songs, my conclusion is that León, rather than being nationalist, was a cosmopolitan composer who used national elements as rhetorical tools in an isolated and experimental way.
Date: December 2020
Creator: Ávila Martínez, Juan Sebastián
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Explaining Marijuana Use Among Turkish Juveniles: A Test of Hirschi's Social Bonding Theory (open access)

Explaining Marijuana Use Among Turkish Juveniles: A Test of Hirschi's Social Bonding Theory

Marijuana is the most prevalent illicit drug used in the world and among Turkish juveniles. Although studies have examined marijuana use among Turkish juveniles, none has tested Hirschi's social bonding theory, one of the most frequently tested and applied criminological theories in the United States and other Western and developed countries. This study investigated the empirical validity and generalizability of Hirschi's theory to juveniles' marijuana use in Turkey, a non-Western and developing country. Data on 2,740 Turkish tenth grade students from the 2006 Youth in Europe survey were used. Results from binary logistic regression analyses were generally consistent with the propositions of Hirschi's theory and the findings of previous empirical studies. Regarding the attachment component of the theory, Turkish juveniles who lived in two-parent families and those who were closely monitored by their parents were less likely to have tried marijuana. In addition, teens who were strongly attached to their school and religion were also less likely to have used the drug. As for the commitment component, language grade was negatively associated with marijuana use. None of the involvement items had significant effects on marijuana use in the predicted direction. Participation in club sports had a positive effect on marijuana …
Date: December 2010
Creator: Çam, Taner
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Content and Musical Language in the Piano Sonata of Sofia Gubaidulina, and Three Recitals with Works by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Schumann, Debussy, and Rachmaninov (open access)

Content and Musical Language in the Piano Sonata of Sofia Gubaidulina, and Three Recitals with Works by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Schumann, Debussy, and Rachmaninov

Sofia Gubaidulina is one of the leading composers in the contemporary music world. Her compositional interests have been stimulated by the exploration of and improvisation with rare folk and ritual instruments, and by a deep-rooted belief in the mystical properties of music. Gubaidulina is the author of orchestral and choral works, compositions for solo instruments, chamber music, as well as electronics music. Gubaidulina's Piano Sonata sums up the composer's thinking within her piano music, and at the same time projects the development of her spiritual vision within other genres that are to come. The analytical approach in this paper is based on the correlation between each of the elements of the musical material (form, rhythm, sound, etc.) and its contextual meaning in terms of musical dramaturgy. Set-theory is applied to the analysis of motivic components of the work. The traditional form is just the basis for the original intonational structure within a modern musical idiom. Varieties of rhythmic patterns, as well as an unconventional sound production, make this work breath with an impetuous power. The examination of the Sonata's musical language and content should give some insight not only into Guabaidulina's piano music, but also into a consequent development of …
Date: December 1998
Creator: Ćojbašić, Ivana
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Andrejs Jurjāns as Symbol of Latvian Identity: Native Folk Songs in his Large-Scale Symphonic Works (open access)

Andrejs Jurjāns as Symbol of Latvian Identity: Native Folk Songs in his Large-Scale Symphonic Works

This thesis presents a study of Andrejs Jurjāns' significant symphonic works as informed by a native musicologist, Professor Jānis Torgāns, and illuminates Jurjāns' role within the cosmopolitan framework of nationalism in music.
Date: December 1997
Creator: Švalbe, Erika Lynn
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library