The Categorization and Use of Three Dimensional Computer Generated Special Effects in Film (open access)

The Categorization and Use of Three Dimensional Computer Generated Special Effects in Film

There has been a growing trend in the film industry in the use of three dimensional computer generated images (3D CGI) for special effects. With the popularity of this relatively new medium comes the need for new terminology. This exploration developed a general system of classification for 3D CGI effects for use in film. This system was based on a study of various writings about the significant films, which employ 3D CGI effects. A three-group system of classification system was developed. The three-group system was composed of the Elements Group, Level of Reality Group, and the Kind Group. These terms were developed to aid in the day-to-day production of 3D CGI special effects in the future.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Johnson, Charlie
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Meaning of Elder Abuse

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Elder abuse first received national attention in 1980, as the subject of a congressional investigation. Now, 20 years later, establishing successful strategies of identification, subsequent intervention, and prevention of abuse is of paramount importance; but progress toward this goal is hindered by lack of consensus as to the definition of elder abuse, and the use of vague, confusing, and sometimes contradictory terms in its discussion. In this paper, both social research and professional approaches and legal approaches to the definition of elder abuse are surveyed, as are definitions formulated for the National Elder Abuse Incidence Study conducted by the National Center on Elder Abuse. The continuing need for a universal or standard definition is emphasized.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Achilli, Raye
System: The UNT Digital Library
Rhetorical Drawings (open access)

Rhetorical Drawings

Document that details the conception, evolution and conclusions of a body of work consisting of seven prints executed in the printmaking technique of intaglio printing in the manner of the state print. The work is discussed by explaining the visual and conceptual associations that occur in an "Alice In Wonderland" manner, where the initial idea is paired with seemingly unrelated topics to establish a progressive visual language. This language is further supported by discussing a comparative of the state print with the idea of the sketchbook as a tool of thought generation and elaboration. The technical aspects of intaglio and the choice of techniques utilized are discussed to support this comparison. How the quality of the prints reflects the quality of the sketchbook and how these techniques combine with the conceptual reasoning, which result in the body of work. Findings for the work are based on three questions that deal with the progression of conceptual reasoning, predictability of recurring ideas and the intentions of the technical choices made.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Birdsong, Daniel L.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Resident Profile and Considerations for the Development of a Strategic Plan

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The graying of America will have implications for all areas of society, especially the delivery of long-term care services. Many older individuals are aging in place, a phenomenon that is apparent at Dickinson Place, a church-sponsored low-income housing property for the elderly in Dallas, Texas, where the average age of residents has risen from 65 in the early 1970s to 78 in 1999. This change has prompted the board of directors to review the facility's mission, its physical plant, and the services it provides for strategic planning purposes, to ensure that Dickinson Place can continue to meet the needs of its residents both now and in the future.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Burgos, Dalila
System: The UNT Digital Library

Humor and Nursing Home Residents

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Although humor is a generally accepted part of everyday life for humans, its existence, importance, and positive influence on older persons are often underestimated. The purposes of this study are to determine whether humor is a normal experience for nursing home residents, enhancing their activities of daily living, and whether it plays a role in contributing to their psychological well-being. The study includes a discussion of research on humor, particularly as it relates to the elderly and the aging process; analysis and comparisons based on interviews with residents on the subject of humor and review of their psychological state as evaluated by the MDS 2.0 nursing facility assessment; individual case studies, and anecdotes illustrating the beneficial contributions humor brings to the lives of nursing home residents.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Cecil, David P.
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Impact of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 on the Home Health Benefit

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Widespread concern about the rapid growth of Medicare spending in recent years initiated a legislative response that resulted in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. The effects of the BBA were far reaching and created shock waves throughout the health care industry. This study presents background information on the history of the Medicare home health benefit, enumerates specific provisions and goals of the BBA of 1997, examines how the BBA has changed the delivery of Medicare home health services, and proposes survival strategies for home health care providers.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Coker, Joseph E.
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Evolution of Form

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A craftsman’s work evolves with time, new forms arise and old forms become more refined. This research attempts to study the evolution of pots over a designated period of time. The key findings include that the approach to glazing was relatively unchanged by the evolution in the work. However,the refinements that occurred in the work allowed the glazes to impart wonderful characteristics to the forms on which they are used.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Dotter, David D.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Dialogue: An Exhibition of Ceramic Sculpture

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I want the viewers of my work to participate with me in a common experience. How I choose to communicate an experience in the work is intended to effect the viewer's level of understanding and participation. Toward this end, an exploration of nontraditional self-portraiture involving the viewer in a relationship with the artist will be used to maintain the visual dialogue imparted through the work. Utilization of recognizable symbols and icons within the work is meant to increase the clarity of my communication enhancing the viewer's involvement in the common experience. Color, as a concern will relate to the increased access and interest of the work to the viewer's experience and understanding.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Freeland, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Lower Rio Grande Valley: Are Education and Job Training Opportunities Shrinking the Labor Force?

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The purpose of this research project is to examine the educational and job-training opportunities offered in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and how the skills acquired from these programs assimilate with the job opportunities available in the area. Specifically, we will look at the counties of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy. The central hypothesis of this project is that the Rio Grande Valley in its efforts for a more highly trained workforce may actually be enabling its workforce to seek better employment opportunities in other areas.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Foster, Jodie Randall
System: The UNT Digital Library

Tuberculosis in the Nursing Home: A Policy and Procedure Manual

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Tuberculosis in the nursing home is an ever-growing problem for the health care community. The incidence of tuberculosis in the United States has risen alarmingly since 1982, and high-population environments such as nursing homes are among the places where it is most prevalent. The first part of this document is an introduction to the current concerns faced by nursing home infection control personnel. It includes information about the history, symptoms, and epidemiology of the disease, as well as other topics. The second part is a policy and procedure manual that contains a basic guide to methodical testing for tuberculosis, steps for dealing with active cases of the disease, and suggestions for education of nursing home health care workers.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Mounts, Camilla M.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Growing carbon nanotubes by chemical vapor deposition technique.

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Carbon nanotubes were synthesized in the laboratory using chemical vapor deposition at different methane concentration. I found that a methane concentration of 4 sccm was ideal for well recognizable carbon nanotubes. A higher concentration led to fewer nanotube growth and silicon carbide structure. Coating the sample first with Fe(NO3)3 created a catalyst base on the substrate for the nanotube to adhere and grow on.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Rajan, Harihar V.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Disaster Preparedness: A Procedure Manual for a Nursing Home

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Disaster or emergency situations have the potential for serious impact on the safety and security of both residents and staff in a nursing home. Furthermore, federal and state laws require that all nursing facilities be prepared in case of an emergency or disaster. The first part of this document is an introduction and rationale for the development of a nursing home disaster plan. The second part is a procedure manual developed for a nursing home in Oklahoma, outlining emergency actions and recovery procedures for various types of disasters, followed by a list of emergency telephone contacts of key personnel and services both inside and outside the nursing facility.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Reimer, Carmen Schmidt
System: The UNT Digital Library

Teamwork in the Nursing Home: The Art of Caring for Long-Term Care Residents

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The effects of teamwork in a long-term care setting were explored, and four key elements of teamwork in the long-term care facility were discovered. These elements--clarity of purpose, clear communication, well-defined decision-making procedures, and participative leadership--are presented in detail. The literature reviewed as well as observations from personal participation in a case study show that employing the teamwork concept in a nursing home environment significantly enhances the quality of life for the residents of such facilities.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Saxon, Juliane M.
System: The UNT Digital Library

I. Korean address and reference terms between married men and women; II. Metaphorical extension in Korean compound verbs

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I. This study attempts to investigate the address and reference terms between Korean husbands and wives in different situations by means of the questionnaire. In addition to the results by the questionnaire, questions relating to gender, age, culture and society were partially answered through out this survey. II. This study attempts to analyze metaphorical extension of Korean compound verbs. The patterns found in Korean compound verbs are similar to the work of Abby and Chelliah. That is secondary verbs in the construction of compound verbs which have two sequential verbs have bleached meanings in the processes of grammaticalization.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Seo, Eun-Jeong
System: The UNT Digital Library

Playing Jaques in As You Like It

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Abstract not available
Date: May 2000
Creator: Thomas, Chad
System: The UNT Digital Library

Long-Term Care Administrator Licensure and Certification: An Emerging Health Profession

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The long-term care administrator profession is one that is both new and evolving. The unique historical perspective of this health profession is brief in the number of years it encompasses and crucial in understanding the current issues facing the profession. Administrator experiences provide a point of reference regarding the profession's structural problems. Ethical considerations play a dynamic role in administrators' daily jobs as well as their continued licensure. The significance of the profession's ongoing problems at the state and national level causes the need for alternatives to the current system. A combination of these alternatives must be embraced to assist in the recruitment and retention of long-term care administrators.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Syverson, Thomas
System: The UNT Digital Library
Narrative Issues (open access)

Narrative Issues

This thesis covers a series of etchings created between 1998 and 2000 in completion of the requirements for graduation. The paper covers the origins and implications of the symbology within the artwork as well as the natural settings displayed. It also speaks of the mythos of art and symbols, as well as my strategy in Art making.
Date: August 2000
Creator: O'Hara, Richard
System: The UNT Digital Library
Regional Economic Impact of Texas Motor Speedway: A Simulation (open access)

Regional Economic Impact of Texas Motor Speedway: A Simulation

This study proposes a method for measuring the regional economic impact of a relatively new sport: stock car racing. Although research on the economic impact of most major league sports is abundant, little has been written on stock car racing. The purpose of this paper is to estimate, through a simulation, the regional economic impact of Texas Motor Speedway. The study finds that the Texas Motor Speedway boosted economic activity by $87,179,367 in 1998 from racetrack operations, and supported 5,300 jobs paying $22,293,135 in earnings. In addition, expenditures by speedway visitor from outside the region are estimated at $22,985,200, further increasing the total local economic activity by $49 million.
Date: August 2000
Creator: Rattner, Laura E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Ballpark in Arlington: An Economic Impact Study (open access)

The Ballpark in Arlington: An Economic Impact Study

This study examines the fiscal impact the Ballpark in Arlington has on the City of Arlington. Many individuals argue that the new Ballpark in Arlington would create numerous new jobs and bring added economic development to the city, thus increasing tax revenues. An interrupted time-series approach was used to determine whether or not the new ballpark has a measurable impact on retail sales tax receipts in the City of Arlington. Based on sales tax rebate data obtains from the Texas Comptroller's Office, the study found no significant increase in sales tax receipts for Arlington during the baseball season. However, this is not to say that the Ballpark in Arlington has no impact on total local economic activity. These findings do call into question, as other studies have, the relative fiscal value of publicly-sponsored professional sports venues.
Date: August 2000
Creator: Smith, Joel
System: The UNT Digital Library

Adherence and Haemagglutination of Moraxella Catarrhalis.

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M. catarrhalis is a gram-negative diplococci frequently associated with infections of the upper respiratory tract. During the past decade, some preliminary studies have attempted to elucidate mechanisms of adherence and haemagglutination of M. catarrhalis. These studies have reported, in many cases, inconsistent results. There are two purposes of this research. First, identify mechanisms that may potentially be associated with the adherence and haemagglutination of M. catarrhalis. Second, suggest research directions that may be fruitful in clarifying these mechanisms.
Date: August 2000
Creator: Kosterman, Edward, III
System: The UNT Digital Library

Keyboard Innovation: Harry Partch's Contributions

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"Harry Partch's Keyboard Innovation" is a computer-assisted demonstration that introduces the tuning system used primarily by the twentieth-century American composer, Harry Partch. The multimedia product was developed in Director 6.0, and it includes sound and video clips from CDs and videocassettes of Partch's works produced by Phillip Blackburn and distributed by the American Composers Forum. The content of the demonstration involves a 43-tone microtonal tuning system and its application in the music literature. This demonstration will discuss the chronological order in which these prototypes were developed and also includes samples of the tuning of notes in Partch's scale that the novice can experiment with interactively. These tones were synthesized using the Csound scores shown in Appendix B. Materials for this demonstration are based on Harry Partch's Genesis of a Music.
Date: August 2000
Creator: Koh,Wee Lay
System: The UNT Digital Library

Assisted Living: The Need for Creation of Affordable Options

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Assisted living, the fastest growing segment of the senior housing industry, allows individuals to remain as independent as they prefer and still receive necessary services. However, assisted living residences exist primarily to serve those seniors who can pay for the services from their own savings/income. We are facing a critical need for housing options for both the current senior generation and the soon-to-be-retired baby boomers. How will access to assisted living be opened to all types of payors? How will states fund the growth of assisted living? The purpose of this paper is to discuss opportunities for expansion that will make assisted living an affordable option for the low- and moderate-income elderly.
Date: August 2000
Creator: Kretzinger, Robert W.
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Effects of Color Concentrate in Polyolefins.

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Throughout history consumer products were generally manufactured from wood and metal. They either had to hold their natural color or become subject to painting. When plastics entered the industry, it was recognized for its ease of shaping, re-usability, physical properties and its low cost. One of plastics' greatest benefits is its ability to hold a given color from within allowing it to avoid use of paint. This paper will give a brief overview on the effects of pigments when incorporated in a polyolefin. It will provide a classification of the main types of pigments and how each effect the properties of the product through: crystallization, weatherability, opacity, coloristic values and of course viscosity.
Date: December 2001
Creator: Flora, Paul
System: The UNT Digital Library

Microwave Cavity Test for Superconductivity

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The first part of this paper describes the Meissner effect in superconductors which serves as the most definitive evidence for superconductivity. It is shown that the microwave perturbation technique may be used to demonstrate this effect. By measuring the changes of resonant frequency and inverse quality factor Q of a microwave cavity with a small volume of sample loading, the Meissner effect can be shown by using the Slater perturbation equation. The experimental system is described with details and the basic principle of each component discussed. The second part of this work describes the technique employed to do the actual measurements. The experiments were conducted on samples of Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) to look for the possible high temperature superconductivity properties. Results of these experiments are presented and discussed. Conclusion and suggestions to future exploration are made.
Date: December 2001
Creator: Tang, Shan
System: The UNT Digital Library