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A Preliminary Controller Design for Drone Carried Directional Communication System (open access)

A Preliminary Controller Design for Drone Carried Directional Communication System

In this thesis, we conduct a preliminary study on the controller design for directional antenna devices carried by drones. The goal of the control system is to ensure the best alignment between two directional antennas so as to enhance the performance of air-to-air communication between the drones. The control system at the current stage relies on the information received from GPS devices. The control system includes two loops: velocity loop and position loop to suppress wind disturbances and to assure the alignment of two directional antennae. The simulation and animation of directional antennae alignment control for two-randomly moving drones was developed using SIMULINK. To facilitate RSSI-based antenna alignment control to be conducted in the future work, a study on initial scanning techniques is also included at the end of this thesis.
Date: August 2015
Creator: AL-Emrani, Firas
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Partnership for Building Institutional/National Capacity: Addis Ababa University and University of North Texas Initiatives

Presentation for the 2015 International Conference on Information Communication Technologies (ICT) for Development, Education, and Training. This presentation discusses partnerships for building institutional/national capacity and initiatives at Addis Ababa University and the University of North Texas.
Date: May 2015
Creator: Abate, Solomon Teferra & Alemneh, Daniel Gelaw
Object Type: Presentation
System: The UNT Digital Library
My Whine, Your Wine (open access)

My Whine, Your Wine

Grapes hold the flavors of the lands where they grow, and when you make wine from them, those flavors of the land come through. Tasting wine from a place you've been can bring you back to that place with aromas and notes indicative of that place. A bottle of wine changes every day, and how it will taste depends on the moment you choose to release it from the glass walls. I have a vested interest in wine, because it is a living thing. I am compelled to make wine because its characteristics are like personality traits. Although some of those characteristics are harsh at times, I appreciate them all. Each trait plays an important role in the balance, the overall personality. Like my own personality flaws, wine's harsh tones can smooth over time. My relationship with wine is constantly evolving, with every new varietal, vintage, batch and blend. Believe me, after some of the jobs I had before my first day at Su Vino, I cherish every moment of my winemaking career. My Whine, Your Wine is the story of how it all started.
Date: December 2011
Creator: Abbott, Shannon Marie
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Interfacial Characterization of Chemical Vapor Deposition (Cvd) Grown Graphene and Electrodeposited Bismuth on Ruthenium Surface (open access)

Interfacial Characterization of Chemical Vapor Deposition (Cvd) Grown Graphene and Electrodeposited Bismuth on Ruthenium Surface

Graphene receives enormous attention owing to its distinctive physical and chemical prosperities. Growing and transferring graphene to different substrates have been investigated. The graphene growing on the copper substrate has an advantage of low solubility of carbon on the copper which allow us to grow mostly monolayer graphene. Graphene sheet of few centimeters can be transferred to 300nm silicon oxide and quartz crystal pre-deposited with metal like Cu and Ru. Characterization of the graphene has been done with Raman and contact angle measurement and recently quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) has been employed. The underpotential deposition (UPD) process of Bi on Ru metal surface is studied using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) and XPS techniques. Both Bi UPD and Bi bulk deposition are clearly observed on Ru in 1mM Bi (NO3)3/0.5M H2SO4. Bi monolayer coverage calculated from mass (MLMass) and from charge (MLCharge) were compared with respect to the potential scanning rates, anions and ambient controls. EQCM results indicate that Bi UPD on Ru is mostly scan rate independent but exhibits interesting difference at the slower scan. Bi UPD monolayer coverage calculated from cathodic frequency change (ΔfCathodic) is significantly smaller than the monolayer coverage derived from integrated charge under the cathodic …
Date: May 2014
Creator: Abdelghani, Jafar
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Derivation of the Thematic Material and Intervallic Gestures From the Main Theme in Fantasia Carioca By Sérgio Assad (open access)

Derivation of the Thematic Material and Intervallic Gestures From the Main Theme in Fantasia Carioca By Sérgio Assad

The quantity of classical guitar literature reached a new peak late in the twentieth century with many famous guitarists publishing their own works for solo classical guitar. This increase in the published guitar literature resulted in a decline of the relative analytical discussions of contemporary guitar works. Sérgio Assad is a perfect example of an active guitarist/composer whose works are frequently performed in guitar recitals and yet very little discussion has been provided attempting to gain a deeper understanding of his compositional language. The purpose of this study is to two-fold: first, to show that Fantasia Carioca (1994) is a very carefully organized work and includes an intricate network of thematic material developed through a spectrum of intervallic gestures, of which all derive from the main theme of the piece; second, to provide a deeper insight into the compositional language of Sérgio Assad through a demonstration of different compositional procedures to which the composer resorts. This one-movement piece reveals a high level of organization present in Sérgio Assad's style. The entire thematic material is carefully derived from the main theme. Each thematic unit shows a set of predetermined characteristics that allow these units to react to particular textures and situations. …
Date: May 2013
Creator: Abdihodži?, Armin
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Field Validation of Zero Energy Lab Water-to-Water Ground Coupled Heat Pump Model (open access)

Field Validation of Zero Energy Lab Water-to-Water Ground Coupled Heat Pump Model

Heat pumps are a vital part of each building for their role in keeping the space conditioned for the occupant. This study focuses on developing a model for the ground-source heat pump at the Zero Energy lab at the University of North Texas, and finding the minimum data required for generating the model. The literature includes many models with different approaches to determine the performance of the heat pump. Each method has its pros and cons. In this research the equation-fit method was used to generate a model based on the data collected from the field. Two experiments were conducted for the cooling mode: the first one at the beginning of the season and the second one at the peak of the season to cover all the operation conditions. The same procedure was followed for the heating mode. The models generated based on the collected data were validated against the experiment data. The error of the models was within ±10%. The study showed that the error could be reduced by 20% to 42% when using the field data to generate the model instead of the manufacturer’s catalog data. Also it was found that the minimum period to generate the cooling …
Date: May 2016
Creator: Abdulameer, Saif
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Evaluation of Texas Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters Program on Reading and Math Achievement for Grades K to 8 (open access)

Evaluation of Texas Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters Program on Reading and Math Achievement for Grades K to 8

This study was intended to evaluate the impact of socioeconomically disadvantaged children's participation in the Texas Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (TX HIPPY) Program on their school readiness and academic achievement. The study used a quasi-experimental design and applied full and optimal propensity score matching (PSM) to address the evaluation concern of the impact of the TX HIPPY program on HIPPY participants' academic achievement compared to non-HIPPY participants. This evaluation targeted former HIPPY participants and tracked them in the Dallas ISD database through Grade Levels K-8. Data were obtained by administering Istation's Indicators of Progress (ISIP) for kindergarten, TerraNova/SUPERA for Grades K-2, and State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness for math and reading (STAAR) for Grades 3-8. HIPPY and non-HIPPY groups were matched using propensity score analysis procedures. The evaluation findings show that the TX HIPPY program positively influences kindergarten students to start school ready to learn. The findings of math and reading achievements suggest that HIPPY children scored at the same level or higher than non-HIPPY children did on math and reading achievement, indicating that TX HIPPY program has achieved its goal of helping children maintain long-term academic success. However, the evaluation findings also indicated that …
Date: August 2019
Creator: Abdulaziz, Noor Amal Saud
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cognitive Engagement in Later Life: Descriptive and Explanatory Findings (open access)

Cognitive Engagement in Later Life: Descriptive and Explanatory Findings

Findings on the relationship between engagement in lifestyle and cognitive functioning are not consistent; some authors report that engagement in lifestyle predicts an individual's cognitive functioning; while other report that an individual's cognitive functioning predicts the type and level of engagement an individual participates in. The current study will use longitudinal data (N = 235) to investigate the bidirectional relationship between engagement (engaged lifestyle activities) and cognition (crystallized & fluid intelligence). Despite inconsistent findings it is proposed that cognitive functioning may be better understood when examining how stimulation of activity, need for cognition, and openness to experience affect engagement in an active lifestyle. As such the current study will investigate if stimulation of activity, need for cognition, and openness to experience moderate the relationship between engaged lifestyles and cognitive functioning. The results, limitations and implications are discussed.
Date: December 2016
Creator: Abdullah, Bashir
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Two Argentine Song Sets: A Comparison of Songs by De Rogatis and Ginastera (open access)

Two Argentine Song Sets: A Comparison of Songs by De Rogatis and Ginastera

Latin American classical vocal repertoire is vast, but in the United States, we only hear a fairly limited part of this literature. Much of this repertoire blends western European classical music traditions and native folk music traditions. One example of such a Latin American vocal work that is well-known in the United States is Alberto Ginastera's frequently performed song set from 1943, Cinco canciones populares argentinas. However, another lesser-known, earlier work, Cinco canciones argentinas (1923), by fellow Argentine composer Pascual De Rogatis (1880-1980) deserves attention as well. As with Ginastera's set, De Rogatis' songs are based on Argentine folk genres, but contain stylistic features of European classical music of its time. De Rogatis' neglected songs are a significant, overlooked part of Argentine classical music history, and a full understanding of well-known works such as Ginastera's song set and of the genre as a whole, must include attention to De Rogatis' Cinco canciones argentinas. Beyond vocal repertoire, De Rogatis' songs are an important part of the development of Argentine classical music. While Western musical trends change rapidly, folk music remains largely unchanged. Both De Rogatis and Ginastera were proud of their Argentine heritage, and incorporated traditional music into their compositions. I …
Date: August 2018
Creator: Abe, Shoko
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte, comte de Guibert: Father of the Grande Armée (open access)

Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte, comte de Guibert: Father of the Grande Armée

The eighteenth century was a time of intense upheaval in France. The death of Louis XIV in 1715 and the subsequent reign of Louis XV saw the end of French political and martial hegemony on the continent. While French culture and language remained dominant in Europe, Louis XV's disinterested rule and military stagnation led to the disastrous defeat of the French army at the hands of Frederick the Great of Prussia in the Seven Years War (1756-1763). The battle of Rossbach marked the nadir of the French army in the Seven Years War. Frederick's army routed the French infantry that had bumbled its way into massed Prussian cavalry. Following the war, two reformist elements emerged in the army. Reformers within the government, chiefly Etienne François, duc de Choiseul, sought to rectify the army's poor performance and reconstitute France's military establishment. Outside the traditional army structure, military thinkers looked to military theory to reinvigorate the army from within and without. Foremost among the latter was a young officer named Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte de Guibert, whose 1772 Essai général de tactique quickly became the most celebrated work of theory in European military circles. The Essai provided a new military constitution for France, proposing wholesale …
Date: May 2011
Creator: Abel, Jonathan, 1985-
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte, Comte De Guibert: Father of the Grande Armée (open access)

Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte, Comte De Guibert: Father of the Grande Armée

Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte, comte de Guibert (1743-1790) dedicated his life and career to creating a new doctrine for the French army. Little about this doctrine was revolutionary. Indeed, Guibert openly decried the anarchy of popular participation in government and looked askance at the early days of the Revolution. Rather, Guibert’s doctrine marked the culmination of an evolutionary process that commenced decades before his time and reached fruition in the Réglement of 1791, which remained in force until the 1830s. Not content with military reform, Guibert demanded a political and social constitution to match. His reforms required these changes, demanding a disciplined, service-oriented society and a functional, rational government to assist his reformed military. He delved deeply, like no other contemporary writer, into the linkages between society, politics, and the military throughout his career and his writings. Guibert exerted an overwhelming influence on military thought across Europe for the next fifty years. His military theories provided the foundation for military reform during the twilight of the Old Regime. The Revolution, which adopted most of Guibert’s doctrine in 1791, continued his work. A new army and way of war based on Guibert’s reforms emerged to defeat France’s major enemies. In Napoleon’s hands, Guibert’s army …
Date: August 2014
Creator: Abel, Jonathan, 1985-
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Source Apportionment Analysis of Measured Volatile Organic Compounds in Corpus Christi, Texas (open access)

Source Apportionment Analysis of Measured Volatile Organic Compounds in Corpus Christi, Texas

Corpus Christi among of the largest industrialized coastal urban areas in Texas. The strategic location of the city along the Gulf of Mexico allows for many important industries and an international business to be located. The cluster of industries and businesses in the region contribute to the air pollution from emissions that are harmful to the environment and to the people living in and visiting the area. Volatile organic compounds (VOC) constitute an important class of pollutants measured in the area. The automated gas chromatography (Auto GC) data was collected from Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and source apportionment analysis was conducted on this data to identify key sources of VOC affecting this study region. EPA PMF 3.0 was employed in this sources apportionment study of measured VOC concentration during 2005 - 2012 in Corpus Christi, Texas. The study identified nine optimal factors (Source) that could explain the concentration of VOC at two urbane monitoring sites in the study region. Natural gas was found to be the largest contributor of VOC in the area, followed by gasoline and vehicular exhaust. Diesel was the third highest contributor with emissions from manufacturing and combustion processes. Refineries gases and evaporative fugitive emissions …
Date: May 2014
Creator: Abood, Ahmed T.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Boosting for Learning From Imbalanced, Multiclass Data Sets (open access)

Boosting for Learning From Imbalanced, Multiclass Data Sets

In many real-world applications, it is common to have uneven number of examples among multiple classes. The data imbalance, however, usually complicates the learning process, especially for the minority classes, and results in deteriorated performance. Boosting methods were proposed to handle the imbalance problem. These methods need elongated training time and require diversity among the classifiers of the ensemble to achieve improved performance. Additionally, extending the boosting method to handle multi-class data sets is not straightforward. Examples of applications that suffer from imbalanced multi-class data can be found in face recognition, where tens of classes exist, and in capsule endoscopy, which suffers massive imbalance between the classes. This dissertation introduces RegBoost, a new boosting framework to address the imbalanced, multi-class problems. This method applies a weighted stratified sampling technique and incorporates a regularization term that accommodates multi-class data sets and automatically determines the error bound of each base classifier. The regularization parameter penalizes the classifier when it misclassifies instances that were correctly classified in the previous iteration. The parameter additionally reduces the bias towards majority classes. Experiments are conducted using 12 diverse data sets with moderate to high imbalance ratios. The results demonstrate superior performance of the proposed method compared …
Date: December 2013
Creator: Abouelenien, Mohamed
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Development of a Cost Effective Wireless Sensor System for Indoor Air Quality Monitoring Applications (open access)

Development of a Cost Effective Wireless Sensor System for Indoor Air Quality Monitoring Applications

Poor air quality can greatly affect the public health. Research studies indicate that indoor air can be more polluted than the outdoor air. An indoor air quality monitoring system will help to create an awareness of the quality of air inside which will eventually help in improving it. The objective of this research is to develop a low cost wireless sensor system for indoor air quality monitoring. The major cost reduction of the system is achieved by using low priced sensors. Interface circuits had to be designed to make these sensors more accurate. The system is capable of measuring carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, temperature, humidity and volatile organic compounds. The prototype sensor node modules were developed. The sensor nodes were the connected together by Zigbee network. The nodes were developed in such a way that it is compact in size and wireless connection of sensor nodes enable to collect air quality data from multiple locations simultaneously. The collected data was stored in a computer. We employed linear least-square approach for the calibration of each sensor to derive a conversion formula for converting the sensor readings to engineering units. The system was tested with different pollutants and data collected was …
Date: May 2014
Creator: Abraham, Sherin
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ultrafast Laser Sampling of a Plant Tissue and ion Conductivity Measurement for Investigation of Light Stress Generation Mechanisms (open access)

Ultrafast Laser Sampling of a Plant Tissue and ion Conductivity Measurement for Investigation of Light Stress Generation Mechanisms

In this study we applied ultra-short laser pulses on a biological sample (Arabidopsis), in order to cut it precisely in a square pattern and subsequently use it for studying stress generation mechanisms. For this purpose, we utilized femtosecond laser pulses at 100 fs pulse width and 80 MHz repetition rate. We took two processing parameters into consideration such as laser power, laser exposure time which is related to the stage speed. Therefore, we were able to find the laser optimum conditions for ablation of biological tissues. The mutant and wildtype (control) obtained from laser cutting with a size of 500 µm × 500 µm were directly transferred (in-situ with laser cutting) into a microfabricated chamber containing ~500 nanoliters deionized water for measuring ion conductivity. The ion conductivity is a signature of cell-death mechanisms caused by various stresses. A light with intensity of 100 µmol was exposed to the samples for 2 hours and 20 minutes as a source of stress. A quantitative electrical analysis with high accuracy was assured by utilizing a microchamber, which enables a measurement in nanoliter volume. We measured the impedance which is reciprocal of conductivity using a lock-in amplifier and a precise current source at frequency …
Date: August 2010
Creator: Abtahi, Seyed Ali
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Students' Attitudes toward Educational Gamification in Online Learning Environments (open access)

Students' Attitudes toward Educational Gamification in Online Learning Environments

This study explored undergraduate and graduate students' attitudes toward the pleasurability of educational gamification in online learning environments. The study is a sequential explanatory mixed-methods research that investigated students' attitudes quantitatively, then qualitatively. In the quantitative phase, an online survey, the Pleasurable Learning Experiences scale (PLLEXs), was administrated at one of the largest public southwestern universities in the U.S. (N = 119). The qualitative phase involved conducting eight semi-structured interviews with selected participants. The PLLEXs uses a 4-point Likert scale that encompasses 4 subscales: (a) Preferences for Instructions, (b) Preferences for Instructors' Teaching Styles, (c) Preferences for Activities, and (d) Preferences for Learning Effectiveness. A series of analyses of variances (ANOVAs) were used to identify predictors of students' overall attitudes toward educational gamification. The main findings were: (a) students had strong preferences toward educational gamification with Preferences of Instructions rated the highest subscale and Preferences for Activities rated the lowest subscale, (b) major was a statistically significant predictor of students' attitudes toward educational gamification, (c) international students had statistically significant lower preferences toward educational gamification compared with U.S. domestic students, (c) online learning experiences measured by the number of previous online courses and the number of hours spent weekly on …
Date: May 2019
Creator: Abu Dawood, Sumayah Mohammadlutfi
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Exploratory Analysis of Social E-health Behavior (open access)

Exploratory Analysis of Social E-health Behavior

Extant literature has documented well that people seek health information via the internet as patients and consumers. Much less, however, is known about interaction and creation behaviors in the development of new online health information and knowledge. More specifically, generalizable sociodemographic data on who engages in this online health behavior via social media is lacking in the sociological literature. The term “social e-health” is introduced to emphasize the difference between seeking behaviors and interaction and creation behaviors. A 2010 dataset of a large nationally representative and randomly sampled telephone survey made freely available from the Pew Research Center is used to examine social e-health behavior according to respondents’ sociodemographics. The dependent variable of social e-health behavior is measured by 13 survey questions from the survey. Gender, race, ethnicity, age, education, and income are used as independent variables. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the odds of engagement in social e-health behavior based on the sociodemographic predictors. The social determinants of health and digital divide frameworks are used to help explain why socioeconomic variances exist in social e-health behavior. The findings of the current study suggest that predictable sociodemographic patterns along the dimensions of gender, race, age, education, and income …
Date: May 2014
Creator: Acadia, Spencer
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cooperative Strategy and Sources of Knowledge Integration Capability and Innovation: A Relational View (open access)

Cooperative Strategy and Sources of Knowledge Integration Capability and Innovation: A Relational View

Faced with the challenges to addressing the novelties of the changing business environments (e.g., new customer requirement, changes in customers taste and preferences, the introduction of new products or services by competitors), organizations seek to build collaboration among their employees who possess complementary knowledge. Integrating complementary knowledge enhances employees' ability to address environmental challenges and foster innovation. Despite the importance of knowledge integration for innovation, integration of such knowledge becomes difficult when employees lack a shared understanding of knowledge, and when the knowledge is newly generated. Because new knowledge is tacit in nature and highly personal to a particular individual, it is difficult to articulate, making knowledge integration (KI) an arduous task. Lack of shared understanding, the presence of new knowledge, and lack of common interests in employees creates three types of knowledge boundaries – syntactic (information processing) boundaries, semantic (interpretive) boundaries, and pragmatic (political) boundaries. The presence of knowledge boundaries makes it difficult for employees to share and access their knowledge with each other. To overcome the challenges related to the knowledge boundaries, employees use boundary-spanning objects, which are common lexicons, common meaning, and common interests, to share and access their knowledge across the boundaries. Although prior studies have …
Date: August 2016
Creator: Acharya, Chandan
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Online Construction of Android Application Test Suites (open access)

Online Construction of Android Application Test Suites

Mobile applications play an important role in the dissemination of computing and information resources. They are often used in domains such as mobile banking, e-commerce, and health monitoring. Cost-effective testing techniques in these domains are critical. This dissertation contributes novel techniques for automatic construction of mobile application test suites. In particular, this work provides solutions that focus on the prohibitively large number of possible event sequences that must be sampled in GUI-based mobile applications. This work makes three major contributions: (1) an automated GUI testing tool, Autodroid, that implements a novel online approach to automatic construction of Android application test suites (2) probabilistic and combinatorial-based algorithms that systematically sample the input space of Android applications to generate test suites with GUI/context events and (3) empirical studies to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of our techniques on real-world Android applications. Our experiments show that our techniques achieve better code coverage and event coverage compared to random test generation. We demonstrate that our techniques are useful for automatic construction of Android application test suites in the absence of source code and preexisting abstract models of an Application Under Test (AUT). The insights derived from our empirical studies provide guidance to researchers and practitioners involved …
Date: December 2017
Creator: Adamo, David T., Jr.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Joint Schemes for Physical Layer Security and Error Correction (open access)

Joint Schemes for Physical Layer Security and Error Correction

The major challenges facing resource constraint wireless devices are error resilience, security and speed. Three joint schemes are presented in this research which could be broadly divided into error correction based and cipher based. The error correction based ciphers take advantage of the properties of LDPC codes and Nordstrom Robinson code. A cipher-based cryptosystem is also presented in this research. The complexity of this scheme is reduced compared to conventional schemes. The securities of the ciphers are analyzed against known-plaintext and chosen-plaintext attacks and are found to be secure. Randomization test was also conducted on these schemes and the results are presented. For the proof of concept, the schemes were implemented in software and hardware and these shows a reduction in hardware usage compared to conventional schemes. As a result, joint schemes for error correction and security provide security to the physical layer of wireless communication systems, a layer in the protocol stack where currently little or no security is implemented. In this physical layer security approach, the properties of powerful error correcting codes are exploited to deliver reliability to the intended parties, high security against eavesdroppers and efficiency in communication system. The notion of a highly secure and reliable …
Date: August 2011
Creator: Adamo, Oluwayomi Bamidele
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Relationship Between Supplemental Instruction Leader Learning Style and Study Session Design (open access)

The Relationship Between Supplemental Instruction Leader Learning Style and Study Session Design

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the learning styles of supplemental instruction leaders at a large, public university during the fall 2010 semester and determine whether or not their personal learning styles influenced the way they designed and developed out-of-class study sessions. The total population of supplemental instruction leaders was 37, of which 24 were eligible to participate in the study. Of the 24 eligible supplemental instruction leaders, 20 completed the entire study. Participants in the study included nine male and 11 female supplemental instruction leaders with a median age of 22.25 years-old. Seventeen participants indicated their classification as senior, two as junior, and one as sophomore. Of the participants, 16 indicated white as a race or ethnicity, one indicated Asian, two indicated African American, and one indicated both American Indian/Alaska Native and white. Supplemental instruction leader learning style was assessed using the Kolb Learning Style Inventory. Leaders were then interviewed, and their study sessions were analyzed. Through triangulation of data from learning style, interviews and actual study session documents, four major themes emerged. The four themes were: 1) incorporation of personal experience into study session design, 2) the sense of impact on student learning, 3) a …
Date: May 2011
Creator: Adams, Joshua
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Integrating Selective Herbicide and Native Plant Restoration to Control Alternanthera philoxeroides (Alligator Weed) (open access)

Integrating Selective Herbicide and Native Plant Restoration to Control Alternanthera philoxeroides (Alligator Weed)

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 …
Date: December 2011
Creator: Adams, Justin
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Increasing Exercise in Sedentary Adults Using a Contingency and Technology-Based Management Package to Begin and Sustain New Levels of Activity (open access)

Increasing Exercise in Sedentary Adults Using a Contingency and Technology-Based Management Package to Begin and Sustain New Levels of Activity

Using a multiple baseline across participants with a changing criterion, this study explored and evaluated the effects of the individualized contingency management package (goal-setting, education, etc.) with sedentary typical adults while focusing on the mentoring component and the use of the technology of the exercise tracker to increase and sustain physical exercise to a level that increased health-benefiting physical activity. During initial mentoring meeting prior to the start of baseline, each participant was given a Garmin Viovsmart 3® exercise tracker, educated on the basic components of the device, and connected to the dashboard through the Garmin Connect™ app on their smartphones. Once each participant's activity stabilized, participant began intervention with weekly mentoring meetings focused on immediate feedback (social reinforcement), goal-setting and education. Through the Connect™ app, experimenter gave social reinforcement on a VR3 schedule to each participant, and participants were encouraged to participate by commenting to other participants through a private group set up for this study. The results indicate that the individualized contingency management package was effective for three of four participants whom increased their total activity minutes from pre-intervention range 0-104 min of weekly activity to post-intervention range of 269-404 min weekly. The two participants that completed two- …
Date: August 2019
Creator: Adams, Kristen Lea
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Drugs and Peace Duration (open access)

Drugs and Peace Duration

Paper explores the impact that the production and/or transit of drugs have on the durability of peace following civil war.
Date: 2011
Creator: Adams, Mark
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library