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Implementing Municipal Water Conservation Policy: Goals, Practices and the Case of Texas (open access)

Implementing Municipal Water Conservation Policy: Goals, Practices and the Case of Texas

This study examines whether water conservation is actually being incorporated into municipal water management practices. The development of a conservation policy from a general goal declaration to specific programmatic practices is reviewed for a Texas state water agency, the Texas Water Development Board. From January 1986 through September 1989, 102 political units in Texas applied to the Board for water-related loan funds and thus were required to implement municipal water conservation plans. Two aspects of this conversation policy are assessed: one, the Board's procedural arrangements for the development and review of water conservation plans, and two, the conservation plans of each political unit. It is concluded that Texas state water managers, and local manager also, have yet to incorporate conservation as a significant planning tool for the achievement of water management goals.
Date: May 1992
Creator: Sokulsky, Kariann Elizabeth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Women and Improvisation: Transgression, Transformation and Transcendence (open access)

Women and Improvisation: Transgression, Transformation and Transcendence

This feminist study examines women's use of improvisation in discovering, creating, and articulating various self-identities. To create a theory of identity formation, two feminist theoretical position, essentialism and poststructuralism, are analyzed and merged. This hybrid theory addresses the interplay between the self and society that women must recognize in order to form satisfying identities. Improvisational practices, involving bodily awareness and movement, are demonstrated to have the potential for helping women to actualize themselves in these various identities. For this study, the writer uses her experience as an improviser and interviews three women who use improvisation in their choreographic processes. She also discusses performers whom she has seen and performers about whom feminist performance critics have written. This study examines improvisation in dance and performance art from a feminist perspective. I clarify what improvisation entails and, by doing so, illustrate how improvisational movement in dance and performance art can enhance the lives of women as viewers and performers. Through exploring improvisation from this feminist perspective, I demonstrate the psychological insights I have gained from practicing improvisation and document performances that have been improvisationally inspired by women who feel dissatisfied with the manner in which this society shapes and limits their identities.
Date: August 1998
Creator: Sears, Linda R. (Linda Roseanne)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Improving Scientific Learning and Supporting Civic Engagement for Undergraduate Non-science Majors (open access)

Improving Scientific Learning and Supporting Civic Engagement for Undergraduate Non-science Majors

In prior research focusing on teaching and learning science, a definitive trend toward a new approach for undergraduate non-major science courses has emerged. Instruction should be refocused from information-transfer to giving students experiences that allow them to explore and engage in their new knowledge and find ways to integrate it into their everyday lives. One technique is to focus class material on real issues of interest and relevance. Course development that allows for civic engagement and self discovery connects learning to the lives of students and their communities. This study used a quasi-experimental design to see if students who engaged in their learning had improved learning gains, increased motivation, and ability to relate it to their lives. The results showed that students were more motivated to connect the subject to their lives when they engaged through civic engagement projects. Techniques used in this research can be used in the future to develop science courses that focus on the needs of 21st century learners.
Date: August 2015
Creator: Taylor, Alana Presley
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of the Effectiveness of Four Competing Scenarios in Explaining the Causes of Stagflation (open access)

A Study of the Effectiveness of Four Competing Scenarios in Explaining the Causes of Stagflation

This study investigates the relationship between stagflation and price stability and full employment and four economic scenarios and the economic condition. The data used in the study were obtained from government publications and were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. The standard inferential apparatus were employed. Give independent variables were found to be significant in explaining the causes of stagflation. These were: absolute change in M1, oil embargo of 1974, corporate profits, output per hour, and Iranian crisis of 1979. In conclusion, the causes of economic instability do not rest with one single theory or factor, but a combination of several.
Date: August 1983
Creator: Hurlbut, Toni T. (Toni Thompson)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Pulp and Paper Mill Wastewaters on Phytoplankton Primary Productivity in the Red River, Louisiana (open access)

The Effects of Pulp and Paper Mill Wastewaters on Phytoplankton Primary Productivity in the Red River, Louisiana

Responses of phytoplankton productivity in the Red River to unbleached pulp and paper mill wastewaters were monitored using in situ ^14C incubation. Preoperational studies, conducted prior to the discharge of mill wastewaters varied seasonally, but revealed similar productivity trends when compared with postoperational studies, conducted after mill discharges began entering the Red River. Carbon assimilation rates measured downstream of mill discharge were generally greater than upstream levels in both preoperational and postoperational studies. Selected physical, chemical, and biological parameters varied seasonally, but showed similar upstream-downstream values and preoperational-postoperational values. Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC), and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD_5) were positively correlated with postoperational productivity rates. Apparent color was negatively correlated with productivity rates.
Date: May 1984
Creator: Holler, Jeffrey Dee
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of the Effectiveness of Four Competing Scenarios in Explaining Economic Instability (open access)

A Study of the Effectiveness of Four Competing Scenarios in Explaining Economic Instability

This study tests the relationship between certain economic scenarios and the state of the economy in regard to inflation and recession. Using data gathered from government publications, the economy was divided into periods of inflation, recession, and recession recovery. These periods were regressed against variables representing four schools of economic thought: monetarist scenario, structural scenario, power scenario, and micro, or supply side scenario. This study concludes that because of the complex nature of the economy, all representative variables have both positive and negative effects on the economy and no one scenario holds the key to economic stability.
Date: August 1983
Creator: O'Brien, Joan M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Excuses for the Universe (open access)

Excuses for the Universe

We create fictions--personal and literary--to cope with fear, and it is our choice whether or not these inventions affirm life. This collection presents many ways of "making excuses for the universe," both from a personal standpoint and also by using the voices and visions of created characters. The collection contains a section of family poems and three sets of character poems: Beverly and Nanci, Strange Mary, and Blue Donna. Following each section are two related poems for transition or amplification. The poems show a progressive change in writing techniques, especially experimentation with sound, as well as pursuing the central theme that perception is a desirable goal, well worth the price.
Date: August 1985
Creator: Keefe, Martha L. (Martha Lundin)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of Suspended Solids on Bioavailability of Chemicals to Daphnia magna and Pimephales promelas (open access)

Effects of Suspended Solids on Bioavailability of Chemicals to Daphnia magna and Pimephales promelas

Three suspended solids types containing a range of physicochemical characteristics were used to determine the effect of suspended solids on the bioavailability of acenaphthene, 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene, zinc, and chlordane to Daphnia magna and Pimephales promelas. Generally, the bioavailability of zinc and chlordane decreased due to interactions with all suspended solids types while bioavailability of acenaphthene and 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene were not clearly reduced. Partition coefficients and slope of dose-response curves related chemical characteristics and organism sensitivity, respectively, to experimentally determined results. It is believed that the biologically available form of these chemicals to Daphnia magna and Pimephales promelas resides in the aqueous phase.
Date: December 1984
Creator: Hall, W. Scott (Warren Scott)
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Analysis of Refuse Derived Fuel as an Environmentally Acceptable Fuel Alternative for the Cement Industry (open access)

An Analysis of Refuse Derived Fuel as an Environmentally Acceptable Fuel Alternative for the Cement Industry

Resource recovery is an attractive alternative to the waste disposal problem. The chief by-product of this process, refuse derived fuel (RDF) can be co-fired in traditional coal burning facilities. The cement industry is a potential user of RDF. This study, based on a test burn done at Texas Industries Inc. in Midlothian, Texas, demonstrated the technical, environmental, and economic feasibility of using RDF fuel in a cement kiln. Technically, the cement showed no deleterious effects when RDF was substituted for coal/natural gas at 20% by Btu content. Environmentally, acid rain gases were reduced. Economically, RDF was shown to be a cost effective fuel substitute if a resource recovery facility was erected on site.
Date: May 1991
Creator: Brooks, Cheryl L. (Cheryl Leigh)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Denton Mare (open access)

The Denton Mare

Some men are born to greatness, others to great tragedy. This novel is a fictional account of one of those men: the notorious Texas outlaw, Sam Bass. Set in the Old West of the 1870s, the story primarily concerns itself with events in the train robber's life from the time he owned and raced the Denton Mare to the now famous shoot-out in Round Rock, Texas. It is a story of crime and betrayal told through the eyes of Bass and one of his close confederates, Jim Murphy.
Date: December 1984
Creator: DeMello, Duane T. (Duane Tyler)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Emergence of the Individual in Eleventh and Twelfth Century Europe: Cistercians to Cowboys (open access)

The Emergence of the Individual in Eleventh and Twelfth Century Europe: Cistercians to Cowboys

The purpose and scope of this paper is to discuss the emergence of the individual in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in light of the societal changes occurring at the time, and to establish the fact that this beginning of individualism can be seen particularly in the arts of the time. The evidence presented gives rise to the supposition that the society of the eleventh and twelfth centuries can be defined as humanistic, given that humanism implies a concern with and a concentration upon life on earth as opposed to life in heaven.
Date: December 1991
Creator: Cain, Elizabeth P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ephippia Production, Activation, and Use of Ex-Ephippio Neonates of Ceriodaphnia Dubia as Toxicity Test Organisms (open access)

Ephippia Production, Activation, and Use of Ex-Ephippio Neonates of Ceriodaphnia Dubia as Toxicity Test Organisms

Ceriodaphnia dubia is widely used as a test organism in monitoring water quality. At the present time, cultures must be continuously maintained in the laboratory. In an attempt to avoid continuous culture and maintenance, the hatching of ephippial eggs of C. dubia would provide test organisms when needed. In order to determine the parameters required for maximum hatching, approximately ninety-four thousand ephippia were exposed to a variety of conditions ranging from light and temperature regimes to drying and freezing. A low hatching yield occurred which is believed to be caused by diminished ephippia viability and/or fertility. To evaluate factors influencing the viability and fertility rate, stains of embryos were examined as were male to female ratios and mating experiments.
Date: August 1992
Creator: Poage, Duane W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cross-Country Analysis of Income Inequality (open access)

Cross-Country Analysis of Income Inequality

The purpose of this paper is to examine the cross-country relationship between income inequality and selected socioeconomic variables reflecting the level of economic development. The first chapter introduces some theoretical approaches to income distribution and poses problems regarding income inequalities across countries. The second chapter surveys cross-country studies of income inequalities conducted by previous researchers. The third chapter covers statistical methodology. Chapter four analyzes statistical results of multiple regression. The final chapter is intended for summary, conclusion, and recommendations.
Date: December 1989
Creator: Lee, Sungho, 1950-
System: The UNT Digital Library
Musical Aesthetics: An Objective Approach to "Music Appreciation" for American Public Education (open access)

Musical Aesthetics: An Objective Approach to "Music Appreciation" for American Public Education

The specific problem prompting this investigation is the creation of a method of music criticism. The purposes for the investigation are three in number. First and foremost, the purpose of the investigation is to develop an unrestricted method of music criticism. The development of such a method fulfills the second reason for the investigation. Although Mortimer Adler and the Paideia Group have clearly stated the classes and pedagogy to be utilized in a Paideia curriculum, they have done little to suggest specific class content. This study resolves the content problem for one class. It is recommended that the music masterworks class be treated as a course in music criticism. Through such treatment of the class, students will meet the goals of the Paideia Group and develop the tools for societal reconstruction. Finally, the goal of establishing a method of music criticism harmonious with the educational philosophy of reconstructionism is the end to the previous two "means" purposes.
Date: December 1988
Creator: Begnaud, Edward M. C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Word and Tragedy the Revelation of Divine Mystery in the Portrayal of Man as Language (open access)

The Word and Tragedy the Revelation of Divine Mystery in the Portrayal of Man as Language

This study suggests that tragedy sees human action as synonymous with language and that it uses a method similar to that of a hermeneutic phenomenology to portray man as experiencing spirituality in a confrontation with expression. This confrontation takes the form of a pattern that leads to a revelation that all human action springs from the spirit. Word as action is thus placed into a spiritual context, containing in itself the key to the divine significance of the human experience. As a cultural manifestation, this pattern exists not only in literary tragedy, but also in the Hebrew Scriptures as narratives and poetry. This study examines this tragic pattern in Genesis, the Book of Job, Oedipus, and King Lear.
Date: August 1988
Creator: Painter, Mark A. (Mark Andrew)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Desorption/Diffusion of Benzene After Simulated Ground Water Remediation (open access)

Desorption/Diffusion of Benzene After Simulated Ground Water Remediation

A study was undertaken to examine the desorption/ iffusion of benzene after simulated ground water remediation in aquifer material of differing carbon content using column experiments and comparing the results to batch experiments and adsorption empirical relationships. It was hypothesized that the organic carbon of the aquifer material will affect desorption/diffusion. Results from the column experiment indicated no significant difference in the increase benzene concentrations after remediation between aquifer materials of differing carbon content, however, a significant increase in benzene concentration was observed for all aquifer material. Fair agreement of retardation factors was observed between empirical relationships and batch and column experiments. However, the desorption phase of the batch experiment showed hysteresis and seemed to differ from the column experiment.
Date: December 1989
Creator: Bennett, Kathryn C. (Kathryn Condreay)
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Survey of Landowner Attitudes Toward the Construction of Lake Ray Roberts (open access)

A Survey of Landowner Attitudes Toward the Construction of Lake Ray Roberts

Documentation of social impacts resulting from the construction of Lake Ray Roberts is to be incorporated into a two year post-impoundment study. Research objectives are to: 1) locate current residences of landowners and previous landowners who were displaced; 2) determine social impacts resulting from construction of Lake Ray Roberts; 3) document degree of satisfaction with current living conditions; 4) document landowners' degree of satisfaction associated with COE negotiations; 5) document landowners' observations. Landowners were identified by telephone and sent a mail-back questionnaire. Respondents were generally happy with current residences and communities. While courtesy and sufficient information were provided by the COE, respondents would have preferred for property settlements to be more consistent and timely.
Date: August 1991
Creator: Norris, Paula Sue
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Bahá'í Principle of Religious Unity and the Challenge of Radical Pluralism (open access)

The Bahá'í Principle of Religious Unity and the Challenge of Radical Pluralism

The Bahá'í principle of religious unity is unique among the world's religious traditions in that its primary basis is found within its own sacred texts and not in commentaries of those texts. The Bahá'í principle affirms the existence of a common transcendent source from which the religions of the world originate and receive their inspiration. The Bahá'í writings also emphasize the process of personal transformation brought about through faith as a unifying factor in all religious traditions. The apparent differences between the world's religious traditions are explained by appealing to a perspectivist approach grounded in a process metaphysics. For this reason, I have characterized the Bahá'í view as "process perspectivism". Radical pluralism is the greatest philosophical challenge to the Bahá'í principle of religious unity. The main criticisms made by the radical pluralists are briefly examined.
Date: December 1993
Creator: May, Dann J. (Dann Joseph)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Dichotomy in American Western Mythology (open access)

Dichotomy in American Western Mythology

The fundamental dichotomy between savage and civilized man is examined within the archetypal Western myth of American culture. The roots of the dichotomy are explored through images produced between 1888 and 1909 by artists Frederic Remington and Charles Russell. Four John Ford films are then used as a basis for the "dichotomous archetype" approach to understanding Western myth in film. Next, twenty-nine "historical" and "contemporary" Western movies are discussed chronologically, from The Virginian (1929) to Dances with Wolves (1990), in terms of the savage/civilized schema as it is personified by the roles of archetypal characters. The conclusion proposes a potential resolution of the savage/civilized conflict through an ecumenical mythology that recognizes a universal reverence for nature.
Date: May 1991
Creator: Robinson, Scott E. (Scott Elmon), 1961-
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Analysis of the Participant Selection Process Under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act: Texas and Louisiana (open access)

An Analysis of the Participant Selection Process Under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act: Texas and Louisiana

Federal guidelines required prime sponsors under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act, or CETA, to serve the "significant segments" of the eligible population. This study analyzes whether prime sponsors in Texas and Louisiana correctly identified and served those segments. This study finds that eligible ethnic groups were properly identified and were served equitably; age and gender distinctions, however, were inadequately observed in the providing of services.
Date: May 1988
Creator: Drake, William D. (William Daniel), 1950-
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Life of Ben and Other Poems (open access)

The Life of Ben and Other Poems

The Life of Ben and Other Poems consists of two sections. The first, The Life of Ben, is a series of seventeen poems about the life of a first-generation American and his family's immigration. The second section, Other Poems, includes twenty-one poems on a variety of themes.
Date: May 1987
Creator: Berecka, Alan Michael
System: The UNT Digital Library
Sediment Bound Trace Metals in the White Rock Creek Watershed, Dallas and Collin Counties (open access)

Sediment Bound Trace Metals in the White Rock Creek Watershed, Dallas and Collin Counties

Areas were sampled in the White Rock Creek Watershed to examine sediment bound trace metal distributions and sorption relationships. A Kruskal-Wallis AOV found significant among area differences for most metals, and SNK-like multiple comparisons were used to group these areas. Kruskal-Wallis AOVs similarly found among area differences for sediment components that bind trace metals (Fe and Mn oxides and organic carbon) and physicochemical conditions that influence metal sorption (particle size and pH). Multiple correlation found numerous relationships among trace metals, sediment components, and physicochemical conditions. Statistical relationships indicate that metal partitioning to various sorption factors is metal specific. White Rock Creek Watershed trace metal concentrations are comparable to those in many urban watersheds.
Date: May 1990
Creator: Combest, Kyle B. (Kyle Bryan)
System: The UNT Digital Library
RADIX 95n: Binary-to-Text Data Conversion (open access)

RADIX 95n: Binary-to-Text Data Conversion

This paper presents Radix 95n, a binary to text data conversion algorithm. Radix 95n (base 95) is a variable length encoding scheme that offers slightly better efficiency than is available with conventional fixed length encoding procedures. Radix 95n advances previous techniques by allowing a greater pool of 7-bit combinations to be made available for 8-bit data translation. Since 8-bit data (i.e. binary files) can prove to be difficult to transfer over 7-bit networks, the Radix 95n conversion technique provides a way to convert data such as compiled programs or graphic images to printable ASCII characters and allows for their transfer over 7-bit networks.
Date: August 1991
Creator: Jones, Greg, 1963-2017.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Inflation in Venezuela: The Case for No Single Cause (open access)

Inflation in Venezuela: The Case for No Single Cause

The study was designed to examine the causal relationship between the Venezuelan inflation and the monetarist variables--money supply--and the structuralist variables-- exchange rate and balance of payments. The data (1964-1982) was gathered from the International Financial Statistic Yearbook, 1983 and the Statistical Yearbook, 1974, 1982. Chapter I is an introduction to the research problem. Chapter II does a review of the related literature. Chapter III deals with the methods and procedures for treating the data. Chapter IV presents an statistical analysis of the data. And, Chapter V contains a summary of the study and its findings, conclusions and recommendations. The study only found a significant relationship between inflation and the monetarist variables money supply and GNP, though supporting the monetarist theory. A similar investigation is suggested, but selecting a longer time period, other.variables, and more refined methodologies and analysis.
Date: December 1987
Creator: Rodriguez, Florangel
System: The UNT Digital Library