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
No Fairy Godmothers: Essays on Life, Love, and Feminism (open access)

No Fairy Godmothers: Essays on Life, Love, and Feminism

Heterosexual romance and marriage are institutionalized ideals in our society, set forth, in part, through the portrayal of stereotyped gender roles in fairy tales, such as Cinderella, and by the mainstream media. This thesis explores the cultural messages aimed at women, which impose the necessity of altering oneself to achieve marriage, and offers feminist viewpoints. Using the form of the personal essay, I discuss the ideals of Cinderella, Prince Charming, marriage, and Happily Ever After as unrealistic, though still prevalent, given the popularity of books like The Rules: Time-tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right, and Princess Diana as Cinderella icon. Essays on my own experience of marriage and divorce supplement the cultural issues, juxtaposing the personal and political toward a new paradigm for relationships.
Date: August 1998
Creator: Behnken, Julie A. (Julie Ann)
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
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
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
Problem-Solving a Behaviorological Analysis with Implications for Instruction (open access)

Problem-Solving a Behaviorological Analysis with Implications for Instruction

The paper documents the need for an effective technology to teach problem-solving. It asserts that a behaviorological analysis of problem-solving can speed the development of an effective technology to teach problem-solving behavior. A behaviorological definition of problem-solving is proposed. The history of behaviorological approaches to problem-solving is traced and suggestions are offered that may facilitate further empirical and theoretical work. One application of a behaviorological analysis to the teaching of problem-solving is illustrated by some preliminary data on the effectiveness of a technique for teaching a type of problem-solving behavior. Suggestions for further research are provided.
Date: May 1988
Creator: Bruce, Guy S. (Guy Steven)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Implications of National Culture on American Knowledge Work Teams: A Model of a Collaborative Corporate Culture to Support Team Functioning (open access)

The Implications of National Culture on American Knowledge Work Teams: A Model of a Collaborative Corporate Culture to Support Team Functioning

In order to remain competitive, many American businesses implement team-based work strategies. In many cases, however, teams fail in American organizations, which may be in part due to a conflict between American culture and the cooperative environment necessary for teams to function effectively. By comparing the literature regarding American culture, challenges faced by teams, and then corporate culture, it becomes evident that there are aspects of American culture that pose challenges but also that an appropriate corporate culture can mediate some areas of incompatibility. A collaborative corporate culture can induce cooperation among employees without asking employees to work in a manner that is counterintuitive, thus gaining the benefits of teams.
Date: December 1999
Creator: Bussey, Jennifer Amy
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Geologic and Archaeological History of the Dickie Carr Site 41PR26 (open access)

The Geologic and Archaeological History of the Dickie Carr Site 41PR26

This thesis is an analysis and synthesis of the geologic and archaeological history of the Dickie Carr site, 41PR26, on Mill Creek in north central Texas. Included are analyses of the stratigraphy, sedimentary environments, and soils of the locality. A regional comparison is made with respect to the Late Quaternary geology of the upper Trinity River basin, Texas to interpret the geologic data. Two stratigraphic units were identified that record the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. The buried lower unit is comprised of terrace, floodplain, and channel deposits with extensive pedogenesis. The unit is Late Pleistocene in age and contains the remains of Mammuthus columbi. The upper stratigraphic unit is comprised of terrace and floodplain sediments with well-expressed pedogenesis. The unit is Early Holocene in age with Late Paleoindian and Late Archaic occupations. The archaeological components are compared and contrasted with documented sites from the Elm and East Forks of the Trinity River. The occupations are examined in a geoarchaeological context. The Late Paleoindian occupation is post-depositional and located in terrace deposits. The Late Archaic occupation is syndepositional and located in floodplain deposits.
Date: May 2007
Creator: Byers, Johnny A.
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
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
A Narrative Herstory of Women's Studies at the University of North Texas (open access)

A Narrative Herstory of Women's Studies at the University of North Texas

In the late 1960's the academic field of Women's Studies was created to give women a more equal education and a more accurate reflection of their history and impact on society. At the University of North Texas the effort to implement Women's Studies was not begun seriously until the late 1980's. This paper covers the effort to establish Women's Studies at UNT. My thesis is that this has been a grassroots effort led by professors and students who succeeded not only in establishing Women's Studies but also in changing the face and feeling of the University, creating a more positive environment for women. The bulk of the paper is made up of narrative selections drawn from oral history interviews with key individuals.
Date: December 1999
Creator: Cook, Charles
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
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
A Gobber Tooth, A Hairy Lip, A Squint Eye: Concepts of the Witch and the Body in Early Modern Europe (open access)

A Gobber Tooth, A Hairy Lip, A Squint Eye: Concepts of the Witch and the Body in Early Modern Europe

This thesis discusses early modern European perceptions of body and soul in association with the increasing stringency of civilized behaviour and state formation in an effort to provide motivation for the increased severity of the witch hunts of that time. Both secondary and primary sources have been used, in particular the contemporary demonologies by such authors as Bodin, and Kramer and Sprenger. The thesis is divided into five chapters, including an Introduction and Conclusion. The body of the thesis focuses on religious, scientific, and secular beliefs (Ch. 2), appearance and characteristics of witches (Ch. 3), and the activities and behaviours/actions of witches, (Ch. 4). This study concentrates on the similarities found across Europe, and, as the majority of witches persecuted were female, my thesis emphasizes women as victims of the witch hunts.
Date: August 2000
Creator: Easley, Patricia Thompson
System: The UNT Digital Library
Leni: A Screenplay Based on the Career of Leni Riefenstahl (open access)

Leni: A Screenplay Based on the Career of Leni Riefenstahl

This screenplay dramatizes the controversial career of German film maker Leni Riefenstahl during ten years of her association with the Nazi Party. Beginning with the premiere of her first film in 1932, this account chronicles her rise as a film director of such films as Triumph of the Will and Olympia to her arrest after World War II on charges that she had been a Nazi sympathizer. Besides delineating the character and talents of Leni Riefenstahl, this screenplay addresses the difficult question of the relationship between politics and art.
Date: May 1988
Creator: Gillespie, Dana M. (Dana Marie)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Blood and Earth: Indivisible Territory and Terrorist Group Longevity (open access)

Blood and Earth: Indivisible Territory and Terrorist Group Longevity

The study of terrorism has been both broad in scope and varied in approach. Little work has been done, however, on the territorial aspects of terrorist groups. Most terrorist groups are revolutionary to one degree or another, seeking the control of a piece of territory; but for the supportive population of a terrorist group, how important is the issue of territory? Are the intangible qualities of territory more salient to a given population than other factors? Are territorially based terrorist groups more durable than their ideologically or religiously motivated cohorts? This paper aims to propose the validity of the territorial argument for the study of political terrorism.
Date: May 2013
Creator: Glass, Richard A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Modest Musorgsky's Early Songs: Uncommon Lyricisms Within a Simple Framework (open access)

Modest Musorgsky's Early Songs: Uncommon Lyricisms Within a Simple Framework

Modest Musorgsky is considered a composer of masterful vocal, symphonic, and piano works. His songs and song cycles distinguish themselves as evocative of the broad spectrum of Russian experience. However, Musorgsky's early songs have not received as much attention as his larger works, such as Boris Godunov or Pictures at an Exhibition. Musorgsky's early songs, from 1857-1867, show the composer's affinity for lyrical expression, be it brightly melodious, impassioned, or within a comical or satirical vein. He portrays Russian life through a mixture of different genres such as the Russian romance, the ballad, the operatic aria, and also vaudeville. This study focuses on Musorgsky's choice of texts, his penning of several of them, and the way he incorporates them within each song.
Date: December 2012
Creator: Gunter, Sheila
System: The UNT Digital Library
Techniques of Social-science-fiction (open access)

Techniques of Social-science-fiction

This thesis includes an original science-fiction novella entitled "The Hunted" and accompanying commentary which illustrates how anthropological fiction can use characterization, setting, and conflict to build effective inter-subjective models.
Date: August 1995
Creator: Hadder, R. Neill (Richard Neill)
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
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 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
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
Status Determinants for Professional Sports and Professional Athletes (open access)

Status Determinants for Professional Sports and Professional Athletes

The purposes of the investigation were to determine if status of professional sports and professional athletes increases as male participation increases, if perceived status of 'athlete' increases with participation in sports that contain 'male' attributes, and if gender differences are related to status indicators. Sixty-eight students were administered a status-determinants questionnaire. A one-way ANOVA (gender) and a 2 x 12 ANOVA (gender x sport) were employed to determine status ratings of sports. A 3 x 2 (increase/decrease/no change x gender) Chi square was employed to determine status of sports, perceived masculinity of males/femininity of females, and status of the athlete related to gender attributes of sports.
Date: May 1998
Creator: Kaye, Fern V. (Fern Victoria)
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