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open access

Federalism and Civil Conflict: the Missing Link?

Description: This thesis investigates federalism and civil conflict. Past work linking federalism and civil conflict has investigated the factors that pacify or aggravate conflict, but most such studies have examined the effect of decentralization on conflict onset, as opposed to the form federalism takes (such as congruent vs incongruent forms, for example). I collect data on civil conflict, the institutional characteristics of federalist states and fiscal decentralization. My theoretical expectations are … more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Lancaster, Ross
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Female Orgasm From Intercourse: Importance, Partner Characteristics, and Health

Description: Previous research indicates that women prefer orgasms triggered by penile-vaginal intercourse (PVI) as compared to those triggered by direct manual stimulation of the clitoris. However, for reasons that are not well understood, most women are unable to reach PVI orgasms as often as they desire. In addition, it is unclear why many women prefer PVI orgasms to those triggered by direct clitoral stimulation. This study developed a more precise measure of PVI orgasm frequency and evaluated key pr… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Powers, Catherine R.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

First Principles Calculations of the Site Substitution Behavior in Gamma Prime Phase in Nickel Based Superalloys

Description: Nickel based superalloys have superior high temperature mechanical strength, corrosion and creep resistance in harsh environments and found applications in the hot sections as turbine blades and turbine discs in jet engines and gas generator turbines in the aerospace and energy industries. The efficiency of these turbine engines depends on the turbine inlet temperature, which is determined by the high temperature strength and behavior of these superalloys. The microstructure of nickel based sup… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Chaudhari, Mrunalkumar
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

From Ritual to Art in the Puritan Music of Colonial New England: the Anthems of William Billings

Description: The manner in which Billings’s music contrasts with the Puritan musical ideal clearly demonstrates his role in the transition from ritual to art in the music of eighteenth-century New England. The tenets of Puritan worship included the restriction that music should serve primarily as a form of communal prayer for the congregation and in a secondary capacity to assist in biblical instruction. Billings’s stylistic independence from Puritan orthodoxy began with a differing ideology concerning th… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Dill, Patrick W.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Geography of HIV Infection Among Adults Aged 50 Years and Older in Texas From 1999-2009

Description: Twenty four percent of all HIV infections in the United States occur among adults aged 50 and older (mature adults), yet little is understood of the dynamics of HIV infection among this group in Texas. Data from 1999 to 2009 examined the relationship between HIV spatial and temporal patterns affecting socio-economic and demographic variables including poverty, gender, race/ethnicity and mode of exposure. Results revealed highest HIV infection rates among White homosexual men, Black males engag… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Hedrich, Mara Nicole
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Goethe Settings By Johann Friedrich Reichardt and Carl Friedrich Zelter: Text, Music and Performance Possibilities

Description: The connection between text, music, and performance in the lieder of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries is an integral aspect to fully comprehending the style and performance of the genre. It is also essential in order to understand the full development of the lied in its totality. The era represented a transitional period in musical development, influenced by Enlightenment values of elegance, good taste, simplicity, and naturalness which sought to eradicate the overly decora… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Moore, Wes C.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Harmony Or Discord: Disordered Eating and Personality Traits of College Music Majors

Description: Personality traits, such as neuroticism, perfectionism, and a narrow self-concept have been identified as risk factors for eating disorders or have been found at higher rates in those with eating disorders (e.g., Brannan & Petrie, 2008; Cash & Deagle, 1997; Cervera et al., 2003). Musicians exhibit many of these personality traits associated with eating disorders (e.g., Kemp, 1981), however eating disorder prevalence has not been studied in musicians. The present study examined the prevalence … more
Date: August 2012
Creator: DiPasquale, Laura D.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Higher Education and Native Nation Building: Using a Human Capital Framework to Explore the Role of Postsecondary Education in Tribal Economic Development

Description: Native American Nations have perpetually had the highest rates of poverty and unemployment and the lowest per capita income of any ethnic population in the United States. Additionally, American Indian students have the highest high school dropout rates and lowest academic performance rates as well as the lowest college admission and retention rates in the nation. As Native Nations try to reverse these trends through sustainable economic development, they must do so with a limited number of edu… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Marling, David
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Hochschild Cohomology and Complex Reflection Groups

Description: A concrete description of Hochschild cohomology is the first step toward exploring associative deformations of algebras. In this dissertation, deformation theory, geometry, combinatorics, invariant theory, representation theory, and homological algebra merge in an investigation of Hochschild cohomology of skew group algebras arising from complex reflection groups. Given a linear action of a finite group on a finite dimensional vector space, the skew group algebra under consideration is the se… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Foster-Greenwood, Briana A.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Homeland Security Roles and Responsibilities: an Examination of Texas Police Chiefs’ Perceptions

Description: Research has shown that the police industry has entered into an era of homeland security. However, whether the core functions of policing have significantly changed since September 11, 2001, has been the topic of considerable debate. Using secondary data, the research identifies variables that are most influential in predicting whether Texas police chiefs understand their departments’ homeland security roles and responsibilities. The data was originally obtained in 2007 through self-administ… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Thimamontri, Apinya
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Hormonal Response to Free Weight and Machine Weight Resistance Exercise

Description: No study has examined the effect of exercise modality (free weight vs. machine weight) on the acute hormonal response using similar multi-joint exercises. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of resistance exercise modality on acute hormonal responses by comparing the squat and leg press which are multi-joint, and similar in action and lower-body muscle involvement. Ten resistance trained men (21-31 y, 24.7 ± 2.9 y, 179 ± 7 cm, 84.2 ± 10.5 kg) participated in the study.… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Shaner, Aaron Arthur
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Hostess

Description: The following is a critical preface and portion of a novel-in-progress produced during my master's program in creative writing at the University of North Texas. The preface analyzes the way time and point of view work together to create or determine structure in fiction, as well as provide added meaning. In order to explore these topics I focus on two novels, Joan Didion’s Play It as It Lays and Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad, and speak to how these elements have influenced my own … more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Tomberlin, Jessica
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Hypoxia and the Development of Endothermic Capacity in Chickens (Gallus Gallus)

Description: Adult chickens employ endothermy – internal generation of heat that maintains a constant body temperature (Tb). Prior to hatching, chicken embryos are ectothermic - controlling Tb by external heat sources. Upon hatching, the hatchling transitions from an ectotherm to an endotherm that has been shown to be delayed by hypoxia. In this study, whole animal oxygen consumption () and liver, heart, and skeletal muscle citrate synthase activity (CSA) and were measured during this transition to endothe… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Neely, Aaron Mackallan
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Impact of Quality on Customer Behavioral Intentions Based on the Consumer Decision Making Process As Applied in E-commerce

Description: Perceived quality in the context of e-commerce was defined and examined in numerous studies, but, to date, there are no consistent definitions and measurement scales. Instruments that measure quality in e-commerce industries primarily focus on website quality or service quality during the transaction and delivery phases. Even though some scholars have proposed instruments from different perspectives, these scales do not fully evaluate the level of quality perceived by customers during the entir… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Wen, Chao
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Impact of Texas High School Science Teacher Credentials on Student Performance in High School Science

Description: A study was conducted to determine the relationship between the credentials held by science teachers who taught at a school that administered the Science Texas Assessment on Knowledge and Skills (Science TAKS), the state standardized exam in science, at grade 11 and student performance on a state standardized exam in science administered in grade 11. Years of teaching experience, teacher certification type(s), highest degree level held, teacher and school demographic information, and the percen… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: George, Anna Ray Bayless
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Impact of the Development of the Fortepiano on the Repertoire Composed for It From 1760–1860

Description: The relationship between piano manufacturer and composer is interactive, and consequently both compositions and performance styles evolved organically due to this relationship. Early on, the instrument had more influence on the composer, whereas with the instrument’s establishment, composers began to exert more influence on the subsequent development of the instrument through their requests of manufacturers. The relationship between pianist-composers and manufacturers is important for pianists… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Lin, Chao-Hwa
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Influence of Racial-ethnic Identity on Minority Students’ Perceived Academic Engagement

Description: The current study examined the relationship between the three components of racial-ethnic identity (REI)- Connectedness, Embedded Achievement, and Awareness of Racism- and academic engagement in middle school African American (n=62) and Latino (n=30) youth. We hypothesized the three components of REI would be able to predict academic engagement in the youth, as well as an interaction between ethnicity and the REI components. A hierarchical regression revealed Connectedness and Embedded Achiev… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Warnick, Brittney Michelle
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Installation and Manufacturing of Photovoltaics: an Assessment Using California and New York

Description: Renewable energy studies are becoming increasingly important as world energy demand rises and current energy sources are increasingly questioned. Solar photovoltaics (PV) are the focus of this study as a renewable industry still in its infancy. This research examines the geography of solar panel installation and manufacturing from 2007 to 2010 in California and New York. California is the larger of the two markets and has implemented more policy support; programs that appear to have increase… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Dohanich, Elizabeth
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Interactive Tool to Investigate the Inference Performance of Network Dynamics From Data

Description: Network structure plays a significant role in determining the performance of network inference tasks. An interactive tool to study the dependence of network topology on estimation performance was developed. The tool allows end-users to easily create and modify network structures and observe the performance of pole estimation measured by Cramer-Rao bounds. The tool also automatically suggests the best measurement locations to maximize estimation performance, and thus finds its broad applications… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Veenadhar, Katragadda
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Irony, Humor, and Ontological Relationality in Literature

Description: The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate ontological relationality in literary theory and criticism by critically reflecting on modern theories of literature and by practically examining the literary texts of Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, and Oscar Wilde. Traditional studies of literary texts have been oriented toward interpretative or hermeneutic methodologies, focusing on an independent and individual subject in literature. Instead, I explore how relational ontology uncover… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Kim, Soon Bae
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Jacques Ibert: an Analytical Study of Three Movements From Histoires

Description: Although many biographical studies are available on Jacques Ibert, few contain significant analytical commentary. In this study I examine three movements from Ibert’s Histoires for piano which was composed between 1920 and 1921 and was premiered in 1923. The three movements are “La menuese de tortues d’or,” “Le petit âne blanc,” and “La marchande d’eau fraîche.” I primarily use Schenkerian analysis to identify characteristics of Ibert’s compositional language. Significant aspects of impressio… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Waldroup, William Allan
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s Transcriptions of Beethoven´s Symphony No 2, Op 36: a Comparison of the Solo Piano and the Piano Quartet Versions

Description: Johann Nepomuk Hummel was a noted Austrian composer and piano virtuoso who not only wrote substantially for the instrument, but also transcribed a series of important orchestral pieces. Among them are two transcriptions of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36- the first a version for piano solo and the second a work for piano quartet, with flute substituting for the traditional viola part. This study will examine Hummel’s treatment of the symphony in both transcriptions, looking at a v… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Kim, Aram
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

José Antonio Gómez´s Versos Para Órgano (Section I): a Practical Guide for Performance

Description: José Antonio Gómez is an important figure in Mexican music history and his works are considered representative of the beginning of Mexico´s Independent era. Some musicians are familiar with Gómez´s choral output but his organ music is rarely considered. Due to the lack of an edition of Gómez´s Versets for Organ, a practical guide was found needed to aid its performance. This study is based on performance, analysis, and direct work on the only known source for it. The first chapter, Introducti… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Carrasco Curíntzita, Laura A.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Kleinian Groups in Hilbert Spaces

Description: The theory of discrete groups acting on finite dimensional Euclidean open balls by hyperbolic isometries was borne around the end of 19th century within the works of Fuchs, Klein and Poincaré. We develop the theory of discrete groups acting by hyperbolic isometries on the open unit ball of an infinite dimensional separable Hilbert space. We present our investigations on the geometry of limit sets at the sphere at infinity with an attempt to highlight the differences between the finite and infin… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Das, Tushar
Partner: UNT Libraries
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