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open access

Increasing Caregiver Reliability on Anecdotal Assessments

Description: Functional analyses are the gold standard of confirming maintaining variables of problem behavior. Despite widespread support, many clinical settings instead use anecdotal assessments. These have been shown to have poor reliability when used by non-experts but can be useful for confirming maintaining variables of problem behavior when agreement has reached a certain level. We used behavior skills training to teach new staff member pairs behavior function to increase their reliability on these a… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Drummond, Cody McPhail
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Instructors and Underrepresented Students in Microbiology: Educational Digital Tool Use, Trends, Perceptions, and Success

Description: The purpose of this three-article dissertation was to expand knowledge and theory regarding digital tool use in biology laboratory courses, such as microbiology, which requires specific laboratory skill development through the perception of instructors and students. Article 1 establishes the broad digital literacy and fluency problem in education by providing definitions and the context behind digital literacy fluency and its impact on acquisition of knowledge in digital learning environments. … more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Bradshaw-Ward, Danita M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Investigating Novel Streptomyces Bacteriophage Endolysins as Potential Antimicrobial Agents

Description: As antibiotic resistance has become a major global threat, the World Health Organization has urgently called scientists for alternative strategies for control of bacterial infections. Endolysin, a protein encoded by a phage gene, can degrade bacterial peptidoglycan (PG). Currently, there are three endolysin products in the clinical phase. We, thus, are interested in exploring novel endolysins from Streptomyces phages as only a few of them have been experimentally characterized. Using bioinforma… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Maneekul, Jindanuch
Partner: UNT Libraries

Investigating the Molecular Framesworks of Phloem-Cap Fiber Development in Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)

Description: The current study focuses on the vascular cambium and the reiterative formation of phloem fiber bundles in cotton stems. The role of the TDIF-PXY-WOX pathway was examined in regulating cambial activity and the differentiation of phloem fibers. A study was conducted to identify and characterize the cotton WOX family genes, focusing on WOX4 and WOX14, aiming to identify and analyze their phylogenetic relationships, tissue-specific expression profiles, functional roles, and metabolic consequences… more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2026.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Kaur, Harmanpreet
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Kinetics and Atmospheric Chemistry Studies of Halogenated Species

Description: Quantitative information about halogenated hydrocarbons is important for understanding their impact on atmospheric ozone chemistry and climate change, their regulation, and the devising of improved substitutes. The Montreal Protocol aimed to regulate the utilization and manufacturing of hydrochlorofluorocarbon compounds (HCFCs), contributing to ozone layer depletion. The 2016 Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol agreement, Annex C listed 274 HCFCs. Only 16 of them have been measured experi… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Sapkota, Ramesh
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Kinetics and Thermochemistry of Halogen and Nitrogen Compounds

Description: Halogen and nitrogen containing compounds play a key role in the atmospheric chemistry of the Earth. Through a mixed computational and experimental approach, the kinetics of these compounds with radicals common to the atmosphere have been explored. Using fundamental measurements such as the IR absorption cross-section, the rate constants of atmospheric reactions and the properties of product molecules have been derived. These results have been further extended to environmental applications such… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Rawling, George
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Leadership Practices and Processes that Close Opportunity Gaps for Socioeconomically Disadvantaged and Minoritized Students: A Case Study of a High-Needs Title 1 Elementary School

Description: The purpose of this qualitative, single case study was to identify leadership practices and processes that contributed to the success of a single High Needs, Title 1 elementary school that has experienced acknowledged superior academic success, particularly for its minoritized and low socioeconomically disadvantaged students, as indicated by the school's success on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests. The study sought to explore the principal's and teachers' concep… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Braveboy, Peter
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Local Organization of Refugee Service Provision: A Qualitative Comparison of Two Resettlement Cities in Texas

Description: This comparative case study examines the organizational variations in refugee services in Dallas and Amarillo, Texas. Engaging sociological theories of organizations, migration, and the state, this study conceptualizes immigrant-serving organizations as brokers that operate within fields of similar entities that channel resources and services to refugees. Drawing on 60 in-depth interviews and over two hundred hours of participant observation, this study finds two distinct models of resource bro… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Fessenden, Deborah June
Partner: UNT Libraries

Magnetoresponsive Layer-by-Layer (LBL) Polyelectrolyte Microcapsules Exposed to Low Frequency Alternating Magnetic Field for Drug Delivery to Breast Cancer Cells

Description: Layer-by-layer (LBL) polyelectrolyte capsules can be modified to incorporate stimuli such as superparamagnetic nanoparticles which respond to a magnetic field only when it is turned on. Thus, they can act as a switch to load or unload their drug cargo on demand. Specifically, magnetite is incorporated into bilayer capsules made of alternating poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(sodium-p-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) which surrounds calcium carbonate core. The core is then dissolved using… more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2025.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Powell, Robert Darrel
Partner: UNT Libraries

Memories of Troy in Middle English Verse: A Study of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," "Troilus and Criseyde," and the "Troy Book"

Description: This thesis explores the influence of the legend of Troy on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, and Lydgate's Troy Book. This study seeks to understand why medieval English Christians held the pagan myth of Troy in such high regard beyond the common postcolonial critique of Trojan ancestry as a justification for political power. I begin by demonstrating how Vergil's Aeneid presents a new heroic ideal much closer to Christian virtue than Homeric values, Aeneas submit… more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2029.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Johnson, Frazier Alexander
Partner: UNT Libraries

Mesenchymal Stem Cells Encapsulated and Aligned in Self-Assembling Peptide Hydrogels

Description: This study presents a viable strategy using fmoc-protected peptides hydrogels, to encapsulate and stretch mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). To explore the peptide hydrogel potential, a custom mechanical stretching device with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chambers were used to stretch MSCs encapsulated in Fmoc hydrogels. We investigated the impact of fmoc- FF prepared in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFP) and deionizied water in the self-assembly, and mechanical proper… more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2025.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Kasani, Yashesh Varun
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Metal Nitride Complexes as Potential Catalysts for C-H and N-H Bonds Activation

Description: Recognizing the dual ability of the nitride ligand to react as a nucleophile or an electrophile – depending on the metal and other supporting ligands – is a key to their broad-range reactivity; thus, three DFT studies were initiated to investigate these two factors effects (the metal and supporting ligands) for tuning nitride ligand reactivity for C-H and N-H bond activation/functionalization. We focused on studying these factors effects from both a kinetic and thermodynamic perspective in ord… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Alharbi, Waad Sulaiman S.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Mixed Methods Study of Online Social Comparison and Impostor Phenomenon in Undergraduate Music Education Students

Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate online social comparison and impostor phenomenon (IP) in undergraduate music education students. I employed a sequential explanatory mixed models design to explore the extent to which music education students experienced IP, used Facebook, and engaged in social comparison on Facebook. I explored participants' perceptions of how they engaged in online social comparison in the context of their professional lives. In Phase 1, I surveyed participants to … more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Rinn, Thomas James
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Needs Analysis for the Implementation of Supplemental Educational Videos in the Training of Surgical Residents

Description: This dissertation aimed to research the possibility of integrating a supplemental video system in a surgical residency for educational use. A needs analysis was to be conducted in order to find if current stakeholders would accept such a system within a surgical residency: (a) surgical residents, (b) teaching physicians, and (c) administrators. The study aimed to research factors that complicate the current educational setting for surgical residents, such as time allotted for learning, fatigue … more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Serfin, Michael
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Neural Network Classifiers for Object Detection in Optical and Infrared Images

Description: This thesis presents a series of neural network classifiers for object detection in both optical and infrared images. The focus of this work is on efficient and accurate solutions. The thesis discusses the evolution of the highly efficient and tiny network Binary Classification Vision Transformer (BC-ViT) and how through thoughtful modifications and improvements, the BC-ViT can be utilized for tasks of increasing complexity. Chapter 2 discusses the creation of BC-ViT and its initial use case fo… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Adams, Ethan Richard
Partner: UNT Libraries

Nitrogen Reduction Reaction: Deposition, Characterization and Selectivity of Transition Metal (V, Co and Ti) Oxynitrides as Electrocatalysts

Description: The electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) is of considerable interest due to its potential for less energy intensive and environmentally friendly ammonia production which is critical for agricultural and clean energy applications. However, the selectivity of NRR compared to the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) often poses challenges for various catalysts, including Earth-abundant transition metal oxynitrides like Ti, V, and Co. In this work, a comparative analysis of the selectivi… more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2025.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Chukwunenye, Precious O.
Partner: UNT Libraries

Option Pricing Under New Classes of Jump-Diffusion Processes

Description: In this dissertation, we introduce novel exponential jump-diffusion models for pricing options. Firstly, the normal convolution gamma mixture jump-diffusion model is presented. This model generalizes Merton's jump-diffusion and Kou's double exponential jump-diffusion. We show that the normal convolution gamma mixture jump-diffusion model captures some economically important features of the asset price, and that it exhibits heavier tails than both Merton jump-diffusion and double exponential jum… more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2026.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Adiele, Ugochukwu Oliver
Partner: UNT Libraries

A Pedagogical Analysis of "Seven Chinese Folk Songs" by Wanghua Chu

Description: Wanghua Chu (b. 1941) is an outstanding Chinese composer and pianist, who has written extensively for piano. This dissertation offers a pedagogical analysis of Seven Chinese Folk Songs (1999), one of his most famous and well-regarded piano solo works. The present study has two broad and related aims: to introduce Wanghua Chu's Seven Chinese folk songs to a broader community of pianists outside of China; and to provide a pedagogical analysis so that pianists of a late-intermediate level and high… more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2025.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Chen, Zhaodong
Partner: UNT Libraries

A Performance Guide to Zili Li's Viola Concerto No. 1 (2010)

Description: The Viola Concerto No. 1 was commissioned in 2010 by Xidi Shen, a viola professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and composed the same year by Zili Li (b. 1938), a Chinese composer and violinist. For musical, cultural, and technical reasons, this little-known Chinese viola concerto strongly aroused my interest, leading me to use it as the research subject for my doctoral dissertation and to also introduce this work to Western violists. This dissertation provides a performance guide to Z… more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2026.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Chen, Fang
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Politics of F. Scott Fizgerald

Description: F. Scott Fitzgerald is valued for his contribution to literary arts, culture and his discussion of the American Dream. I argue that his discussion of the American Dream was a lens through which he gave readers access to political insights and an education about political philosophy, American politics, virtue, and reasoning. The American Dream, at its greatest, for Fitzgerald is a nation building myth but at its lowest is a dull materialistic construct. Throughout his works Fitzgerald connects p… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Shiveley, Sara Carson
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Predictors of Academic Success in an Early College Entrance Program

Description: Early college entrance programs have existed in the United States since the 1950s, but in-depth research on academic success in these programs is lacking. Every year, early college entrance programs utilize a variety of data-gathering and candidate-screening techniques to select hundreds of students for admission into these accelerated programs. However, only a smattering of research articles has discussed the factors that predict academic success in these programs. This exploratory study inves… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Earls, Samuel Wayne
Partner: UNT Libraries

Promoting Women? Causes and Effects of Gender-Informed Transitional Justice

Description: Quantitative research investigating the causes and subsequent impact of transitional justice practices has further developed thanks to the production of cross-national data on justice practices, namely by the Justice Data Project and the Transitional Justice Research Collaborative. Current work, however, does not consider the role of justice from a feminist perspective. For example, with respect to causes, we know little about whether and how justice processes are gender inclusive, and what the… more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2029.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Roark, Polly DeAnne
Partner: UNT Libraries

Protective Factors for Eating, Shape, and Weight Concerns across Diverse Gender Identities

Description: We ran three MANOVAs in a sample of 422 young adults to examine differences in eating, shape, and weight concerns (i.e., ESW concerns) between gender diverse individuals, ciswomen, and cismen. Additionally, we examined the effects of self-esteem and sense of belonging on ESW concerns. We also tested for interaction (moderation) effects between gender and self-esteem and gender and sense of belonging. Findings indicated that gender diverse individuals experience ESW concerns at a significantly h… more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2025.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Watson, McKenzie Kimberly
Partner: UNT Libraries
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