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open access

Archaeological Proteomics: Method Development and Analysis of Protein-Ceramic Binding

Description: The analysis of protein residues recovered from archaeological artifacts provides a unique opportunity to reveal new information about past societies. However, many scientists are currently unwilling to accept protein-based results due to problems in method development and a basic lack of agreement regarding the ability of proteins to bind to, and preserve within, artifacts such as pottery. In this paper, I address these challenges by conducting a two-phase experiment. First, I quantitatively e… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Barker, Andrew L.
open access

Understanding Quality of Life in Older Adults

Description: I analyzed the 2004 and 2006 Health and Retirement Study data to test structural equation models of the quality of life (QOL) construct. The participants (N = 1352) were non-institutionalized individuals aged 42 and older (M = 65.70, SD = 10.88), with an average education of 12.73 years (SD = 2.96) and of varied ethnicities. The results indicated that physical functioning, affective experience, life satisfaction and social support could serve as indicators for a second order QOL factor. Further… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Cardona, Laura A.
open access

Child-Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) with Adoptive Families: Effects on Child Behavior, Parent-Child Relationship Stress, and Parental Empathy

Description: This randomized controlled study is a preliminary investigation on the effects of Child-Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) with 61 adoptive parents. The participants in this study identified themselves as the following: 54 European American, 3 Black American, 3 Hispanic/Latino, and 1 individual who chose not to indicate ethnicity. The study included 23 couples and 15 individual mothers. The CPRT is a structured, time limited approach that trains caregivers to be an active participant as a the… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Carnes-Holt, Kara
open access

Using Web-Based Instruction to Teach Music Theory in the Piano Studio: Defining, Designing, and Implementing an Integrative Approach

Description: This dissertation rationalizes the best use of Web-based instruction (WBI) for teaching music theory to private piano students in the later primary grades. It uses an integrative research methodology for defining, designing, and implementing a curriculum that includes WBI. Research from the fields of music education, educational technology, educational psychology, and interaction design and children receive primary consideration. A synthesis of these sources outlines several research-based p… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Carney, Robert D.
open access

Incorporating Flow for a Comic [Book] Corrective of Rhetcon

Description: In this essay, I examined the significance of graphic novels as polyvalent texts that hold the potential for creating an aesthetic sense of flow for readers and consumers. In building a justification for the rhetorical examination of comic book culture, I looked at Kenneth Burke's critique of art under capitalism in order to explore the dimensions between comic book creation, distribution, consumption, and reaction from fandom. I also examined Victor Turner's theoretical scope of flow, as an ae… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Castleberry, Garret
open access

Living-learning communities and ethnicity: A study on closing the achievement gap at Regional University

Description: This quasi-experimental study examined the impact of living-learning communities on GPA and fall-to-fall retention rates for college freshmen at Regional University (RU). The specific focus of this study was the effect of these communities on students of different ethnic groups and on the potential of these communities to reduce the academic performance gap. RU was a small public university that offered both undergraduate and graduate degree programs. RU required all freshman students to live o… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Bewley, Jason Loyd
open access

QEEG and LORETA findings in children with histories of relational trauma.

Description: Abuse and neglect occurring in childhood have been associated with a number of functional and physiological effects on the brain. This study extends previous research that investigated the quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) patterns in children with histories of relational trauma through the inclusion of additional participants and measures. As in previous studies, the relative power, absolute power, and coherence values in children with histories of abuse were compared to the Neuroguide … more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Bigby, Janice A.
open access

This Creature, Bride of Christ

Description: This Creature, Bride of Christ is a composition for soprano, alto flute, viola, marimba, and computer running custom software for live interactive performance in the Max/MSP environment. The work is a setting of excerpts from The Book of Margery Kempe, an early autobiographical manuscript depicting the life of a Christian mystic. The thesis discusses the historical, sociological, and musical context of the text and its musical setting; the use of borrowed materials from music of John Dunstable,… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Bober, Nicholas Bradburn
open access

Portraits: A Collection

Description: This collection consists of a critical preface and five short stories. The preface analyzes what it terms 'fringe fiction,' or stories dealing with elements that are improbable or unusual, though not impossible, as it distinguishes this category from magical realism and offers guidelines for writing this kind of fiction. The short stories explore themes of attachment, loss, guilt, and hope. Collection includes the stories "Portrait," "Dress Up," "Change," "Drawn Onward, We Few, Drawn Onward," a… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Boswell, Timothy
open access

An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Music for Saxophone by Charles Ruggiero with an Analysis of Interplay for Soprano Saxophone and Piano

Description: Ruggiero's contributions to contemporary music are noteworthy. They include 27 works written for solo instruments, voice, as well as chamber groups and large ensembles. This study serves as an annotated bibliography of selected works written for saxophone by Charles Ruggiero. They include a piece for large chamber ensemble, Dig: From Tunes My Grandmother Heard (2009), a trio for flute, clarinet, and alto saxophone titled Echoes of "Piano Red" (2006), two saxophone quartets, Dig: JSB 1 (2003), a… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Bradfield, Ann
open access

Music Career Opportunities and Career Compatibility: Interviews with University Music Faculty Members and Professional Musicians

Description: This study used a semistructured interview schedule to identify the music career opportunities available to students who graduate with an undergraduate music degree, and the skills, interests, work values, and personal characteristics that may determine a person's suitability for these music careers. Six university faculty members from each of the 11 NASM-accredited undergraduate music degree fields participated in the study (n = 66). Fourteen professional musicians who were recommended by thes… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Branscome, Eric E.
open access

An Exploration of the Relationship Between Principal Leadership Efficacy, Principal Computer Self-Efficacy, and Student Achievement

Description: The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not relationships exist between principals' technology proficiency and student achievement as indicated by 2008 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) ninth grade reading scaled scores. Secondly, the study examined whether or not relationships exist between principals' leadership self efficacy and student achievement as indicated in the 2008 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) ninth grade reading scaled scores. Lastly, the… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Brown, Shelia
open access

Easter Seals North Texas Autism Treatment Program Evaluation: Child Progress

Description: This study reports and evaluates child outcome measures at a non-profit autism treatment program providing applied behavior analysis (ABA) based services to children age 3 to 8. To accomplish this, a review was conducted of available outcome data for a 1 year period. Several categories of outcome measures have been reported in the autism treatment literature (post-intervention educational placement, cognitive status, developmental and achievement status and/or progress, autism symptom reduction… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Brunson, Lashanna Yvette
open access

Rediscovering Fernande Decruck's Sonate en ut# pour saxophone alto (ou alto) et orchestre: A Performance Analysis

Description: French composer Fernande Decruck (1896-1954) composed over forty works for the saxophone, but her music fell into obscurity soon after her death. In recent years, the Sonate en ut# pour saxophone alto (ou alto) et orchestre (1943) has been rediscovered, performed, and recorded by prominent concert saxophonists. This document takes a historical approach by examining Decruck's biography, as well as a theoretical approach to provide a deeper understanding and appreciation of her work through ana… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Cain, Joren
open access

The Creative Process in Cross-Influential Composition

Description: This dissertation describes a compositional model rooted in cross-influential methodology between complementary musical compositions that share generative source material. In their simultaneous construction, two composition pairs presented challenges that influenced and mediated the other's development with respect to timbre, transposition, pitch material, effects processing, and form. A working prototype first provides a model that is later developed. The first work Thema is for piano alone, a… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Anderson, Jonathan Douglas
open access

You are what you wear: The examination of fashion leadership and general leadership among African American and Caucasian American college students.

Description: The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the study compared fashion personality characteristics and shopping behaviors of African-American and Caucasian-American college students. Secondly, this study examined characteristics of leadership in general, and fashion leadership specifically, on fashion personality characteristics. The fashion personality characteristics studied included fashion leadership, fashion involvement, shopping enjoyment, and fashion consciousness. The participants con… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Angelo, Davette
open access

Overgeneral Memory and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults Exposed to Family Violence

Description: Childhood exposure to familial violence increases risk for adult pathology, namely posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Primary PTSD symptoms of hyperarousal and avoidance are implicated in overgeneral memory (OGM) theory in prior research. Individuals with trauma history tend to report OGMs, or non-specific autobiographical memories, perhaps to avoid unpleasant arousal elicited by recalling specific events. OGM, PTSD, depression, and arousal were assessed in adults with and wit… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Amador, Amy R.
open access

Comparing Indices of Happiness during Teaching Interactions

Description: The measurement of happiness has received increasing attention in behavior analytic literature. Happiness in individuals with developmental disabilities has been assessed by 1) counting a specific behavior, or 2) sampling constellations of behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine the two approaches while observing nine child and teacher dyads at an autism treatment center. Results showed that, overall, a constellation of behaviors can yield similar patterns when compared to a specifi… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Anderson, Claire Therese
open access

To Date or Not to Date? Religious and Racial Dating Choices Among Conservative Christians

Description: This study focuses on exploring the reasons behind dating choices concerning religion and race. Studies report that race is more important than religion in choosing dating partners. Understanding religious and racial dating preferences and choices can help uncover group relations in the larger society. The present study examines the reasons why someone may be willing to date a group outside their religion but not a group outside their race. A pre-interview survey questionnaire was used to loca… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Stillwell, Lorinda Clare
open access

Determining the Relation Between the Moments of Acquisition of Baseline Conditional Discriminations and the Emergence of Equivalence Relations

Description: The experiment was an attempt to gain a more precise understanding of the temporal relation between the development of analytic units and equivalence relations. Two prompting procedures were used during training to pinpoint when eight subjects learned the conditional discriminations. Near simultaneous presentation of probe and training trials allowed for examination of the temporal relation between conditional discrimination acquisition and derived performances on stimulus equivalence probes. T… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Swisher, Melissa J.
open access

Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Concerto in G Minor, Opus 33: A Discussion of Musical Intent and Pianistic Effectiveness in Vilém Kurz's Version of the Solo Piano Part

Description: Since its premiere in 1878, Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Concerto in G Minor has been underrated and held in low regard by musicologists, critics, performers and audiences alike. Vilém Kurz (1872-1945), a Czech pianist and pedagogue, revised and reworked the piano solo part to incorporate what he considered to be added brilliance and pianistic effectiveness. However, the revised version has not increased the popularity of the work. In recent decades, this concerto has begun to appear more often in th… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Tang, Wen-Chien
open access

Is Mattering what Matters: A Validation Study of the Meta-Valuing Measure of Flexible Valuing

Description: Freely choosing a life direction, or flexible valuing, is a core component of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Initial research suggests that valuing behavior may contribute to psychological well-being, but has been stymied by a lack of an efficient measure. The current study examined the psychometric characteristics of a new measure of flexible valuing, the Meta-Valuing Measure (MVM), in a sample of 532 undergraduates. Exploratory factors analysis revealed 3 orthogonal factors, Valuing… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Taravella, Cicely C.
open access

The Relationship between Physical Activity and Sleep

Description: The current study aimed to examine the naturalistic relationship between physical activity and sleep by exploring frequency, type, and timing of exercise and their association with a variety of sleep variables (e.g., sleep onset latency, wake after sleep onset, sleep efficiency). Young adults (n = 1003) completed a variety of self-report questionnaires, including a week-long sleep diary and a survey of typical frequency, type, and timing of exercise completed in the past week. Increased frequen… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Tatum, JoLyn Inez
open access

The Changing Role and Responsibilities of Audit Committees in the United States

Description: The corporate form that developed in the early 20th century created enormous pressure for corporate governance mechanisms to curb the power of corporate managers. Berle and Means, legal pluralists, warned about concentrating economic power in the hands of a small but powerful class of professional managers. They claimed this "new form of absolutism" required governmental oversight and viewed boards of directors as part of management, rather than monitors for shareholders. The Securities and Exc… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Teed, Dan Graham
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