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open access

An Examination of Text Reflection and Imagery in Zoltán Gárdonyi’s Fünf Lieder Nach Gedichten Von Rainer Maria Rilke

Description: Zoltán Gárdonyi is described as having exemplified “the continuation of the Liszt tradition” in his music; however, since for so much of his compositional life he was forbidden to publish by the Communist government in Hungary due to his connection to the Christian church, he has been largely forgotten. Shortly after the composer’s death in 1986, Gárdonyi’s son, Zsolt (b.1946) began publishing his father’s music in addition to his own. However, the elder Gárdonyi’s works are still not widely kn… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Beloncik Schantz, Anne
open access

Secure and Energy Efficient Execution Frameworks Using Virtualization and Light-weight Cryptographic Components

Description: Security is a primary concern in this era of pervasive computing. Hardware based security mechanisms facilitate the construction of trustworthy secure systems; however, existing hardware security approaches require modifications to the micro-architecture of the processor and such changes are extremely time consuming and expensive to test and implement. Additionally, they incorporate cryptographic security mechanisms that are computationally intensive and account for excessive energy consumption… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Nimgaonkar, Satyajeet
open access

Significant Alphas in Real Estate Funds

Description: This study provide empirical evidence whether bias in the standard errors of Jensen’s alpha explains conflicting results in the extant literature in real estate funds. Significant alphas in real estate mutual funds and REITs are compared with heteroskedasticity consistent covariance matrix estimators (HC1, HC2 and HC3), Newey-West standard errors, a robust regression tempering the effect of high leverage points, a GARCH model, and a HC3 adjusted wild bootstrap. In the analysis of real estate mu… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Rogers, Nina
open access

A New Look at Retargetable Compilers

Description: Consumers demand new and innovative personal computing devices every 2 years when their cellular phone service contracts are renewed. Yet, a 2 year development cycle for the concurrent development of both hardware and software is nearly impossible. As more components and features are added to the devices, maintaining this 2 year cycle with current tools will become commensurately harder. This dissertation delves into the feasibility of simplifying the development of such systems by employing he… more
Date: December 2014
Creator: Burke, Patrick William
open access

International Learning and the Diffusion of Civil Conflict

Description: Why does civil conflict spread from country to country? Existing research relies primarily on explanations of rebel mobilization tied to geographic proximity to explain this phenomenon. However, this approach is unable to explain why civil conflict appears to spread across great geographic distances, and also neglects the government’s role in conflict. To explain this phenomenon, this dissertation formulates an informational theory in which individuals contemplating rebellion against their gove… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Linebarger, Christopher
open access

Processing, Structure and Tribological Property Relations of Ternary Zn-Ti-O and Quaternary Zn-Ti-Zr-O Nanocrystalline Coatings

Description: Conventional liquid lubricants are faced with limitations under extreme cyclic operating conditions, such as in applications that require lubrication when changing from atmospheric pressure to ultrahigh vacuum and ambient air to dry nitrogen (e.g., satellite components), and room to elevated (>500°C) temperatures (e.g., aerospace bearings). Alternatively, solid lubricant coatings can be used in conditions where synthetic liquid lubricants and greases are not applicable; however, individual sol… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Ageh, Victor
open access

The Relationship Between Data Visualization and Task Performance

Description: We are entering an era of business intelligence and big data where simple tables and other traditional means of data display cannot deal with the vast amounts of data required to meet the decision-making needs of businesses and their clients. Graphical figures constructed with modern visualization software can convey more information than a table because there is a limit to the table size that is visually usable. Contemporary decision performance is influenced by the task domain, the user exp… more
Date: December 2014
Creator: Phillips, Brandon
open access

Dining at Ethnic-themed Restaurants: an Investigation of Consumers' Ethnic Experiences, Preference Formation, and Patronage

Description: Given unprecedented shifts in the U.S. demography marked by rapid growth in Hispanic, Asian and other ethnic market segments, marketing scholars and practitioners are confronting ways to cultivate ethnic consumers' brand preference formation, retail patronage and their ensuring consumption choices. Food is cited as a common signifier for consumers’ ethnic/cultural identity because food itself is a cultural symbol. However, little research has examined the influences of ethnic identities on cons… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Gai, Lili
open access

Framing Bilingual Education Policy: Articulation and Implementation in Texas

Description: Language education policy and its implementation have been controversial and ongoing issues throughout the United States, especially in the border state of Texas, with its large population of students who are learning English. This dissertation reports two studies, the first of which was a frame analysis of problems and solutions as represented by the five bills amending the Texas Education Code with regard to bilingual education and English as a second language programs. These laws, passed in… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Dixon, Kathryn V.
open access

Somebody Else’s Second Chance

Description: Charles Baxter, in his essay “Dysfunctional Narratives: or: ‘Mistakes Were Made,’” implies that all trauma narrative is synonymous with “dysfunctional narrative,” or narrative that leaves all characters unaccountable. He writes: “In such fiction, people and events are often accused of turning the protagonist into the kind of person the protagonist is, usually an unhappy person. That’s the whole story. When blame has been assigned, the story is over.” For Baxter, trauma narrative lets everyone “… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Heiden, Elishia
open access

The Russian Taffanel: the Significance of Vladimir Tsybin and His Concert Allegro No3

Description: The purpose of this critical essay is to introduce Vladimir Nikolaevich Tsybin to English-speaking readers and flutists, specifically to demonstrate how his Russian identity informed his career, affected his posthumous legacy, and influenced his compositions. The essay is divided into three parts: an outline of his career, a discussion of the pedagogical lineage and techniques he founded, and an analysis of "Russian" elements in one exemplary composition for solo flute, his Concert Allegro No. … more
Date: December 2014
Creator: Staneva, Inna
open access

Life Beyond Betrayal: the Influence of Self-as-context on Self-complexity and Posttraumatic Stress

Description: While current research indicates that traumas high in social betrayal are more closely associated with symptoms of posttraumatic stress and identity disturbances than are traumas low in betrayal, the psychological mechanisms by which identity problems occur are less understood. The current project explored the relationships between traumas high and low in betrayal and their influence on self-complexity, through the RFT and ACT conceptualization of three types of self-experiencing: self-as-conte… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Sinha, Aditi
open access

Prokofiev Beckons the Double Bass Into the Modern Age: a Pedagogical Study of the Op 39 Quintet

Description: Until Serge Prokofiev’s 1924 ballet score Trapèze, the double bass occupied a background or at best a doubling role in almost all composers’ use of the instrument. Technical challenge was limited in these pieces, because composers did not see the instrument’s potential in a chamber music environment. As luthiers developed the instrument, the technical ability of players grew, and composers began writing more challenging music for the instrument. As one of the first major composers to see the… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Jones, Kathryn E.
open access

Béla Bartók’s Editorial Input As Seen in His Edition of Piano Sonata Hobxvi:49 in E Flat Major by Joseph Haydn

Description: Béla Bartók (1881-1945), one of the twentieth century’s most significant composers, is also well known as an ethnomusicologist and concert pianist. However, Bartók’s work as a pedagogue and as an editor has received relatively little scholarly attention, despite famous pupils and despite his preparation of numerous critical and educational editions of his own and others’ works. While the critical editions are few, a significant number of Bartók’s editions of piano works have an educational purp… more
Date: December 2014
Creator: Cho, So Young
open access

Breaking the Doubler Barrier: Using Sy Brandon’sDivertissement to Demonstrate a Practical Approach to Performing Multiple WoodwindWorks

Description: Multiple woodwind training is ideal for securing certain types of employment; however, with so many different instruments, performance standards on each are difficult to maintain. Furthermore, for many multiple woodwind players, proficiency on all woodwinds ceases to be a top priority after graduation, even though they continue to market themselves as highly proficient on all of these instruments. The problem for most begins with what it means to be proficient on each instrument. The technical … more
Date: December 2014
Creator: Levels, Brian Eugene
open access

Measuring Teaching Effectiveness Using Value-Added and Observation Rubric Scores

Description: This mixed-methods study examined the extent to which teacher performance and student performance measures correlated, and to understand which specific practices of mathematics teachers in Grades 3-5 related to student performance. Research was conducted at five elementary schools in a large, urban north Texas school district. Data sources included component scores and recorded evidence from observation rubrics, interviews with campus administrators, and value-added modeling (VAM) student growt… more
Date: December 2014
Creator: McKenzie, Andrew
open access

Analysis of Biological Materials Using a Nuclear Microprobe

Description: The use of nuclear microprobe techniques including: Particle induced x-ray emission (PIXE) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) for elemental analysis and quantitative elemental imaging of biological samples is especially useful in biological and biomedical research because of its high sensitivity for physiologically important trace elements or toxic heavy metals. The nuclear microprobe of the Ion Beam Modification and Analysis Laboratory (IBMAL) has been used to study the enhanceme… more
Date: December 2014
Creator: Mulware, Stephen Juma
open access

A Legal Analysis of Litigation Against Georgia Educators and School Districts Under the Georgia Governmental Tort Claims Act

Description: This dissertation examines the impact of the 1992 Georgia Tort Claims Act on educators in court decisions involving liability cases against Georgia school districts and/ or their respective employees. By examining pertinent court cases in which Georgia educators were, for the first time, subjected to potential litigation, the researcher outlines circumstances in which educators can and should be held liable for their actions. Additionally, the researcher analyzes the Tort Claims Acts of Texas, … more
Date: December 2014
Creator: McDaniel, Rick R.
open access

The Relationships Between the TeacherInsight Score and Student Performance As Measured by Student TAKS Academic Change Scores

Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between TeacherInsight™ (TI) scores and student performance as measured by student academic change scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test. School district administrators, particularly district personnel administrators, are continually faced with the task of screening and hiring potential teacher applicants who are expected to influence student achievement outcomes directly. Efforts to make the screening,… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Stewart, Robert L. (Robert Lee), 1960-
open access

Role Importance, Affectional Solidarity, and Depression Among Familial Caregivers for Older Adults

Description: In the United States, familial caregivers provide approximately 80% of the long term elderly care and are at risk for mental health problems. As family members provide care, relationships shift from mutual support to increasing dependency on the caregivers, who in turn often experience a shift in self-concept from their prior relational role to include identification as caregiver for the care recipient. Affectional solidarity, or emotional relationship quality, can influence how caregivers expe… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Benson, Karen M.
open access

Exploring Spontaneous Planning During the North Texas April 3, 2012, Tornadoes: an Assessment of Decision-making Processes

Description: The primary purpose of this research program is to confirm the spontaneous planning behavior in post-disaster operations while at the same time contribute to the development of the concept in a tornado type disaster. An additional goal also includes examining how the process takes place in resolving unanticipated problems as a disaster unfolds. This study uses qualitative methodology which is case study to probe the concept of spontaneous planning behavior to solve unexpected challenges as a di… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Peters, Ekong Johnson
open access

Electrical Conduction Mechanisms in the Disordered Material System P-type Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon

Description: The electrical and optical properties of boron doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films (a-Si) were investigated to determine the effect of boron and hydrogen incorporation on carrier transport. The a-Si thin films were grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at various boron concentrations, hydrogen dilutions, and at differing growth temperatures. The temperature dependent conductivity generally follows the hopping conduction model. Above a critical temperature, the d… more
Date: December 2014
Creator: Shrestha, Kiran (Engineer)
open access

Determinants of Outbound Cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions by Emerging Asian Acquirers

Description: This dissertation identifies key determinants of outbound cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by emerging Asian acquirers during 2001-2012. Using a zero-inflated model that takes into account different mechanisms governing country pairs that never engage in cross-border M&As and country pairs that actively participate in cross-border M&As, I uncover unique patterns for emerging Asian acquirers. Emerging Asian acquirers originate from countries with lower corporate tax rates than thos… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Punurai, Somrat
open access

Uncovering Gendered Teaching Practices in the Early Childhood Classroom

Description: For many early childhood teachers, interacting with children about issues concerning gender and sexuality is fraught with feelings of uneasiness and anxiety. For others, familiarity with research on these topics has resulted in rethinking their approaches to sex, gender, and sexuality in their early childhood classrooms. This inquiry examined the tensions associated with the researcher’s attempts to rethink gendered narratives and childhood sexuality in her own classroom. The study took plac… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Larremore, April, 1972-
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