Search Results

open access

Ability Estimation Under Different Item Parameterization and Scoring Models

Description: A Monte Carlo simulation study investigated the effect of scoring format, item parameterization, threshold configuration, and prior ability distribution on the accuracy of ability estimation given various IRT models. Item response data on 30 items from 1,000 examinees was simulated using known item parameters and ability estimates. The item response data sets were submitted to seven dichotomous or polytomous IRT models with different item parameterization to estimate examinee ability. The accur… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Si, Ching-Fung B.
open access

An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Computer Assisted Instruction in General Chemistry at an Urban University.

Description: The science-major General Chemistry sequence offered at the University of Houston has been investigated with respect to the effectiveness of recent incorporation of various levels of computer technology. As part of this investigation, questionnaire responses, student evaluations and grade averages and distributions from up to the last ten years have been analyzed and compared. Increased use of web-based material is both popular and effective, particularly with respect to providing extra informa… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: McGuffey, Angela
open access

And Drops of Rain Fall Like Tears: A Composition for Electroacoustic Music and Video

Description: And Drops of Rain Fall Like Tears is a composition for electroacoustic music with an optional ambient video component. The composition consists of a single movement electroacoustic work twenty-two minutes in duration. The piece creates an immersive sonic environment within the confines of a typical concert space, thereby recreating the powerful temper and subtle beauty of nature from different sonic perspectives. The paper is divided into four chapters, each discussing an element of the piece … more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Thompson, Michael Allen

Attrition Rates of Teachers Trained in Alternative Teacher Certification Programs, Those Trained in the Centers for the Professional Development of Teachers, and Those Trained in Traditional University Programs.

Description: This study uses teacher employment data provided by the State Board for Educator Certification to examine the similarities and differences between initial employment and attrition rates of teachers trained in three prevalent types of Texas teacher preparation programs; alternative certification programs (ACP), the centers for professional development of teachers (CPDT), and traditional certification programs (TCP). The population for the study includes all Texas teachers who completed training … more
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Date: May 2002
Creator: Harris, Steven A.
open access

Autoradiographic Localization of Carbachol-Induced Second Messenger Response in the Rat Spinal Cord Following Inflammation.

Description: This study examined central mechanisms of persistent pain using an autoradiographic technique to localize phosphoinositide hydrolysis (PI) in the rat spinal cord dorsal horn. The lateral half of laminae I-II showed the highest levels of baseline PI turnover and carbachol-stimulated PI turnover in normal animals as well as after inflammation. Inflammation resulted in increased baseline PI turnover in this region of the ipsilateral (76%) and contralateral (65%) dorsal horns. Carbachol increased P… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Moore, Jack
open access

A Behavioral Economic Analysis of the Effects of Unit Price Sequence on Demand for Money in Humans.

Description: Three groups of participants were exposed to different unit price sequences. Unit prices for all groups ranged from unit price 1 to 21. Analyses of demand curves, response rates, session duration, and elasticity coefficients suggest that the sequence of exposure to unit prices can affect the elasticity of demand. In addition, the size of unit price contrast, direction of unit price change, and proximity to experimental milestones also may affect the consumption of monetary reinforcers.
Date: May 2002
Creator: Williams, Jack Keith
open access

Blackland Prairie

Description: Blackland Prairie contains a scholarly preface, “Cross Timbers,” that discusses the emerging role of place as a narrative agent in contemporary fiction. The preface is followed by six original short stories. “Parts” depicts the growth of a boy's power over his family. “A Movie House to Make Us All Rich” involves the sacrifice of familial values by the son of Italian immigrants in the early 20th century. “The Place on Chenango Street” is about a man who views his world in monetary terms. “The Ni… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Magliocco, Amos

Burying the War Hatchet: Spanish-Comanche Relations in Colonial Texas, 1743-1821

Description: This dissertation provides a history of Spanish-Comanche relations during the era of Spanish Texas. The study is based on research in archival documents, some newly discovered. Chapter 1 presents an overview of events that brought both people to the land that Spaniards named Texas. The remaining chapters provide a detailed account of Spanish-Comanche interaction from first contact until the end of Spanish rule in 1821. Although it is generally written that Spaniards first met Comanches at San A… more
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Date: May 2002
Creator: Lipscomb, Carol A.
open access

Carl Gottlieb Reissiger (1798-1859) Forgotten Composer for the Clarinet

Description: Carl Gottlieb Reissiger was a successful German composer, conductor, and teacher in the first half of the nineteenth century. At the height of his career, he was Hofkapellmeister of theater and opera in Dresden, a position he held until his death. He was a composer of more than 200 works in a multitude of different genres. Today he is mainly known as a composer of opera, a small portion of his total output as a composer. He wrote approximately eighty piano solos, eighty collections of songs or … more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Coltman, Charles Arthur
open access

The Characteristics of Sociological Practitioners: A Social Psychological Examination

Description: Questionnaires were sent by mail and e-mail to 143 members of the Sociological Practice Association. The purpose of the questionnaire was to measure the role expectations as qualities (competencies), role expectations as actions, and role enactments of the respondents'. An additional goal was to examine how respondents perceived their work to be sociological in nature, and how they saw their work as different from the practices of social workers, counselors, and psychologists. The first questi… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Carr, Joel Lance

Characterization of cDNA and Genomic Clones for a Palmitoyl-acyl Carrier Protein Thioesterase and an Osmotin-Like PR5 Protein in Gossypium Hirsutum.

Description: Putative cotton cDNA clones and cognate genomic clones for a palmitoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) thioesterase (PATE) and an osmotin-like pathogenesis-related 5 (PR5) protein have been isolated and characterized. PATE is a class B fatty acid thioesterase with specificity for saturated long-chain fatty acids such as palmitate, and is implicated as a key enzyme to be targeted for regulation of fatty acid synthesis in order to alter cotton seed oil profiles. A nearly full-length 1.7-kb cDNA clon… more
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Date: May 2002
Creator: Yoder, David W.
open access

College Freshman Biology Two Semester Course: Integrating Deep Processing Teaching Techniques

Description: Development of a college level freshman biology course was undertaken in response to government reports that American students have fallen behind students of other countries in the area of the sciences. Teaching strategies were investigated to accomplish two objectives, to define essential academic material to include in the course and to investigate teaching techniques that would increase deep processing of the information. An active process that consisted of applying the cognitive information… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Blevins, Mary Jean
open access

Coming in From the Cold: Integration into the European Union and Public Opinion on Democracy and the Market Economy in Central and Eastern Europe.

Description: The political economy transformations of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have received a great deal of attention over the past decade. The focus of much research has been to examine the internal national reorientations of the countries with regard to the changes in political and economic conditions. The importance of the international reorientation of these countries toward Western Europe in general and the European Union in particular has been generally overlooked. This dissertatio… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Zottarelli, Lisa K.
open access

A Comparison of Aural and Visual Instructional Methodologies Designed to Improve the Intonation Accuracy of Seventh Grade Violin and Viola Instrumentalists.

Description: The purpose of the study was to compare two instructional methodologies designed to improve the intonation accuracy of seventh grade violin and viola instrumentalists. The collection of data was in regard to (1) instructional methodology: aural and aural/visual, (2) performance tasks: A, B, and C; (3) individual pitches (seven from each of the music tasks), and (4) differences between instrument groups: violin and viola. Sixty-eight seventh grade string students from three string classes of two… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Núñez, Mario Leoncio
open access

A Comparison of Texas Pre-service Teacher Education Programs in Art and the 1999 National Art Education Association's Standards for Art Teacher Preparation

Description: Texas programs in pre-service art teacher preparation vary little. Since 1970, the National Art Education Association (NAEA) has created voluntary standards in hopes of decreasing variability among programs. In 1999, the NAEA published Standards for Art Teacher Preparation, outlining 20 content areas that art pre-service programs should provide their students. To obtain information on the implementation and the extent to which these 20 standards are being implemented, a questionnaire was sent t… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Breitenstein, Gary
open access

Competency to Stand Trial: A Systematic Evaluation and Validation of the GCCT, MacCAT-CA, and ECST as Competency Measures

Description: Competency to stand trial cases constitute the largest percentage of forensic referrals for clinical psychologists. Furthermore, research suggests that the use of forensic measures facilitates the decisions of competency made by forensic examiners. This study investigated the construct validity of three competency measures: (a) the GCCT-MSH, (b) the MacCAT-CA, and (c) the ECST with 100 adult males incarcerated at the Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth, TX. Construct validity was investigated via… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Grandjean, Nicole Rae
open access

A Computational Study on 18+δ Organometallics

Description: The B3LYP density functional has been used to calculate properties of organometallic complexes of Co(CO)3 and ReBr(CO)3, with the chelating ligand 2,3-bisphosphinomaleic anhydride, in 19- and 18-electron forms. The SBKJC-21G effective core potential and associated basis set was used for metals (Co/Re) and the 6-31G* basis set was used for all other elements. The differences of bond angles, bond distances, natural atomic charges and IR vibrational frequencies were compared with the available e… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Yu, Liwen
open access

Computer Supported Collaboration: Is the Transfer of Cognitive Structures Mediated by Mode of Communication?

Description: The objective of this study was to observe evidence of structural transfer among subjects in a group problem-solving activity and determine whether mode of collaborative technology or use of a priming agent affected the nature of transferred structures. Evidence for structural transfer is found in three theoretical perspectives: organizational ditransitive (linguistic) verb structures, adaptive structuration theory, and mental model transfer theory. Dependent variables included various grammati… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Bandy, Kenneth E.

The Construct Validity of Self-Reported Historical Physical Activity

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine the construct validity of self-reported historical walking, running, and jogging (WRJ) activity. The criterion measure was concurrent performance on a maximal treadmill test. Subjects completed a medical exam and treadmill test between the years 1976 and 1985, and completed a follow-up questionnaire in 1986. Questionnaire included an item that assessed WRJ for each year from 1976 through 1985. Data analysis included Spearman correlations, partial corre… more
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Date: May 2002
Creator: Bowles, Heather R.
open access

A Content Analysis of Reading Software Commercially Available for Pre-K to 3rd Grade Children.

Description: The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the content and characteristics of the currently available commercial reading software for Pre-K through third grade children. The design of the study was a content analysis. Based on the evaluation rubric established by the researcher, ten commercial reading software were selected to be analyzed. By reviewing and transcribing, the data were obtained, and then coded, categorized, and interpreted. The findings from the analysis revealed th… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Nakjan, Sutat
open access

A Correlative Study of Gender and Social Style.

Description: This study examines the concepts of social style and gender to determine if a relationship exists between the two constructs. The hypotheses suggested a direct relationship between the categories of the BSRI (masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated) and the Social Style Analysis (driver, amiable, expressive, and analytical). Ninety-four participants completed two self-report surveys. Chi-square analysis performed on the data found a significant relationship between feminine and a… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Gross, Amanda

The Crater of Diamonds: A History of the Pike County, Arkansas, Diamond Field, 1906-1972

Description: The first diamond mine in North America was discovered in 1906 when John W. Huddleston found two diamonds on his farm just south of Murfreesboro in Pike County, Arkansas. Experts soon confirmed that the diamond-bearing formation on which Huddleston made his discovery was the second largest of its kind and represented 25 percent of all known diamond-bearing areas in the world. Discovery of the field generated nearly a half century of speculative activity by men trying to demonstrate and exploit … more
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Date: May 2002
Creator: Henderson, John C.
open access

Detecting the Presence of Disease by Unifying Two Methods of Remote Sensing.

Description: There is currently no effective tool available to quickly and economically measure a change in landmass in the setting of biomedical professionals and environmental specialists. The purpose of this study is to structure and demonstrate a statistical change-detection method using remotely sensed data that can detect the presence of an infectious land borne disease. Data sources included the Texas Department of Health database, which provided the types of infectious land borne diseases and indica… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Reames, Steve
open access

Determination of the Shelf Life of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors.

Description: The aluminum electrolytic capacitor is used extensively in the electric utility industry. A factor limiting the storage of spare capacitors is the integrity of the aluminum oxide dielectric, which over time breaks down contributing to a shelf life currently estimated at one nuclear power electric generating station to be approximately five years. This project examined the electrical characteristics of naturally aged capacitors of several different styles to determine if design parameters were… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Wynne, Edward McFaddin
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