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open access

The Creation of a Performance Edition of Gustav Mahler's Lieder Und Gesänge Aus Der Jungendzeit and Its Role in Bass Tuba Pedagogy

Description: When the tubist is first introduced to the bass tuba, Mahler's songs can be used as effective solo material. Through transcription, practice, and performance of art songs, novice bass tubists focus primarily on fundamental musical components such as tone quality, intonation, breathing, and musicianship. By identifying deficiencies in the current solo repertoire as related to the early stages of development on the bass tuba, I intend to address the need for more solo works through the transcri… more
Date: December 2012
Creator: Baker, Jeffrey T.
open access

Criticality in Cooperative Systems

Description: Cooperative behavior arises from the interactions of single units that globally produce a complex dynamics in which the system acts as a whole. As an archetype I refer to a flock of birds. As a result of cooperation the whole flock gets special abilities that the single individuals would not have if they were alone. This research work led to the discovery that the function of a flock, and more in general, that of cooperative systems, surprisingly rests on the occurrence of organizational collap… more
Date: May 2012
Creator: Vanni, Fabio
open access

Cross-measure Equivalence and Communicability in the Assessment of Depression: a Fine-grained Focus on Factor-based Scales

Description: Depression is heterogeneous, however, depression measures conceptualize it as homogeneous. To help fulfill NIMH's strategic plan to focus on components of depression, this study analyzed the psychometrics of factor-based subscales in the BDI-II, CES-D, IDAS, and IDS. CCA was also used to explore redundancy across measures. Using a diverse sample of symptomatic undergraduates, this study found the IDAS to be the best measure, with complete DSM-IV symptom coverage and psychometrically sound subsc… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: González, David Andrés
open access

Cuff-less Blood Pressure Measurement Using a Smart Phone

Description: Blood pressure is vital sign information that physicians often need as preliminary data for immediate intervention during emergency situations or for regular monitoring of people with cardiovascular diseases. Despite the availability of portable blood pressure meters in the market, they are not regularly carried by people, creating a need for an ultra-portable measurement platform or device that can be easily carried and used at all times. One such device is the smartphone which, according to c… more
Date: May 2012
Creator: Jonnada, Srikanth
open access

Data Compression Using a Multi-residue System (Mrs)

Description: This work presents a novel technique for data compression based on multi-residue number systems. The basic theorem is that an under-determined system of congruences could be solved to accomplish data compression for a signal satisfying continuity of its information content and bounded in peak-to -peak amplitude by the product of relatively prime moduli,. This thesis investigates this property and presents quantitative results along with MATLAB codes. Chapter 1 is introductory in nature and Chap… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Melaedavattil Jaganathan, Jyothy
open access

Data Envelopment Analysis: Measurement of Educational Efficiency in Texas

Description: The purpose of this study was to examine the efficiency of Texas public school districts through Data Envelopment Analysis. The Data Envelopment Analysis estimation method calculated and assigned efficiency scores to each of the 931 school districts considered in the study. The efficiency scores were utilized in two phases. First, the school district efficiency scores were combined with school district student achievement to evaluate effectiveness with efficiency. A framework was constructed to… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Carter, Lacy
open access

Decentering and the Theory of Social Development

Description: The concept of decentering originated with Piaget, who defined decentering as a feature of operational thought, the ability to conceptualize multiple perspectives simultaneously. Feffer applied Piaget’s concept of decentering to the cognitive maturity of social content. This study used Feffer’s Interpersonal Decentering scoring system for stories told about TAT pictures to investigate the developmental hierarchy of decentering for children and adolescents. The participants originated from the B… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Fincher, Jennie
open access

The Demographics of Corporal Punishment in Texas

Description: This dissertation examined the student discipline policies of 1,025 Texas school districts, as well as data from the Texas Education Agency’s Academic Excellence Indicator System in order to identify demographic patterns regarding corporal punishment policies in Texas schools. the study also studied the relationship between a district’s corporal punishment policy and student achievement. the dissertation utilized legal research methods and document analysis as its research methodology. Documen… more
Date: May 2012
Creator: Phillips, Stephanie
open access

A Descriptive Law and Policy Analysis of Corporal Punishment in Florida Public School Districts

Description: Corporal punishment is banned by state statute in 31 of the 50 U.S states. The 19 states that still allow the practice are largely located in the South and the Rocky Mountain West. However, data indicate that the practice of corporal punishment is still largely a Southern phenomenon. In the 19 states that allow the practice to continue in schools, many have seen the use of the disciplinary technique decline. Existing research documents the negative effects and very little research supports a… more
Date: December 2012
Creator: Goodson, Christopher B.
open access

Design, Synthesis and Screening of Homoleptic and Heteroleptic Platinum(ii) Pyridylazolate Complexes for N-type Semiconducting and Light-emitting Devices

Description: A series of heteroleptic and homoleptic platinum(II) complexes has been synthesized and characterized towards their use in thin film devices such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). Pyridylpyrazolate- and pyridyltetrazolate-containing ligands were selected due to their structural rigidity and ease of functionalization. Single-crystal x-ray diffraction studies of two selected heteroleptic complexes show strong aggregation with preferential stacking… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Oswald, Iain William Herbert
open access

Detection of Mercury Among Avian Trophic Levels at Caddo Lake and Lake Lewisville, TX

Description: Mercury (Hg) is a globally distributed toxicant that has been shown to have negative effects on birds. in the United States, avian taxa have been shown to possess high Hg concentrations in the northeast, Great Lakes and Everglades ecosystems; however, few studies have measured avian Hg concentrations in other geographic regions. Previous studies have documented high Hg concentrations in multiple organisms in east Texas, but birds were not included in these studies. the main objective of the pre… more
Date: May 2012
Creator: Schulwitz, Sarah E.
open access

Devaluing Stigma in the Context of Forgiveness, Coping and Adaptation: a Structural Regression Model of Reappraisal

Description: The 2010 National HIV/AIDS Strategy outlined three important goals for managing the current HIV pandemic in the U.S.: (1) reduce the number of people who become infected with HIV; (2) improve access to health care and health-related outcomes for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLH/A); and (3) reduce HIV-related health disparities. Each of these goals tacitly depends upon reducing HIV-related stigma, and this study examined how HIV+ individuals evaluate coping efforts to overcome stigma’s impact o… more
Date: May 2012
Creator: Gates, Michael S.
open access

Developing Culturally Responsive Literacy Teachers: Analysis of Academic, Demographic, and Experiential Factors Related to Teacher Self-efficacy

Description: This mixed-methods study examined teachers' culturally responsive teaching (CRT) self-efficacy beliefs and the relationships among selected academic, demographic, and experiential factors. Guided by theoretical and empirical research on CRT, teacher dispositions, and assessment in teacher education (TE) programs for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students, this study utilized an extended version of Siwatu's 2007 Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy (CRTSE) Scale to conduct … more
Date: December 2012
Creator: Sarker, Amie
open access

Developing Oral Reading Fluency Among Hispanic High School English-language Learners: an Intervention Using Speech Recognition Software

Description: This study investigated oral reading fluency development among Hispanic high school English-language learners. Participants included 11 males and 9 females from first-year, second-year, and third-year English language arts classes. The pre-post experimental study, which was conducted during a four-week ESL summer program, included a treatment and a control group. The treatment group received a combination of components, including modified repeated reading with self-voice listening and oral di… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Ruffu, Russell
open access

Development of a Laponite Pluronic Composite for Foaming Applications

Description: The focus of the following research was to provide an optimized particle stabilized foam of Laponite and Pluronic L62 in water by understanding (1) the Laponite-Pluronic interactions and properties for improved performance in a particle stabilized foam and (2) the interfacial properties between air and the Laponite-Pluronic complex. These studies were conducted using both bulk and interfacial rheology, XRD, sessile droplet, TGA and UV-vis. Two novel and simple techniques, lamella break point an… more
Date: December 2012
Creator: Davis, James William
open access

The Development of Algebraic Reasoning in Undergraduate Elementary Preservice Teachers

Description: Although studies of teacher preparation programs have documented positive changes in mathematical knowledge for teaching with preservice teachers in mathematics content courses, this study focused on the impact of a mathematics methods course and follow-up student teaching assignment. The presumption was that preservice teachers would show growth in their mathematical knowledge during methods since the course was structured around active participation in mathematics, research-based pedagogy, a… more
Date: December 2012
Creator: Hayata, Carole Anne
open access

The Development of Anti-submarine Warfare in the Mediterranean: the American Contribution and the Bombardment of Durazzo

Description: The Entente powers began World War I without any formal anti-submarine countermeasures. However, the Entente developed countermeasures through trial and error over time. Success was moderate until America joined the war. with America came the arrival of subchasers to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. This highly specialized vessel helped turn the tide against U-boats. a true counter to the U-boat threat in the Mediterranean did not come until October 2, 1918 with the bombardment of Duraz… more
Date: May 2012
Creator: Vaughan, Evan Michael
open access

Development of Disordered Eating in Undergraduate Women: a Test of the Re-conceptualized Objectification Process

Description: The eating disorder literature has long suggested that sociocultural experiences specific to women influence development of bulimic pathology; however, models have differed on the type of experiences that are important and what other variables interact with these experiences to lead to eating pathology. Broader sociocultural theory and objectification theory represent two such differing models, and more recently Moradi hypothesized that integrating elements from both models would provide a bett… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Hasbrouck, Whitney Neal
open access

Development of Wireless Sensor Network System for Indoor Air Quality Monitoring

Description: This thesis describes development of low cost indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring system for research. It describes data collection of various parameters concentration present in indoor air and sends data back to host PC for further processing. Thesis gives detailed information about hardware and software implementation of IAQ monitoring system. Also discussed are building wireless ZigBee network, creating user friendly graphical user interface (GUI) and analysis of obtained results in comparis… more
Date: December 2012
Creator: Borkar, Chirag
open access

Differences in Experiences and Outcomes of Transfer and Native Students in an Elementary Education Program: an Exploratory Study

Description: This research targeted elementary education graduates of a large Southwestern university who were transfer students, and compared them to native students on selected variables. These variables included retention in teaching, and perception of supports and obstacles at the university. The sample consisted of 143 respondents: 73 native and 70 transfer students. Data were collected through submission of online surveys and through postal mail. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were used to an… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Tucker, Tami L.
open access

Does Euroscepticism Matter? the Effect of Public Opinion on Integration

Description: This dissertation seeks to test the proposition that public opinion is a driving force in integration, and thus examines the effect of euroscepticism on EU integration. Utilizing an understanding of integration as the process of European states achieving similar legal, social, cultural, political and economic policy outcomes while ceding greater policy power to European institutions, the relationship between aggregate level euroscepticism in EU member states (the United Kingdom, Germany, Irela… more
Date: December 2012
Creator: Williams, Christopher J.
open access

Does Family Quality of Life Change? Evaluation of a Group Parent-coaching Package

Description: Improving family quality of life is an important goal when working with families of children with autism. Researchers have attempted to measure changes by developing indices of quality such as affect, stress, and confidence. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a group parent-coaching program on measures aimed at addressing quality: a) parent confidence, stress and affect ratings; b) child affect ratings; c) the frequency of coordinated joint attention (CJA); and d) parent re… more
Date: December 2012
Creator: Wiles, Amber Marie
open access

Dolores Dyer: Women's Basketball and the American Dream

Description: Dolores Dyer played from 1952-1953 for the Texas Cowgirls, a barnstorming women's basketball team that provided a form of entertainment popular throughout the United States in that era. The story of Dyer's life demonstrates how a woman could attempt to achieve the American dream—a major theme in American history—through success in athletic competition. Dyer's participation with the Texas Cowgirls also provides a look into the circumstances that limited women's participation in professional sp… more
Date: December 2012
Creator: Roberts, Jackie
open access

Down Syndrome and Self-esteem: the Media's Portrayal of Self-esteem in Characters Who Have Down Syndrome

Description: Representations of people with a developmental disability are virtually not covered in the media. Although there is little coverage of people with developmental disabilities in the media, there are a few entertainment television characters who have Down syndrome and are represented in the media. This study will take a look at the history of how people with disabilities were represented in the media and examine how two television characters with Down syndrome were portrayed on the shows by exami… more
Date: December 2012
Creator: Gee, Courtney
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