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An Investigation of Preservice Teachers' Understanding of Buoyancy

The purpose of this study was to examine the conceptual understandings of 55 elementary preservice teachers for the concept of buoyancy. This study used Ausubel’s Assimilation Theory (Ausubel, 1963) as a framework for a 15-week intervention that used pre/post concept maps (Cmaps), pre/post face-to-face semi-structured interviews, and drawings as evidences for change of formation of cognitive structures. Using a convergent parallel design and mixed methods approach, preservice teachers’ conceptions were analyzed using these evidences. Results of the study show that preservice teachers held both scientific conceptions and misconceptions about buoyancy as a force before and after an instructional intervention. Of importance were the existence of robust misconceptions about buoyancy that included inaccurate scientific knowledge about the foundational concepts of gravity, weight, mass, and density. The largest gains in scientific knowledge included the concepts of gravity, surface area, opposing forces, and the buoyant force. These concepts were consistently supported with evidence from post-concept maps, post, semi-structured interviews, and drawings. However, high frequencies of misconceptions were associated with these same aforementioned concepts as well as additional misconceptions about buoyancy-related concepts (i.e., weight, density, displacement, and sinking/floating). A paired t test showed a statistically significant difference (t = -3.504, p = .001) in the total number of scientifically correct concepts for the pre-concept maps (M = 0.51, SD = .879) and post-concept maps (M = 1.25, SD = 1.542). The Cohen’s d effect size was small, .47. Even through gains for the pre/post concept maps were noted, a qualitative analysis of the results indicated that not only were there serious gaps in the participant’s scientific understanding of buoyancy, after the instructional intervention an increased number of misconceptions were presented alongside the newly learned concepts. A paired t test examining misconceptions showed that there was a statistically significant difference (t = -3.160, p = ...

Date: May 2016

Creator: Kirby, Benjamin

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Parents’ Reported Utilization, Accessibility, and Effectiveness of Academic Support Resources for Military Adolescents at Fort Hood Military Base

Academic support resources are increasingly available to military-connected youth; however, the military community, in general, tends to under-utilize available resources. The research literature has not clearly identified accessibility to military academic support resources or perceived effectiveness of resources as explanations for under-utilization of adolescent support services. The current research study examines military parents' perceptions of academic resource programs looking at how parents' perception of resource accessibility and resource effectiveness were related to program utilization. Based on qualitative analysis of military parent interviews, utilization was related to both accessibility and effectiveness. This research adds to the literature by identifying the relationship to between accessibility and utilization and reported effectiveness and utilization of academic support resources.

Date: May 2016

Creator: Booker, Dana Dean

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

A Search for Periodic and Quasi-Periodic Patterns in Select Proxy Data with a Goal to Understanding Temperature Variation

In this work over 200 temperature proxy data sets have been analyzed to determine if periodic and or quasi-periodic patterns exist in the data sets. References to the journal articles where data are recorded are provided. Chapter 1 serves an introduction to the problem of temperature determination in providing information on how various proxy data sources are derived. Examples are given of the techniques followed in producing proxy data that predict temperature for each method used. In chapter 2 temperature proxy data spanning the last 4000 years, from 2,000 BCE to 2,000 CE, are analyzed to determine if overarching patterns exist in proxy data sets. An average of over 100 proxy data sets was used to produce Figure 4. An overview of the data shows that several “peaks” can be identified. The data were then subjected to analysis using a series of frequency modulated cosine waves. This analysis led to a function that can be expressed by equation 3. The literature was examined to determine what mathematical models had been published to fit the experimental proxy data for temperature. A number of attempts have been made to fit data from limited data sets with some degree of success. Some other papers have used a sinusoidal function to best fit the changes in the temperature. After consideration of many published papers and reviewing long time streams of proxy data that appeared to have sine wave patterns, a new model was proposed for trial. As the patterns observed showed “almost” repeating sine cycles, a frequency modulated sine wave was chosen to obtain a best fit function. Although other papers have used a sinusoidal function to best fit the changes in the temperature, the “best fit” was limited. Thus, it was decided that a frequency modulated sine wave may be a better model ...

Date: May 2016

Creator: Otto, James

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Biomass-Derived Activated Carbon through Self-Activation Process

Self-activation is a process that takes advantage of the gases emitted from the pyrolysis process of biomass to activate the converted carbon. The pyrolytic gases from the biomass contain CO2 and H2O, which can be used as activating agents. As two common methods, both of physical activation using CO2 and chemical activation using ZnCl2 introduce additional gas (CO2) or chemical (ZnCl2), in which the CO2 emission from the activation process or the zinc compound removal by acid from the follow-up process will cause environmental concerns. In comparison with these conventional activation processes, the self-activation process could avoid the cost of activating agents and is more environmentally friendly, since the exhaust gases (CO and H2) can be used as fuel or feedstock for the further synthesis in methanol production. In this research, many types of biomass were successfully converted into activated carbon through the self-activation process. An activation model was developed to describe the changes of specific surface area and pore volume during the activation. The relationships between the activating temperature, dwelling time, yield, specific surface area, and specific pore volume were detailed investigated. The highest specific surface area and pore volume of the biomass-derived activated carbon through the self-activation process were up to 2738 m2 g-1 and 2.209 cm3 g-1, respectively. Moreover, the applications of the activated carbons from the self-activation process have been studied, including lithium-ion battery (LIB) manufacturing, water cleaning, oil absorption, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding.

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Date: May 2016

Creator: Xia, Changlei

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

The Perceptions of Policymakers on the Transfer Pathway in Texas Public Higher Education

Community college students transfer to public universities experiencing a pathway filled with complexity and inequity. Transfer students are not able to graduate at the same pace as native students at the university and complete their baccalaureate degrees 18% below the rate of native students. Policymakers have attempted to address the baccalaureate gap. This qualitative study explored the perspectives of Texas policymakers and policy influencers on the efficacy of policies intended to improve transfer outcomes. This study investigated what experience participants have with transfer policy, what their perceptions of the transfer pathway are, and how their voices can refine an understanding of policy development and ways to improve student persistence. Purposeful sampling was used to explore the perspectives of 14 Texas policymakers and those that influence policy. Findings revealed that significant gaps exist between expectations and student realities and that the completion agenda is driving policy decisions. Participants perceived that transfer students have been ignored in the completion metrics, which influence institutional priorities. Moreover, the decentralized system of independent, autonomous institutions is a major contributor to inefficiencies such as excessive student credit hours. Improving the transferability of courses was a priority recommendation of all participants both because it benefits the State’s economy and, more importantly, because it is in the best interest of students.

Date: May 2016

Creator: Faris, Kimberly A

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Design of New Monodentate Ligands for Regioselectivity and Enantioselectivity Tuning in Late Transition Metal Catalysis

The ability of gold(I) to activate many types of unsaturated bonds toward nucleophilic attack was not widely recognized until the early 2000s. One major challenge in gold catalysis is the control over regioselectivity when there are two or more possible products as a result of complicated mechanistic pathways. It is well know that the choice of ligand can have dramatic effects on which pathway is being followed but very rarely are the reasons for this selectivity understood. The synthesis of new acyclic diaminocarbenes was developed and a study of the ligand effects on the regioselectivity of a gold-catalyzed domino enyne cyclization hydroarylation reaction and a Nazarov cyclization was undertaken. New chiral acyclic diaminocarbenes were also developed and tested along side new C3-symmetric phosphite ligands in an asymmetric intramolecular hydroamination of allenes. Structure activity correlations were developed for the potential use in further rational ligand design. The synthesis of 6a,7-dihydro-5-amino-dibenzo[c,g]chromene derivatives via a gold-catalyzed domino reaction of alkynylbenzaldehydes in the presence of secondary amines was developed. These were sent to be screened for biological activity.

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Date: May 2016

Creator: Ruch, Aaron Anthony

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Influence of High Strain Rate Compression on Microstructure and Phase Transformation of NiTi Shape Memory Alloys

Since NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) was discovered in the early 1960s, great progress has been made in understanding the properties and mechanisms of NiTi SMA and in developing associated products. For several decades, most of the scientific research and industrial interests on NiTi SMA has focused on its superelastic applications in the biomedical field and shape memory based “smart” devices, which involves the low strain rate (around 0.001 s^-1) response of NiTi SMA. Due to either stress-induced martensite phase transformation or stress induced martensite variant reorientation under the applied load, NiTi SMA has exhibited a high damping capacity in both austenitic and martensitic phase. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in exploitation of the high damping capacity of NiTi SMA to develop high strain rate related applications such as seismic damping elements and energy absorbing devices. However, a systematic study on the influence of strain, strain rate and temperature on the mechanical properties, phase transformation, microstructure and crystal structure is still limited, which leads to the difficulties in the design of products being subjected to high strain rate loading conditions. The four main objectives of the current research are: (1) achieve the single loading and the control of strain, constant strain rate and temperature in high strain rate compression tests of NiTi SMA specimens using Kolsky (split Hopkinson) compression bar; (2) explore the high strain rate compressive responses of NiTi SMA specimens as a function of strain (1.4%, 1.8%, 3.0%, 4.8%, and 9.6%), strain rate (400, 800 and 1200 s^-1), and temperature (room temperature (294 K) and 373 K); (3) characterize and compare the microstructure, phase transformation and crystal structure of NiTi SMAs before and after high strain rate compression; and (4) correlate high strain rate deformation with the changes of microstructure, phase transformation characteristics and crystal structure. ...

Date: May 2016

Creator: Qiu, Ying

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Information Structures in Notated Music: Statistical Explorations of Composers' Performance Marks in Solo Piano Scores

Written notation has a long history in many musical traditions and has been particularly important in the composition and performance of Western art music. This study adopted the conceptual view that a musical score consists of two coordinated but separate communication channels: the musical text and a collection of composer-selected performance marks that serve as an interpretive gloss on that text. Structurally, these channels are defined by largely disjoint vocabularies of symbols and words. While the sound structures represented by musical texts are well studied in music theory and analysis, the stylistic patterns of performance marks and how they acquire contextual meaning in performance is an area with fewer theoretical foundations. This quantitative research explored the possibility that composers exhibit recurring patterns in their use of performance marks. Seventeen solo piano sonatas written between 1798 and 1913 by five major composers were analyzed from modern editions by tokenizing and tabulating the types and usage frequencies of their individual performance marks without regard to the associated musical texts. Using analytic methods common in information science, the results demonstrated persistent statistical similarities among the works of each composer and differences among the work groups of different composers. Although based on a small sample, the results still offered statistical support for the existence of recurring stylistic patterns in composers' use of performance marks across their works.

Date: May 2016

Creator: Buchanan, J. Paul

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Musical and Dramatic Functions of Loops and Loop Breakers in Philip Glass's Opera "The Voyage"

Philip Glass's minimalist opera The Voyage commemorates the 500th Anniversary of Christopher Columbus's discovery of America. In the opera, Philip Glass, like other composers, expresses singers' and non-singers' words and activities by means of melodies, rhythms, chords, textures, timbres, and dynamics. In addition to these traditional musical expressions, successions of reiterating materials (RMs, two or more iterations of materials) and non reiterating materials (NRMs) become new musical expressions. However, dividing materials into theses two categories only distinguishes NRMs from RMs without exploring relations among them in successions. For instance, a listener cannot perceive the functional relations between a partial iteration of the RM and the NRM following the partial RM because both the partial RM and the NRM are NRMs. As a result, a listener hears a succession of NRM followed by another NRM. When an analyst relabels the partial RM as partial loop, and the NRM following the partial RM as loop breaker, a listener hears the NRM as a loop breaker causing a partial loop. The musical functions of loops and loop breakers concern a listener's expectations of the creation, sustaining, departure, and return to the norm in successions of loops and loop breakers. When a listener associates the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of these expectations with dramatic devices such as incidents, words in dialogues and soliloquies, and activities by singers and non-singers, loops and loop breakers in successions become dramatically functional. This dissertation explores the relations among musical and dramatic functions of loops and loop breakers in Glass's musical commemoration of Columbus.

Date: May 2016

Creator: Wu, Chia-Ying

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Electrodeposited Metal Matrix Composites for Enhanced Corrosion Protection and Mechanical Properties

In the oil and gas industry, high corrosion resistance and hardness are needed to extend the lifetime of the coatings due to exposure to high stress and salt environments. Electrodeposition has become a favorable technique in synthesizing coatings because of low cost, convenience, and the ability to work at low temperatures. Electrodeposition of metal matrix composites has become popular for enhanced corrosion resistance and hardness in the oil and gas industry because of the major problems that persist with corrosion. Two major alloys of copper-nickel, 90-10 and 70-30, were evaluated for microbial corrosion protection in marine environments on a stainless steel substrate. Copper and copper alloys are commonly used in marine environments to resist biofouling of materials by inhibiting microbial growth. Literature surveying the electrodeposition of Cu-Ni incorporated with nano- to micro- particles to produce metal matrix composites has been reviewed. Also, a novel flow cell design for the enhanced deposition of metal matrix composites was examined to obtain the optimal oriented structure of the layered silicates in the metal matrix. With the addition of montmorillonite into the Ni and Cu-Ni matrix, an increase in strength, adhesion, wear and fracture toughness of the coating occurs, which leads to an increase corrosion resistance and longevity of the coating. These coatings were evaluated for composition and corrosion using many different types of instrumental and electrochemical techniques. The overall corrosion resistance and mechanical properties were improved with the composite films in comparison to the pure metals, which proves to be advantageous for many economic sectors including the oil and gas industry.

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Date: May 2016

Creator: Thurber, Casey Ray

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Fatigue Behavior of A356 Aluminum Alloy

Metal fatigue is a recurring problem for metallurgists and materials engineers, especially in structural applications. It has been responsible for many disastrous accidents and tragedies in history. Understanding the micro-mechanisms during cyclic deformation and combating fatigue failure has remained a grand challenge. Environmental effects, like temperature or a corrosive medium, further worsen and complicate the problem. Ultimate design against fatigue must come from a materials perspective with a fundamental understanding of the interaction of microstructural features with dislocations, under the influence of stress, temperature, and other factors. This research endeavors to contribute to the current understanding of the fatigue failure mechanisms. Cast aluminum alloys are susceptible to fatigue failure due to the presence of defects in the microstructure like casting porosities, non-metallic inclusions, non-uniform distribution of secondary phases, etc. Friction stir processing (FSP), an emerging solid state processing technique, is an effective tool to refine and homogenize the cast microstructure of an alloy. In this work, the effect of FSP on the microstructure of an A356 cast aluminum alloy, and the resulting effect on its tensile and fatigue behavior have been studied. The main focus is on crack initiation and propagation mechanisms, and how stage I and stage II cracks interact with the different microstructural features. Three unique microstructural conditions have been tested for fatigue performance at room temperature, 150 °C and 200 °C. Detailed fractography has been performed using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD). These tools have also been utilized to characterize microstructural aspects like grain size, eutectic silicon particle size and distribution. Cyclic deformation at low temperatures is very sensitive to the microstructural distribution in this alloy. The findings from the room temperature fatigue tests highlight the important role played by persistent slip bands (PSBs) in fatigue crack initiation. At room ...

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Date: May 2016

Creator: Nelaturu, Phalgun

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Continuous Combinatorics of a Lattice Graph in the Cantor Space

We present a novel theorem of Borel Combinatorics that sheds light on the types of continuous functions that can be defined on the Cantor space. We specifically consider the part X=F(2ᴳ) from the Cantor space, where the group G is the additive group of integer pairs ℤ². That is, X is the set of aperiodic {0,1} labelings of the two-dimensional infinite lattice graph. We give X the Bernoulli shift action, and this action induces a graph on X in which each connected component is again a two-dimensional lattice graph. It is folklore that no continuous (indeed, Borel) function provides a two-coloring of the graph on X, despite the fact that any finite subgraph of X is bipartite. Our main result offers a much more complete analysis of continuous functions on this space. We construct a countable collection of finite graphs, each consisting of twelve "tiles", such that for any property P (such as "two-coloring") that is locally recognizable in the proper sense, a continuous function with property P exists on X if and only if a function with a corresponding property P' exists on one of the graphs in the collection. We present the theorem, and give several applications.

Date: May 2016

Creator: Krohne, Edward William

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Decision Makers’ Cognitive Biases in Operations Management: An Experimental Study

Behavioral operations management (BOM) has gained popularity in the last two decades. The main theme in this new stream of research is to include the human behavior in Operations Management (OM) models to increase the effectiveness of such models. BOM is classified into 4 areas: cognitive psychology, social psychology, group dynamics and system dynamics (Bendoly et al. 2010). This dissertation will focus on the first class, namely cognitive psychology. Cognitive psychology is further classified into heuristics and biases. Tversky and Kahneman (1974) discussed 3 heuristics and 13 cognitive biases that usually face decision makers. This dissertation is going to study 6 cognitive biases under the representativeness heuristic. The model in this dissertation states that cognitive reflection of the individual (Frederick 2005) and training about cognitive biases in the form of warning (Kaufmann and Michel 2009) will help decisions’ makers make less biased decisions. The 6 cognitive biases investigated in this dissertation are insensitivity to prior probability, insensitivity to sample size, misconception of chance, insensitivity to predictability, the illusion of validity and misconception of regression. 6 scenarios in OM contexts have been used in this study. Each scenario corresponds to one cognitive bias. Experimental design has been used as the research tool. To see the impact of training, one group of the participants received the scenarios without training and the other group received them with training. The training consists of a brief description of the cognitive bias as well as an example of the cognitive bias. Cognitive reflection is operationalized using cognitive reflection test (CRT). The survey was distributed to students at University of North Texas (UNT). Logistic regression has been employed to analyze data. The research shows that participants show the cognitive biases proposed by Tversky and Kahneman. Moreover, CRT is significant factor to predict the cognitive bias in two ...

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Date: May 2016

Creator: Alkhars, Mohammed

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Community-based Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Developing, Testing and Validating Conceptual Models

The field of Logistics and Supply Chain Management (LSCM) suggests that transactions, collaboration, and value are important in the supply and delivery of products and services to meet the need of impoverished end-consumers. In many cases, the application of LSCM is paramount in most strategic decision-making efforts. Therefore, this research explores the applications of LSCM processes and activities within the community-based context. The methodology used to address the research questions consisted of a hybrid of mixed methods. This mixed methodology provides three essays that investigate the application and development of LSCM in the community-based context. The essays address the flow of charitable products and services through supply chains. The dissertation does not pay close attention to the first-tier suppliers’ suppliers, which is looking at the originating flow of goods and services (raw materials, manufacturing, etc.). However, the dissertation puts a focus on products and services supplied to focal organizations and how these products are then passed on to end-consumers. Essay I looks at the transaction (costs) that ensue from the supply of charitable products. Essay II analyzes a social service ecosystem and investigates how the network of organizations enable the distribution of charitable products and services. Lastly, Essay III examines the delivery of valuable services to the end-consumers, and what tools Community-Based Enterprises (CBEs) should focus on to develop and retain end-consumers in impoverished communities. The research provides conceptual models that review some fundamental LSCM achievement gaps in supplying, delivering and providing social services to end users within impoverished communities. The dissertation draws upon literature from the fields of economics, marketing, social science, and logistics and supply chain management. The dissertation uses the primary research method of unstructured and semi-structured interviews, case studies, written survey instruments and system dynamics within three studies. The studies resolve to look into the term ...

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Date: May 2016

Creator: Obaze, Yolanda

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Ours is the Kingdom of Heaven: Racial Construction of Early American Christian Identities

This project interrogates how religious performance, either authentic or contrived, aids in the quest for freedom for oppressed peoples; how the rhetoric of the Enlightenment era pervades literatures delivered or written by Native Americans and African Americans; and how religious modes, such as evoking scripture, performing sacrifices, or relying upon providence, assist oppressed populations in their roles as early American authors and speakers. Even though the African American and Native American populations of early America before the eighteenth century were denied access to rights and freedom, they learned to manipulate these imposed constraints--renouncing the expectation that they should be subordinate and silent--to assert their independent bodies, voices, and spiritual identities through the use of literary expression. These performative strategies, such as self-fashioning, commanding language, destabilizing republican rhetoric, or revising narrative forms, become the tools used to present three significant strands of identity: the individual person, the racialized person, and the spiritual person. As each author resists the imposed restrictions of early American ideology and the resulting expectation of inferior behavior, he/she displays abilities within literature (oral and written forms) denied him/her by the political systems of the early republican and early national eras. Specifically, they each represent themselves in three ways: first, as a unique individual with differentiated abilities, exceptionalities, and personality; second, as a person with distinct value, regardless of skin color, cultural difference, or gender; and third, as a sanctified and redeemed Christian, guaranteed agency and inheritance through the family of God. Furthermore, the use of religion and spirituality allows these authors the opportunity to function as active agents who were adapting specific verbal and physical methods of self-fashioning through particular literary strategies. Doing so demonstrates that they were not the unrefined and unfeeling individuals that early American political and social restrictions had made them--that instead they were ...

Date: May 2016

Creator: Robinson, Heather L

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Stable Nanocrystalline Au Film Structures for Sliding Electrical Contacts

Hard gold thin films and coatings are widely used in electronics as an effective material to reduce the friction and wear of relatively less expensive electrically conductive materials while simultaneously seeking to provide oxidation resistance and stable sliding electrical contact resistance (ECR). The main focus of this dissertation was to synthesize nanocrystalline Au films with grain structures capable of remaining stable during thermal exposure and under sliding electrical contact stress and the passing of electrical current. Here we have utilized a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique, electron beam evaporation, to synthesize Au films modified by ion implantation and codeposited ZnO hardened Au nanocomposites. Simultaneous friction and ECR experiments of low fluence (< 1x10^17 cm^-2) He and Ar ion implanted Au films showed reduction in friction coefficients from ~1.5 to ~0.5 and specific wear rates from ~4x10^-3 to ~6x10^-5 mm^3/N·m versus as-deposited Au films without significant change in sliding ECR (~16 mΩ). Subsurface microstructural changes of He implanted films due to tribological stress were analyzed via site-specific cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and revealed the formation of nanocrystalline grains for low energy (22.5 keV) implantation conditions as well as the growth and redistribution of cavities. Nanoindentation hardness results revealed an increase from 0.84 GPa for as-deposited Au to ~1.77 GPa for Au uniformly implanted with 1 at% He. These strength increases are correlated with an Orowan hardening mechanism that increases proportionally to (He concentration)1/3. Au-ZnO nanocomposite films in the oxide dilute regime (< 5 vol% ZnO) were investigated for low temperature aging stability in friction and ECR. Annealing at 250 °C for 24 hours Au-(2 vol%)ZnO retained a friction coefficient comparable to commercial Ni hardened Au of ~ 0.3 and sliding ECR values of ~35 mΩ. Nanoindentation hardness increases of these films (~2.6 GPa for 5 vol% ZnO) are correlated to ...

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Date: May 2016

Creator: Mogonye, Jon-Erik

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Transmedia STEM Intervention Book in Middle School for Educational Change

The world is becoming a global place in which science, technology, engineering and mathematics hold a key to a successful future. To help secure this future it is important to engage students early with relevant curriculum that sparks interest and success in STEM fields. However, education reform occurs slowly, so this paper looked at a potential paradigm that can help to bring about change in a middle school environment that harnesses the long standing strengths of learning and education with the integration of technology to create changes in the pedagogy of learners and teachers. The study implemented a transmedia STEM book and evaluated the impact it had on student perceptions of STEM, school attitude, academic achievement, and preferred activity types, providing an example vehicle for change that can be adopted over time. The main findings showed that students who used a 3-Dimensional printer had higher math achievement and a more positive perception of math.

Date: May 2016

Creator: Stansell, Alicia Renee

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Social-Emotional Competencies of African American Children: Impact of Child-Centered Play Therapy

African American children experience risks due to heightened socio-environmental problems and responding to negative racial messages in their environments. Child Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) is one viable intervention for the development of social emotional competence among African American children to help mediate adverse conditions. I sought to explore the effects of CCPT on the social emotional competencies of African American children utilizing Social Emotional Assets and Resilience Scale-Parent & Teacher (SEARS-P; SEARS-T) reports. Thirty-seven African American participants with a mean age of 6.68 years were recruited from four suburban elementary schools in the southwest U.S. Twenty participants were randomly assigned to the intervention group receiving a mean of 13.3 CCPT sessions over 8 weeks, and 17 participants were assigned to the waitlist control group. Factorial ANOVA results indicated that parents reported statistically and practically significant improvement for children who participated in CCPT in overall social-emotional competencies. Follow-up analysis revealed statistical and practical improvement in children’s empathy, as well as practical improvement in self-regulation/responsibility and social competence. Teacher-reported results indicated practical but non-statistically significant improvement in overall social-emotional competencies for children who participated in CCPT, including statistical and practical improvement in children’s responsibility, as well as practical improvement in self-regulation, social competence, and empathy. Thus, CCPT showed promise as a culturally responsive treatment intervention to improve African American children’s social-emotional competencies

Date: May 2016

Creator: Taylor, LaKaavia

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Taxpayer compliance from three perspectives: A study of economic, environmental, and personal determinants.

Tax evasion is a serious issue that influences governmental revenues, IRS enforcement strategies, and tax policy decisions. While audits are the most effective method of enforcing compliance, they are expensive to conduct and the IRS is only able to audit a fraction of the returns filed each year. This suggests that audits alone are not sufficient to curb the billions of dollars of tax evaded by taxpayers each year and that a better understanding of factors influencing compliance decisions is needed to enable policymakers to craft tax policies that maximize voluntary compliance. Prior research tends to model compliance as economic, environmental, or personal decisions; however, this study models it as a multifaceted decision where these three perspective individually and interactively influence compliance. It is the first to decompose perceived detection risk into two dimensions (selection risk and enforcement risk) and investigates how these two dimensions of risk, decision domains (refund or tax due positions), and three personal factors (mental accounting, narcissism, and proactivity) influence taxpayers’ compliance decisions. I conducted a 2x2 fully crossed experiment involving 331 self-employed taxpayers. These taxpayers have opportunities to evade that employed taxpayers do not. For example, they can earn cash income that is not reported to the IRS by third parties. For self-employed taxpayers (especially those wanting to evade), perceived selection and enforcement risks may be distinctly different depending on a taxpayer’s situation, what they believe they can control, and what risk they are willing to accept. For example, selection risk may be perceived as the greatest risk for those with unreported items on their return, while enforcement risk may be more prominent for those perceiving certain levels of selection risk. Thus, I believe self-employed taxpayers are the most appropriate population to sample from and are likely have reasonable variation in the three personal factors ...

Date: May 2016

Creator: Hunt, Nicholas C

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

An Analytical Study of Paradox and Structural Dualism in the Music of Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven's rich compositional language evokes unique problems that have fueled scholarly dialogue for many years. My analyses focus on two types of paradoxes as central compositional problems in some of Beethoven's symphonic pieces and piano sonatas. My readings of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 27 (Op. 90), Symphony No. 4 (Op. 60), and Symphony No. 8 (Op. 93) explore the nature and significance of paradoxical unresolved six-four chords and their impact on tonal structure. I consider formal-tonal paradoxes in Beethoven's Tempest Sonata (Op. 31, No. 2), Ninth Symphony (Op. 125), and Overture die Weihe des Hauses (Op. 124). Movements that evoke formal-tonal paradoxes retain the structural framework of a paradigmatic interrupted structure, but contain unique voice-leading features that superimpose an undivided structure on top of the "residual" interrupted structure. Carl Schachter's observations about "genuine double meaning" and his arguments about the interplay between design and tonal structure in "Either/Or" establish the foundation for my analytical approach to paradox. Timothy Jackson's reading of Brahms' "Immer leiser word meine Schlummer" (Op. 105, No. 2) and Stephen Slottow's "Von einem Kunstler: Shapes in the Clouds" both clarify the methodology employed here. My interpretation of paradox involves more than just a slight contradiction between two Schenkerian readings; it involves fundamentally opposed readings, that both result from valid, logical lines of analytical reasoning. In my view, paradoxes could be considered a central part of Beethoven's persona and philosophy. Beethoven's romantic endeavors and his relationships with mentors suggest that paradoxes might have been central to his bravura. Furthermore, Beethoven's familiarity with the politics of the French Revolution and Shakespearean literature suggest that paradoxes in some pieces (including the Ninth Symphony) could be metaphorical representations of his ideology. However, I do not attempt to explicitly link specific style features to extra-musical ideas. Modern Schenkerian scholars continue to expand ...

Date: May 2016

Creator: Graf, Benjamin Stewart

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Transfer of Instructional Practices From Freedom Schools to the Classroom

The instructional practices of three current classroom teachers who formerly served as Servant Leader Interns (SLIs) in the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools (CDFFS) Program were examined. Haskell (2001) outlined eleven principles of transfer of learning, which were used to survey the levels of transfer established from service in Freedom Schools to practice in the traditional classroom. Individual surveys, The Freedom School Pedagogies Teacher Observation Record (FSPTOR) along with interviews of each participant were used for data collection; all three components were used to triangulate the findings. The findings from this study verified that low transfer was observed when the minimal application of the principles of learning was applied. This study revealed that for transfer to occur at high levels, it is imperative that adherence to all 11 principals is made, and the understanding of transfer, the application of transfer, and reflection on transfer are implemented. If the transfer of instructional practices is a goal of CDFFS for SLIs, the CDFFS program should consider implementing transfer of learning theory in future SLI training.

Date: May 2016

Creator: Stanford, Myah D

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Unpacking Self in Clutter and Cloth: Curator as Artist/Researcher/Teacher

This a/r/tographic dissertation offers opportunities to interrogate curator identity and curator ways of being in both public and private spaces. Instead of an authoritative or prescriptive look at the curatorial, this dissertation as catalogue allows for uncertainty, for messiness, for vulnerable spaces where readers are invited into an exhibition of disorderly living. Stitched throughout the study are stories of mothering and the difficulties that accompanied the extremely early birth of my daughter. Becoming a mother provoked my curating in unexpected ways and allowed me to reconsider the reasons I collect, display, and perform as a curator. It was through the actual curating of familial material artifacts in the exhibition Dress Stories, I was able to map the journey of my curatorial turns. My engagement with clothing in the inquiry was informed by the work of Sandra Weber and Claudia Mitchell, where dress as a methodology allows for spaces to consider autobiography, identity, and practice. It was not until the exhibition was over, I was able to discover new ways to thread caring, collecting, and cataloging ourselves as curators, artists, researchers, teachers, and mothers. It prompts curators and teachers to consider possibilities for failure, releasing excess, and uncaring as a way to care for self, objects, and others.

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Date: May 2016

Creator: McCartney, Laura Lee

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Master Therapists' Decision Making Process Concerning Adolescent Confidentiality: A Grounded Theory Approach

Ethical codes and laws provide counselors with guidance for how to approach confidentiality, but there is a gap in the literature surrounding counselors' process of decision-making when managing confidentiality with a adolescent clients. This study explored the decision-making process of master therapists concerning adolescent clients. I conducted semi-structured interviews with peer identified master therapist (N=10), all of whom were licensed professional counselors with 15 or more years of counseling experience and whose case load contained 25% or more adolescent clients. Participants included seven females and three males; nine participants identified as Caucasian, and one participant identified as Hispanic. Participants ages ranged from 39-61. I analyzed the data, along with two research partner, according to Grounded Theory (GT) methodology. Through constant comparative analysis, a grounded theory emerged from the data in which participants converged understanding of client safety, relationships, clinical intuition in a process of integrated experience and consultation. With the exception of mandated reported and mortal danger, ethical guidelines and laws did not seem to factor into participants' decision making. Implications for counseling practice, preparation, and research are provided.

Date: May 2016

Creator: Michero, Emily

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Virtual Entrepreneurship: Explicating the Antecedents of Firm Performance

Prior research has examined entrepreneurial businesses spatially located in the physical or offline context; however, recent radical information and technological breakthroughs allow entrepreneurs to launch their businesses completely online. The growth of the online business industry has been phenomenal. Predictions for worldwide online sales estimate it to reach $2 trillion in 2016. Virtual entrepreneurship refers to the pursuit and exploitation of opportunities via virtual platforms. Web 2.0 cybermediaries offer web-based platforms that function similarly to traditional intermediaries in a virtual setting and minimize barriers to entry for virtual entrepreneurial firms. The use of such cybermediaries with increasing success suggests an implicit shift in the dominant logic that typically underpins the functioning of entrepreneurial firms operating in the physical world. In this relatively uncharted territory, marked by a focus on profit, cooperation, collaboration and community, three ideal-type institutional logics i.e. Market, Corporation and Community, blend together. It is posited that a Virtual Entrepreneurial Logic guides the norms, behaviors, and practices of entrepreneurial firms operating via these virtual platforms. This raises the question whether the blending of three ideal-type logics leads to the existence of different antecedents of performance. A business model antecedent addressing the economic dimension, a community antecedent addressing the community dimension and a co-creation antecedent addressing the collaborative dimension of the Virtual Entrepreneurial Logic were therefore empirically examined in this study. Thus, three research questions were investigated to explicate the antecedents. Primary data from 1396 virtual entrepreneurial firms was collected (business model antecedent n=366, community antecedent n=732 and co-creation antecedent n= 298) to test the proposed hypotheses. Results provided support for the three antecedents. This study makes important theoretical and practical contributions to understanding the domain of virtual entrepreneurship from a blended logics perspective. Using the theoretical lens provided by institutional logics helps shed light on the pivotal role ...

Access: This item is restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.

Date: May 2016

Creator: Chandna, Vallari

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

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