Search Results

open access

Using Concurrent Schedules of Reinforcement to Decrease Behavior

Description: We manipulated delay and magnitude of reinforcers in two concurrent schedules of reinforcement to decrease a prevalent behavior while increasing another behavior already in the participant's repertoire. The first experiment manipulated delay, implementing a five second delay between the behavior and delivery of reinforcement for a behavior targeted for decrease while no delay was implemented after the behavior targeted for increase. The second experiment manipulated magnitude, providing one pi… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Palmer, Ashlyn
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

When to Say It: Establishing a Verbal Cue

Description: Dog trainers sometimes teach verbal cues by saying the cue as the dog is performing the desired behavior. However, there is disagreement about when to say the cue. In this study, a pet dog was trained to go to three different apparatus, the cue for each of which was given at a different time, in a multi-element design. The cue "hoop" was given just as the dog began to move to the hoop apparatus. The cue "carrier" was given as the dog was stepping into the carrier apparatus. The cue "platform" w… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Rulla, Emily
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Constructional Approach to Establishing and Maintaining Calm Canine Behavior

Description: Very few behavior-change programs with canines produce effects that persist beyond the training condition. The present study is an experimental demonstration of a constructional program that established calm patterns of behavior as alternatives to hyperactive ones. Three dogs that exhibited hyperactive patterns were chosen as subjects. Seven conditions common to canine-caretaker relationships were used to determine which factors resulted in the hyperactive patterns. Then, sitting and lying down… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Owens, Chase Jonathan
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Reinforcing Variability Produces Stereotypic Behavior

Description: Behaving in novel ways is essential to the development of the types of complex performances described by the term creativity, problem solving, and perseverance. Some research suggests that response variability is an operant and a critical component of novel behavior. However, other account of novel behavior may be more parsimonious. Topographical variability has rarely been examined, nor has operant variability with organisms with baselines featuring stereotypic responding. This study examined … more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Kieta, Andrew R.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Improving Staff Tutoring in a Special Education Classroom Through Active Listening Skills

Description: According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2015, Texas special education programs were rated among the lowest in the nation. School districts in the state have a substantial need for effective and efficient staff training. In this study, researchers implemented TAPS: A Talk Aloud Problem Solving Approach Packet to teach active listener qualities to staff members in a life skills special education classroom. A multiple baseline across staff members was used to evaluate the effects of the … more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Neri-Hernandez, Lucero
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Arduino Based Hybrid MPPT Controller for Wind and Solar

Description: Renewable power systems are becoming more affordable and provide better options than fossil-fuel generation, for not only the environment, but a benefit of a reduced cost of operation. Methods to optimize charging batteries from renewable technologies is an important subject for off-grid and micro-grids, and is becoming more relevant for larger installations. Overcharging or undercharging the battery can result in failure and reduction of battery life. The Arduino hybrid MPPT controller takes t… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Assaad, Michael
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Investigating Factors that Affect Faculty Attitudes towards Participation in Open Access Institutional Repositories

Description: Open access institutional repositories (OA IRs) are electronic systems that capture, preserve, and provide access to the scholarly digital work of an institution. As a new channel of scholarly communications IRs offer faculty a new way to disseminate their work to a wider audience, which in turn can increase the visibility to their work and impact factors, and at the same time increase institutions prestige and value. However, despite the increased popularity of IRs in numbers, research shows … more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Tmava, Ahmet Meti
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Analysis and Performance of a Cyber-Human System and Protocols for Geographically Separated Collaborators

Description: This dissertation provides an innovative mechanism to collaborate two geographically separated people on a physical task and a novel method to measure Complexity Index (CI) and calculate Minimal Complexity Index (MCI) of a collaboration protocol. The protocol is represented as a structure, and the information content of it is measured in bits to understand the complex nature of the protocol. Using the complexity metrics, one can analyze the performance of a collaborative system and a collaborat… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Jonnada, Srikanth
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Educational Technology: A Comparison of Ten Academic Journals and the New Media Consortium Horizon Reports for the Period of 2000-2017

Description: This exploratory and descriptive study provides an increased understanding of the topics being explored in both published research and industry reporting in the field of educational technology. Although literature in the field is plentiful, the task of synthesizing the information for practical use is a massive undertaking. Latent semantic analysis was used to review journal abstracts from ten highly respected journals and the New Media Consortium Horizon Reports to identify trends within the p… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Morel, Gwendolyn M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Academic and Social Functioning of College Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Description: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complicated psychiatric disorder that is typically first diagnosed in childhood and associated with negative outcomes in adulthood such as poor academic performance and difficulties with social relationships. ADHD can be difficult to accurately diagnose in adulthood, given the absence of clear, agreed upon ADHD symptomology in adults. In the current study, two raters used psychometrically sound instruments and diagnostically valid assessment … more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Calmenson, Nina
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Intelligence and the Uprising in East Germany 1953: An Example of Political Intelligence

Description: In 1950, the leader of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Walter Ulbricht, began a policy of connecting foreign threats with domestic policy failures as if the two were the same, and as if he was not responsible for either. This absolved him of blame for those failures and allowed Ulbricht to define his internal enemies as agents of the western powers. He used the state's secret police force, known as the Stasi, to provide the information that supported his claims of western obstruc… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Collins, Steven Morris
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Interactive Networks in Forgotten Lyres: Critical Analysis and Original Composition

Description: Forgotten Lyres is a musical response to Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem Mutability, which depicts the fragility and unpredictable nature of human life. Four independent chamber ensembles make up the performing forces of Forgotten Lyres; the musicians evoke the topics of Shelley's text as they interact and coordinate with one another according to a variety of paradigms and without the use of a conductor. This essay focuses on the approaches to coordination within and between ensembles, and the ways… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Harenda, Timothy
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Comparing Three Approaches for Handling a Fourth Level of Nesting Structure in Cluster-Randomized Trials

Description: This study compared 3 approaches for handling a fourth level of nesting structure when analyzing data from a cluster-randomized trial (CRT). CRTs can include 3 levels of nesting: repeated measures, individual, and cluster levels. However, above the cluster level, there may sometimes be an additional potentially important fourth level of nesting (e.g., schools, districts, etc., depending on the design) that is typically ignored in CRT data analysis. The current study examined the impact of ignor… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Glaman, Ryan
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Application of UV-Vis Spectroscopy to the Monitoring, Characterization and Analysis of Chemical Equilibria of Copper Etching Baths

Description: The continuously increasing demand for innovation in the miniaturization of microelectronics has driven the need for ever more precise fabrication strategies for device packaging, especially for printed circuit boards (PCBs). Subtractive copper etching is a fundamental step in the fabrication process, requiring very precise control of etch rate and etch factor. Changes in the etching chemical equilibrium have significant effects on etching behavior, and CuCl2 / HCl etching baths are typically m… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Lambert, Alexander S.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Additive Manufacturing of Metastable Beta Titanium Alloys

Description: Additive manufacturing processes of many alloys are known to develop texture during the deposition process due to the rapid reheating and the directionality of the dissipation of heat. Titanium alloys and with respect to this study beta titanium alloys are especially susceptible to these effects. This work examines Ti-20wt%V and Ti-12wt%Mo deposited under normal additive manufacturing process parameters to examine the texture of these beta-stabilized alloys. Both microstructures contained co… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Yannetta, Christopher J.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Influence of Social and Cultural Factors on Alcohol Use and Abuse among a Sample of Young Males in the Army

Description: The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the social, cultural, and structural factors that contribute to or inhibit alcohol use and abuse in the Army among young males, unmarried or married without a present spouse. Seventeeen single, or separated, young male soldiers stationed at Fort Bragg Army Base were interviewed to provide insight into the research questions. Soldiers were largely located through face-to-face canvassing. The interviews, which lasted from 45 to 90 minutes… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Short, J. Rollin
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Investigation of Immersion Cooled ARM-Based Computer Clusters for Low-Cost, High-Performance Computing

Description: This study aimed to investigate performance of ARM-based computer clusters using two-phase immersion cooling approach, and demonstrate its potential benefits over the air-based natural and forced convection approaches. ARM-based clusters were created using Raspberry Pi model 2 and 3, a commodity-level, single-board computer. Immersion cooling mode utilized two types of dielectric liquids, HFE-7000 and HFE-7100. Experiments involved running benchmarking tests Sysbench high performance linpack (H… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Mohammed, Awaizulla Shareef
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Development of a Targeted Protein Residue Analysis Approach in Archaeology

Description: Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) based proteomic methods have provided archaeologists with a powerful tool for the discovery and identification of proteins within artifacts. Traditionally, discovery-based methods have utilized a non-targeted full mass scan method in an attempt to identify all proteins present within a given sample. However, increased sensitivity is often needed to target specific proteins in order to test hypotheses. Proteins present within archaeological materia… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Scott, Ashley (Researcher on proteins )
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Effect of Surface Treatment on the Performance of CARALL, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Aluminum Dissimilar Material Joints

Description: Fiber-metal laminates (FML) are the advanced materials that are developed to improve the high performance of lightweight structures that are rapidly becoming a superior substitute for metal structures. The reasons behind their emerging usage are the mechanical properties without a compromise in weight other than the traditional metals. The bond remains a concern. This thesis reviews the effect of pre-treatments, say heat, P2 etch and laser treatments on the substrate which modifies the surface … more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Bandi, Raghava
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Are Streams Protected? Outcomes of Environmental Regulation

Description: Urban areas experience the loss of natural stream channels through conversion to artificial conveyances. This process tends to target headwater and other low order streams. The purpose of this study is to determine the patterns of stream loss in Denton, Texas, and explore the regulatory structure that manages these streams. Historic and current maps and stream data are used to map Denton's streams and categorize them according to their vertical connectivity as: 1) "intact", streams that are … more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Rowen, Zachary
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Comprehensive Performance Guide for the Use of Advanced Technology in Euphonium Repertoire with Electronic Media through Analyses of Works by D. Edward Davis, Neal Corwell, and Lucy Pankhurst

Description: Solos for euphonium with electronic media present the unique challenge of incorporating an active, physical involvement in the live accompaniment through sound-altering technology such as guitar pedals or digital processors. Instructions for this solo genre are often vague and demand a general knowledge of how to use non-traditional devices. Due to the lack of information available on newly-composed pieces for this medium, students and professionals easily overlook the artistic merit of electro… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Ray, Irving
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Community College Student Retention and Completion based on Financial Expenditures and Hispanic-Serving Status

Description: Despite declining community college funding being allocated increasingly on the basis of student success, U.S. community college student retention and completion rates over the past decade have either remained steady or decreased, especially for Latino students. Using descriptive statistics and multiple regression models with secondary data procured from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), I analyzed student success rates—full time student retention and completion rates—… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Da Silva, Jose E.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Effects of Defensiveness and Social Desirability on the Reporting of Personality Traits

Description: Psychological assessment relies on accurate and forthright reporting to determine valid clinical presentations. However, it has long been recognized that examinees may be motivated to present a "better picture" through Positive Impression Management (PIM). Within the PIM domain, two distinct motivations (i.e., defensiveness and social desirability) emerge that have not been clearly differentiated in empirical literature. This thesis addressed the research gap for detecting PIM distortion of per… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Williams, Margot M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Effects of Air Pollution on the Intestinal Microbiota: A Novel Approach to Assess How Gut Microbe Interactions with the Environment Affect Human Health

Description: This thesis investigates how air pollution, both natural and anthropogenic, affects changes in the proximal small intestine and ileum microbiota profile, as well as intestinal barrier integrity, histological changes, and inflammation. APO-E KO mice on a high fat diet were randomly selected to be exposed by whole body inhalation to either wood smoke (WS) or mixed vehicular exhaust (MVE), with filtered air (FA) acting as the control. Intestinal integrity and histology were assessed by observing e… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Fitch, Megan N.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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