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open access

What Would a Waterbird Do? An Annual Study of 13 Urban Wetlands in Frisco, Texas

Description: Intention for this study is driven by finding patterns that may be shown to reveal primary factors of influence for the abundance and diversity of wetland birds. These correlations may be used to promote wetland management strategies for the benefit of waterbird species, and help illuminate current local wetland conditions for waterbirds, respectively. The idea is to help enliven individuals to become a more conscious steward and manipulator of our environment through incorporating structural a… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Proctor, Jayce Alan
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Mixed Method Inquiry into Student Academic Optimism: Validation of the Construct and Its Use to Give Voice to Latinx Student Experiences

Description: This study examined student academic optimism in four diverse North Texas school districts. This study used a convergent parallel mixed methods design to analyze results of an online administration of the survey, and Latinx student responses to a focus group protocol derived from the survey. Quantitative results indicate the individual scales making up the construct align with previous research results. The three scales were found to be strongly and significantly correlated, indicating the p… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Viamontes Quintero, Jesika
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Key Factors in Developing a Successful Bond Referendum in Texas School Districts

Description: In May of 2002, Wichita Falls ISD, a district in Texas with a stagnate enrollment of 14,000 students for multiple years, asked for the community to support a $120 million bond to help cover the cost of four new elementary campuses and to maintain and upgrade aging facilities. The bond failed. Additionally, a 2004 bond failed again. Finally, in 2006, the district is finally able to pass a $60 million bond and only includes two new elementary campuses and no funding to address the aging facilitie… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Griffiths, Peter Edward
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

In the Tall Grass West of Town: Racial Violence in Denton County during the Rise of the Second Ku Klux Klan

Description: The aim of this thesis is to narrate and analyze lynching and atypical violence in Denton County, Texas, between 1920 and 1926. Through this intensive study of a rural county in north Texas, the role of law enforcement in typical and systemic violence is observed and the relationship between Denton County Officials and the Ku Klux Klan is analyzed. Chapter 1 discusses the root of the word lynching and submits a call for academic attention to violence that is unable to be categorized as lynching… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Crittenden, Micah Carlson
Partner: UNT Libraries

Analysis of Interrelationships between Climate Change and Cotton Yield in Texas High Plains

Description: The Texas High Plains produces the most substantial amount of cotton in Texas. The region is a semi-arid area with limited precipitation, and it is, therefore, susceptible to climate change. Cotton production in the Texas High Plains is mostly dependent on irrigation to increase yield. The overall goal of this research was to study the interrelationships between climate change and cotton yield using correlation analysis and also to study how climate has changed in the region using trend analys… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Sarbeng, Lorenda
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

That Isolation Creeps In: Exploring the Intersection of Public Transit and Mental Health in Dallas County, Texas

Description: The primary goal of the research project was to organize a community needs assessment, which culminated in a report attached in the appendix. Data from sixteen interviews with community leaders involved in mental health promotion throughout Dallas County, Texas was used as the foundation of the professional report. This data revealed several key barriers faced by those with mental illness in their ability to access mental health services in Dallas County. The information gathered prompted furth… more
Date: August 2020
Creator: Sanderson, Brittney
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Role of Faith-Based Congregations during Disaster Response and Recovery: A Case Study of Katy, Texas

Description: When governments are unable or unwilling to provide necessary relief to communities, local faith-based congregations (FBCs) step in and fill the gap. Though shown to provide for so many needs following disaster, FBCs have largely been left out of the institutional emergency management cycle. The aim of this study was to explore the role of FBCs in the disaster response and recovery process and investigate how recovery impacts FBCs. The primary objective of this study is to gain a better underst… more
Date: December 2020
Creator: Elliott, Julie R
Partner: UNT Libraries

Engine Running: Essays

Description: Engine Running: Essays is a collection of creative nonfiction that explores, in parts, a persona's distancing from home and self against the backdrop of an increasingly fractured family doing the same. Through a variety of forms, the essays seek to balance themes like loss, self-discovery, and manhood in reflections on the role of childhood memory, the early revelations and experimentation of sexuality, and the carving-out of personal identity in West Texas.
Date: May 2021
Creator: Mason, Chesley Cade
Partner: UNT Libraries

West Dallas AR

Description: West Dallas AR is an interactive location-based app, using the power of multimedia and augmented reality to highlight the stories shared by West Dallas residents.
Date: May 2021
Creator: Johnson, Eboni
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Perceptions of Restorative Practices by Male Students of Color in Middle School

Description: Zero-tolerance discipline policies have been in use in U.S. schools for almost 25 years. Since their enactment in the 1990s, researchers have found that zero tolerance disciplinary policies and practices can cause students to enter the school-to-prison pipeline. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the perceptions of middle-school male students of color regarding the discipline process on a campus that supplemented zero-tolerance discipline with restorative practices (… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Millican, Deborah
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

GIS-Based Analysis of Local Climate Zones in Denton, Texas

Description: This study implemented a GIS-based analysis of local climate zones (LCZ) in Denton, TX with data sets from 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2016. The LCZ scheme enables evaluation of distinct regions' thermal characteristics with greater granularity than conventional urban-rural dichotomies. Further, the GIS-based approach to LCZ mapping allows use of high-resolution lidar data, the availability of which for the study area enabled estimation of geometric and surface cover parameters: height of roughness e… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Michel, Daniel
Partner: UNT Libraries

The Administration of Unemployment Relief by the State of Texas during the Great Depression, 1929-1941

Description: During the Great Depression, for the first time in its history, the federal government provided relief to the unemployed and destitute through myriad New Deal agencies. This dissertation examines how "general relief" (direct or "make-work") from federal programs—primarily the Emergency Relief and Construction Act (ERCA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)—was acquired and administered by the government of Texas through state administrative agencies. These agencies included the … more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Park, David B.
Partner: UNT Libraries

Equitable Early Childhood Education for Young Bilingual Learners in North Texas: Examining Kindergarten Entry Assessments for Bilingual Children

Description: A considerable amount of research has been done surrounding education in classrooms from kindergarten to Grade 12, but little research has been done surrounding early childhood education (ECE) beginning with birth to age 4. As a result, research is needed that examines interventions aimed to improve the quality of early childhood education for young bilingual learners at the earliest stages of schooling. The present study examines current efforts to serve the specific population of young biling… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: McEntire, Celina Angelica
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Building Resiliency: The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in the Trauma-Affected Community of Santa Fe, Texas

Description: On May 18, 2018, a shooter entered Santa Fe High School, killing eight students and two teachers. Using ethnographic methods, this research examines the role of faith, rituals, language, and symbols in the trauma-affected community during the response, recovery, and resiliency efforts as perceived by the Santa Fe community and those impacted by the tragedy. Qualitative data collected from 100 individuals ages of 17-84 illustrated how historical trauma, community culture, and faith-based organ… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Jordan, Mandy M
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Measuring College Readiness: Developing a System of On-Track and Off-Track Metrics for Texas High School Students

Description: The purpose of this study was to analyze and determine the predictive power of individual and a combination of different indicators that are used to determine college readiness. For this study a logistic regression analysis was conducted due to the dichotomous nature of the dependent variable. The dependent variable for the study was the earning of a post-secondary credential. The independent variables included high school diploma type, Advanced Placement course taken, Advanced Placement test … more
Date: August 2020
Creator: Saenz, David Pael
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Evaluation of Long-Term Air Quality Trends in North Texas using Statistical and Machine Learning Techniques

Description: While ozone design values have decreased since 2000, the values measured in Denton Airport South (DEN), an exurban region in the northwest tip of the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex, remains above those measured in Dallas Hinton (DAL) and Fort Worth Northwest (FWNW), two extremely urbanized regions; in addition, all three sites remained in nonattainment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) ozone despite reductions in measured NOx and CO concentrations. The region's inability to a… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Lim, Guo Quan
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Refugee Employment in Dallas, TX: Experiences and Barriers

Description: Changing national policies in recent years represent an unprecedented attack on refugee resettlement in the United States. In this period of political and social uncertainty, understanding the barriers to refugee economic integration is more critical than ever. Following a review of existing literature on refugee resettlement and economic integration, this research assesses experiences of refugee employment in Dallas, Texas—one of the cities that resettles the most new refugees nationwide—throu… more
Date: August 2020
Creator: Orzech, Mark N.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Differences in Mental Effort and Task Difficulty between Veterans and Non-Veterans in Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science Degree Programs at Texas Public Universities

Description: This dissertation seeks to determine the differences between veteran and non-veteran students' mental effort and task difficulty within undergraduate online courses in Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) programs at three public Texas universities. The BAAS program is geared toward non-traditional students, which includes veterans. The courses are delivered in flexible formats, including online courses, face-to-face courses, and blended courses, which use a combination of online and … more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Turner, Arielle
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Early Music Audiences: A Survey and Analysis of Early Music Consumers in Texas

Description: Texas has a rich tradition of Early Music ensembles that dates back to 1969. However, there is little reliable information based on statistical data collection and analysis concerning Texas Early Music consumers. Little is known about why they attend Early Music performances or other important factors that affect the Early Music industry. Through the use of an extensive survey and accompanying statistical analysis, this study answers many questions regarding Early Music consumers in the State o… more
Date: August 2020
Creator: Emanski, Julianna
Partner: UNT Libraries

Storm Water Retention Ponds: An Important Source of Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Diversity in a Semi-Arid Urban Landscape of Denton, Texas

Description: The City of Denton, located in a semi-arid region of Texas, has over 200 manmade ponds within its city limits. Many of these ponds, located in densely populated areas, are engineered to control storm water runoff. There is a general lack of recognition of the value these waters contribute to regional biodiversity and as greenspaces. This study, conducted in Denton, is monitoring habitat variables and macroinvertebrate diversity in a series of ponds selected to represent a gradient of urban in… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Moore, Sabrina
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Supportive Conditions for the Successful Development of Ninth-Grade Centers

Description: The transition from middle school to high school can be challenging for some students. Many school districts are implementing practices to ease the transition to high school. The current study examined one school district's practices and procedures for the development and implementation of a ninth-grade center. In this study, I examined the perceptions of 12 participants (teachers, counselors, and campus and district administrators) in a suburban Texas school district with a ninth-grade cent… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Hunt, Bradley Allen
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Effect of Barrier Height on Magnitude and Character of Hurricane Harvey Washover Fans, Matagorda Peninsula, Texas

Description: This study uses topographic profiles, washover fan volumes, and shoreline retreat rates to explore relationships between barrier types and Hurricane Harvey storm washover sedimentation. Pre- and post-Hurricane Harvey topographic profiles were created on 15 transects using Bare Earth LiDAR (2016) and surveyed elevations (2019). Depth and area of washover fan measurements were collected to estimate washover fan volumes. An inverse relationship was found between washover fan volume and pre- and po… more
Date: August 2020
Creator: Rains, Bradley Jacob
Partner: UNT Libraries
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