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UNT Libraries Academic Program Reviews
No full textThis report summarizes an evaluation of the UNT Libraries' program-related resources and materials for the Mechanical Engineering Technology, Construction Technology, and Construction Management areas to determine if the collections are adequately serving patron needs. It was generated as part of the UNT Libraries’ contributions to the university’s Academic Program Reviews, which are conducted by the Accreditation office in the Division of Planning. The UNT Libraries’ Collection Assessment Department evaluated collections’ ability to meet the curricular and research needs of the academic programs being reviewed. They assessed current needs based on course descriptions and research outputs, defined the scope of information needed based on this needs assessment, and evaluated the Libraries’ holdings in these subject areas against the usage, qualitative listings, and requests for materials from other libraries. Specific recommendations for collection development are provided based on the results of these analyses
Replicating a Systematic Comparison of Matrix-Training Arrangements
No full textMatrix training is an instructional arrangement that can facilitate recombinative generalization for people with and without developmental and/or intellectual disability; however, the efficacy of matrix training has varied across studies. Several aspects of matrix training may account for this variation including component learning history and which combinations are taught. Component history (trained/known and untrained/unknown) and combinations (overlap and non-overlap) were compared in our evaluation of different training conditions in a translational study with undergraduate students. The yield of combination responses learned without direct training and the training time were measured. There were four experimental conditions that combined overlap (i.e., each component included in two training targets) and non-overlap (i.e., each component included in one training target) arrangements with components that were either previously trained or not. These four experimental conditions were compared to two control conditions: a word-order rule condition (i.e., components taught and then autoclitic frame provided) and a train-all condition. Results indicated that the conditions that included overlap training (trained or untrained components) or trained components (non-overlap) led to high levels of recombinative generalization when untrained combinations were presented. The non-overlap condition with untrained components did not lead to any recombinative generalization. When we compared the training trials to mastery, we found that all of the conditions took fewer, trials than train all, which supports claims of efficient instruction with matrix training. The non-overlap with trained components condition was the most efficient experimental condition
Leveraging LLMs for the Analysis of Mobile App User Feedback: In-Depth Evaluation of User Perspectives on AI-Enabled Mobile Apps
No full textThe expanding use of artificial intelligence (AI) in mobile applications has intensified the need to investigate how integrated AI features impact user experience (UX). While research in this area is growing, a significant gap exists in evaluating the usability of AI-enabled apps across languages, platforms, and domains. Furthermore, analyzing large-scale user feedback remains challenging despite the automation potential of recent large language models (LLMs). Interestingly, evaluating mobile apps using International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards in exploring UX has shown promise while uncovering weaknesses and emerging issues. Accordingly, in this study, we evaluated mobile apps by analyzing user reviews through the lens of the ISO 9241-11 usability model and the ISO/International Electrotechnical Commission’s (IEC’s) 25010 quality standard. This dissertation has two main objectives. The first is to examine the performance of AI-enabled apps across different domains and platforms (iOS and Android) in multiple languages to identify emerging usability issues. The second objective is to develop trustworthy automated tools using LLMs and ISO standards that improve the semantic analysis of user feedback regarding usability and software quality and thus support the handling of large amounts of data. Our research results provide valuable insights into the benefits and difficulties of AI-enabled mobile apps in various domains. By conducting sentiment analysis, we find that users are generally positive about these apps; however, there are critical issues underlying the negative reviews related to AI (e.g., giving unclear responses, algorithmic bias, privacy concerns, voice and image recognition limitations, ethical sensitivity, and insufficient transparency in AI decision-making processes). Furthermore, the advanced tools we developed demonstrate their effectiveness in automatically analyzing user reviews according to the ISO standards compared to other advanced models (e.g., GPT-4o, Llama2, and Gemini). In addition, our research has uniquely applied interpretability techniques—local interpretable model-agnostic explanations (LIME)—to develop LLMs capable of interpreting their output, aiding in the creation of trustworthy models. These findings provide developers, app owners, and researchers with insights into user perceptions of AI-enabled apps while presenting advanced strategies for automating the analysis of user reviews effectively
The Social Media Influence on Childhood Obesity and Children’s Diets
No full textSocial media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube, have shaped public discourse around children's food choices and dietary habits. As childhood obesity remains a critical public health challenge influenced by multiple environmental, behavioral, and societal factors, understanding the role of these digital platforms in influencing dietary behaviors has become increasingly important. This dissertation follows a traditional five-chapter format incorporating three interconnected studies examining the visual information sources that parents consult to improve their children's diet and lifestyle choices. Through qualitative analysis of X and YouTube content, these studies provide comprehensive insights into the nutrition-related media content that children and their parents’ encounter. The research investigates how social media exposure potentially contributes to childhood obesity by analyzing content promoting unhealthy food choices targeted at children while exploring the mechanisms through which social media engagement may encourage poor dietary habits and sedentary behavior. The study uses advanced sentiment analysis techniques to examine emotional expressions in social media comments regarding children's food consumption across both platforms. The methodology employs big data analytics, incorporating sentiment analysis and natural language processing (NLP) techniques to analyze extensive user-generated content. Data collection occurred through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) spanning 2017-2023, enabling robust longitudinal analysis. This approach reveals emotional responses to children's food-related content, providing insights into prevalent attitudes and perceptions that influence dietary preferences and behaviors. The findings offer actionable insights for food industry stakeholders and platform managers, identifying specific social media content trends that correlate with unhealthy eating patterns. This data-driven approach guides modifying marketing strategies and platform algorithms to promote healthier choices. The study demonstrates innovative applications of big data analytics and machine learning in public health contexts, establishing a replicable framework for leveraging user-generated data to inform evidence-based management decisions and policy interventions across industries. This research contributes to our understanding of how social media shapes children's dietary preferences and behaviors, ultimately impacting childhood obesity rates while providing practical implications for industry stakeholders and policymaker
A Terrarium on the Moon
No full textA Terrarium on the Moon is an essay collection that studies the self and the environment by assembling images and artifacts, including cookbook marginalia, mattresses, tires, dating site profiles, and ephemera found in returned library books. These formally inventive essays look back on my Midwestern upbringing with perspective gained by leaving home and document my journey toward claiming and inhabiting a queer identity while navigating friendships and loves. My essays engage with the themes of time, contemplation, hauntings and obsessions, and attend to the cross-genre connections between poetry and nonfiction, including lyric and braided forms. To unify the collection, I evoke the metaphor of a terrarium to explore the possibilities of queer community—of creating a protected, sustainable, thriving, visible place amid hostile conditions
Lexical Borrowings in French News Media
Full text linkBy building a corpus of English-derived lexical borrowings collected from two French news media sources, this study describes their distributions by grammatical category and topic, in addition to describing the linguistic transformations these borrowings go through when entering the French language. It is found that grammatical category distributions of these borrowings represent only open class categories, which is concurrent with the already established concept pertaining to which grammatical categories accept new words. Regarding topic distributions, it is found that they skew greatly to topics surrounding current events, suggesting that English-derived lexical borrowing is widespread within the language and does not only happen in specific niches. Furthermore, morphological processes such as affixation for gender agreement and verb formation demonstrate an organically occurring adaptation of borrowings into French. Additionally, this study finds that lexical borrowings with explanations pioneers these terms into French, while also clarifying their meaning to audiences and promoting an educated image of the speakers. While phonetic transformations did mostly stay within the natural phonology of the French language, variation in transformations and the entrance of a foreign phoneme was observed, suggesting phonological changes in the French language as a result of lexical borrowing. The continued prevalence of English-derived borrowings in French despite attempts to limit their influence is not only representative of English’s prestige in an increasingly global world but is also a testament to the uncontrollable nature of language
Exploring Selected Vocal Works of Riccardo Piacentini (B. 1958) and the Emergence of “Photo-Music With Photo-Sounds” as a Vocal Genre: A Performance Guide and Research Journey
No full textThe purpose of this study is to explore the emerging genre of “foto-musica con foto-suoni” (foto-musica), pioneered by Italian composer Riccardo Piacentini, with a specific focus on three of his compositions: Mano Mobile Clic (2001), “Como un caballito de mar” (2019), and “Formicaio loquens” (2022). Despite theoretical discussions on the synthesis of sound and visual elements, there is a lack of practical performance guides for Piacentini’s genre. This dissertation addresses this gap by providing a comprehensive performance guide and exploring the research journey that reveals insights into the expressive potential of Foto-Musica. Chapter One delves into Piacentini’s composition style, blending historical and modern techniques, and highlights the need for practical guidance in foto-musica. Chapter Two covers Piacentini’s early foto-musica piece, Mano Mobile Clic, highlighting its artistic concept and performance challenges. Chapter Three provides a comprehensive analysis of “Como un caballito de mar,” offering practical insights for performers. Chapter Four examines “Formicaio loquens,” focusing on integrating foto-musica with instrumental elements, and comparing the original piano and voice version with the revised foto-suoni version. Chapter Five presents findings from my 2024 summer research and case studies in Italy, and links them to related studies and future implications. Chapter Six emphasizes the need for practical performance guides, advocating for research and educational strategies to promote accessibility and appreciation of foto-musica
Selective Sequential Coupling and 1,4-Hydrofunctionalization of Allenes: A General Method for Multi-Substituted Conjugated Dienes
No full textThe principal investigator’s research has been centered on the establishment of new catalytic systems and synthetic strategies that selectively construct multifunctionalized unsaturated molecules from readily available materials that are derived from petroleum products. As one of the most important classes of synthetic intermediates for both small molecules and polymer synthesis, conjugated dienes have been a major research focus on synthetic chemistry. Their densely substituted derivatives are highly valuable and have the potential to lead the development of the next generation polyfunctionalized small molecules and polymers. However, they cannot be directly produced from petroleum products, and precise access to specific isomers of multisubstituted conjugated dienes has been a great challenge due to the complexity in selectivity control. The objective of this dissertation is to explore and develop a general and highly selective catalytic synthesis of 1,2,3,4-tetrasubstituted conjugated dienes as new classes of synthons that are readily applicable for organic transformations. Starting from structurally simple allenes, proton sources, and nucleophiles, the multi-component strategy is designed to address all the challenges in chemo-, regio-, and stereoselectivities in one integrated step. The installed nucleophiles, including boronate, and sulfonyl groups, adapt well to modern catalytic transformations, and allow for facile transfer of the dienyl moieties onto various molecular structures. The development enjoys simple allenes, which can be transformed from petroleum-relevant alkenes and alkynes, as the starting materials. It will offer step-economic solutions for stereoselective access to multifunctionalized dienes and related molecules as new types of value-added synthons for organic synthesis
Maternal Healthcare Access in Texas
Full text linkIn 2020, maternal mortality in Texas was three times the US average but its geography and spatial-temporal trends remain unclear. Current definitions of "maternal care access" primarily focus on the number of maternal healthcare facilities (MHFs) within counties but ignore the level of care (basic, comprehensive, subspecialty, or specialty) provided by MHFs which impacts maternal health outcomes. This study examined the geography of maternal healthcare access (MHA) in Texas and identified the characteristics of areas lacking access to care, how the distribution of MHFs with their care level creates unequal journeys and outcomes for mothers, and the spatio -temporal trends of MHF (2010 to 2020), using network, overlay, and statistical analysis in ArcGIS Pro and MHFs data from the Texas Department of State Health Services, socioeconomic data from American Community Survey, and hospital closure data from the Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals. Findings are that areas with limited access to MHF may be low-income and have a higher percentage of uninsured population. Defining MHA by care levels of MHF showed some counties previously classified as having full access only have basic facilities unable to handle higher-risk pregnancies and inequitable MHA to higher-level MHFs create disparities in access. There has been 20 MHF closures (2010 – 2020) which may lead to poor birth outcomes. Areas with MHF closures are characterized by low income and low percentages of bachelor's degree holders and areas around the east coast previously having access to MHFs have limited access in 2020 due to MHF closures. The study concluded that the level of care provided by my MHFs should be considered in defining MHA and there is a need to widen health insurance coverage in Texas to enable low-income mothers to seek timely medical care
A Spirit Dawn Shall Come: The Revitalization of Florence Price’s (1887-1953) Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight
Full text linkAbraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight is a cantata composed by Florence Price (1887–1953). There are two performable versions of this cantata: one for chorus and orchestra and another for chorus and piano. Neither version was published during Price’s lifetime; both remained undiscovered until 2009, along with an incomplete orchestra-only version. My portfolio includes two components: a scholarly article that follows the submission guidelines set by the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Choral Journal and a lecture recital. The scholarly article begins with a series of interviews featuring musicologists and conductors linked to notable premieres of the cantata. From these interviews, I have been able to discern a timeline of the revitalization of Abraham. Dr. Nathaniel Meyer conducted an East Coast premiere of the choral-orchestral version in 2019 with the Du Bois Orchestra and Lyricora Chamber Choir in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Michael Driscoll directed the first known modern performance of the piano-vocal version, overseeing his own edition with the Andover Choral Society in 2019. Dr. Robert Istad conducted a 2023 West Coast premiere of the choral-orchestral version with the Pacific Chorale and Pacific Symphony Orchestra in Costa Mesa, California. Additionally, Istad led a series of European premieres of the cantata in the summer of 2023. Dr. Jason Oby debuted a newly commissioned edition of the piano-choral version with the Houston Ebony Opera Guild. Musicologist John Michael Cooper, whose scholarship focuses on Florence Price and Black female composers, edited this new piano-choral version premiered by Oby. The second part of the article compares the two completed versions of the cantata: the choral-orchestral version and the piano-vocal version. These versions are incompatible; each movement starts similarly in both versions but ends differently. The piano-vocal version contains several more completed musical ideas, suggesting that Price likely began with the choral-orchestral version, paused, and then restarted from a piano-vocal perspective. Furthermore, there are many instances where the piano-vocal edition has accompaniment that cannot be played by a single performer, indicating that Price intended to orchestrate her piano-vocal version eventually. The second component of the portfolio is a lecture recital that took place March 4, 2025, at 7 pm at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church of Denton. The lecture recital explores the life of Florence Price, featuring musicians that perform selected passages from each movement of Abraham, focusing on the differences in each version. Price’s work is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, organ, piano, strings, SATB chorus, soprano soloist, and bass soloist. I recruited performers from the UNT College of Music and the Denton Community to participate in this recital, including a reduced ensemble of 17 singers, accompanied by an organ and six string players (two violins, two violas, a cello, and a bass). Though the reduced ensemble does not precisely match Price’s orchestration, it gives the audience a clearer understanding of the differences between the orchestral and piano versions. To ensure the audience can experience a full orchestra as Price intended, I present high-quality footage of myself conducting portions of the cantata at the Chorus America Conducting Academy in July 2023. The recital ensemble performs excerpts from both the orchestral and piano versions of Abraham