Dibyajyoti Jana Collection

This is an annotation of words related to nature and culture in Chorei

Information Awareness in the Black Community: An Evaluation of the Literature and Social Media Content Related to the Brazilian Butt Lift Procedure

This study aimed to synthesize the emerging research evidence of Black women’s experiences with the Brazilian butt lift (BBL) procedure from published articles, social media content related to BBL surgery, and community consumerism behavior related to a personal decision to undergo BBL surgery. The study utilized a mixed-methods design combining a scoping review (Aim 1), content and thematic analysis (Aim 2) and correlational analysis to determine the state of the emerging evidence regarding African American women’s BBL surgery experiences; theory building (Aim 3) through consideration of case study data from social media community groups for BBL surgery. Text mining was utilized for the content analysis and regression analysis for the associations between consumer social identities and their BBL experiences. Only 4.5% of 168 articles for the scoping review provided a clear identification of race and ethnicity and definitions were not concise. There were no articles specific to black women’s experiences with cosmetic procedures and scoping review findings revealed no racial disparities in empirical literature regarding cosmetic and aesthetic literature, especially regarding BBL surgery. The content on TikTok and YouTube indicated that, when considering elective cosmetic procedures, social media might be considered as a health information resource by patients. The findings on the association between social media community, consumerism behavior related to the BBL surgery, suggest social identity oriented personal decisions behind choices to undergo BBL surgery. Social identity combined with social community explained a significant proportion of consumerism behaviors specific to BBL surgery. Black women’s experiences with the BBL procedure are underrepresented in the literature. Social identity and social media community appears to drive BBL surgery choices. Social media is a main source of information for BBL surgery patients. This study’s findings are important for informing the public, social media, and medical professionals on the significance of social identities in consumer health and health information related to BBL surgery

Hug Me Like You Love Me

This is a collection of Creative Nonfiction essays exploring grief and memory through the lens of daughterhood

On Accurate and Efficient Numerical Schemes for Energy Based Systems with Applications to Liquid Crystals and Mixtures of Fluids

In this work we explore the development, study, and application of numerical algorithms for simulating models represented by partial differential equations for two physical systems: liquid crystals (LCs) and fluid mixtures. The first part focuses on the Landau-de Gennes Q-tensor model to study the properties of nematic, blue phase, and cholesteric LCs. This model is important for understanding LC behavior for a variety of applications in material science, physics, and medicine, where laboratory experiments are often constrained by scale or cost. New numerical schemes are proposed for each system of LCs which preserve the intrinsic structure of the system at the discrete level, while balancing accuracy and computational efficiency through techniques such as linearization and decoupling of the unknowns. The second part investigates phase separation and interfacial dynamics in fluid mixtures of more than two components using a ternary Cahn-Hilliard phase-field model. A new model and new numerical schemes are developed for simulating mixtures of three components, with extensions to larger multi-component systems. This work presents a comprehensive analysis of these two physical systems, the numerical properties of the algorithms, as well as their validation through numerical experiments, alongside the results of interdisciplinary collaborations with material scientists in several applications related to liquid crystals

Reputation and Alliance Dynamics in International Relations

Military alliances play a crucial role in international security, yet their credibility remains a persistent challenge due to the anarchic nature of the international system. While states have incentives to honor alliance commitments, violations occur frequently, raising concerns about alliance reliability and the reputational consequences of betrayal. This study examines the role of reputation in alliance politics, particularly how violations affect states' ability to form future alliances and shape alliance behavior. While existing literature largely focuses on the reputational consequences for violators, this research also explores the impact on victims of violations and their subsequent alliance decisions. Additionally, it challenges the conventional binary approach to measuring reputation by considering variation in the severity of alliance violations. By addressing these theoretical and empirical gaps, this dissertation provides a more nuanced understanding of how alliance reputation influences international security dynamics

Crude Oil and Temperature Effects on Behavior, Regeneration, and Oxygen Consumption in the Planarians schmidtea Mediterranea and Girardia dorotocephala

Crude oil is a natural source of Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are ubiquitous toxicants in aquatic ecosystems, raising concerns about their environmental impact. Planaria flatworms are a very commonly used animal model in studies of developmental biology, regeneration research, neurobiology, and ecotoxicology. Planarians were used to evaluate the effects on behavior, morphology, and regeneration of combined exposure to HEWAF and different temperatures. Planaria exhibit a decrease in locomotion at high concentrations of HEWAF and across a range of temperatures. Asexual S. mediterranea and G. dorotocephala exhibit an increase in mean distance traveled as temperature increases, while sexual S. mediterranea show a decrease in mean traveled distances with an increased temperature. Additionally, higher temperatures and higher HEWAF concentrations lead to increased oxygen consumption in most treatment groups. G. dorotocephala shows an increase in oxygen consumption at 40% of HEWAF concentration in both temperatures. The data show a decrease of blastema length and delay of the eye appearance to 14 days at an acclimation of 13°C in untreated planarians. Responses to HEWAF followed a concentration-dependent pattern, where higher concentration and higher temperature produced more delay in blastema growth

UNT Libraries Academic Program Reviews

This report summarizes an evaluation of the UNT Libraries' program-related resources and materials for the Women's and Gender Studies programs to determine if the collection is 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

Dr. Bernardo Illari's Transcribed Musical Scores

Transcribed score for the second movement of Arturo Berutti's "Sérénade Argentine," written for orchestra. It includes a brief written biography about Berutti's work as well as editorial notes about the process used to create modern notation from the original work

Dr. Bernardo Illari's Transcribed Musical Scores

Transcribed score for the fourth movement of Arturo Berutti's "Sérénade Argentine," written for orchestra. It includes a brief written biography about Berutti's work as well as editorial notes about the process used to create modern notation from the original work

Use of Faceted Vocabularies as Subjects in Metadata at UNT

Presentation discussing metadata in the UNT Libraries' Digital Collections, focused on how subjects are entered with supportive validation components and tools, along with background about the system and challenges and benefits to the local approach