I investigated the indirect effects of wind turbines on the nesting behavior of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (<italic>Tyrannus forficatus</italic>) in north-central Texas. I tracked the fate of 38 nests at Wolf Ridge Wind, LLC and control sites during breeding season in 2009. Overall nest predation rates were high and reproductive success was low, with only 18% of nests fledging at least one offspring. Daily nest survival rates did not differ between Wolf Ridge (94.3%) and the control sites (94.4%). A univariate Mayfield logistic regression analysis suggested that proximity to wind turbines is associated with increased nesting success. AIC Mayfield logistic regression analysis indicated, however, that variation in nesting success was best explained by canopy cover, DBH, and canopy height, three habitat variables most closely associated with nest predation risk.

Research suggests that it is possible to change one's own attitudes through cognitive restructuring, without taking actions or discovering previously unknown information. Some theorists, in fact, have identified two distinct types of cognitive strategies for such deliberate self-persuasion. Epistemic strategies involve re-conceptualizing the attitude object's known shortcomings in a more positive light; teleologic strategies involve altering the accessibility of thoughts about those shortcomings. People can be taught to use these types of cognitive strategies to alter their negative attitudes, for instance toward a group such as Arabs. The present research showed that people can think themselves into more positive attitudes toward a stigmatized social group, that some individuals benefit more than others from being taught one of these strategies, and that people differ in which strategy type works better for them. The individual differences that emerged are seen as affording new insights into the application of the strategies for self-persuasion.

The crinane-type alkaloids are characterized by the presence of the 5,10b-ethanophenanthridine skeleton and represent an important subgroup within the large family of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, many of which exhibit interesting biological activities. Although they have been the subjects of extensive synthetic investigations over the years, the crinane-type alkaloids have never been synthesized from isoquinoline or substituted isoquinolines, despite the obvious structural relationship between the crinane skeleton and isoquinoline nucleus. In this dissertation, total synthesis of crinane-type alkaloids (+)-maritidine and (+)-oxomaritidine from 6,7-dimethoxyisoquinoline are described. By employing the boron-activated enamine alkylation chemistry developed by the Minter group, isoquinoline and substituted isoquinolines were transformed to 4,4-disubstituted 1,4-dihydroisoquinolines, which then underwent an asymmetric allylation with allylzinc bromide in the presence of a lithiated bis(oxazoline) ligand. Since the resulting homoallylic secondary amine is the key intermediate in the asymmetric total synthesis of crinane alkaloids from isoquinoline, the methodology of this transformation had been investigated and developed. These 1,4-dihydroisoquinolines with a variety of substituents at the C-4 position all underwent the reactions smoothly and enantioselectively. Subsequent conversions including the construction of the crinane skeleton, stereoselective epoxidation and regioselective isomerization of the epoxide to form the allylic alcohol finally gave the pure single enantiomers of (+)-maritidine and (+)-oxomaritidine.

The crinine-type alkaloids, which have the 5,10b-ethanophenanthridine skeleton as the core structure, represent an important sub-class of the family of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids. Considering the obvious structural relationship between the crinine-type alkaloids and the isoquinoline nucleus, a synthetic strategy involving the construction of the crinane skeleton from isoquinoline would be a logical approach. In order to realize this goal, a novel methodology to prepare 4,4-disubstituted 1,4-dihydroisoquinolines through boron-activated enamine chemistry has been developed in our lab. This method provides not only a quaternary carbon center at C-4 but also an imine group that can be further functionalized. A systemic investigation of the reductive alkylation of isoquinoline using boron-activated enamine chemistry was performed in order to examine the scope of this methodology for preparing 4,4-disubstituted isoquinoline derivatives. Various functional groups including simple alkyls, allyl, protected alcohols, protected aldehydes, and esters were successfully introduced at C-4 of the 1,4-dihydroisoquinoline product. Additionally, several spiro compounds and imines with two different substituents at C-4 were also synthesized. Based on this method, (})-crinine was efficiently prepared in 9 steps in 14.4% overall yield for the first time from 6,7-methylenedioxyisoquinoline using an AB¨D¨C sequence. This method was then applied to build the skeletons of delagoenine and delagoensine - two very unusual alkaloids possessing a hemiaminal function in the D-ring.

Maternal input is thought to play an important role in young children's development of mental state language (i.e. words referring to desires and beliefs). Maternal mental state language is thought to influence children's own mental state language and socio-cognitive understanding (e.g. theory of mind), but the mechanism is unclear. In addition, the association between security of attachment and mental state language has been examined but has failed to yield consistent results. The current study examines the longitudinal association between mother and child mental state language in the context of the attachment relationship. Further, the study examines whether maternal mental state language functions in the zone of proximal development, in which mothers scaffold children's mental state language according to Vygotskian criteria. Results reveal partial support for a Vygotskian framework such that mother's desire talk decreases while belief talk increases over time. In addition, a significant three-way interaction for attachment security x person x type suggests important differences in mental state discourse for secure and insecure attachment dyads. Implications for a Vygotskian framework are discussed.

Previous research has documented how case managers' behavior is influenced by their mental representations of attachment (secure or insecure; Dozier et al., 1994). However, at least one study has demonstrated that attachment-related and employment-related discourse were not associated (Crowell et al., 1996). The current study explores the relationship between attachment and employment discourse in child welfare professionals. Participants included 44 child welfare professionals who were well educated (64% had a Masters or Doctorate degree) with most having at least five years experience working with families (81%). Prior to a professional workshop, the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was administered and pre-training assignments (pre-modules) were completed. Using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC; Pennebaker, Francis, & Booth, 2007), a text-analysis software, both the AAI and the pre-modules were analyzed. The results revealed no significant associations among the AAI LIWC and the pre-modules LIWC providing support for both the complexity involved in scoring the AAI and validation of the integrity of the AAI in its ability to activate the attachment system, bringing evidence of a person's attachment-based working model to the forefront of the discourse. Results also indicated few associations between the AAI three-way distribution and LIWC analysis on both the AAI (word count; F=3.41, p<.05) and the pre-modules (affective processes; F=3.69, p<.05). In addition, results indicated significant differences between the AAI distribution of child welfare professionals and a non-clinical norm (AAI three-way distribution: Goodness of fit &chi<super>2</super> =24.56, p<.01; Bakermans-Kranenburg & van IJzendoorn, 2009). Dismissing classifications were overrepresented and free-autonomous classifications were underrepresented. These results may indicate challenges in the child welfare system that could alter the effectiveness and decision-making processes of child welfare professionals. Further research is needed to evaluate whether these differences are typical for samples of child welfare professionals and if so, the impact it could have on families who are being served. Effective interventions, focused on shifting attachment from insecure to secure, for child welfare professionals also should be explored through further research.

The mechanisms underlying stimulus equivalence are of considerable debate in the literature, especially regarding verbal behavior. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate Horne and Lowe's (1996) intraverbal naming hypothesis by investigating the effects of equivalence class formation on the emergence of novel intraverbals in six typically developing kindergarteners ages 4-6. Participants were first taught vocal tacts for pictures of states, birds, and flowers. Following tact training, they were exposed to MTS training in which they were first taught an A-B (i.e., state-bird) relation and an A-C (i.e., state-flower) relation and then exposed to an equivalence test probing 12 B-A, C-A, B-C, and C-B emergent intraverbal relations. Immediately following equivalence testing, an intraverbal test was conducted that probed intraverbal relations between the pictures (e.g., "Florida goes with which bird?"). Horne and Lowe predict that under those circumstances, participants who pass the equivalence test should also show a tendency to emit the relevant intraverbals. All three participants who passed the equivalence test passed the intraverbal test; however, two of those participants required additional rounds of both tests. Other participants passed a symmetry only test after requiring additional B-C training; only one of those participants passed the intraverbal test. Results suggest that verbal behavior may be necessary or have a substantial facilitative effect for performance on transitive relations, but unnecessary for performance on symmetrical relations. Implications for Horne and Lowe's (1996) analysis of intraverbal naming are discussed.

ABSTRACT A COMPARISON OF OPERANT DISCRIMINATION TRAINING AND STIMULUS-STIMULUS PAIRING PROCEDURES TO INCREASE VOCALIZATIONS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM by Tracy Lynn Lepper, M.S., 2012 Department of Psychology Texas Christian University Thesis Advisor: Dr. Anna I. Petursdottir, Assistant Professor of Psychology This study sought to compare the effectiveness of a stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure (SSP) and an operant discrimination training (ODT) procedure on increasing target vocalizations of 3 boys with autism, and identify individual preference for each procedure. During SSP, auditory stimuli were presented in a manner that reliably predicted the delivery of a preferred stimulus. During ODT, auditory stimuli were presented in a manner that signaled the availability of reinforcement for engaging in an arbitrarily selected response. A control condition was also included that involved presenting auditory stimuli explicitly unpaired with the delivery of the preferred item. The procedure preference evaluation consisted of a concurrent operants selection procedure. Results indicate that both procedures were effective for increasing the target vocalizations in 5 out of 6 cases, and that all participants preferred ODT to SSP.

Five facies are present in the Barnett Shale (Mississippian) in a core taken in the southern part of the Fort Worth basin. Facies A is a laminated, silty claystone to siltstone with glauconite grains and sand-sized shale rip-up clasts. It is found only at the top of the core and comprises just 7% of the cored interval. The facies is characterized by fine horizontal laminae undisrupted by bioturbation. Facies B consists of light-colored, limey layers that react vigorously with dilute HCl. The layers occur as thin interbeds in facies E throughout the core. Facies B comprises 4% of the cored interval. The contacts with the overlying and underlying dark, argillaceous claystones of facies E are flat and sharp. Calcite-rich concretions comprise facies C. Laminae in the surrounding claystones are bent around the concretions indicating that the concretions formed at an early stage of burial, before the claystones were completely compacted. Facies C comprises 2% of the core. Facies D is characterized by abundant, large, broken shell fragments. The layers containing the shells are interbedded with dark gray to black claystones of facies E. The shell layers make up only 1% of the cored interval. Facies E makes up the vast majority of the Barnett Shale86% of the total core. It is a dark-colored, fine-grained rock. The color ranges from dark gray to black. The rock consists predominantly of clay-sized particles, but contains varying amounts silt-sized, and even sand-sized material. These coarser grains include calcareous and siliceous bioclasts, shale rip-up clasts, phosphatic material and quartz grains.

Coastal wetlands are ecosystems that provide goods and services critical to our way of life. As dependent as we are upon these features, our understanding of their responses to global factors such as climate, sea-level rise, and eutrophication is limited. The transitional community where tropical mangrove meets temperate salt marsh is an ideal setting to test hypotheses about vegetative shifts caused by environmental changes. Black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) is at its northernmost boundary within the Gulf of Mexico where it commingles with smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). The purpose of this study was to examine what role grazing by the marsh periwinkle (Littoraria irrorata) plays in the competitive interactions between smooth cordgrass and black mangrove. This study centers on coastal Louisiana where black mangroves have been expanding for the past fifteen years. Our results indicate that environmental stressors such as nutrient deficiency or salinity have a greater impact on mangrove-marsh competition than snail grazing in healthy cordgrass stands, but that grazing effects are important in stands already stressed by environmental factors. These findings are consistent with recent observations that mangrove expansion increased following large-scale dieback of salt marsh in Louisiana due to drought-related stress.