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Stakeholder Expectations of County Extension Agents in Texas
No full textThe purpose of this study was to determine if differences exist in the way stakeholder groups perceive job tasks county extension agents routinely perform. The study also sought to determine the presence or absence of role conflict and role ambiguity among county extension agents and their relationship to work and personal characteristics. The study consisted of an online or paper survey instrument distributed to county extension agents, extension administrators, and county judges and commissioners.
Findings revealed differences between groups related to the level of importance placed upon certain tasks. Differences were greatest for tasks related to 4-H and youth development, where judges and commissioners viewed tasks as more important, and for tasks related to family and community health where AgriLife Administrators viewed tasks as more important. While there were fewer differences in tasks related to agriculture and natural resources, where they did occur, AgriLife Administrators tended to view the tasks as more important.
Correlational analysis revealed there is a statistically significant relationship between the way county judges and commissioners and the way county extension agents view tasks related to 4-H and youth development. A strong relationship is also present between AgriLife Administrators and county extension agents, but not between AgriLife administrators and county judges and commissioners, suggesting that county extension agents are working to perform tasks that are important to both groups. The same findings were present for tasks related to agriculture and natural resources. Population size was determined to have less influence in stakeholder response than hypothesized.
Role conflict and role ambiguity as determined by level of agreement statements was observed in respondents, albeit at a lower level than hypothesized. Role ambiguity was somewhat influenced by length of employment while role conflict was somewhat influenced by county population size. All agents largely disagreed with work-life balance statements suggesting that work-life balance is an issue the CES needs to address
An Experiential Learning Approach to Media and News Literacy
Get PDFHistory: During the early research stages, the paper was presented in the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication - Midwinter Conference in 2019. A presentation will be conducted at the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education in February 2020, and the final paper will be submitted to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication National Conference this year.
Expected Findings: The results of the assessment indicated the students’ knowledge to be above the emerging or intermediate level when it comes to identifying credible sources. Results also showed that the students’ knowledge is below the emerging or intermediate level when it comes to identifying methods of different types of media and news, evaluating the reliability of sources, and determining whether the information provided is fair and balanced. On the other hand, the student reflections indicated the advocacy of media and news literacy lessons and recognition of personal knowledge deficits when it comes to media and news literacy.Generation Z students, born in the late 1990s and early 2000s, have had technology since a young age and are comfortable with the Internet and social media, but are not necessarily media literate, and when it comes to service, they are focused on solving problems. With this in mind, a media literacy experiential learning project was incorporated as a component of an upper level undergraduate course. The goal of this project was to provide college students with the tools necessary to think critically about media content by leading workshops for students in two local high schools. The students enrolled in the course were exposed to the concepts of information and misinformation, social media in journalism, and information literacy before reviewing three core lessons: 1) Deconstructing the News and Evaluating Sources, 2) Balance, Fairness, and Bias, and 3) Truth and Verification. To gather data, the students enrolled in the upper level undergraduate course completed a news literacy skill assessment and a personal reflection. The results of the assessment indicated the students’ knowledge to be above the emerging or intermediate level when it comes to identifying credible sources. However, results also showed that the students’ knowledge is below emerging or intermediate level when it comes to identifying methods of different types of media and news, evaluating reliability of sources, and determining whether the information provided is fair and balanced. On the other hand, the student reflections indicated advocacy of media and news literacy lessons and recognition of personal knowledge deficits when it comes to media and news literacy. The results of this experiential learning project highlight the importance of combining new models of engaged learning with frameworks for media and news literacy
Using iPads with a Student-Run Firm to Enhance Learning and Client Work
No full textStudents in the pilot group attended a course taught by an Apple trainer and then used the tablets for a month of client work. On the last day of class, a Qualtrics survey regarding iPad usage was given. Ten of the 12 students rated the iPad Pro as extremely helpful for classwork, and all agreed the iPad would be useful for work with 1910 PR next semester. Students appreciated “learning all of the functions I did not know an iPad could do.” Slack, Notes and Adobe programs were among the most-used apps. One student said, “I used the voice memo app for interviews and used the camera to scan documents. It really opened up new ways of getting work done.” Students concluded that Adobe, Slack and Google Drive would be the most useful apps for future PR firm students. Eleven of the 12 students were satisfied or very satisfied with the iPad initiative, and all of the students recommended WT continue the iPad Pro program.Students in WTAMU’s student-run public relations firm, 1910 PR, were offered an iPad Pro with an attached keyboard and Apple Pencil for one month last spring as part of a collaboration between the university CIO and the Dean of the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities. Their use of the iPads was part of a test before expanding the initiative across other classes in the fall. Having the latest iPad Pro in their hands gave students an opportunity to learn the best uses for a professional tool as they completed coursework and client work, such as content creation, social media management, media relations, and event planning
Prediction Model of Disparities in Health Coverage Among Psychiatric Inpatients
No full textResearch dataset has produced several studies and accepted and presented at several national conferences in 2018 and 2019 including the Annual Research Meeting of Academy Health sponsored by Patient Centered Research Institute in Washington DC and the Annual Meeting sponsored by the Council of Social Work Education in Orlando, FL. Omary, A. National estimates of prevalence and correlates of major depression among hospital discharged patients. Poster presentation at the Annual Research Meeting Conference. Academy Health. Washington D.C. (June 2-4, 2019). Accepted. https://academyhealth.confex.com/academyhealth/2019arm/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/31133 Omary, A. Multinomial Logistic Regression Model for Predicting Disparities in Health Coverage among Psychiatric Inpatients. Poster presentation at the Annual Research Meeting Conference. Academy Health. Seattle, WA (June 24-26, 2018). Accepted. https://academyhealth.confex.com/academyhealth/2018arm/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/23578 Omary, A. Prediction Model of Disparities in Health Coverage Among Psychiatric Inpatients. Poster presentation at the Annual Program Meeting. Council of Social Work Education. Orlando, FL (November 8-11, 2018). Accepted.The goal of this study was to examine the demographics sex and marital status of inpatients with schizophrenia and bipolar and compare differences in patients’ chances of possessing adequate health coverage to cover hospital expenses. Data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey was extracted and analyzed. For hospital discharges of patients age 18 and older 702,626 hospital discharges were included in the study representing a weighted population of 77,082,738 hospital discharges. Prediction model was applied to test the ability of the independent variables sex and marital status to predict differences in health coverage in multinomial logistic regression (MLR) test. Results indicate that sex and marital status were significant predictors of health coverage type that the patient owned. Male, unmarried, and with unknown marital status patients were more likely to be either uninsured or publicly insured. Public health policy legislation efforts need to address public-health-insurance provisions that limit the coverage of treatment for psychiatric patients
Investigating the Effects of Oak Spiral Aging on Beer ABV and IBU
No full textHypothesis: ABV decrease associated with oak spiral aging is due to an increase in acetic acid content while IBU increase is due to an increase in compounds that absorb at 275 nm.Prior studies have identified a decrease in ABV and an increase in IBU associated with oak spiral aging in beers. Initial results indicated that the ABV decrease was because of oxidation of ethanol to acetic acid due to resealing of bottles, while the IBU increase was proposed to be due to oak components that dissolved in aged beer. In this study, commercial beer samples were opened, allowed to sit for 30 seconds and resealed. Additionally, an oak spiral was added to a 5.00 % aqueous solution of ethanol. After three weeks, there was no difference in ABV or acetic acid content in the opened bottles when compared to bottles that remained sealed. The oak spiral ethanol solution exhibited a decrease in ABV similar to that found in our prior studies. Both UV-Visible spectra and A275 absorbance of this same solution indicate that oak spirals contribute a significant amount of absorbance at 275 nm thus confirming that oak components contributed to the IBU increase. In conclusion, oak spirals do appear to decrease beer ABV in an oxidation-independent fashion while concomitantly increasing IBU values using the A275 IBU method
THE EFFECT OF DIETARY INTAKE ON COLON CANCER AND WOMEN’S BREAST CANCER MORTALITY RATE
No full textDiet has been known to play a key role as a risk factor for chronic diseases. Female breast, and colorectal cancers are the top three cancer types in terms of incidence and are ranked within the top five in terms of mortality. The goal of this analysis is to identify the dietary types that effect colon cancer and breast cancer in women mortality rates for the developed countries. Results: Positive association between animal fat intake and colon cancer mortality. The socioeconomic factor that include infant mortality rate, crude birth rate, fertility rate was negatively associated with colon cancer mortality rate. Animal fat and starchy roots were positively associated with breast cancer mortality rate
Passport to an "A"
Get PDFI used a qualitative approach to collect student notes, interpreting results of those using passports compared to those not using passport by determining mean scores.From a time diary study my colleagues and I completed several years ago (Hanson, et. al, 2011), we discovered when it comes to reading, our students simply were not doing it! Students read one book or less over the course of the academic year. In an effort to motivate students to read, I adopted the Passport Control exercise designed by Constance Staley. In this exercise, students submit “passports” (index cards) on which they have jotted down key concepts in the assigned reading. I collect these passports and then return the cards to the students the day of the mid-term exam. Students submitting passports scored an average of 10 points higher on the midterm exam than those not submitting passports
Queen of the Clapback: A Framing Analysis of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Use of Social Media
No full textAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez, commonly known as AOC, quickly became a national public figure when she became the youngest elected Congresswoman in American history. The purpose of this study was to analyze the strategies used by AOC to frame her messages on two popular social media networks: Twitter and Instagram. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study analyses the frames and content of the data to reveal the strategies used by AOC during the three months prior to her election (August 2018-November 2018) and the three months after her election (November 2018-February 2019). Using pre-determined frames to compartmentalize (or code) the contents of her posts, the study concluded that prior to her election, the strategy was to create an image to which people could relate to. Additionally, making comparisons between how things are and how they could be created a sense of hope and foreshadowed a better tomorrow. After her election, the content of her social media posts became more combative in fighting back against critics and redirecting negative messages. The parameters placed on the study limit the scope of the research, creating opportunity for further research of the communication exchanged on virtual spaces by public figures
SIGNIFICANCE OF PHOTOPERIOD ON THE FITNESS OF THE SUGARCANE APHID AND APPLICABILITY OF BRIX REFRACTOMETRY AS A POTENTIAL METHOD TO PREDICT AND DETECT RESISTANCE OF SORGHUM
No full textLittle is known of the biology of the sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari
(Zehntner), that became a persistent insect pest of sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, in North America in 2013. Understanding the fitness of sugarcane aphid in relation to environmental conditions and developing a method to predict resistance would aid in understanding how sugarcane aphids develop and evaluating sorghum for resistance to this major insect pest. Effects of three photoperiods of 14:10, 13:11, and 12:12 light:dark hours were evaluated on sugarcane aphids on susceptible ‘ATx399 x RTx430’ sorghum at daily temperatures of 30 (light or day) and 20°C (dark or night), respectively, in an incubator. A sugarcane aphid from a pure colony was placed individually into a clip cage, with two clip cages per each of four plants in six pots. When each aphid produced a nymph, the mother aphid was discarded and the nymph was retained and allowed to mature and produce offspring until it died in the clip cage. The nymphs produced were counted and removed each day. The average pre-reproductive period for the sugarcane aphid was approximately
53% (6.6 days) longer at a photoperiod of 14:10 light:dark hours than at the two other photoperiods. The reproductive period of each aphid at the 14:10 photoperiod was 13.9 days, 2 days longer than the 11.8 days at a photoperiod of 13:11 light:dark hours. The post-reproductive period for each sugarcane aphid averaged 2.4 days at a photoperiod of 12:12, 4.7 days shorter than the 7.1 days at a photoperiod of 13:11 light:dark hours. Total fecundity (87.7 aphids) at the 13:11 photoperiod was 24 aphids more than the 63 aphids at 12:12 and 31 aphids more than the 56.3 aphids at 14:10 light:dark hours. Developmental times and fitness of sugarcane aphids differed significantly at the different photoperiods. Efficacy of Brix refractometry as a potential method for determining the resistance of sorghum against sugarcane aphids was evaluated in a greenhouse and field. Resistant sorghum line ‘RTx2783’ was compared to susceptible sorghum line ‘RTx430’ at the boot stage. The ºBrix values were collected by crushing a mature sorghum leaf and subsequently pipetting the liquid into a Brix reader. The average ºBrix of the resistant sorghum did not differ from the susceptible sorghum line in the greenhouse (F1,38 = 0.0016; P = 0.8985) nor in the field (F1,18 = 0.3424; P = 0.5656). The difference between the ºBrix of the two sorghum lines in the greenhouse was only 0.01% and merely 0.03%in the field. Brix refractometry was not an applicable method to use for determining resistant sorghums to sugarcane aphids. A Brix refractometer, although a common tool in plant breeding, was incapable of
detecting resistance and susceptibly in two common sorghum lines. The ºBrix values were too similar; therefore, a plant breeder should not use ºBrix to define resistance or susceptibility of the two sorghum lines. The mechanism of resistance in ‘RTx2783’ was not related to the total sugar content and was undetectable by Brix refractometry
ASSESSING THE SKILLSETS OF ALTERNATIVELY CERTIFIED AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE TEACHERS: A DELPHI STUDY
Get PDFThe purpose of this descriptive study was to determine what competencies need to be included in alternative certification programs to best serve the alternatively certified teacher in agricultural science. Chapman’s Model of Teacher Retention served as the theoretical framework for this study. The selected population of this descriptive study was identified as alternatively certified agricultural science teachers in the state of Texas. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, data was collected via Qualtrics surveys from alternatively certified agriculture science teachers. Data was collected using three rounds of survey instruments using the Delphi method along with an initial demographic survey distributed across the state. Two-hundred and thirty-three demographic surveys were completed state-wide; of those, 42 respondents identified as being alternatively certified. Of the 42 alternatively certified respondents, thirteen chose to participate in all three rounds of the Delphi study. The instrument was designed to address the competencies that were adequately and inadequately covered through alternative certification programs. The initial instrument utilized three open-ended questions to collect responses; the second and third instruments utilized a six point Likert type scale to capture the data needed. Respondents agreed that they received adequate knowledge in areas of lesson planning and classroom management through their alternative certification programs; however, they agreed they received less adequate training in areas such as managing SAE projects and advising an FFA program