Texas A&M University-Kingsville: AKM Digital Repository
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Description of Texas teachers' perceptions of active shooter training
No full textActive shooter incidents are increasing across the United States. School leaders are faced with continued challenges in the classroom with growing concerns of school safety for students and teachers. Active shooter training is mandated in Texas. Yet, unknown are perceptions of teachers in Texas about active shooter training. The purpose of this study was to explore Texas teachers’ perceptions of active shooter training. Emergency management theory was the conceptual framework for the study. One research question about teachers’ perceptions of active shooter training in their school guided the study. A descriptive qualitative design using interviews was implemented to collect data. Snowball sampling was used to recruit participants. Each of 20 Education Service Centers were represented by public school teachers interviewed. Open and axial coding were used to derive themes. Four themes were derived: teacher input on Multihazard Emergency Operation Plans, communication for lockdown procedures, teacher’s preparedness to respond to an active shooter situation, and aspects of school safety. Local and state level decisions about active shooter training could be informed by this study
On optional randomized response techniques in survey sampling
No full textIn this thesis, we considered the problem of estimation of proportion of a sensitive characteristic using a randomization device that allows interviewees to answer directly or indirectly to a sensitive question. This method is called an optional randomized response technique. An attempt is made to suggest an optimal optional randomized response estimator, for which the bias and variance expressions are derived, and the efficiency of the optimal estimator is investigated through simulation study using SAS coding. Additionally, the suggested approach is applied to COVID-19. In addition, we made a new optional randomized response technique for estimating prevalence of two sensitive characteristics and their overlap in a population. Estimators are proposed, and the variance expressions are derived, and estimators of variances are suggested, and analytical and empirical comparisons are investigated thoroughly
Auto-encoder based hybrid collaborative filtering system
No full textIn the current Internet era, large volumes of information are flowing from one place to another over a complex worldwide network. According to the user’s point of view, high volume information creates the problem of information overload for the consumer. In order to reduce it, only providing the user relevant information or services matching the interests of the consumer is the key to enhancing a user’s satisfaction and loyalty. Therefore, recommendation systems play important roles for online users by filtering the information based on the consumer’s interest and online search behavior patterns. They provide personalized information that suits the user’s taste. Content based and collaborative filtering techniques can be used to recommend products or content to the user. User web information to be filtered and processed is high dimensional dynamic data. Hence, there is a need to automate recommendation systems with deep learning techniques that can learn complex features from a large amount of data. In this work, a movie recommendation system will be proposed to use a deep neural network to encode the pattern of user’s past watched content data and apply collaborative filtering to give the best matching and fitting choices to the user. The proposed method consists of a two tower deep neural network to learn features from the user’s past content history for predicting estimated movie ratings on nonconsumed content. The model was trained on two variants of movie datasets and resulted in RMSEs of 0.92 and 0.87 for the 100K and 1M datasets, respectively. The proposed model performed better than other state-of-the-art methods, such as the marginalized denoising autoencoder method. After adding an additional layer, the proposed method was able to decrease the RMSE by 0.08
Exploring the racialized educational experiences of minoritized graduate students in humanities degree programs
No full textThis phenomenological study sought to explore the racialized educational experiences of graduate students of color (GSOC) seeking degrees in humanities disciplines. While some research studies have focused on minority graduate student experiences, there has been less focus on minority graduate student experiences in the humanities. Utilizing Critical Race Theory, this investigation shed light on the lived experiences, inside and outside the classroom, of minoritized graduate students as they navigate their educational environments. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of nine graduate students who were selected through purposive sampling to participate in the study. The findings support and extend the literature examining the educational experiences of graduate minority students in higher education. Implications and best practices on how faculty and educational administrators can support and better address the racialized encounters experienced during graduate study for minoritized students of color are discussed
Exploring evaluator self-efficacy and disproportionality of emergent bilingual students in special education
No full textStudies at the national level emphasize that emergent bilingual (EB) students are marginally overrepresented in special education (Cooc, 2023; Harry & Klingner, 2014; Mikutis, 2013). Several studies done in Texas, such as De la Garza (2020), Linn and Hemmer (2011), Mikutis (2013), and Contreras (2006) highlight that in certain regions of Texas, emergent bilingual (EB) students are more likely to be placed in special education, while in other areas of Texas, EB students are less likely to receive placements. Reuter et al. (2016) noted that educational diagnosticians are tasked with selecting and administering assessments, the results of which are used for placement and programming (p.2). A review of the literature on disproportionality revealed that the relationship between evaluators' self-efficacy and the disproportionality of EB students in special education has not been sufficiently addressed (De la Garza, 2020; Reuter et al., 2016).
The purpose of this quantitative study was to describe evaluators' self-efficacy when evaluating EB students for special education. Additionally, representational patterns of EB students in special education were explored. A survey titled “Assessment of Emergent Bilingual students for Special Education” was used to gather data on evaluator self-efficacy from educational diagnosticians and school psychologists. Results of the survey (n=108) showed that evaluators in Region One Education Service Center and Region 19 Education Service Center generally rated themselves as competent (mean scores ranged from 2.98 - 3.16 out of 4) when evaluating EB students for special education. Additionally, participants who were certified in at least one of the following teacher certifications (n=53): bilingual, ESL, or dual language, rated themselves as more efficacious when evaluating EB students for special education. Similarly, those who identified as bilingual (n=96) rated themselves higher (mean scores ranged from 3.03 - 3.27 out of 4) than those who identified as monolingual (mean scores ranged from 2.25 – 3.42). It is essential to acknowledge the limited number of bilingual participants in the study (n = 12, or 11%), and to highlight the need for a larger sample of monolingual participants to establish a stronger connection.
Additionally, data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) were analyzed to examine the representational patterns of emergent bilingual (EB) students in special education across the Region 1 Education Service Center and the Region 19 Education Service Center. The findings revealed that EB students were underrepresented in the category of emotional disturbance (ED), with risk ratios of 0.79 in ROESC and 0.78 in R19. Conversely, EB students were overrepresented in the category of learning disabilities (LD), with risk ratios of 1.25 in ROESC and 1.26 in R19. Additionally, data showed that when all disabilities were combined, disproportionality patterns were masked. These results shed light on representational patterns in special education and underscore the influence of evaluator backgrounds on the assessment process
Design and implementation of a four-wheel obstacle avoidance robot using Gazebo SIM
No full textThe development of autonomous mobile robots has seen a significant rise due to their applications in fields ranging from industrial automation to smart mobility solutions. This paper focuses on designing and implementing a four-wheel obstacle avoidance robot utilizing the Gazebo digital twin environment using ROS. The project's primary objective is to create a robust and adaptable robotic system capable of autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance using advanced simulation tools and LIDAR sensors to see how Gazebo tools can be used to handle specific operations better and speed up the simulation process. The robot's hardware includes LIDAR sensors for real-time obstacle detection and avoidance.
The simulation facilitates extensive testing, rapid prototyping, and iterative design improvements without the constraints and risks associated with physical testing alone. The digital twin framework achieves real-time data exchange between the virtual Robot and ROS environment, enhancing performance monitoring, failure prediction, and system optimization
Third language acquisition : motivation and purposes of Hispanic college students learning Chinese in South and East Texas
No full textLearning the Chinese language has become a recent trend around the globe. Initially, only the descendants of Chinese-speaking immigrants would need to learn the mother tongue. Nevertheless, even non-Chinese descendants of Americans are actively learning Chinese for many reasons, including promoting self-values. As Ginsburgh, Melitz, and Toubal (2014) suggest, "growth in Chinese/English trade should promote the learning of Chinese in Native-English countries just as it should promote the learning of English in Native-Chinese countries" (p. 19), the world economic activities are powerful reasons that are driving people to learn Chinese. In response to such demand, many institutions provide programs catering to the Chinese language arts. This study will focus on English and Spanish-speaking Hispanics who are college students in the South and East Texas area learning Chinese as their third language. By realizing that being bilingual benefits their future, learning Chinese as a third language would be a massive breakthrough in their language learning to promote their career success. Therefore, this research explores the motivations and purposes of Hispanic college students learning Chinese as their third language
The impact of E-procurement practices on the supply chain in Nigeria
No full textThe Covid-19 has popularized the use of digital tools and processes for business purposes. E-procurement has been shown to have potential benefits which improve the supply chain by reducing cost and delays and improving inventory management and overall output. Nevertheless, there are notable risks and challenges involved. This quantitative study sought to identify and assess the role of e-procurement in supply chain of businesses in Nigerian. The study was based on identifying the factors and benefits that serve as motivation for the adoption of e-procurement practices, barriers that may hinder the adoption of e-procurement, and strategies of addressing the barriers and improving e-procurement and the supply chain. Purposive sampling was used in the study to select the 10 Small and medium scale businesses. A total of 100 participants were gathered through structured questionnaires, using 5-point Likert-Scale. The study used an online survey questionnaire, using Qualtrics, which makes it easier for researchers to connect with participants across different places. The primary data was analyzed using quantitative method (Spearman rho’ correlation) through SPSS 20 tool. Spearman rho’ correlation analysis was used to analyze the data in order to determine the correlation between reduction of price, shortening delivery time and reduction of administration and inventory cost. The findings were based on the research questions and objectives and useful recommendations were given for practical business application and future research. Based on the Spearman rho’ correlation, the study reveals that though there are security, technical, financial, and technological challenges, firms in Nigeria are still very much interested in adopting E-procurement in their supply chain in as much as they can reduce cost, time, and increase their productivity. It also discusses the strategies for addressing the barriers
An analytical approach for determining capacity increases of externally bonded carbon fiber reinforced polymer systems on existing reinforced concrete transmission structures
No full textThe United States electrical grid faces increased risk due to its existing infrastructure being subjected to changing load capacity requirements. Deficient transmission line structures needing to meet new demands face retrofit or removal. This study provides an analytical approach for determining the moment capacity increases of a recently developed and under-researched retrofitting technique. Such processes use a carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminate to strengthen directly embedded steel-reinforced prestressed mechanically spun concrete transmission poles typical of modern transmission line design. With the use of literature and finite element analysis, the proposed analytical model showed the possibility of determining moment capacity increases, as a result of retrofit. Additionally, an example of the proposed procedure is shown. Structures analyzed in this study are characteristic of contemporary literature and account for a tapered cross-sectional element
Life Cycle Assessment of future offshore wind farms and wave energy plant : a comparative study
No full textThis research focuses on evaluating the environmental impact of future offshore energy plants, which are recognized as a crucial component of a sustainable energy future. The study compares two offshore wind farms and a wave energy plant, using 1 kWh of electricity as the functional unit. The OpenLCA 1.10.3 software and the "NEEDS" database are used for conducting a comprehensive comparative analysis, revealing differences in impacts, operational modes, and designs between the identified offshore plants. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) results are further analyzed to compare the environmental impacts of these energy plants.
The findings showed that both wind turbines have significant impacts, with the 2496MW wind turbine farm exhibiting even higher impacts due to its design, mode of operations, and construction. Furthermore, the study compares the selected wind farms and wave energy plant considering different design and operational scenarios including realistic-optimistic, very optimistic, and pessimistic. The results indicated that electricity generated from wave energy has the highest impact on most indicators, except for ozone depletion and territorial ecotoxicity