Texas A&M University-Kingsville: AKM Digital Repository
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Comparison of the effectiveness of developmental mathematics models on undergraduate success and retention
No full textSince the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board launched their ambitious strategic plan entitled 60x30TX , higher education institutions must test and correctly place undergraduates in appropriate developmental or college-level courses based on undergraduates’ academic ability. However, students who are required to take developmental education courses risk postponing their graduation as well as incurring additional expenses because federal financial aid is limited to 140 credits per student for an undergraduate degree. The purpose of this quasi-experimental, ex post facto quantitative study was to examine the effectiveness of two developmental mathematics models used in higher education institutions. Wambach, Brothen, and Dikel’s proposed comprehensive developmental education theory that focused on the environment framed the study. Comparative research questions were posed about differences in course retention and completion among graduates at a Hispanic-serving institution. This study used a convenience sample of interest. Archival data was collected from existing student educational records were obtained. Yates χ2 was calculated to test hypotheses. The difference in the proportion of students who completed the corequisite developmental mathematics model was significant with a medium to strong effect size for both retention and completion in comparison to those who enrolled in the prerequisite developmental mathematics model. From results of the study, recommended is for students to be placed in a corequisite model. Recommended for future research is the replication of the study among a number of institutions and for a qualitative study that includes both faculty and laboratory staff to study experiences in prerequisite and corequisite models
Orthogonal identity fusion: narcissism, morality, and the orientation of the ties that bind
No full textThis study proposes an orthogonal model of identity fusion and takes an ontological, selfregulatory approach to relate the isolated constructs of identity fusion, narcissism, and cultural orientation to one another. To pursue this goal, the researcher applies self-psychology’s perspective of narcissist selfobject idealization and self enhancement to create a survey instrument consisting of empirically validated measures for identity fusion (including exclusive and inclusive fusion orientation), collective narcissism (operationalized idealization), socially desirable responding (operationalized self enhancement), grandiose narcissism, communal narcissism, vulnerable narcissism, and cultural orientation. 112 undergraduate and graduate university students participated in the survey research. Inclusive identity fusion was strongly related to communal narcissism, r(110) = .60, p = .01, F(1,16) = 7.69, p < .01, associated with grandiose narcissism, F(1,16) = 10, p < .01, moderately correlated with horizontal collectivism, r(110) = .49, p = .05, and strongly correlated with operationalized self enhancement, r(110) = .84, p = .01. Exclusive identity fusion was moderately correlated with communal narcissism, r(110) = .49, p = .01, weakly correlated with grandiose narcissism, r(110) = .23, p = .05, moderately correlated with operationalized idealization, r(110) = .42, p = .01, and moderately correlated with vertical collectivism, r(110) = .30, p = .01. Overall identity fusion was significantly associated with operationalized self enhancement F(1,110) = 4.03, p < .05. Considering these findings, future identity fusion research will benefit from delineating between exclusive and inclusive forms of identity fusion, and all self report identity fusion findings should be considered in light of self serving bias and the potential discrepancy between explicit identities and implicit attitudes
A description and an evaluation of the pupil attendance program, Sidney Lanier High School, San Antonio, Texas
No full textThe San Antonio public school system was reorganized on the five-three-three plan in 1923. Ten junior high schools were erected as a result of this reorganization. Two of these were for negroes. The other eight were for races or nationalities other than negroes who live in the district. Sidney Lanier was one of these eight.
Mr. Frank Cusham, Director of Industrial Training, Federal Vocation Board, Washington, D.C., after inspecting the training at Lanier in 1924, wrote back from Washington for a description of the work being done there. In the letter that contained the request for a further description, he made the following statement of the industrial training and organization and administration at Lanier School:
"I consider Sidney Lanier Junior School the best school (of its kind) I have seen or heard of in the United States."
This school is now in the second decade of its existence, having been opened in September, 1923, with Mr. J.O. Loftin as its first principal.
The tenth year of Lanier’s history was marked by wonderful expansion in the school plant. An annex of twenty-two modern rooms was built on the east side of the main building, and in addition, a gymnasium with shower conveniences, store rooms, and offices for the health education department was constructed. "These improvements leave Lanier with one of the most splendid plants of its kind in Texas." (25, 4
School finance in Hidalgo County, 1932-1937
No full textTrying to improve the school program with a minimum amount of money has caused an increased interest in school finance during the past several years in Hidalgo County, Texas. The difficulty of making ends meet because of curtailed budgets has challenged both school people and laymen. On every hand has been heard discussion of the two approaches to the problem. First, the question has been how to reduce expenses. Next;· some thought has been given to methods of increasing receipts. Perhaps the first approach has been over-emphasized. This study involves analytical research into the record of the six common school districts and the thirteen independent school districts of Hidalgo County. The common school districts are grouped as one unit. Also each of the independent districts is numbered, although none are identified in this report
Impacts of invasive wild pigs on wild turkey reproductive success
No full textInvasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa; hereafter wild pigs) have a rapidly expanding range in North America and are detrimental for many native species. In particular, depredation of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) nests by wild pigs negatively impacts wild turkeys, an important game species, but the mechanisms of this depredation and the potential impacts on wild turkey reproductive success and populations are not understood. Specifically, it is unknown how the probability of depredation by invasive wild pigs changes throughout nesting season, how the density of turkey nests influences the probability of depredation, and whether wild pigs exhibit a functional response to wild turkey nests or simply depredate opportunistically, and how proximity with wild pigs influence wild turkey hen movements. We constructed 384 simulated wild turkey nests throughout the home ranges of 27 global positioning system (GPS)-collared wild pigs to evaluate nest depredation and wild pig functional response relative to the timing of nesting and two treatments of nest density in Bexar County, Texas, USA during March–June 2016. Additionally we monitored the movements of 31 wild pigs and 18 wild turkey hens during March–June 2017 to evaluate the impacts of interactions with wild pigs on hen behavior and reproductive success. The probability of nest depredation by wild pigs was 30%, greater than any other species of predator in the study area. Wild pigs did not exhibit any response to the availability of turkey nests by timing of nesting or by nest density, suggesting that they most likely depredate nests opportunistically. While we observed substantial overlap of preferred habitat between hens and wild pigs, we recorded 47 encounters between marked hens and collared wild pigs. Approximately 45% of all encounters with wild pigs resulted in some extent of dispersal. All wild turkey hens with observed encounters with collared wild pigs failed to produce a successful clutch in 2017. Analysis of movement behavior indicated that hens did not actively avoid wild pigs. Our findings suggest that, while wild pigs do not forage strategically for nests when they are seasonally available, wild pigs are a substantial nest predator for wild turkeys. Further, encounters between wild pigs and wild turkey hens were relatively infrequent despite considerable overlap in preferred habitat, indicating these two species may exhibit resource partitioning. Additionally, encounters between wild pigs and wild turkey hens may result in dispersal by the hen. Thus, management efforts should consider removal of wild pigs to reduce negative impacts to reproductive success in wild turkey populations
The financial competency of Agriscience teachers in Texas
No full textFinancial literacy amongst Americans has taken a major downturn. Learning finance and more specifically, agribusiness usually begins in the classroom. To determine why the decline in financial literacy is occurring, Ag teachers were surveyed to see how much knowledge they had in a subject that should be taught regularly. Professional Standards in Agribusiness is a subject all Ag teachers have the opportunity to teach. Out of 29 Ag science subjects to be taught Professional Standards in Agribusiness ranks 20th, which means that Ag business is not taught regularly to students, which causes illiteracy in finance. Overall, Ag teachers see key financial competencies as more important while their knowledge on those same financial competencies is not ideal. Based on the survey, Ag teachers have the least knowledge in Business Law and Risk Management and deem the most important financial competencies to be Budgeting and Finance. The financial competencies with the largest discrepancies between knowledge and importance were Business Law and Debt Service, which means these two terms are very important, but the teachers lack knowledge. Without knowledge in certain competencies how do we expect students to be taught? The more years of experience a teacher has, along with the more borrowing experience they have, there is a direct correlation between years of experience and financial knowledge. Teachers who teach Professional Standards in Agribusiness often have more knowledge in finance. Overall, the financial literacy of Ag teachers is lacking, and there needs to be a change. Our future depends on it
Developing preventive maintenance scheduling model for offshore and onshore equipment
No full textPreventive maintenance is an arrangement of activities performed to increase the life expectancy and reliability of the equipment so that they can function with maximum productivity. It includes an exchange between the expense of conducting maintenance and the resource-saving achieved by decreasing the overall rate of failure occurrence. The aim of this research is to develop an effective and efficient maintenance schedule to prevent failure in advance. First, we discussed the problem faced by previous methods in the literature review. The past work on preventive maintenance has been studied to understand the models and methods applied thus far. The data from the Offshore and Onshore Reliability project consists of operational failure rates and repair time of said equipment. Based on that data, the maintenance schedule was developed. Since the resources are always limited, we performed a sensitivity analysis based on various prioritization. The outputs of this research show that the proposed method provides an effective preventive maintenance schedule, considering resource constraints
An effective heuristic algorithm for multiple vehicle routing problem
No full textIn the globalization of the economy, the shipping costs of a product is a significant component of an organization's overall expenses. A well-planned delivery schedule can reduce transportation costs of industries; however, planning an efficient routing can be complex and time-consuming. This research presents a Heuristic approach for large-scale, multiple-vehicle routing problems, using a grouping technique with a modified minimal spanning tree with its implementation in computer programming. For testing the practicability of the proposed algorithm, various cases are created and compared with the outputs of the mostly used K-mean Clustering algorithm. The results of test cases show that the proposed heuristic provides consistent good-quality of solutions within a smaller elapsed time. The distance of the Heuristic method was on an average 22% less and the elapsed time for the Heuristic method was on an average 58% less than the outputs of K-means Clustering model using the real-world applied cosine distance for large size problems. Additionally, some more modifications in the regrouping section of programming might lead to better outcomes. The successful development of the heuristic approach can be applied to many different kinds of combinatorial optimization, such as waste collection management, and package delivery
Novel cost-effective method for continued operation of electrical equipment during voltage sag
No full textThis research focuses on mitigating voltage sags at control level through a cost-effective method using mini dynamic sag corrector at low voltage systems and proposing control level embedded solutions for equipment design and modifying the technical aspects of electrical devices to facilitate the control circuit to ride-through voltage sags. Voltage sags also known as "dips" are a common cause of power disturbances. These are temporary voltage drops below 90% of the nominal voltage caused by a sudden increase in loads or short circuits and faults lasting up to 170ms. Voltage sag in distribution networks can adversely affect sensitive electrical equipment in industrial processes, such as production and manufacturing resulting in substantial financial losses up to $1.5 million/day. Various types of electrical equipment are susceptible to voltage sags but not limited to power supplies, relays, contactors, variable frequency drives, and programmable logic controllers. In this method, the cost-effective MiniDySCs were installed in the industrial plant to compensate for the missing voltage in the lines during a sag event. Also, modifications to technical aspects of Contactors, Relays, and VFDs are proposed to provide more robust results for the control circuits to ride through voltage sags even up to 40% of nominal voltage drop.
Keywords: Voltage Sag, Dynamic Sag Corrector, VFD, Power Quality
Development of deflection equations using moment-curvature relationships for concrete beam reinforced with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) rebars
No full textOver the past two decades, fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) have gradually gained wide acceptance in civil engineering applications due to their unique advantages including their high strength to weight ratio and excellent corrosion resistance. Whenever FRPs are used as structural reinforcement, deflections are an important consideration. Therefore, it is important to study the deflection of fiber reinforced concrete structures. This study developed analytical models to calculate such deflections using trilinear moment-curvature relationship. This relationship has three distinct points, viz: pre-cracking, post-cracking, and ultimate state point. These points are considered for evaluation of the deflections. The analytical model is compared with literature data, Bischoff’s, and ACI model for verification purposes. It was found to correlate well with the literature data and compared reasonably with other methods. Finally, a practical application of the model is also provided