Texas A&M University-Kingsville: AKM Digital Repository
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Constructing a professional teacher identity: case studies of pre-service bilingual teachers
No full textFrom a sociocultural perspective, identity is understood as constructed through active negotiations with others (Gee, 2006; Lantolf, 2009). Language constitutes a mediation tool used to create meanings in new social and cultural contexts as individuals become members of new communities of practice (CoP). In doing so, an ongoing process of sharing values, beliefs, and roles is enacted; and it is in this process that identity is shaped. This is especially important in the case of pre-service bilingual teachers; whose negotiated construction of a professional identity is reflected in their own teaching practices (Bustos Flores, Hernández Sheets, & Clark, 2011). Teachers’ identity will likely have an impact on their practice; it determines the beliefs they will hold regarding assumptions and perceptions about teaching, learning, students, the school, and the community. Using a multiple case study and the tools of discourse analysis (Yin, 2011; Gee, 2011a, 2011b, 2015), this research study intends to capture the personal and professional experiences of four (4) pre-service bilingual Mexican teachers, current students in a Bilingual Education/EFL program in public university in Northern México exercising their practicum at the college level as they construct a teacher identity. In doing so, this study also attempts to describe the ways their identity is performed, and their perceptions regarding the impact this process has on their classroom practices.
Key terms: teacher identity, bilingualism, Mexican, teacher preparation, pre-service teacher
Desarrollo de la competencia fonológica de lengua extranjera en docentes de francés en formación: impacto de las representaciones sociales
No full textEste estudio de caso muestra el impacto de las representaciones sociales del francés y de su pronunciación en el desarrollo de la competencia fonológica de quienes se forman para ser docentes de esta lengua. La muestra fue conformada por 64 participantes de una universidad de la región noreste de México. Este estudio fue abordado a la luz de las representaciones sociales (Moscovici, 1984) en el campo de la didáctica de lenguas extranjeras. El enfoque elegido para esta investigación es de tipo mixto y se enmarca en lo que Creswell (2007) denomina el estudio de caso. Las preguntas de investigación que guiaron este estudio fueron las siguientes: 1) ¿Cuáles son las representaciones del francés como lengua extranjera que tienen los docentes de francés en formación, originarios de la región noreste de México?, 2) ¿Cuáles son las representaciones de la pronunciación del francés que tienen los docentes de francés en formación, originarios de la región noreste de México?, 3) ¿De qué manera las representaciones sociales de los docentes de francés en formación, originarios del noreste mexicano inciden en el desarrollo de la competencia fonológica del francés? Para dar respuesta a estos cuestionamientos se elaboró la encuesta “Exploración de representaciones acerca de la lengua extranjera y su pronunciación”
The history of Padre Island
No full textPadre Island is located along the southern coast of Texas and is approximately 131 miles long. It extends from a point opposite Corpus Christi to a point opposite Brownsville. It comprises an area of approximately 97,500/ acres and has about 120 miles of perfect sand beach on which automobiles can be driven at fairly high speed
Physiological response of Palmer amaranth grown under a limited water environment
No full textPalmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S Watson), also called careless weed has been reported as the most troublesome weed in agricultural crops due to its dioecious reproduction, high genetic variability, prolific growth, ability to withstand adverse conditions and resistance to many herbicides. In south Texas, producers often experience periods of limited rainfall, where most crops are grown under dryland conditions. The purpose of this study was to determine the growth response of Palmer amaranth in drought-like conditions. Our objectives were to: (1) develop a scarification method, (2) evaluate the response of three Palmer amaranth biotypes subjected to four soil moisture levels (25, 50, 75 and 100% moisture) and (3) evaluate Palmer amaranth response to water stress and varying rates of nitrogen fertilizer. The three biotypes used in this study were, two from Kingsville, Texas (KPW) and two from Leland, Mississippi (NEW and OLD). In study three, only the NEW biotype was used. Our results from study one indicated that the scarification method used has increased germination while not having an effect on plant fitness. In study two, significant differences (p<0.001) were observed between the water treatments and biotypes. However, plant growth continued to occur when soil moisture was at 50%. In the third study, when N rates were increased, Palmer amaranth and N content correlated to their perspective rates (P<0.001) across all water treatments. Unfortunately, this study demonstrated the important to grower that Palmer amaranth will continue to grow and compete with crops during times of water stress
Quality analysis of lossy image compression techniques
No full textIn today’s digital world, image compression is a crucial aspect of data transmission and storage which has led to an increasing focus on various image compression algorithms. The objective of image compression is the reduction of the number of bits required to store an image and preserve the quality levels of the original image. This research will discuss a few lossy image compression techniques like image compression based on wavelets, image compression based on 00a Feed-Forward Neural Network and two hybrid compressions methods based on the both wavelet functions and Neural Networks. The hybrid technique will compress the input image first by the wavelet-based compression algorithm, and then the output image will be further compressed by a Feed-Forward neural network. Another hybrid technique, in which the image is first compressed using a neural network and then by the wavelet-based algorithm is also analyzed. This research aims at examining how the two proposed hybrid methods perform on various types of images in comparison to the two individual techniques. The compression performance of these techniques in terms of parameters such as compression ratio, peak signal to noise ratio and human visual system based parameters determines the efficiency of these hybrid techniques
Effect of different doses of superabsorbent polymer (SAP) on water and nitrogen retention in soil, and on the growth and development of tomato and determination of optimal rate of SAP
No full textIn areas of dry climates, water scarcity is an important constraint for food production. The other fundamental factor that limits crop production is availability of nutrients. Balancing the amount of Nitrogen needed for optimum plant growth while minimizing the nitrogen leaching into surface water remains a major challenge. Super-absorbent polymers (SAPs) are known to be soil conditioners which reduce soil water loss and increase crop yield. Use of SAP’s may effectively increase nitrogen use efficiency by minimizing leaching and enhancing nitrogen and water retention. We evaluated total nitrogen and water retention in soils amended with different rates of SAP (0kg of SAP/1000kg of soil without fertilizer (control), 0kg of SAP/1000kg of soil with fertilizer, 0.5kg of SAP/1000kg of soil, 1kg of SAP/1000kg of soil, 1.5kg of SAP/1000kg of soil, 2kg of SAP/1000kg of soil). We determined the effects of the treatments on growth and development of Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. The results indicate that the application of SAP's increased the water holding capacity of the soil. The mean volume of water and nitrates retained in the soils amended with different concentration of SAP’s were significantly different between the treatments(P<0.0001). The results also indicate that incorporating the SAP in the soil significantly improved plant growth parameters like number of leaves, plant height and chlorophyll level(P<0.0001) and yield parameters like number of flowers and fruits(P<0.0001) compared to the treatments without SAP
Audio processing application with sculptural effects
No full textThe audio technology is an essential facet of the multimedia industry. The sound is modified as per the requirements in media devices and to match the visuals by using the processing tools. The use of digital musical instruments to design the sound as required is very common nowadays. Similarly, there are some digital art forms which create sound using natural resources, known as sound sculpture. The sound sculpture has unique architectural properties which affect the sound that passes through it. These properties are known as architectural acoustics, and the effects are called acoustical effects. The primary purpose of this research is to study and design new digital signal processing tool that adds the sculptural effects to the incoming sound. The sculptural effects to emulate the effect of the sound passing through a sound sculpture
Image-based detection of point of insertion for pedicle screw implants
No full textThe image-based detection of point of insertion for pedicle screw implants plays a vital role in extending the lives of patients who are suffering from spinal related issues by reducing their risk of surgical operations and also drastically reduces the post-surgical activities which usually leads to permanent paralysis, foot loss, and other spinal related issues. A surgery known as pedicle screw implantation is carried on the spinal cord specifically on the lumbar vertebrae and thoracic vertebrae of the spinal cord, where pedicle is a part of it. This pedicle screw implantation is carried from the posterior part of the bone along the pedicle which ends at the anterior part (body/cortex) of the bone. Usually, titanium screws are used for this surgery. Posterior part of the bone has a point of insertion, which is supposed to be the point on which a screw is inserted. Theoretically, this point is an intersection of straight lines drawn from extreme edges of the transverse process and articular facet (parts of thoracic and lumbar vertebrae), and this point is hard to detect manually. Due to human error, there are high chances of wrong insertion in this surgery, and hence this thesis proposes imaging-based detection of point of insertion for pedicle screw implants. This work uses an image processing technique which automatically detects the point of insertion for pedicle screw implants. This research shows the imaging-based detection of the position of insertion. The automatic method for pedicle screw implant point of insertion detection using automatic lumbar vertebrae segmentation was validated and compared to manually segmented lumbar vertebrae. The validation resulted in a Dice coefficient similarity measure of 0.912 between the automatic segmentation and manual expert tracing-based segmentation of the lumbar vertebrae
Providing alternate learning environments and multiple teaching strategies to meet the needs of students with Dyslexia
No full textThis phenomenological qualitative study examined the possibility of enhancing educational experiences for students with dyslexia. The data recorded in this study emphasized the need for alterations to the methods by which dyslexic students are educated, viewed, and perceived by general education teachers. This qualitative study added to the body of literature on the education and learning environments of students with dyslexia. Students must be taught utilizing a repetitive, multi-sensory teaching approach, so that they can build pathways in their brains. Through teacher interviews within this study, it is extremely evident that general education teachers do not have the confidence, education, or experience to teach dyslexic students. All the general education teachers included in this study stated that they would like extensive professional development on all aspects of dyslexic education. This would be beneficial for any school district to implement for all teachers that teach reading. The themes of the environmental impact on learning, teacher struggles, neurobiological disorder, secondary consequences of dyslexia, and the COVID-19 impact are all relevant in responding to the research questions.
Keywords: dyslexia, multi-sensory teaching, dyslexic educatio
Behavior and supplemental feed consumption patterns by White-tailed deer in South Texas as affected by population density and feeder density
No full textProvision of supplemental feed for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Texas rangelands has grown in popularity due to the positive results from enhanced nutrition, such as increased fawn survival, antler size, and body mass. However, subordinate deer may not be able to access the supplement, thereby limiting the impact of the investment in supplemental feed. I provided pelleted feed year round, ad libitum within 6, 81-ha enclosures on 2 ranches in South Texas with the following ratios of deer: feeders, respectively: 0:1, 20:1, 40:1, 60:1, 60:3, and 80:4. I monitored feed disappearance from supplemental feeders to examine the effects of whitetailed deer density and feeder density on seasonal patterns of per capita supplemental feed consumption. I also used ratios of carbon stable isotopes in deer tissues to estimate supplemental feed in deer diets during September, October, December, February, and March of 2014, 2015, and 2016. I conducted a video camera survey in the 20:1, 60:1, and 60:3 treatments in December 2014, and March, August, and December 2015 to determine each deer’s dominance rating based on aggressive interactions at the feeders. I determined the relationship between a deer’s dominance rating and supplemental feed in the diet for March and December 2015. I also determined the relationship between an adult female’s August dominance rating and her lactation status. To determine disappearance rates of mast, I monitored the amount of mast remaining on 5 prickly pear and 5 mesquite plants in each enclosure throughout summers 2014, 2015, and 2016. Both rainfall and summer mast (prickly pear (Opuntia lindheimeri) fruits and mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) pods) had a negative effect on feed disappearance. I found that as deer density increased, per capita feed consumption increased in spring and summer and decreased in fall and winter. In general, bucks had a higher percent feed in their diets than does (P = 0.02), and older deer had a higher percentage of feed in their diets than younger deer (P = 0.001). Feed consumption by dominant deer was higher than consumption by subordinate deer, but the relationship was strongest in the 20:1 treatment in March 2015 (P = 0.008). There was no difference between dominance rating and feed consumption among treatments in December 2015 (P = 0.349), likely because dominant animals did not use the feeders as much due to breeding activity. These results suggest that during spring, dominance at feed sites allows those deer to consume more supplemental feed but that the effect of dominance on feed access diminishes at high deer densities. The idea of economic defendability suggests that as the number of deer at the feed site increases, it becomes more costly (in time, energy, and the risk of injury) for an individual deer to defend that resource. Lactating does had a higher average dominance rating than non-lactating does (P = 0.012). Mesquite mast production decreases with increasing rainfall, which highlights the importance of this plant for wildlife during drought. Prickly pear and mesquite are an important food resource for wildlife in South Texas, producing up to 39.9 kg/ha and 19.3 kg/ha, respectively. Managing for natural vegetation should be a priority in South Texas, even in the presence of supplemental feed. Increasing feeder density across the landscape may prove beneficial in all seasons but summer, when deer are nutritionally stressed in South Texas. Managing for appropriate deer densities is important based on the nutritional carrying capacity of the available vegetation rather than the supplemental feed, because there is still much that is not fully understood about the effects of high deer densities in the South Texas environment. Understanding behavioral aspects of white-tailed deer biology in regards to supplemental feed can affect management. The social hierarchy affects access to supplemental feed, which is particularly important for does that are lactating and fawns. Lastly, South Texas is an extremely stochastic but resilient environment, and other environments may yield different results