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Examining the Long-Term Impact of Malaria Chemoprophylaxis in Everyday Life in Rural Gambian Adolescents
No full textChildren in sub-Saharan Africa remain vulnerable to contracting malaria. While chemoprophylaxis is effective in preventing disease, its impact on social well-being is less understood. In this cross-sectional follow-up study conducted in 2001, we examined the role of chemoprophylaxis on social well-being in rural Gambia. Participants were 141 adolescents (age: 14.8&ndash;19.5; 40% male) from five villages, drawn from a longitudinal cohort in which one group received chemoprophylaxis in infancy, while the other received a placebo and began prophylaxis 1&ndash;2 years post-trial. Using a walking interview methodology, participants guided researchers through five village locations. Their narrations were coded for emotional content and social themes, followed by network analyses examining the relationships between these themes across treatment groups and gender. Emotional response analysis revealed significant gender differences in valence, with females exhibiting higher positive emotional tone than males (X<sup>2</sup> = 5.85, <i>p</i> = 0.016). Treatment effects showed gender-specific patterns: among males, the placebo group exhibited higher positive valence compared to the chemoprophylaxis group (X<sup>2</sup> = 8.34, <i>p</i> = 0.004), while females showed no treatment differences (X<sup>2</sup> = 1.11, <i>p</i> = 0.291). Affect analysis revealed high positive responses across all groups with no significant differences. Network analysis revealed significant gender differences in how adolescents organize social themes within their communities. Females demonstrated higher centrality in eigenvector (global influence; <i>p</i> = 0.039) and degree centrality (number of direct edges; <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001), indicating greater interconnectedness and influence within the networks. No significant treatment group differences were observed in the network structure across any centrality indicators (all <i>p</i> &gt; 0.05). This study provides an example of how the social&ndash;ecological framework and ecologically valid assessment methods, such as the walking interview, can be applied to investigate the interplay between early childhood health interventions, social dynamics, and individual development in a rural African context. The findings revealed that gender exerts a stronger influence than early treatment on adolescent social&ndash;emotional development
The Connection Between Interactive Read-Aloud Activities, Oral Language, and Purposeful Play in Prekindergarten
No full textBackground: Public school prekindergarten in Texas is eligibility-based, with most students coming from low-SES (Socioeconomic Status) environments. Prekindergarten is designed to provide early learning experiences for students who are most at risk for school failure, including failure in the development of oral language skills. Children between the ages of two and six show large variations or rapid growth in the development of oral language skills as prekindergarten students. Attention to broad oral language skill development during preschool is imperative for assisting with the prevention of reading difficulties and academic failure in later grades. Purpose: This qualitative study explored five teachers' perspectives on how the explicit teaching of thematic interactive read-aloud activities to prekindergarten students affects oral language development during purposeful play centers after receiving two professional development sessions in the form of teacher modeling. Method: This basic qualitative study aligns with Merriam and Tisdell’s (2016) research design, where the focus of the research design is on the belief that knowledge is constructed by the meaning-making of an activity or experience. An in-depth interview process provided an understanding of the data to uncover patterns and meaning between read-aloud activities, oral language development, and purposeful play. Five participants were selected using convenience sampling from the researcher’s professional network consisting of monolingual prekindergarten teachers. One individual semi-structured interview via ZOOM, with questions designed by the researcher and reviewed by an experienced educator, was conducted to gain information regarding in-depth information on each participant’s experience with the implementation of interactive read-aloud activities, oral language, and purposeful play through the participation of professional development via classroom modeling. An individual member-checking interview was conducted to determine content accuracy. A coding system was used to categorize segments of data into meaningful themes. Results: Upon review of data through open coding and thematic analysis, the researcher discovered five themes supported by excerpts and researcher analysis: 1) Read-aloud sessions provide knowledge-building opportunities for prekindergarten students; 2) Partner talk develops language through discussion and connections with the read-aloud; 3) Through purposeful play, students use language to connect new vocabulary with its real-world usage; 4) Educators need resources and time to connect thematic content with playful and engaging activities to create meaningful learning experiences that develop language; and 5) Modeling as professional development provides real-time learning of a skill or process. Conclusion: The connection between all five themes implies that language development is enhanced through read-aloud activities, partner talk, and purposeful play. Professional development in the mode of teacher modeling is a powerful instructional strategy that provides educators with a clear example of the teaching process
Returning to Roots: The History of Adobe and Earthen Structures in San Antonio, Texas
No full textAdobe and earthen architecture were the dominant forms of architecture in eighteenth-century and early nineteenth-century San Antonio, Texas. However, these homes were nearly obsolete by the end of the nineteenth century. Spanish Colonial Revival, German, and other forms of architecture took place of the architecture that belonged to the Mexican and Indigenous identity of the city. Cement buildings and skyscrapers were built on the ruins and earlier sites of the adobes of San Antonio, destroying physical and cultural communities and causing displacement and a sense of loss. “Returning to Roots” is a historical examination of colonization, cultural politics, and placemaking of American Indians and Mexican Americans through the built environment in the borderlands. I argue that San Antonio provides further insight into urban spaces of the borderlands, specifically by looking at the built environment. Incorporating the theoretical frameworks of memory, borderlands history, and Native American and Indigenous studies, my work uses newspapers, oral histories, and geographic information systems technology to understand and document belonging in the urban borderlands
Athletic Stress and Burnout in College Athletes
No full textBackground: Research indicates that student athletes experience unique stressors, including but not limited to relationship with coaches, injury, and performance and training demands. International studies have indicated an association between athletic stress and burnout, and no studies were found in the U.S. that examined this association. However, there is not a scale that has been validated with U.S. students to measure sport-specific stress. Research Questions: Therefore, the goal of the proposed study was (a) to examine with college student athletes in the United States the factor structure, and the internal reliability of the identified factor(s), of a recently developed scale named the College Athletic Stress Scale (CASS), and (b) to examine among college athletes in the U.S. the contribution of athletic stress, as assessed by the CASS, to burnout symptoms when controlling for general college stress. Methods: Participants included 93 college student athletes attending three different colleges. The instruments used included the College Stress Scale (CSS), the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ), and the CASS. To examine the factor structure of the CASS, exploratory factor analyses (EFA) were implemented. Two hierarchical regression linear analyses were conducted to examine the relative contribution of the identified athletic stress domains and athletic stress total score to burnout symptoms when controlling for general college stress. Results: Results of the EFA indicated that the final 25-item CASS captured two factors labeled Athletic Performance Pressures and Athletic Performance Restrictions. Scores in both factor scales demonstrated excellent internal reliability and captured meaningful aspects of athletic stress identified in the literature. The regression analysis showed that only Athletic Performance Restrictions contributed unique variance to burnout symptoms. Conclusion: Findings provided preliminary support for the use of the CASS to assess two dimensions of athletic stress among college students
Machine-Learning Models for Surface Ozone Forecast in Mexico City
No full textMexico City frequently experiences high near-surface ozone concentrations, and exposure to elevated near-surface ozone causes harmful effects to the inhabitants and the environment of Mexico City. This necessitates developing models for Mexico City that predict near-surface ozone levels in advance. Such models are crucial for regulatory procedures and can save a great deal of near-surface ozone detrimental effects by serving as early warning systems. We utilize three machine-learning models, trained on seven-year data (2015&ndash;2021) and tested on one-year data (2022), to forecast the near-surface ozone concentrations. The trained models predict the next day&rsquo;s 24-h near-surface ozone concentrations for up to one month; before forecasting the following months, the models are trained again and updated. Based on prediction results, the convolutional neural network outperforms the rest of the models on a yearly scale with an index of agreement of 0.93 for three stations, 0.92 for nine stations, and 0.91 for one station
The Impact of Donor Funding on Collegiate Institutional Performance
No full textMy research investigates the relationship between donor contributions per full-time enrolled student (GiftsPerFTE) and higher-education institution performance. Using data from Title IV U.S. public institutions, a panel regression analysis with fixed effects was conducted to assess how donations impact 15 key performance variables, such as graduation rates, retention rates, student-to-faculty ratios, tuition, and institutional support. I found significant associations between donor contributions and 12 of these variables, especially those linked to financial metrics, including tuition and revenues from tuition. Specifically, for every additional dollar donated per student, in-state and out-of-state average tuition increased by 1.60, respectively, and academic support increased by $0.41. My findings suggest that donations are more closely related to an institution's financial standing, as institutions that receive more donations also tend to charge higher tuition or allocate more funds per student. This finding aligns with existing literature that explores why donors contribute, emphasizing that money attracts more money, rather than directly enhancing academic performance.Economics, Department ofHonors Colleg
Evaluating Glycemic Outcomes in Youth with Type 1 Diabetes Using Omnipod 5 AID System
No full textThe Omnipod 5 is one of the latest engineering advancements towards a true Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) system, increasing quality of life for those affected with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). In this study, the Omnipod 5 AID system demonstrated safe and effective control, supporting use of the device directly after T1D diagnosis. Participants (N=73) had no reported episodes of DKA or severe hypoglycemia and achieved minimal time below range during the first 3 months post-diagnosis. For participants in 'remission' period, the sample size (N=3) was insignificant, but preliminary study indicates Omnipod 5 efficacy for this period as well. While the GMI improvement over three months was not significant, 46.5% of users met the ISPAD GMI target of less than 7%, and GMI outliers were reduced after the baseline time period. In the future, a study with a larger sample size and one year of data collection post-diagnosis could show significant long-term trends in both youth patients and low-needs youth patients. [This project was completed with contributions from Daniel DeSalvo from Baylor College of Medicine.]Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Department ofHonors Colleg
Multiplex Lateral Flow Assay for Simultaneous Detection of Osteopontin and Cystatin C
No full textLupus nephritis (LN) is a serious condition of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in which autoantibodies trigger an attack on an individual's kidneys, reducing their ability to filter bodily byproducts. The current gold standard of diagnosis is a kidney biopsy, which is repeated to monitor progression. Lateral flow assays (LFAs) are a promising alternative diagnostic method that utilizes capture antibodies to non-invasively screen for biomarkers. This study characterizes a multiplexed LFA to detect the biomarkers Osteopontin (OPN), which relates to LN inflammatory processes, and Cystatin C, to monitor the renal glomerular filtration rate. A standard curve for each biomarker was derived, relating normalized signal intensity to antigen concentration, enabling quantification of protein levels in LN patient samples.Biomedical Engineering, Department ofHonors Colleg
Exploring Antiracist Multimodal Composing In The First Year Writing Classroom
No full textThis dissertation investigates how first-year writing students engage with antiracist multimodal composition pedagogy and how alternative assessment practices support this engagement in the contemporary political climate where educational equity faces unprecedented threats. Through classroom-based ethnographic research conducted at the University of Houston, a Hispanic-Serving Institution, this study examines student experiences in English 1302 courses designed around an antiracist multimodal composition ecology. Drawing on interviews, multimodal artifacts, and self-evaluation letters from four diverse student participants, this research addresses two primary questions: How do first-year writing students engage with and embrace antiracist multimodal composition pedagogy? And how can alternative grading practices support antiracist multimodal composing in the first-year writing classroom? The study employs theoretical frameworks from linguistic justice, antiracist writing assessment ecologies, alternative assessment, and critical multimodality to examine how students navigate the intersection of modal choice, cultural identity, and academic expectations. The analysis reveals three key categories of student engagement with multimodal composition: Culturally-Embodied Modal Orchestration, Critical Multimodal Advocacy Praxis, and Material-Responsive Technical Flexibility. Students strategically integrated their cultural knowledge, developed sophisticated approaches to social justice advocacy, and adapted to technological constraints while maintaining rhetorical effectiveness. The research demonstrates how antiracist assessment practices particularly through redistributing evaluative authority, valuing diverse composing processes, and acknowledging material conditions fundamentally shaped students' willingness to take compositional risks and draw on their full communicative repertoires. Findings reveal that when assessment practices value labor over standardized products and acknowledge material circumstances, multimodal composition becomes a site for challenging dominant academic norms while engaging in community advocacy. This research provides empirical evidence that antiracist pedagogical frameworks create more equitable learning environments honoring students' diverse linguistic traditions, offering practical strategies for composition instructors during an era of increasing attacks on educational equity
Caricatures, Reflections, and Tokens: The Currency and Foundation of the Digital Public
No full textI use the theorizing of Afro-Pessimist writers like Saidiya Hartman to understand how social media economies have been funded by the exploitation of misogynistic caricatures turned into fungible tokens, which I describe as Black female flesh. I also explore how Black creators have re-appropriated their "severed" images/caricatures in order to create their own counter-publics and spaces. I hope to articulate a praxis for not only social media policy, but social media ethics and how we can interpolate affective and visual misogynoir. This research project is concerned with how Bailey and Hartman's analysis intertwine to shape certain digital realms and Black women's experiences online. I also pull in Catherine Knight Steeles' Digital Black Feminism to understand how those tools that have developed violent digital publics have also been re-appropriated by Black women and femmes. Steele (2021) articulates different kinds of Black feminist practices that facilitate digital space-making and manipulation to create different affective communities. I want to study the interplay between these practices and the digital publics that are organized by antiblackness and misogynoir. To describe the violence of digital misogynoir, I will use the term "Black female images" to describe manipulation of Black caricatures like Sapphire into profitable tokens of online fame. It is imperative to develop a language to describe the parts of Black womanhood that are tokenized because online Black women and femmes regularly interact with their 'severed' counterparts.English, Department ofHonors CollegePublic Affairs, Hobby School o