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Recommended Budget for the fiscal year beginning September 01, 2025
Full text linkA report detailing the recommendations for the annual budget of Sam Houston State University for the fiscal year. All Educational and General, Auxiliary and Designated funds of the University are included. The report is presented to the Texas State University System Board of Regents for approval
The Potential of Automated Employment Decision Tools (AEDTs) in Law Enforcement Hiring
Full text linkResearch suggests law enforcement agencies nationwide are struggling to hire and retain sworn personnel. Sworn personnel shortages have the potential to present issues such as increased patrol response times and a lack of resources for follow-up investigations, which are consequential to the community because they can lead to an increase in crime rates or the public’s fear of crime. The problem of sworn personnel shortages is compounding in that existing vacancies often mean fewer employees available to devote to the recruiting and hiring process. Greater accuracy and efficiency in screening applicants is therefore desirable if agencies are to utilize increasingly scarce resources to hire a greater number of quality applicants. Automated employment decision tools (AEDTs) and other forms of artificial intelligence can be utilized to enhance the hiring process by allowing fewer employees to accurately analyze more hiring data in a shorter time at a lower cost. AI-powered video interviewing software has the potential to allow hiring managers access to information about applicants not readily apparent to human observers, and the process of “cyber-vetting” an applicant’s online social media presence can potentially lead to the hiring of personnel who are the best cultural fit with the organization. Poorly designed AI algorithms and careless use of historical hiring data can lead to the introduction of bias into the hiring process; however, well-established techniques exist to identify and mitigate this bias. Public opinion is largely against the use of AI in hiring decisions but is trending toward acceptance, and the emerging legal landscape surrounding AEDTs is not overly restrictive. Law enforcement agencies should, therefore, utilize automated employment decision tools (AEDTs) to enhance the hiring process.LEMI
Policing Profession: The Perfect Storm
Full text linkThe policing profession in the United States is undergoing unprecedented scrutiny, amplified by the pervasive presence of social media and 24-hour news coverage. This intense examination has exacerbated existing challenges within law enforcement agencies, including staffing shortages driven by declining recruitment numbers and high retirement rates. The increased workload and mandatory overtime required to maintain adequate community response have significantly elevated officer stress levels, leading to lower morale and higher burnout rates. Between 2020 and 2021, law enforcement agencies witnessed a substantial rise in resignation and retirement rates, with a notable shortfall of over 5,400 officers across four major metropolitan departments during 2022 and 2023 (FBI, 2024). The sector also faces a severe decrease in recruit numbers, ranging from 27% to 60%, depending on the region (FBI, 2024). Officers' roles, characterized by high stress, emotionally charged situations, and the need for rapid decision-making, contribute to physical health problems, substance abuse, depression, and absenteeism. These issues also negatively impact public interactions, increasing complaints and aggression, and diminishing community trust. Chronic stress and burnout are associated with severe health consequences, including hypertension, disabilities, and psychiatric disorders such as PTSD. According to authors Dockstader & Lawrence, the psychological well-being of law enforcement personnel is critical, as evidenced by the alarming 1,287 suicides among public safety workers from 2016 to 2022 (Dockstader & Lawrence, 2024). To counteract these challenges, law enforcement agencies must adopt effective workforce strategies, including resiliency programs focused on mental and physical health, to enhance overall workforce well-being.LEMI
Enhancing Relationships Between Law Enforcement and the Community
Full text linkThe law enforcement profession continues to struggle to build meaningful relationships with the communities they serve. National incidents resulting in the unjustified loss of human life continue to shock the consciousness of American society. These incidents have inadvertently created tensions not easily resolved by simply forgiving and forgetting. The perceptions and opinions formulated by communities throughout the nation suggest there is an underlying issue that has yet to be resolved. Studies have concluded that despite the many progressions that have accrued to enhance the law enforcement profession, there is still much work to be done in the areas of relationship building between law enforcement and the community. The information and resources presented in this paper provide strategies for why implementing community engagement units and programs is vital to public safety law enforcement and community cohesiveness. These ideas, amongst others, if/when implemented should diminish cultural silos between law enforcement and the community. Relationship-building initiatives like community engagement units and community-centered programming are ways to pivot negative connotations of law enforcement. All law enforcement agencies should have a dedicated community engagement unit or offer routine programming to support community engagement and relationships.LEMI
The Impact of SB4 on Community-Oriented Policing
No full textThis white paper delves into the critical intersection of public safety, community trust, and immigration enforcement, underscoring the profound impact of local law enforcement's role in immigration matters on the safety and well-being of immigrant communities. Central to this discussion is the erosion of trust when local police are perceived as enforcers of immigration laws, as exemplified by legislative measures such as Senate Bill 4. This legislation mandates local law enforcement to participate in federal immigration enforcement, which can severely strain resources and deepen the divide between police and immigrant communities. The paper highlights the adverse consequences of such policies, including increased victimization of immigrants who, due to fear of deportation, may refrain from reporting crimes or cooperating with police investigations. Additionally, the paper explores the legal and constitutional challenges posed by these policies, arguing that they divert attention from local public safety priorities, potentially lead to racial profiling, and result in significant civil rights violations. This study advocates for a separation of roles between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, promoting community policing strategies and trust-building programs that reinforce the primary role of police as protectors and public servants of all people. The findings suggest that such an approach enhances public safety and strengthens the societal fabric, fostering more resilient and inclusive communities. The paper concludes with a call for policy reforms that prioritize the safety and rights of all community members, regardless of their immigration status, to ensure justice and equity within the legal framework of the United States.LEMI
Seasonality of Gregarine Infections in Enallagma civile
No full textGregarines (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinida) are ubiquitous parasites of
invertebrates, especially insects, and 10 species have been described from damselflies (Odonata: Zygoptera). However, very little research has investigated seasonal patterns of infection. A single study, conducted in Canada, did investigate seasonal patterns of gregarine infection in adult damselflies and found unimodal patterns in prevalence and
intensity of infection. We investigated seasonal patterns of gregarine infections in Enallagma civile adults over the flight season, and larvae over an entire year at a small pond in southeast Texas. Sampling was conducted bi-weekly throughout 2024, resulting in two larval samples per month over the entire year, and two adult samples per month during the flight season. Two gregarine species, an undescribed species of Hoplorhynchus and Steganorhynchus dunwoodyi have previously been collected from E. civile at this location. However, during our study, only three individuals of E. civile harbored a gregarine that was not Hoplorhynchus sp. Prevalence in larvae was highest just prior to the start of the adult flight season (90% in February) and was lowest at the end of the adult flight season (5.3% in October). Prevalence in larvae was about the same during the flight season (ranging from 50% to 69%). The prevalence of infection in adults fluctuated throughout the flight season with the highest prevalence coming at the midpoint of the season (62% in June) with the lowest prevalence (35% in May). Gregarine mean intensity fluctuated in the larvae throughout the year, with the highest coming right after the midpoint of the flight season, but the lowest coincides with the lowest prevalence of infection. In the adults the highest intensity coincides with the midpoint of the flight season and with the highest prevalence of infection, with the lowest coming at the end of the flight season
Performance-Based Raises in Law Enforcement
No full textFor most companies’ employee performance evaluations are critical in ensuring the objectives of the company’s mission are met. Employee performance should consistently be assessed to determine if that employee is producing efficiently and within the social and moral standards set forth by the company. There are stark differences between a traditional for-profit company and a law enforcement agency, however, the basis of performance evaluations with pay raise implications can be similar. The goal of this ideology is to bring maximum transparency and accountability from the perspective of the law enforcement agency’s shareholders. Performance-based pay raises can create an atmosphere of highly motivated law enforcement officers to work within the guidelines of the department while producing quality police work. It also creates a sense of a sound investment by the taxpayers of the police jurisdiction. Scrutiny of law enforcement should not only come from external sources. Law enforcement agencies should develop standards of performance per law and the mission of the community. Officers who exceed those standards would be eligible for pay increases while officers who fail to meet the standards would not be eligible for pay increases. This emphasizes employee performance accountability as well as organizational spending accountability.LEMI
Law Enforcement Accreditation: Why It's Needed and Why the Texas Police Chiefs Association's Law Enforcement Accreditation Program is Recommended
No full textEntering 2024, there are many heated topics in the news. It is an election year, and the debates are just getting started. The United States is a country divided on many fronts. There are several wars brewing. The left and the right are battling for dominance, and as always, law enforcement is in the middle being used as pawns. Various battling party agendas have police departments across the nation busy defending their efforts and their policies and procedures. Politicians are busy making promises of fighting crime while also promising police reform. Every day, every single agency and the officers working the streets are just one incident away from making national headlines. One of the best ways for all law enforcement agencies to band together and take a defensible stand is to adopt similar policies and procedures when dealing with the day-to-day issues of modern-day policing. Every police chief, sheriff, commissioner, and command staff member knows that if an error in judgment is made by one of their own, or even if an incident ends horribly due to no fault of the officers responding, they are going to be held responsible for justifying the actions taken. With that in mind, it is important to take the time and truly evaluate the benefits and cost-effectiveness of the accreditation options that are available to departments across the state and the nation.LEMI
In a Different World: The Lived Experiences of African American Female School Counselors in Texas Title I Schools
Full text linkThis study aimed to understand how African American female elementary school counselors perceived their roles, responsibilities, and experiences in servicing low-socioeconomic minority students in Texas elementary Title I schools. African Americans historically have experienced oppression, discrimination, stereotypes, and lack of equal opportunities. African American female school counselors functioned in multiple roles professionally (quasi-administrator, quasi-clerical, and community mental health professional) and personally (friendships, committed relationships, parenting, and community activities). School counselors need more time dedicated to their core
counseling duties. When counselors spend less time on administrative tasks and schoolwide event planning, they can focus on what matters most: providing quality academic guidance and emotional support to students. This focused approach leads to greater job satisfaction, lower stress levels, and better counseling services overall (Benigno, 2017).
This study investigates the lived experiences of African American female school counselors in Title I schools. A modified version of Edmund Husserl’s transcendental phenomenological approach was utilized in the qualitative research approach examining the experiences of African American female elementary school counselors in public Texas Title I schools. A five-question, semi-structured interview was implemented with 10 participants at moderately sized, low socioeconomic Title I schools with high African
American and Hispanic student populations from a southeastern region in a Texas city.
This study contributes to the emerging body of research on the critical intersection of cultural competence, identity, and professional effectiveness for African American female school counselors' experiences in Title I settings (Dowden et al., 2024; Thomas, 2024). Utilizing Moustakas' (1994) modified method of data analysis, four primary themes emerged from participant responses: (a) cultural connections, (b) demystifying African American stereotypes, (c) expected identity, and (d) overly extending oneself to help. The cultural connections theme further revealed three sub-themes: (a) Black voice, (b) representation for minority students, and (c) parental role desires. This study extends the current understanding of how African American female counselors in Title I schools balance cultural competence with professional demands (Boyce-Rosen, 2024).
By adopting this study's findings, African American school counselors may better navigate workplace challenges while leveraging their unique cultural perspectives to support student success. This research resonates with recent scholarship examining the vital role of culturally responsive counseling practices in Title I schools, offering practical insights for both current practitioners and future research directions (DeCuirGunby & Schutz, 2024)
Intra-Articular Triamcinolone Acetonide on Front Limb Symmetry in Young Healthy Horses: A Quantitative Assessment
Full text linkRepetitive concussive forces on joints during exercise may lead to increased inflammation and gait asymmetry. While used to reduce inflammation and symptoms related to joint disease, intra-articular corticosteroids have not been investigated to mitigate subclinical gait asymmetries related to exercise in young horses. This study aimed to investigate the effects of two concentrations of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) on front limb gait symmetry hypothesizing that the higher concentration of TA would mitigate exercise-related development of asymmetry. Twenty-four 2-yr-old Quarter Horses, free of clinical signs of gait asymmetry, were stratified by age (827 ± 4 d), BW (412 ± 4 kg), and sex (12 fillies, 12 geldings), and randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups for a 56-d study. Each horse received a single intra-articular injection in a randomly selected radial carpal joint of either: 0 mg TA (control, CON; n=8), 6 mg TA
(TA6; n=8), or 12 mg TA (TA12; n=8). Horses were housed in individual stalls with runs and were exercised 5 d per wk up to 45 min per d in a progressive workload using a free stall exerciser, beginning 11 d after TA administration. Lameness assessments were conducted at d 0 (pre-injection) and at 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 28, and 56 d post-injection. For each assessment, horses were trotted in-hand over 40 m, twice. Video recordings were analyzed using computer vision via artificial intelligence (Sleip AI, AB, Stockholm, Sweden). Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure in SAS, with treatment and d as fixed effects, horse as a random effect, and d 0 values as a covariate. Throughout the study, horses showed no clinical signs of lameness, and no differences were detected in gait symmetry of the control group (P > 0.47). There was no main effect of treatment, however, within treatment, a time effect was observed. Gait asymmetry in TA6 decreased (P ≤ 0.03) on d 2 through d 28 compared to d 0 for the push-off phase with no differences in the impact phase. Conversely, gait asymmetry increased (P < 0.04) in TA12 for the impact phase on d 28 and 56 compared to d 0. Additionally, asymmetric movement was lower (P ≤ 0.03) for the push-off phase at d 14 for TA6 compared to TA12. Statistically, changes in gait symmetry were detected; however, these differences, measured in mm, may not have physiological significance. Contrary to our hypothesis, the higher concentration of TA did not mitigate the exercise-induced development of
asymmetry. These results suggest that the lower TA concentration may be more effective in preventing or reducing gait asymmetry associated with exercise