17179 research outputs found
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Of Stone, Story, and Blood: A Comparison of Maya Conflict Narratives
No full textNo abstract prepared.Anthropolog
Oral history interview: Frank G. Santana
No full textTranscript file (.pdf) and closed captioning available.Video interview with Robert Espinoza who shares and reflects on his father-in-law Frank G. Santana's life in military service and veteran life
Bridging the Gap: A Two-Study Analysis of Crime, Prosecutorial Practices, and Spatial Patterns in Bexar County, Texas
No full textThis dissertation examines the impact of a cite-and-release program in Bexar County, Texas, within the context of reform-oriented prosecution. Study One employs spatial analysis to assess neighborhood-level crime patterns before and after program implementation, testing claims that diversion strategies contribute to crime increases. Study Two evaluates cite-and-release as an alternative to misdemeanor pretrial detention, exploring potential disparities across neighborhoods. Using Moran’s I, ANOVA, and Spatial Point Pattern Tests, this research highlights variations in program effectiveness. Findings contribute to the literature on prosecutor-led reforms, emphasizing the importance of evaluating policies beyond prosecutorial orientation to ensure equitable criminal justice outcomes.Criminal Justice and Criminolog
Don't Nock It 'Till You Try It: An Analysis of Expedient Flake Tools at the Zatopec Site (41HY163), San Marcos, TX
No full textNo abstract prepared.Anthropolog
A systematic review of artificial intelligence used to predict loneliness, social isolation, and drug use during the COVID-19 pandemic
No full textThis systematic literature review evaluates the role of machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and social determinants of health (SDOH) in identifying loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. The review results provide a summary of the occurrences and predictive percentages of each construct as determined by the literature, contributing to a nuanced understanding of the pandemic's multifaceted impact on loneliness, social isolation, and drug use. Using AI to predict these constructs has remarkable capabilities in identifying individuals at risk and facilitating timely interventions to mitigate adverse outcomes and promote mental health resilience in the face of challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving forward, future research is warranted to refine AI algorithms, validate predictive models and utilize AI-based interventions in healthcare and mental health services while ensuring data security, and individuals' privacy.Health Administratio
Do Partners Who Use Porn Together Stay Together? Examining the Link between Porn Use and Commitment Processes
No full textNo abstract prepared.Psycholog
How the Dark Triad May Influence Prosocial Lying
No full textThe Dark Triad is a collection of three socially aversive traits—Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy—that tend to be malevolent in nature. Given these negative qualities, extensive research has examined how the Dark Triad relates to individuals’ propensity to tell lies. Almost all research examining the Dark Triad and deception has focused on antisocial lies, an approach which cannot disentangle enjoyment of lying (i.e., “duping delight”) from the urge to participate in self-beneficial and/or other-harmful actions. Studying prosocial lying— lying that benefits another person—can distinguish these motivations. To date, however, the handful of studies on the Dark Triad and prosocial lying have relied on self-report. We used a naturalistic laboratory paradigm in which young adults decided whether to give honest feedback or tell a prosocial lie (i.e., kind, dishonest feedback) to a confederate posing as the writer of an objectively poor essay. Overall, roughly half of participants told a prosocial lie. Participant likelihood of telling a prosocial lie did not relate to any of the Dark Triad traits. Additionally, the Dark Triad traits did not relate to participant feelings while giving their feedback (e.g., how nice they felt) nor to participant justifications for giving feedback. These results suggest that while the Dark Triad traits may be linked to deceit for personal gain, such traits may not impact the likelihood of telling a prosocial lie.Psycholog
Smart construction materials for healthier minds and spaces
No full textNo abstract prepared.Engineering TechnologyMaterials Science, Engineering, and CommercializationTranslational Health Research Cente
Ascertaining Differential Use of Cave Habitats by Mammal Species Based on Soft Tick Abundance
No full textTicks are relevant vectors that play crucial roles in zoonotic pathogenic cycles. With a rise in tick-borne diseases (TBD) in North America, it is imperative to identify reservoir hosts where certain TBDs are endemic. While the soft tick, Ornithodoros turicata, is recognized as one of the primary vector species for Borrelia turicatae, the agent of tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) in the United States, potential vertebrate reservoirs that are relevant for the sylvatic cycle of this pathogen remain largely unknown. This study quantified the risk of exposure of different mammal species to O. turicata in cave habitats in central Texas and examined the relationship between mammal cave use and soft tick abundance. Camera trap data recorded 1,901 individual vertebrate visits across ten caves, with mammals comprising 54.1% of total visits. Speciesspecific patterns of cave use varied, but northern raccoons (Procyon lotor), Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana), and nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) were the most frequent mammal visitors with the highest exposure indices. A generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) indicated that species that visited caves most frequently also tended to stay longer. Additionally, an independent linear regression analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between visit frequency and average duration per visit. This pattern suggests that species with high cave usage may have an increased potential for exposure to O. turicata. However, there was neither significant avoidance or preference for high tick abundance caves by any of the mammal species. Additionally, temperature was a significant predictor of soft tick abundance, whereas humidity and physical cave characteristics were not. These findings provide new insights into soft tick-host interactions and environmental factors influencing O. turicata populations. By examining ecological patterns of vector-host interactions at fine spatial scales, these findings contribute to identifying key reservoir hosts that may sustain pathogen transmission. Understanding the composition of reservoir hosts for a pathogen within a wildlife community is crucial to understanding the potential risks of human zoonotic infections.Biolog
Turning Water to Wine: An Analysis of Texas Wine Industry Water Efficiency
No full textThe Texas wine industry is expanding in both scale and reputation (Myles et al, 2022). In 2017, there were 4,600 acres of grapevines in Texas, which grew to 10,160 acres by 2022(USDA, 2022). Sustainability concerns are increasingly visible and valuable to grape growers and wine producers in the state (Collins et al., 2020). Most vineyard acreage in Texas is in the High Plains and Hill Country American Viticulture Areas (AVAs) which rely on regional aquifers for water. With climate change predictions projecting more frequent droughts, water level decline in the Ogallala Aquifer, and legal restrictions on the Edwards Aquifer (Su and Karthikeyan, 2023), understanding water usage in the wine industry is crucial to its ongoing success. This study examines Texas grape growers' water use and perceptions of water management, focusing on the adoption of water-efficient techniques such as drip irrigation, soil moisture monitoring, drought-tolerant grape cultivars, and cover crops. By gathering technology and management strategy data as well as data on the motivations, challenges, and perceived benefits of these
techniques, this research employs survey and interview methodologies to provide needed insights into the state of water management in the Texas wine sector. Results demonstrate that drip irrigation was used by all respondents and that water efficiency technologies and strategies, such as deficit irrigation, are underutilized by growers in Texas. Results also reveal a lack of concern among most growers of both current and future water resource availability. Recommendations stemming from this research include increased promotion and awareness among growers of the benefits of water efficient technologies and strategies. Further research should examine the role of education in the implementation of water efficiency strategies.Geography and Environmental Studie