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Creating and Shaping the Latino Identity in the United States: Evoluation and Impact on the Community
No full textThis research paper examines the development of the Latino identity in the United States. It explores labels like Hispanic, Chicano, Latino, and more through an analysis of the political, cultural, and historical factors that have created and shaped each new identity. The goal is to understand how each label was created, its importance in the community, and how it may affect the group culturally and politically. The analysis is done by exploring significant themes such as the bureaucratic system, activist movement, the evolution of language identity, and immigration patterns. The research used a range of peer-reviewed scholarly journals to understand different perspectives on how the labels for Latinos came to be, and how each affected the group that once began as marginalized and grew to become a strong cultural and political presence in American society. The research addresses issues Latinos face, like racial discrimination, economic barriers, and pressures to assimilate within the United States, struggles that have followed the community from the beginning to the present. These challenges gave rise to new cultural expressions and political movements, especially among younger generations who continue to redefine what it means to be Latino in the United States. Challenges come within the community as well, with self-discrimination and nationalism, leading to a battle to create a label in which all can belong. All the findings of the paper lead to the conclusion that understanding the Latino identity means recognizing the diversity within the community. People who fall under the term Latino come from different countries, speak different languages, and have unique cultural backgrounds, all characteristics that are hard to place in a single broad category. A more culturally aware approach is needed to achieve a better understanding of the many communities found within the Latino label to reduce stereotypes and deepen appreciation for the impact Latinos have in the United States.Anthropolog
Effect of Headstarting Eggstrands of the Endangered Houston Toad (Bufo = [Anaxyrus] houstonensis) from a Captive Assurance Colony on Native Breeding Pond Microbiomes
No full textThe bacterial community in water from the Houston-toad captive assurance colony held at the Houston Zoo, TX, was used for comparison to the native pond bacterial composition by Ilumina-based 16S rRNA V3 amplicon sequencing. We analyzed composite sediment–water samples from native breeding ponds before and after the release of eggstrands, focusing on opportunistic pathogens of the genus Mycobacterium within the phylum Actinobacteria. Proximal native breeding ponds without headstarting were analyzed for comparison. Tank-water samples from holding facilities (NACQ, Rm1, Rm3, Rm4) showed similar bacterial profiles, with sequences identifying Proteobacteria (57.8 ± 6.2% of all reads), Bacteriodetes (28.1 ± 8.9% of all reads), and Firmicutes (4.1 ± 2.0% of all reads) generally accounting for more than 90% of all reads. Actinobacteria were identified in low abundance, accounting for 1.4 ± 1.1% of all reads, with Nocardiaceae being the most prominent group (54 to 75% of reads), followed by Microbacteriaceae (6 to 12%) and Mycobacteriaceae (1 to 3%). In the pond samples, Proteobacteria remained the most prominent phylum, comprising about 30% of all reads, though other phyla such as Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteriodetes, Chloroflexi, Cyanobacteria, Firmicutes, Planctomycetes, Verrucomicrobia, and others were also well represented, ranging from 1% to 15%, with individual phyla peaking at specific sampling times. The prevalence of Actinobacteria sequences varied widely among ponds (<1 to 11% of all reads) and over time (10% and 1%). Most mycobacteria sequences retrieved from tank water were not detected in pond water. Thus, the potential introduction of opportunistic mycobacteria pathogens with tank water from holding facilities and eggstrands via headstarting does not seem to lead to the establishment of these bacteria in natal ponds.Biolog
Gentrification Dynamics and Socioeconomic Change in San Antonio and Bexar County, Texas
No full textRapid urbanization has reshaped San Antonio and Bexar County’s social and built environments over the past decade. This study analyzes socioeconomic status and gentrification change from 2013 to 2023 using ACS 5-year block-group data and a composite socioeconomic index derived from thirteen Voorhees-based variables to assess shifts across 952 block groups. The socioeconomic indicators are analyzed alongside impervious surface data from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) to assess whether physical development patterns align with gentrification trends. Spatial and temporal patterns show that northern and northwestern suburbs sustained long-standing affluence, while large portions of the inner-city of West, East, and South Sides exhibited minimal upward mobility across all intervals. Gentrification pressures were concentrated in central San Antonio—particularly north of downtown, along Broadway, the Pearl District, and adjoining central-north and central-west corridors—where reinvestment and rising socioeconomic scores intensified over the decade. These improving areas expanded between 2013–2018 and 2018–2023, while peripheral neighborhoods in the south and southwest continued to decline. Statistical testing shows that changes in impervious surface area do not reliably shift in relation to patterns of gentrification intensity. Although development accelerated across the county, Mann–Whitney U test results reveal a statistically significant, but weak association between higher impervious-surface growth and block groups identified as gentrifying block groups. Review of planning documents shows that major public investments, such as SARIP and the city’s Anti-displacement policies, enhance environmental quality while also intensifying gentrification pressures in nearby areas. Overall, the results indicate that gentrification in Bexar County is the product of spatially distinct socioeconomic and environmental changes that are unfolding across a rapidly evolving urban landscape.Geography and Environmental Studie
Police and Public Attitudes on Police Militarization
No full textPublic support for police militarization varies based on enforcement contexts, and it is unknown whether these findings hold for police support for police militarization. I explore whether American police officers and the American public support police militarization in varying enforcement contexts. I build upon the theoretical and analytical approaches of prior scholars on police militarization, focusing on the influence of police self-legitimacy and public perceptions of police legitimacy on support for police militarization. Using a survey of 1,121 U.S. residents and 505 American police officers, I explored attitudes toward ten types of military equipment and weapons in various enforcement contexts. The police officers were generally more supportive of all types of equipment and weapons, but especially of semi-automatic rifles and sniper rifles. Police officers and the public also categorically view equipment and weapons differently, which is influenced by factors such as police legitimacy, political ideology, and other variables. The findings in this dissertation highlight some similarities, but significant differences between the police and the public, suggesting a need for further research in varying enforcement contexts and police militarization attitudes.Criminal Justice and Criminolog
Development of a Low Thermal Expansion Nanocomposite Resin for MSLA 3D Printer
No full textStereolithography (SLA) printed components coated with metals such as nickel often suffer from thermal failure at elevated temperatures. This happens due to a mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) between the base resin and the metal coating. To address this, a nanocomposite resin system based on a bisphenol A epoxy diacrylate ester, was developed and reinforced with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), nano silica (SiO₂), and silicon carbide (SiC). Various filler loadings were explored: MWCNT (0.2–1 wt%), SiO₂ (5–20 wt%), and SiC (0.5–1 wt%). Nanoparticles were dispersed via sonication, and the resulting composites were evaluated for mechanical and thermal performance using tensile and flexural tests, heat flow behavior using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and coefficient of thermal expansion using thermomechanical analysis (TMA). The addition of 0.2 wt% MWCNT improved tensile strength by 125%, while 1 wt% SiC enhanced flexural strength by 280% compared to the neat resin. TMA results showed that both 0.5 wt% MWCNT and 5 wt% SiO₂ reduced the CTE by nearly 25%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed uniform nanoparticle distribution at optimal loadings. This low-CTE resin system holds promise for SLA-printed components intended for aerospace and satellite applications, where thermal stability and dimensional accuracy at elevated temperatures are critical.Engineerin
A Geography of Flood Risk, Social Vulnerability, and Health Outcomes within Austin, TX
No full textThis dissertation contributes to the growing field of social vulnerability research by examining the complex relationships among flooding, social vulnerability, and health outcomes in Austin, Texas. The study investigates three primary research questions using a quantitative approach that integrates survey research and spatial analysis to: (1) explore the presence or absence of disparities in flood risk among different demographic groups, (2) examine the relationships between flood risk and self-reported health outcomes, which include physical and mental health scores derived from a health survey, and (3) analyse how these health scores relate to residents’ perceptions of flood risk.
The dissertation is organized into three standalone but complementary papers. The first paper focuses on spatial disparities in flood risk across Austin’s demographic landscape, identifying patterns of social vulnerability. The second paper analyses how flood risk intersects with self-reported physical and mental health outcomes using survey-based health data. The third paper explores the role of perceived flood risk in shaping these health outcomes, providing insight into how perception mediates the link between risk and well-being.
In order to investigate flood risk differences, the spatial analysis combined floodplain data with demographic data from the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates across Austin census tracts. Binomial logistic regression was used. Census tracts with larger Hispanic populations compared to White Non-Hispanic populations showed increased probability of high flood risk classification, supporting social vulnerability theories about disproportionate environmental hazards facing minority communities. In contrast, tracts characterized by elevated rates of renters, poverty, and unemployment tended to be located in areas of comparatively lower flood risk, reflecting localized dynamics of Austin’s housing market, urban growth, and land-use history. These results suggest that while the direction and magnitude of relationships vary regionally, cities developed along major rivers—such as Austin—often exhibit some degree of statistical association between social vulnerability and floodplain location.
Relationships between flood risk, flood risk perception, and health outcomes were examined using a cross-sectional survey of Austin residents (n = 177). The survey incorporated the SF-12 Health Questionnaire (a validated instrument that measures self-reported physical and mental health status) alongside questions on flood risk perception and basic socio-demographic characteristics. Results indicated that physical health scores were lower among individuals living outside floodplains, among homeowners compared to renters, and among those with higher educational attainment, patterns that may reflect self-selection, neighbourhood accessibility, and differential interactions with urban stressors. In contrast, mental health scores did not exhibit a clear association with floodplain location, suggesting that psychological well-being in Austin may be more strongly shaped by broader social and environmental factors than by susceptibility to flood risk.
Analysis of residents perceived likelihood of home flooding (where higher values represent lower perceived risk) showed strong positive correlations with physical health scores, indicating that individuals who perceived lower flood risk tended to report better physical health. In contrast, correlations with mental health scores were weak, suggesting that perceived flood risk may be more closely linked to physical well-being than to psychological outcomes within the Austin context.
Overall, this study contributes to the literature on social vulnerability by revealing how demographic and spatial factors intersect to shape flood-related health outcomes in Austin. It fills key gaps by integrating survey-based health measures with spatial demographic analysis to capture place-specific dimensions of vulnerability. These findings underscore the importance of localized, equity-focused approaches for understanding and managing flood risk.Geography and Environmental Studie
A Practical Runtime Verification Framework for Performance Isolation Breakage Detection in the Cloud
No full textIn public cloud environments, resources such as CPU, memory, and disk are allocated across multiple tenants with reasonably strong performance isolation as defined by service-level agreements (SLAs). Network bandwidth, however, is typically provisioned on a best-effort basis. As a result, communication-bound workloads often suffer from unpredictable network performance. Bandwidth management strategies attempt to mitigate this variability through intelligent VM placement and dynamic rate control. While these techniques can provide aggregate performance improvements via bandwidth guarantees, they often overlook performance instability caused by contention within the virtual network stack -- specifically, violations of performance isolation among co-located virtual machines.
This thesis presents a novel runtime verification framework for detecting performance isolation violations within the virtual network stack. The core contributions of this work are as follows. We demonstrate the viability of communicating finite state machines (CFSMs) as a specification language for runtime verification in cloud systems. We introduce a monitor architecture that uses snapshot-based instrumentation to efficiently extract and evaluate properties of interest. We evaluate the utility of the proposed runtime framework in detecting instances of performance isolation breakage in realistic virtualized network environments.Computer Scienc
Unhealthy Ultra-Processed Food, Diet Quality and Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Children and Adolescents: The DELICIOUS Project
No full textBackground: Western dietary patterns worldwide are increasingly dominated by energy-dense, nutrient-deficient industrial foods, often identified as ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Such products may have detrimental health implications, particularly if nutritionally inadequate. This study aimed to examine the intake of unhealthy UPFs among children and adolescents from five Mediterranean countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Egypt, and Lebanon) involved in the DELICIOUS project and to assess the association with dietary quality indicators. Methods: A survey was conducted with a sample of 2011 parents of children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years to evaluate their dietary habits. Diet quality was assessed using the Youth Healthy Eating Index (Y-HEI), the KIDMED index to determine adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and compliance with national dietary guidelines. Results: Increased UPF consumption was not inherently associated with healthy or unhealthy specific food groups, although children and adolescents who consumed UPF daily were less likely to exhibit high overall diet quality and adherence to the Mediterranean diet. In all five countries, greater UPF intake was associated with poorer compliance with dietary recommendations concerning fats, sweets, meat, and legumes. Conclusions: Increased UPF consumption among Mediterranean children and adolescents is associated with an unhealthy dietary pattern, possibly marked by a high intake of fats, sweets, and meat, and a low consumption of legumes.Division of Researc
Oral history interview: Paul Pena
No full textEdited and unedited transcript files (.pdf) and edited and unedited video files available with closed captioning.Interview with Cecilia Pena. Cecilia shares the life story of her son, Paul, his childhood, deployment, and his impact on the community of San Marcos, TX
Evaluating Crash Characteristics and Safety Outcomes at Roundabouts: Implications for Safer Intersections
No full textThis study investigates crashes that occurred at roundabouts across Ohio from 2017 to 2021 to better understand the factors linked to crash risk and injury severity at these intersections. A total of 6,448 roundabout-related crashes were analyzed using a combination of Cluster Correspondence Analysis (CCA), SHapley Additive Explanations (SHAP), and spatial hotspot mapping. CCA was applied to group crashes by similar features, allowing the identification of distinct crash patterns, while SHAP was used to explain the influence of key variables such as vehicle type, crash type, pre-crash action, road and environmental conditions, and driver behavior on the severity of crash outcomes. Narrative summaries were reviewed to provide real-world context behind fatal and severe crashes, revealing that many of the most serious incidents involved drivers failing to yield, losing control, or striking fixed objects after entering the roundabout at high speed. The study also used spatial hotspot analysis to identify locations with higher concentrations of roundabout crashes, particularly in urban regions such as Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo, and Cleveland. Results show that most roundabout crashes were property-damage-only, but severe crashes were more likely at night, in poor weather, and on approaches with higher speed limits. Younger and older drivers were found to be involved in different types of crash scenarios, indicating the need for age-specific driver education. Key factors influencing crash severity included failure to yield, improper maneuvers, poor visibility, and high-speed approaches. The findings suggest that while roundabouts are generally safer than traditional intersections, specific risks remain that require attention. Policy recommendations include improving entry and lane guidance, enhancing signage and lighting, and focusing driver education on common errors identified in the analysis.Engineerin