Texas A&M International University: Research Information Online (RIO)
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‘GOOD OLD JOHN DECKER’: CONFRONTING ENTREPRENEURIAL CHALLENGES IN THE MID-NINETEENTH CENTURY RIO GRANDE BORDERLANDS
Full text linkABSTRACT
\u27Good Old John Decker\u27: Confronting Entrepreneurial Challenges In The Mid-Nineteenth Century Rio Grande Borderlands (May 2025)
Grace C. Maciel, M.A., Texas A&M International University
Chair of Committee: Dr. Jerry Thompson
This thesis presents the first scholarly study of John Decker, a French-born immigrant whose rise as a merchant and civic figure in the 19th-century U.S.–Mexico borderlands offers a compelling case of adaptability, resilience, and immigrant success. Settling in Rio Grande City and Camargo, Tamaulipas, Decker built a lasting presence during a period marked by regional volatility, navigating war, revolution, and economic transformation. His story is explored across five chapters, tracing his journey from arrival to lasting influence. The study analyzes the key factors behind Decker’s success and his strategies to adapt to the borderlands\u27 unpredictable political and economic conditions. Drawing from a range of primary sources, including archival collections at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as regional newspapers and correspondence, this thesis reconstructs Decker’s rise in the merchant trade, with special attention to his partnership with José San Román, a leading figure in cross-border commerce. Decker’s cultural adaptability, political engagement, and strategic mindset are central to overcoming linguistic and social barriers, ultimately securing a prominent role in Civil War-era transnational trade. This study also highlights Decker’s entry into the global transatlantic market. Decker’s experience challenges dominant historical narratives that often overlook the contributions of European immigrants to the Texas frontier. His ability to persist, thrive, and remain anchored in the region for nearly four decades, while most French immigrants were unable to do so, highlights his significance to the region\u27s development and the history of South Texas. This study not only recovers the legacy of an unknown historical figure but also contributes to a broader understanding of immigrant agency in shaping the economic and cultural landscape of South Texas. Ultimately, it argues that the development of the borderlands was shaped not only by dominant Anglo-American colonizers or aristocratic Mexican elites but also by immigrant pioneers who made the frontier their own
Three Essays on Green Innovation
Full text linkThis study examines the strategic role of green innovation in addressing escalating environmental challenges. Comprising of three interrelated essays, the study integrates computational, theoretical, and empirical approaches to provide a comprehensive understanding of the antecedents, mechanisms, and outcomes of green innovation at the firm level. The first essay conducts a systematic literature review employing advanced computation tools, including topic modeling (LDA and BERTopic) and scientometric analysis to elucidate the intellectual framework, thematic evolution, and central knowledge areas and flows within the green innovation research field. The second essay empirically investigates how internal firm resources- research & development (R&D) intensity, acquisition intensity, and absorbed slack- influence green innovation and, in turn, financial and market performance, grounded in the Natural Resources-Based View (NRBV). Drawing on the Behavioral Theory of the Firm (BTOF), the third essay examines how performance feedback relative to historical and social aspiration levels, both environmental and financial, shapes green innovation engagement under diverse levels of industry dynamism. Collectively, these essays bridge theoretical gaps by extending theoretical frameworks, NRBV and BTOF, employ advanced analytical methods, and offer multidimensional insights into how green innovation contributes to organizational sustainability, legitimacy, and resilience in a dynamic corporate landscape
Lo que no borró el desierto (2020) de Diana López Zuleta y Cómo maté a mi padre (2020) de Sara Jaramillo Klinkert: crónica y memoir, las voces de las hijas en el duelo
No full textThis thesis analyzes the works of two Colombian authors, Diana López Zuleta and Sara Jaramillo Klinkert, who, as indirect victims of their father\u27s murder, address impunity and its psychological effects through two genres: the chronicle and memoir. López Zuleta describes the process of mourning through the search for justice, while Jaramillo Klinkert explores mourning and the symbolic process of killing the father in a context of impunity. Both authors use their work to address the violence in Colombia, the memory, and the search for the truth, emphasizing the importance of literature as an aesthetic expression and a therapeutic and ethical tool that challenges the narratives of power that re-victimize families. Impunity in aggravated homicides continues to be a challenge in Latin America, affecting communities and making justice difficult. Through a comparative analysis of their works, the thesis seeks to delve deeper into these problems and offer emotional support to the indirect victims considering literature as a grieving process.
El presente trabajo analiza las obras de dos autoras colombianas, Diana López Zuleta y Sara Jaramillo Klinkert, quienes, como víctimas indirectas del asesinato de su padre, abordan la impunidad y sus efectos psicológicos a través de la crónica y la memoir. López Zuleta narra el proceso de duelo a través de la búsqueda de justicia, mientras que Jaramillo Klinkert explora el duelo y el proceso simbólico de matar al padre en un contexto de impunidad. Ambas autoras utilizan sus textos para abordar la violencia en Colombia, la memoria y la búsqueda de verdad, enfatizando la importancia de la literatura no solo como expresión estética, sino también como herramienta terapéutica y ética que desafía las narrativas de poder que revictimizan a las familias. La impunidad en homicidios agravados sigue siendo un desafío en Latinoamérica, afectando a comunidades y dificultando la justicia. A través de un análisis comparativo de sus obras, la tesis busca profundizar en estas problemáticas y ofrecer apoyo emocional a las víctimas indirectas considerando a la literatura como un proceso de duelo
SURVEY AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF POLLINATOR DIVERSITY, ABUNDANCE, AND FORAGING ACTIVITY OF DIPTERA AND HYMENOPTERA IN SELECTED HABITATS OF SOUTH TEXAS
Full text linkWith the declining bee population, non-bee pollinators can serve as an alternative source for pollination. Diptera is a potential source of untapped pollinator resources based on their abundance and visitation rate, but they are understudied in the field of pollination ecology. This study aimed to characterize the pollinator community in selected areas of South Texas. It focused on the Diptera and Hymenoptera families to compare their diversity, relative abundance, foraging behaviors, environmental influences, and vegetation associations. Active sampling and line transect were used in the survey to sample the Hymenoptera and Diptera communities to their family taxonomic rank. Statistical analyses were used to evaluate the association\u27s vegetation associations, flower color preference, and the impact of weather conditions on foraging behaviors. The results indicated that both orders exhibited significant associations with flower colors and vegetation types, revealing evidence of resource partitioning. Diptera and Hymenoptera had distinct foraging preferences, with Diptera having a wider range of environmental conditions revealing evidence of spatial and temporal partitioning that could lead to ecological niches. The broader implications of these findings evaluate the role of Diptera in pollination networks in the Tamaulipan Shrublands
EXPLORING THE DARK AND GOTHIC: AN ANALYSIS OF EDGAR ALLAN POE AND NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE’S GOTHIC ELEMENTS IN AMERICAN LITERATURE
Full text linkThis paper examines the significant contributions of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne to the development of American Gothic literature. Poe’s stories “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat” are renowned for their psychological elements and exploration of the human psyche, while Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” questions the nature of evil as a universal human experience. By examining the ways in which these authors engage with themes of mental disorders, symbolism, and science versus nature, this thesis explores how such work by Poe and Hawthorne play in shaping the readers\u27 understanding of the darker elements of American Gothic literature and its continued relevance to contemporary debates about American culture and society
The Influence of Wind Energy Development on Occupancy of Medium and Large-sized Mammals in South Texas
Full text linkConservation paradigms have shifted from single to multi-species approaches for assessing and conserving mammalian populations and the habitats that they occupy. The effect of wind turbine development is an important anthropogenic change to study due to the increasing demand for wind energy in Texas. In this study, I gathered remote camera trap data on medium and large-sized mammal populations in south Texas Tamaulipan thornscrub habitat. The objectives were to determine species presence, the effect of habitat characteristics and anthropogenic disturbances on species occupancy, and the effect of temperature on species detection. The results showed that distance from wind turbines did not have the strongest effect on mammal occupancy. Site occupancy for the majority of species was influenced by the habitat covariates of percentage canopy area and plant height. Colder monthly temperatures had the greatest influence on species detection. Species detection probabilities were lowest in the final-construction season of the study. These results provide greater insight on how medium and large-sized mammal populations in south Texas respond to wind energy development
On the Duty of Uncivil Disobedience: Thoreau\u27s Action From Principle
Full text linkThis thesis explores the uncivil disobedience evident in some of Henry D. Thoreau’s work, which is often regarded as the birth and foundation of what is today known as “civil disobedience.” Using the nature of Thoreau’s subtle language and his philosophy of action from principle in his writings, including “Resistance to Civil Government” (1849), Walden (1854), “Life Without Principle” (1863), “A Plea for Captain John Brown (1859), and some of his real life actions, this thesis will examine the antagonistic and, perhaps, uncivil nature of Thoreau’s so-called “civil disobedience.” This thesis will also incorporate Sophocles’ play Antigone (441 BBC), Candice Delmas’ A Duty to Resist: When Disobedience Should be Uncivil (2018), and Larry J. Reynolds’ Righteous Violence: Revolution, Slavery, and the American Renaissance (2011) to better understand Antigone’s and Thoreau’s uncivil disobedience against a deeply unjust state and a civilized society controlled by self-interest and avarice. All of this will culminate in Thoreau’s ardent defense and exoneration of radical abolitionist, militant, and man of uncivil disobedience: John Brown. This thesis aims to describe the ways in which Thoreau uncivilly challenged a rapidly industrializing nineteenth-century America, where business and materialism dominated individuals’ daily lives and a corrupt and unprincipled government permitted the enslavement and oppression of an entire portion of the American population
THREE ESSAYS ON NEW ISSUES IN CORPORATE FINANCE
Full text linkThis dissertation focuses on three new issues in corporate finance, each aiming at different aspects of a firm\u27s behavior. First, I propose a novel way to classify domestic manufacturing firms based on their level of financial constraint. Using the operating cash flow ratio as my new measure, I find that the behavior of constrained and unconstrained firms differ significantly, unlike existing constraint measures from the literature. My results indicate that constrained firms cannot engage in equity recycling, have a higher sensitivity to cash flow, use the proceeds from the sales of their fixed assets in R&D, and cannot change leverage quickly. Overall, my findings support using a cash flow-based constraint measure as it performs better at identifying constrained firms that indeed behave as if they are financially constrained. My second essay discusses factors that drive a firm\u27s financing choices and aims to evaluate competing capital structure theories. Six factors are identified as a reliable basis for explaining leverage changes from a comprehensive range of farm-specific and macroeconomic factors used in prior studies. The reliable impact of market-to book, Firm Size, and expected inflation factors observed in market-based leverage is not present when studying book leverage. However, median industry leverage, tangibility, and profitability are statistically significant. The pecking order theory offers an intuitive explanation for the observation that more profitable firms tend to have lower leverage. The trade-off theory can account for many factors, including industry leverage, firm size, tangibility, and market-to-book. In my third essay, I investigate whether firms behave differently based on the type of performance goal set for their CEOs. I find correlations between CEO performance-based grants and the utilization of accrual and real activities-based earnings management by examining a comprehensive dataset of CEO performance goals. I hope my findings could lead to recommendations for compensation committees and consultants to structure performance-pay contracts differently to reduce earnings management efforts
The Revolting Monster - A Consideration of Existentialist Themes in Mary Shelley\u27s Frankenstein Through a Comparison to Albert Camus\u27 The Stranger
Full text linkThis Master’s thesis is concerned with analyzing key themes and ideas in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein through an existentialist lens which is made possible through a comparison to themes and ideas in Albert Camus’ The Stranger. I aim to make a contribution to my field by fulfilling a comparison that has long been made since the late 1960s when conversations about British Romanticism and Existentialism were still common. The purpose of my first chapter is to elucidate a new argument about the relationship between these two novels. There is a discernable element of Camusian Revolt exhibited by the Creature in some of the most riveting passages of Frankenstein; this element is all the more clearer when placed in conversation with the actions of Meursault, the protagonist of The Stranger. Through more specific examples, and a large reliance on the historical context of both novels that this project is concerned with, I am able to draw connections that go further than thematic similarities and show the relevance of these ideas to readers in our time. The second chapter consists of historical context that sets up an understanding of the reception of Frankenstein and the ensuing consequences of this novel for ruling body interested in maintaining a permanent underclass within the population. The third chapter examines the species of Revolt within Frankenstein by comparing it to The Stranger in order to reach conclusions about the significance of these themes today. The final chapter is an observation about the behavior of revolt modeled by the authors discussed in this thesis. It proposes that the act of writing and creating art is in itself an act of revolt which is the true message the authors intended to convey. It also argues that the medium of the novel is the most effective method of expression for revolt because it taps into human experience in a way no other distinct work of art can
Finding the Why: Trauma\u27s Origins and Effects in Morrison\u27s The Bluest Eye
Full text linkThis thesis analyzes the effects of Toni Morrison’s first novel, The Bluest Eye, on its readers and the public discourse surrounding the central issue of systemic racism and incest. The central focus of the analysis is trauma in the novel: how Morrison captures that trauma in writing, how the reader encounters and interprets that trauma, and the effects of that trauma on the narrative and the reader. To construct this argument, I apply the lenses of reader response criticism, psychoanalysis, and trauma studies to the novel.
Morrison expressed concern that readers would miss the crucial message of why the novel’s trauma occurs. However, a reader response analysis of reviews, applications of, and publications about the novel reveals that a majority of readers not only grasp the why but are moved, as Morrison intended, to personal change and social activism. Analyzing trauma in the novel with both traditional psychoanalysis and modern trauma studies approaches reveals that the personal traumas of the central characters are all connected to the larger social traumas of racism, sexism, and poverty that haunt the entire community. The conclusion combines the lenses of reader response and trauma studies to reveal the impact of the trauma in The Bluest Eye on its readers, underscores the novel’s true significance, and demonstrates why it is simultaneously a deeply devastating and an incredibly motivating literary work