Texas A&M International University: Research Information Online (RIO)
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Researcher and Academic Library Roles and User Beliefs in the Pandemic: designing the open-access and library usage scale (OALU)
Full text linkWe investigated whether individuals believe they have a right to information during a crisis, and whether attitudes about crisis-related information sharing differ by age and one’s role in providing or consuming information. We measured attitudes about aspects of data sharing related to COVID-19: researchers’ obligation to share data, publishers’ obligation to share information, and libraries’ responsibility to provide them. We predicted younger individuals, especially students as consumers of information, would report stronger preference for open access to pandemic-related information. A principal components analysis was performed, and two predicted factors emerged: information-sharing obligations and libraries’ responsibility to provide resources. Age was not significantly correlated with attitudes about libraries or information-sharing. Planned analyses comparing students, faculty, and community members unaffiliated with the university revealed no differences in their attitudes regarding library resources or information-sharing. A lack of age and university affiliation-related differences can be explained by universally strong attitudes in favor of both information-sharing and library resources, with a greater desire for information-sharing. Knowing that individuals demonstrate a strong preference for open access to information and that these attitudes do not differ between those who are providing (faculty), and consuming information (students/community) can contribute to funding for these resources. This research is innovative and timely, as attitudes about access when information is urgently and globally needed, as during a pandemic, is likely to differ from those observed under different circumstances
Between Rock and a Hard Place: Rock on the Border between Nations and Cultures
Full text linkLaredo, Texas has a vibrant rock music scene that has developed since the late 1960s. However, there was a time during the 1980s and early 1990s that live rock music venues were very few, and local rock bands were relegated to holding private events if they wished to perform. The history of live rock music in Laredo and its resurgence during the 1990s and 2000s was explored through interviews with local musicians, examining the role the Internet, social media, and online music platforms have played in propagating it in recent years. The result is a better understanding of this transnational and transcultural community located on the U.S.- Mexico border
SIMEON HART, THE MILMO AFFAIR, AND THE CONFEDERATE COTTON TRADE ON THE RIO GRANDE, 1861-65
Full text linkThe cotton trade on the Rio Grande played a crucial role in the transnational history of Confederate-Mexican diplomacy as well as the history of the American Civil War and the Second French Intervention in Mexico. The renowned merchant from El Paso, Simeon Hart, was an important figure in the cotton trade since he helped facilitate diplomatic and commercial relations between Mexico and the Confederacy. Due to his reputation as an emissary and supplier for the Confederate Army of New Mexico, Hart was appointed quartermaster of the Trans-Mississippi Department. During the winter of 1863-64, the son-in-law of the Governor of Nuevo León and Coahuila, Patricio Milmo, seized $16 million Confederate dollars which were held as ransom until the Confederates could pay their debts to Milmo. The confiscation of these Confederate funds led to a major diplomatic confrontation between Gov. Santiago Vidaurri and the Confederate government, including Hart, who was responsible for paying the Milmo debt. As a result, the cotton trade was shut down for nearly two months and all shipments of armaments and other supplies bound for the Confederacy were halted. The breakdown of trade relations with Mexico threatened to weaken the Confederate war effort in the Trans-Mississippi Department. This thesis is a study of Hart’s participation in the cotton trade and the diplomatic mission to establish good relations with both the Conservative and Liberal governments in Mexico. Essentially, the thesis will explain how Hart became involved in the “Milmo Affair” which demonstrates his contribution and significance to the history of the Civil War cotton trade, and the economic and political development of the Texas-Mexico borderlands
Intertextualidad y cultura en la traducción literaria de Gods of Jade and Shadow por Silvia Moreno-García
No full textLanguage and culture are inextricably connected. This bond represents a constant challenge for translators. Novels and other literary texts add intertextuality to the mix, often complicating the linguistic transmission of all the pertinent elements from the source text to the target text. Current translation theories by Katharina Reiss, Lawrence Venuti, Christiane Nord, among others, offer analyses, explanations, strategies, and techniques to meet the challenges.
The aim of this thesis is to provide a faithful, idiomatic, and authoritative English to Spanish translation of three selected chapters of Gods of Jade and Shadow, a historical fantasy novel by Mexican-Canadian writer Silvia Moreno-García. The second objective is to analyze specific challenges of the translation process as they relate to culturally bound issues and intertextuality. The thesis also addresses some of the obstacle’s non-native born, emerging authors experience in the English-speaking world when it comes to translating their oeuvres and enhancing their visibility
CORRELATES OF INTIMATE PARTNER CYBER-HARASSMENT AMONG MEXICAN AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS
Full text linkThe social issue of intimate partner cyber-harassment among Mexican American college students continues to affect dating violence. While there is a considerable amount of literature focusing on various forms of criminal behavior in cyberspace, such as cyberbullying, cyber-pornography, hacking, online fraud and identity theft, less attention has been paid to violence facilitated through cyber-communications and digital/electronic means such as CH. This thesis examines Mexican American college students to identify which factors correlate to cyber harassment (CH) offending and which correspond to cyber victimization. In this context, intimate partner cyber harassment (IPCH) is defined as a pattern of repeated behaviors by a current or ex-partner via electronic or Internet-capable devices such as computers, tablets, or mobile phones using social media (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram) or texting to commit behaviors in which one partner has clearly established are unwanted and harassing. To test the hypotheses that higher levels of assimilation, alcohol, low self-control, and most importantly, that Mexican American females would be positively associated with a greater likelihood of IPCH as offenders, a survey was developed in SurveyMonkey and shared via SONA. A non-probability, convenience sampling technique was used to analyze student iv responses. The results showed positive direction as hypothesized in all but one: assimilation and offending. However, key findings showed that Mexican American females are more likely to be offenders of IPCH than males. This study also found that higher level of assimilation decreases the likelihood of victimization as well as low self-control and alcohol effecting both offending and victimization as hypothesized. These results suggest that research on Mexican American college students is neglected and therefore there is a deficit in research that needs to be addressed. On this basis, the concept of IPCH among Mexican American college students should be taken into consideration when addressing the phenomena in order to effectively contribute to policy, preventive models for IPCH, and most especially educating students
Saving the Boys: Anticipating Moral Engagement in Lord of the Flies
Full text linkWilliam Golding’s Lord of the Flies (1954) is a paradoxical novel that highlights a constant conflict stemming from the inner-self of human nature promoted by the setting. Because adults often resemble children in many aspects and most of the time they don’t know what to do or make poor decisions, Golding formed his characters to be pre-adolescent children as a means to subtly point at humanity’s self-destructive traits. Therefore, if readers recognize the state of the boys’ morality, if they understand that they, like people, are imperfect beings, and if they acknowledge that they are prone to immorality, could they still walk a straight moral path? The focus in this thesis is the issue of morality and the duality of humans when encountering dire situations, as is in the case of the stranded boys on a deserted island. By examining William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, humans gain insight into the crux of immorality in mankind by specifically looking at the characters’ behaviors and particular scenes. Moreover, this analysis will mainly employ rationales by psychologists Philip Zimbardo and Albert Bandura to illustrate the moral consciousness of the characters in their quandary in both positive and negative ways. In this approach, I contend that the novel’s isolated killing scenes and characters’ motivation show morality and the lack of it in order to not only understand and empathize with the boys’ plight, but also impart reflection of people’s true selves and redress their inward antagonism and antagonism toward others. Essentially, in this study, I propose to ultimately achieve a resolution that despite the cruelty evident in both our world and the world in Lord of the Flies, there is still an optimism that humanity can overpower evil, that there is a chance for the human species to not eradicate itself and instead create a harmonious relationships amongst ourselves and in the present time. This analysis, then, will deliberate Golding’s pessimistic view of human nature, and examine Zimbardo’s view of human nature to consider whether the boys on the island are indeed saved
CAPTIVITY IN MELVILLE
Full text linkABSTRACT
Captivity in Melville (August 2022) Oscar Sacriste Jr, B.S., Southwestern Assembly of God University;
Chair of Committee: Dr. Nathaniel R. Racine
Initially, Melville’s works seem romantic and adventurous, and some may even argue that they are autobiographical. However, he also covers a wide range of serious subjects, including religion, philosophy, and socioeconomic issues. As such, Melville engages with a range of issues and conveys a deeper meaning through his writings, often through the use of allegory. This thesis examines Melville’s works through the lens of allegorical reasoning by also considering the numerous biblical allusions, which Melville employs throughout his works. It is through this connection that readers are able to relate them to the larger themes of captivity and capitalism and their central roles in Melville’s narratives. Whether it is a sailor longing to explore an island, a captain seeking an elusive whale, or a scrivener unwilling to work, Melville’scharacters are constantly in search of a better life, desiring an escape from their oppressive circumstances. What is revealed, however, is that although his characters may escape one captivity, they find themselves held captive by their new set of circumstances. For this reason, although captivity and its relationship to capitalism are often obscured in Melville, an allegorical reading of his works can help to further the socioeconomic and historical contexts established in the critical conversation
THE SECOND WATCHER AT THE GATE: LOCAL NEWSPAPER FRAMING OF REFUGEES, ASYLUM SEEKERS, IMMIGRANTS, AND MIGRANTS AT THE BORDER IN THE AGE OF COVID-19
Full text linkThe COVID-19 pandemic caused a repeat of a historical association between migrants and disease with the re-activation of Title 42, which gave the federal government the power to bar and expel migrants and asylum seekers without the opportunity to contest their expulsion, under the basis of public health. Based on a content analysis of the frames employed in the coverage of the pandemic by five newspapers located on the southern U.S. border for the period of 2020 to 2021, this study explored how these English-language newspapers gave priority to as sources, how they framed immigrants and immigration issues during the first two years of the COVID-19 epidemic, and how these frames shifted (if at all) over the course of the pandemic. The study found that while elements of “Othering” which treated refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, and migrants (RASIM) as a problem to be dealt with were present in the five newspapers’ coverage, the most prominent frame was “Attribution of Responsibility”. This implies that all parties who were given a voice by the media were taking the opportunity to define and contest what issue to focus on, who is responsible for both the issue and the solution, and what the solution should be. RASIM were also given little representation by the newspapers present in the sample except for one outlet, while the most attention was granted towards federal and non-federal U.S. official
DOMESTICACIÓN Y EXTRANJERIZACIÓN EN LA TRADUCCIÓN LITERARIA DE UPROOT, A MEMOIR DE JOSEFINA BEATRIZ LONGORIA
No full textABSTRACT
Domesticación y extranjerización en la traducción literaria de Uproot, a Memoir de Josefina Beatriz Longoria (May 2022)
Dania Denin Saucedo, B.A., Texas A&M International University;
Chair of Committee: Dr. Lola Orellano Norris
Throughout history, translation and interpreting have been key in facilitating communication among peoples and in advancing our knowledge and understanding of literature, religion, and the law, among others. Literature is a passport to exotic lands and different moments in time. Without literary translation, our imagination would not be able to wander off to these distant lands, the readers would not be exposed to other cultures nor learn from other people’s life experiences. This is a thesis on literary translation, and its main purpose is to create an aesthetically pleasing and yet faithful translation into Spanish of three selected chapters from Uproot, a Memoir, written and published by Josefina Beatriz Longoria in 2018. The source text is an autobiographical recollection penned as a confessional memoir, in which Longoria narrates thirty years of her life. In addition to the translation, this thesis presents a brief study of the origins of translation as an academic discipline. It includes an analysis of literary translation and introduces two key literary translation strategies: domestication and foreignization. The objective of this project is to create a translation that is faithful to the author’s work and subsequently examine several translation strategies and techniques, as well as the challenges translators face when translating literary texts with strong cultural content
HAWTHORNE’S HUMAN NATURE AND SIN: CRITICISMS OF PURITANISM AND PROGRESSIVISM
Full text linkOne of America’s greatest authors, Nathaniel Hawthorne lived in a time of rapid scientific, material, and intellectual advancement. However, unlike many of his peers who went all-in on utopian reform movements, Hawthorne took a cautious and reserved approach to progress even though he supported the idea abstractly. Using six tales written acrossHawthorne’s career, this work will examine what each has to say about Hawthorne’s belief in human nature and why he takes such a skeptical position against movements aiming to fundamentally reshape people and society. The tales from the 1830s, “The Gentle Boy,” “Young Goodman Brown,” and “The Minister’s Black Veil,” establish Hawthorne’s thoughts about the inherent evil of humanity in addition to laying out his solution to human evil. Hawthrone believes the best and only truly successful means of dealing with human evil was the practice of rational piety, a combination of individual self-reflection and the basic tenets of Christian belief. For Hawthorne, this general framework of living recognized the universal inherent evil of humankind and allowed every individual to constantly combat their inclination towards evil while embracing the best aspects of Christian morality resulting in a more tolerant, compassionate, and pious society. In the 1840s Hawthorne switched the focus of his tales from the religious extremism of the seventeenth century to the more secular progressivism of the nineteenth century. The tales of “The Celestial Railroad,” “Earth’s Holocau st,” and “The Birthmark” all serve as critiques by Hawthorne of the ways progressives in his era attempted to improve humanity through spiritual, intellectual, and scientific alternatives to rational piety, respectively. Though each tale depicts a different type of reform, the attempts in every tale end in failure due to the neglect or misunderstanding of the evil inherent in human nature by those attempting to enact change. The result is Hawthorne guiding his readers back to rational piety as the ultimate solution for the fallenness of humanity