Texas A&M International University: Research Information Online (RIO)
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Human-Animal Interaction, Social Networks, and Health Status
Get PDFUsing online survey data and applying a series of multiple linear regression analyses, this thesis unraveled a set of intriguing and unexpected results on the impacts of human-animal interaction (HAI) on human mental and physical health status, while leaving some aspects to be further explored and explained by way of future studies. The results of this study also provided insights on how human-human interaction (HHI) in the form of social networks impact college students in a U.S. southern border city. Results of this study indicated that while HAI positively impacted mental health (i.e., lowered depression score), it also was a risk-factor for physical health (i.e., increased body mass index). Furthermore, HHI was found to be a risk-factor to physical health in the sense that the more time spent with social networks the more likely one was to be overweight. Although there are limited studies on HAI in regards to its impacts on human mental and physical health in general and among college students in particular, HIA is an emerging research topic within sociology, which has steadily gained appreciation and interest from many contemporary sociologists. The findings to this thesis advances the theoretical knowledge base and the methodological techniques in the sociology of HAI. These findings also contribute to the sociology of health by producing the much-needed cases, data, and empirical evidence on how animal companions influence humans’ health status. A manifest message from this thesis is: animal companions impact a person’s human health; however, this is observed only for canine (dogs) animal companions but not for feline animal companion (cats). But again, this might be an artifact of the sample and sample size, inaccuracies in measurements, the nature of the target population, or the culture of the study location. However, a latent message hinted by the results is that the type (canine, feline, etc.) of animal companion might have a conditioning (moderating) effect on a person’s health status
TV Pública en la Transición Digital
No full textEl artículo tiene como objetivo presentar el análisis de los datos, existentes hasta 2016, sobre el tránsito de las televisoras públicas hacia el sistema digital, en el periodo inicial que comprende la década del 2000. Es continuación de trabajos anteriores acerca de la televisión pública en su versión analógica. La presente interpretación se sustenta en la indagatoria empírica
PRESENTACIÓN
No full textEn esta ocasión, presentamos con gusto este nuevo volumen de Global Media Journal México, con la impronta de la tecnología digital permeando distintos ángulos de reflexión que aparecen ante el lector como posibles derroteros de una realidad que, como diría Zigmunt Bauman se antoja líquida, es decir, se escurre entre los dedos de las manos. Cada uno de los textos abona a la comprensión del fenómeno digital que ha modificado la escala y la intensidad de nuestras comunicaciones
Effect of cluster set warm-up configurations on sprint performance in collegiate male soccer players
No full textThe purpose of this study was to determine if back squat cluster sets (CS) with varying inter-repetition rest periods would potentiate greater sprint performance compared with a traditional set parallel back squat in collegiate soccer players. Twelve collegiate male soccer players (age, 21.0± 2.0 years; height, 180.0± 9.0 cm; body mass, 79.0± 9.5 kg) performed a 20-m sprint prior to a potentiation complex and at 1, 4, 7, and 10 min postexercise on 3 separate, randomized occasions. On each occasion, the potentiation complex consisted of 1 set of 3 repetitions at 85% 1-repetition maximum (1RM) for the traditional parallel back squat. However, on 1 occasion the 3-repetition set was performed in a traditional manner (i.e., continuously), whereas on the other 2 occasions, 30s (CS30) and 60 s (CS60) of rest were allotted between each repetition. Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed greater (p = 0.022) mean barbell velocity on CS60 compared with the traditional set. However, faster (p \u3c 0.040) 20-m sprint times were observed for CS30 (3.15± 0.16 s) compared with traditional (3.20± 0.17 s) only at 10 min postexercise. No other differences were observed. These data suggest that a single cluster set of 3 repetitions with 30-s inter-repetition rest periods at 85% 1RM acutely improves 20-m sprinting performance. Strength and conditioning professionals and their athletes might consider its inclusion during the specific warm-up to acutely improve athletic performance during the onset (≤10 min) of training or competition
Variable selection in classification model via quadratic programming
No full textVariable selection is an important decision process in consumer credit scoring. However, with the rapid growth in credit industry, especially, after the rising of e-commerce, a huge amount of information on customer behavior is available to provide more informative implication of consumer credit scoring. In this study, a hybrid quadratic programming model is proposed for consumer credit scoring problems by variable selection. The proposed model is then solved with a bisection method based on Tabu search algorithm (BMTS), and the solution of this model provides alternative subsets of variables in different sizes. The final subset of variables used in consumer credit scoring model is selected based on both the size (number of variables in a subset) and predictive (classification) accuracy rate. Simulation studies are used to measure the performances of the proposed model, illustrating its effectiveness for simultaneous variable selection as well as classification
Duality and Dissolution in the Post-Apocalypse: Nietzsche\u27s Cycle of Morality in AMC\u27s The Walking Dead
Get PDFThroughout his body of work, especially in Beyond Good and Evil (1886), On the Genealogy of Morality (1887), and Twilight of the Idols (1889), German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche details Western civilization’s slow movement towards nihilism. Nietzsche explains that this nihilism is the result of a so-called “slave morality,” a system of inhibitive values that suppress egoistic desires for the sake of the collective. Democracy, Christian charity, and even mass consumerism are all indicative of slave morality. But because this value system relies on absolute morals supported by a “true world” (God, a heavenly afterlife, etc.), the collapse of these systems will result in mass disillusionment. This disillusionment, however, will allow for the strongest of society, previously repressed by guilt and social obligation, to create new values. These new values will find their animating principle in the sensual desires of the ego. They will resemble “master morality,” which predated slave morality and was defined by the outward expression of what Nietzsche calls the “will to power.” The implication of this ongoing dialectical interplay between master morality and slave morality is that the two systems of values will regulate each other based on the changing needs and demands of human society. AMC’s The Walking Dead (2010- ), through its long-term depiction of post-apocalyptic life, demonstrates this cycle of morality in action. The characters are robbed of their old values in a world dominated by a life-denying “herd” of zombies. As the series progresses, the characters overcome their reliance upon pre-apocalyptic values and embrace egoistic self-sufficiency. Once their efforts move past survival into civilization-construction, however, they must re-learn how to moderate themselves for the sake of sustaining communities. The Walking Dead’s thematically fluid narrative therefore reflects not only the complementary nature of Nietzsche’s cycle of morality, but also Western history’s troubled relationship with metaphysical ideas it alternates between rejecting and embracing. Although an examination of The Walking Dead through a Nietzschean lens cannot wholly resolve this conundrum, such an analysis can provide insight into the changing power dynamics of society and illuminate ways of mitigating the trauma of shifts between value systems
Binge Drinking Among Hispanic Students in the U.S.-Mexico Border: Exploring the Impact of Trauma Exposure and Cultural Correlates
Get PDFAccording to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), about 60% of the college population had engaged in alcohol use and even more so, 2 out of 3 reported they had engaged in binge drinking in the past month. Binge drinking is measured as “consuming 5 or more drinks on the same occasion at least once in the past 30 days” (National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2011). Several factors such as trauma exposure has been demonstrated to increase college students’ risk of engaging in alcohol consumption. Research on alcohol consumption on the US-Mexico border is limited. Hence, the purpose of this literature review was to investigate how factors unique to the Hispanic community such as familismo, acculturation, and trauma exposure in the US-Mexico border predict excessive alcohol consumption. Factors such as familismo and acculturation have been demonstrated to act as either a protective factor or risk factor depending on the presence of such cultural levels. Furthermore, trauma exposure such as witnessing physical assaults increases the likelihood of an individual’s excessive alcohol consumption. The present study investigated the cultural correlates of familismo and acculturation as well as trauma exposure and short-term and long-term binge drinking behavior in relation to excessive alcohol consumption
Recuerdos, heterotopías y heterocronías. La experiencia cinematográfica en la Ciudad de México
No full textEn el presente artículo exploramos la experiencia cinematográfica en la Ciudad de México, teniendo como referente a la oferta fílmica pero no limitándose a ella. Ampliamos la mirada, entonces, a la histórica cultural y social del cine, anclada en los usos y apropiaciones. De esta manera, desde una perspectiva sociocultural, esta investigación constituye un particular estudio del público, centrado en la memoria (siempre selectiva) de los espectadores de cine. Aquí, puntualmente, retomamos las nociones de heterotopía y heterocronía que utiliza Annette Kuhn (2004) con base en las definiciones que hizo el filósofo francés Michel Foucault (1984). Al mismo tiempo, es necesario señalar que este artículo es fruto de una investigación más amplia, réplica para la Ciudad de México del proyecto “Cultura de pantalla: ideología, economía y experiencia”, desarrollado por Meers y Biltereyst en las ciudades de Gante y Amberes, Bélgica
The Ramification Group Filtrations of Certain Function Field Extensions
Get PDFWe investigate the ramification group filtration of a Galois extension of function fields, if the Galois group satisfies a certain intersection property. For finite groups, this property is implied by having only elementary abelian Sylow p-subgroups. Note that such groups could be non-abelian. We show how the problem can be reduced to the totally wild ramified case on a p-extension. Our methodology is based on an intimate relationship between the ramification groups of the field extension and those of all degree p sub-extensions. Not only do we confirm that the Hasse-Arf property holds in this setting, but we also prove that the Hasse-Arf divisibility result is the best possible by explicit calculations of the quotients, which are expressed in terms of the different exponents of all those degree p sub-extensions
Utilization of Social Networking Sites: Engaging in Online Social Comparisons and Differences among Self-esteem, Life Satisfaction, and Affect within College Students
Get PDFThe Western culture has constant access to technology which enhances their capability to connect to social media. Research indicates that the college population is one demographic that utilizes the Internet and social networking sites (SNSs) the most; this increased frequency of usage puts the students at a greater risk for experiencing negative consequences. Prior research suggests frequency of use as well as type of social comparisons made, upward or downward, while using SNSs play a role in determining one’s self-esteem, life satisfaction, and overall psychological wellbeing. As previous studies have not focused on standardizing the target or the control condition, the following research project aimed to create this standard, by utilizing norming to study differences among college students’ self-esteem, life satisfaction and affect dependent upon types of social comparisons made, intensity of Facebook use, and social comparison orientation behavior (SCOB). An experimental method was utilized in order to expose participants to types of social comparisons. Utilizing a four-way repeated measures MANOVA, results revealed that participants’ self-esteem, life satisfaction, and positive affect did not differ across level of groups. However, results indicated a significant difference in negative affect mean scores between the downward comparison group and the control group. In addition, self-esteem increased across the two time periods, while both positive and negative affect decreased. Findings also suggest significant interactions for self-esteem means between time and Facebook intensity, group and SCOB, and time, group and SCOB. Additionally, a significant interaction was found for positive affect scores between group and SCOB