Texas A&M International University: Research Information Online (RIO)
Not a member yet
951 research outputs found
Sort by
Border Culture, Mexican Identity, Class, and Media Consumption: A Look into “Fresa” High School Students
Get PDFThe border strip between the south of the United States and the north of Mexico provide an excellent opportunity to study the effects of the flow of media productions from the United States to Mexico. Many communication theories have attempted to explain the reception of transnational media flows to Latin American countries. Scholars from the cultural imperialism camp argue that the flow of culture is unidirectional from capitalist or First World countries (mainly the United States) to developing countries (also know as the Global South); other theories claim there is an asymmetrical dependence between developed and underdeveloped countries (Fejes, 1981). However, recent arguments claim audiences tend to prefer content closely related to their own cultural values (Straubhaar, 1991). Audience research has concluded there is no evidence to support the loss of cultural identity in some Latin American countries and regions according to their media preference (Straubhaar, 1991 Lozano, 1992). Nonetheless, those studies have also found that regardless of the geographical or cultural proximity to the United States or Europe, upper and middle class audiences tend to prefer to a certain degree US media content or international programming over domestic programming. Combining those two theoretical propositions, the purpose of this study is to look at the media consumption preferences of high school students in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas and find a relation between the cultural products they consume, their sense of Mexican identity, and nationalism. Using both methodological approaches, quantitative and qualitative, a survey was conducted with students from three different private high schools in Nuevo Laredo and a total of 22 participants were interviewed in separate focus groups. One of the most important findings of this study is that upper-middle and upper class students from Nuevo Laredo are not worried about losing their Mexican identity as a consequence of continuous exposure to American media. It could be argued that they are more afraid of not being able to attain the best from what their privileged geographical location has to offer in terms of cultural capital. They recognize that one of the biggest advantages of living in the border with the United States is the ability to practice while learning English and to have access to American products
Pax7 Expression and Color Pattern Development in Two Populations of Metriaclima ‘msobo’ from Lake Malawi, Africa
Get PDFIn Lake Malawi, 450-600 species have evolved from one riverine ancestor within the past million years. The dynamic speciation of Lake Malawi’s endemic fauna has coincided with a diversification of color patterns, driven by sexual selection. Little is known about the genes determining male color pattern, despite its importance during population divergence and speciation. This study attempts to identify genes underlying the divergence of male color patterns between two populations of Metriaclima ‘msobo’ from Lake Malawi. Adult males from the Lundo population display blue and black vertical bars, while adult males from the Magunga population have blue and black blotches. The Magunga color pattern is similar to the common orange-blotch (OB) pattern observed in female cichlids, which is controlled by overexpression of the Pax7 gene. The major time points for individual color pattern development were on days 11, 16, and 23. The role of Pax7 was tested on the Magunga specific color pattern using qPCR to examine gene expression during color pattern development between the barred and blotchy populations. Primers for Pax7, as well as for two housekeeping genes (GAPDH and beta-actin), were designed and optimized to normalize qPCR data. Several embryos from three Metriaclima ‘msobo’ species—each from days 11, 16, and 23—were sampled in preparation for qPCR. The total RNA from each of these embryos was analyzed through the Experion chamber and was of optimum purity. cDNA samples were run through qPCR with the optimized primers, combined with SYBR Green fluorescent dye. Bio-Rad qPCR software was used to calculate the amount of Pax7 expression relative to that of the housekeeping genes. The analysis of variance showed that while there was a trend of expression within the Magunga embryos, the standard devations and errors were too large. However, there was no significant difference in Pax7 expression between the Magunga and Lundo populations
Hispanic Student Perceptions of College Preparedness
Get PDFABSTRACT Hispanic Student Perceptions of College Readiness: December 2015 Miranda Inez de la Garza, Master of Science, Texas A & M International University Chair of Committee: Dr. Maria Lourdes Viloria The educational community deems college and career readiness a crucial issue facing our society. According to recent literature, Texas trails many other states in the United States in college retention and graduation rates. This phenomenon occurs due to inadequate preparation of high school students for post-secondary education. The educational prospects of the Hispanic community in Texas may continue to suffer if Hispanic students graduate from high school ill prepared for college coursework. Evidence of this problem is apparent in the overrepresentation of Hispanic students in developmental education programs in colleges and universities. Recent studies reveal a lack of alignment between the learning activities undergone during high school and the learning activities encountered in college, which causes students to enter college underprepared for success in credit-bearing coursework. However, the passage of House Bill One, “The Advancement of College Readiness in Curriculum”, in 2005 increased the accountability of Texas High Schools for the college preparedness of students. In 2008, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board unanimously approved a set of college and career readiness standards to incorporate into the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Furthermore, the recently implemented State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exams involve more higher-order thinking and an increased level of academic rigor compared to previous Texas state exams. In addition, Texas high school students must pass certain STAAR End-of-Course exams in order to be considered college-ready. The researcher seeks to determine whether or not an increase in college preparedness has occurred following the inception of the College and Career Readiness Standards and the STAAR program. According to recent literature, three main factors contributed to inadequate preparation for college in the past: lack of higher-order thinking activities, differing writing requirements from high school to college, and the fact that the study habits required for success in college were often neglected in high school coursework. The researcher analyzed data related to these three factors. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between the learning activities from the senior year of high school and the learning activities from the freshman year of college
Profesionalización autogestiva de los periodistas mexicanos organizados.
No full textEste artículo presenta una aproximación a estrategias autogestivas de profesionalización llevadas a cabo por periodistas organizados. Se analizan dos casos: La Red de Periodistas de Juárez (RPJ) y el Consejo de Periodistas del Papaloapan (COPAN). Ambos grupos emergen en un contexto hostil para el periodismo en México, orientando sus actividades hacia la capacitación para la autoprotección y la adquisición de habilidades profesionales. La discusión conceptual parte del modelo de profesión, relacionado con la institucionalización de los conocimientos, la colegiación y la autonomía profesional, para ponerlo en debate con otras ideas sobre profesionalización. El diseño metodológico consistió en observación y entrevistas, así como en la revisión sistemática de la actividad en línea de las redes de periodistas. Los resultados refuerzan la necesidad de definir el periodismo a partir de las prácticas de sus agentes. En ese sentido, el ideal periodístico aceptado por los grupos de periodistas organizados es distinto al normativo liberal; lo mismo que los valores, actitudes, habilidades, conocimientos y redes que se activan y que difieren en objetivos y alcances. Esto permite discutir críticamente que no existe un solo modelo periodístico profesional, sino diversas expresiones del periodismo definidas por sus propias prácticas
AGUILAR EDWARDS, Andrea (coord.) (2016). Desafíos de la Inclusión y Procesos de Comunicación, México: Fontamara
No full textThe Representation of the U.S.-Mexico Border in Television News: Textual Analysis on Bodies and Security Enforcement
Get PDFThis article analyzes how television news has enhanced the role of representation of the United States-Mexico border in themes such as immigration, theme represented in “spectacular” ways related to “warfare”. Using textual analysis on TV reports, my aim is to show how local television network news in the United States (NBC) and Mexico (Televisa) construct the representation of the U.S./Mexico border through a particular conflicting vision to account for border enforcements and interventions on both sides and with similar visual strategies. The analysis centers on actual “visual text” or television news reports, which tries to demonstrates how assumptions guide the activity of local network coverage, and how, at the same time, limits what is reported in news. This consequently contributes to the perpetuation of a representation related to ¨crisis¨ in the border region
Dealing with stroke: Perspectives from stroke survivors and stroke caregivers from an underserved Hispanic community
No full textGlobally, stroke is the leading cause of death and disease burden. While post-stroke studies have been conducted, they excluded survivors and caregivers from underserved communities. It can be argued that the impact of stroke on survivors and caregivers from underserved communities may be greater. Using qualitative exploratory research design, the purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of post-stroke recovery and readjustment among stroke survivors and stroke caregivers from an underserved community. Two separate focus groups were conducted, one each for stroke survivors and caregivers. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Finding meaning in life is the general theme of stroke survivors\u27 and stroke caregivers\u27 journey of post-stroke recovery and readjustment. For stroke survivors, the transition to stroke recovery required time, life goal reconfiguration, willpower, humor, and network support. Post-stroke caregiving is a daily navigation and negotiation influenced by internal and external processes. Personal, economic, and socio-cultural nuances play a role in how post-stroke recovery is lived and experienced. Study findings highlight the importance of policies to support family-centered and system-level advocacy in post-stroke care
Agreement between single-frequency bioimpedance analysis and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry varies based on sex and segmental mass
No full textBioimpedance analysis (BIA) and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) are commonly utilized for total and segmental body composition assessment, but the agreement between these methods varies. Group (i.e., constant error [CE]) and individual error (i.e., standard error of estimate [SEE] and 95% limits of agreement [LOAs]) of single-frequency BIA were determined in apparently healthy men and women (n = 28 and 45, respectively) when using DXA as a reference method. It was hypothesized that single-frequency BIA would provide lower error for the estimation of total and segmental FFM than FM and BF%. The CE for many of the total and segmental body composition comparisons revealed statistically significant (all P \u3c.05) mean differences (FM TOTAL , FM LEGS , FFM TOTAL , FFM ARMS , FFM LEGS , FFM TRUNK , BF% TOTAL and BF% ARMS for both sexes as well as FM TRUNK and BF% TRUNK for women and FM ARMS and FM LEGS for men). Although there were significant CEs for many comparisons, the individual error (i.e., SEEs and 95% LOAs) for total and segmental FFM were small whereas FM and BF% were large. Furthermore, the individual error tended to be larger for men than women when estimating FM and BF%, which is likely attributed to the larger segmental mass of men. This finding indicates the agreement between single-frequency BIA and DXA varies based on sex and segmental mass. Consequently, single-frequency BIA can be used for total and segmental FFM, but is not recommended for FM and BF%
A weak galerkin finite element method for singularly perturbed convection-diffusion–reaction problems
No full textIn this article, a new weak Galerkin finite element method is introduced to solve convection-diffusion–reaction equations in the convection dominated regime. Our method is highly flexible by allowing the use of discontinuous approximating functions on polytopal mesh without imposing extra conditions on the convection coefficient. An error estimate is devised in a suitable norm. Numerical examples are provided to confirm theoretical findings and efficiency of the method
Introduction
No full text2There is no doubting the notion that interest in bilingual and multilingual studies has increased since the publication of the first edition of the current volume, An Introduction to Bilingualism: Principles and Processes. The field has seen a steady increase in submissions of quality articles on this topic to such venues as the International Journal of Bilingualism, Multilingual and Multicultural Development, and Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. Further, participation in scholarly venues that include research in this field such as the International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB; now in its 11th year, meeting biennially), the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL), International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA), and The Mental Lexicon conference, just to name a few, has increased in recent years. Thus, the motivation to learn more and write more about how bilingual speakers encode, store, and retrieve information has increased over the past 10 years. For this reason, the present volume attempts to present an update of research in the field and a review of some of the newer aspects of the field both from a theoretical perspective and from an applied or practical perspective, as well