Texas A&M International University: Research Information Online (RIO)
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Film at the border: Memories of cinemagoing in Laredo, Texas
No full textThis article addresses the memories of 28 filmgoers between the ages of 64 and 95 in Laredo, Texas – a city located on the border between the United States and Mexico. It explores respondents’ memories of US and Mexican films, actors and local venues against the historical background of a fluid and complex border. In particular, it examines the negotiation of cultural identities among residents with strong connections to Mexican heritage but who are also influenced by the structural characteristics of the American political, economic and educational systems
Seeking Reading Motivation Within English Language Learners in an Economically Disadvantaged Environment
Get PDF“Reading motivation is a contributing factor to the number of English Language Learners (ELL) and economically disadvantaged struggling readers. Parental involvement fosters reading motivation amongst these readers” (Mohr & Amp; Mohr, 2007).The purpose of this research is to examine how reading motivation can be increased through the use of parental involvement and native language books. This study also investigates how parental involvement can be increased through the use of books that are written in their Spanish native language and can be easily used to assist their children. The research questions included are the following: Research Question 1: Will an increase in parental involvement improve reading motivation amongst ELLs/Economically Disadvantaged children? Research Question 2: Will using native language recreational reading books increase parental involvement in ELLs/Economically Disadvantaged children’s daily reading? A quantitative study was designed where two teachers’ classes were purposely selected to participate in the six week intervention. These classes were selected in order to answer the first question in the study. Parents of these participants were also selected as participants that would help answer the second question of the study
Comparison of bioelectrical impedance and DXA for measuring body composition among adults with Down syndrome
No full textBackground Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have been shown to display high levels of adiposity and a unique body shape. Laboratory methods used to evaluate body composition might be too cumbersome for this special population. Therefore, field methods are desired due to their non-invasive nature. Objective: to determine the agreement between dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) for measuring body fat percentage BF% and fat-free mass (FFM) among adults with DS. Methods Twenty-one adults (male: n = 10; female: n = 11) with DS participated in this study. BF% and FFM were determined by DXA and BIA. Results There was a significant mean difference between DXA and BIA for BF% (41.33 ± 8.98% and 34.23 ± 9.22%, respectively) and FFM (41.80 ± 8.74 kg and 46.95 ± 9.92 kg, respectively). The correlation between the two devices for BF% and FFM were significant (r = 0.89 and r = 0.94, respectively, p \u3c 0.001 for both). The standard error of estimate and total error values were 4.38% and 8.27%, respectively, for BF% and 3.04 kg and 6.13 kg, respectively, for FFM. The 95% limits of agreement ranged from −15.64% below to 1.46% above the constant error (CE) of −7.09% for BF% and from −1.52 kg below to 11.83 kg above the CE of 5.15 kg for FFM. Conclusions The significant mean differences and large amount of individual error suggest that BIA may not be an appropriate surrogate body composition measure compared to DXA in adults with DS
The effects of community factors on residents’ perceptions toward World Heritage Site inscription and sustainable tourism development
No full textUsing partial least squares-structural equation modeling, we analyzed data from 410 questionnaires completed by a sample of residents from the vicinity of the George Town World Heritage Site (WHS), Malaysia, to investigate the effects of community factors on residents’ perceptions and support for WHS conservation and tourism development. To conceptualize these relationships, we developed a framework based on social exchange theory (SET) and previous empirical evidence. While community attachment, cultural attitudes, community involvement, and community gain had positive effects on residents’ perceptions, the effects of community members’ gain and status consistency were particularly strong. Our results suggest that perceptions strongly influence support for WHS conservation and tourism development. Having examined a number of new resident perception factors, this study makes a significant theoretical and methodological contribution to the tourism and resident perception literature. Furthermore, this study has practical implications for future sustainable community development in the George Town WHS
Using relationship management to legitimate the monarchy: An analysis of the reign of King Juan Carlos I of Spain
Get PDFAbstract This article explores the management of relationships by King Juan Carlos I of Spain to legitimate the monarchy as an institution and build a new democracy after Franco’s death in 1975. The high level of public support during most of his reign shows there is a correlation between good relationship management and the loyalty of the subjects. Only when some basic relationship management principles of mutual benefit, such as trust and openness with his subjects, were violated the level of support of Juan Carlos I, and the monarchy as an institution started to decline. Nonetheless, the value of relationship management has proved durable since the new monarch, Felipe VI, was able to recover in a relatively short period of time the public support that Juan Carlos I enjoyed in the past. This fact indicates that even in the case of disruptive monarchies, such as Spain, the power of relationship management has shown effectiveness to legitimate the institution. However, at the same time it also points out that in a public opinion regime monarchies have to show exemplarity and that involves not only to create mutual benefit for the citizenship through good deeds, since Juan Carlos I always behaved professionally as a business and diplomatic representative, but that there is feeling of trust between the monarch and the subjects
Implementing good governance reform in Ghana: Issues and experiences with local governance1
No full textGhana\u27s good governance initiative has entered a critical phase after that country conducted an independent, nonpartisan, and professional self-assessment of political, economic, corporate, and procedural governance under the African Peer Review Mechanism process. 2 Both Country Review Report and National Program of Action required Ghana not only to build on its achievements, but also to address challenges to good governance. In its African Governance Report II the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) concluded that Africa had made only marginal progress on governance and that “capacity deficits” remained. 3 The ECA identified several political, economic, corporate, and procedural governance challenges, including poverty and corruption reduction and the improvement of the quality of life. While most studies have focused on national-level performance, this chapter examines the governance project from the perspective of local as opposed to national governance. The question is: How well has Ghana done to make good governance promise and practice reflect in decentralized governance
Impact of Measured vs. Predicted Residual Lung Volume on Body Fat Percentage Using Underwater Weighing and 4-Compartment Model
No full textImpact of measured vs. predicted residual lung volume on body fat percentage using underwater weighing and 4-compartment model. J Strength Cond Res 31(9): 2519-2527, 2017 - The purpose of this study was to compare underwater weighing (UWW) and 4-compartment (4C) model body fat percentage (BF%) for predicted vs. simultaneously measured residual lung volume (RLV). Forty-seven women and 33 men (age = 22 ± 5 years) had UWW and 4C model BF% determined using Boren et al. (RLV BOREN), Goldman and Becklake (RLV GB), and Miller et al. (RLV MILLER) RLV prediction equations. Criterion UWW BF% included body density (BD) values with simultaneous RLV. Criterion 4C model BF% included BD through UWW with simultaneous RLV, total body water through bioimpedance spectroscopy, and bone mineral content through dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. The standard error of estimate (SEE) for UWW and 4C model BF% determined through RLV prediction equations varied from 2.0 to 2.6% and from 1.3 to 1.5%, respectively. The constant error (CE) was significantly different for UWW BF% when using RLV BOREN, RLV GB, and RLV MILLER (all p \u3c 0.016; CE = 0.7, -2.0, 1.0%, respectively). However, the CEs for RLV BOREN and RLV MILLER were not significant in the 4C model (p = 0.73 and 0.11; CE = 0.1 and 0.2%, respectively), whereas RLV GB remained significantly different (p \u3c 0.001; CE = -1.5%). The 95% limits of agreement were less than ±5.2% for UWW BF% and less than ±3.1% for the 4C model when using the 3 RLV equations. When used in a 4C model, the RLV equations yielded a smaller CE, SEE, and 95% limits of agreement than UWW BF% results. However, because of the range of individual error shown in the current study, caution should be employed when using the 4C model as a criterion method with predicted RLV
The influence of earnings management and bank structure on bank performance: International evidence
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of bank structure and earnings management on bank performance in international markets. Specifically, the authors empirically examine non-foreign banks in the following emerging countries: Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, and South Africa. Design/methodology/approach: A review of loan loss portfolio and bank’s power structure is examined to formulate testable conjectures. The authors used data collected from Bankscope for the aforementioned countries. The data range is from 1997 to 2009. Findings: The results suggest that: first, bank market structure and earnings management have a significantly negative influence on bank performance. Second, the negative influence is more pronounced in banks with higher level of concentration and earnings management. Practical implications: The evidence suggest that banks with monopoly power have a greater incentive to establish lending relationships, and monopoly enhancing regulation in the financial sector at the time of the Civil War contributed to industrialization in the USA. The evidence in the emerging market suggest that monopoly power (bank structure) and propensity to manage earnings leads to lower bank performance. As such, helping bankers in understanding the effect of their bank structure in relation to their performance. Originality/value: To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study that explores the determinants of managed earnings and bank structure on bank performance in emerging markets
Representación social del campo y la ciudad en la Guerra Cristera: Entre las patas de los caballos de Luis Rivero del Val y Rescoldo, los últimos cristeros de Antonio Estrada
No full textABSTRACT Representación social del campo y la ciudad en la Guerra Cristera: Entre las patas de los caballos de Luis Rivero del Val y Rescoldo, los últimos cristeros de Antonio Estrada (May 2015) Velia Dávila Toscano, B.A., Texas A&M International University, 2012; Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Lola O. Norris Dr. Irma L. Cantú This thesis focuses in the study of two testimonial novels about the Cristero Rebellion in México. Each novel is analyzed from the perspective of its own geographical space: the city and the countryside, respectively. These spaces determine the creation of different circumstances and behaviors, all typical of a devastated environment by the religious conflict. Certainly, the difference between the political, economical and social circumstances is crucial in the analysis of both spaces. In addition, each space represents a Cristero Rebellion phase, which exposes a reliable closeness to the true facts as they occurred during this historical Mexican period. The dichotomy of urban-rural spaces represents itself as a divergence of circumstances, which is possible to observe in the reading of both texts. Also, the characters of each novel show their own organization, culture, fighting motivations and, of course, their peculiar degree of religiosity and fanaticism. It is a fanaticism that has influenced these characters’ lives and transformed them into martyrs willing to die for their religious freedom. Each space, either urban or rural, is represented in all above mentioned. Finally, taking into account both narrative voices, it is evident the urban-rural antithesis existed in the real world of the Cristero Rebellion
An eye tracking examination of men\u27s attractiveness by conceptive risk women
No full textPrevious research has indicated that women prefer men who exhibit an android physical appearance where fat distribution is deposited on the upper body (i.e., shoulders and arms) and abdomen. This ideal physical shape has been associated with perceived dominance, health, and immunocompetence. Although research has investigated attractability of men with these ideal characteristics, research on how women visually perceive these characteristics is limited. The current study investigated visual perception and attraction toward men in Hispanic women of Mexican American descent. Women exposed to a front-posed image, where the waist-to-chest ratio (WCR) and hair distribution were manipulated, rated men\u27s body image associated with upper body strength (low WCR 0.7) as more attractive. Additionally, conceptive risk did not play a strong role in attractiveness and visual attention. Hair distribution did not contribute to increased ratings of attraction but did contribute to visual attraction when measuring total time where men with both facial and body hair were viewed longer. These findings suggest that physical characteristics in men exhibiting upper body strength and dominance are strong predictors of visual attraction