Texas A&M International University: Research Information Online (RIO)
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Positivist Information Systems Action Research: Methodological Issues
No full textWe discuss the cyclical nature of action research (AR) in information systems (IS) and contrast it with other research approaches commonly used in IS. Often those who conduct AR investigations build on their professional expertise to provide a valuable service to a client organization while at the same time furthering knowledge in their academic fields. AR is usually conducted using an interpretive research approach, but many doctoral IS students, as well as junior and senior IS researchers, are likely to be expected to conduct research in a predominantly positivist fashion, even as they are determined to conduct an AR study that builds on their professional expertise. We argue that these IS researchers can successfully employ AR in their investigations as long as they are aware of the methodological obstacles that they may face, and have the means to overcome them. The following key obstacles are discussed: low statistical power, common-method bias, and multilevel influences. We also discuss two important advantages of employing AR in positivist IS investigations, from a positivist perspective: AR’s support for the identification of omitted variables and J-curve relationships. The study’s contribution is expected to enhance our knowledge of AR and foster its practice
Thinking in Uno and Reading en Otro: Codeswitching in American Novels
Get PDFThroughout history, languages that have come into contact with each other often fought for supremacy, but ultimately, they ended up coexisting in peace for the most part. The United States is a prime example of multiple languages mixing together, and after generations of doing so, some have blended almost entirely; this is not necessarily a bad thing. The U.S. has a history of being a nation that harbors multiple cultures along with those many languages, and even after wars, expansion, and segregation, those cultures and languages that remain cannot be suppressed. The United States houses multiple cultures, and there are several factors that determine which languages get adopted and which get discarded in different social situations. Factors, such as belief and age, for example, are vital to make these distinctions, and codeswitching (CS) texts have become more significant because they record and showcase how these factors push people to choose which language to use. Spanish and English, primarily, have been in contact for many years, and in the U.S., there have been multiple attempts at pushing out Spanish, but English-only laws have never taken hold nationally. For Americans who are born in the U.S. to Latin American immigrant parents, both Spanish and English are languages that shape their identity and thought process. These people grow up thinking and speaking with both languages running simultaneously through their minds, and they often become bicultural, bilingual readers who are able to read in both languages and can understand CS texts. It is important for their sense of identity that we continue studying what makes these texts so unique, and luckily, readership today is starting to acknowledge not only the existence and legitimacy of CS works, but also the importance of celebrating the unique blend of cultures and Spanish and English in literature. The number of CS texts is expected to grow, and more readers, both bilingual and monolingual, demand more texts like these. This thesis analyzes what makes written CS so relatable to many types of American audiences and how the prevalence of these texts legitimizes their inclusion into the American literary canon
The Great American Riddle: Ulysses S. Grant and Civil Rights
Get PDFThe prevailing scholarship on Ulysses S. Grant and Reconstruction was established by authors who wrote on the subjects in the aftermath of Reconstruction. Scholars of the “Lost Cause,” include the likes of John Burgess and William Dunning and many pupils. The arguments set forth by these writers and scholars created the notions that Grant was a butcher general during the Civil War who sent thousands of Union soldiers to needlessly die during his military campaigns, and that he was one of the nation’s worst presidents. Furthermore, they have argued that Grant was intellectually incompentent, corrupt, and unable to handle the political aspects of the Civil War and Reconstruction. These arguments have created a social construction of the past that has dominated American thinking on Grant, and have been carried on by modern scholars in the field. Because Grant rarely shared his views, publicly or privately, he did not leave behind the large volumes of historical evidence one expects from esteemed generals and former presidents. Since he was silent on most issues, extensive analysis of what is available is required. Most historical scholars have not been able, or willing, to remove themselves from established writings on Grant and have failed to fully analyze the historical sources left by the general, leading to sweeping generalizations about his views an character. This thesis seeks to challenge the established historiography on Grant by arguing the he was more than capable of comprehending the political and military aspects of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Grant demonstrated this, as he progrssed from fighting for the Union first, to accepting and protecting emancipation and black civil rights. Moreover, as both Commanding General of the United States Army and President, Grant was willing to expand his use of the U.S. Army as the proper means of upholding cvil equality for free blacks and protecting the Union from further violence. It is necessary to understand the complex, yet evolutionary nature of Grant, as doing so will lead to a more nuanced understanding of how his policies aided in transforming American society
Reapertura de Salas de Cine, Memoria del Cinemagoing y Gestión del Patrimonio Cultural: Una Comparación Entre Brasil y Bélgica
No full textEl presente artículo pretende analizar dos casos de reapertura de salas de cine que a lo largo del siglo XX han marcado las prácticas de ocio en las ciudades de Rio de Janeiro (Brasil) y Amberes (Bélgica). Tras años de abandono, el cine Imperator (actual Cinecarioca Méier), ubicado en el barrio de Méier (Rio de Janeiro), bien como el cine De Roma, enclavado en la localidad de Borgerhout, una zona árabe de la provincia de Amberes, fueron reactivados como consecuencia de una asociación entre sectores gubernamentales, sectores privados y de la sociedad civil. Utilizando una metodología histórico-etnográfica, este trabajo tiene como objetivo investigar a modo comparado los dos casos, bajo el enfoque de la memoria y el patrimonio cultural, observando como tales ideas fueron agrupadas por ambos proyectos en pro de la retomada de los antiguos espacios de expectación/ exhibición cinematográficas
Panorama de los perfiles demográficos, laborales y profesionales de los periodistas en México: Reporte de Investigación
No full textLa misión del periodismo en la construcción de una sociedad democrática depende del cumplimiento de condiciones favorables para su ejercicio tanto en el terreno laboral, como en el profesional y particularmente en el sociopolítico. Si bien históricamente el periodismo mexicano ha enfrentado condiciones adversas de instrumentalización política, cooptación, censura y libertad de expresión restringida, son innumerables los episodios en los que diversos medios y periodistas han desvelado la injusticia, la ineficiencia o la corrupción, llamado a cuentas a los poderosos, documentado la violación sistemática de los derechos humanos, o acompañado a las víctimas de diversas formas de violencia. Al tiempo, desde otros lugares del debate, se han cuestionado las relaciones de complicidad y connivencia con el poder, los estándares éticos, las afiliaciones políticas, los estándares profesionales y el compromiso social de muchos otros periodistas y medios
Ciudad, espacio urbano y comunicación. Prácticas y hábitos en la reinvención de una conurbación
No full textLa transformación observada en las ciudades puede ser comprendida y explicada a partir de variables que van de lo cultural, lo social y lo educativo hasta las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC). En este contexto, la investigación Mapas y expresiones de la diversidad en Veracruz y su zona conurbada, exploró las prácticas y hábitos culturales que definen los nuevos usos del espacio urbano en la una conurbación veracruzana. El artículo aquí presentado se enfoca en la apropiación y uso que, de ciertos espacios urbanos, realizan algunos grupos sociales que habitan en la conurbación Veracruz, Boca del Río y Medellín
Asynchronous modernization of the Mexican press. A center-periphery comparison
Get PDFLa prensa mundial concede poca importancia a los temas medioambientales, salvo en los casos en que se producen desastres humanos relacionados con fenómenos naturales. Es por ello que se hace necesario conocer cuáles son las representaciones mediadas por la prensa mexicana de estos acontecimientos. Con el objetivo de caracterizar las representaciones sociales de la prensa impresa mexicana sobre el referente fenómenos naturales y desastres humanos, a partir de ciertas cualidades del discurso informativo, se realizó un análisis de contenido de 1638 notas en 21 diarios de 9 estados de la República. Se observó la predominancia de notas básicas emitidas por fuentes oficiales. También se encontraron diferencias por estados en cuanto al grado de espectacularización o escabrosidad de la noticia. Se presume que la dominancia de fuentes oficiales tiene que ver con el ejercicio de rutinas periodísticas orientadas a economizar los recursos humanos y materiales de los medios. Por último, se argumenta que las diferencias entre estados respecto a la escabrosidad de las noticias dependen de la cultura de la región, y de la representación social de los fenómenos naturales que es característica de dicha cultura
Mentor-mentee interaction and laboratory social environment: Do they matter in doctoral students\u27 publication productivity?
No full textWe explored the social shaping of science at the micro-level reality of face-to-face interaction in one of the traditional places for scientific activities—the scientific lab. We specifically examined how doctoral students\u27 perception of their: (i) interaction with doctoral mentors (MMI) and (ii) lab social environment (LSE) influenced productivity. Construed as the production of peer-reviewed articles, we measured productivity using total number of articles (TOTAL), number of articles with impact factor greater than or equal to 4.00 (IFGE4), and number of first-authored articles (NFA). Via face-to-face interviews, we obtained data from n = 210 molecular biology Ph.D. students in selected universities in Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan. Additional productivity data (NFA) were obtained from online bibliometric databases. To summarize the original 13 MMI and 13 LSE semantic-differential items which we used to measure students\u27 perceptions, principal component (PC) analyses were performed. The results were smaller sets of 4 MMI PCs and 4 LSE PCs. To identify which PCs influenced publication counts, we performed Poisson regression analyses. Although perceived MMI was not linked to productivity, perceived LSE was linked: Students who perceived their LSE as intellectually stimulating reported high levels of productivity in both TOTAL and IFGE4, but not in NFA. Our findings not only highlight how students\u27 perception of their training environment factors in the production of scientific output, our findings also carry important implications for improving mentoring programs in science. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(2):130–144, 2017
Which is the best way to measure job performance: Self-perceptions or official supervisor evaluations?
No full textAmong latent variables that can be used in e-collaboration research, job performance is a particularly important one. It measures what most e-collaboration tools in organizations aim to improve, namely the performance at work of individuals executing tasks collaboratively with others. The authors report on a comparative assessment of scores generated based on a self-reported job performance measurement instrument vis-À-vis official annual performance evaluation scores produced by supervisors. The results suggest that the self-reported measurement instrument not only presents good validity, good reliability and low collinearity; but that it may well be a better way of measuring job performance than supervisor scores
Intended continued use social networking sites: Effects on job satisfaction and performance
No full textHedonic information systems are those that are used primarily for pleasure. Previous research has established that the intention to use hedonic information systems is explained mainly by perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment, with perceived usefulness to one\u27s job being given less importance. Facebook could be seen as a hedonic information system. This paper employs a cross-sectional survey of 178 professionals who used Facebook to various degrees. Predictably, the authors\u27 empirical results show that perceived enjoyment is indeed a much stronger determinant of intended continued Facebook use than ease of use or usefulness to one\u27s job, explaining a considerable proportion of variance in continued use behavior. The authors also find that ease of use is a strong determinant of perceived enjoyment. Interestingly, their results suggest that intended continued Facebook use is significantly and positively associated with job performance, both directly and indirectly via job satisfaction