Texas A&M International University: Research Information Online (RIO)
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The Troy Davis Effect: Does Information on Wrongful Convictions Affect Death Penalty Opinions?
No full textFollowing the Supreme Court\u27s use of social science research in Furman v. Georgia, numerous studies have examined the factors affecting support for the death penalty. Although it is known that the death penalty continues to have strong support in the United States, it remains unclear how the rise in media coverage of wrongful convictions and the increasing number of Hispanics in the United States will affect opinions of and support for the death penalty. Using a sample of students at a predominantly Hispanic university, this study explores the effect of exposure to information on wrongful convictions on opinions about the death penalty
“En Wikipedia no se escribe jugando”: Identidad y motivación en 10 wikipedistas regiomontanos.
No full text.Este estudio presenta un análisis cualitativo de las contribuciones en páginas de discusión por parte de los diez editores regiomontanos registrados más asiduos de Wikipedia en español. A través de la técnica de etnografía virtual fue posible describir la manera en que estos editores construyen su identidad y precisar los factores que los motivan a participar en la edificación del compendio de conocimiento más grande que existe en la actualidad. La investigación encontró que los wikipedistas estudiados asumen la identidad colectiva de Wikipedia cuando interactúan con contribuyentes anónimos y que las principales motivaciones que los alientan a permanecer activos no tienen que ver con la construcción del acervo de conocimiento sino con la dinámica de grupo y las relaciones personales establecidas en el mismo.Palabras clave: Wikipedia, etnografía virtual, comunidad virtual, identidad en línea Abstract.This study qualitatively analyses the contributions in the talk pages of Wikipedia (Spanish version) by the ten most active registered users in Monterrey, Mexico. Using virtual ethnography, the authors describe the way in which these editors construct an identity, and pinpoint the factors motivating them to participate in the largest knowledge compendium to date. This research found that these self-styled “wikipedistas” assume the site’s collective identity when interacting with anonymous users, and that their main motivations for on-going participation are not related to the repository of knowledge in itself, but to their group dynamics and inter-personal relationships within the community.Key words: Wikipedia, virtual ethnography, virtual communities, online identity
Perfecting Lessons Learned for Criminal Justice Online Graduate Education: Reflection, Integration, and Application
No full textCriminal justice programs are seeing an increase in the number of online classes both at the graduate and undergraduate levels. At the graduate level, criminal justice online education requires students to achieve mastery of higher ordered thinking and advanced analytic skills. Some students may believe that online education is simply a matter of reading postings and writing simple responses to queries. In order to counter the view that modern online courses, particularly those at the graduate level, are not academic enough, online graduate faculty must find ways to engage students through useful course design and meaningful assessments that promote deep learning. Such engagement requires faculty and students to show reflection in design as well as the integration and application of course materials in a consistent and significant way. This paper will discuss our attempts to reframe graduate criminal justice online classes in order to enhance student engagement and, ultimately, their deeper learning
A glimpse into the effectiveness of mentoring and enrichment activities for scholarship recipients in a teacher preparation program
No full textThe extent and nature of mentoring determines the effectiveness and success of any educational program [1]. A multi-faceted mentoring scheme has been designed for the TAMIU Robert Noyce Mathematics Teacher Scholarship Program (TAMIU-NMTSP) at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU), Laredo, Texas. The TAMIU-NMTSP provides funding for up to $10,000 per year for students who are planning on becoming secondary mathematics teachers. Students who receive the scholarship will graduate from TAMIU with a mathematics degree and 7-12 mathematics certification In exchange for receiving the TAMIU-NMTSP Scholarship, the recipients agree to teach as highly-qualified, full-time teachers in a high-need subject area for at least four years at a school serving low-income students. As part of the scholarship students receive additional mentoring from university faculty and other professionals in the field. This paper will outline this mentoring scheme as well as examine its preliminary effectiveness
The ramification group filtrations of certain function field extensions
No full textWe 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 nonabelian. We show how the problem can be reduced to the totally wild ramified case on a pextension. Our methodology is based on an intimate relationship between the ramification groups of the field extension and those of all degree- p subextensions. 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 subextensions
Retos Léxicos y Estilísticos en la Traducción de Wolf Boys de Dan Slater
No full textTranslation is one of the oldest professions and has been an important factor in the development of the human knowledge. Without the translation of literary works, from ancient Greek and Latin classics to modern prose and poetry from across the world, we would not be able to enjoy literature, to read and learn from experiences by writers in other parts of the world. This thesis focuses on literary translation. It aims to produce a faithful translation into Spanish of four selected chapters of the nonfiction novel Wolf Boys: Two American Teenagers and Mexico\u27s Most Dangerous Drug Cartel published by Dan Slater in 2016. The source text is a hybrid that combines elements of biography, narrative, expository and journalistic writing. In addition to the actual translation, the study presents a summary of translation theory and history as well as a short analysis of the decisions taken during the translation process. The objective of this project is not only to produce a faithful translation of the source text, but also to examine the typical problems that translators encounter and analyze the predicaments they face when transferring the original meaning from the source language to the target language
Access to finance for small and medium-sized firms: Evidence form Eastern Sub-Saharan Africa
Get PDFMobile money is widely used by individuals since its launch in the midst of the last decade. Nowadays, this service is also making its way through businesses that use mobile money for their financial transactions. The use of mobile money has transformed the way businesses in developing countries operate, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Notably, firms in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia are saving time for financial transactions, satisfying customers’ and suppliers’ requests to transact in mobile money and reducing costs of financial transactions. Currently, among the firms that use mobile money about 64 percent of firms receive payments from their customers in the form of mobile money. Additionally, more than 44 percent of businesses use the service to pay their suppliers. This dissertation examines the service usage among businesses using the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys Program data set for the year 2013, making the study applicable to the present time. Firstly, the dissertation investigates the type of firms that are more likely to use mobile money, and whether mobile money compliments the formal banking system. The results indicate that older firms are 20 percent more likely to use the service than younger firms, whereas medium and large-sized firms are 24 percent and 45 percent respectively less likely to use the service than small firms. Also, the firms that use mobile money are 20 percent more likely to have bank accounts. Secondly, the dissertation examines whether the enterprises that use mobile money are less credit constrained than other firms. The investigation reveals that the firms that use mobile money are 25 percent more likely to have bank loans. Finally, the dissertation addresses the gender bias regarding whether female-owned firms are more likely to be credit constrained than their male counterparts, and whether mobile money can help these firms to mitigate the problem of credit rationing. The results indicate that female-owned firms exhibit the Pecking Order Hypothesis for their capital structure and that these firms are 16 percent more likely to have bank loans compared to their male counterparts
Lectures of the 21st century: Hispanic students\u27 perceptions of active learning
Get PDFWith the current movement towards active engagement in higher education, research on student perception of teaching strategies can shed light into how teaching practices are received. While there is abundant research on student perception of active learning, little research has focused on how Hispanic students perceive this form of pedagogy. The primary purpose of this study is to examine how Hispanic students respond to active learning classrooms. This descriptive study will provide initial findings of students’ responses to active learning, enabling institutions and instructors to understand challenges and address barriers to improve the graduation rates of Hispanic students. A total of 417 participants at a Hispanic serving institution completed a self-report survey that assessed students’ response to activities in active learning classrooms and instructors’ effectiveness. Results from both quantitative and qualitative measures showed that the majority of this sample of Hispanic students responded favorably to active learning courses and to the instructor. Students perceived activities, such as collaborative learning and quizzes, as helpful in their learning. Furthermore, gender differences were found in this study; female students responded with more positive attitudes than male students towards their active learning instructor. Although there was a strong positive feedback towards the active learning course, results show that a portion of students’ struggled with activities in the classroom. Results indicated that unlike previous research, this sample of Hispanic students responded favorably towards active learning; consistent with previous studies, however, resistance can be observed as instructors transfer the responsibility of learning to the students. The main findings of this study provide ideas for future venues of research on Hispanic students in higher education to explore find best teaching practices and increase graduation rates among Hispanic students
Market orientation and innovation performance: The moderating roles of firm ownership structures
No full textThe marketing literature documents inconsistent results on the link between Market Orientation (MO) and innovation performance. The agency theory suggests that agency problems exist in firms between the principal (owner) and the agent (managers). A proper firm ownership structure design may solve the principal-agent problem. In this study, we investigate an understudied research question: whether and how ownership structures may affect the relationship between MO and innovation performance? We posit that firms should align three different dimensions of ownership structures with MO in order to achieve a superior innovation performance. We assembled a unique data set, with 242 publicly-traded companies, by merging three different data sources in an emerging market - China to test our framework. The results support our proposed model, and confirm the moderating role of ownership structures in the relationship between market orientation and firm innovation performance in China. First, all things being equal, non-state-owned firms may achieve a higher level of innovation performance than their state-owned counterparts through their implementation of MO. Second, allowing top managers to have a certain fraction of the firm\u27s ownership stake (called managerial ownership), that can switch risk preference and time preference of top manager\u27s to those of shareholders, may foster the effect of MO on innovation performance. Third, a high ratio of major owners over minor owners (named as ownership concentration), that can empower and motivate shareholders to closely monitor a manager\u27s behavior, may also strengthen the relationship between MO and innovation performance. The Chinese data from a transition economy sheds light on the ownership structure reforms in China, and provides novel new insights to the marketing theory and practice regarding the role of two new additional emerging dimensions of ownership structures - managerial ownership and ownership concentration in the relationship between MO and innovation performance. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed, and several avenues for future research are proposed
English-language proficiency, academic networks, and academic performance of mexican American baccalaureate nursing students
No full textAIM: We examine how academic networks mediate between English-language proficiency and academic performance. BACKGROUND: The relationship between English-language proficiency and academic performance remains inconclusive; it is possible that academic networks play a role in this relationship. Filling this knowledge gap is central to building best practices in teaching, and to evaluating the impact of networks on success. METHOD: Data were analyzed from 164 Mexican American nursing students. We used English Language Acculturation Scale (ELAS) items as predictors, interaction with academic networks as the mediating variable, and course grade as the outcome; regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: Interaction with academic networks correlated with grades; ELAS was not significant. Instead, academic networks mediated between entrance GPA and grades, an unexpected finding. CONCLUSION: Academic networks are critical in academic performance. However, only those students who have a history of high performance are likely to have or to activate academic networks