Texas A&M International University: Research Information Online (RIO)
Not a member yet
951 research outputs found
Sort by
Do Patrol Beat and Police Officer Attributes Predict Citizen Complaint?
Full text linkCitizen complaints against police officers have been the highlight of national news media and outlets. Complaints of use of force are not the only ones that arise from citizens’ complaints; other complaints such as discourtesy and demeanor are issues that police officers face and answer to their internal affair’s investigative units. The aim of this study is to examine what ascribed (e.g., age, gender, and marital status) and career-related achieved (e.g., certification, education, experience, and training) characteristics of police officers influence citizens’ complaints in terms of type, frequency, and severity. Contextual factors such as patrol beat, used as a moderating factor, is also examined. Data was collected from a police department in a border city along the Texas-Mexico border. A sample of police officer records served as the basis for this study’s data and analyses. A linear regression modeling approach was used to analyze data. The findings demonstrated that age is a consistently significant negative predictor (i.e., older officers generate lower annual rates of complaints) of annual rate of complaints per year and that basic certification has a significant negative impact (i.e., officers with basic certification have a lower severity index score) on the utilized severity score. Understanding the characteristics and nature of these relationships have the potential to improve police interdepartmental policy which would assist officers in forming better community relationships
Shrew or Sure? Rethinking Power in Shakespeare\u27s The Taming of the Shrew
Full text linkThis thesis investigates the difference between Shakespeare’s written work The Taming of the Shrew and twentieth-century film director Franco Zeffirelli’s adaptation in 1967, specifically the final outcome in the issue of power of Katherine’s character. While some scholars consider Shakespeare a proto-feminist who endows Katherine with cleverness, wit, and cunning to secretly tame Petruchio in order to gain personal freedom within the walls of a forced marriage, Zeffirelli denies Katherine dignity in the face of public humiliation and physical violence. Furthermore, Zeffirelli also undermines Shakespeare’s progressive agenda by perpetuating an oppressive narrative against women using twentieth-century film as his medium of mass influence. This thesis aims to prove that Shakespeare weaves subtle clues in his written text that support the belief that Katherine publicly performs an inauthentic—albeit, convincing— submission in her final speech to demonstrate her invisible grasp of power; ironically, she hoodwinks Petruchio by violating the expectation of silence prescribed to the female sex. This pretension of total devotion to Petruchio works to delude him into believing he has tamed Katherine. The disparities between the original text and Zeffirelli’s film illuminate how contemporary social climates challenge and perpetuate fixed ideas about gender. Whereas Shakespeare was aware of the static gender norms of his time and included elements of this culture in his works, he also included new cultural and social possibilities with radical ideas—like a strong female lead who gets her way after all—to further the progress of women’s liberation in England. Zeffirelli, on the other hand, caters to the male gaze that sustains a female-enslavement culture and sees to quash the women’s liberation movement in 1960s America
Aportes metodológicos de una experiencia de construcción de indicadores de desarrollo mediático
No full textEste artículo da cuenta del proceso de reflexión crítica y definición metodológica para la creación de indicadores de desarrollo mediático, a partir de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (UNESCO). Detalla las etapas que se siguieron en la definición de la propuesta, las cuales consistieron en la revisión de los indicadores y subindicadores propuestos por la UNESCO; la definición de un marco teórico y conceptual que orientara la creación de una propuesta ajustada a Costa Rica; la adecuación de los indicadores al concepto de ciudadanía comunicativa; y finalmente, la validación de los indicadores mediante el método Delphi. Esta reflexión teórica y metodológica sobre el proceso de adaptación de indicadores mediáticos a los contextos nacionales aporta al conocimiento de los medios de comunicación y al ejercicio de la ciudadanía comunicativa. El texto explica los pasos seguidos desde la adopción de la perspectiva de la ciudadanía comunicativa y el concepto de la complejidad, para crear una propuesta adaptada a la realidad nacional, la cual, si se aplica con la rigurosidad planteada, generará datos confiables sobre la estructura y funcionamiento de los medios de comunicación. En su conjunto el artículo responde a la pregunta..
Employee Well-Being as a Mediator of the Relationship between Perceived High-Performance Work Systems and Employee Outcomes
Full text linkThis study builds upon the strategic human resource management literature to further understand the effect of high-performance work systems on employee outcomes. Despite the increasing interest in examining the relationship between high-performance work systems and employee attitudes and behaviors, the mechanisms of how these HR practices affect employees are not fully clear. As such, the current study sheds more light into this area of the HR literature by examining the mediating role of employee well-being between perceived high-performance work systems and three important worker outcomes: work effort, turnover intention, and counterproductive work behavior. The model is tested by using a sample consisting of 408 respondents from the United States and India. The results of the study show that high-performance work systems are positively related to employee work effort, and they are negatively related to employee turnover intention and counterproductive work behavior. Furthermore, employee well-being was found to play a mediating role in these relationships. To further examine the model, I divide the sample into two subsamples, with one subsample consisting of only U.S. respondents and the other consisting of only Indian respondents. This division was done in order to examine whether there would be any differences in path coefficients between the model derived from the U.S. subsample and the one derived from the Indian subsample. The analysis showed that for the U.S. subsample employee well-being would act as a full mediator for the relationships between high-performance work systems and the two employee withdrawal outcomes (turnover intention and counterproductive work behavior), while for the Indian subsample the mediating effect was partial. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed
Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity & Phytochemical Analysis of Two South Texas Species of the Fabaceae Family
Full text linkThe emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance, as well as the evolution of new strains are of great concern to the global health community. The search for novel agents to combat the rapid evolution of bacterial pathogens becomes ever more important as current methods are proving ineffective. In the present study, the different solvent extracts (acetone, methanol, and acetic acid) of Acacia berlandieri and Acacia rigidula (leaves) were evaluated for phytochemical analysis, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Plant leaves of Acacia rigidula and Acacia berlandieri were sequentially extracted using acetone, methanol and acetic acid that were then subjected to susceptibility testing against nine microorganisms. A qualitative phytochemical study was conducted to determine secondary metabolites of plant extracts. Extracts were analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), infrared spectroscopy (IR), and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) to identify different substances within a test sample. Antioxidant activity was determined in Acacia rigidula using the FTC method. Results: This study provided evidence of antimicrobial activity from the crude extracts of both species, with an activity higher from the leaves of species A. rigidula. Among the nine microorganisms, two gram-negative (Providencia alcalifaciens and Yersinia enterocolitica) and two gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis) bacteria were susceptible. Qualitative phytochemical testing revealed important secondary metabolites: phenols, flavonoids, saponins, terpenoids and tannins. Each of which have been shown to possess antimicrobial properties and exert different modes of action. NMR, IR, and UV-Vis spectroscopy revealed the basic structures within our unknown samples that are commonly found in flavonoids, saponins, and tannins, reinforcing the results of phytochemical testing. Results revealed antioxidant activity within selected A. rigidula extracts. Analysis of the leaves extracts of A. berlandieri and A. rigidula have revealed the presence of medicinally valued bioactive components. This study confirmed the efficacy of selected plant extracts as natural antimicrobials and suggest the possibility of employing them in drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases caused by the test organisms
Exposing Necrocapitalism, Slow Violence, and Precarity: Necropolitics in The Grapes of Wrath
Full text linkThis work begins by briefly exploring the historical, environmental, economic, and sociopolitical factors springing up from the Great Depression to the Dust Bowl migration. Although it is argued that John Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath through a religious lens, Steinbeck alludes to the Bible only as a bridge to a social gospel. More importantly, my focus is mainly centered on Achille Mbembé’s concept of necropolitics (the sovereign right to decide who lives and who dies) and applying it to the first world country of the United States. Mbembé expands on Michel Foucault’s concept of biopolitics by including the state of siege, the state of exception, and the war machine. I am going to break down necropolitics into three categories to analyze the novel to a full extent; they are necrocapitalism, slow violence, and precarity. Looking at the novel through a necropolitical lens, it is evident that the Okies were victims of a system that categorized them as “disposable.” The experiences of the Joads are not an isolated family tragedy; it is a migrant issue and a class problem. Although it seems deterministic, Steinbeck’s social gospel (based off Transcendentalism) helps restore the novel as guidance and inspiration for humanity, proving that a different type of “freedom” does exist. It is important to revisit and update our classics with contemporary readings because they provide a panoramic view of the issues that still affect our world today
American in Principle: Frederick Douglass\u27 Navigation of American Identity
Full text linkMy Master’s Thesis examines Frederick Douglass’ definition of American identity by navigating through his struggle between his acknowledgement of American ideals and his exclusion from American society. As a fugitive slave in antebellum America, there was a tension for Douglass in adopting an identity that recognized American identity by principle. Starting with his anti-Constitution Garrisonian perspective, I venture through his written and orated works to present the gradual shift in his perspective on and attitude towards America. My first chapter examines Douglass’ first two autobiographies to compare his changing opinions on America from 1845 to 1855. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845), Douglass advocates for self-will, education, and literacy as a pathway to freedom. In contrast, in My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), Douglass emphasizes the role of political influence and communal action to combat slavery. Alongside selected journal entries and orations between the 1840s and 1850s, Douglass’ changing political perspective is also indicated in his Fourth of July speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” (1852). I argue that Douglass reconciled with his identity as a black man and as an American in his Fourth of July oration. He defines American identity in his speech by emphasizing the principles founded in the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and through the actions of the American revolutionaries. In doing so, Douglass illuminates the hypocrisy of the nation for not upholding these virtues. Lastly, I argue that Douglass’ novella, The Heroic Slave (1853), encapsulates his political voyage and life as a slave-turned-political orator, portraying his definition of Americanness through the actions of the main character, Madison Washington
Los fans de último minuto de Juego de Tronos
No full textSe analizan las prácticas de espectadores mexicanos que se convirtieron en fans de Juego de Tronos (HBO, 2011-2019) cuando se acercaba a su conclusión. Esta serie es un ejemplo de televisión compleja que promueve un fuerte involucramiento emocional. Así mismo, es contenido preciado de distribución global que las audiencias buscan y desean ver completo. Se aplicaron 10 entrevistas semi-estructuradas que incluyeron tres dimensiones: (a) historia personal con la serie, (b) ver la serie como maratón (binge-watching), y (c) ser fan. Los participantes reportaron que la presión para iniciar a ver la serie había provenido de sus amigos, profesores y familiares, o de las publicaciones que habían visto en sitios de redes sociales. Una vez enganchados en Juego de Tronos, los espectadores tomaron parte en las prácticas típicas de los fans, como hacer fanart, cosplay y comprar mercancía, sin importar el momento en que habían iniciado a ver la serie. Se confirma que el nuevo contexto televisivo, caracterizado por la amplia disponibilidad de contenidos en servicios de distribución digital, permite a los espectadores ponerse al día a través de maratones para incorporarse rápidamente a fenómenos televisivos en boga
Etiquetado digital social como activismo en redes sociales: #ladies y #lords en México
Full text linkUna de las funciones de Twitter es el etiquetado digital denominado: hashtag. A través de las etiquetas, ordena y clasifica los mensajes de esta plataforma de redes sociales. El objetivo de esta investigación es estudiar el fenómeno del etiquetado social conocido como hashtag activism (activismo de etiquetas) como impulsores de la participación cívica, respondiendo la pregunta: ¿cómo entender la participación cívica online a través del etiquetado social en redes socio digitales? Nuestra metodología hace un análisis cualitativo de 33 casos representativos de las etiquetas #Ladies y #Lords utilizadas en México que realizan un escrutinio social desde el 2011. Concluimos que el etiquetado digital impacta en la participación cívica y la comunicación en la sociedad de la información
Que Pedo, Where Are the Latinas?: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Latina Representation in Two American Female Magazines and Conceptions of Latina Self-Perception
Full text linkWhile feminist critics like Jean Kilbourne have noted the oppressive power patriarchal advertisements can have on a women\u27s self-perception, the majority of these critiques stem from second and third wave feminist concerns that potentially overlook the role of race and ethnicity in the construction of gendered images. Moreover, popular feminist research tends to overlook the importance of analyzing the different intersects of female social identities. Intersectional feminism, however, has been the painted as a new theoretical concept that can help feminist researchers address these different intersect. Thus, the purpose of this research project is to contribute to current feminist media research by using intersectionality as a tool to explore how the Latina female image is portrayed in the gendered images of advertisements. A content analysis was conducted and used to explore how Latina female images are represented in two popular female magazines--Cosmopolitan and Cosmopolitan for Latinas. Lastly, this essay will discuss the findings of a set of focus groups made up of 18 Latina women in the hopes it will highlight the importance of giving voice to Latina women