Texas A&M International University: Research Information Online (RIO)
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Connecting Good Governance Principles to the Public Affairs Curriculum: The Case of Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration
No full textFor more than two decades, good governance reform policy has swept through sub-Saharan Africa like a wildfire. Although government watchers have assumed that this reform initiative is critical for achieving development, little attention has been paid to how it affects and is affected by public affairs education and training. Drawing on the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), this article examines how the curriculum integrates unique local and regional conditions with good governance principles advocated by several international entities. Then it compares the curriculum to the new NASPAA standards of public affairs education and training and assesses how well it matches those standards. The analysis shows that there is a substantial convergence between the GIMPA curriculum and NASPAA accreditation principles and standards. We question how these principles can be reconciled with local sociocultural conditions. We conclude by making observations about how to strengthen the curriculum and improve the quality of public affairs education and training for development management
Liberal imperialism: Emerson and the fate of reading in America
No full textThis review article sets the revisionist readings of Daniel T. O\u27Hara in Visions of Global America and the Future of Critical Reading and Anthony Bogues in Empire of Liberty: Power, Desire, and Freedom alongside Neal Dolan\u27s recuperative account of Emerson\u27s Liberalism. The author argues that O\u27Hara and Bogues offer powerful criticisms of American hegemony and provide insightful analyses of the imperial rhetoric of liberty. Dolan\u27s deeply informed study of the philosophical underpinnings of Emerson\u27s Liberalism serves as an important corrective to the at times all-encompassing reach of New American scholarship, but his book benefits from being read in tandem with the political criticisms advanced by Bogues and O\u27Hara. All three critics are commendable for the courage and intelligence they bring to bear on the defining conflicts of our age, and for attempting to chart a way out of the current imperialist impasse. © 2013 Canadian Review of American Studies/Revue canadienne d\u27études américaines
De Pablos Coello, J. M. (2011). Periodismo es preguntar. La Laguna, Tenerife: Cuadernos Artesanos 19
Get PDFReseña del texto de José Manuel De Pablos Coello (2011). Periodismo es preguntar. La Laguna, Tenerife: Cuadernos Artesanos 1
Partial Purification and Characterization of Texas Live Oak (Quercus fusiformis) Lectin
Get PDFLectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins with agglutination properties. There is a continuous interest in lectins due to their biological properties that can be exploited for medicinal and therapeutic purposes. The objective of this study was to isolate and characterize lectin in Texas Live Oak (Quercus fusiformis). More specifically, the study aimed to determine the lectin’s blood group specificity and pH stability, determine effects of seasonal variation, soil moisture and soil pH on lectin activity. The study also aimed to determine the presence of antifungal activity in Q. fusiformis extracts. Lectin activity was detected and compared via agglutination and protein assays. Protein partial purification was accomplished using diethylaminoethyl ion-exchange chromatography matrix. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used to assess purity of the lectin. Results showed that Q. fusiformis extracts’ lectin activities are stable at a pH range of 5.2-9.2 but with a significant decrease in activity above pH 9.2. The lectin activity was significantly higher when assayed against sheep red blood cells as compared to other blood groups tested. Quercus fusiformis extract is devoid of antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus stolonifer. The effects of seasonal variation, soil moisture and soil pH do not significantly correlate with lectin activity. Results from HPLC showed presence of three peaks indicating a partial purification of the Q. fusiformis lectin
Using warpPLS in e-collaboration studies: What if i have only one group and one condition?
No full textWhat if a researcher obtains empirical data by asking questions to gauge the effect of an e-collaboration technology on task performance, but does not obtain data on the extent to which the e-collaboration technology is used? This characterizes what is referred to here as a scenario with one group and one condition, where the researcher is essentially left with only one column of data to be analyzed. When this happens, often researchers do not know how to analyze the data, or analyze the data making incorrect assumptions and using unsuitable techniques. Some of WarpPLS\u27s features make it particularly useful in this type of scenario, such as its support for small samples and the use of data that does not meet parametric assumptions. The main goal of this paper is to help e-collaboration researchers use WarpPLS to analyze data in this type of scenario, where only one group and one condition are available. Two other scenarios are also discussed - a typical scenario, and a scenario with one group and two before-after technology introduction conditions. While the focus here is on e-collaboration, the recommendations apply to many other fields. © 2013, IGI Global
Complete basis set limits of local second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory
No full textThe performance of local Møller-Plesset second-order perturbation theory (LMP2) and the impact of domain choice upon accuracy for a series of correlation consistent basis sets have been examined. MP2 correlation energies were calculated for 31 molecules ranging from 4 to 26 atoms, and containing up to 10 non-hydrogen atoms. The correlation energies were extrapolated to the complete basis set (CBS) limit using various schemes for comparison. The percent CPU savings for the local MP2 calculations as compared with conventional MP2 calculations are provided. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
Diffusion of Innovation: The Introduction of a Point-Of-Use Ceramic Water Filter to South Texas Colonia Residents
Get PDFPeople living in South Texas colonias continue to face developing world living conditions. Many residents of the colonias still live without basic and fundamental utilities including running water in their homes. Worldwide lack of access to clean running water is a major social problem and found in new colonias. Research has found that point-of-use ceramic water filters (CWFs) are a viable and cost effective way to purify water and developing countries throughout the world use them today. This study employs Everett Rogers’s 1964 Diffusion of Innovation Theory. Rogers’s theory has been applied in countless studies to analyze the processes through which communities adopt new technologies or practices. One adoption technology, CWFs are made by a facility in the general area in which the residents interviewed for this study live. Results found that residents were interested in the CWF but had not been introduced to the filter and were unaware that a filter making facility was near their homes. While the focus of this study was to determine whether residents would adopt CWF technology, what came into question was why the innovation had not diffused. Research has found that a major reason attributed to a failure to diffuse is that outreach services do not rapidly adapt to the creation of new colonia residents through contact and education about the water filter. Potential adopters did show interest in the CWF when its use was explained as a part of this study. State and local resources need to be deployed to prevent communication of water-borne diseases and preserve new colonia resident’s health
La producción de noticias ambientales en la prensa local argentina: agenda periodística y criterios de noticiabilidad
No full textEl presente trabajo tiene por objetivo presentar los avances empíricos de un estudio sobre los criterios que un grupo de periodistas de la ciudad argentina de Rosario utilizan en la producción de noticias ambientales. Se trata de una investigación cualitativa que ha recurrido al uso de entrevistas semiestructuradas con periodistas locales para indagar la relevancia que los temas vinculados al medio ambiente poseen en la agenda periodística, así como los criterios de noticiabilidad asociados a la producción de textos informativos sobre dichos temas. Los resultados obtenidos apuntan que las cuestiones ambientales poseen una baja relevancia en el entramado de prioridades que los periodistas deben abordar en su trabajo cotidiano, y que el interés noticioso de los mismos aumenta cuando se vinculan a la idea de “desastre”; además, se apunta que ciertos intereses políticos y económicos juegan un rol fundamental en los procesos de producción de noticias sobre medio ambiente.Palabras clave: Periodismo, agenda periodística, noticiabilidad, medio ambiente AbstractThis paper aims to present the empirical results of a study concerned with the criteria that a group of journalists from the city of Rosario, Argentina, used in the production of environmental news. This is a qualitative research in which semi-structured interviews with local journalists have been utilized to investigate the relevance of environmental issues on the journalistic agenda and newsworthiness criteria associated with the production of informational texts on these subjects. The findings suggest that environmental issues have low relevance in the set of priorities that journalists address in their daily work, and that the newsworthiness of these issues, increases when associated with the idea of disaster ; additionally it is noted that certain political interests and some economic constraints play a fundamental role in news production processes pertaining to environment issues. Keywords: Journalism, news agenda, newsworthiness, environmen
Research productivity of East Asian Scientists: Does cosmopolitanism in professional networking, research collaboration, and scientific conference Attendance mater?
No full textOur study (in the area of sociology of science) examines how cosmopolitanism in three spheres of scientific engagement - networking, collaborating, and conferencing - influences total journal productivity (TOTAL) and productivity in high impact journals (HIJ; impact factor ≥ 4). We hypothesize that scientists who exhibit cosmopolitanism in these spheres of scientific engagement have higher HIJ and TOTAL publication counts. To test this hypothesis, we conducted face-to-face interviews with a sample of n=84 life scientists in doctoral granting institutions in Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan. We analyzed our data using a set of generalized linear models (i.e., an over-dispersed Poisson regression for HIJ and a negative binomial regression for TOTAL) with publication counts as the outcome variables, and measures of professional networking, research collaboration, and scientific conferencing as our main predictor variables. To increase the precision of our regression estimates, we incorporated variables pertaining to contextual and personal attributes as multivariate statistical controls. Our results indicate a positive association between HIJ productivity and proportion of foreign contacts, and no association between productivity and collaborations involving foreign participants. Although conference attendance in general is linked with increased productivity (HIJ and TOTAL), conference attendance abroad is not. These findings appear to suggest that the formal collaborative research group with its instrumental ties may not be conducive to productivity, but the informal professional network with its affective ties may be conducive; and having a cosmopolitan professional network is a strong predictor of productivity in high quality outlets. © 2013 De La Salle University, Philippines
Is fear of crime splitting the sister cities? The case of Los Dos Laredos
No full textThis article describes the change in border dynamics of the Laredo-Nuevo Laredo U.S.-Mexican border during the first decade of the 21st century. While the sharing and blending of cultures has long been considered an integral part of the regional identity, publicity related to crime in Mexico and fear of the potential for spillover crime has created a significant degree of separation between the two communities that once lived as one. In terms of social construction of place, the Rio Grande boundary separating the sister cities was relatively meaningless for many years as laborers, shoppers and tourists crossed easily between the two nations. The integrated cultural bond has moved towards a coexistence favoring growth in the Laredo economy while Nuevo Laredo struggles. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd