Texas A&M International University: Research Information Online (RIO)
Not a member yet
951 research outputs found
Sort by
Using WarpPLS in e-collaboration studies: Mediating effects, control and second order variables, and algorithm choices
No full textThis is a follow-up on two previous articles on WarpPLS and e-collaboration. The first discussed the five main steps through which a variance-based nonlinear structural equation modeling analysis could be conducted with the software WarpPLS (Kock, 2010b). The second covered specific features related to grouped descriptive statistics, viewing and changing analysis algorithm and resampling settings, and viewing and saving various results (Kock, 2011). This and the previous articles use data from the same e-collaboration study as a basis for the discussion of important WarpPLS features. Unlike the previous articles, the focus here is on a brief discussion of more advanced issues, such as: testing the significance of mediating effects, including control variables in an analysis, using second order latent variables, choosing the right warping algorithm, and using bootstrapping and jackknifing in combination. Copyright © 2011, IGI Global
College Algebra Support Project (CASP): A multifaceted course suited for today\u27s classrooms
No full textIt is known that the retention rates in standard college algebra courses have been puzzling. Educators and administrators are grappling with this situation on a day-by-day basis as they attempt to improve the retention rates among students in these courses and find a way to remedy the situation. Several ideas have emerged yet the challenges are still enormous. The College Algebra Support Project (CASP) was initiated with a main goal to increase the success rate among students in these college algebra courses taught at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU), Laredo, Texas. The approach is based on the belief that students learn mathematics by actually doing it. Homework, quizzes, laboratory projects, assessments, and exams were used to help students understand concepts and build problem-solving skills. This article outlines results of a survey conducted for this undertaking at TAMIU in Fall 2008 in terms of course features, and most importantly, what components of the course-delivery led to its success for the benefit of other faculty and college administrators
Meteorological indicators for Amblyomma cajennense and population dynamics in the Tamaulipan Biotic Province in Texas
No full textWe studied the population dynamics of free-living ticks in the Tamaulipan Biotic Province in south Texas from March, 2005 to November, 2008. We collected 70,873 ticks using carbon dioxide traps. Amblyomma cajennense represented 93.6% of the ticks identified. A. cajennense is distributed from northern Argentina to south Texas in the Tamaulipan Biotic Province. Emergence of larval A. cajennense ticks was observed two to five weeks after significant rain events (p\u3c0.0001) and had a strong negative correlation with temperature (p\u3c0.0001). More larvae were observed under humid conditions (p\u3c0.05). Fewer larvae were observed during windy and warmer conditions (p\u3c0.05). This observation indicates high sensitivity of larvae to desiccating conditions. Peaks in nymphal activity were observed after peaks of larval emergence. Activity of nymphs was negatively correlated with temperature (p\u3c0.05). Adult activity was negatively correlated with humidity (p\u3c0.05) and negatively correlated with total rain from three to six weeks prior to observation (p\u3c0.05). Adult A. cajennense are particularly tolerant to drier conditions relative to other closely related ticks. Adult female activity was positively correlated with temperature (p\u3c0.05). Peaks in rain activity and a summer behavioral diapause appear to be the dominant factors controlling emergence of larvae, and by extension, the life cycle of A. cajennense in the Tamaulipan Biotic Province. © 2011 The Society for Vector Ecology
Los debates político-electorales televisados en México en la voz de dos generaciones y votantes: un estudio de recepción en el ámbito de la comunicación política.
No full textSe presentan los resultados de un estudio de recepción en el ámbito de la comunicación política, cuyo objetivo fue explorar la manera en que la categoría generacional influye en la evaluación de los debates político-electorales televisados en México. Se relata el contexto en el que surgieron los debates, en el marco de la cada vez frecuente espectacularización de la política. La investigación se ubica en el análisis integral de recepción; se conciben a las audiencias como activas y al proceso como complejo y socialmente situado. Se retoman categorías del concepto de cultura política para comprender la manera en que los sujetos evalúan al régimen político y sus actores, pero sobre todo, la forma en que la perciben y participan en la vida política. Por ello, la estrategia metodológica fue diseñada bajo el enfoque cualitativo, con las técnicas del análisis textual (descripción del mensaje) y del grupo de discusión (exploración de la producción de sentido colectivo). Se encontró que el grupo de adultos se muestra más interesado por la política, pero también por el abordaje espectacular de ésta. Concluimos que la principal mediación de este proceso de recepción es la cultura política. AbstractThis paper analyzes the results of a reception study in the political communication area, which objective was to explore the influence of the generational category on the voters\u27 evaluation about the Mexican electoral televised debates. The context in which the debates appeared is described, in the frame of the spectacular politics. The research is located on the integral analysis of reception, where the audiences are seen as actives and the process as complex and socially placed. Categories of the political culture concept were taken to understand the way in which subjects evaluate the political regime and its actors, but most of all, the way they perceive and participate in political life. That is why the methodological strategy is qualitative, and the research techniques were the textual analysis (message description) and the discussion group (collective sense production exploration). It was found that the adult group is more interested on politics than the young one, but they also do on the spectacular politics. It is conclude that the main mediation in this reception process is, actually, the political culture
La violencia: Signos y expresiones del espacio urbano del puerto veracruzano.
Get PDFEn algunas ciudades latinoamericanas (Ciudad Juárez, Sao Paulo, Río de Janeiro, Medellín, San Salvador, entre otras) el crimen organizado protagoniza cotidianamente actos de extrema violencia y crueldad, lo que sin duda parece estar redefiniendo el espacio público urbano, por lo tanto, las formas de habitar las ciudades de hoy y sus formas de enunciación, se han transformado considerablemente. El paisaje citadino se ha transformado: otros actores sociales, otras narrativas y otras maneras de entender la vida en la urbanidad van redefiniendo todos los días la experiencia ciudadana. Aquí los medios de comunicación junto al Internet juegan un papel preponderante por la forma en que tratan el acontecimiento así como por la manera en que el crimen organizado ha generado sus propias fórmulas de visibilidad. Todo esto es analizado a la luz del incremento en la violencia urbana y el narcotráfico que se ha vivido en Veracruz y su conurbación en los últimos años. AbstractThe violence that in the latianoamerican cities (Ciudad Juárez, Sao Paulo, Río de Janeiro, Medellín, San Salvador, among others) heads the organized crime, seems has come redefining the urban public space, therefore the forms to inhabit the cities of today and their forms of enunciation. The citadino landscape has become: other social actors, other narratives and other ways to understand the life in the large city are redefining the citizen experience. Here the mass media next to the Internet play a preponderant role by the form in which they treat the event as well as by the way in which the organized crime has generated its own formulas of visibility. All this is analyzed in the light of the increase in the urban violence and the drug trafficking has lived in Veracruz and its conurbation in the last years
The impacts of SOX and SEC investigation on the corporate governance of option backdating firms
No full textThis study investigates the combined impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) and the subsequent related Securities and Exchange Commission\u27s (SEC) initiatives on the corporate governance characteristics of firms that had historically backdated stock options. Our results show that backdating firms had both weaker board-level and committee-level corporate governance characteristics than control firms in the pre-SOX period. In contrast, backdating firms dress up their board-level governance to meet regulatory requirements but still feature weaker committee-level corporate governance in the post-SOX era. © 2011
Mobile phones andcore network growth in Kenya: Strengthening weak ties
No full textIn contrast to recent US studies showing a decrease in core network size, our Kenyan data reveals substantial network growth. We attribute this to the diffusion of mobile telephones. Results from pooled survey data from Nairobi professionals and entrepreneurs in 2002 and 2007 as well as qualitative interviews from 2007 to 2009 show virtual saturation in the diffusion of phones during this period, but no direct effect of technology use. What explains this puzzle is a network effect of mobile telephony: increased technological access to existing networks in a context of resource scarcity leads to a strengthening of weak ties and the enhancement of core networks among Kenyans. Video ethnographic data before and after the 2007 post-election unrest supports this interpretation, showing that mobile phones are a crucial resource in managing interpersonal networks for instrumental purposes. © 2010 Elsevier Inc
Distribution of field caught mosquitoes from Laredo, Texas
Get PDFWithin the last decades, mosquito-borne viruses have re-emerged in the United States. These infectious viruses include Dengue, West Nile, St. Louis Encephalitis, and Chikungunya, just to name a few. Originating in sub-tropical and tropical regions, these viruses and the mosquitoes that transmit them know no borders. Laredo, Texas is a town which borders Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico; an area that is known to have frequent outbreaks of the Dengue virus. Identifying the diversity of mosquito species and the abundance of mosquitoes in the City of Laredo is a key element in aiding local public health officials in disease surveillance. This 9-month study was aimed to identify if the vectors for these viruses were present in Laredo, their distribution throughout the city, and if weather and environmental factors affect their presence. We found that the main vectors for Dengue (Aedes aegypti) and West Nile virus (Culex quinquefasciatus) are indeed present year-round with higher activity in areas that border Mexico and when temperature ranges between 16°C and 37°C. It is recommended that the City of Laredo conduct monthly surveillance of mosquito pools and increase community outreach to prevent disease transmission and potentially a future outbreak. These efforts will not eliminate the possibility of infection through a mosquito bite but may decrease the incidence of the vector-borne disease in the area
Anuario Estadístico de Cine Mexicano. Mexican Cinema Statistical Yearbook 2010. Área de Investigación Estratégica, Análisis y Prospectiva. Distrito Federal, México: Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía.
No full textEl Anuario Estadístico de Cine Mexicano 2010, editado por el Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía, es un documento de gran valor que, como lo dice Marina Stavenhagen, Directora General del Instituto en su presentación, recoge información valiosa que permitirá ahondar en torno a diversos aspectos del quehacer cinematográfico en México.El Anuario consta de nueve capítulos, escritos en un lenguaje claro, preciso y sencillo, a través de los cuales nos ofrece un panorama acerca de las variables que afectan a la distribución y exhibición cinematográficas; su infraestructura y festivales en los que participa; la producción; la presencia del cine nacional en la televisión mexicana; el cine mexicano en DVD; el cine mexicano en Internet; en el extranjero; algunos resultados de la Encuesta Nacional de Consumo y Percepción del Cine Mexicano; y un recuento estadístico de la industria cinematográfica en México de 1910 a 2010
¿Apatía o desencuentro? Patrones de consumo y recepción de información política y gubernamental en jóvenes
No full textEs casi un lugar común afirmar que los jóvenes tienen una información mínima de los acontecimientos y actores políticos y que por lo tanto manifiestan un alto grado de apatía y despolitización. Sin embargo las reflexiones teóricas más recientes señalan nuevas representaciones y formas de participación política que pudieran ser la clave para desentrañar dicho distanciamiento. Emplazado en una perspectiva de socialización política, el presente reporte de un proyecto cualitativo exploratorio afirma que los jóvenes en efecto consumen escasa información política a través de medios que de suyo proveen mensajes descontextualizados, como la TV, además de que descreen a priori de la misma. Sin embargo encontramos que sostienen preocupaciones políticas auténticas, una demanda por claridad y sencillez de información pública, y que la desconfianza generalizada hacia la clase política y las características formales del lenguaje periodístico, lejanas a una estética juvenil, constituyen un factor de exclusión de los mismos a la información política. Por otro lado rescatamos el importante papel de la familia como escenario de circulación de información y reinterpretación de acontecimientos políticos, así como la consideración de un periodismo que se adapte mejor a las habilidades y estéticas de recepción de los jóvenes. AbstractIt´s practically common place to believe that youth have minimal information about current events and political actors and thus, they are apathetic and depoliticized. However, recent theoretical insights pose that new ways of political participation and representations are taking place, and this could be a key to understand youth´s disengagement. In a political socialization perspective, this paper argues that young people in fact consume very scarce political information through media that provides little context, such as TV, and that youth tends to mistrust of it. Nevertheless, we find that young people uphold true political interests, demand clear and simple public information, and that general mistrust to politicians and the formal features of journalism´s languaje, far from youth aesthetics, could make them exclude themselves from the flow of political information. On the other hand we underline the role of the familiy as the place for information and meaning sharing, and we claim for a journalism that fits better to reception skills and aesthetics of the youth