The LAIR at East Texas A&M
Not a member yet
7179 research outputs found
Sort by
Case Study: Apprenticeship Programs at An Urban Community College
No full textA practice that dates back centuries, apprenticeship is a workforce development model that has gained recent attention in the American higher education system. The researcher conducted a review of existing literature that included apprenticeships in higher education and other models of community college workforce development. Existing literature indicate the apprenticeship model can positively impact student retention and completion rate, job placement rate, job retention, and earnings over time. Widely proclaimed as a solution to workforce pipeline deficits and rising student debt, apprenticeship has gained momentum among community college leaders. However, the integration of apprenticeship into formal higher education is a new endeavor in the United States, and little is known about the challenges institutions may face and the solutions they may need to develop to support apprenticeship programs successfully. The purpose of this case study was to research a Texas urban community college that has implemented multiple registered apprenticeship programs in order to understand how one institution organized, managed, and funded RAPs within its existing structures and processes. In this case study, the researcher considered (a) how the institution adapted existing systems and processes, (b) how the programs are currently placed and funded within the organization, and (c) what challenges were encountered and solutions developed. This research occurred at a single, large urban community college as a case study. The five participants included two executive leaders, one director, and two manager-level employees that work with, manage, and support the registered apprenticeship programs at the institution. The researcher gathered data in one-on-one interviews and through document and artifact collection. The data were coded and organized into themes including best practices, challenges, team functions, regulations, structures, impacts, and future plans. Participants clearly expressed their belief—an apprenticeship was a model that could help individuals as well as employers. However, participants also communicated concerns about the extensive time and financial resources required to manage registered apprenticeship programs successfully. The results and conclusions of this study may provide resources, points of consideration, and context for other institutions that are planning to develop and manage apprenticeship programs
A Case Study on Specific Student Services During Covid-19 Pandemic and Their Impact on Persistence of African American Women Graduates at a Public Institution
No full textThe effects of the pandemic, COVID-19 reverberated throughout the higher education environment, ultimately creating a need for a greater understanding of how it impacted an already marginalized group such as African American women. This qualitative phenomenological case study examined the lived experiences of African American women who obtained degrees from a public rural university through the global pandemic. Data were collected through open-ended, phenomenological-oriented interviews and surveys with five African American women. This study focused on how the services in enrollment management offices impacted the ability of students to persist during the pandemic. Specific focus was given to African American women and their lived experiences with the student services offices by the financial aid office. The research included education theories regarding attrition, retention, and persistence. Finally, the qualitative data from this study yielded information which exposed more about how the pandemic impacted African American women and provided insight into their perspectives about how enrollment management offices may adjust to impact attrition, retention, and persistence rates to improve graduation rates moving forward. Among the findings related to participant perception of the office were those related to increased financial support and proactive communication; findings of suggested measures included adjustments to accessibility, personalization, awareness of service and transparency of roles. Keywords: Attrition, Persistence, Retention, Women, African-American, Covid-19, Rural, University, 4-Yr, Completion, Graduation Rate
Deep Temporal Point Process Approach to Packet Stream Analysis
No full textIn this work, we perform packet stream analysis using the Deep Temporal Point Process. The Deep Temporal Point process is a probabilistic generative model, which is used as a model that learns a pattern of a series of events and predicts the occurrence of future events (Saha et al., 2019). Instead of using this model as a generative model, we intend to use it for classification through learning event sequence patterns. To perform packet stream analysis, we use the packet arrival time among the raw data of the packets, which is regarded as the event occurrence time from the TPP point of view and learned. The time sequence input data is output as a probability distribution through the intensity function. Data from one attack category is trained for each model, and the classification task is performed by comparing the difference in likelihood from other models. Finally, we compare the performance between the used model and the new model that applies NTPP to packet stream analysis
Impact of Crepe Myrtle Bark Scale (Acanthococcus Lagerstroemiae) and Sooty Mold on Flowering in Lagerstroemia Indica × Fauriei \u27Natchez\u27
No full textCrepe myrtle bark scale (CMBS) (Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae) is an important pest of crepe myrtle (CM). Infestation results in the growth of sooty mold (SM). The combination of CMBS and SM is reported to cause stunted growth and reduced blooming. To explore the effects of CMBS infestation and SM growth, an experiment was conducted at the Texas A&M University-Commerce (A&M-Commerce) Crepe Myrtle Research Garden (CMRG). The CMRG includes 24 ‘Natchez’ crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica × fauriei ‘Natchez’) divided equally across four blocks. Within each block, three were randomly selected and treated with dinotefuran in year one and imidacloprid in year two, while the remaining served as untreated controls. Trees were observed and scored for CMBS and SM using a scale of 0-10, with 0 indicative of no CMBS or SM, and 10 representing complete plant coverage. At blooming initiation, bloom number was estimated by dividing panicles into small, medium, and large clusters. Bloom clusters were counted weekly until no blooms were seen. Once blooming ended, fruit was removed from each tree and counted. During year one, on average across all weeks, treated plants had lower CMBS scores (5.8 versus 6.3), lower SM scores (5.7 versus 5.8), higher average bloom number per tree (442 versus 193), and higher average fruit number per tree (3,770 versus 998) than untreated controls. In year two, CMBS and SM scores were lower due to pre-season power washing, with treated trees receiving final CMBS and SM scores of 0.48 and 0.52, respectively, compared to untreated trees receiving CMBS and SM scores of 1.01 and 1.33, respectively on average across all weeks. Average bloom number per tree for treated trees in year two was 294, compared to 119 for untreated controls, and the average fruit number per tree for treated trees was 7,031, compared to 2,009 for untreated controls on average across all weeks. Across both years, the data support the conclusion that CMBS infestation, along with the corresponding presence of SM, decreases bloom number in CM
The Lived Experiences of Narcissistic Abuse Survivors
No full textThis qualitative study investigated the common themes in Adlerian Sandtrays of individuals who had reportedly been raised by a narcissistic parent. Five participants were given five prompts to process through an Adlerian Sandtray lens to gather themes. The researcher observed, interviewed, and documented the sand trays. The process not only gathered a collective list of themes experienced by narcissistic abuse survivors but also allowed them to process their journey through the sandtrays. The findings of this study showed that there were common themes of experiencing anxiety/depression, feeling not good enough, the need to be a pleaser, relationship issues, avoiding conflicts, and grandparents who were also narcissists and highlighted the impact of being raised by a narcissist. The use of sandtray allowed the survivors the opportunity to create a voice in the sand to their lived experiences. The results of the research study offer insight and, hopefully, awareness of how narcissistic abuse during childhood can greatly impact individuals throughout their lives
Leading And Learning Through the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Phenomenological Study of Leadership in Rural School Districts in Texas
No full textAlthough school districts have prepared and planned for school crises for many years in response to the Columbine High School and Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting tragedies, the COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges for school districts when dealing with educating students amid a pandemic. This qualitative phenomenological study examined leadership in small, rural school districts in Texas facing a pandemic. The study was guided using crisis management theory (Crandall et al., 2021) as the theoretical framework to explore the crisis of COVID-19 in rural school districts. I conducted interviews to explore the actions, changes, and challenges leaders confronted as they created and adapted organizational policies and practices to meet the needs of students and families as suffering endured in light of the pandemic. I used qualitative data analysis software to code the interview data to find common themes and relationships in the responses from participants, consisting of principals at small, rural school districts in Texas. I hope to show how leaders in rural school districts managed and allowed their districts to create systems to provide for their students in a crisis. The findings support that school districts were underprepared to handle the COVID-19 pandemic and need preparations for future crises. Other school districts can utilize the study when implementing new practices and policies in response to a crisis to ensure they have the tools, resources, and organizational systems necessary to handle any situation encountered
The Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations of Asexual People in Romantic Relationships
No full textThe intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of asexual and non-asexual people in romantic relationships were examined. Self-identified asexual and non-asexual participants who are currently in a romantic relationship were asked to complete a measure of sexual motivation. When examining the motivational processes linked to sexual health and a person\u27s sense of well-being, previous research using the Sexual Motivation Scale (SexMS) has found that it is useful for the findings of sexuality in the context of an SDT framework. The SexMS measures the various types of self-regulation put forward by the self-determination theory. The results showed a trend with non-asexuals (vs. asexuals) scoring higher on the intrinsic side of the measure, while asexuals (vs. non-asexuals) showed little difference on the extrinsic side of the measure
Quantum Yield Study of the Photo-Activated States of Polymers with Heat and Electric Field
No full textPoly-phenylene vinylene (PPVs) when exposed to oxygen and light, easily degrades.This has been one of their major setbacks when it comes to their application in devices. One method employed to study the stability and degradation of organic semiconductors is their Photoluminescence. Differences in the Quantum Yield of heated and unheated solution of BEHP-PPV indicates that heat affects it. By employing photoluminescence, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, the mechanism that leads to the decrease in the Quantum Yield of the heated solution can be determined in comparison to the unheated solution. Effects of electric field on thick film sample systems made from BEHP-PPV,BDMO-PPV and DIPDI in toluene have been investigated. Electric field being a vector is able to cause the aggregated structure in a polymer to align to its direction. An ordered aggregate is less susceptible to degradation as compared to a less or scattered aggregate structures. Pho-toluminescence spectra of films dried under electric field is taken and compared to films dried without electric field to determine how its stability is affected. Microscopic images are also taken to check the arrangements or patterns of the aggregate structures
Recent SNAP Participation in Farmers Markets: Market Representatives’ Perspectives
No full textAs the 2023 farmers market season is the first in three years without Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Emergency Allotments, SNAP participation in farmers markets is likely to decrease, which could have negative impacts for farmers market earnings and community relations. The purpose of this study was to examine farmers market SNAP participation and the impacts of the expiration of SNAP Emergency Allotments from the perspective of market representatives. Farmers market representatives from Central Arkansas and East Texas were interviewed in field testing, then representatives from North Texas were interviewed in target data collection. Observations of farmers market sites and online media were also gathered. The interviews and observations were analyzed to find common themes among the data. The study found that, although there was regular SNAP participation in small amounts, there was a decrease in SNAP participation this year, compared to the previous seasons with Emergency Allotments. Market matching programs and product quality were the main motivators for SNAP participation, and the farmers markets used signage and online media for SNAP promotion. However, access to transportation, work and family responsibilities, limited promotion, and perceived social stigma were all barriers to SNAP participation. The farmers markets did not meaningfully change or adapt their SNAP programming in response to the expiration of Emergency Allotments. The farmers markets promoted a community-minded and food security-related mission. The results of this study shed light on gaps in farmers market SNAP programming and nutrition policy that need to be addressed to fulfill this mission
Features Selection in Regression Models Using Variance-based Sensitivity Analysis
No full textVariance-based sensitivity analysis serves as a crucial tool for assessing the variability of inputs on the output of complex mathematical models. In this thesis, we study Sobol indices, a class of variance-based sensitivity analysis, to quantify the importance of each input variable on the overall variability of the model output. We initially discuss Sobol’s first and total order indices. This includes a brief demonstration through two examples: the Sobol G-function and a polynomial function each with six input variables. These examples serve to highlight the theoretical foundations and practical applications of Sobol’s indices in analyzing model sensitivities. Mainly, we apply Sobol’s method within the framework of a regression model to assess the importance of various features (also known as predictors) in predicting total medical expenses. Our findings reveal that ‘smoking status’ emerged as the most important features impacting health insurance charges, followed by ‘age’ and ‘bmi’ as the second and third most important features, respectively. This application not only demonstrates the effectiveness of Sobol’s indices in real-world actuarial scenarios but also provides a clear hierarchy of factors affecting health insurance premiums. In summary, this study aims to implement a variance-based sensitivity method to select the most influential features, suggesting possible model simplifications and providing insights that could improve decision-making processes in health insurance modeling