The LAIR at East Texas A&M
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Investigation of Exciton Dynamics through Optical Anisotropy Measurements of Organic Semiconductor Ensembles
No full textPolyphenylene vinylene (PPV) polymer derivatives are popular fluorescing, semiconducting materials used broadly in materials science - most notably as part of OLEDS andphotovoltaics. It is through the conjugation of pi-bond orbital that some segments of thesepolymer chains (chromophores) can absorb and emit light; the fluorescence of these materials isexplained thoroughly by the Theory of Excitons. By adjusting the polarization ofabsorbed/emitted photons for a polymer ensemble, one can know the dipole orientation of theabsorbing/fluorescing chromophores and infer the local nature of energy migration along anarbitrary chain within a film. Similarly, higher concentration films can yield answers to thequestions posed regarding non-localized exciton travel across separate polymers within densefilms. This technique is well founded in single molecule spectroscopy, but in this thesis, a novelapplication is offered: molecular ensemble anisotropy measurements with photoluminescentspectrums resolved by wavelength
Understanding the Attitude of Career and Technical Education (CTE) Faculty toward Academic Advising and the Impact of Factors as Determinants for Faculty’s Perception of Advising
No full textThe purpose of this nonprobability quantitative study was to examine the attitude of faculty towards the importance of, responsibility for, and level of knowledge on 12 academic advising functions by factors such as gender, race/ethnicity, faculty status, and years teaching in a Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. The problem addressed in this study was to examine the attitude of faculty toward the importance of, responsibility for, and level of knowledge on advising functions. The Fishbein\u27 s Attitude Development Theory was the theoretical framework for this study as it makes a distinction between beliefs, attitude, intentions and behavior. A review of the literature found underdeveloped studies on the attitude of CTE community college faculty toward advising.A quantitative research design was used to evaluate statistical differences on the attitude of CTE faculty toward 12 advising functions. For this study, a total of 103 surveys were completed and used for statistical analyses from CTE faculty at a large Northeast Texas two-year community college system. There were significant differences found between race/ethnicity and years of teaching a CTE program on advising functions. The data from this research study supports the attitude of faculty that providing most, if not all, advising functions are important although they differentiate responsibility or level of knowledge. Understanding the attitude of CTE faculty informs institutional discussions on faculty engagement strategies as contributors toward institutional goals for student retention and persistence
An Action Research Study Examining the Impact of Academic Parent-Teacher Teams on Title I Middle Schools Parents’ Self-Efficacy on Home to School Engagement
No full textThe researcher focused on Texas suburban Mountain Vista Independent School District (MVISD; pseudonym) with a student enrollment of approximately 10,000 students. The district offered a multitude of opportunities for engaging parents, but parent engagement remained a challenge for MVISD\u27 s and campuses\u27 leaders. The middle schools had no established procedures or strategies in place for effective parent-teacher conferences. A research-based parent-teacher conference model was piloted with middle school teachers to enable them to remove barriers to involvement and provide opportunities to improve two-way communication, parent engagement, and parents\u27 self-efficacy for helping children with school, therefore improving professional practice. The purpose of this action research study was to improve practitioner practice of parent-teacher conferences at three Texas suburban Title I middle schools. The researcher explored the impact of an academic parent-teacher team (APTT) pilot program on middle school parent self-efficacy of home-to-school engagement. The researcher used the data to examine parental capacity building via an APTT pilot program to promote effective home-to-school engagement and parent self-efficacy for helping their children academically. The data were both qualitative (interviews, observations, and artifacts) and quantitative (surveys) and collected to answer a total of 12 research questions. Only two middle schools and a total of five teachers participated. The parent participation was too low for assessing hypotheses on the APTT, with data from 11 pre-APTT survey and seven post-APTT survey participants. The four qualitative research questions were addressed primarily through interviews of six parents and three debriefings with each of the five teachers. The series of themes appear in Chapter 3. The seven quantitative research questions were addressed by analyzing the frequencies for the responses on the parent surveys and assessments. The item-by-item analysis showed little variation between the pre-APTT and post-APTT survey participants\u27 responses. The singular mixed-method research question was answered by reviewing the themes from the interviews, the outcomes of the quantitative analysis, and a review of MVISD\u27 s existing data and artifacts. Through action research, the researcher produced a new understanding of parents\u27 beliefs about school engagement and how to build parent self-efficacy in order to identify better ways to generate successful home-to-school relationships in middle schools
Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Influencing Factors Determining Teacher Retention at an East Texas ISD
No full textAn East Texas Independent School District has a historically high teacher turnover rate that has been consistently higher than the state’s and the regional service center’s rates for the past ten years. The school district serves a rural community in northeast Texas with a low socioeconomic and predominantly white student body population. This qualitative action research study analyzes teacher retention at an East Texas ISD. Three research questions were asked to determine why teachers apply to teach at the district, why current teachers continue to teach at the district, and what factors the district could improve to increase the teacher retention rate. This study examines current teachers’ opinions, beliefs and feelings about teacher retention, gathered through semi-structured, open-ended interviews (Creswell & Poth, 2018). The study identifies seven emerging themes that answer the three research questions
Predator Impacts on Translocated California Quail in Northeast Texas
No full textNative northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations have been in decline for over a century and are undetectable in many parts of northeast Texas. As a result, quail hunters and quail conservation dollars have also declined. California valley quail (Callipepla californica) have the potential to provide an alternative game bird for regional hunters in northeast Texas, an area vacant of bobwhites. Valley quail were translocated from Idaho to northeast Texas in 2019 to determine the feasibility of establishing a sustainable population. The goal of this study was to determine the presence, relative abundance, and potential impact of predators on translocated wild valley quail. Motion-triggered cameras, scent stations and simulated nests (May–July 2019–2020) were used to record predator presence, and compare relative frequency and potential impact on nesting valley quail between the 2019–2020 study years. Raptor presence was recorded along a 5.8 km transect. The most common visitors to the predator scent stations were raccoons, feral hogs, and white-tailed deer. There was no difference in predator frequencies between 2019 and 2020. Median nest survival time was 5.5 d. greater (7.5 d) in 2020 than 2019 (2 d). Red-tailed hawks were the most frequent aerial predator. Mesomammal predator load was 3.8–19.1 times higher than in a similar study, making mitigation of predation risk an important consideration for future translocation efforts to this region
Exploring Counselor Perceptions of Stress and Burnout when Working with Children of High Conflict Divorce: Implications for Training
No full textMany counselors who work with children will experience working with a case of high conflict divorce. These cases are known to present unique challenges and may prove difficult for counselors to appropriately manage ethically, professionally, personally, and therapeutically. The following Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis endeavors to gain understanding of how high conflict divorce cases impact professional counselors who work with the children involved. It proposes unique and similar content areas derived from the analysis that can be utilized in further exploration of this phenomenon.Keywords: High conflict divorce, children, counselors, burnout, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
Beginning Teacher Perception of Campus and District Onboarding Practices in a Fast-Growth Texas School District
No full textTexas House Bill 102, effective September 1, 2019, requires Texas public school districts to assign a mentor teacher to each beginning teacher; however, implementation may look different on each campus within a school district (H.B. 102, 2019). Campus principals can enhance district induction and mentoring programs through the onboarding of new teachers with such campus supports as professional learning communities and instructional rounds (Hannan, Russell, Takahashi, & Park, 2015). Onboarding practices are the assimilation of a new employee to the norms, expectations, values, mission, and vision of the organization (Graybill, Carpenter, Offord, Piorun, & Shaffer, 2013). The researcher explored beginning teachers’ perceptions of the campus and district onboarding practices they experienced in a fast-growth Texas school district. Research has shown that school district induction and mentoring programs have a positive influence on beginning teachers that results in increased job satisfaction, increased commitment to their job and the profession, and a higher retention rate when compared to beginning teachers who did not participate in an induction or mentoring program (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011; Sowell, 2017). While much research exists regarding the success of induction and mentoring programs for beginning teachers (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011; Sowell, 2017), research is limited in regards to beginning teachers’ perceptions of campus and district onboarding practices. Specific onboarding practices that beginning teachers described as beneficial and not beneficial at both the campus and district levels were explored. The participants completed a questionnaire in Qualtrics. The themes that emerged regarding district onboarding practices that the participants perceived as beneficial were (a) instructional rounds, (b) mentor teachers, and (c) professional learning. Three primary themes emerged as campus onboarding practices that the participants perceived as beneficial: (a) support, (b) professional learning, and (c) instructional rounds. Campus and district onboarding practices that the participants perceived as not beneficial were also explored in this study. Two themes emerged regarding district onboarding practices that the beginning teachers perceived as not beneficial: (a) time and (b) a lack of personalized professional learning. Two additional themes emerged in regard to campus onboarding practices that the beginning teachers perceived as not beneficial: (a) a lack of communication and (b) a need for more feedback
The East Texan, 2020-02-20
No full textA color copy of The East Texan, a student newspaper published at Texas A&M University-Commerce.https://lair.etamu.edu/scua-east-texan-browse-all/1216/thumbnail.jp
Morris Leeman White, Oral History
No full textThis is a video recording of an oral history interview with Morris Leeman White. It was conducted February 18, 2020. The interviewer is Marcia Lair.
This interview focuses on Morris Leeman White’s memories of growing up in Pecan Gap, Texas, his service in the Air Force, and his work at Polytechnic High School in Dallas, Texas.
Morris Leeman White was born in 1935 to Sarah Lecretia Leeman and Morris P. White. He grew up in Pecan Gap, Texas and recalls memories of the churches, schools, and businesses that supported the area. He attended East Texas State Teachers College, now Texas A&M University-Commerce, and graduated with a teaching certificate. White joined the United States Air Force and was stationed at Langley Air Force Base as a weapons specialist.
After his service in the Air Force, White used the G.I. Bill to finish three master’s degrees and part of a Ph.D. He worked at the Business Education Department at Polytechnic High School in Fort Worth, TX for thirty years. His wife is Wanda Decker White.https://lair.etamu.edu/scua-oral-history-all/1074/thumbnail.jp
Development of Imidazolium Tethered Tsdpens Ligands FPR Iridium (Iii) Catalyzed Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of Keto Phosphonates in Water
No full textAn imidazolium ion tethered TsDPEN has been synthesized readily and used as a water compatible ligand for [IrCl2Cp*] catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) of α-keto phosphonates in water. The substrate scopes of aliphatic α-keto phosphonates have been examined and provided the desired product hydroxy phosphonates in moderate yields with excellent enantiomeric excess under mild reaction conditions. The enantiomeric excess was determined by 31P NMR by using (-)-cinchonicdine as chiral solvating agent, which is a much more efficient method than chiral HPLC.