Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Smuggler Journals: Transgressing And Policing The Border In The Rio Grande Valley, Lupe Alberto Flores

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis summarizes recent human smuggling scholarship and provides ethnographic insights into migrant smuggling in a border zone that is my home. Through exploring my own experiences and observations of smuggling and militarized border policing, and those of other interlocutors in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, I advance nuanced understandings of the symbiotic processes of irregular migration and of the people who brokerage a great deal of these journeys across militarized borders. I analyze fieldnotes that highlight the quotidian realms in which gender and power play out when irregular migration takes place and argue that acts of border …

Global-To-Local-To-Global: A Model For Tutoring Esl Students In The Writing Center, David Aguilar

Theses and Dissertations

Since its inception, the writing center has always focused on traditional students, and today that tradition is continued in such a way that the overwhelming amount of research dedicated to writing center theory and practice addresses the concerns of those students. However, universities with unique student populations, such as the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley with its majority of Hispanic students, require novel practices within their writing centers. Moreover, much of the linguistic, social, and cultural factors of the region are not well documented and therefore are not addressed by the mainstream theory and practices of other universities. With …

A Sociolinguistic Study On The Use Of Coke In The Rgv, Kylie Ross

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This is a sociolinguistic study, examining the relationship between the usage of the term coke and the population of the RGV, which seeks to explain why (if) this phenomenon persists and identify connections between Spanish/Mexican cultures intertwined in the network of English/Spanish usage. It pursues to go a step further, addressing what social factors have an influence on the term choice and what implications this influence can provide for SLA in specific regions. To do this, various groups have been polled, surveyed and informally interviewed in an effort to make connections between the usage of coke and social conventions. The …

Racial Discrimination, Skin Tone, Locus Of Control, And Acculturation Among Mennonite Latino/As Of The Rio Grande Valley, Nancy Rivera

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study assessed the relationship between perceived racial discrimination, and skin tone, locus of control and acculturation among Latino/a Mennonites of the Rio Grande Valley. Eighty nine Latino/a Mennonites were recruited. The following measures were used: Schedule of Racist Events, Intrinsic Spirituality Scale, a short version of the revised Acculturation Scale for Mexican Americans-II, and Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale. A window tint meter assessed skin tone. Multiple regression analysis and multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine how rates of perceived discrimination among Mennonite Latinos/as were related to skin tone, locus of control and acculturation. The results …

A Concise Chronology Of The Rio Grande Delta From The Paleo-Indian Period To Early Spanish Exploration And Colonization, Kristina Solis

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The Rio Grande Delta's archaeological record is mostly unknown. This paper attempts to assemble scattered resources into a concise and understandable chronology of the Delta’s prehistoric cultures. The prehistoric environment is discussed to clear up the misconception that modern day and prehistoric environments were identical. Archaeological contributions are covered to illustrate the difficulties and successes that 20th century archaeologists experienced. Chapter III discusses a few major sites from the region to give an example of what archaeologists have discovered, and what kinds of cultural remnants have been found. A concise chronology covering the Paleo-Indian period through the Late Prehistoric follows. …

Art, The Social Enzyme: The Emergence Of An Art Community In The Rio Grande Valley, Heaven Lashley

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study explores the emergence of an art community in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) region of South Texas. In researching this objective, I relied on observations at many gallery public functions where I had the opportunity to observe the interactions between prospective buyers, gallery owners and artists. I also visited with gallery owners and artists many times in small group settings where I raised open ended questions about the region's artists and other historical developments that would allow me to put together a cohesive story about the emergence of the art community

This study began as an unstructured exploration …

A Burkean Analysis Of Aung San Suu Kyi's Leadership Role In The Political Development Of Burma, Jayshri H. Patel

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The focus of this thesis is the historical and analytical role, influence and effect of Aung San, U Nu, and Ne Win in the struggle of independent post-war Burma between the philosophy of Buddhism and the aims of a Socialist welfare-state and its effect on Aung San Suu Kyi's struggle for democracy in present day Burma. There has not been any rhetorical analysis of Aung San Suu Kyi as of yet. Chapter 1 covers the political history of Burma in detail; it will cover the monarchy period, the British colonization, and the struggle for independence. Chapter 2 will concentrate on …

The Disposable Mexican: Operation Wetback 1954, The Deportation Of Undocumented Workers In California And Texas, Sylvia Cavazos

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In June 1954 the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service initiated an aggressive program to rid the country of Mexican undocumented workers. The campaign was a result of years of hostile media coverage and public outcry that depicted Mexicans as subversive villains infiltrating the country in order to rob "decent, hardworking Americans" of jobs. In an attempt to satisfy these critics, the federal government called for the immediate deportation of over one million Mexicans, the majority of whom had been actively recruited by American growers. The INS called this program Operation Wetback.