Digital Commons Network^™

Mitigation Of Disagreement In Peer Review Among L2 Learners And Native Speakers In A College Writing Class (Mitigación Del Impacto De Las Opiniones De Desacuerdo En El Proceso De Revisión Por Pares Entre Estudiantes De Una Segunda Lengua Y Hablantes Nativos En Una Clase De Escritura A Nivel Universitario), Katherine Christoffersen

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

Peer review is now a commonplace practice in process-oriented writing instruction. A crucial aspect of peer review is assessing another classmate’s work, which encompasses the act of disagreement. Given its prevalence in the classroom, it is necessary to analyze how L2 learners mitigate disagreement in the context of peer review with other L2 learners and native speakers. The present paper presents a qualitative analysis of action research from an introductory English writing class at the university level including native speakers of English and international students from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The conversation-based peer review sessions were analyzed for various …

A New American Fiction: Personal Essays, Observances, And Interviews, Daniel M. Mendoza

Theses and Dissertations

This work consists of essays on the author’s personal development as a writer. It also contains reflections on the state of contemporary American and Mexican-American fiction. The author seeks to illustrate the relevance of certain writers affiliated with working-class fiction, a genre of contemporary American fiction that blends social, political, and aesthetic values into their novels and short stories.

Included in this work are also a number of conversations with writers of working-class fiction. In these conversations the author engages other writers in dialogue that further illuminates the author’s development of his creative identity as a cultural and literary writer.

Re: Publics: Woman Of Color Feminist Rhetorical Process Shaping Safe Spaces For A Rehumanizing Discourse, Eloisa E. Moreno

Theses and Dissertations

The discourse of women of color feminists over the last thirty years follows what I refer to as woman of color feminist rhetorical process in three recursive phases: location, deliberation, and restoration. The process is a significant contribution to rhetorical theory in the form of woman of color consciousness. This way of knowing considers complex identities at the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexual identity. The woman of color feminist rhetorician asks us to view self, community, and our notions of love as political constructs. By doing so, we are able to move beyond identity politics and build new …

The Effect Of A Writing Course On The English Language Arts State Assessment Examination In A South Texas High School, Esmeralda V. Munoz

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact a writing course will have on test scores for At-Risk students who are taking the English I and/or English II State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness End-of-Course exam. The group analyzed was comprised of 2nd and 3rd year cohort students.

Mack Thomas: The Total Beat, James B. Welton

Theses and Dissertations

Mack Thomas enjoyed both an audience seat and a role in the Beat Generation. He lives the life that fits one of his mottos, “if at first you don’t succeed, quit”. Thomas was the author of two autobiographical novels Gumbo and The Total Beast, a jazz and literature columnist for Grove Press in the 1950s and 1960s. Thomas was also a jazz musician worthy to share the stage with Miles Davis, inventor, and entrepreneur among numerous other interests. His friendship with William S. Burroughs was forged by their Texas ties while they were neighbors living in Paris, France and offered …

Historias De Psicopatas Desidiosos Y Solitarios En La Frontera, Silvia H. Vera-Huesca

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a collection of short stories and poems. The first part focuses on short-fictional stories based on the problematic violence trending in the border between Mexico and the United States, triggering psychosis, sloppiness and loneliness to the characters. The second part of this project includes poetry in prose, based on my own psychotic, sloppiness and lonely experiences living in the border for the past few years.

The Rider (2015-11-30), Jesus Sanchez

The Rider Archives

Vol.1 No.13

Cape Verdeans In The Atlantic: The Formation Of Kriolu Music And Dance Styles On Ship And In Port, Susan Hurley-Glowa

School of Music Faculty Publications

Working from the premise that Cape Verde is a member of the Black Atlantic musical family whose styles flowed freely from port to port, this study has delved deeper into the styles and time frames that figured into the mix, verifying that periods of intense transatlantic port activity correspond to the emergence of new genres. Cape Verde’s musical history might be viewed as a sandbar on the beach that is continually reshaped and born a new by waves of musical influences circling between the continents. The ideas of individual Cape Verdeans ultimately created the music, of course, and a comparative …

Understanding Health Information Technology Adoption: A Synthesis Of Literature From An Activity Perspective, Jun Sun, Zhe Qu

Information Systems Faculty Publications

The vast body of literature on health information technology (HIT) adoption features considerably heterogeneous factors and demands for a synthesis of the knowledge in the field. This study employs text mining and network analysis techniques to identify the important concepts and their relationships in the abstracts of 979 articles of HIT adoption. Through the lens of Activity Theory, the revealed concept map of HIT adoption can be viewed as a complex activity system involving different users, technologies and tasks at both the individual level and the social level. Such a synthesis not only discloses the current knowledge domain of HIT …

Latina Mothers' Expectations And Perceptions About A Dual Language Education In The Rio Grande Valley, Rosalinda A. Cobarrubias

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The initial purpose of this study was to identify Latino parents’ expectations and perceptions of a dual language program in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. All of the Latino parents of children in one dual language program were invited to participate in the study. The parents who agreed to participate in the study were all mothers. Consequently, only the perceptions and expectations of Latina mothers were explored. The chosen method of this study was qualitative research to explore the expectations and perceptions of the dual language program of twenty Latina mothers of Mexican descent. There were eleven English dominant Latina …

Don't Bring Me Down: A Study Of The Perceived Emotional Impact Of Positive, Negative, And Neutral Content On Facebook, Isis Lopez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The present study seeks to examine the influence of viewing pages that are categorized as positive, negative, or neutral on the social network (SN) Facebook in relation to college students’ levels of happiness and self-esteem. Viewers were predicted to spend more time viewing the Facebook pages that have been coded as negative compared to positive or neutral pages because of cognitive saliency, and they were predicted to show lower levels of self-esteem and happiness. In addition, participants who view the positive pages were predicted show higher levels of selfesteem and happiness. The results suggested no significant difference in emotion on …

Adolescent Street Literacy: The Art Of The Hustle, Regina L. Welch

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis is an ethnographic analysis of street youths, runaways and foster children. It focuses on the rhetorical and literacy practices that serve as a foundation for an underground community. Very little research, within the English field or from a literacy perspective, has been done on this demographic. This study includes data from interviews conducted with eight individuals who were “homeless” between the ages of 12 and 18 years old. Homeless is being defined as any duration spent absent of a stable living situation, including, but not limited to, foster homes, sleeping on the streets or in temporary settings, with …

Exploring English Language Learners' Identity Negotiation In A Sixth Grade English Language Arts Classroom, Carolina G. Lopez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Secondary schools in the United States are filled with English language learners. The large amount of English Language Learners (ELLs) represent a diverse population with unique academic trajectories and language needs. The diversity among ELLs requires an examination of ELLs’ identity, as it relates to literacy development and achievement. This qualitative study explores how different types of ELLs negotiate identities in an English language arts classroom. Specifically, how different types of ELLs’ perceptions as readers and writers impact identity negotiation is analyzed. The study takes place in a sixth grade English language arts classroom in deep South Texas. It is …

Diagnoses, Intervention Strategies, And Rates Of Functional Improvement In Integrated Behavioral Health Care Patients, Ana J. Bridges, Samantha J. Gregus, Juventino Hernandez Rodriguez, Arthur R. Andrews Iii, Bianca T. Villalobos, Freddie A. Pastrana, Timothy A. Cavell

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Objective—Compared with more traditional mental health care, integrated behavioral health care (IBHC) offers greater access to services and earlier identification and intervention of behavioral and mental health difficulties. The current study examined demographic, diagnostic, and intervention factors that predict positive changes for IBHC patients.

Method—Participants were 1,150 consecutive patients (mean age = 30.10 years, 66.6% female, 60.1% Hispanic, 47.9% uninsured) seen for IBHC services at 2 primary care clinics over a 34-month period. Patients presented with depressive (23.2%), anxiety (18.6%), adjustment (11.3%), and childhood externalizing (7.6%) disorders, with 25.7% of patients receiving no diagnosis.

Results—The most commonly …

La Evolución Del Personaje Femenino Y Su Transformación Político-Social En La Obra De Julia Álvarez "En El Tiempo De Las Mariposas", Lorena M. Villarreal

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

En esta investigación, se analizara la evolución del personaje femenino y su transformación político-social en la obra literaria de Julia Álvarez, En el tiempo de las Mariposas. Se analizará el rol social pasivo del personaje femenino y su transición al rol político social activo. La novela histórica se basa en la historia de la República Dominicana “Las hermanas Mirabal” consideradas iconos nacionales, por lo tanto se tomará en cuenta el aspecto histórico. Me basaré en la teoría crítica de la Estilística y estudios de Avelina Aguilar, Willie Muñoz y Julia Álvarez, así como mi propia aportación. Me apoyaré también en …

Future Memory: Ray Bradbury And The Aesthetics Of Nostalgia, Billy J. Cryer

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Upon the publication of The Martian Chronicles in 1950, Ray Bradbury quickly emerged as the nation’s leading science fiction writer. Bradbury’s novel figured among the most prominent tales of Mars—eclipsing even the highly popular Mars novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, who first popularized the Mars adventure novel with the appearance of A Princess of Mars in 1912.

While many critics praised The Martian Chronicles for its inventiveness, its acute treatment of social injustices, and its lyrical prose, other critics were quick with complaints. Prime among these was a plangent criticism of Bradbury’s attitude toward science and technology: critics alleged that …

Theory Of Mind And Inhibitory Processing Among Bilingual Mexican American Young Children, Sarah E. Stegall

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Bilingual children have been found to demonstrate advantages on tasks dependent in part or in whole on inhibitory processing compared to their language dominant and/or monolingual peers. This study examines relations among performance on theory of mind (ToM), inhibitory processing (FF), and performance on an ambiguous-figures (AF) tasks among monolingual and bilingual children. Participants included 135 Hispanic children ages 4.5 to 8 from predominately low-income families. Results revealed a relationship between FF and AF performance with ToM performance and found no differences in performance between monolingual, language-dominant, and balanced-bilingual children.

Women's Speech As Reflected In The Television Series, Friends, Gema Del Moral

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This research focuses on analyzing how contemporary women’s speech is reflected in the popular television show Friends through the characters’ differences in gender and their variances in language forms. The aim of this thesis is to find out if there are certain lexical and syntactical characteristics that distinguish women’s language from men’s language. In this study, a corpus linguistic approach is used to collect the data and make a quantitative analysis based on the verbal communication of the characters involved in Season 4 of Friends. The analysis of the linguistic features of verbal communication of all the characters in Season …

Eavesdropping On The Past: An Oral History Exploration Of English And Spanish In Contact In Texas' Rio Grande Valley, 1904-1945, Aaron B. Cummings

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis investigates the interaction of English and Spanish L1 communities in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas from 1904 to 1945 (an era of mass English L1 migration from the Northern United States and Canada to this historically Spanish-speaking region) via analysis of oral interviews that record both language communities’ memories of the era’s social structures. Collectively, the interviews tell the story of the region’s sociocultural and sociolinguistic environment with a view to exploring how members of each community reacted to the presence of the other language during the first years of significant English/Spanish language contact in previously …

His Words Spoke To Me: An Analysis Of Cult Rhetoric Through Memoir, Devan Leigh Lemke

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Through my analysis of memoirs of former cult members, a pattern of rhetorical coercive techniques grounded in the theories of Kenneth Burke and Chaim Perelman surfaces. Burke’s theory of identification presents an explanation of why group members believe they share the same interests as the group. Perelman’s theory of disassociation explains why the group believes outrageous statements made. Perelman’s theory of presence explains why it is impossible to logically express any concerns within the group. The simultaneous existence of all three theories renders a powerful blow to the human psyche. The identity of the member is so shattered, that they …

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 …

Queer Monsters, And Bruno & His Speaking Queers, Charles R. Mcgregor

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This multi-genre thesis spans across nonfiction (Queer Monsters), poetry (Bruno & His Speaking Queers), and fiction (A Queer Empire Named Eden) in an attempt to break down the categorical control the hegemonic powers like to assert over not only the arts, but gender and sexuality as well. The creative pieces are unapologetically polemic tackling queer issues and the newfound surge in acceptance for queers across the United States. The creative works question how far queers should assimilate into a hegemonic system that was built with heteronormativity enshrined as one of its cornerstone pillars. The nonfiction piece tracks the author’s own …

Creolization Of Identity In Caribbean Texts: Towards The Healing Of The Creole, Victoria A. Marin

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Creolization became an important element to creole identity by explaining the development of cultural mixing in the Caribbean. While many scholars have focused on the marginalization of creole identity at the hands of the colonizer, this paper addresses the way creole subjects use creolization as a form of agency. Two specific post-colonial texts will be explored in the order of Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea and Michelle Cliff's No Telephone to Heaven. The essay begins with Wide Sargasso Sea to gain an early historical context of the treatment of creole women, and to establish the need of developing a voice …

E Pluribus Unum: The Pursuit Of Linguistic Equality Through Adequation And Denaturalization, Natalie A. Tupta

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The oppressive ideology of standard language in the US perpetuates linguistic discrimination in all facets of life, from the classroom to the housing market to politics. Many Americans justify the degradation of non-standard language users by identifying the imagined cognitive deficiencies of those who do not use standard language. In response to previous research providing evidence of linguistic injustices, this research confounds existent ideology and exposes the gravity of the injustices perpetuated by the US government and educational system. By comparing this linguistic social justice movement to the American Civil Rights Movement and by borrowing the philosophy of Martin Luther …

Coming To Understand Diversity And Education: Life Experiences And Educational Opportunities, Steven Paul Chamberlain

Human Development and School Services Faculty Publications

Coming to understand how cultural differences influence interactions between educators and students and their parents is a complex and perhaps life-long discovery. Culture helps to define groups’ belief systems and expectations for appropriate behavior, often at a hidden level. Pre-service teachers need multiple opportunities to interact with diverse populations in supervised and reflective environments. This article recounts key experiences in one White American’s life that have led to his current understanding of diversity and the role of diversity in education. These experiences occurred throughout my life; some were by chance and others were more prescribed. The article concludes with reflections …

Utpa Commencement – Spring 2015, University Of Texas-Pan American

Edinburg Archives - Legacy Commencement Programs

2015 Spring Commencement - UTPA - A&H, BA, E&CS

2015 Spring Commencement - UTPA - Education & SBS

2015 Spring Commencement - UTPA - HSHS and S&M

Mapping Indigenous Self-Determination In Highland Guatemala, Patricia A. Mcanany, Sarah M. Rowe, Israel Quic Cholotio, Evelyn Caniz Menchu, Jose Mendoza Quic

Anthropology Faculty Publications

The challenges of building research partnerships around community mapping are critically reviewed in reference to the politics of heritage and identity among Indigenous Maya communities in highland Guatemala. This paper discusses how the goals and interests of archaeologists meshed with those of indigenous mappers in five communities that chose to participate in the mapping program. Based on responses to a survey about the mapping project, participants report joining in order to enhance self-determination, gain cartographic literacy, and improve life opportunities. Community authority over the project and a broad base of participation (including young and old, male and female) proved essential …

The Weathered Corrugations Of His Face: A Performative Reflection On Nelson Mandela, Self, And The Call For Racial (Un)Becoming, Pauli Badenhorst

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

On the occasion of the first anniversary of the death of Nelson Rolihlahla MANDELA, this self-exploratory narrative study utilizes a Butlerian performative theoretical framework to both uncover discursively regulated social practices as generative of raced identity ensconced in belonging, and the undoing of such identity through the redeployment of social practices predicated instead on a Weltanschauung of becoming. While the accountable subject of autoethnographic work is concomitantly problematized, fluid subjectivity is itself demonstrated as crucial to historical accountability. A resultant appeal for white South Africans to actively begin the work of defamiliarizing themselves with the sanitized dominant popular …

Translating For Minorities In Wales: A Look At Translation Policies, Gabriel Gonzalez Nunez

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

In many parts of the world, state languages come in contact with a number of regional languages and with many immigrant languages. In such complex, multilingual societies, language policies play an important role. And such language policies must, of necessity, include translation policies, either to integrate or exclude speakers of regional and/or immigrant languages. In the studies that have been made by political philosophers about language policy or by translation scholars about translation itself, translation policy remains somewhat of a blind spot. This paper attempts to address this under-researched area. Specifically, this paper will address translation policy in Wales. In …

The Pan American (2015-02-12), Andrew Vera, May Ortega

UTPA Archives - The Pan American Newspaper

Vol. 71, No. 18