Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

An Exploratory Study On The Association Between Community Resilience And Disaster Preparedness In The Rio Grande Valley, Dean Kyne

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

(1) Background: Severe weather events have impacted over 100 million Americans in the past two years, highlighting the importance of individual disaster preparedness in building community resilience. This study aims to investigate the factors influencing individuals’ perceived disaster resiliency and preparedness in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas.

(2) Methods: Data were collected from 846 respondents using the Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit (CART) Assessment Survey instrument. The study employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the association between disaster preparedness and community resilience.

(3) Results: The findings of the study revealed a significant association between disaster preparedness and perceived community resilience. …

Competitive Intelligence And Academic Entrepreneurship As Innovative Vectors Of A Resilient, Business-Oriented Education, Daniel Gabriel Dinu, Andreea Stoian Karadeli, Larisa Mihoreanu, Elena Iuliana Pașcu Gabără, Mihail Păduraru

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose – The present paper substantiates that the concepts of competitive intelligence and academic entrepreneurship are genuinely connected to the modern society and, through their perpetual and versatile evolution, have an important role in moving the development on the right way.

Design/methodology/approach – Their evolutive is completed by a comparative analysis as appropriate method to point out similarities and differences and identify the way their application may serve innovation as a tool for those activating in the related domains of education, within our highly dynamic world.

Findings – The development of the concepts is meant to link and accelerate the …

Borderlands Without Borders: How Poetry Can Dismantle The Walls Between Planners And Communities, Rodney Gomez

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

As a method of community planning, and as an impetus for creative placemaking (and placekeeping), poetry can help anyone–not just writers–think about how they are situated within their local communities and urban spaces. By writing poetry, any member of the public—in particular, those who are historically underrepresented—can turn conceptions into things that can be discussed and implemented. Since poetry has dislodged itself from patrician control and has found fertile ground in the digital landscape, it can be easily shared within local contexts and beyond.

Competitive Intelligence And Neuro-Technologies: The New Strategic Tools To Boost The Digital Economy, Daniel Gabriel Dinu, Andreea Stoian-Karadeli, Larisa Mihoreanu, Milena Ilić, Mihai Păduraru

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose – This paper aims to bridge the conceptual gap between the competitive intelligence domain and the current digital transformation and adaptation to the new values, norms, requests and expectations of Industry 4.0. Starting with the theoretical and chronological background attributed to the current developments, the following pages proceed to developing the argument that the Competitive Intelligence domain has become an imperative for the whole process of decision-making involved in Industry 4.0, applied to all businesses, disregard their status, domain, or turnover.

Design/methodology/approach – Adopting a multidisciplinary perspective, the paper uses both a theoretical and practical approach to the main …

It Is Time To Recognize The Rio Grande Valley As A Rising Borderland Metropolis, Rodney Gomez, Luis Guajardo, Edna Ely-Ledesma

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Demystifying Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Among Students In Higher Education, Sundra D. Kincey, Aziza Zemrani, Theresa L. Bailey

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding the unique components of diversity, equity, and inclusion is essential for institutions of higher education to increase student success outcomes and to prepare graduates for the world of work. This chapter will focus on how diversity, equity, and inclusion as a single entity is perceived by enrolled students, particularly minority students, and how institutions may help to increase students' awareness of such topics and the impact on their lives upon graduation. Discussions will lend themselves to strategies that institutions may employ to demystify these terms for enrolled students. Specific focus will be given to the use of inclusive competencies …

The Knowledge Society At Crossroads: The Road Map And Incubating Role Of The Competitive Intelligence, Digitalization And Neurosciences, Daniel Gabriel Dinu, Andreea Stoian-Karadeli, Adrian Doroiman, Larisa Mihoreanu

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The today human being is part of the technological and scientific development dominated by information as a both raw material and base of knowledge.

The easy and open accesses to information thrust forward the frontiers of development and communication, enlarge the development's paths and generate amazing changes, faster than ever happened. The way that data bases increase its volume becomes the most actual and complex problem.

The ability to extract and process the knowledge and the speed of its processing represent unknown and provocative challenges for business profit and the intelligent society success. Their extraction from the informational noise and …

Exempting Battery Electric Vehicles From Traffic Restrictions: Impacts On Market And Environment Under Pigovian Taxation, Xu Hu, Zhaojun Yang, Jun Sun, Yali Zhang

Information Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

In busy metropolitan areas, traffic restrictions based on the last digits of license plates effectively ease traffic jams and improve air quality. Recently, policy-makers in China exempted battery electric vehicles (BEV) from traffic restrictions to promote their diffusion in place of conventional vehicles (CV). To examine the impacts of such an exemption on consumers and manufacturers as well as the environment, this study models the duopoly competition between BEV and CV manufacturers as a Cournot game. The numerical analyses compare three traffic restriction policies concerning BEV and CV, and reveal the pros and cons of each. In particular, the BEV-exempted …

Empowered Stakeholders: Female University Students’ Leadership During The Covid-19-Triggered On-Campus Evictions In Canada And The United States, Haorui Wu, Marla Perez-Lugo, Cecilio Ortiz Garcia, Frances Gonzalez Crespo, Adriana Castillo

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The study of disaster-specific leadership of female university students has been largely neglected, especially during on-campus emergency eviction and evacuation. Based on the COVID-19-triggered, on-campus evictions across Canada and the United States, this cross-national partnership examined the out-of-province/state and international female university students’ leadership during the entire eviction process. Through in-depth interviews, this study revealed the female university students’ leadership behaviors during three stages: (1) pre-eviction: their self-preparedness formed an emotional foundation to support others; (2) peri-eviction: their attitude and leadership behavior enabled them to facilitate (psychologically and physically) their peers’ eviction process; and (3) post-eviction: they continued to support …

Global Famine After Nuclear War, Lilia Xia, Alan Robock, Kim J. N. Scherrer, Cheryl S. Harrison, Jonas Jaegermeyr, Charles G. Bardeen, Owen B. Toon, Ryan F. Heneghan

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Environmental Education And Awareness: The Present And Future Key To The Sustainable Management Of Ramsar Convention Sites In Kenya, Parita Shah, George Atisa

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Ramsar wetland sites are important habitats for biodiversity and provide ecological services to communities that otherwise have no access to water resources. In Kenya, some wetlands are more prominent and are recognized worldwide as tourist hot spots, biodiversity-rich zones and wildlife habitats. However, these wetlands face overexploitation and degradation from surrounding communities. The efforts to halt underlying threats and the projected declines in the size and quality of inland wetlands at local levels are not sufficient. The question guiding this study is as follows: to what extent do a Ramsar designation and formal and informal education support communities and …

Decentralized Governments: Local Empowerment And Sustainable Development Challenges In Africa, George Atisa, Aziza Zemrani, Matthew Weiss

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study examines the extent to which decentralization is being utilized as a vehicle for sustainable economic development outcomes at all levels of governance in Africa. Research shows that decentralization is missing the triple-bottom line of sustainability: economic, social and environmental prosperity that meets current needs and does not take away from future generations in regions settled by indigenous communities. In this study, selected peer-reviewed literature and reports from conservation organizations on decentralization are analyzed. This research explores ways decentralization can be integrated with sustainability to minimize the short-term and long-run consequences of human actions on the environment at local …

Resource Curse In Kenya’S Coastal Region: A Symptom Of Institutional Failure, George Atisa

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Regions endowed with abundant natural resources are expected to thrive economically, but this is not the case for Kenya’s coastal region. Communities in this region believe they are working hard enough but are still held in abject poverty by circumstances not of their own making. This state of development raises one pertinent question – who is responsible for this poor state of development and rampant poverty? When it is about an individual, it is easy to attach success to talent and hard work, and sometimes sheer luck, but it is difficult to generalize the “hard-working” argument to an entire community …

A Moral And Pragmatic Analysis Of Debt And North–South Economic Inequality, George Atisa

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The North–South inequality hurts both high- and low-income countries in many respects, both directly and indirectly. At the same time, workers from low-income countries work just as hard as those from high-income countries but are often held in abject poverty by circumstances not of their own making. The question the study tries to find answers for is: why do hard-working individuals in both the North and the South bring home different levels of income, yielding big differences in per capita income globally and what can be done about it? Current pro-poor growth policies that include handouts, loans or relocating industries …

Cultivating And Reporting Of Campus Threats, Louis K. Falk, Douglas Stoves, Audrey W. Falk, Hilda Silva

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

The consumption of media has been established as one of the elements responsible for changing the general population’s perceptions. Specifically, cultivation theory (depending on the amount of media use) points to an enhanced representation of a characterization conveyed through the media. This depiction has the potential to create an inaccurate portrayal (stereotype) leading to an increased level of anxiety. The proliferation of reported incidents (real or perceived) associated with mass shootings in the U.S. over the last 20 years is an example. This paper traces the relatively recent coverage of mass shootings in the U.S. by the media and the …

The Workplace Integration Of Veterans: Applying Diversity And Fit Perspectives, Jorge A. Gonzalez, Joseph Simpson

Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Military veterans are a valuable part of the human capital resource pool. Nonetheless, veterans often struggle with their transition into civilian life and workplaces. This problem often limits the extent to which work organizations utilize their talents. Here, we briefly review relevant work from outside the management field and nascent work within the field to build a conceptual model for understanding the integration of veterans into the workplace. We do this by applying diversity and person-environment fit perspectives. A diversity standpoint helps us to understand veterans as a social group and their inclusion in the workplace, while the person-environment fit …

Decision-Support System For Lid Footprint Planning And Urban Runoff Mitigation In The Lower Rio Grande Valley Of South Texas, Javier Guerrero, Taufiqul Alam, Ahmed Mahmoud, Kim D. Jones, Andrew Ernest

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

To address regional flooding in the United States, federal and state agencies are adopting strict drainage policies in any large-scale commercial development within the watershed boundary. The conventional approach of implementing a wet detention pond (WP) reduces the land cover and causes operation and maintenance challenges eventually. The present study developed a decision-support system (DSS) in the Lower Rio Grande Valley region of South Texas for optimal selection of Best Management Practices (BMPs) by substituting a portion of the WP footprint with three regionally promising low-impact development practices, namely, porous concrete pavement (PCP), bioretention (BR), and bioswale (BS). Source Load …

Using Historical Information And Data To Strengthen Planning For Environmental Protection And Management At Everglades National Park, South Florida, George Atisa

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The early environmental conditions in many national parks fit the favorable description given to Everglades National Park (ENP) at the time of its founding that the park’s wilderness and ecological resources were “superlative in value.” With the understanding that wilderness does not mean complete human exclusion, this study examines the possibilities, interests, and difficulties associated with establishing the historical superlative state of the park’s resources as a target for current restoration efforts. The focus is specifically on ENP, as the park’s existence was considered justified only if its superlative and pristine wilderness conditions could be retained in the future. Data …

Empirical Evaluation Of Disaster Preparedness For Hurricanes In The Rio Grande Valley, Dean Kyne, Leslie Cisneros, Josue Delacruz, Bianca Lopez, Cristina Madrid, Rebecca Moran, Alma Provencio, Felix Ramos, Maria Fernanda Silva

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Individual emergency preparedness is critical to mitigate and minimize the negative impacts from disasters. Preparing for future disasters could enhance capacity to better cope with the external shocks and achieve a faster return to normalcy after the disaster event. This study investigates how individuals living in the Rio Grande Valley prepare themselves for the future hurricane disasters. The study investigates the state of objective and subjective preparedness and any discrepancy between the two types of disaster preparedness. Using collected data from590 respondents via an online survey instrument, the study examines the relationships between the states of individual preparedness and selected …

Wreck On The Highway: The Intersectionality Of Driver Culpability, Thc, Other Intoxicants And Fatalities In Washington State, Youngki Woo, Dale W. Willits, Mary K. Stohr, Craig Hemmens, Staci Hoff

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: Given the legalization of recreational cannabis in 2012 in Washington State and recent mixed results regarding the effects of cannabis on driver safety, we examine the link between Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) and driver’s behavior, including speeding and driver errors which may have contributed to a particular fatal crash.

Methods: The current study utilized data from the Washington State Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical File (WA FARS) in years 2008-2016. A series of logistic regression were employed to compare THC positive and negative drivers, as well as drivers who tested positive for other intoxicants.

Results: The results of …

Peace Process Pathologies: A Comparative Analysis Of The Breakdown Of The Israeli-Palestinian And Turkish-Kurdish Peace Processes, Matthew Weiss

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite the significant differences between the issues under contention, the Oslo peace process between Israel and the Palestinians and the “solution process” between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were plagued by common dysfunctions that militated against their success. A comparative investigation points to several salient common denominators that rendered both peace processes susceptible to collapse, including the inadequate identification of the end goals of negotiations by the conflicting parties, mistrust and societal polarization. Over-reaching security measures enacted by the stronger side in each conflict (Israel and Turkey) that stifled freedom of expression, conflated lawful dissent with criminality, tended …

Indigenous People’S Environmental Concerns: The Missing Piece In Ongoing Administrative And Political Decentralization In Africa, George Atisa, Aziza Zemrani, Matthew Weiss

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Decentralization is assumed to make national governments more accountable and enables local people to get involved in governance decisions. This study examines the relationships and whether decentralization activities, policies and regulations support indigenous concerns for the environment. Much of the pristine and local lands globally have already been degraded through overexploitation of natural resources leading to significant loss of environmental benefits to people, especially the marginalized and indigenous communities. Using citizen-over-state and state-over-citizen theory, the influence of national level policies on local policies and vice versa is examined. Two sets of data are analyzed: reports from conservation organizations and peer …

Who Will Stay, Who Will Leave: Decision-Making Of Residents Living In Potential Hurricane Impact Areas During A Hypothetical Hurricane Event In The Rio Grande Valley, Dean Kyne, Arlett Sophia Lomeli, William Donner, Erika Zuloaga

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) has been impacted by various hurricanes throughout history. While Hurricane evacuation has been studied extensively in other contexts, there is limited systematic research on the warning and response to a large-scale severe weather event in South Texas. This study attempts to understand the evacuation decision-making behavior of Southern residents in the event of a Hurricane making landfall over the Rio Grande Valley. The study uses an online survey questionnaire with 1060 participants: 275 students attending the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley and the remaining 785 are members of the community. Throughout the course of the …

An Expert System For Local Flood Response Coordination And Training, Xiaoyin Zhang, Gary Moynihan, Andrew Ernest, Joseph Gutenson

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Flood response is an essential component of flood management to rescue people, reduce property loss, and limit the impact to the environment. Effective flood response depends on a sound coordination structure with unified responsibilities, smooth communications, and scalable response plans. An efficient coordination system, including command and management structures, is built on a thorough understanding of the responsibilities and actions of each role for delivering the response core capabilities. Collecting, sharing, using, and handling the knowledge require great efforts in knowledge management. To further enhance such efforts, an expert system for local flood response coordination and training (LFRS) was developed …

Trafficking In Persons Along Mexico’S Eastern Migration Routes: The Role Of Transnational Criminal Organizations, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The aim of this research is to understand the role of transnational organized crime in human trafficking along Mexico’s eastern migration routes, from Central America to Mexico’s northeastern border.1 In this region, drug traffickers are smuggling and trafficking unauthorized migrants in order to diversify their revenue streams. This project analyzes the new role of Central American gangs and Mexican-origin drug trafficking organizations—now known as transnational criminal organizations (TCOs)2—in the trafficking of persons from Central America to Mexico’s northeastern border.

Citizen Journalism: From Thomas In Boston To Twitter In Tamaulipas, A Case Study, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, Maria Fernanda Machuca, Ruth Ann Ragland

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

As violence spiked in Mexico in clashes between drug trafficking organizations and law enforcement, news media were systematically silenced by cartels and cowed legitimate governments. Reliable information on street battles and their consequences ceased to flow through traditional channels to an anxious citizenry on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border 10 miles from McAllen, Texas. In Reynosa, Tamaulipas, a noted “plaza” territory contested by the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel, ordinary citizens became journalists in 2010, reporting under the umbrella of the pioneer #ReynosaFollow hashtag on the Twitter social media platform. This gave frightened citizens a sense of anonymity …

Emerging Environmental Justice Issues In Nuclear Power And Radioactive Contamination, Dean Kyne, Bob Bolin

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nuclear hazards, linked to both U.S. weapons programs and civilian nuclear power, pose substantial environment justice issues. Nuclear power plant (NPP) reactors produce low-level ionizing radiation, high level nuclear waste, and are subject to catastrophic contamination events. Justice concerns include plant locations and the large potentially exposed populations, as well as issues in siting, nuclear safety, and barriers to public participation. Other justice issues relate to extensive contamination in the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, and the mining and processing industries that have supported it. To approach the topic, first we discuss distributional justice issues of NPP sites in the U.S. …

Mexican Armed Forces And Security In Mexico, Tony Payan, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

For nearly 40 years, Mexico's armed forces have been engaged in tasks more closely aligned with public safety than national security. This issue brief examines the challenges of assigning internal security duties to the military and argues for a new law that governs the country's safety and security.

Security, The Rule Of Law, And Energy Reform In Mexico, Tony Payan, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mexico has taken a major step to further liberalize its economy. In a historical move, the country opened its energy sector to private and foreign investment in 2013—after more than seven decades of a tightly controlled oil industry. This major structural reform contains the promise of furthering Mexico’s development. There are, however, important issues that need to be resolved before this promise can be fulfilled. One of those challenges has to do with the rule of law. This essay explores three major issues with Mexico’s weak rule of law that threaten to foil the successful implementation of the new reforms …

A Longitudinal Study Of Human Exposure To Potential Nuclear Power Plant Risk, Dean Kyne, Jason T. Harris

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study constructs a potential risk index (PRI) for the 65 U.S.-based commercial nuclear power plant (NPP) sites in relation to their surrounding populations. Four risk levels are defined: low risk, moderate risk, high risk, and very high risk. Discrepancies that exist in the sociodemographic characteristics of the host communities’ populations are examined as sorted by risk-level category. It is found that a greater percentage of minority groups are exposed to the highest levels of risk. In addition, percent “Hispanic” and percent “Other,” a grouping that includes multiracial, mixed, interracial, as well as Hispanic and Latino groups (for example, Mexican, …