Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

World Birding Center-Edinburg: An Application To The Meadows Foundation, Wendy Smith Sturgis

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The World Birding Center is a unique and innovative partnership among Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and the cities of Brownsville, Mission, Weslaco, Harlingen, Edinburg, McAllen, Hidalgo, Roma, Rio Hondo and South Padre Island. The WBC is a first of its kind regional approach to nature conservation and birdwatching.

Edinburg's portion of the budget is 8.75%, and the City will fund salaries for a director and education coordinator and operations specific to the Edinburg center through the City's general fund.

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department estimates 175,000 visitors annually. Direct local expenditures (based on an average visit of 6.3 days, …

Highway Safety Funding For The “El Protector” Program From The Texas Department Of Transportation, Colin Barto Ashburn

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The proposal is in response to the request for proposals from the Texas Department of Transportation. The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Department's proposal is for funding of the “EL PROTECTOR” Program. The program seeks to reduce the Hispanic fatalities and injuries from alcohol-related crashes and non-seatbelt compliance.

If You Build It, Will They Come? The Effect Providing Recreation And Parks Has On Attracting New Businesses, Peter Bernard Lamont Jr.

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study investigates recreation and park's influence on the Rio Grande Valley's ability to attract businesses. Input was solicited from companies that initially located or relocated in the Rio Grande Valley within the last ten years. Quality of life is compared to six possible influences on the location/relocation decision. Recreation and parks is scored relative to five other indicators of the quality of life. Relative importance is determined through a Likert scale. Company types are broken down into manufacturing/distribution and technical/headquarters companies plus small and large companies. Company types and sizes are be compared against each other and the overall …

Development And The Environment: A Case Study About The First Attempted Creation Of A Texas Coastal Conservation District, Rene De La Rosa

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In 1991, the American General Insurance Corporation desired to create a $2.5 billion ``ecotourism'' resort in Willacy County, Texas. Unfortunately, the land the Corporation owned was located within the Coastal Barrier Resource System which does not allow federal flood insurance for any construction in the area due to it's proximity to ``Hurricane Alley''. American General's plan to build hinged on a three-pronged attack at the federal, state, and county levels. At the federal level, AG was shut out except for some minor concessions. At the county level, a municipal utility district (MUD) was established to help with building the infrastructure …

Colonia Outreach Assistance And Training (C.O.A.S.T.), Eunice Aida Garcia

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This project examines the benefits of Educational and/or Job Training under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Title II-A and Title II-C programs for Colonia residents in Hidalgo County. The design will be a pretest-posttest non-randomized experiment, conducted by the County of Hidalgo Office of Employment and Training (CHOET). This paper will present the background of the study, describe the methodology, present facts about the living standards of the colonias within Hidalgo County, the procedures of the project, and the measurement of the project impacts.

A Management Role Perspective Of Adult Protective Services, Isaac Garza

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study examines the most important management roles, as viewed by Adult Protective Services supervisors and Adult Protective Services staff members in Region 11. A total of 6 supervisors and 51 staff members were mailed questionnaires on October 1, 1998. A total of 5 supervisors and 26 staff members completed and returned the questionnaires.

The study is limited by a lack of a consistent management role theory, limited to a basic method of aggregation, and limited to a specific population.

APS supervisors were found to believe the management roles of leader, monitor and disturbance handler as being most important to …

An Analysis Of Equity Preferences And The Relationship Between Belief And Behavioral Intent To Support Funding As A Basis For Regional Park Allocation Decisions In Brazoria County, Texas, Richard Mark Hansen

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this study is to assist the Brazoria County Regional Park Planning Team determine what patterns of equity preferences for allocating park and recreation resources are important among residents of Brazoria County. Random samples of equity opinions were taken. Factor analysis was used to discover three important dimensions or areas of consideration within residents belief system for allocation of regional parks. Multiple regression was used to investigate relationships between belief in equity choices and behavioral intent to support funding for equity choices. Belief and behavioral intent to support funding were found to be significantly related for allocation of …

United States Policy Toward China's Most-Favored-Nation (Mfn) Status, Shengjun Yuan

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis reviews the historical process of the Sino-American trade relationship. It delves into the United States policy toward China's most-favored-nation (MFN) status, especially after the Tienanmen Incident in 1989. The thesis also discusses the issues related to the trade status.

In essence, the thesis analyzes the political motivation for the U.S. government to shape its trade policy toward China. It provides an in-depth analysis of possible consequences of revocation of China's MFN status if the U.S. adopts a get-tough policy in its relationship with Beijing.

Perceptions Of Competencies For Americorps Supervisors Within The Texas Agricultural Extension Service: An Exploratory Study, Ruben Javier Saldana

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

As a special project of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, the AmeriCorps program requires special supervisional and management competencies on the part of supervising agents at the local level. This study tested 131 variables as indicators of high performance and surveyed all fourteen agent supervisors. Management areas were divided into structure, performance management, office management, and competencies. Exemplary supervisors were identified in a triangulation model that involved nominations by peers, immediate supervisors, and the AmeriCorps project director.

Findings were that the use of the plan of work and incorporation of project goals were highly related to high performance. Coaching behavior …

A Study Of Factors On The Performance Of The Texas Academic Skills Program Test, Billy B. Watkins

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

At least thirty percent of students who enter Texas public higher education each year have basic skills deficiencies and cannot perform effectively in college. The TASP Test was developed to identify these students. Moreover, this test must be passed in order to obtain a degree from a Texas public institution.

A survey of 150 entering freshmen from the University of Texas-Pan American was examined to identify variables that influence student performance on the TASP Test.

Chi-square tests uncovered academic, socioeconomic, and institutional bivariate relationships with TASP performance. Multiple regression analysis indicated that academic variables primarily predicted TASP performance.

Influence Of Social Context On Evaluation Of Municipal Service Delivery, Anahid Petrosian

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study examines the influence of social context on the evaluation of municipal service delivery. It hypothesizes that those individuals who are more satisfied with their immediate surroundings also are more satisfied with the municipal services they receive. A stratified sample of 1.027 household telephone numbers in McAllen, Texas, was selected for this study. The telephone survey resulted in 542 successful interviews, representing a 52.4% response rate. The study's conclusions suggest that first, satisfaction with the neighborhood appears to affect the general level of satisfaction with public services. Second, there was no significant difference in services satisfaction level based on …

The Political Resources Model Of Representation: A Local Approach, Joe Manuel Cavazos

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of the study was to determine the applicability of the Political Resources Model of Representation to the Rio Grande Valley and to ascertain if political resources (poverty levels, educational attainment, and Hispanic representation) provide an adequate explanation of educational outcomes (ACT, TEAMS, and dropout rates).

The political Resources Model of Representation, used by Meier and Stewart, served as a theoretical framework for the study. Formerly, the model had been used at a national level and a state level. Representation variables were used to predict the applicability of the model to a region.

Political Resources variables were used to …

The New Deal Public Works Programs And Mexican-Americans In Mcallen, Texas, 1933-36, Irene Ledesma

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In an area like the Rio Grande Valley of Texas with a majority population of unskilled Mexican-Americans who generally worked for another group in trouble, the farmer, there was bound to be a high rate of unemployment during the Great Depression of the 1930's. Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration responded to unemployment with the several New Deal public works acts in 1933. The question then arises: what effect would such acts have on a majority group in an area where the minority population had political power?

Extensive use of county and city newspapers, a number of interviews, a short survey, and …