Browsing by Subject "Barriers"
Now showing 1 - 18 of 18
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item A Comparison of Sport Consumption Motives Between American Students and Asian International Students(2011-02-22) Kang, ChanhoThe purpose of this study was to explore the differences between American students and Asian international students' frequency of sport spectating, motivation, team identification, future behavior and perceived barriers to attending intercollegiate sporting events. This study designed to provide sport marketers and athletic directors within intercollegiate programs a more comprehensive understanding of Asian international students and American students' characteristics by comparing the differences of spectating behavior, team identification, motivation and potential barriers between the groups. The results of this study show that there were significant differences on the variables between groups. Two groups differed on frequency of attending, frequency of watching, education, income, and marital status. Moreover, American students scored significantly higher on the motivation, team identification and future behavior than Asian international students. On the other hand, Asian international students scored significantly higher on the barrier factor than American students.Item A Transcendental Phenomenological Examination on the Impact of Advising on the Decision to Study Abroad(2014-08-06) Henry, Julianne ShaunaAgricultural students are falling behind when it comes to competing in the global marketplace. To help prepare students to compete in the global marketplace, participation in a high-impact experience such as study abroad is recommended. In order to increase high-impact experiences for agricultural students, it is important to understand advisor and peer advisor perspectives. The purpose of this study was to understand departmental advisors? and peer advisors? perceptions related to a student?s intent to study abroad through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University. Qualitative research methods were used to complete this study. Azjen?s Theory of Planned Behavior provided the framework to explore advisors? and peer advisors? perceptions related to a student?s intent to study abroad. The first phase of the study was a qualitative phenomenological examination of the shared experiences of High-Impact Practice (HIP) Advisors in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University who hold advising roles and participated in a high-impact experience through the college. This study focused on the advisors? perceptions and experience in study abroad. Data were collected through interviews. Departmental culture, personal connections, mass communication, and generating awareness emerged as themes. The results suggest influences such as departmental culture, personal connections, and mass communication influence whether students participated in study abroad. In addition, it became evident that advisors need to be better informed about available resources. The second phase of the study was a transcendental phenomenological exploration of the shared experiences of peer advisors in the Ambassadors and Mentors Study Abroad Program who have participated in study abroad through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, plus their perceptions related to a student?s intent to study abroad in the college. Data were collected through interviews. Educating peers, personal connections, mass communication, and generating awareness emerged as themes. The results suggest educating peers, personal connections, mass communications, and generating awareness influenced how peer advisors informed students and learned about study abroad in the college.Item Addressing Water Quality Mitigation Challenges Through Evaluation(2014-05-27) Berthold, Troy AllenThe Arroyo Colorado River currently does not meet the State of Texas? criteria for water quality. As a result, the Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan was developed, and implementation of the plan has been ongoing since 2007. Over the last few years, attendance at meetings and participation in education and incentive programs have decreased. Water quality can be restored only with individual participation; however, there has been a lack of information available to individuals to properly implement the Plan. This study sought to collect data that will ultimately prioritize implementation efforts of the Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan. The research was conducted with agricultural producers in three counties of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas: Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy counties. Research questions for this study were 1) What are the primary educational needs for agricultural producers in Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy counties related to water, 2) What are the primary barriers to management practice adoption through incentive programs, and 3) What areas of the agricultural component of the Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan have been implemented effectively according to agricultural producer perception? Sixteen, eighteen, and twelve manifest variables (measurable variables), respectively, made up the primary constructs of this study. Of the 1,200 participants selected for this study, 63 questionnaires were undeliverable and 274 participants responded, resulting in a 24.1% response rate. Data were collected using mailed and internet surveys. Results indicated that water quantity related variables were the primary educational need, followed by water quality, financial incentives, and conservation practice manifest variables. Primary barriers were related to economic manifest variables, followed by information/awareness, programmatic, and producer/operation. Finally, results indicated that education was the most effective component of the program, followed by technical assistance, cost-share assistance, and monitoring and assessment. Further, significant differences between levels of various demographic variables could be identified in participants? response to manifest variables. A key finding was that those who have heard of the Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan were more likely to have responded as having adopted sustainable agricultural practices than those who had not heard of the Plan. Recommendations were made for education programs to focus on water quantity while bringing in aspects of water quality, followed by technical aspects of financial incentives and conservation practices. Avoiding barriers should consist of revising cost-share levels for the initial cost of installation and ensuring that cost-share assistance is readily available when it is requested. Finally, to improve the program, monitoring and assessment projects should do a better job of relaying information about conservation practice effectiveness, which also ties back into some of the barriers and educational needs related to water.Item Barriers present in the culture of special education and their influence on family determination development(2015-05) Roth, Melanie Jane; Flower, Andrea L.; Pazey, BarbaraThirteen qualitative studies that included direct quotes of participants were reviewed and analyzed to determine the barriers present in special education culture and how the barriers influence the development of family determination and the successful transition of families and their children out of the education system. It was concluded that barriers present were conflicting definitions, mistrust of educators and families, and withholding social capital from the others. It was further concluded that the barriers influenced family determination by preventing the families from contributing to meetings and fostering professional’s misinterpretations of family determination. Implications for future practice, recommendations of future research, and limitations of the meta-synthesis were included.Item Bottleneck identification and acceleration in multithreaded applications(2014-12) Joao, José Alberto; Patt, Yale N.When parallel applications do not fully utilize the cores that are available to them they are missing the opportunity to have better performance. Sometimes threads have to wait for other threads. I call the code segments that make other threads wait bottlenecks. Examples of these bottlenecks include contended critical sections, threads arriving late to barriers and the slowest stage of a pipelined program. Other times all threads are running but some of them, which I call lagging threads, are making less progress, setting the stage to become bottlenecks. My thesis proposes identifying the code segments that are more critical for performance and efficiently accelerating them using faster cores, by either migrating execution to large cores of an Asymmetric Chip Multi-Processor (ACMP) or executing locally on DVFS-accelerated cores. The key contribution of this dissertation is a Utility of Acceleration metric that combines a measure of the acceleration for each code segment with a measure of its criticality. This metric enables meaningful comparisons to decide which bottlenecks or lagging threads to accelerate with each of the available acceleration mechanisms. My evaluation shows significant performance improvement for single multithreaded applications and sets of multiple single- and multi-threaded applications, and also reduction in energy-delay product due to the efficient utilization of the available acceleration mechanisms.Item Comparison of the Perception of Facility Managers on Green Roofs Attributes and Barriers to their Implementation(2014-07-24) Ferrer Garcia, Eduardo RThis study compares perceptions of facility managers on green roof attributes and barriers for their implementation. The population under study were the four IFMA chapters of the State of Texas (Austin, Dallas-Fort-Worth, Houston and San Antonio). A questionnaire containing 21 statements related to green roof attributes and 14 statements related to green roof barriers for their implementation was used and responses were measured on a five-point Likert scale. Two types of questionnaires were used to collect responses. An online questionnaire that was distributed through the chapter?s members list, and face to face responses were obtained on IFMA chapters meetings. The response rate for the questionnaire was 7.7%. The nonparametric statistic method of Kruskal-Wallis was used to check for differences among the four chapters with respect to perceptions on a given statement. The responses suggest that facility managers generally agreed with the majority of the statements regarding benefits that green roofs can provide. Similarly, the majority of facility managers tended to agree with the statements regarding barriers for green roofs implementation. The results of the investigation for ?=0.05 and a p-value=7.815 showed that no significant differences were found for any of the 35 statements with respect to the facility managers perceptions.Item Facilitators and barriers to communication : an observational study of the long-term care environment(2013-05) McArthur, Exer Marie; Marquardt, Thomas P.The impact of the physical environment on communication for residents of long-term care (LTC) facilities has not been examined in depth. No study currently exists which explores environmental influences on communication within the long-term care setting. Investigation of such facilities is important because of the a large impact environmental features have on the quality of life of residents due to the often restricted nature of daily routines and reduced level of cognitive and/or physical function of residents. A definition of environment is needed in order to create a methodology for assessment and treatment of residents in LTC facilities. This study investigates what factors contribute to a positive communication environment in long-term care facilities and how the physical environment should be assessed. Observational data was obtained for three LTC residents with different types of physical and communicative impairments to determine what environmental factors inhibit or support communication. Barriers and facilitators to communication are identified, and recommendations for assessment of the long-term care environment are made. Contributions from the fields of aphasiology, environmental gerontology, and environmental psychology are described in order to contribute to the understanding of what contributes to a positive communication environment. Study results included support for: participant observation as a component of resident assessment, assessment of multiple environments, the importance considering individual needs during assessment, and assessment of resident perception of environment. Furthermore, this study presents a checklist to be used to guide observational assessments.Item Faculty perceptions about attributes and barriers impacting the adoption and diffusion of Web-Based Educational Technologies (WBETs) at the University of Cape Coast and the University of Ghana, Legon(Texas A&M University, 2006-10-30) Yakah, Jemima AbenaThe purpose of this study was to determine faculty perceptions about factors impacting the adoption and diffusion of Web-Based Educational Technologies (WBETs) at the University of Cape Coast and the University of Ghana, Legon. This study, based on Rogers?????? theory of adoption and diffusion, is a modified replication of a study by Li (2004), in the context of Ghana. Data were collected with a modified instrument created by Li (2004), from 61 teaching faculty out of a target accessible population of 200. The instrument comprised of four sections: The first, was used to collect data about faculty stage in the innovation development process. The second was used to collect data describing five attributes (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability) impacting the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. The third was used to collect data about ten barriers (concerns about time, concerns about incentives, program credibility, financial concerns, planning issues, conflict with traditional education, fear of technology, technical expertise, administrative support, and infrastructure) impacting the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. The fourth section was used to collect data on personal characteristics of the faculty. Descriptive, correlational and regression analyses were used to examine relationships between faculty personal characteristics, stage in the innovation-decision process, and perceptions of attributes and barriers impacting the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. From the descriptive results, respondents perceived ??????relative advantage?????? and ??????observability?????? as the two most important attributes that impact the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. Infrastructure, financial concerns, and technical expertise were perceived as posing moderate to strong barriers to the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. Only compatibility (attribute) and technical expertise (barrier) had statistically significant correlations with faculty stage in the innovation decision process. The attributes and barriers altogether explained only 10.6% and 17.3% respectively of faculty stage in the innovation-decision process. Of the eight personal characteristics examined, only ??????experience with WBETs?????? had a statistically significant correlation with faculty stage in the innovation-decision process. Recommendations to administrators and policy makers include allocating investments and resources that promote attributes and eliminate barriers, and conduct further research into factors that affect the adoption and diffusion of WBETs.Item Faculty perceptions of online learning in engineering education(2015-05) Kinney, Lance Stephen; Liu, Min, Ed. D.; Hughes, Joan E; Marshall, Jill; Veletsianos, George; Thornton, MitchResearch indicates there is a gap in the implementation of online courses and programs in engineering education compared to other academic disciplines (Allen & Seaman, 2008, 2011, 2013). Using a mixed methods approach, this study collected both quantitative survey and qualitative interview data to identify which factors engineering faculty members perceived influence the implementation of online engineering courses. The survey items, based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology Model (UTAUT) (Davis, 1989; Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis, 2003), included important factors specific to engineering education as indicated the literature. The interview instrument was developed based on the significant results of the survey portion of the study. The initial survey was sent to every engineering faculty member at all 31 institutions and 125 ABET accredited engineering programs in the state of Texas, with a final response population of n=266. The findings identified three major factors that influenced the implementation of online engineering courses: online teaching experience, course development issues, and implementation of technical aspects particular to engineering in an online format. The results are discussed within the context of the literature and recommendations to address the identified factors and barriers to implementation of online engineering are provided.Item The impact of community college initiatives on black males at St. Philip's college : an evaluation of retention, completion, and student engagement efforts(2011-08) Hancock, Anthony, 1956-; Bumphus, Walter G.; Roueche, John E.; Northcutt, Norvell; Brown, Anthony L.; Contreras, AdrianaBlack males continue to struggle when faced with the challenge of seeking a college education (Cuyjet, 1997, 2006; Mincy, et al 2006; Schott, 2006). Currently, they lag behind in college and university participation as compared to other gendered groups as well as their White and Asian counterparts (Cuyjet, 2006; Bush & Bush, 2010). As with every promising Black male community college student, there are barriers to enrollment and completion, e.g., first-generation and first-time-in-college, previous high school academic and disciplinary experiences, peer pressure, family dynamics, financial considerations and social environments serving as barriers to enrollment and completion. Despite these barriers, many Black males students make it to college. However, they often have difficulty remaining in the educational system long enough to complete their certificates and/or degrees. Although, there are many quality community college and university programs designed to increase the overall success of students “prior to” and “during” enrollment, regrettably, many colleges that facilitate outreach and retention efforts do little by way of accountability. Statistical monitoring for evaluation purpose is mixed. Adequate records of how Black males are performing in and apart from college are important for educational institutions as they consider developing specialized programs for minority sub-group participation, engagement, and success. Furthermore, unengaged Black males, and those attempting to aid them, have varying viewpoints as to the type and priority of programs designed to include Black male participation in postsecondary education. This study will examine Black males’ perspectives versus institutional engagement strategies relative to participation, engagement, and successes that influence Black males Men on the Move program at St. Philip’s College. Moreover, the study will furthermore investigate outreach and retention efforts for Black males that were developed by the St. Philip’s College.Item Mapping bikeability : a spatial analysis on current and potential bikeability in Austin, Texas(2015-08) Greenstein, Ashley Sarah; Paterson, Robert G.; Zhang, MingCycling has continued to gain attention as a form of transportation and recreation in Austin, Texas over the last decade. This past year, the City of Austin passed an update to its bicycle master plan that envisions building an all ages and abilities network at a projected cost of $150 million. As the City searches for dedicated funding, it needs to strategize its current holdings to capture short trips in areas that host the most potential for bikeability. Many aspirational bicycle-friendly cities have evaluated existing and potential bikeability through spatial analyses. The goal of this report is to produce a series of maps that attempt to mirror the on-the-ground reality of how cycling feels throughout Austin, Texas. Each recognized factor of the built environment that affects cycling is mapped and then scored, creating composite maps that represent current and potential bikeability. These factors include: bicycle facilities, network density, land use, topography, and barriers. These maps can be used as a tool by the City of Austin's Active Transportation program and other transportation organizations to better understand which parts of the city are best suited for generating large numbers of cycling trips. It can also be used to explain which areas maximize cycling potential through strategic investments, innovative treatments, or policy changes.Item Parents Talking About the Birds and the Bees With Their Elementary School Aged Children: A Naturalistic Study(2013-07-22) Reichel, LoriThis dissertation presents three separate studies exploring parents? perceptions and recommendations for communicating with their third, fourth, and fifth grade children about human sexuality. First, a systematic literature review is presented summarizing past qualitative studies completed in the United States focusing on parents with children aged 18 years and under. This review summarizes (1) demographic information of parents from past studies, (2) perceived communication barriers experienced by parents regarding sexuality communication, and (3) perceived communication facilitators experienced by parents regarding sexuality communication. Second, noting the lack of research within a specific population of parents in the United States, a naturalistic study of parents with children in the third, fourth, and fifth grade is presented. Utilizing an emergent design, one-on-one interviews were conducted with 20 parents living in a town in central Texas. By coding collected data, a thematic analysis was used to summarize emergent themes. Themes included techniques parents utilized to have parent-child conversations about sexuality and discussed topics. Although different techniques and topics were raised, parents showed overall inconsistency in experiences or past discussions. Third, using data from the same 20 interviews, themes emerged from parents regarding recommendations. These included the recommendations that a booklet with age appropriate information on sexuality topics be developed for parents and parent workshops or classes covering age appropriate sexuality knowledge as well as techniques to use in parent-child communication be offered. Schools were the recommended source for these resources. Parents also shared feedback on the newly released National Sexuality Education Standards. Comparing past parent-child conversations on sexuality topics to the NSES, certain topics were discussed yet inconsistency was shown. In addition, parents disagreed on specific standards including those pertaining to the functions of reproductive parts, reproduction, and same sex orientation. Implications of this study are that parental resources are needed to help parents communicate with their children about sexuality beginning at a young age. And, for those resources already existing, including workshops, books, and on-line sources, parents need to be made aware of their existence. In addition, future research is needed to explore if younger children are learning from parent-child conversations about sexuality.Item Qualitative descriptive study of Mexican Americans health-seeking experience during myocardial infarction(2013-12) Sanderson, Jennifer Dawn MaLyssa; Carter, Patricia A.Premature death due to cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction, is higher in Hispanics (23.5%) than non-Hispanic White (16.5%) adults. Delaying treatment over 60 minutes increases the risk of sudden death by 50%. The purpose of this study was to describe the perceived benefits and barriers to seeking cardiac emergency care including emergency medical services (EMS) activation during an acute myocardial infarction (MI) in Mexican American adults. A qualitative descriptive design was used wherein semi-structured interviews and sociodemographic questionnaire were conducted with 12 Mexican Americans who had experienced an MI in the last two years. Qualitative conventional content analysis was used to uncover unique perceptions of Mexican Americans seeking emergency care. The overall theme that arose was degree of perceived threat leads to action. This theme was comprised five categories: perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived barriers, perceived benefits, and learned behavior. Perceived severity was closely intertwined with perceived susceptibility. Recent appointments with HCPs facilitated low perceived susceptibility to an MI and acted as a barrier leading to ix decreased initiation of emergency services for MI. Participants attempted self-treatment and evaluation which was a barrier to immediate emergency care. Perceived benefits to initiation of emergency care were using EMS to achieve rapid treatment of MI symptoms. Though several participants initially stated they would activate EMS, further inquiry revealed calling EMS was considered a last resort if the participant were alone. The findings suggest education of lay people and HCPs needs to emphasize that MIs can present in a variety of ways from slow-onset to fast-onset. A goal for nursing practice is to include regular screening on cardiac risk factors along with interventions and evaluation among patients and family. Future research should aim at finding the most successful format to provide public education to Mexican Americans on MI symptom and rapid initiation of EMS.Item Successful Hispanic Male First-Time-In-College Students at a Community College in South Texas: Experiences That Facilitate Fall First-Term Student Persistence Through Official Reporting Date(2011-02-22) Serrata, WilliamThe Hispanic population continues to rapidly increase within the state of Texas as well as the nation. However, the Hispanic population educational attainment level lags behind that of the general population. Hispanic males are the lowest educated segment of society averaging less than a high school diploma. The negative long-term economic impact of such low educational attainment levels coupled with the rapid increase of the Hispanic population has been documented by Texas state demographers as well as the U.S. Census Bureau. The researcher conducted a qualitative study to inform a deeper understanding of the experiences that facilitated the persistence of 18 Hispanic male first-time-in-college students through the official reporting date of their fall first termat a community college in South Texas. An asset model and related conceptual framework, which recognized students as experts, were utilized. Focus group interviews, semi-structured interviews, and existing data were analyzed utilizing qualitative research methods. The researcher identified six overarching themes that significantly influenced the students? ability to persist. In addition, analysis of the data produced five barrier themes that these students overcame via the utilization of corresponding knowledge and actions themes. Finally, students provided recommended college changes for mitigating the barriers faced by future Hispanic male students. The researcher provided conclusions regarding Hispanic male students, recommendations for students, recommendations for colleges and universities serving Hispanic male students, recommendations for the focal community college, and implications for the theoretical model utilized. The researcher recommended expanding this research to other institutions of higher education and notes the national implications for increasing the educational attainment level of Hispanic male students.Item Understanding suicide and applying current research to prevent college student suicide(2016-08) Smart, Kristin Alexis; Drum, David J.; Rude, StephanieSuicide is a leading cause of death around the world and is on the rise. Suicide is considered to be the second leading cause of death for college students, (Drum, Brownson, Denmark, & Smith, 2009) and the rate of suicide completion is between 6.5 and 7.5 per 100,000 students (Silverman, Meyer, Sloane, Raffel, & Pratt, 1997). Not only are completed suicides an issue on college campuses, but suicidal thoughts and ideation are extremely prominent in this population as well. Approximately 50 percent of college students report having considered suicide at some point in their lives. 18 percent of undergraduate students and 15 percent of graduate students report having seriously considered attempting suicide with 40 to 50 percent of those students reporting multiple episodes of suicidal thought. (Drum et al., 2009). This report will look at the warning signs and risk factors for suicidal ideation and attempts, theories of suicidality, reasons students do not seek treatment, motivations or events that lead to attempting or committing suicide, the most common methods, protective factors against suicide, and finally current and future prevention methods on college campuses.Item Voices of parents in poverty : what do low-income parents need to support their young children?(2015-08) McManus, Molly Ellen; Suizzo, Marie-Anne; Schallert, DianeThis paper examines the needs of low-income parents in supporting the development, education, and well-being of their young children using a collective case study design informed by multivocal ethnography. Findings were obtained from a collective case study by analyzing qualitative interview data from fourteen participants including three mothers, three teachers, three administrators, two district leaders, and three policymakers. The overall findings suggest that preschool administrators were the most aligned in their understanding of low-income parents' needs as expressed by parents, whereas teachers, district leaders, and policymakers were much less aligned with parents' perceptions. Furthermore, the needs identified by low-income parents fell into the basic needs categories of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, whereas needs identified by individuals in positions of power fell into the growth needs category. Finally, individuals in positions of power all identified needs such as training, classes, or workshops that emphasized knowledge transfer from an expert to low-income parents.Item Walls and fences : the making of good neighbors?!(2014-05) El Nakhala, Doaa' Hamdi; Freeman, Gary P.; Henry, Clement M., 1937-While the Europeans were discussing integration, other nations experienced long conflicts over borders. In some of the latter contexts, the significance of borders was underscored by escalated border policing through the erection of barriers. Although barrier construction is not a new phenomenon, an increasing number of nation-states are launching barrier projects along their borders. While in all cases the concerned nation-states claimed these barriers were provided security, scant attention was given to the actual security outcomes of these constructions. This research provides answers to the questions: what accounts for the different security outcomes of border barriers? How can barriers differ? And why? How does variation in barriers affect the nature and number of non-state actors' attacks? When do violent groups have tactical shifts and tactical innovations in the context of a barrier? This work moves beyond the conventional perspective on barriers that see them as successful defensive security measures. Instead, it develops the Fortification-Cooperation model that explains why the level of cross-border militant attacks change, when violent groups shift their tactics and when they innovate. I argue that security cooperation on both sides the border limits violent activities locally, which in turn restricts their access to militant resources. Presence of these resources is central for launching more attacks and for introducing tactical innovations. In turn, barriers impose restrictions to movement and increase the cost of certain attack. In this context, motivated violent groups substitute their commonly employed attack tactics for other types of attacks that can be sustained despite the presence of the barrier. Using a newly constructed qualitative and quantitative datasets on Palestinian attacks against Israel and barrier construction between 1990 and 2010, this study finds that the empirical record does not provide support the existing common explanations about the outcomes of barriers and that the interaction of cross-border cooperation and fortification is a key determinant of the number and nature of cross-border militant attacks. This work has significant implications for many states that built, are building, or are considering the construction of barriers on their borders since according to this research, a barrier without cross-border security cooperation would not be efficient at diminishing or decreasing cross-border violence. Additionally, violent groups' access to military resources is an important factor that should be taken into consideration when a barrier is built. Again, cross-border cooperation plays an essential role in restricting these resources, which would lead to less violence. In fact, in some cases, cooperation alone may result in similar outcomes to the combination of fortification and cooperation, which raises questions about the utility of barriers to begin with.