Browsing by Subject "Case study"
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Item A Case Study and Framing Analysis of the 2008 Salmonella Outbreak(Texas Tech University, 2009-08) Irlbeck, Erica; Akers, Cindy; Baker, Matt; Brashears, Mindy M.; Burris, Scott; Duemer, Lee S.In April 2008, the United States Food and Drug Administration began investigating a potential Salmonella outbreak in Texas in New Mexico. Initially, tomatoes were the suspected carrier of the pathogen; however, after three months of investigation, the FDA determined jalapenos grown in Mexico were the culprit. Tomato growers across the United States reported losses of $250 million. The purpose of this study was to examine television news coverage of the Salmonella outbreak through a case study using framing theory in order to gain an understanding of how reporters’ ideologies, attitudes, and corporate pressures influenced the frames that were reported on the ABC, CBS, and NBC news networks. A qualitative case study using interviews with reporters and content analysis was used to investigate the research questions. The reporters revealed they supported the farmers, they wanted change within the FDA, and they had confidence in the U.S. food supply. The frames presented in the television news coverage were health risk, financial impact, devastation of tomato growers, and frustration with the FDA. The frames that were built by reporters’ inputs were devastation of the tomato grower and frustration with the FDA. This dissertation concluded that in some instances, television news frames are influenced by the reporters’ attitudes and ideologies, and in other instances, they are not.Item Art from the streets : a case study(2011-05) Marlin, Amanda Zamora; Adejumo, Christopher O., 1959-; Bolin, Paul E.This case study examines the history and structure of Art from the Streets (AFTS) a community-based art (CBA) program in Austin, Texas that for the past twenty years has offered art classes twice a week to the local homeless community. The purpose of this study is to determine if and how well AFTS integrates essential CBA components that define best practices of CBA programs that serve the homeless into their program. This study combines researcher observations with the firsthand perspective of the AFTS program, volunteers, and participants secured through class observations and interviews conducted to gain knowledge about the inner workings of the AFTS program.Item The artist as researcher : a narrative case study of Lead Pencil Studio(2013-05) Palmiter, Erica Maria; Bain, ChristinaThis thesis is a narrative case study that examined the studio art practice of Lead Pencil Studio, a Seattle-based artist collaborative that explore our spatial relationships with architecture through site-specific installations. The case study specifically focused on the work of Daniel Mihalyo and Annie Han (Lead Pencil Studio) while they were at the Visual Arts Center in The University of Texas at Austin for a spring 2013 artist-in-residence program. The research focused specifically on the artists’ day-to-day process, examining the thoughts and actions that went into creating their work, Diffuse Reflection Lab, a two-story plywood structure that examined reflection’s effect on architecture through various vignettes. Through concentrated observations of the Lead Pencil Studio’s work and three semi-structured interviews, this thesis examined how traditional research practices are integrated into the studio art process. By examining the art/research relationship the author also situates this work in the field of practice-based research. While this work specifically focused on the research conducted by a pair of professional artists, it also extends to a broader argument about the role of research in art lessons. Since this thesis is based in art education, it connects the themes observed in the artists’ studio practice to interdisciplinary learning and arts integration. The author ultimately argues that Lead Pencil Studio’s art/research practice can be used in the classroom as an example of transdisciplinary learning and that it models a rigorous approach to creativity within other disciplines.Item A case study of the city of Austin's Colony Park sustainable community initiative(2013-12) Koch, Jessi Ray; Wilson, Barbara B. (Barbara Brown); Almy, DeanThis study explores the City of Austin Colony Park Sustainable Community Initiative, a three-year planning project funded through a U.S. Housing and Urban Development Office of Sustainable Communities and Housing Community Challenge Planning Grant. The final outcome of the Colony Park Sustainable Community Initiative will include a master plan for 208 acres of publicly owned land in east Austin, located off of Loyola Lane between the Colony Park and Lakeside neighborhoods. The Colony Park Sustainable Community Initiative considers a study area of five census tracts that surround the 208 acre site. The City of Austin's Neighborhood Housing and Community Development is the lead department on The Colony Park Sustainable Community Initiative, however, all City of Austin departments are stakeholders as well as all residents of the five census tracts that make of the project study area. The study includes a historical context for the relationship between community leaders of the Colony Park-Lakeside area and City of Austin officials and department employees. I explore the complex activities and events that have taken place over the course of the first year and a half of the grant term, and the significance of these events for the future of the project and surrounding community moving forward.Item Closing the loop on assessment : an analysis of the use of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement(2010-05) Wilson, Grant Warren; Bumphus, Walter G.; Roueche, John E.; Cary, Lisa J.; Nolte, Walter; Johnson, Christine; McClenney, Kay M.Accountability in community colleges, like all institutions of higher education, is a movement that has grown over the past several years. Consequently, colleges are generating a great deal of assessment data, both locally developed and nationally benchmarked. One national survey is the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). CCSSE is an appropriate focus for this study because many community colleges are concerned about the lack of comparative data that would enable them to make more comprehensive evaluations of their programs. This is a case study of a college in Wyoming and its use of the CCSSE data after the college received the results of the survey. A Wyoming college is the focus because it performed adequately on the CCSSE measures and was not currently under any economic pressures that may have affected colleges in other parts of the country during the time frame of the study.Item Combatting loss in wireless networks(2011-12) Rozner, Eric John; Qiu, Lili, Ph. D.; Alvisi, Lorenzo; Chandra, Ranveer; de Veciana, Gustavo; Zhang, YinThe wireless medium is lossy due to many reasons, such as signal attenuation, multi-path propagation, and collisions. Wireless losses degrade network throughput, reliability, and latency. The goal of this dissertation is to combat wireless losses by developing effective techniques and protocols across different network layers. First, a novel opportunistic routing protocol is developed to overcome wireless losses at the network layer. Opportunistic routing protocols exploit receiver diversity to route traffic in the face of loss. A distinctive feature of the protocol is the performance derived from its optimization can be achieved in real IEEE 802.11 networks. At its heart lies a simple yet realistic model of the network that captures wireless interference, losses, traffic, and MAC-induced dependencies. Then a model-driven optimization algorithm is designed to accurately optimize the end-to-end performance, and techniques are developed to map the resulting optimization solutions to practical routing configurations. Its effectiveness is demonstrated using simulation and testbed experiments. Second, an efficient retransmission scheme (ER) is developed at the link layer for wireless networks. Instead of retransmitting lost packets in their original forms, ER codes packets lost at different destinations and uses a single retransmission to potentially recover multiple packet losses. A simple and practical protocol is developed to realize the idea, and it is evaluated using simulation and testbed experiments to demonstrate its effectiveness. Third, detailed measurement traces are collected to understand wireless losses in dynamic and mobile environments. Existing wireless drivers are modified to enable the logging and analysis of network activity under varying end-host configurations. The results indicate that mobile clients can suffer from consecutive packet losses, or burst errors. The burst errors are then analyzed in more detail to gain further insights into the problem. With these insights, recommendations for future research directions to mitigate loss in mobile environments are presented.Item Corporate culture in an institution of higher education(2005-12) Hennigan, Jamie P.; Cejda, Brent D.; Duemer, Lee S.; Murray, John P.Authorities on culture in higher education agree that no single, universal culture exists. And as stated by Kuh culture is ever changing and evolving. Most recently, the literature on culture in higher education suggests the emergence of a new culture: the corporate culture. Tierney has identified culture as a major factor in achieving and maintaining institutional effectiveness as it is a representation of the patterns, shared values, assumptions, and beliefs of the participants in an organization. Culture may serve purposes that are both instrumental and interpretive in nature. In other words, using culture as an instrumental tool allows for social interpretation of what the institution is, while used interpretively, culture can provide insight as to what the organization has. Succinctly stated, Tierney states that an organization’s culture is reflected in "what is done, how it is done, and who is involved in doing it. It concerns decisions, actions, and communication both on and instrumental and a symbolic level." Likewise, Smart, Kuh and Tierney state, "an institution’s culture is thought to mediate how an institution deals with external forces and internal pressures. Culture is formed over decades, as institutions ‘learn’ how to respond to challenges associated with their establishment, survival and growth. The purpose of this study was to examine an apparently deliberate shift in the culture of a higher education institution, specifically, the attempt to incorporate a "corporate culture." A private, largely baccalaureate degree-granting institution is the sample/case for this particular study. The institution is one in which an individual from a corporate background was hired to fill an upper-level leadership/presidential position. An analysis of institutional documents and limited interviews with administrators and faculty revealed that almost every aspect of the institution was affected in one way or another by this "corporate" president.Item Corporate culture in an institution of higher education(Texas Tech University, 2005-12) Hennigan, Jamie P.; Cejda, Brent D.; Duemer, Lee S.; Murray, John P.Authorities on culture in higher education agree that no single, universal culture exists. And as stated by Kuh culture is ever changing and evolving. Most recently, the literature on culture in higher education suggests the emergence of a new culture: the corporate culture. Tierney has identified culture as a major factor in achieving and maintaining institutional effectiveness as it is a representation of the patterns, shared values, assumptions, and beliefs of the participants in an organization. Culture may serve purposes that are both instrumental and interpretive in nature. In other words, using culture as an instrumental tool allows for social interpretation of what the institution is, while used interpretively, culture can provide insight as to what the organization has. Succinctly stated, Tierney states that an organization’s culture is reflected in “what is done, how it is done, and who is involved in doing it. It concerns decisions, actions, and communication both on and instrumental and a symbolic level.” Likewise, Smart, Kuh and Tierney state, “an institution’s culture is thought to mediate how an institution deals with external forces and internal pressures. Culture is formed over decades, as institutions ‘learn’ how to respond to challenges associated with their establishment, survival and growth. The purpose of this study was to examine an apparently deliberate shift in the culture of a higher education institution, specifically, the attempt to incorporate a “corporate culture.” A private, largely baccalaureate degree-granting institution is the sample/case for this particular study. The institution is one in which an individual from a corporate background was hired to fill an upper-level leadership/presidential position. An analysis of institutional documents and limited interviews with administrators and faculty revealed that almost every aspect of the institution was affected in one way or another by this “corporate” president.Item Crafting a definition : a case study of the presentation of craft at the Renwick Gallery(2011-12) Noyes, Chandra; Bolin, Paul Erik, 1954-; Mayer, Melinda M.This report is a case study of the presentation of craft at the Renwick Gallery, the craft museum of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM). The Renwick, founded in 1976, is a curatorial department of SAAM, focusing in modern and contemporary American craft. Through an examination of the museum’s galleries and exhibitions, interviews with staff, and an analysis of educational programming, this thesis explores how the Renwick defines craft implicitly and explicitly. Giving a context for this study is a history of the Renwick Gallery, as well as history of craft and its definitions. With these histories as background, the ways that the Renwick, and thus its visitors, understand craft is explored. The qualities specific to craft in the literature and manifest at the Renwick are examined in order to determine how they influence the presentation of craft at the Renwick.Item Cultivating literacies among emerging bilinguals : case study of a third grade bilingual/bicultural community of practice(2012-05) Lynch, Anissa Wicktor; Fránquiz, María E.; Wetzel, Melissa M.; Callahan, Rebecca M.; Valenzuela, Angela; Heinzelman, Susan S.This study focused on emerging bilingual students in an urban elementary bilingual classroom. Schools and teachers play a fundamental role in emerging bilingual children’s language acquisition and academic preparation. Emerging bilinguals currently enrolled in U.S. schools must learn a new academic language and academic content in a climate marked by standards-based reform and anti-immigrant sentiment. Utilizing case study methodology, this investigation explored the ways in which emerging bilinguals and their teacher co-constructed literacy practices and the connection between literacy practices and identity. Microanalysis of discourse was performed on data collected during literacy practices to examine positionings, the ways people present themselves in a situation. Data included field notes from classroom observations, audio and video recordings, teacher and student interviews, and artifacts in the form of student work and district and curriculum documents. Participants engaged in a wide variety of literacy practices utilizing material resources of the classroom, their teacher, their emerging bilingual abilities, and prior experiences both in and out of the classroom as resources to construct meaning from texts. Literacy practices were characterized by high expectations for student achievement and group membership, the development of students’ linguistic and cultural knowledge, building students’ self-efficacy related to literacy, and affirmation of participants’ bilingual/bicultural identities. Students demonstrated several positionings during literacy practices. Analysis of these positioning suggested that their identities were shaped by their participation in literacy practices and their interactions with other members of this community of practice. The community of practice that participants co-constructed was characterized by a focus on inclusivity, purposeful opening of interactional spaces, expanding repertoires of practice, and caring. Results of this study suggested that teacher and student disposition and affect can be taught, which raised questions about the current focus on only knowledge and skills in teacher education programs rather on teacher disposition and affect. There are also implications for teachers and researchers who have an interest in communities of practice and effectively educating emerging bilingual students.Item Democracy and values in public schools: A case study of founding members of the Visioning Institute of Texas(2010-12) Hindman, Janet L.; Klinker, JoAnn F.; McMillan, Sally; Valle, FernandoLittle empirical evidence existed that measured how democracy and democratic values were instilled in American schools. The problem of this qualitative collective case study was to investigate in what ways the efficacy and praxis of the superintendents of independent public school districts as founding members of the Public Education Visioning Institute of Texas had been influenced by their participation, how their vision for public education for their school districts and for Texas had changed through creative and innovative leadership, and how educational leadership interacted as either more of a science or as an art. Through qualitative methodology, this critical, narrative, and interpretive case study design explored what values were promoted by the Public Education Visioning Institute of Texas and if/how the superintendents as school leaders were implementing these values within their schools. Data was gathered through the use of qualitative tools of data collection, analysis, and management that included a questionnaire, interviews, observations, field notes, archival data documents, and the pilot study. This case study attempts to move from the public to the private (Denzin, 2001) through narrative and interpretive story to discover if the participants in the Public Education Visioning Institute of Texas had experienced epiphanies in regard to democracy and democratic values. Study findings indicated a transcendent epiphany in unity of values, vision, and passion for change among the superintendents through their leadership and vision and a constancy of purpose to improve public schools not only for their own students, but also for all children, and uncovered resources that informed their leadership practice. Findings confirm the need for further development of the Visioning Institute as a moral imperative to sustain democracy and democratic schools. To know who we are and where we are going in public education, a requisite need arises to conduct additional research in educational leadership as both science and as art.Item The development of an interactive simulation for pharmacokinetics learning(2011-08) Li, Yin, master of arts in curriculum and instruction; Liu, Min, Ed. D.; Hughes, JoanThis report accounts the experience of a faculty member’s intention of creating an innovative interactive learning simulation in the field of pharmacokinetics to support the faculty member’s teaching and addresses his students’ learning needs. The report also describes the collaboration process between the faculty member and the instructional technology support units through the different phases of design, development, implementation and assessment on the simulation. It also discusses a faculty member’s role in using technology to enhance teaching and learning under university context.Item ESL lifers: two case studies(Texas Tech University, 2005-12) Province, Paul RichardThe dissertation examines the experiences of two eighth grade participants who were in ESL in a far West Texas middle school. The study examines what the participants recall about their public school experiences that have caused them to be unsuccessful in acquiring the English language and being unsuccessful academically in general. The study also examines teaching practices and school district practices.Item An evaluation of online participatory planning spaces : a case study of the Oak Hill Parkway Virtual Open House(2014-05) Ettelman, Benjamin Lamond; Mueller, Elizabeth J.State planning and transportation agencies continually face the escalating problem of increasing needs coupled with limited financial resources to meet those needs. In this difficult fiscal environment, the importance of meaningfully involving the public in the decisions that shape the future of our cities and regions becomes even more amplified. Proactively working with the public to gain buy-in from the early stages of the planning process is one of the most effective strategies to reduce project costs. The classic process in which state planning and transportation agencies have engaged the public is no longer an effective or efficient model as public meeting attendance has consistently decreased. As technology continues to shape the way that the public communicates with each other and their government, the onus falls on state planning and transportation agencies not only to continue to provide the traditional methods of engagement, but to look for new and innovative ways to gain increased public participation in the planning process. The traditional methods of public engagement will always be an important part of the planning process, but discovering the effectiveness of emerging technologies in order to develop new best practices for public engagement is the charge of the future. This report will evaluate whether a) online participatory planning spaces expand participation in the planning process and b) examine how evaluative metrics gathered by using online tools can inform decision makers of the utility of virtual planning spaces. This report will then present an evaluative criteria in order to establish a baseline by which to assess the performance of public involvement processes. This report will then present a case study of the Oak Hill Parkway Virtual Open House Pilot Project, a pilot study conducted in Austin, Texas to test the effectiveness of online participatory planning spaces in the field. This report will also share the results of interviews with Oak Hill Parkway Project representatives regarding the usefulness of virtual planning spaces. The report will conclude with a discussion of lessons learned and future research needs.Item Examining effective advising and assessment : the academic advising environment, current practices and experiences at UT Austin(2014-05) Wong, Stephen Dajone; Kameen, Marilyn C.Effective academic advising may be perceived or experienced differently depending on a person’s involvement (student, advisor, or administrator). In addition, a person’s understanding and description of effective advising depends on how it is identified (process, outcome, or approach) or the context in which it is encountered. Results from multiple studies of the relevant literature have demonstrated how the quality of advising influences students in regard to retention, academic and social integration, decision-making processes in selecting academic programs and careers, overall student satisfaction, and success (Banta et al., 2002; Cuseo, 2004, Hunter & White, 2004). However, research on effective advising and the assessment of advising has received very little attention in the literature. Although awareness of the importance of institutional assessment has increased, assessment of academic advising today is – if conducted at all – is piecemeal and consists of simple student satisfaction surveys that may be neither adequate of useful. Even when assessment measures are conducted, advising units are often inept at utilizing the results to create positive change within their programs. Understanding effective advising requires a closer look at the participants, the advising programs, and the assessment practices of programs along with exploring student learning outcomes. The overarching area of inquiry in the research study is: What is effective advising (how is it manifested and in what ways is it measured at the University)? Within this context, the goals for this study were to uncover the following: how academic advising is administered and supported across a specific institution; how perceptions about advising differ among system participants; what valued characteristics are found among effective advisors and advising programs; what assessment of academic advising looks like at the institution; what advisors and advising programs do to contribute to quality and improvement. To achieve these objectives, the study utilized a multi-faceted case study of undergraduate academic advising and the participants within a large public research institution which contained several academic advising centers. Understanding effective advising and the advising system required a comprehensive and multi-dimensional approach that involved the collection and analysis of many different forms of data from a variety of sources and over an extended period of time. A mixed methods, action-research design utilized the collection and review of numerous assessment and advising documents, descriptive and quantitative SPSS analysis of several longitudinal data sets yielded from electronic survey systems of seven colleges, numerous original interviews and focus groups with students, staff, and administrators, and a year’s worth of detailed field observations (journals and critical reflection) of the advising process and the advising system.Item Guatemalan unaccompanied children migration : a case study of unaccompanied children in guatemala(2016-05) Gonzalez, Luis Raul; Rodriguez, Nestor; Menchaca, MarthaThis thesis examines the motives and conditions of migration of Guatemalan unaccompanied children through a case study. Unaccompanied children have been arriving in large numbers than in the past. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in fiscal year 2014, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol apprehended more than 68,000 unaccompanied children (DHS Statistical Yearbook 2014), and approximately 69,000 migrants traveling together as families. Based on ethnographic, semi-structure interviews with families, NGOs, lawyers, and community members I argue that new migration communities are emerging as a result of systemic legal violence. There is little consensus among analysts regarding why the number of Central American minors abandoning their homes in hope of entering the United States has increased so significantly. Nevertheless, structural conditions of high levels of poverty, unemployment, violence, and instability in the region has contributed to the influx of child migration.Item Harmonization of residential & commercial mixed-use developments : investigation of regulatory issues by case studies(2013-08) Hsieh, Yu-Tang; Lee, Ming-ChunMixed-use neighborhoods, which feature increased housing/job variety and density, can create pedestrian and bicycle-friendly environments by reducing dependency on vehicles and traffic congestion, and shortening distances between housing, workplaces and other destinations. Municipal regulations are vital to modern mixed-use developments due to their capability to control the direction of metropolitan growth. In this research, I have attempted to make a correlation between local regulations and current neighborhood development patterns in three well known, mixed-use neighborhoods using the case study approach. Three mixed-use neighborhoods, the North Pearl District (NPD; Portland, Oregon), South Lake Union (SLU; Seattle, Washington) and False Creek North (FCN; Vancouver, Canada), were chosen for this case study research. I examined and visualized the local regulations that pertain to mixed-use development of each neighborhood using Illustrator and SketchUp. I also analyzed and discussed U.S. Census information, including households per acre, average household size and household vehicle occupancy. The investigation indicates that among the three neighborhoods, the mixed-use regulations of FCN are the most straightforward and clear. This is reflected in the consistency between regulations and current land uses. The overall mixed degree in NPD is relatively large likely due to its incentive regulations, making itself as a highly walkable neighborhood. The local regulations in SLU are the most complicated, and focus on attracting innovative firms. In conclusion, we have conducted a study to investigate the development of mixed-use neighborhoods by scrutinizing local regulations and analyzing current situations and statistical data. The results indicated that the straightforward and incentive regulations, such as legalized neighborhood land use plan and bonus floor area ratios, benefit the mixed-use developments of neighborhoods by increasing the efficiency in land use and maximizing the mixed-use degree, thus leading to a compact, walkable and vital community.Item Home-based parental involvement among Korean immigrant families(2013-05) Hong, Kyong Joo; Borich, Gary D.Although research on parental involvement is increasing, little is known about the beliefs, goals, and practices of minority parents of adolescent children. This study investigates four key aspects of parental academic socialization, targeting Korean immigrant parents of adolescents: 1) meaning of parents’ educational goals and expectations for their children, 2) parents’ practices in facilitating children’s academic achievement, 3) ways of transferring parental beliefs to children, and 4) cultural influences on parenting. Using an ethnographic inquiry for the study, I will interview 5 Korean immigrant couples. The data will consist of interviews, demographic questions, home observations, and field notes. The implications of the outcomes are discussion. This report also includes an evaluation plan which details the components of the dual language program, an example program that the outcomes of the proposed study can be used to design or to modify.Item How family groups experience the Blanton Museum of Art: a case study(2014-05) Piepgrass, Jessica Ann; Mayer, Melinda M.This thesis details a study that I conducted in order to better understand family groups who visit the Blanton Museum of Art. This data is presented using a case study methodology. I interviewed and observed eight families in an attempt to better understand what brought them to the Blanton, and what they wanted to accomplish during their time at the museum. The data collected revealed six themes. Four of these themes were goals the families brought with them to the Blanton Museum of Art. One of the themes pertained to individual motivations for coming to the museum. The final theme related to the participating families use of museum resources other than the art on display. The data was meaningful in that it demonstrated that these families did have specific goals for their time at the Blanton, and the families demonstrated behaviors which served as a means to accomplishing these goals. A goal of this research was to provide me, as an educator, with a more full and rich understanding of family groups that visit museums.Item Identifying entrenchment issues in a protected areas dispute : a case study of the Białowieża Forest conflict in Poland(2011-12) Sekowski, Agnes Janina; Campbell, Craig A. R., 1973-; Wong, Patrick; Bychkova-Jordan, BellaThe Białowieża Forest (or Belovezhskaya Pushcha in Belarusian) is considered the last primeval forest in lowland Europe, straddling the border of Poland and Belarus in a 41/59 percent split. This project investigates the various issues involved in the most recent negotiations process that attempted to incorporate non-park areas of the Białowieża Forest in Poland into the Białowieża National Park. It seeks to understand the entrenchment of stakeholders on opposing sides of this protected areas dispute that has been underway since the area was first designated a Nature Reserve in 1921. An interview-based case study approach was used to explore prevalent themes and emerging narratives of the conflict, such as stakeholder relationships, competing conservation ideologies, economic factors, social tensions, administrative issues, and media portrayal.