Browsing by Subject "Influence"
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Item Authority identification in online communities and social networks(2013-05) Budalakoti, Suratna; Barber, K. SuzanneAs Internet communities such as question-answer (Q&A) forums and online social networks (OSNs) grow in prominence as knowledge sources, traditional editorial filters are unable to scale to their size and pace. This absence hinders the exchange of knowledge online, by creating an understandable lack of trust in information. This mistrust can be partially overcome by a forum by consistently providing reliable information, thus establishing itself as a reliable source. This work investigates how algorithmic approaches can contribute to building such a community of voluntary experts willing to contribute authoritative information. This work identifies two approaches: a) reducing the cost of participation for experts via matching user queries to experts (question recommendation), and b) identifying authoritative contributors for incentivization (authority estimation). The question recommendation problem is addressed by extending existing approaches via a new generative model that augments textual data with expert preference information among different questions. Another contribution to this domain is the introduction of a set of formalized metrics to include the expert's experience besides the questioner's. This is essential for expert retention in a voluntary community, and has not been addressed by previous work. The authority estimation problem is addressed by observing that the global graph structure of user interactions, results from two factors: a user's performance in local one-to-one interactions, and their activity levels. By positing an intrinsic authority 'strength' for each user node in the graph that governs the outcome of individual interactions via the Bradley-Terry model for pairwise comparison, this research establishes a relationship between intrinsic user authority, and global measures of influence. This approach overcomes many drawbacks of current measures of node importance in OSNs by naturally correcting for user activity levels, and providing an explanation for the frequent disconnect between real world reputation and online influence. Also, while existing research has been restricted to node ranking on a single OSN graph, this work demonstrates that co-ranking across multiple endorsement graphs drawn from the same OSN is a highly effective approach for aggregating complementary graph information. A new scalable co-ranking framework is introduced for this task. The resulting algorithms are evaluated on data from various online communities, and empirically shown to outperform existing approaches by a large margin.Item Do migrants remit democratic beliefs and behaviors? : a theory of migrant-led international diffusion(2009-12) Pérez-Armendáriz, Clarisa; Freeman, Gary P.; Weyland, Kurt GerhardHow do migrants from Mexico to the U.S., including those who return permanently to Mexico and those who engage in cross-border communication from the U.S., contribute to changes in the political attitudes and behavior of Mexicans living in Mexico? Individuals who return to Mexico after experiencing U.S. democracy directly are less likely to influence change among their non-migrant co-nationals than are migrants who remain in the U.S. This holds even though the former can share their experiences face-to-face, while the latter must transmit them from a distance and across the border. Non-migrants' propensity to learn foreign political practices and beliefs from migrants is conditioned by their ambivalent attitudes towards the U.S. These attitudes condition both migrants' willingness to share the forms of civic engagement they learned up north and non-migrants' receptivity. Non-migrants are more receptive to migrants who remain in the U.S. than to returnees because they have a higher esteem for them and because the long-distance ties that bind non-migrants to migrants abroad, as opposed to those back home, are stronger. Both types of migrants have an interest in sharing their new beliefs and behaviors with non-migrants; but while returnees struggle to accept adaptations of American-style practices to the Mexican context, this produces little inconvenience for migrants abroad. The anti-American attitudes returnees find in Mexico also dampen their efforts to introduce change. I employ statistical regressions, Qualitative Comparative Analysis and process tracing to evaluate two data sources: (1) a large-n database that draws from an original survey administered on a nationwide sample of Mexican citizens living in Mexico; and, (2) scores of interviews with migrants and the people in Mexico with whom they communicate. The statistical results indicate the outcomes that migrant-led international diffusion produces. The qualitative analysis explains the mechanisms that drive or constrain diffusion. The project applies theories of international diffusion to change occurring among individuals at the level of mass publics. It highlights the importance of intersubjective beliefs about the sources of foreign innovations--including both people and countries--in shaping diffusion processes.Item Independence and integrity : a case study of KUT News 2002-2012(2016-05) Brown, Emily Donahue; Lasorsa, Dominic L.; Bock, Mary AngelaThis study employed in-depth interviews and autoethnography with reporters, supporters of and managers at KUT Radio, the NPR affiliate in Austin, as well as leaders in the public journalism movement and media watchers to ascertain the station’s sense of news mission, audience and public journalism’s potential for long-term relevance. KUT launched its newsroom with the public journalism goal to link the public with the civic process by involving them more deeply in the news gathering process. Early on, KUT staff believed strongly in the public journalism model. As the newsroom matured and pressure to produce more content with fewer resources increased, staff received less training in the model. Concurrent with the ascendance of digital technology, blogs and microblogs, the staff and news community adopted more public journalism tenets, which became less an operational guide and more like one element of the overall news mission.Item Influence of alumina shell on nano aluminum melting temperature depression(2007-12) Chauhan, Garima; Pantoya, Michelle; Levitas, Valery; Bhattacharya, SukalyanAs particle size reduces from the micron- to the nano-scale, physical properties of the material can be affected and impact thermal and reaction dynamics of the particles. In the case of nano-aluminum particles encased in an alumina passivation shell, as particle size decreases the shell strength approaches theoretical. Also, nano particles can exhibit a melting temperature depression following the Gibbs-Thomson relationship based on surface tension effects. Understanding how shell strength and surface tension influence each other is an objective of this study. Specifically, the effect of the alumina shell on the nano aluminum melting temperature depression is examined using thermal analysis techniques. Nano aluminum particles of various particle sizes ranging from 17 to 108 nm having virtually undamaged alumina shells were selected for this study. Melting temperatures for each of these powders were measured using differential scanning calorimetry. These measured values were compared with theoretical melting temperatures calculated using the Gibbs-Thomson equation. It was observed that the melting temperatures of alumina encapsulated nano-aluminum particles matched qualitatively with the theoretical trend but not quantitatively. For example, melting temperatures of nano-aluminum particles with undamaged shells exhibited melting temperatures on average 5 K greater than theoretical predictions. The alumina shells of these particles were then damaged mechanically by grinding them between two cylindrical dies in Hydraulic-press. Melting temperatures of the mechanically damaged particles were measured using differential scanning calorimetry and found to have reduced melting temperatures when compared to undamaged particles. The melting temperatures of nano-aluminum particles with damaged shells were in better agreement with theoretical values. Using the difference in melting temperatures of damaged and undamaged powders pressure build-up within the aluminum core was calculated and compared with the pressures calculated using elasticity theory. The comparison showed that the pressure build-up in most of the particles was due to the interfacial surface energies between alumina-aluminum, alumin-air and solid-liquid aluminum.Item Perceptions of Texas public school superintendents and legislators regarding strategies utilized by superintendents to influence the development of educational policies(2013-05) Bonewald, Gregory Jason; Olivárez, RubénThe purpose of this study was to identify perceptions of superintendents and legislators regarding strategies utilized by superintendents to influence the development of educational policies. The study was guided by the following three research questions: 1) How do Texas superintendents perceive they influence state legislators in the development of educational policies? 2) How do Texas legislators perceive Texas superintendents influence state legislators in the development of educational policies? 3) What commonalities and differences exist between the perceptions of Texas superintendents and legislators in regard to how superintendents influence state legislators in the development of educational policies? A qualitative methodology and a grounded theory approach were utilized in this study (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Data was collected via in-depth interviews with three purposely selected Texas public school superintendents and three Texas legislators. The data were coded and analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding techniques (Patton, 2002). This method of data analysis allowed for themes to emerge from the data and for the identification of a single overarching theme by which all other themes were connected. This study's findings uncovered that superintendents influence the development of educational policies at the state level by interacting with legislators and their staff members, by participating as members of professional organizations, and by enlisting local stakeholders. Ingrained in each of these processes for influencing policy development is the overarching theme that superintendents must build and foster relationships to influence the development of educational policies. Based on a thorough examination of the data gathered in this study, implications for practice were offered and recommendations for consideration of future studies that build upon this research were provided. This study is one of the only research endeavors ever conducted to examine the strategies utilized by superintendents to influence the development of educational policies. It is the only study of its kind known to the researcher that utilizes qualitative methodology. The richness of the data provided by the participants of this study adds significant value to the knowledge base regarding the political role of the public school superintendent to influence policy development.Item The influence of an educational leader on sustained motivation to achieve: a case study(Texas Tech University, 2007-12) Fisher, Pamela J. P.; Klinker, JoAnn F.; Hartmeister, Fred; Duemer, Lee S.The purpose of this study was to look at the relationship between educational leadership and sustained student achievement motivation through the lens of Csikszentmihalyi's (1990) theory of flow and Rea's (2001) theory of the motivated mind. An intrinsic qualitative case study was conducted in order to understand the impact of an educational leader on student motivation to achieve in one particular school. Data for the study was gathered through data collection methods commonly used in qualitative research (Patton, 2002): a questionnaire, interviews, observations, field notes, and archival documents. Data was analyzed, interpreted and written up using qualitative methods. Themes that emerged from this study of educational leadership are (1) the headmaster practiced proactivity and participatory leadership, (2) the culture of the school was strong, accepted, and had a powerful effect on students' attitudes and levels of academic achievement, (3) the headmaster respected that culture and did not try to change the established traditional culture of the school, (4) teachers exhibited the freedom to teach the challenge to learn, (5) teachers challenged the students with difficult, yet attainable, lessons, (6) classroom teachers and environments encouraged creativity, and (7) academic success and the motivation to learn were expected and rewarded. The findings of this study support Csikszentmihalyi's (1990) theory of flow and optimal experience and Rea's (2001) theory of the motivated mind. Csikszentmihalyi (2003) reported that teachers who were sensitive to students' goals and desires, who articulated pedagogical goals as challenges, who empowered students to take control of their learning, and who provided clear feedback to students' efforts without making them self-conscious were teachers who allowed students to enjoy learning and taught them to face the world with curiosity and interest. A major implication of this study is that the behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes of the educational leader and teachers are paramount if they desire to educate students with challenges and motivating methodology. A second implication of this study for educational leadership is that educational leaders need to be informed of the motivational needs of students and learn that in the classroom where serious fun is nurtured, optimal motivation emerges as a generative system that dynamically balances positive and negative feedback. The study found that the environment of ACES supports Rea's (2001) theory of the motivated mind in which intelligence, creativity, and achievement motivation interact and evolve with dynamic potential in classroom environments encouraging creativity modeled by the teacher. Findings of the study support Csikszentmihalyi's (1990) and Rea's (2001) theories which emphasize the educational leader's high support for fun challenges and high expectations for serious mastery of those challenges. A third implication for educational leadership is that the leader demonstrates and supports high expectations of students by teachers, students, and parents by setting high standards for students, letting them know that they are expected to meet them, and providing intellectually challenging lessons that correspond to the expectations (Rea, 2001).Item Venga tu Reino: the kingdom of God in Spanish epic poetry(Texas Tech University, 1997-08) Yorba-Gray, Galen BeckwithThis study demonstrates that the historical Christian notion of the kingdom of God provides an underlying stratum that intertextually energizes select Spanish epic poems. The Poema de Ferndn Gonzalez (PEG), the Laberinto de Fortuna, and La Christiada are examined to see how the kingdom of God functions in these poems as a guiding metaphorical, allegorical, and figurative stmcture. A combined theological, historical, and theoretical approach guides the analysis of the interdisciplinary investigation. Specific applications of textual points of contact between the PFG and the Bible demonstrate that Ferndn Gonzdlez has been inducted into a higher level of politicalspiritual conunand, transcending the merely historical plane in order to connect to a larger figurative structure. The kingdom of God of historical Christianity serves as a guiding metaphorical stmcture for Castilian ascendency and the glorification of her first count. Its present/fiiture oriented essence (the "already-not-yet" is an indispensable concept) connects the poem with broad mythical structures. The kingdom of God shadows Juan de Mena's Laberinto de Fortima, empowering his political and moral agenda (the Reconquest) for its recipient. King Juan n. Mena creates a Spanish national project to effect a continuation and transformation of both pagan and Christian aspects of historical Rome. To this end he uses both Vergilian (Aeneas, golden age) and Christian (prophecy, apocalyptic language, the concept of two ages) allegorical models to prefigure the presence of the future. His work does not overtly demonstrate a sophisticated eschatology, but appears to have absorbed and recast the background theology in his own terms, combining Augustinian realized eschatology with a general apocalyptic awareness.