Browsing by Subject "Program"
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Item Intent versus outcome of international mural exchange(2011-08) Batson, Amanda Ashley; Bolin, Paul Erik, 1954-In an attempt to rectify the issues and concerns on the impact of an international mural exchange created by the organization Let Art Talk in 2008, I traveled to Uganda to pursue a similar community based, environmentally themed art workshops and Talking Mural. This theme-based mural was created and then given to a school in Plano, Texas to complete. My role was to investigate the work being done and the potential effects of learning on participants involved and to gauge the communication and learning exchanged between the participants in two varied communities. Through the creation of a mural using case study methods, it was also to be determined if the mission and goals of the project were accomplished. This study was focused on the following question: In what ways and to what extent is the purposeful intent and meaning of the artwork made by students in Uganda--as part of a mural exchange program about environmental issues that occurs between students in Uganda and the United States--understood by the students in the United States who view and respond to this artwork?Item Personnel preparation programs for teachers of students with visual impairments in arabic countries(Texas Tech University, 2009-08) Safhi, Mohammad Y. A.; Kelley, Pat; Griffin-Shirley, Nora; Pogrund, Rona; Smith, Derrick W.; Banda, Devender R.Approximately 35 million people who are blind or visually impaired live in the Arabic World. The number of people with visual impairments continues to grow in the Arabic countries. Therefore, to meet the needs of this growing population, a need for more teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs) exists. However, special education programs, especially for students with visual impairments (VI), are still new in the Arabic World. Some of the Arabic countries have special education programs at the university level to prepare educators of students with special needs, and most of these university programs do not have personnel preparation programs in the field of visual impairment or other disabilities. Most of these countries provide services to students who are blind or visually impaired in separate residential settings such as the Al-Noor Institute for Blind in most Arabic nations. The purpose of this study was to examine the teachers’ personnel preparation training programs in the field of visual impairment in the Arabic World. This study used an online survey as a method to collect data. Twenty-six (26) professionals (professors and educators) participated in this study from a variety of programs including university programs, agency programs, and other specialized training programs in the participants’ countries or accessing personnel from other countries. The results provided useful information to universities and agencies in the Arabic countries to develop, improve, and maintain more effective TVI training programs. However, this study’s results identified a shortage of teacher training programs for TVIs in the Arabic World, so there is a significant need to develop and increase the number of professional personnel preparation programs to prepare TVIs in these countries.Item Residential water conservation in Austin, Texas(2009-12) Sires, Luke Abrams; Moore, Steven A., 1945-; Butler, Kent S.This study explores the social, technological economic, and environmental development of single-family residential water conservation programs at the Austin Water Utility and asks: What makes a conservation program successful? I hypothesize that water conservation programs will be successful if both institutional-producer goals and citizen-consumer goals are satisfied. While the findings suggest that this may be partially true, it also has become clear that my original actor-network model was too simple to predict the various types of influences on program success. Not only did I find other significant ‘actors’ involved in water conservation, I also found that utility and participant groups themselves represent a wide variety of interests. This study seeks to answer the research question by creating a series of narratives that critically explore water infrastructure and water conservation programs in Austin, Texas. Through a methodological lens referred to as ‘critical constructivism,’ I use mixed methods to analyze and interpret historic documents, interviews, and quantitative data as primary sources. Literature from Science and Technology Studies (STS) are used as secondary sources. This study will add to a body of knowledge that describes how and why we manage our environmental resources. The subject of conservation is especially relevant as urban growth continues with fewer affordable opportunities to increase regional water supplies. As we enter an era of expected water conflict, knowing how to conserve water effectively will help provide more opportunities for sharing a common resource amongst communities, industry, agriculture, and the environment.