Browsing by Subject "discrimination"
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Item Beyond cultural competency: Using literature to foster socially conscious medicine(2008-07-07) J. Ernest Aguilar; Anne Hudson Jones, Ph.D.; Sayantani DasGupta, M.D., M.P.H.; Robert Bulik, Ph.D.; Howard Brody, M.D., Ph.D.; Harold Y. Vanderpool, Th.M., Ph.D.For at least the past three decades, training programs in cultural competency have enjoyed increasing popularity in medical schools and in continuing medical education. Proponents of cultural competency generally hold that when physicians and other health-care professionals are trained in cultural issues, there will be a reduction in race-based disparities in both the access to and the quality of health care. Yet there has been little evidence to support this claim. Further, a conceptual analysis of cultural competency suggests that this type of training may serve only to maintain or further aggravate the current state of affairs faced by cultural and racial minorities. New pedagogical models are needed. These models will need to include an opportunity (and the support) for the unlearning of old patterns of viewing society. Participants will need to reflect on the social factors and structures that are more likely to lead to race-based disparities. These factors include but are not limited to a legacy of interracial hostility and mistrust, the unjust distribution of social power, and a defective understanding of the proper posture to be taken towards the one that is other. Educational theories that promote participatory, transformative, and reflective learning experience must be used to shape new educational efforts. Reforms in medical education can draw more heavily from the theories developed by scholars in literature and medicine. These theorists argue that the development of narrative skills contributes to improved communication across interpersonal differences. Further, many scholars agree that reading well-written works of literature contributes to the skill required for recognizing injustice and engaging in the moral and ethical reflection needed to address it.Item Evolution of gender wage gap in Peru, 1997-2000(2009-05-15) Montes, Jose L.Wage differentials result from different years of education or experience or size of the firms, and also from other factors that do not have anything to do with the labor characteristics of the individuals. One of these factors is usually gender. The wage differential due to gender, and not to differences in labor characteristics, is called discrimination. The goal of this project is to estimate the evolution of the wages differentials and wage discrimination between males and females in Peru within and between 1997 and 2000, a time of economic recession in Peru. The wages differentials estimations show that all categories of males and females saw their real wages decreased; only blue-collar females saw their real wages increased; the return to the interaction between education and specific experience follow a linear trend. This means that more education and more experience will be rewarded at the same rate at any combination. The wage discrimination estimation shows that there was a small but significant wage discrimination in favor of women in 1997 and it disappeared by 2000. This showed that employers reduced all premiums to their employees during a period of economic recession.Item Experimental time-domain controlled source electromagnetic induction for highly conductive targets detection and discrimination(Texas A&M University, 2007-09-17) Benavides Iglesias, AlfonsoThe response of geological materials at the scale of meters and the response of buried targets of different shapes and sizes using controlled-source electromagnetic induction (CSEM) is investigated. This dissertation focuses on three topics; i) frac- tal properties on electric conductivity data from near-surface geology and processing techniques for enhancing man-made target responses, ii) non-linear inversion of spa- tiotemporal data using continuation method, and iii) classification of CSEM transient and spatiotemporal data. In the first topic, apparent conductivity profiles and maps were studied to de- termine self-affine properties of the geological noise and the effects of man-made con- ductive metal targets. 2-D Fourier transform and omnidirectional variograms showed that variations in apparent conductivity exhibit self-affinity, corresponding to frac- tional Brownian motion. Self-affinity no longer holds when targets are buried in the near-surface, making feasible the use of spectral methods to determine their pres- ence. The difference between the geology and target responses can be exploited using wavelet decomposition. A series of experiments showed that wavelet filtering is able to separate target responses from the geological background. In the second topic, a continuation-based inversion method approach is adopted, based on path-tracking in model space, to solve the non-linear least squares prob- lem for unexploded ordnance (UXO) data. The model corresponds to a stretched- exponential decay of eddy currents induced in a magnetic spheroid. The fast inversion of actual field multi-receiver CSEM responses of inert, buried ordnance is also shown. Software based on the continuation method could be installed within a multi-receiver CSEM sensor and used for near-real-time UXO decision. In the third topic, unsupervised self-organizing maps (SOM) were adapted for data clustering and classification. The use of self-organizing maps (SOM) for central- loop CSEM transients shows potential capability to perform classification, discrimi- nating background and non-dangerous items (clutter) data from, for instance, unex- ploded ordnance. Implementation of a merge SOM algorithm showed that clustering and classification of spatiotemporal CSEM data is possible. The ability to extract tar- get signals from a background-contaminated pattern is desired to avoid dealing with forward models containing subsurface response or to implement processing algorithm to remove, to some degree, the effects of background response and the target-host interactions.Item In the wake of the attack on 'Rajiv' on June 1, 2005: perceptions of international graduate student non-native English speakers on violence and racism at Texas A&M University(Texas A&M University, 2006-10-30) Kaufman, MitziIn this thesis, results of an online survey and focus group interview sessions comprised of a total of 21 International Graduate Student Non-Native English Speakers (IGSNNES) at Texas A&M (TAMU) are summarized. IGSNNESs were interviewed in an effort to gauge their perceptions and experiences with racism and discrimination following a string of assaults on IGSNNESs that occurred in the area immediately surrounding the TAMU campus. This study was conducted in an attempt to reveal previously undisclosed incidents of discrimination against IGSNNESs. The results of this study indicated that several IGSNNESs at TAMU had experienced and heard about both violent and nonviolent incidents of discrimination which they had not reported. IGSNNESs in this study were not aware of the parameters that would define an act of discrimination as one worthy of reporting. IGSNNESs in this study were also unaware of the proper procedure for filing incident reports. This research is important not only to help ensure the safety and happiness of current IGSNNESs at TAMU, but also to help TAMU reach its Vision 2020 goal to become one of the top ten universities in the United States by the year 2020. The paper concludes with ten recommendations for improving the current campus climate and level of safety for IGSNNESs as well as the rest of the TAMU student population.Item Labor market issues for administrators: evidence from public schools in Texas(2009-05-15) Mitchem, Eric JohnThis dissertation examines three labor market issues regarding public school administrators in Texas using personnel records from the 1994-95 school year until the 2003-04 school year. The first essay explores promotion rates of men and women to school principal, a position that requires certification. I find ignoring gender differences in desire for promotion yields results similar to the existing literature: men hold an advantage in the promotion process. However, restricting the analysis to only those individuals who have expressed interest in an administrative position, those who became trained and certified as a principal, I find men and women face no statistically significant difference in the probability of promotion. Duration analysis shows that although men are most often promoted four years after they become certified and women are most often promoted six to seven years after becoming certified, women face a much higher hazard of promotion than men. This cannot be explained by a higher exit rate from the education sector by men. The second essay examines the effect of restrictive licensing on the quality of the entrants into a profession. Theory suggests that requiring minimum competency standards truncates the low end of the quality distribution, however, increased costs of entry encourage talented potential entrants to pursue outside opportunities. Using the public school principal profession in Texas and measuring teacher quality by changes in student achievement, I find evidence that lower entry costs increase the quality of entrants. As a robustness check, I categorize observations geographically into control and treatment groups to ensure the estimated effect is a result of reduced entry costs and not unobserved factors. The third essay examines the effect of increased school choice on the earnings and abilities of school administrators. I find an overall positive effect of competition on administrators' earnings suggesting that productivity gains from hiring talented managers outweigh the pressure to reduce costs by cutting salaries. However, the results are sensitive to the level of competition, the type of labor market, and the administrators' position. I control for possible endogeneity both mechanically and with outside instruments and my conclusions are largely unchanged.Item Legal issues in human resources for the small company in Texas(2009-08) Montpool, Andrew Peter; Lewis, Kyle, 1961-; Newburger, Manuel H.This report is intended to provide a quick reference on employment law for small businesses in Texas. Many of the key regulations governing hiring, pre-employment testing, pay, benefits, leave, discrimination and harassment, and termination are summarized so employers are aware of what they must do to comply with the various laws. Recent cases are included to help employers understand how some of these laws are being interpreted in court, and to highlight the importance of understanding when the various laws apply to a company or a specific situation. Finally, recommended best practices are also provided to help managers protect the company in case of legal action, or ideally to avoid it altogether.Item Sociospatial Inequality: A Multilevel and Geo-Spatial Analysis of Latino Poverty(2012-02-14) Siordia, CarlosSociology at its core has always been interested in understanding how society works. Previous studies on social stratification have sought to outline who gets what, when, and why. This project introduces the where element to advance our understanding of how resource distribution affects life chances. The research question is: Does the percent of Latinos in the area of residence have an influence on Latino?s individual poverty over and above the influence on poverty of the person characteristics? The study ascertains how micro-level inequality is influenced by macro-level attributes and explores how spatial non-stationarity plays a role in these mechanics. This sociospatial inequality investigation will delineate how individual-level stratifying mechanisms are influenced by context-level structural attributes and how sociospatial non-stationary processes play a role in these mechanics. The dissertation is conceptually driven by Hubert M. Blalock's 1970 theory on minority relationships. Blalock posited the testable hypothesis that discrimination against oppressed groups increases when their population rises. Using theoretical propositions inspired by Blalock leads to the testing of the following two formal hypothesis: the multilevel hypothesis (H1) focuses on macro-level effects, I hypothesize that as the percent of Latinos/as in the area of residence increases, the odds of being in poverty will increase for Latinas/os; on the spatial hypothesis (H2), I hypothesize that the statistical association between percent Latina/o and percent poverty is spatially nonstationary. I find that H1 cannot be falsified. The models reveal, as Blalock predicted, that as the percent of Latinos/as in the area of residence increases, the odds of being in poverty increase for Latinas/os (even after controlling for various level-1, level-2, and GWR-level-2 factors). I also find that H2 could not be falsified. I find that the statistical association between percent Latina/o and percent poverty is spatially nonstationary. My multilevel and spatial modeling investigation was unable to falsify Blalock's minority group threat theory. Hierarchical models indicate that as the percent of Latino/a increases, the likelihood of being in poverty for Latinas/os increases. This statically significant relationship holds constant even after spatial nonstationarity level-2 control factors are introduced.Item Use of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to investigate selection and nutrient utilization of bamboo and to monitor the physiological status of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)(2009-05-15) Wiedower, Erin ElizabethThe objective of this study was to develop near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) calibration equations from bamboo and fecal samples to predict diet composition and the physiological status of giant pandas. Discrimination between branch, culm, and leaf parts of bamboo resulted in an Rsquare (R2) of 0.88. The calibration equation for discriminating between 4 species of bamboo had an R2 of 0.47. Calibration equations were created for all bamboo species combined to determine the ability of NIRS to predict the nutrient constituents of CP, NDF, ADF, DM, and OM. No R2 was lower than 0.96, with the exception of DM at 0.63, which was consistently difficult to accurately predict due to variation in factors relating to difference in location of lab work (humidity, shipping, methods, etc.). Giant panda diets vary between seasons from eating primarily leaf to eating almost only culm. When bamboo part samples were compared between March and October, all resulting R2s were above 0.80. The sensitivity analyses for leaf and culm samples within diet season produced inconclusive results, but sensitivity analyses for fecal samples yielded an ability to more greatly discriminate between months that were further apart. For giant panda physiological status calibrations, fecal samples were collected from the Memphis Zoo, Smithsonian's National Zoo, Zoo Atlanta, and San Diego Zoo from 2006 to 2007. One-hundred fecal spectra were used to develop discriminant equations with which to predict between adults and juveniles. The resulting calibration was 100% correct for both age classes. Predictions between 252 male and female fecal spectra were 89% correct for females and 90% correct for males. A small number of samples (N= 60) were used to create a discriminant equation to differentiate between pregnant and non pregnant females. The exercise resulted in an R2 of 0.68 and a prediction of 100% for both pregnant and not-pregnant. It has been determined through these studies that NIRS has the potential to determine nutrient composition of bamboo and giant panda fecals, but increased sampling and equation development is needed before these calibrations are applicable in a captive or wild giant panda setting.