Division of Research

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/16446

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ORSP Newsletter [Fall 2018]
(2018-10) Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Texas State University; Hetherly, Kay
Fall 2018 issue of Engaging Research, a triannual newsletter from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
ORSP Newsletter [Summer 2018]
(2018-05) Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Texas State University; Hetherly, Kay
This is the Summer 2018 issue of Engaging Research, a triannual newsletter from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
ORSP Newsletter [Spring 2018]
(2018-02) Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Texas State University; Hetherly, Kay
This is the Spring 2018 issue of Engaging Research, a triannual newsletter from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
ORSP Newsletter [Fall 2017]
(2017-09) Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Texas State University; Hetherly, Kay
This is the inaugural issue of Engaging Research, a triannual newsletter from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
Self-Compacting Concrete using Recycled-Concrete Aggregate
(2009-01) Jiong, Hu
A preliminary study has been conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) in self-compacting concrete (SCC). Two different sources of RCA were collected and used in proportioning SCC with different levels of replacement of natural aggregate. Physical properties such as specific gravity, gradation, absorption and abrasion resistance of RCA were measured. Concrete performance including flowability, strength, shrinkage, and rheological properties were evaluated during this study. Effects of different percentage of RCA replacement, and concrete mix design on SCC performance were studied. Results showed that with appropriate mix design, it is possible to use RCA to obtain concrete with the comparable properties as SCC using natural aggregate. Guidelines for using RCA in SCC and recommendations for further study were provided based on the experimental study. The success of this research will not only encourage t! he use of RCA in concrete area, but also extend the use of SCC in construction. Results also indicated that further study is needed for rational mix design methods and long term performance including shrinkage, and durability of this new kind of concrete.
The Poetry of Schoenberg’s Opus 6: Jacobowski's Neue Lieder der besten neueren Dichter für’s Folk
(2009-01) Gonzales, Cynthia
The poetry anthology Neue Lieder der besten neueren Dichter für’s Volk (Ludwig Jacobowski, ed., Berlin: M. Liemann, 1899), was the source of several song texts for Arnold Schoenberg’s opera 6 & 8. In fact, no other anthology of poetry was a more fruitful source of lyrics for Schoenberg. My goal was to contextualize the poetry anthology Neue Lieder der besten neueren Dichter für’s Volk: who are the poets? What are the poems? Which are included in other anthologies from the time and since? At the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, I examined 13 poetry anthologies. Of the 150 poets in Neue Lieder, one or more poems by 36 of these poets also appear in other anthologies of poetry. Among these are the most famous poets of the time, which I propose reflects editor Ludwig Jacobowski’s first-hand knowledge of the German literary scene. But Neue Lieder also includes numerous works by lesser-known poets, suggesting that Jacobowski’s social circle extended into the realm of amateur poets. A significant piece of publication history that remains mysterious is a reference to a plan for “100,000 copies to be sold for 10 Pfennig each.” By modern standards, selling 100,000 copies of a poetry anthology is ambitious, particularly given that 10 Pfenning is equivalent to the cost of mailing a postcard. A further mystery concerns the publisher. No entry for “M. Liemann” could be found in Berlin around the turn-of-the-century, confounding the research librarians who assisted me. Thus, the need for further investigation remains.
Cager: Cross-page Web Search
(2009-01) Gao, Ju
Under the umbrella of "new paradigms in web search", there are three related projects. They investigate mass-collaboration-based web search with a wiki-interface, two-box search for disambiguation, and cross-page web search. The three are investigated in different phases and to be integrated into one eventually. Currently, for part I, a prototype system has been developed, a paper has been published (see below) and presented. For part II, a prototype system has been developed and a paper has been submitted. For part III, a system is under development, and a corresponding paper is also under preparation.
Preserving Black Theatre in Texas
(2009-01) Holt, Elvin; Mayo, Sandra
The grant allowed me to conduct more than a dozen interviews with informants (individuals knowledgeable about black theatre in Texas) in Austin, Prairie View, Houston, and San Antonio. My research included several trips to black theatres to review and collect primary documents related to our project and to conduct background research on production histories and to develop biographical notes on the playwrights. I located important photographs, programs, and reviews that will be featured in our traveling exhibit. In consultation with Dr. Mayo and her pre-doctoral fellow, I analyzed (themes,style, technique, etc.) plays selected for inclusion in our anthology, and I researched the historical, literary, and cultural contexts for each play.
Hormonal Basis to Mate Choice Behavior in a Unisexual-bisexual Mating System
(2009-01) Gabor, Caitlin R.
Steroid hormones play an important role in reproductive behavior. Steroid hormone levels might explain individual differences within species in the frequency of sexual behavior and species recognition. One system where hormones may affect species recognition is in the unisexual-bisexual species complex of mollies. Amazon mollies, Poecilia formosa, are a gynogenetic (all female) species that must mate with male sailfin mollies, P. latipinna, to initiate embryogenesis, but inheritance is maternal (male sailfin mollies are sexually parasitized by Amazon mollies). We examined if variation in male sailfin molly mate preference is affected by variation in steroid hormones. We tested individual male mating behavior and hormone levels with: (1) a female conspecific and (2) an Amazon molly. We measured levels of 11- Ketotestosterone (11-Kt) and Testosterone (T) in males and females before and after each 10-minute mating trial, and calculated the relat! ive increase of each hormone (post-mating sample/pre-mating sample). We found a significant interaction between male 11-Kt hormone ratio and female species on thrusting: males that mated more with conspecifics had higher 11-Kt ratios. We also found a significant interaction between female T ratios and female species on male thrusting: males thrusted more towards conspecific females that had higher T ratios. Thus male and female sailfin molly hormone levels are important factors affecting male species recognition in this complex unisexual-bisexual mating system. When we tested this with the Atlantic mollies, the other parental species, did not show this KT response suggesting that Amazon mollies inherited this lack of ability to increase KT.
Social Capital and Civic Engagement of Marginalized Youth on MySpace
(2009-01) Deepak, Anne C.; Russell, Amy C.
The Social Capital and Civic Engagement of Marginalized Youth on MySpace study sought to examine the relationships among social capital, civic engagement, and MySpace usage for socio-economically and racially marginalized youth, and to explore the ways in which marginalized youth may be creating new forms of social capital. The research methodology and objectives were informed by literature examining (a) the constructs of social capital and civic engagement, (b) social networking sites in relation to civic engagement and social capital. The REP grant allowed investigators to collect data and achieve the following research objectives: (1) to develop our understanding the relationships among social capital, civic engagement and MySpace usage for marginalized youth, (2) to develop and validate a new measurement tool, (3) to examine the ways in which marginalized youth create new forms of social capital.We have submitted a manuscript on scale development and will be submitting a manuscript on the first objective by November 2010. We will continue data analysis to answer the third objective. Our study had 106 participants between the ages of 14 and 29.
Underlying Mechanisms of Change in Spoken Discourse: Close Linguistic Inspection
(2009-01) Fleming, Valarie B.
The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine a corpus of spoken discourse samples and to determine how EF ability contributes to spoken discourse production. The specific aims of the proposed project were to 1) determine the dynamics of the relationships among age, components of EF, and spoken discourse production ability and 2) continuing the investigation of the utility of a spoken discourse production task as a brief assessment of cognitive-communicative ability in normal and pathologically aging adults. Specifically, the research questions were as follows: 1) What are the quantitative and qualitative linguistic characteristics of the spoken discourse of younger and older adults in tasks of varying complexity? 2) What are the differences in younger and older adults in terms of EF as measured by linguistic and nonlinguistic EF tasks? 3) What is the relationship between spoken discourse production and EF in younger and older adults? Thus far, the data has been transcribed and analyzed in terms of macrolinguistic (i.e., discourse cohesion and coherence) information. The results and paper have been submitted for peer-review and manuscript preparation is underway. Microlinguistic (e.g., morphological and syntactical) analysis are still ongoing. In addition, data from these analysis where used as pilot data in the preparation for the submission of two submitted external grants and for another grant in preparation, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R15 grant to be submitted June 2010.
An Economic Analysis of the Factors Affecting the U.S. Chile Pepper Production
(2009-01) Gandonou, Jean-Marc
Twenty-four novelty varieties (Mexican and Asian) of hot peppers were grown in field and hydroponic conditions on the campus of Texas State University. Peppers were evaluated for suitability for production in Central Texas based on quantity and quality characteristics. Peppers were evaluated quantitatively by measuring overall yield of both field and greenhouse production for individual cultivars as measured in fresh weight and cumulative fruit production, average individual fruit size, as well as individual pepper cultivar characteristics such as average time to fruit and average length of fruit bearing time. Qualitative attributes of peppers were measured by rating pepper cultivars regarding insect and disease resistance, drought tolerance, pepper quality/aesthetics and pepper taste using a Likert scale system that allowed growers to rate characteristics of the plant on a 1-5 scale. Twenty-four varieties were narrowed to 15 based on growth and quality characteristics from the first season to the second season. Fifteen varieties are currently being grown and tested at this time. Peppers grown were evaluated by local restaurant owners/managers in San Marcos, Austin and San Antonio. Those included were asked to complete a survey asking if they recognize the products offered and if they value/would purchase the product in a dried or fresh state. Restaurant owners also estimated the price that they would be willing to pay for the peppers. Research is on-going. Results will be presented in the relevant journals.
Syria and Iraq in Moscow Archives
(2009-01) Bishop, Elizabeth
I used an innovative research method to follow the labor laws of postcolonial Syria and Iraq, by consulting documents in Moscow archives. In terms of their labor codes, these are among the Arab world's most progressive states. Syria joined the International Labor Organization early, in 1947; over the following decade, the government became much more active, signing on to nine conventions. Even more found their way into local labor codes during the 1960s—twenty, during the first year of the decade alone. While Iraq joined the International Labor Organization as a member in 1932, only with the 1958 revolution and the monarchy’s replacement by military law did the state become highly active within the ILO framework. Therefore, during the Cold War, these two Arab regimes were notably worker-friendly. I spent three months during summer 2009 consulting Russian-language publications and archives (specifically the Russian State Library, the Library ! of Oriental Literature, the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Archive of Social/Political History, and the Russian State Archive of Contemporary History). These collections were very rich, and I found rare Arabic-language materials so extensive that I added an additional component to the research project.
Using Cognitive and Emotive Factors to Explain Outlet Mall Shoppers Intentions to Purchase Apparel: A Dual-Process Perspective
(2008-01) Sierra, Jeremy J.
The SEM model reveals significant positive relationships at the P<0.05 level or better for anticipated elation (IV), attitudes toward outlet malls (IV), and self-expression (IV) on intentions to purchase apparel at outlet malls; hence, the dual-process model cannot be rejected.
Untitled
(2008-01) Yamamura, Erica K.
Findings revealed that both academic and social benefits from participating in the outreach program continued through the college years. Academic Benefits: Developing navigational capital. Students gained navigational capital by understanding the need for efficient time management, effective study skills, and indicated the helpfulness of group study skills which was emphasized in the program. Students mentioned their high level of preparation in advanced placement (AP) courses due in part to the program and then reaping the college benefits of having been successful on AP examinations (i.e. passing out of course requirements, being eligible for more advanced courses). Social Benefits: Peer cultural wealth as resistant capital. Interviews during the 1st year of college revealed that all students in the study had developed weak ties (Granovetter, 1973), friendships with acquaintances that are often more important than strong ties or core friendships, with other outreach peers at the start of college. However, these relationships evolved throughout students 2nd-4th years in college, in no discerning pattern. Strengthening the pipeline: Building resistant and navigational capitals. Once in college, all students developed a stronger awareness of educational inequities in their communities. Furthermore, all students in the sample translated this awareness into action by volunteering or working with an outreach-esque program to improve access to college. Four students worked over 10 hours a week for outreach programs, including one student who worked 20+ hours a week during her entire four years in college.
A Nation of Friends: Diffusion of Online Social Networking
(2008-01) Royal, Cindy L.
The purpose of this study is to understand the diffusion patterns of online social networks. The past five years have seen the growing popularity of these spaces. Several companies have emerged on the forefront of this phenomenon, attracting millions of users. But, some have waned in popularity. Users, who were once enthusiastically loyal to one site, easily change their allegiances to another. After speaking with multiple students about their social media habits, the PI chose to do a content analysis of social networking sites to understand the diffusion within media. Data has been collected and PI is writing up results for conference submission and publication.
Sex Offender Recidivism: 6 to 8 Year Follow-Up of Registered Sex Offenders
(2008-01) Vandiver, Donna
The research problem is as follows: More information is needed about recidivism rates of male and female sex offenders for the purpose of establishing appropriate criminal justice sanctions, treatment plans, and prevention of further sexual abuse. The completed project will assess 471 women and 942 men who were registered as sex offenders (in Texas) as of April, 2001 and assess re-arrest rates for these female and male sex offenders during the 6 to 8 year period after their initial sex offense.
Spaces of Narrative: Melville's Literary Cartography
(2008-01) Tally, Robert T., Jr.
This project contributed to a book-length, interdisciplinary study of the relations between narrative and mapping, specifically as figured forth in the narrative writings of Herman Melville. The Research Enhancement Program grant allowed me, inter alia, to research in the Henry Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography and examine a number of early editions of Melville work in the Newberry Library in Chicago, IL. It also afforded me the opportunity to write throughout the summer 2008. The research undertaken with the help of the REP has been (or will be) presented in numerous works in progress or works forthcoming, most notably my book "Melville, Mapping and Globalization" (Continuum, 2009), two conference papers, one scheduled panel on "geocriticism" (at this December's MLA convention), and a proposed book-manuscript (tentatively titled, "Literary Cartography: Space, Narrative, and Representation," invited by the Ohio State University Press) that I am working on now. The REP grant has benefited my research immensely.
Development of ‘E-glass/Bio-based Polyurethane’ ‘Multifunctional Reinforced Nanocomposites’ using ‘low-cost VARTM process’
(2008-01) Tate, Jitendra S.
Low viscosity soy-based polyol was modified using nano-silica and Halloysite nanotubes (HNT) at different loadings. Nano-silica that was dispersed in high concentration in petroleum based polyol.HNT was dispersed using planetary centrifugal mixer. Aliphatic polyisocyanate was used for HNT composites and aromatic isocynate was used with nano-silica composites as a curing agent to formulate non-foam and full density thermoset polyurethane resin. Further this polyurethane resin was used in conjunction with low cost vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process to manufacture E-glass reinforced composites. Aliphatic polyisocynate was not compatible with petroleum-based-polyol in which nano-silica was dispersed therefore, aromatic isocynate was used. This non-compatibility resulted in delaminations of plies in composites after curing. Polyisocynate products are very sensitive to the moisture in the air therefore; special care was taken in their handling and storing. Mechanical tests were performed on these composites including compression, flexure, and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS). For 0.8 wt% loaded HNT modified composites, flexural strength, flexural modulus, and ILSS were increased by 6%, 28% and 82%, respectively. For 7.5 wt% loaded Nanosilica modified composites, compressive strength, flexural strength, flexural modulus, and ILSS increased by 135%, 64%, 34%, and 120%, respectively.
Dynamic Postural Control in Physically Active Persons with Chronic Ankle Instability Compared to Healthy Individuals
(2008-01) Vela, Luzita Isabel
The original proposed topic for the REP grant was A Kinematic and Kinetic Comparison between a Toe-to-Heel Landing and a Heel-to-Toe Landing in Physically Active Females. This topic changed after the original Co-PI, Erin O'Kelley, unexpectedly retired from Texas State University in the fall semester 08. Her expertise in 3-D motion analysis and electromyography was lost and other instrumentation concerns led to a research focus change in order to utilize the major grant purchase, an OR6-6 high frequency force plate. The new research focus is on a creating a new protocol that examines the dynamic postural control of healthy and injured physically active subjects. The force plate was purchased and received by the summer 08 and a research lab was guaranteed. The lab area was not available, though, until late spring 09 so that the force plate was not installed until April 09. Unfortunately, this significantly delayed the data collection process. I am currently collecting data and collaborating with a biomechanist from University of Texas to create an analysis code that will allow athletic trainers to effectively measure dynamic balance during a lower extremity reach task in research studies. I plan on completing data collection and analysis by the end of the fall semester 09. I also plan on submitting an abstract to the Free Communication section of the National Athletic Trainers Association National Symposium (due December 09).

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