Corpus Christi: an economy in transition

Corpus Christi tempts tourists with miles of beaches, sea breezes, an arts and museum district, waterfront restaurants, shopping and more. It is also home to a major seaport, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, a large health care system, military bases, refineries and chemical plants. Port activity and tourism remain important components of the Corpus Christi economy. However, some sectors are declining in importance, such as agriculture, oil and gas, petrochemicals and military, while others are expanding, such as health care, alternative energy and education. ; Jobs in the Corpus Christi metropolitan statistical area (MSA) have been growing steadily since 1970. The pace has been slightly faster than in the U.S., but less than in Texas and about average for other comparable metros. Recent gains in energy prices, expansion by Texas A&M–Corpus Christi, low housing costs, increased activity at the Port of Corpus Christi and the continued retirement of baby boomers suggest increased opportunity for growth in Corpus Christi in the near future.Texas ; Economic conditions - Texas ; Employment - Texas ; Petroleum industry and trade ; Wages ; Education ; Cost and standard of living

The Educational System in Romania: An Overview of How Communism Has Influenced Current Aspects and Programs

Romania’s history under the influence of Communism has had lasting effects on all aspects of daily life, from politics to economics to education. Many of the philosophies imbedded in the fabric of Romanian society during the Communist regime under leaders such as Ion Antonescu Nicolae Ceausescu are still affecting Romanians today and particularly the decisions made regarding schooling and the system of education in Romania in terms of curriculum, instructional methods, and standards. Involvement in the Holocaust was often downplayed but now the goal is to circulate truth as to the scope and depth of connection with the Nazi principles. Perceptions of minorities, such as the gypsy Roma people, as well as those diagnosed as Special Education, stem from ideals communicated by the Communist platform. In education, ministry officials are working diligently to break from Communism, embrace democracy, and implement change to revitalize the educational structure through re-writing textbooks, reform in teacher training and a new prominent role of research

Seeing the invisible: from imagined to virtual urban landscapes

Urban ecosystems consist of infrastructure features working together to provide services for inhabitants. Infrastructure functions akin to an ecosystem, having dynamic relationships and interdependencies. However, with age, urban infrastructure can deteriorate and stop functioning. Additional pressures on infrastructure include urbanizing populations and a changing climate that exposes vulnerabilities. To manage the urban infrastructure ecosystem in a modernizing world, urban planners need to integrate a coordinated management plan for these co-located and dependent infrastructure features. To implement such a management practice, an improved method for communicating how these infrastructure features interact is needed. This study aims to define urban infrastructure as a system, identify the systematic barriers preventing implementation of a more coordinated management model, and develop a virtual reality tool to provide visualization of the spatial system dynamics of urban infrastructure. Data was collected from a stakeholder workshop that highlighted a lack of appreciation for the system dynamics of urban infrastructure. An urban ecology VR model was created to highlight the interconnectedness of infrastructure features. VR proved to be useful for communicating spatial information to urban stakeholders about the complexities of infrastructure ecology and the interactions between infrastructure features.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.102559Published versio

Animating Slope and Y-Intercept

In 8th grade math, we investigate graphing lines from equations for the first time. Students learn about the xy coordinate plane, the table of values, the slope and the x and y intercepts. They begin to understand y = mx + b, the general equation for a line. As a teacher, I have encountered many problems while teaching this content without the benefits of technology. It’s my goal to teach the effects of changing the slope and the y-intercept. With traditional methods, we create a table of values and draw a graph by hand, which consumes a lot of instructional time. By the time the graphs are made, if the students are careful, they can draw some conclusions about slope and y-intercept. The first graphs that 8th grade students create usually are not usually accurate enough to learn the concepts from. It’s also a challenge to have students stay focused on discovering the effects of slope and y-intercept when there are many potential mistakes in the table and graph alone. As my Challenge Project topic, I wanted to create a model that would show a more efficient, visual representation of the effects of slope and the y-intercept on the graph of a line. To create models that illustrate this area of the curriculum, we used the TI graphing calculators and the Geometer’s Sketchpad software. The students began to graph lines using the calculator. It addressed the following the New York State Standards. Students will: 8.G.13 Determine the slope of a line from a graph and explain the meaning of slope as a constant rate of change, 8.G.14 Determine the y-intercept of a line from a graph and explain the y-intercept. 8.G.17 Graph a line from an equation in slope-intercept form (y = mx + b) As they understood the concepts, we worked with Project Interactivate and found that our conclusions were correct. The combination gives the students a variety of different technologies and models to get understanding from

Graphing Equation Lines

How do you use the TI graphing calculators to graph lines from equations? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a graphing calculator to answer questions about linear relationships

Visualizing Sensor Network Coverage with Location Uncertainty

We present an interactive visualization system for exploring the coverage in sensor networks with uncertain sensor locations. We consider a simple case of uncertainty where the location of each sensor is confined to a discrete number of points sampled uniformly at random from a region with a fixed radius. Employing techniques from topological data analysis, we model and visualize network coverage by quantifying the uncertainty defined on its simplicial complex representations. We demonstrate the capabilities and effectiveness of our tool via the exploration of randomly distributed sensor networks

The Effects of Communication Partner Training on AAC Users

This study investigated the acquisition of communication skills of children who use AAC systems following their parents\u27 participation in a communication partner training program. Communication skills evaluated were mean length utterance (MLU), number of different symbols used, initiations, and responses. Communication partner training was divided into two phases, training and follow-up. Participants included 4 children between the ages of 3 and 9 years who used a high tech AAC system. Data was collected over the course of a year via 15 minute video observations. Parents also completed surveys pre- and post-study to evaluate perceptions on increases in communication behaviors, as well as in AAC across communication partners and environments. Results varied across participants. No increases were seen in MLU. Two participants increased in vocabulary, three participants increased in initiations, and two participants increased in responses. Parents reported increases in all areas evaluated, as well as increases in AAC use. Results of this study further validated the need to implement communication partner training in AAC intervention

The Effects of Cued Speech on Phonemic Awareness Skills

Research suggests phonemic awareness is enhanced through multimodality training. Cued Speech is a multimodality system that combines hand signs with mouth movements to represent phonemes of the spoken language. This system has been utilized successfully in developing phonological awareness with children with hearing loss. However, no research is available on its effectiveness with children who are not deaf or hard-of-hearing. The efficacy of the use of Cued Speech for the enhancement of phonological skills in typically developing 1st grade students was evaluated in this study. Twenty-six 1st graders identified as low-achieving readers by their classroom teachers were administered the PPVT-4 to match participants across three assigned research groups: no intervention (NI), phonemic awareness training auditory only (AO), or phonemic awareness training with Cued Speech (CS). Pre- and post-test scores were compared on six different skills from the Phonological Awareness Test 2 (PAT-2). Results indicated that the Cued Speech intervention group made more gains based on Phonological Awareness Test 2 pre- and post-intervention scores. Although no statistical significance was found when all three groups\u27 post-intervention scores were compared, the CS group did show significant gains across its participants

The Effects of Cued Speech on Phonemic Awareness Skills

Research suggests phonemic awareness is enhanced through multimodality training. Cued Speech is a multimodality system that combines hand signs with mouth movements to represent phonemes of the spoken language. This system has been utilized successfully in developing phonological awareness with children with hearing loss. However, no research is available on its effectiveness with children who are not deaf or hard-of-hearing. The efficacy of the use of Cued Speech for the enhancement of phonological skills in typically developing 1st grade students was evaluated in this study. Twenty-six 1st graders identified as low-achieving readers by their classroom teachers were administered the PPVT-4 to match participants across three assigned research groups: no intervention (NI), phonemic awareness training auditory only (AO), or phonemic awareness training with Cued Speech (CS). Pre- and post-test scores were compared on six different skills from the Phonological Awareness Test 2 (PAT-2). Results indicated that the Cued Speech intervention group made more gains based on Phonological Awareness Test 2 pre- and post-intervention scores. Although no statistical significance was found when all three groups\u27 post-intervention scores were compared, the CS group did show significant gains across its participants

Water, water everywhere: An Analysis of the Effectiveness of World Bank\u27s and UNICEF\u27s Efforts to Provide Access to Clean Water in Nigeria

This thesis examines the debate surrounding the effectiveness of international aid organizations’ efforts to reduce poverty and promote economic development. Its goal is consider two major international organizations, World Bank and UNICEF, in order to make a judgment on which approach is more effective: direct government aid or community-based efforts. Specifically, this thesis examines World Bank’s and UNICEF’s efforts to provide access to clean water in Nigeria. In the first chapter, it reports on the significance of clean water to an individual, the United States, developing nations, and the world at large. This thesis provides its own criteria for an effective effort to provide access to clean water. Also, this thesis provides a brief overview of the histo^ and structure of both organizations and then describes in detail each organization s specific programs for providing access to clean water. Next, each progr^ and judged based on the criteria developed for this thesis. It concludes that UNICEF s approach of community-based efforts is more effective in providing access to clean water in Nigeria than World Bank’s approach of direct government aid