Analyzing PAC's.

Political action committees have been the subject of controversial court cases and legislative reform. Judicial decisions and legislative reforms are the product of creating campaign finance aiming at the creation of a creating a competitive political environment. Today some of these rulings and reforms are considered troublesome and damaging to the political environment and they are the laws that gave birth to PACs. As it stands today, if a candidate receives support from a PAC and their opponent does not have PAC support, the candidate with PAC support tends to enjoy electoral success. This is examined through a case study focusing on Oklahoma elections

Teachers\u27 Perceptions and Practices on Using Educational Technology as an Instructional Tool in the Classroom

Despite the rapid expansion of educational technologies in primary schools, recent research has shown that many teachers are not taking full advantage of these new tools. This study was designed to address the problem of the lack of effective technology integration in the classroom, particularly in grades third thru fifth at two school districts in the Rio Grande Valley. The purpose of this study was to examine primary teachers\u27 perceptions of implementing technology in the classroom. Framed by Koehler and Mishra\u27s technological pedagogical content knowledge model (TPACK), the study was guided by research questions that involved teachers\u27 perceptions of the barriers, challenges, and successes regarding technology implementation in the primary classroom

EXPLORING SPIRITUALITY AND AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT AS ANTECEDENTS TO ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR

The primary purpose of my study is to investigate the relationships between workplace spirituality, individual spirituality, affective commitment, and organizational citizenship behavior. My literature review resulted in the following research question: If workplace spirituality and individual spirituality are inherent in organizations and individuals, what is their relationship to employees’ workplace behavior? Three testable hypotheses are examined in hopes of identifying and developing practical and scholarly applications of OCB’s and developing the roles of individual spirituality and workplace spirituality as distinct assets in the general business culture: (1) the moderating effect of workplace spirituality in the relationship between individual spirituality and affective commitment, (2) mediating effect of affective commitment in the relationship between IS and OCB, and (3) moderating effect of WS in the relationship between AC and OCB

The Spanish Predominant Language Ordinance: Is Spanish on the Way in and English on the Way Out.

El Cenizo\u27s Spanish language ordinance is likely to survive a constitutional challenge. The City Council of El Cenizo’s Spanish language ordinance, however, has generated a significant amount of controversy in the United States. The ordinance stipulates that all city council meetings will be made in the city’s predominant language—Spanish. Critics argue that the ordinance has made Spanish the official language. Critics also argue that the ordinance is discriminatory toward English speakers. English only advocacy groups, such as English First and U.S. English, argue that the ordinance will create a trend across the United States of immigrants refusing to embrace an American identity. Despite the criticism, the City Council of El Cenizo was within their legal right to pass the Spanish language ordinance. Because the majority of the community spoke only Spanish, they did not have the capability of participating in local proceedings. Therefore, the council’s goal in passing the ordinance was to encourage community participation and improve the city’s social, political, educational, and economic spheres. Nonetheless, if the ordinance is constitutionally challenged in court, the ordinance is likely to pass constitutional muster under all scrutinties including: strict scrutiny, heightened scrutiny, and rational basis. The ordinance is likely to pass strict scrutiny review because the measures are temporary and flexible. Additionally, since the ordinance does not explicitly state that the language to be spoken is Spanish, the ordinance does not discriminate against English nor favor Spanish. Moreover, the city council did not act because of prejudices against non-Spanish speakers when it passed the measure, nor does the act represent an effort to orchestrate anti-English legislation. The measure was not intended to infringe upon the personal liberties of English speakers; rather, the ordinance sought to preserve the individual rights of citizens to partake in their civic calling

Texas Police Chiefs Association: Texas Law Enforcement Best Practices Recognition Program

Discusses the advantages for police departments when accepting the best practices program rather than the CALEA standards

In the Aftermath of Shelby County: An Analysis on Why Texas Should Be Required to Pre-Clear All Voting Changes.

The history of the Voting Rights Act began with the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment. African-Americans have faced numerous roadblocks in exercising their right to vote. A few of these roadblocks include property tests, poll taxes, and gerrymandering of voting districts. The federal government attempted to combat these procedures by passing legislation. Initially, these laws tried to weaponize case-by-case litigation, but these laws were ineffective due to the far reach of voter discrimination and the sluggish pace of the litigation process. To better combat the issue, Congress attempted to use the Civil Rights Act of 1957 to deal with systemic discrimination again on a case-by-case basis. These attempts were unsuccessful until 1965 after the passage of the Voting Rights Act. The design of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 intended to fight racial discrimination in voting practices which were more prevalent in specific states and political subdivisions. The states did not like the requirements for their compliance and took their concerns to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court upheld the challenged provisions. However, forty-seven years after the Court upheld the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a preclearance required state litigated Shelby County v. Holder. The decision eviscerated the preclearance section of the law, which offered voters the most protection. Immediately following the Court’s decision, Texas passed two new discriminatory laws, underscoring the need for continued federal oversight of states in the form of preclearance. However, even if Texas is forced back into the preclearance coverage, it is very likely the Voting Rights Act of 1965 will soon make its way back to the Supreme Court

Sex differences in the influence of social context, salient social stimulation and amphetamine on ultrasonic vocalizations in prairie voles

Prairie voles ( Microtus ochrogaster ) are a socially monogamous rodent species and their cooperative behaviors require extensive communication between conspecifics. Rodents use ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) to communicate and because a prairie vole breeder pair must engage in extensive cooperation for successful reproduction, auditory communication may be critical for this species. Therefore, we sought to characterize USVs in adult male and female prairie voles, and to determine how these calls are influenced by social context, salient social stimuli and the psychostimulant drug of abuse amphetamine (AMPH). Here, we characterize prairie vole USVs by showing the range of frequencies of prairie vole USVs, the proportion of various call types, how these call types compare between males and females, and how they are influenced by social stimulation and AMPH. AMPH caused a robust increase in the number of USVs in both males and females and there was a dramatic sex difference in the complexity of call structures of AMPH‐induced USVs, with males emitting more elaborate calls. Moreover, we show that novel (i.e. salient) social cues evoked differential increases in USVs across sex, with males showing a much more robust increase in USV production, both with respect to the frequency and complexity of USV production. Exposure to an estrous female in particular caused an extraordinary increase in USVs in male subjects. These data suggest that USVs may be a useful measure of social motivation in this species, including how social behaviors can be impacted by drugs of abuse.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107527/1/inz212071.pd

Predicting Outcomes of American Youths\u27 Shift Toward E-cigarette Use

There has been a shift toward e-cigarette use and away from tobacco smoking among American youth. Despite effects of ongoing public health campaigns that bring attention to the harmful effects of tobacco and nicotine use generally, youths might not perceive e-cigarette use to be unhealthful in terms of psychological functioning. This study was an investigation of the impact of the method of tobacco use (cigarette or e-cigarette), past cessation attempts, cravings or needs to use tobacco, and serious cognitive difficulties, upon youths\u27 intentions concerning future tobacco usage. The conceptual framework was based upon the self-medication hypothesis, biopsychosocial model, and social cognitive theory. The research questions focused on whether factors surrounding youth tobacco use would significantly predict the youths\u27 intent. Data were drawn from 2015, 2016, and 2017 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) responses. Cross-sectional data from 56,258 cases allowed for a total of 387 cases to be identified for inclusion in the analysis, based upon completeness of the data and inclusion criterion of a singular form of recent and regular tobacco use. Data were analyzed by using a chi-square test of independence and multinomial logistic regression. The research findings suggest that past cessation attempts and methods of tobacco use are variables that could significantly predict intent concerning future tobacco use; however, the findings did not suggest that craving or need for tobacco or serious cognitive difficulties significantly predicted these intentions. The study is replicable and amendable for purposes of more specific analyses. This research also contributes to the understanding of the e-cigarette epidemic, and the findings of the study can ultimately benefit young e-cigarette users who receive psychological treatment

Hidrologia de un sistema de lagunas costeras del sur del Golfo de Mexico, en un periodo comprendido entre 1977/1978

The coastal lagoon system of El Carmen-Machona-Redonda, located in the coastal plateau South of the Gulf of Mexico, in the State of Tabasco was studied from August 1977 to July 1978. Tempetature, chlorinity and dissolved oxygen were recorded every two months during the study period. The maximum depth of the system is 3.0 m, decreasing toward the edges and the oyster banks: the average depth is 1.0 - 1.30 m. Only a very small amount of freshwater reaches the system; the chlorinity content is additionally increased on account of the very recent opening of an artificial sea mouth. The highest average temperature (30.1ºC) was recorded in august 1977, and the lowest (25.5ºC) was recorded in december of the same year, thus showing m small annual variation. The average chlorinity value of 4.12 between the highest and the lowest average monthly values (19.19-15.47) makes it a rather homogeneous system throughout the year. Dissolved oxygen average values varied from 4,52 ml/L in February 1978, to 5.92 ml/L in July of the same year. Thus the system represent a typical, tropical marine lagunar system, with small freshwater influence