University Of Houston-Downtown Research Articles

Introduction to Training Peer Leaders Workshop-Style at the University of Houston-Downtown

The training of Peer Leaders at the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) differs from other institutions that have implemented Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL). For over a decade, peer leader training has been treated as its own kind of workshop. This requires the position of a training coordinator, an experienced peer leader whose job is to prepare incoming peer leaders in how the workshop is supposed to be conducted, as well as to consider possible scenarios that may occur and other considerations that peer leaders may encounter when working with other students. Facilitating the preparation of peer leaders in the same workshop style that they would use helps to build camaraderie between the novice peer leaders and lets them experience the group learning environment firsthand before running workshops on their own.

Preface

The 2021 International Conference on Electrical, Electronics and Computing Technology (EECT 2021) planned to be held from March 26-28, 2021 in Xiamen, China was changed to be held virtually. Considering the unpredictable situation of COVID-19, the pandemic-related nationwide lockdowns, other coordinated restrictive measures, as well as the health and safety of our participants and members of our research community is of top priority to the organizing committee. Therefore, the EECT 2021 conference was eventually held online through Zoom software.EECT 2021 is to bring together innovative academics and industrial experts in the field of electrical, electronics and computing technology to a common forum. The primary goal of the conference is to promote research and developmental activities in electrical, electronics and Computing Technology and another goal is to promote scientific information interchange between researchers, developers, engineers, students, and practitioners working all around the world.The conference was divided into three sessions, including keynote speeches, oral presentations, and poster presentations. In the keynote presentations part, we have 4 renowned professors present their insightful speeches. Each speaker allocated 40-45 minutes including 5min for Q&A to hold their speeches. Prof. Zhe Chen from Aalborg University, Prof. Udaya K. Madawala from The University of Auckland, Prof. Hong Lin from University of Houston Downtown, USA, and Assoc. Prof. Pushpendra Singh from JK Lakshmipat University, India. For oral presentations, some authors were given approximately 10-15 minutes to perform their oral presentations one by one.EECT 2021 received more than 121 manuscripts, and 53 submissions have been accepted. All accepted papers under the Journal’s Peer Review Policy were strictly selected based on originality, significance, relevance, and contribution to the area after being peer-reviewed. EECT 2021 follows a double-blind reviewing process to make the review process as fair as possible, both reviewers’ and authors’ identities remain anonymous.We would like to acknowledge all editors, staff, committee members, reviewers, and authors who contributed to the conference. The help and contribution of each individual and institution were instrumental in the success of the conference. Each individual and institutional help were very important for the success of this conference. In particular, we would like to thank the organizing committee for its valuable inputs in shaping the conference program and reviewing the submitted papers.EECT 2021 CommitteeConference Committee, General Chairs, Program Chairs, Steering Committee, Publication Chairs, Publicity Chairs, Technical Program Committee are available in the pdf

Type I error of t-tests from the simple moving average technical trading rules

Listed: Ren, Louie (University of Houston-Victoria, TX, USA) Ren, Peter (University of Houston-Downtown, Houston, TX, USA) Registered:

The Role and Impact of Supplemental Instruction in Accelerated Developmental Math Courses

A difficult issue for tutoring programs is low participation, especially at commuter campuses. At the University of Houston-Downtown, this problem seems particularly acute for developmental education (DE) courses. This paper describes the Supplemental Instruction (SI) program at the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) with focus on the role of the SI Leader in accelerated DE math courses. A study was conducted between Fall 2015 and Spring 2017 to evaluate differences in student performance in two courses between sections that were staffed with an SI Leader and those that had no assistance from the SI program. The study found statistically significant differences in grade performance between SI session participants and non-SI participants. The study also found that students passed at a higher rate in accelerated Intermediate Algebra as compared to traditional biweekly sections. Finally, students passed at a higher rate in accelerated sections that were staffed with an SI Leader compared to accelerated sections without an SI Leader.

Reviewer Acknowledgements for Journal of Mathematics Research, Vol. 10, No. 1

Journal of Mathematics Research wishes to acknowledge the following individuals for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Their help and contributions in maintaining the quality of the journal is greatly appreciated.Many authors, regardless of whether Journal of Mathematics Research publishes their work, appreciate the helpful feedback provided by the reviewers.Reviewers for Volume 10, Number 1 Alan Jalal Abdulqader, Al-Mustansiriyah University, IraqArman Aghili, University of Guilan, IranGane Sam Lo, Universite Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis, SenegalIvan Drazic, University of Rijeka, CroatiaKong Liang, University of Illinois at Springfield, USAMeltem Erden Ege, Manisa Celal Bayar University, TurkeyMohammad A. AlQudah, German Jordanian University, JordanMohammad Sajid, Qassim University, Saudi ArabiaN. V. Ramana Murty, Andhra Loyola College, IndiaOmur Deveci, Kafkas University, TurkeyÖzgür Ege, Celal Bayar University, TurkeyPaul J. Udoh, University of Uyo, NigeriaRami Ahmad El-Nabulsi, Athens Institute for Education and Research, GreeceSanjib Kumar Datta, University of Kalyani, IndiaSergiy Koshkin, University of Houston Downtown, USAVinodh Kumar Chellamuthu, Dixie State University, USAZhongming Wang, Florida International University, USA Sophia WangOn behalf of,The Editorial Board of Journal of Mathematics ResearchCanadian Center of Science and Education

Urban Agricultural and Sustainability Program at Houston’s Downtown University: Combining New Curriculum, Hands-on Projects, and a Hurricane

The University of Houston–Downtown (UHD), a Hispanic-serving institution, launched an educa­tional program in 2016 that engages undergradu­ates in a summer curriculum with a hands-on project focused on urban agriculture and sustaina­bility. The goals are to deliver new content, create purposeful interdisciplinary teams, and engage the participants, who are largely students of color, through mentoring and professional-development activities. In this reflective essay, we discuss improvements made between the first and second year and pro­gram elements that were most effective. The 2017 cohort was simultaneously engaged in two courses and the creation of an aquaponics system. Each student group created a system that could grow fish and hydroponic plants using solar energy. Qualitative student survey results indicate that the program increased student knowledge and affected career directions. The program was designed to extend mentoring from the summer through fall to optimize projects and prepare students for presen­tations on and off-campus. However, these plans had to be modified as Harvey, the most damaging hurricane in U.S. history, flooded the school and destroyed the student aquaponic systems. Fall plans now include rebuilding a single aquaponics system and consideration of resiliency in future sustaina­bility initiatives. The most critical elements of this program have been shown to be students’ intense immersion in curriculum and projects, creating cross-disciplinary student groups, mentoring across the program, and, finally, maintaining flexibility. The hurricane’s incursion into our program also stands as a powerful backdrop for discussions not only at our university but nationally of how we create sustainable communities and agricultural systems in a world that will continue to experience climatic changes.

Experiential Marine Geology and Geophysics Education, White Oak Bayou, University of Houston-Downtown

Experiential Marine Geology and Geophysics Education, White Oak Bayou, University of Houston-Downtown

Reimagining Civic Education in our Colleges and Universities: The Influence of Deliberation on Students Perceptions of Political Participation

The skills of public dialogue and deliberation are critical for civic engagement programs in higher education because they provide students with the knowledge necessary for addressing wicked problems in our democracy. In the 2014 – 2015 academic year, University of Houston Downtown (UHD) Center for Public Deliberation (CPD) partnered with the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) at Lone Star College Kingwood (LSC-Kingwood) to capitalize on the city of Houston’s Citizenship Month and provide a shared civic experience for students. The CPD at UHD and the CCE at LSC-Kingwood worked together to carry out a series of community deliberative dialogues over the course of the academic year. In this study, we perform a qualitative analysis of student responses on four open-ended questions we administered at four of those deliberative forum events, including two on the mission of higher education, one on energy, and one on guns on campus. Our qualitative analysis is based on responses to 195 questionnaires administered to students on three subject-specific forums. Our analysis reveals that the forums influenced and changed the ways in which students had previously experienced or talked about politics. As such, academic institutions need to think more purposefully as to how we might embed these types of opportunities for students into their civic curriculum across the span of their education so that they have opportunities to build the skills needed to help citizens build a different type of politics that is able to address wicked problems in an effective and productive manner.

Development of the Differentiation of Self and Role Inventory for Nurses (DSRI-RN): A tool to measure internal dimensions of workplace stress

This article presents the use of Bowen's theory of differentiation as a framework for understanding one aspect of vocational burnout. The theory suggests that persons with low levels of differentiation are at higher risk for emotional exhaustion than those at higher levels. The authors describe the development and pilot-testing of a tool, the Differentiation of Self and Role Inventory for Nurses (DSRI-RN) as a means to assess internal aspects of workplace stress by measuring factors suggested by the theory. Initial use of the DSRI-RN indicates that the tool is reliable and valid and that nurses with higher levels of differentiation expressed lower levels of burnout and greater enthusiasm for nursing. These findings suggest that the DSRI-RN may be used in further studies and opens the possibility of using Bowen's framework in developing interventions assisting nurses to understand and cope with the internal aspects of workplace stress.

Recommended Core Bibliography of Textile and Clothing Resources for Academic and Public Libraries

The popularity of Bravo channel's Project Runway has translated into increased interest in fashion and design among the general public and prompted a rise in students applying to apparel design and textile science programs. Parson's The New School for Design (where Project Runway is filmed) has seen a 22 percent increase in enrollment applications. (1) The trade publication Women's Wear Daily notes that Otis College, Savannah College of Art, Fashion Institute of Technology, and Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising have also felt the effects of an increase in public awareness. The continued success of Project Runway and other shows that stress the role of fashion in our lives, has given rise to new demands on the fashion and textile collections in both public and academic libraries. To address the need to evaluate these collections, Monique Delatte and Lore A. Guilmartin have compiled a collection guide designed for large public libraries with populations interested in fashion in general and for academic libraries that serve programs in textile-related studies including fashion design, costume history, textile science, fashion merchandising, the social psychology of dress, and clothing and textile economics. Delatte and Guilmartin are well qualified to suggest materials for such a core collection. Delatte is a reference librarian in the County of Los Angeles Public Library system. She holds a B.S. in Apparel and Textile Design from Louisiana State University, and an M.S.I.S. in Library and Information Science from The University of Texas at Austin. Guilmartin is a reference and instruction librarian at the University of Houston-Downtown. She has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Texas A&M University and an M.S. in Textiles and Clothing from Iowa State University. She earned an M.S.I.S. in Library and Information Science at the University of Texas at Austin. This guide grew out of survey work the authors conducted in 2007. Delatte and Guilmartin contacted administrators, educators, and subject librarians at forty-four public and private colleges and universities, asking questions about core resources in the field. They used the results of the survey, an exhaustive literature review, and their own expertise to create this list of key titles and resources.--Editor BOOKS AND REFERENCE TITLES Though some of the monographs listed below are out of print, each is a valuable component to a well-balanced textiles and clothing collection. Libraries currently owning these titles should retain them, as they provide depth and breadth to the collection and are classic resources. Abling, Bina. Model Drawing. New York: Fairchild Books & Visuals, 2003 (ISBN: 978-1563672750). An excellent addition to the academic library working collection for design students, chapters include Close-up Studies, Fashion Anatomy for Children, Men's Posing Dynamics, and Styling, iLayout, and Composition for Women. The CD-ROM included in this text is especially useful for fashion illustration students as it allows users to shift the poses of models and then rotate the models. American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists. AATCC Technical Manual. New York: Published for the Association by Howes Publishing, 1963--(ISSN: 0734-8894). Published annually, the AATCC Technical Manual lists and describes the standardized textile testing methods that are integral to assessing textile characteristics and quality. This manual is an indispensable tool for all textile scientists. Boucher, Francois, and Yvonne Deslandres. 20,000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1987 (ISBN: 978-0-8109-1693-7). Based primarily on artwork, Boucher's costume history depicts the fashions of the European elite from prehistory to the mid-twentieth century. The text summarizes the evolution of costume within the western world and offers useful background to students of costume history. …

A Decade of Lessons Learned

We describe our efforts at building programs in Earth and space science over the past decade at four Minority Institutions, Medgar Evers College, Norfolk State University, South Carolina State University and the University of Houston-Downtown. We present our institutional models of success and programmatic outcomes as well as barriers to success and lessons learned. The unique path to success for each school is described, along with experiences common among all four. Since these institutions do not offer graduate programs in the geosciences, they have concentrated on recruitment and retention of students in the K-16 pipeline while preparing them for graduate school and careers in the field. These schools represent a range in size, location, population served and in the type and nature of the Earth and space science programs they offer. As such, the experiences described herein offer a broad perspective on what does and does not work in attracting and retaining underrepresented minority students in the geosciences.

Building a wireless network infrastructure under budget constraints

This paper examines wireless networking and provides a case study of a wireless network infrastructure's development at an urban university of 11,000 students. The University of Houston Downtown (UHD) incorporated wireless technology to help users stay connected to the school's network for access to curricula-related products at any time and from any location.

Read Lining: UHD9 Renovation

For a University of Houston downtown (UHD) campus renovation, the school's administration asked us to convert the entire ninth floor of a 1929 cotton warehouse into executive administrative offices, including those of the president, vice president, provost, and human resources department. In response to this task, we posed two primary questions: How can we combine “high-end” and “low-end” materials to alter typical expectations of how a university administrative office should and should not appear? How can we challenge assumed differences between use and appearance, part and whole—and, ultimately, between student and administrator—to produce a space that suspends hierarchical preconceptions and produces a more open “etiquette” for dialogue?

Lustre

Lustre Lorenzo Thomas (bio) Lorenzo Thomas, Poet: A Special Section What does the warmth Of your hand mean That accompanies The mute slide into sleep When she feels like a shoemaker’s children All your endearments spent On lavish wit Or lyrics mailed away Trading compliments feels Like having dinner with strangers Conversation predicted The weather, a sadness shared About the world today (Art) (land) (livestock) auction prices The polished surface of civility Is this warmth ardor or a vital sign? Bad married love or good Clairvoyance Your hand your heart The hot comb in the radio That pulled Glenn Miller’s Orchestra Out of the sky Lorenzo Thomas Lorenzo Thomas teaches American Literature at the University of Houston-Downtown. There Are Witnesses / Es Gibt Zeugen (1996) is a bi-lingual edition of his recent poems published in Germany. He is the editor of Sing the Sun Up: Creative Writing Ideas from African American Literature (Teachers & Writers, 1998) and author of Extraordinary Measures: Afrocentric Modernism and 20th Century American Poetry, a critical study forthcoming from the University of Alabama Press. Copyright © 1999 Charles H. Rowell

International initiative

In 1996, students from Monash University, Indiana University and the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) participated in a joint communication project using e-mail. The groups were of diverse cultural backgrounds and ranged from freshmen to mature age students. The international initiative was a valuable lesson in intercultural and computer-mediated communication. While Monash students discovered the limits of technology, the US students were thrilled to use it and found technology to influence intercultural perceptions. This paper explains the nature of the assignment from the vantage point of each group of students and briefly sketches some learning outcomes.

Auditing Information Centers

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsJohn EicherJohn Eicher, CISA, is a teaching fellow at the University of Houston-University Park. He received a BS in business computer information systems from the University of Houston-Downtown. Eicher also is a computer consultant with Elite Computer Consultants in Houston. He has held senior positions in the operations area of several Houston financial institutions. Eicher assisted in the editing and rewriting of the 1998 edition of EDPAA's Control Objectives and has held several positions in its Houston Chapter.Charles DavisCharles Davis, CISA, directs the computer information systems program at the University of Houston-Downtown. He received a PhD in management information systems from the University of Houston, masters degrees from Harvard and Columbia, and a BS from Oklahoma State. Davis has held senior information technology positions with several major US organizations. He has served as regional director for the ASM, as chairman of the Houston Chapter of the Computer Measurement Group, and as a member of American National Standards Institute's Technical Committee on Data Communications. Davis was EDPAA's Director of Research from 1991 to 1993.

Briefing Book Concept

The Briefing Book Concept, Dean A. Minix, University of Houston-Downtown

Confronting Current Events

Confronting Current Events: Teaching to Non-Majors, Shannon J. Doyle, University of Houston-Downtown