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This article examines how Texan Revolutionaries portrayed the Texas Revolution as a struggle for modernity. In particular, numerous Anglo-Texans created a narrative in which they cast Santa Anna at the helm of a counter-enlightenment restoring Ancien Régime values. The Revolutionaries drew upon the discourse of the Mexican politician and Texas co-founder Lorenzo de Zavala. This article contests the portrayal of the Texas Revolution as a White and Anglo movement. This manuscript contributes to the historiography by examining Zavala's influence on the language of the Texas Revolution. Together, Zavala and the Texas Revolutionaries accused Santa Anna of fighting for monarchy and aristocracy. Furthermore, Texan revolutionaries argued the imminent restoration of Catholicism threatened their cherished liberties and freedoms. This was all the while Anglo-Texans portrayed their secession as a struggle for reason, virtue, and happiness. This analysis primarily utilizes the Mirabeau Lamar Papers to discern the sentiments and expressions of numerous individuals involved in the Texas Revolution. The following study contributes to the lacuna in the history of ideas in the Texas Republic. Furthermore, this article links Texas to the broader historiography of Atlantic Revolutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has illustrated how homeless service organizations have adjusted policies and services during the COVID-19 pandemic and how frontline workers have taken on the work of implementing new procedures, fine-tuning service strategies, and navigating challenges. This qualitative study sought to describe how the pandemic has impacted the day-to-day service provision experiences of homeless service workers to gain insight into how the sector might prepare itself for the next COVID-19 wave, next pandemic, or other crisis. Drawing on interviews conducted with 21 frontline workers across Texas in fall of 2021, findings highlight the challenges of shifting to remote work and virtual service provision, reduced client engagement and rapport building, creating and enforcing health policies, and persistent service system disruptions. Recommendations include investing time and resources into creating more nimble work systems, moving away from paper-based processes, and making telehealth strategies a permanent part of homeless service provision. Additionally, there are research opportunities to develop and test coworker peer support models and to study the value and viability of tele-health in this sector, including worker and client perspectives of these technologies. Findings underscore how the pandemic disrupted homeless service design and delivery, which in turn hampered service access, use, and engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper theorizes historical marker texts (HMT) as succinct, public facing informational reports that reinforce white supremacy and minimize or erase the memory of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) individuals. In this layered content and discourse analysis, I evaluate the demographics of the commissioners at the local and state level, the instructions for the HMT application, and the text of a selected group of HMTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationship between the stock of interstate highways on employment growth of counties in Texas between 1983 and 2012. Using the Chernozhukov-Hansen instrumental variables quantile regression (IVQR) method, we examine the heterogeneous impact that highways have on employment growth at different quantiles of the conditional distribution while at the same time controlling for potential endogeneity. The results show that the employment growth effect monotonically increases as one shifts from the lower tail to the upper tail of the distribution. The range is 0.15 to 0.44, with the highest at the 95th quantile, compared to 0.189 for OLS and 0.213 for 2SLS. A 10 percent increase in interstate highway kilometers in 1983 led to about a 1.5 to 4.4 percentage point increase in county employment over a 29-year period. Our results also indicate that the counties with low initial levels of employment grew faster than those with a high initial level of employment and that this convergence monotonically decreases from the lower tail to the upper tail of the growth distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the craft beer industry has experienced significant growth around the world and particularly in the U.S., research into various aspects of the topic has grown as well. Significant attention has been given to the relationship between craft beer and neolocalism, resulting in three key themes: neolocalism as a driver of demand for the craft beer product, the use of place-based themes by craft brewers to engender neolocalism, and neolocalism as a driver of demand for the craft brewery experience. This paper seeks to examine the extent to which brewery visitors are consuming the local through the themes of product, place, and experience as discussed in the literature. It uses directed content analysis to examine online visitor reviews posted on TripAdvisor and RateBeer for microbreweries in the five largest urban areas in the U.S. state of Texas (Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, and Fort Worth). Findings show that both the craft beer product and craft brewery experience are significant to brewery visitors. In particular, the opportunity for meaningful social interaction in the brewery experience offers a means of fulfiling neolocal desires for establishing local connections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Kiva is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Water insecurity concerns drove San Antonio, Texas to pursue a controversial $3.4 billion groundwater transfer project from central Texas aquifers. The 228 km Vista Ridge Pipeline (VRP) would increase water supplies by 20%. Analysis through Q-Method revealed three social perspectives surrounding the VRP. Project Advocates offer particular views of urban water security, risk, and accountability. The creation of new hydro-social territories helps to explain Landowner Opposition, while Governance Failure offers a foundational criticism of the underlying assumptions and the institutional innovation of private-public partnership that advanced the VRP. Overall, our paper demonstrates that the VRP is differentiated according to views of risk, water law, and groundwater science. Policy deliberations on future urban water security should include these perspectives as a means to improve water governance, especially as policies and infrastructure for urban water security creates new hydro-social territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation agencies should have the capacity to evaluate the damage caused by oversize and overweight (OS/OW) vehicles in order to develop effective infrastructure management and rehabilitation strategies. In this paper, we discussed how to combine different paradigms that influence pavement performance into a single evaluation methodology by integrating the most available historical data with respect to the characteristics of OS/OW vehicles (i.e. dimension and weight), their origin and destination, permitted routes, frequency of the routes, pavement condition data, and climatic effects. The proposed methodology is then implemented into three case studies to indicate its applicability and practicality. In the case studies, we evaluate the impacts of OS/OW loads on pavements under different scenarios and combinations of the related factors. The corresponding relationships between pavement conditions and passing OS/OW loads are quantified with a well-accepted sigmoidal function. The results also indicate that, at the early age of the road, higher OS/OW loading would bring a faster deterioration rate (e.g. about 6% of the reduction in service life for extreme high OS/OW loading, while only 2.35% for low OS/OW loading). At the end of road life, the reduction trend slows down, nearly above 2% for all OS/OW loading levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutional practices and conditions at community colleges can improve rates of transfer, as can access to transfer student capital. However, we know little about how institutions attempt to build students' transfer capital, or about students' experiences within community colleges as they accumulate transfer capital. In this paper, we examine how students' institutional experiences, particularly their engagement with student supports at community colleges and transfer destinations, influence their understanding of, and ability to navigate, the transfer process. We view the accumulation of transfer student capital as an interactionist model between the students and their institution, where students' transfer knowledge and success is conditioned by an interaction between their background and institutional conditions. We draw on longitudinal qualitative interview data with transfer-intending community college students over the course of 3 years to understand how students access, receive, and accumulate transfer capital as they work toward their educational goals. By leveraging student experiences, our study can inform community colleges and transfer destinations about practices and policies interpreted as most effective from the perspective of students. Our work also connects to broader conversations about how institutions reproduce, ameliorate, or exacerbate inequalities based on student background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to develop an understanding of Mexican American incarceration including an examination of historical experiences in three selected states: California, New Mexico, and Texas. A caste model of inequality is considered to determine if it is useful in understanding the risk of imprisonment for Mexican Americans. Blalock's (1967) theory regarding ethnic concentration and increased discrimination is also used to allow for systematic analyses of the data. Finally, analyses of the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics study number 3029 (2001) are presented for partial evaluation of the impact of caste, of Blalock's (1967) theory, and to inform suggestions for improved data collection and future research. There was no consistent support for the expectations of overrepresentations of Mexican Americans in California or Texas prisons. Neither was there consistent support for the expectation that Mexican Americans sentenced in counties with high concentrations of Mexican Americans would receive longer sentences than would Anglos. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Patient support or self-help groups (SHG) provide essential support for patients and families dealing with particular conditions. Increasingly, these groups use the Internet to find information to support their own activities and to promote self-care. Librarians can play an important role in demonstrating to these groups how to locate and evaluate high-quality information on the Internet. This paper describes a project that provided such demonstrations to 5 support groups organized by a local hospital system in central Texas, the issues involved, the evaluation method, and the outcomes. Aggressive advertising appears to be one of the biggest deterrents to locating suitable health care information on the Internet. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Hemoglobinopathies are the most common single-gene disorders in humans. There are 1,424 variants of human hemoglobin described with 951 involving the β-globin gene. Ancestry and geography play a significant role in the incidence and nature of hemoglobinopathies, with African, Asian, and Mediterranean populations and their descendants being amongst the most affected. Investigation of variants in individuals of Hispanic descent is needed to reflect the changing demographics of the United States. Hemoglobin β-globin evaluation through gel electrophoresis, high-performance liquid chromatography, and HBB gene sequencing was performed on patients from Texas hospitals between 2010 and 2015 and demographic parameters (age, sex, ethnicity) was subsequently analyzed. A total of 846 patients underwent hemoglobinopathy evaluation. A β chain variant was detected in 628 of the 846 total patients. Hispanic patients represented 37% (314/846 patients), which were equally distributed between females (50%; 156/314) and males (50%; 156/314). A β-globin chain variant was found in 67% of Hispanic patients with a distribution across 10 variants seen in greater than 1% of patients. For hemoglobin variants, an understanding of the regional and ethnic prevalence will improve patient care through more effective screening and identification of the variant, early diagnosis, and appropriate treatment if necessary, and better genetic counseling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the integration of skilled Mexican female workers in the Monterrey labor market, and the relationship with the genesis of migratory flows toward the city of Houston. Following this line of investigation, the feminization of Mexican migration toward the US is considered, in part, to be the result of unfavorable conditions affecting qualified women professionals in their country of origin, who find an employment niche in the basic schooling system of Texas. However, the findings obtained in the fieldwork conducted beg the question of whether this type of migration can truly be defined as skilled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural resource institutions have embraced a deliberative turn to improve how they solve management problems and promote peacebuilding with and among stakeholders. However, actors who would rather not help decide, understand, evaluate, or implement decisions, or, at least not be dictated to in that regard, pose challenges to democratic governance arrangements. Such an inclination can be prevalent among landowner segments and befuddle efforts to safeguard state trust resources such as wildlife. Specifically, landowners' decision to self-govern can be problematic for wildlife disease management because voluntarism is critical to curbing the negative effects of disease. Researchers suggest that different types of legitimacy play an important role in explaining obedience, interest, or realized engagement or collaboration. We studied which types of legitimacy drive Texas landowners living in the midst of the deadly and highly infectious chronic wasting disease (CWD) to disengage with state-led disease governance that aims to protect deer, elk, and moose populations. Our survey of 481 landowners revealed that a pathway towards landowner willingness to engage CWD management in Texas requires top-down and bottom-up alignment with conceptions of ideological and consequential legitimacy. Given the results of our study, an evolution in contemporary CWD governance would require elements of both socially constructed instrumentally- and value-rational norms (i.e., CWD management in the right way and for the right reasons) to carve a space for political legitimacy at different levels, with aims of rendering voluntarism to benefit the common good culturally normative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new Paralia Heiberg species, Paralia flatoniana sp. nov., is documented from a late Eocene diatomite and mudstone deposit in east central Texas. Paralia represents up to 63% of the assemblage in the diatomite samples and 34% in the mudstone. Numerous Paralia initial valves are present adding an unusual component to this assemblage as they are infrequently reported from samples containing populations of fossil Paralia. A third valve type observed attached to Paralia chains is also illustrated and discussed. Intact chains are common and preservation of the frustules is very good with limited indication of dissolution or transport. An average valve diameter of 19.0 µm (7.1–37.7 µm range), the presence of numerous initial valves and preservation of fine morphological structures suggest an environment with often high in situ productivity rather than a transported assemblage. Morphologically similar species Paralia crenulata and Paralia thybergii share many mantle characteristics with P. flatoniana while the valve face details of Paralia fausta are similar. Paleogeography and – ecology of the Eocene Gulf of Mexico and volcanism to the west provided a temperate coastal nutrient-rich shelf environment favourable for Paralia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of private lands conservation (PLC) for endangered species continues to grow as habitat is increasingly lost or fragmented. In Texas, nearly 98% of all property is privately owned, rendering PLC critical for protecting endangered species. Despite case studies regarding factors leading to stewardship outcomes for endangered species, a knowledge gap exists regarding PLC for endangered species. To help address this gap, we situate findings from 30 key informant interviews and two focus groups within a novel stewardship framework to understand how PLC interventions for the endangered Houston toad (Anaxyrus houstonensis) appeal to landowners. Our approach revealed that local changes in conservation norms and networks can build relationships between resource-deficient landowners and practitioners that increase awareness and trust, combating barriers to PLC. Enhanced networks and cultural transformation facilitated by demographic changes and decentralized governance can allow stewardship obligations to supersede culturally embedded rural myths and attitudes of anti-government sentiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This 20-month study of a prairie hillslope seep system builds upon and extends the soil moisture record from a previous study conducted during the most extreme drought ever recorded in Texas. We seek to improve understanding of how prolonged drought impacts seep-headwater hydrology, and to determine how well dominant vegetation reflects changes in volumetric soil moisture (θv). Results show the entire hillslope saturates after storm events, but due to severe drought, no surface runoff or channel flow was recorded. We documented changes in soil moisture, with the highest θv occurring along the deeper footslope soils. We hypothesize hyperseasonal environments, or seasonal waterlogging/desiccation of upland vegetation in poorly drained soils, exist in the study area and are the first to quantify hyperseasonality, or % change in magnitude of θv throughout a hydrologic year. The seep and riparian plots aligned with lower hyperseasonality, indicating seasonal hypoxia, but not complete desiccation. High hyperseasonality occurred along the midslope barrens, indicative of a true hyperseasonal environment. We suggest a ≥ 90% threshold would likely indicate true hyperseasonal cyclicity of anaerobic and xeric regimes. Our results provide insight to how extreme drought impacts seep-headwater systems, and how predicted hotter, drier conditions may alter their hydrologic regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are a number of equations and models for calculating flood probabilities and associated peak discharges, and this paper compares a model and an empirical calculation. We calculated flood characteristics for the upper Guadalupe watershed in central Texas using the Weibull formula and data available from a local gauging station, to the result given by the National Flood Frequency (NFF) program, developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). During the summer of 2002, the upper Guadalupe watershed received a total of 89 cm (35 in.) of precipitation over a one-week period, producing record flooding. The results from both the NFF program and the calculation of return intervals using gauging station data are compared to the measured peak flows for the summer of 2002. The peak discharges predicted by both the NFF model and from the USGS gauging station data are much higher than the recorded discharge. There may be an increase of flow inputs to the Guadalupe River between the locations of the gauging station and where the flood estimate was made. Assuming an increase from tributaries into Canyon Lake, the estimate of peak discharge obtained from USGS data much more closely matches the recorded flow than the results from the NFF program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior models of well-being have focused on resolving issues at different levels within a single institution. Changes over time in medicine have resulted in massive turnover and reduced clinical hours that portray a deficit-oriented system. As developments to improve purpose and professional satisfaction emerge, the Texas Medical Association Committee on Physician Health and Wellness (PHW) is committed to providing the vehicle for a statewide collaboration and illuminating the path forward. To describe the existing health and wellness resources in Texas academic medical centers and understand the gaps in resources and strategies for addressing the health and wellness needs in the medical workforce, and in student and trainee populations. Various methods were utilized to gather information regarding health and wellness resources at Texas academic medical centers. A survey was administered to guide a Think Tank discussion during a PHW Exchange, and to assess resources at Texas academic medical centers. Institutional representatives from all Texas learning health systems were eligible to participate in a poster session to share promising practices regarding health and wellness resources, tools, and strategies. Survey responses indicated a need for enhancing wellness program components such as scheduled activities promoting health and wellness, peer support networks, and health and wellness facilities in academic medical centers. Answers collected during the Think Tank discussion identified steps needed to cultivate a culture of wellness and strategies to improve and encourage wellness. The Texas Medical Association Committee on Physician Health and Wellness and PHW Exchange provided a forum to share best practices and identify gaps therein, and has served as a nidus for the formation of a statewide collaboration for which institutional leaders of academic medical centers have affirmed the need to achieve the best result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Porvenir Massacre of 1918 was one of the darkest chapters in U.S.-Mexico relations during the bloody Mexican Revolution of 1910. It was an episode that saw fifteen men and boys of Mexican descent murdered in front of a low rock bluff on the U.S. side of the border. In spite of a military and a Texas Congressional investigation, no criminal charges were ever filed and the location of the massacre was lost to time. For nearly a century, major questions surrounding the incident remained unanswered. In 2015, an archaeological investigation confirmed the alleged location of the massacre site and determined that both civilian and military ammunition was used. This project represents the first and only archaeological examination of this important site and challenges the long-standing historical record in presenting material evidence that suggests U.S. military involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dissolved concentrations of uranium and potentially associated parameters, including nitrate, alkalinity, calcium, iron, manganese, vanadium, and fluoride, were compiled for 65 water wells sampled between 2015 and 2017 in a southern part of the Gulf Coast Aquifer, Texas. Sampled wells ranged from 3.0 m to 762.2 m deep, with a median depth of 120.0 m. Uranium concentrations ranged from less than 1 μg/L to 243 μg/L, with a median concentration of 5.94 μg/L. At seven wells, uranium concentrations exceeded the EPA drinking water standard of 30 μg/L. Based upon Spearman rank correlation, at a significance level of 0.01, significant positive associations were observed between uranium and vanadium, nitrate, and calcium concentrations. Significant negative associations were found between uranium concentrations and both iron concentrations and pH. Results suggest that processes adding nitrate and calcium to the aquifer may also mobilise uranium, through oxidative dissolution of reduced uranium-bearing minerals and subsequent formation of soluble uranium-calcium-carbonate complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Professional Geographer is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Encouraging the use of nonmotorized modes of transportation is a goal at the intersection of public health, environment, and transportation, given active transportation's numerous benefits to individuals and communities. However, increased use of nonmotorized modes can also bring increased pedestrian–vehicle and bicycle–vehicle crashes. About 4,000 fatal and serious injury crashes involving a motor vehicle and a pedestrian or bicyclist occurred between 2007 and 2014 in the Texas Department of Transportation Austin District. This study contributed to the field of research by developing four crash frequency and severity models for pedestrians and bicyclists to identify the factors associated with the frequency of crashes and the presence of more severe crashes across the census block groups in the Austin District. The models showed the important role of different variables in crash frequency and severity, including travel demand, commute behaviors, network characteristics, and sociodemographic features. Using the model results, areas of concern with the greatest potential for safety improvements were identified. The study results can help develop safety improvement interventions for vulnerable road users in the Austin District and exemplify how other transportation agencies can estimate pedestrian and bicycle crashes using their existing database and crowdsourced data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores notions of amateurism in relation to story-gathering, primary source classification, and other archival practices. Particularly, the author's path to his role as National Collector at the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art is traced from his familial, art historical and intellectual roots in West Texas. Arguing that cultures of West Texas place an exceptionally high value on retaining and generating stories particular to the region's history, Franco points to examples from archaeology, Texas history, art history, and contemporary art. Substantial scholarly work has been committed to the complex relationships between professional fine artists and untrained outsiders. Franco takes methods from these explorations in order to approach the equally complex relationship between professional state-sponsored archival practices and similar endeavors undertaken by individuals and smaller, homegrown archival projects from a specific American region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider here whether African-Americans executed on death row in Texas are consequently (a) more likely to have committed economically-motivated secondary crimes during the commission of homicide/attempted homicide, and whether these inmates were (b) less likely to express being sorry in their final statements before execution. Our study revealed support for the following hypothesized patterns: Caucasian offenders used a greater number of sorry-related words in their last statements, on average, compared with African-American offenders. In addition, homicides/attempted homicides committed by African-Americans were significantly more likely to have included a secondary economically-motivated crime (e.g., robbery). Subsequent analyses revealed that offender race significantly mediated the effects of economic secondary crime commission and "emotional intensity" on expressed sorrow in final statements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along the Texas border with Mexico, more than 400,000 people live in over 2,000 informal self-help settlements known ascolonias. These exceedingly low-income, largely Latino settlements have historically suffered from severe health risks, poor infrastructure and housing conditions, and physical and social isolation. Researchers and policymakers have focused extensively on what I call “first-generation policy priorities.” This has primarily entailed efforts to regularize title and infrastructure, support self-help home improvement forcoloniahomeowners, and prevent the growth of new informal settlements along the border region. I provide a comprehensive review of existing research oncoloniasto document the myriad ways in which housing and infrastructure conditions and titling practices have changed since these settlements first proliferated throughout the border region in the second half of the 20th century. These changes necessitate a rethinking of the policy priorities forcoloniasand informal settlements throughout the state. In particular, I argue thatcoloniasmust be recast to recognize the significant improvements that have taken place but also the long-term and sometimes severe problems that persist. These “second-generation policy priorities” include the development of sustainable forms of governance, regulation, and finance to address ongoing infrastructure investment needs incolonias; supporting access to and upkeep of safe and affordable renter- and owner-occupied housing through both self-help and contractor-led projects; ensuring long-term title clarity; and promoting community organizing in new and aging settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Characteristics of the built environment and overall local-level land use patterns are increasingly being attributed to greater surface runoff, flooding and resulting economic losses from flood events. Specific configurations of impervious surfaces and land cover may be as important to determining a community's flood risk as baseline environmental conditions. This study addresses this issue by statistically examining the impacts of adjacent land use and land cover (LULC) on flood damage recorded on parcels within a coastal watershed in southeast Texas. We analyse empirical models to identify the influence of different LULCs surrounding over 7900 properties claiming insured flood losses from 1999–2009. Results indicate that specific types of surrounding LULCs impact observed flood losses and provide guidance on how neighbourhoods can be developed more resiliently over the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latina/o students are one of the least likely populations to access technology and possess the techno-capital necessary to succeed in postsecondary education. This phenomenological qualitative research study used interviews with 20 Latina/o college students in Central Texas to examine how techno-capital and techno-disposition interact in complex ways to influence their college-going processes. Preliminary findings suggest that Latina/o students held varying levels of cognizance about the digital gap that were heavily dependent upon their socioeconomic backgrounds, that techno-disposition could be leveraged to access and attain more techno-capital, and that gender differences exist between how Latina/o students think about, approach, and utilize technology in their college experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Owner-occupied self-help and self-managed housing has been the norm in colonias—low-income informal settlements along the US–Mexico border—so scholarly treatment of renting in these settlements has been limited. This article adds to the scant literature on this topic and is the first to document the nature of renting in multi-unit rental complexes in colonias. The article explores the characteristics of landlords and their motivations for pursuing landlordism by drawing upon key informant interviews with owners of rental property. The results of 47 surveys conducted with households in multi-unit complexes throughout 18 colonias in Starr County, as well as the results from intensive, conversational case study interviews with selected households, are used to illustrate the precarious and informal nature of renting in colonias and provide a limited portrayal of the housing preferences and needs of renters. The article ends with an evaluation of the policy implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The goal of this study was to explore county prohibitions of alcohol sales, mainly dry county (counties that have opted not to sell alcohol) versus wet county (counties that sell alcohol), and to examine its impact on drinking and driving in Texas. Data about automotive fatal crashes in the State of Texas between 2001 and 2005 were retrieved from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the relationship between drinking and driving, county of residence and dry status, along with other factors. Findings from this analysis indicate that individuals who lived in wet counties were more likely to drink and drive and cause accidents in wet counties. Results from several of the models indicated that people who were from dry counties were less likely to be drunk and be involved in a fatal car accident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jacob Boll discovered the rich terrestrial fauna of the Texas Permian redbeds. Robert T. Hill mapped and named the Cretaceous formations of north Texas. Both, but especially Boll, supplied fossils to E.D. Cope. Of the more than 30 taxa named by Cope for fossils collected by Boll, Eryops megacephalus stands out as the species illustrated in the logo of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two species of Orthacanthus (Chondrichthyes: Xenacanthiformes), Orthacanthus texensis and Orthacanthus platypternus, occur in the Lower Permian of Texas, where O. texensis is restricted to the Wichita Group and O. platypternus to the Wichita and overlying Clear Fork groups. A third species, Orthacanthus compressus, occurs in the Pennsylvanian and questionably in the lowermost Permian of North America. The teeth of O. ?compressus, including what are interpreted as juvenile teeth, occur in the Archer City Bonebed 3 in the Archer City Formation, Bowie Group (Asselian). Larger teeth of this species are distinguished from O. texensis teeth by the presence of a more pronounced basal tubercle; otherwise the two species appear to be equivocal. However, the juvenile teeth of O. texensis have never been recovered in Permian localities; there is no evidence of a distinct juvenile dentition in this species. The larger Archer City adult teeth tend to have serrations on both carinae of each cusp, whereas the medial carinae are not serrated in the smaller adult teeth. The base tends to be wider than long, similar to O. texensis, whereas the juvenile teeth tend to be longer than wide, have a thinner base and lack serrations, similar to O. platypternus teeth. The distribution of dental features suggests that both O. texensis and O. platypternus could be derived from O. ?compressus. It is therefore proposed that the juvenile dental features of O. ?compressus are retained in the adult teeth of O. platypternus via paedomorphosis, whereas the juvenile features of the ancestor are truncated in O. texensis (i.e. its dentition retains only the characters of O. ?compressus adult teeth). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The species of Edestus Leidy (Chondrichthyes, Edestidae) are divided into two groups: those close to Edestus minor Newberry and those close to Edestus heinrichi Newberry and Worthen. The occurrences of Edestus worldwide (North America, Britain and Russia) are reviewed. In North America, Edestus occurs in the Illinois Basin and in the western United States, including South Dakota, Colorado and Texas, but not in marine beds of the same age in the Appalachian Basin. The absence of Edestus in the Appalachian Basin supports the idea that Edestus required access to the open sea, even if its remains are sometimes found in shallow or marginal marine deposits. The chronostratigraphic range of Edestus is from the middle Atokan through the Desmoinesian (Middle Pennsylvanian). All Atokan and lower Desmoinesian occurrences are from the E. minor group. The ranges of the E. minor group and the E. heinrichi group overlap in the upper Desmoinesian. We report two teeth of E. minor from the latest Atokan, in the Minturn Formation at McCoy, Eagle County Colorado. This is the first report of the genus from the southern Rocky Mountain region. We report some teeth of Edestus from Texas for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annals of the Association of American Geographers is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Tu W. and Sui D. Z. A state transformed by information: Texas regional economy in the 1990s, Regional Studies. The structural change of the Texas regional economy in the 1990s is analysed using input-output and shift-share analyses. As the fastest growing economic sectors in all thirteen Texas regions, the information segment is also found to be more important as an input factor in the production processes. The 'informatization' of the Texas economy is found to be accompanied by a widening development gap between the core and the periphery region in the state. A better understanding of the dynamics of growth processes and spatial patterns of the information economy is essential to prepare for future regional development plans. [image omitted] Tu W. et Sui D. Z. Un etat transforme par l'information: l'economie regionale de Texas dans les annees 1990, Regional Studies. On analyse la transformation structurelle de l'economie regionale de Texas dans les annees 1990 a partir des tableaux des echanges interindustriels et d'une analyse repartition-redistribution. Comportant les secteurs economiques les plus dynamiques dans toutes les treize regions de Texas, il s'avere aussi que la tranche information est plus importante comme facteur de production. Il s'avere que l'informatisation de l'economie de Texas va de pair avec l'ecart qui se creuse entre le centre et la peripherie regionale de l'etat. Une meilleure comprehension de la dynamique du processus de croissance et de la structure geographique de l'economie de l'information est essentielle a la preparation des futures politiques d'amenagement du territoire. Economie de l'information Transformation structurelle Tableaux d'echanges interindustriels Analyse repartition-redistribution Texas Tu W. und Sui D. Z. Verwandlung eines Staats durch Informationen: die Regionalwirtschaft von Texas in den neunziger Jahren, Regional Studies. Wir analysieren mit Hilfe von Input-Output- und Shift-Share-Analysen die strukturellen Anderungen in der Regionalwirtschaft von Texas wahrend der neunziger Jahre. Das Informationssegment stellt in allen 13 texanischen Regionen den wichtigsten Wirtschaftssektor dar und spielt auch im Produktionsprozess als Input-Faktor eine wichtigere Rolle. Begleitet wird die 'Informatisierung' der texanischen Wirtschaft von einem wachsenden Entwicklungsgefalle zwischen den zentralen und peripheren Regionen des Staates. Zur kunftigen Planung der Regionalentwicklung ist ein besseres Verstandnis der Dynamik der Wachstumsprozesse und raumlichen Muster der Informationswirtschaft unverzichtbar. Informationswirtschaft Strukturwandel Input-Output-Analyse Shift-Share-Analyse Texas Tu W. y Sui D. Z. Un estado transformado por la informacion: la economia regional de Texas en los noventa, Regional Studies. En este articulo estudiamos el cambio estructural en la economia regional de Texas en la decada de los noventa con ayuda de un analisis de entrada-salida y modelos shift-share. El segmento de informacion es el sector economico con el mayor crecimiento en todas las trece regiones de Texas, y tambien resulta mas importante como un factor de entrada en los procesos de produccion. Observamos que la 'informatizacion' de la economia de Texas viene acompanada de una diferencia creciente en cuanto al desarrollo de la region central y la de la periferica del estado. Es fundamental conocer mejor las dinamicas de los procesos de crecimiento y los modelos espaciales de la economia de la informacion para preparar futuros planes de desarrollo regional. La economia de la informacion Cambio estructural Analisis de entrada-salida Analisis shift-share Texas [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adults of three new species of euthyadine water mites are described to document the occurrence of their respective genera in North America, namely Almuerzothyas comalensis n. sp. from a spring in Texas, Thyasella canadensis n. sp. from a stream in Quebec and Zschokkea ontarioensis n. sp. from temporary pools and small streams in Ontario. Males of the genus Almuerzothyas are described for the first time leading to an expanded diagnosis of the genus and assessment of its relationships to other Trichothyas-like genera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New isotope laboratories can achieve the goal of reporting the same isotopic composition within analytical uncertainty for the same material analysed decades apart by (1) writing their own acceptance testing procedures and putting them into their mass spectrometric or laser-based isotope-ratio equipment procurement contract, (2) requiring a manufacturer to demonstrate acceptable performance using all sample ports provided with the instrumentation, (3) for each medium to be analysed, prepare two local reference materials substantially different in isotopic composition to encompass the range in isotopic composition expected in the laboratory and calibrated them with isotopic reference materials available from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), (4) using the optimum storage containers (for water samples, sealing in glass ampoules that are sterilised after sealing is satisfactory), (5) interspersing among sample unknowns local laboratory isotopic reference materials daily (internationally distributed isotopic reference materials can be ordered at three-year intervals, and can be used for elemental analyser analyses and other analyses that consume less than 1 mg of material) - this process applies to H, C, N, O, and S isotope ratios, (6) calculating isotopic compositions of unknowns by normalising isotopic data to that of local reference materials, which have been calibrated to internationally distributed isotopic reference materials, (7) reporting results on scales normalised to internationally distributed isotopic reference materials (where they are available) and providing to sample submitters the isotopic compositions of internationally distributed isotopic reference materials of the same substance had they been analysed with unknowns, (8) providing an audit trail in the laboratory for analytical results - this trail commonly will be in electronic format and might include a laboratory information management system, (9) making at regular intervals a complete backup of laboratory analytical data (both of samples logged into the laboratory and of mass spectrometric analyses), being sure to store one copy of this backup offsite, and (10) participating in interlaboratory comparison exercises sponsored by the IAEA and other agencies at regular intervals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Professional Geographer is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study examines the attitudes of female officers towards their colleagues and work utilizing data from a survey of women in policing in Texas. It focuses on minority and majority officers' perceptions of other officers, sexual and racial discrimination, and stress. The findings suggest the presence of several interesting similarities and differences between minority and majority female officers. There is little evidence that female officers do not feel accepted or feel they are treated unfairly on the job. None of the respondents perceived gender discrimination within the workplace. Black and white officers perceived sexual teasing and job stress as fairly common; this was not the case with respect to Latina officers. That is, Latina officers were more likely to prefer male partners than other race/ethnic groups while black officers were more likely to perceive racial discrimination. It is held that the findings with respect to Latina officers may be associated with cultural realities which affect gender-based perceptions. The implications of these findings for future research are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial and temporal patterns of dissolved arsenic in groundwater were documented from samples collected at 987 water wells in the High Plains (Ogallala) Aquifer of Texas, USA. Sampled wells had a median depth of 73 m. Historic pesticide and defoliant applications to cotton fields are potential sources of arsenic in the study area. From a survey of samples collected between 2000 and 2004, observed arsenic concentrations ranged from less than 2.0 to 561 µg/L, with a median concentration of 4.3 µg/L. Approximately 20% of all samples, including 123 wells serving public, domestic, and commercial organizations, exceeded the current 10 µg/L drinking water standard. Arsenic concentrations were generally higher in the southern part of the aquifer, possibly from increased loading and less dilution. In 86% of sampled wells, arsenic concentrations changed by less than 5 µg/L over four‐ and eight‐year periods. Arsenic concentrations decreased in 64% of wells with discernible concentration changes, but increased by more than 100 µg/L at a few wells in the southern part of the study area. Results suggest a lingering arsenic problem and need for filtration of drinking water at several locations within the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of war upon a dominant society's attitudes towards and treatment of ethnic minorities. Although recent scholarship suggests that war generally has a negative effect on minorities, this position has been arrived at by focusing almost entirely upon the experiences of enemy-alien groups, while established or newly-arrived outgroups not linked to the external foe have largely been ignored. This poses the question: does war also have a negative effect upon the latter two types of ethny? If so, are their experiences more or less severe than that of enemy-alien groups? These issues are addressed here by examining white perceptions and treatment of non-white minorities during the World War I era in Austin, Texas, which contained sizeable numbers of the three population groups relevant to this discussion: an enemy-alien minority, German Americans; a long-standing ethnic outgroup, African Americans; and a recently established immigrant ethny, Mexicans. This study shows that war not only has a generally negative effect on minorities—with the previously most marginalised ethnies tending to suffer the most, even more so than enemy-alien groups—but that this deterioration in ethnic relations can generate patterns of interaction that survive long after the war has ended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robert Jensen's critique of the participation of academic intellectuals in Texas in public political discourse after the 9/11 terrorist attacks underestimates what professors have done to inform a politically apathetic public about warfare, American foreign policy, civil liberties, and cultural and humanitarian issues. Jensen undervalues non-confrontational political strategies and broader forms of intellectual political engagement. Confrontational strategies mobilize citizens inclined to activism, but less overtly political strategies invite larger numbers of citizens to think seriously about politics. Jensen's locally famous post-9/11 Houston Chronicle editorial is analyzed as rhetorically egocentric and alienating, and ultimately counter-productive in the post-9/11 political environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A combination of geography, public policy, and commercial investment in information infrastructure combines to create geo-policy barriers that in turn structure the ability of rural citizens to access the Internet. A statistical study of 208 rural telephone exchanges in Texas combined with case studies from rural counties explores the impact of distance and policies aimed at enabling rural telephone connection on the presence of Internet service providers. Market territories, including exchange areas and LATAs, and the distance requirements of expanded local calling policy in Texas can both help and hinder Internet access in remote areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Riverine long-lot original surveys were employed many parts of Texas for about 150 years, beginning in the Spanish period and extending well into the era of statehood. No precedent for the use of long-lots was found either in Spain or New Spain, The evidence suggests that long-lots were diffused to Texas from Central Europe, by way of northern France, Québec, and the French colonies in Missouri and Louisiana. Long-lot survey left an imprint in cadastral, road, and street patterns which is still observable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arsenic concentrations were compiled for 173 wells in an agricultural region of west central Texas. Wells in the study area produce waterfrom the High Plains (Ogallala) Aquifer. Historically, arsenic compounds were applied to cotton fields in the study area, and they are also present in local rock formations. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to map and evaluate arsenic levels in groundwater. Arsenic was detected in every well, in concentrations ranging from 1.1-171.9 Mug/L. Ten observations exceeded 10 Mug/L. Several lines of evidence suggest the arsenic came from pesticides instead of local rock formations. These include higher arsenic levels at shallower water table depths, other agricultural chemicals in groundwater, incompatible hydraulic head differentials between the High Plains Aquifer and potential arsenic-bearing formations, and low arsenic levels in groundwater of potential arsenic-bearing formations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]