Category Archives: Science

An Insight into Software Engineering

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Cadarius Williams is a senior at Texas A & M University-Texarkana who aspires to be a Software Engineer. Beforehand, he will study to gain interview experience and build connections for his career in computer science. The experiences for him at the University are content because the campus holds decent infrastructure along with more connection between the faculty and students than some universities. As Cadarius says, “You are not just a number, you are a name.”

Software Engineering involves building functional operating systems for technical devices such as laptops and cellphones. The evolution of this occupation has come a long way. The ideas of this profession started with the invention of massively scaled computers. After a long measure of time,designs expanded into advanced systems now accessible as small handheld devices. Furthermore, the progression of time has allowed ideas that were limited in the past to advance with extensive inspection and development of application frameworks.

In further discussion, technology such as robotics and Artificial Intelligence must be examined in simulation before further progress. Without the human effort or observation of technology such as A.I., the newest systems will not perform correctly. Because of Williams’ determination to be a software engineer, advanced technology is further acclaimed. It is astonishing that more students like him will manage applications in addition to creating them in the future.

Minding Mental Health in May

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It has been about two years since the Covid-19 breakout began and since then mental health and mindset awareness has gained more public attention than ever before. The CDC said, “Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices.” And while the term mental health has been in common use, its importance nowadays seems to be highlighted by Covid-19. 

Mental Health Month was established in 1949 to increase awareness of the importance of mental health and wellness in Americans’ lives, and to celebrate recovery from mental illness. Unfortunately, back then there were no guidelines for how to live in a pandemic-driven world other than trying to hold on to faith and finding someone to talk to. Because almost everything we are experiencing is unscripted and uncertain, leading to more anxiety, fear, and depression. Since COVID-19, millions have fallen victim by being taken away from their loved ones causing mental and emotional damage.

Mental Health and Awareness month is hosted every year in May. And with it fast approaching it can give people a sigh of relief and help them acknowledge their weakness and fears. The National Alliance on Mental Illness said, “Now more than ever before, it is important for the mental health community to come together and show the world that no one should ever feel alone.”

To Breathe, Or Not To Breathe?

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I’m going to say it. Not everyone knows this about me but…I have asthma. I know, I look like the most athletic and perfectly healthy specimen you have ever laid eyes on. But it is true; I have sports induced asthma. The “sports induced” part makes me sound a little cooler…right? A little less like Napoleon Dynamite?

When I was younger, about second grade, I would run to the sidelines of the soccer field with tears in my eyes wheezing uncontrollably. I would try to ask my coach for a sub, but I couldn’t speak… so he would tell me to put my hands on my head and shove me on my way. After a few of these episodes, my mom took me to the doctor to figure out what was happening. 

I took a few tests; breathing into a tube for as long and as hard as I could. I remember standing in front of a computer with flickering cartoon candles, I was told to blow them all out by blowing into a device. I tried a few times but could never get them all out; I remember my mom telling me to try. I was trying! My little second grade lungs just weren’t a match for those digital candles. 

The doctor prescribed me an inhaler to take once a night before bed plus another inhaler to take before soccer games and if I was having trouble breathing. Getting into the car after the appointment my mom squinted at me through her rearview mirror and asked “were you really trying your hardest? Giving it everything you could?” This lady thought I was faking it! She thought I wanted inhalers for fun. 

I didn’t take the nightly inhaler for long, after a few months my prescription was adjusted to just the emergency inhaler with the preventive pre game “puff.” Let’s fast forward about thirteen years– my Advanced News Writing class took a field trip to look at the undergraduate independent research project presentations. I glanced over a few projects until something caught my eye: an Elmo inhaler. 

The presenters saw me looking at their Elmo inhaler poster and began to explain their research question: is there a relationship between steroid inhalers and growth rates in children? To sum it up– in the few studies done there has been a correlation between steroid inhalers and children with growth deficiencies. My first question was how they came up with the research question, these two factors seemed completely unrelated to me. Both researchers had personal experiences with stunted growth and wanted to see if their childhood steroid inhalers were to blame. 

This research information was really interesting to me. What if I had continued taking my nightly steroid inhaler? My height has played a huge roll in my personality, athletics, and career; so to imagine my nightly inhaler stunting my growth is mind boggling. We take for granted the medicine we have today, brushing off side effects and what we put into our bodies. An inhaler I was given to help my breathing could have had drastic effects on my life. What side effects are hiding behind your trusted daily routine?

The Scary Future

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What is a climate activist? Who is Gretta Thumberg? Why have “#ClimateStrike” and “#FridaysForFuture” become trending hashtags/topics worldwide? Although these terms are almost unheard of in Texarkana, they continue to take the world by storm as society begins to acknowledge the clock is ticking on our planet earth. 

Gretta Thumberg is a 16-year-old climate activist who influenced the Fridays For Future movement. Climate and environmental activist are just what they sound like; people who are protesting to make changes in an effort to protect our planet and slow down the irreversible effects of climate change. Thumberg began a climate strike in August 2018, skipping school on Fridays to protest outside of the Swedish Parliament, holding signs and passing out flyers. Thumberg quickly caught the attention of local media outlets which helped spread the movement, these strikes have now spread to almost 150 countries. September 20th-27th was Global Climate Strike Week, where protests occurred worldwide leading up to the United Nations Climate Action Summit.

The U.N. Summit happened on September 23rd with an estimated 7.6 million people protesting throughout the week in an effort to show a demand for change. Thumberg delivered a powerful speech, scolding the world leaders for the way they’ve prepped planet earth for her generation. The U.N. supported the protests, hoping it would encourage countries to come with solid plans for major changes in the near future. However, many were left disappointed as some countries, including the United States: one of the worst perpetrators of emissions, did not attend the summit. Others attended with weak plans that would barely keep the temperature survivable for long.

The U.N. Summit concluded with both hope and fear. Key messages from the SDG Summit read: “…it is clear that the world is not on track to meet the SDG’s by 2030. The future is now, and the Earth’s systems are changing quickly.” However, the great outcry for change across the globe shows there is hope for a climate revolution, which has become necessary for survival of our younger generations. Young leaders like Thumberg need to stay strong in their battle as they continue to inspire and inform others about our struggling planet.

New Light on Leukemia

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There have been cases of cancer throughout recent years, many incurable. One of these diseases is leukemia, a dreaded cancer of which there was no hope for a cure. Many elderly people died from this cancer which deeply saddened their loved ones. However, recent research suggests that eventually scientists could develop a cure for leukemia before it undergoes a more aggressive form.Image result for leukemia microorganims

Leukemia is a disorder in which the blood cells and bone marrow accumulate at unstable levels through the lymphatic system. Sometimes a person’s diagnosis for leukemia may not be accurate. No matter the case, it cannot be cured even if a patient goes through chemotherapy. The therapy does work for some patients, but it only regulates symptoms for others.

Yet on January 29, 2019, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research Drug Discovery program discovered a brand-new type of therapy that may treat leukemia. In tests, the protein MLL-1 binds with another called WDR5 causing leukemia. Researchers now plan to disrupt this process so that stopping the cancer is a possibility. This development soon led the Celgene Corporation to make a large investment to ensure further research and innovations for preclinical trials. Since then, there have been many collaborations to make this cure a reality.

For information on leukemia symptoms-click here

And for more information on leukemia cure development here

The Robots are Walking!

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Technology is constantly changing, and soon, even how we write will not be the same. But change can be a good thing if it is gradual. And it will not be like certain robot takeover movies. That’s right, robots! This is a great thing if our crazy imaginations do not intervene.

Robotics is one of the greatest innovations in science and technology. There are current observations on robots where scientists study their logistics to better aid them when performing aggressive tasks. Unfortunately, robots might be better than us, yet they need our supervision to function properly.

Boston Dynamics is one of the leading companies in the robotics industry. The developers there have created many robots with impressive functions. One is called Spot which is built similar to a dog. A video has two Spots thinking to each about how to open a door. One of them eventually opens the door so the other Spot goes out along with the other.

Another robot is called Atlas. It’s designed to have motor functions like a human. Another incredible video shows him jumping onto and over every obstacle. He falls over in the end but for comedic attribute. Atlas is still operational to this day. Dynamics have also made another version where he can go outside through any type of environment.

In recent times, an achievement of Boston Dynamics happened to be 10 spots pull a large truck. This has become very shocking to the people due to the success of these robotic dogs performing a miraculous task.

Who knows what will happen next?!

All the world is changing, for better and worse. Old technology may soon be gone, but the new technology can make impossible dreams a reality, especially robots.

Fun Boston Dynamics YouTube Links:

For information on Boston Dynamics click here:

Love: Just Another Social Exchange?

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Is it love we’re looking for, or just something tolerable? An emotion sharing common features across cultures might be less of a romantic devotion and more of a search for gratification. Thinking of love in terms of socialization. Why did you or your last significant other end the relationship? Was it because they left their socks all over the place? Did they always forget your date night? Did you consider these qualities a lack of care? Maybe these things are simply intolerable for you. But to others, they are not. Many of our relationships end as a result of conflicting attitudes, behaviors and values.  Social Exchange Theory, coupled with rational Choice Theory and ideas of Erving Goffman, tells us why. Social media tells us how.

“George Homans,” from the article “George C. Homans, the human group and elementary social behaviour,” by Dr. A. Javier Treviño on infed.com

George Homans adapted this theory in the late 1950s, that we base our relationships on a scale of costs versus benefits. When the costs outweigh the benefits, we tend to leave the relationship. People use their comparison levels, by which they compare current relationships to those from the past, and their comparison levels of alternatives, comparing current situations to other available options. These are what help shape our ideas about romantic behaviors. These comparisons come from our schemata, or set of experiences that create our expectations. According to “Romantic Exchanges,” a blog post written by Bradley Wright, social exchange theory suggests that “people think about relationships in terms of various benefits and costs available to them…” and then make choices in their own favor. We make attempts to establish romantic exchanges based on what we think to be worthy of our time and efforts.

Rational choice theory takes these internal monologues and brings them into reality. From available options, one makes a selection based on the shared, consistent schemata of society.  These collective thought processes help individuals make daily decisions. Popular choices typically win the fight. Individuals let these normative behaviors to influence their own choice, which is how we know what others expect of us.

“Erving Goffman,” compliments of ThoughtCo.com, from the article “A Biography of Erving Goffman:
Major Contributions, Education, and Career,” by Ashley Crossman

Erving Goffman says we use these concepts to control perceptions of us. Our front stage is where all that is socially acceptable remains, while the backstage is the opposite. Social exchange theory is what gives us a reason to act in this way, because of our alternative choices. Goffman’s ideas about front and backstage behavior demonstrates the ways in which social media is a prime example of social exchange theory. Let’s look at the social media dating applications, Match.com and Tinder.

Match.com argues that their ultimate goal is “to help singles find the kind of relationship they’re looking for.” This is an obvious example that they’re promoting social exchange theory. They are encouraging members to highlight their best attribute to find the best buyer. The website even has a blog with helpful hints on how to seem more attractive for other online users. Tinder is similar, but not so subtle. They offer a blatant goal: supporting individuality. They offer no suggestions for relationship building. Tinder’s goal “is to allow users to express themselves freely as long as it doesn’t offend others.” This is more obvious in presenting the idea that these websites are a way for people to use edited photographs and conscious dialogues to entice strangers.

In 2015, eighty-five percent of Tinder users claimed to “look after” their appearance on the app, giving in to the collective social schemata. Social exchange theory says that this sense of rational choice is what will guide people in and out of relationships. Match.com and Tinder open the door for rating. With each application, users are picky about not only what they put out there, but also who they continue contact with. They are not obligated to respond to anyone. People take a few short minutes to look at their match and decide whether that person is right for them. Keep in mind that these people are just scratching the surface. They generally know very little about these people they are connecting with.

Each program allows users to designate a set amount of images to their pages and couple them with a description. Both sites reiterate a need to make oneself look attractive by some means. Eighty-four percent of Match users say that they are more selective now than ever of their dating partners, an example of weighing ones options. Match provides more lengthy content, which might mean that its target audience are those people who are looking to engage in something long-term while Tinder is often associated with hook-up culture. This could be the reason that roughly seventy percent of Tinder users also visited other online dating websites in 2015. 

Complements of Pixabay

A few demographics are notable here. First, a small but visible percent of Tinder users are married. Why is this important? These people are benefiting only themselves. even if the couple is in an o[en relationship, the two are still using other people to fulfill needs not met at home. And, people who would initially be monogamous may take on multiple romantic relationships if they feel that their needs are not being entirely met. In a closed relationship, the person is only concerned with their own desire.

“Only 14 percent of boomer women and 22 percent of boomer men…” use Match to marry. These people are seeking a way that they can meet short-term needs, but are open to finding love. We tend to use the social exchange theory very extensively. Online users are very interested in keeping their options open.

These two applications offer participants anonymity and a way to easily filter through comparisons. Rational choice theory tells us how people use such little information to make such a large choice. Individuals purposely create situations where people have to choose swiftly from small amounts of information and, in doing so, lower their chances of someone else finding any bad quality. 

Social Exchange Theory is rich in its possibilities to convey an understanding of social relationship building. Though this article has not discussed all aspects of the theory, we can still see a strong correlation between social exchange theory and how people today search for love.

GI-yeS!

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You’re an undergraduate history major with large amounts of data about crime statistics in various locations across the United States over time. To a criminology student, this might be a gold mine, full of relative research material for their next paper. For you, it’s just numbers. But Dr. Andrew McGregor says GIS (Geographic Information Systems) can change that.

Photo by Allison Hall

On Wednesday, November 14, Dr. McGregor, Dr. Drew Morton, and Dr. Doug Julien hosted a four-hour open house in the Red River Innovation Lab for Humanities to celebrate GIS day. He started with an overview of definitions and ended with a hands on session, showing students and professors ways to use the mapping software. The goal was to show how this technology is useful in all fields of study.

GIS is a type of mapping systems that uses GPS signaling to help you plot specific coordination. Sounds ancient. But actually, it’s all digital now and it can get complicated. However, Dr. McGregor kept it simple, explaining how GIS can help people of all disciplines map data over both time and space. Mapping is no longer thought of as only useful to Geography professionals. Humanities academics have potential here. Dr. Morton, head of the Red River Innovation Lab, was also present and showed a very interesting piece from the online Journal [In]Transition. It was a video made to show the current geography of locations used in older Western films. With this type of use, GIS can reveal interesting things about the developing and changing technique and design of filmmakers. It’s a way for easy comparison.

You, as a history major, can use this technology to take that data about crime trends, map them, and compare them to other mapped data regarding things such as economy, redlining, slavery and more to discover that American crime trends are in fact a result of historical events across the nation. Admittedly, this example is self-explanatory, but it’s an easy way to develop a clear picture about the functions of these systems. It’s also a topic repeatedly addresses during the event.

Photo by Allison Hall

An interesting point brought up is the fact that maps only show data. They don’t necessarily make any arguments. That’s up to the viewer. The purpose of GIS mapping is for the user to devise and develop a question, argument or idea and present it in a way that is practical and stimulating in a visual way. The map is for you to make a point with in a way that’s different from a research paper or a graph.

This is a way for different disciplines to network among one another. This is not a one person job nor does it create a singular study. You need researchers to gather data, interpreters for that data, coders, mappers and so on. This gives fields such as history a reason to work together both within and outside of their field.

Photo by Allison Hall

Dr. Doug Julien, not having the statistics and code driven background needed for certain aspects of GIS mapping from scratch, introduced a user-friendly website, EJScreen. This website presents already gathered data in map form for people to reference. It presents an opportunity to clarify and verify previous thoughts as well as a way to formulate new questions based on such data. In other words, it is a lead in to formulate questions that you might build your own map to answer. He uses this to track both historical and modern-day racism and the evidence found in current living conditions. He is able to show how things such as redlining has put minority citizens in an almost permanent area in locations within Texarkana.

Aside from Dr. Julien’s introduction into EJScreen, Dr. MgGregor offered other online mapping tools where you can apply your own data to create your own very specific maps, such as ESRI Story Maps, Google Earth Pro., Google My Maps, and Carto. He took us through each of these sites, some offering different features than others, but all seeming very easy to navigate in an organized way. They all offer a visual option for large amounts of data that might not make sense mentally in the same way.

To find out more about Geographic Information Systems, you can contact Dr. McGregor at amcgregor@tamut.edu.

Stay in Bed, Stay in School

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The average American public high school student starts school between seven-thirty and eight in the morning, which means the student wakes up around six to six-thirty. After a seven hour school day students have jobs, clubs, sports, homework, and other extracurricular activities to attend to. High school students are missing out on the sleep they need because of  late nights and early mornings. Students who participate in extracurricular activities, obtain jobs, or are overloaded with homework have a higher risk of health problems due to the amount of sleep they are losing.

In order to produce higher academic success and a more healthy educational environment, high schools should start later in the morning to let students be more alert and prepared. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that high schools start at 8:30 a.m. or later to allow students the opportunity to get the recommended amount of sleep on school nights, about 8.5-9.5 hours.

Photo credits to depositphotos.com

Getting enough sleep is essential for people of all ages, but especially for high school students. The majority of schools — about 82 percent, on average — started earlier than 8:30 a.m. High school students are busy with hours of school, jobs, sports, homework, clubs, and other extracurricular activities. If school starts at seven-thirty a.m., most students are out the door between seven and seven-ten to get to school on time in all the traffic.

I would try to leave for school before seven-ten and would still be late even though I lived less than ten minutes away. Having to leave around seven means students have to wake up anywhere from six to six-thirty depending on how long it takes them to get ready. Students have to wake up even earlier if they want to make and eat a nutritious breakfast. When school starts early students are likely to skip out on breakfast.

Some early risers wake up extra early and can take time to get ready and to make and eat a nutritious breakfast. Another solution to not getting a nutritious breakfast is preparing it the night before or grabbing something right before walking out the door and eating on the way to school. There are also school breakfast programs that provide breakfast for students in the morning.

Sending sleep-deprived students to school is not productive. For many people, days just don’t seem long enough. In order to cram everything into one 24-hour period, something has to give. Judging by many surveys of Americans, it’s sleep. If students could sleep in they would be more alert during school. Later high school start times means students have the freedom to get up at a decent time and not have to rush to get ready or eat breakfast.

With jobs, homework and extracurricular activities, high school students stay up late at night to try to get all their stuff done before they go to sleep. For example, a student with a job goes straight to work after school and works a five-hour shift, but still has to eat dinner and finish all their homework before falling asleep. Having a later start time for high school means that those students who stay up late get to catch up on their sleep.

On the other hand, not every student has a job or does sports outside of school. There are some students that strictly go to school and go straight home and have plenty of time for homework. Even though the recommended amount of sleep is anywhere from seven to eight hours, some students can function properly and pay attention with less than the recommended amount because it works for their body. When people wake up without the recommended amount of sleep or wake up too early are not fully awake. Sleepy students don’t learn or perform as well as their well-rested peers. Students who do not get enough sleep have a hard time paying attention and staying awake in class. Those students that might drift off with a quick nap on their desk are usually considered lazy, but their teachers and peers do not know how busy they are at home after school.

Photo credits to depositphotos.com

If schools started later and high school students had a chance to get the correct amount of sleep then there would be fewer students falling asleep in class. During adolescence, the body goes through many changes. These include a shift in sleep needs. When students are not falling asleep in classes they pay more attention and their grades can improve. For some students, their classes are too important to fall asleep in the middle of class and miss crucial information. Those students that are in dual credit (DC) and advanced placement (AP) classes cannot afford to miss any information if they want to get the college credit hours during high school.

Pushing back the start time of school means that the end time would also have to be pushed back. This could interfere with jobs or after school activities and give students less time in the afternoon and night to get all their stuff done before falling asleep. Some high schoolers also have the responsibility of picking up a younger sibling or family member from their middle school or elementary school. If schools push back the start time of high school there is a good chance that high school would start at the same exact time as the elementary school or middle school, causing problems for drop off and pick up times. Another outside influence is parent and student schedule conflicts. Having school start early makes it easier for parents to drop off their kids at school and make it to work on time. Even though school starting early makes it easier on the parent, the school bus system, public transportation, personal cars, and carpooling can help students get to school on their own without a parent’s help.

Starting school too early forces teens to lose a large chunk of what’s known as REM — or rapid eye movement — sleep. This type of sleep helps teens (and everyone else) control their moods. But that’s not the only problem. Too little sleep also has been linked with an increased risk of obesity, depression, drug use and other problems.

Students are not getting enough sleep due to high school starting too early. Too little sleep has become so common among teens that the CDC calls it an epidemic, a widespread public-health problem. Students overloaded with homework, sports, clubs and other extracurricular are missing out on sleep. There are many benefits from pushing back the start time of high school including, catching up on sleep, paying more attention in class and health benefits.

Boo! It’s the Flu!

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Are those Hollywood horror films just not doing it for you? Do you need more of an adrenaline rush this Halloween season? Watch your local news station talk about influenza. That’ll get you what you need.

October has been particularly terrifying this year, and not because of a ghoul next door. Recent news updates featuring those stricken by the infections fatal blow have caused some concern about this year’s seasonal flu. The latest in these stories is North Carolina’s Mrs. Scarlett VanStory Levinson, a 29-year-old lawyer who died October 2nd due to what authorities are calling flu complications. According to ABC News, the young woman suffered a flu related heart attack that lead to her death. Articles such as this often cause uproar in communities, leading to an influx of precautionary measures. In response to this, many will turn to the flu shot without question. But just how helpful will the flu shot be in keeping you happy and healthy this year?

The CDC has assured us that all vaccines this season will protect against four different types of the influenza virus, and they recommend getting one before the virus spreads in your community. While flu season starts on the first of October, the State of Texas has reported low numbers for cases thus far and say that the majority of cases in 2017 did not occur until January. Arkansas has reported very similar findings.

Compliments of qimono on Pixabay

Statistics aside, what this really comes down to is your preference. The CDC  can never be 100% sure of which virus will spread, how it will spread, or what effects it will have. They have laboratories who work to make educated guesses about what strains to protect against seasonally, but they aren’t promising anything specific.

The effectiveness of the shot also varies by season, and is affected by your age and health. Different vaccines are appropriate for different ages and each person is going to react differently. If you have poor health or a damaged immune system, getting the shot might be more meaningful to you. There is always a chance that the shot has absolutely no benefit at all. Getting the flu shot might have just as much benefit to you as not getting it, but it might have more. There’s no definitive way of knowing.

In terms of the dangers of the flu vaccine, there aren’t many. The CDC says that in no way can the flu vaccine cause the flu. Severe allergic reaction is possible if the receiver has an egg allergy, fever can occur, and there have been 1 or 2 cases per 1 million vaccinated people of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a disorder “…in which a person’s own immune system damages their nerve cells.” Though it is unclear what the direct cause is, this disease is one that people generally recover from, though the thought is scary. Between 3,000 and 6,000 people get it yearly (with and without vaccination) in the United States and very few die from it. Adults 50 and older, and those ever diagnosed with the Campylobacter jejuni bacterium or other infections, are the most susceptible.

So, should you get the flu shot? It is entirely your call. Whatever you feel like is best for you, your family, and those around you is your answer. Do your own research, and make your own educated decision. At the end of the day, it is your body. Just don’t be upset if everyone at the office Christmas party blames you for their ailment! It’s human nature.