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Texas ScholarWorks was established to provide open, online access to the products of the University's research and scholarship, to preserve these works for future generations, to promote new models of scholarly communication, and to help deepen community understanding of the value of higher education.
UT Tower and campus image credit: Earl McGehee, CC-BY, https://www.flickr.com/photos/ejmc/7452145850
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Drug trafficking in Tarahumara : colonial continuities and mestizo criminal masculinities at the base of the modern Mexican colonial fragmented state
(2023-08) Valdivia Ramírez, Fátima del Rocío; Hale, Charles R., 1957-; Smith, Christen A., 1977-; Canova, Paola; Dominguez Ruvalcaba, Hector; Polit, Gabriela
The causes of drug trafficking in Mexico have been widely debated from economic and legal perspectives. Some studies conclude that corruption is to blame (Garay Salamanca et al., 2012; Grayson, 2010; Valdés, 2013), while others contend that criminal organizations produce terror-based governance patterns (Campbell, 2010; Gibler, 2017; Reyes, 2015; Paley, 2014, 2015). The emergence and consolidation of drug trafficking as an "alternative" form of governance—even de facto sovereignty—challenges the established assumption that sovereignty is the exclusive exercise of the modern state (Bonilla, 2017a; Hansen & Stepputat, 2006a). And yet, this new reality follows from an older story, colonialism, which continued in the republican period within the ideology of mestizaje, organizing the nation according to a hierarchy predicated on mestizo rule over Indigenous people, their land, and their resources. This dissertation argues that drug traffickers reproduce the coloniality of power by occupying the role of the settler colonial in contemporary Mexico. Through exploitative and often physically, structurally, and symbolically violent relationships with local Indigenous communities, drug traffickers reproduce colonial politics and logics by exploiting the land and labor of Indigenous people. The mestizo trafficker establishes a model of what I call mestizo criminal masculinity and becomes the new mestizo settler colonial subject in a new political relationship of racialized and gendered sovereignty that redefines the limits and possibilities of the modern colonial fragmented Mexican state.
Deriving authenticity from artificial intelligence : assessing the roles of human-likeness and influencer tier in virtual influencer marketing
(2023-08) Looi, Jie Min; Kahlor, LeeAnn; Oh, Jeeyun; Coleman, Renita; Atkinson, Lucy; Dudo, Anthony
This dissertation explores the strategic use of virtual influencers to facilitate popularization of an emerging technology, non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs are unique digital assets that have been increasingly utilized to monetize virtual influencers’ social media content, thereby functioning as a novel form of fan merchandise. This dissertation utilizes a mixed-method approach to assess how virtual influencers potentially shape consumers’ knowledge, perceptions, and acceptance of NFTs. In study 1, I conducted automated and lexicon-based sentiment analysis of the emojis and text in 3,684 user comments responding to NFT endorsements from existing virtual influencers. Notably, consumers responded less favorably to non-human virtual influencers than to anime-like and human-like virtual influencers. Regardless of virtual influencers’ human-likeness, consumers also responded more favorably to NFT endorsements from low-tiered virtual influencers than high-tiered virtual influencers. However, these findings were only observed among virtual influencers with consistent tier indicators (follower count, verified account badge). This research gap was addressed in study 2: I recruited 640 U.S. residents to participate in an online experiment with a 2 (human-likeness: human-like vs. non-human) x 2 (tier: inconsistent vs. consistent indicators) between-subjects factorial design. The findings indicated that virtual influencers of varying human-likeness persuaded consumers differently: NFT endorsements from non-human virtual influencers directly enhanced consumers’ acceptance of NFTs. Yet, consumers perceived greater credibility with human-like virtual influencers, which enhanced their acceptance of NFTs. This relationship was also mediated by their perceived familiarity and benefit perception. Hence, perceived influencer credibility served as the mechanism that distinguished non-human virtual influencers from human-like virtual influencers. Moreover, the consistency of virtual influencers’ tier failed to affect consumers’ perceptions of virtual influencers and NFTs. Overall, the findings highlighted the importance of integrating the MAIN model and uncanny valley hypothesis when assessing virtual influencers with varying human-likeness. The findings also attested to the CASA paradigm, whereby consumers extrapolated their social expectations of human influencers’ tier to virtual influencers. Practically, the insights will assist the design and selection of virtual influencers for advertising campaigns that serve both prosocial and for-profit goals. Finally, the findings contributed to consumers’ persuasion knowledge regarding virtual influencers and their endorsement of novel technologies.
Advanced numerical approaches for coupled two-phase soil-structure interaction problems with large deformations
(2023-08) Sung, Chihun; Kumar, Krishna (Engineering geologist); Gilbert, Robert B. (Robert Bruce), 1965-; Rathje, Ellen; El Mohtar, Chadi; Wang, Shin-Tower
Geotechnical engineering research has long focused on the numerical simulation of soil-structure interaction problems involving soil as porous media. However, such simulations have been limited by challenges arising from the interaction between significantly different material stiffnesses and material phases. In addition, the conventional explicit time integration scheme is conditionally stable, thus requiring a limited time step size, and causing pressure oscillations in rapid loading conditions.
This dissertation focuses on the development and implementation of advanced numerical algorithms using the Finite Element Method (FEM) and Material Point Method (MPM) to handle the challenges in simulating coupled hydro-mechanical soil-structure interaction problems with large deformations. Numerical features in the explicit FEM are suggested as possible numerical solutions to handle the difficulties. A detailed implementation process is presented, and their performances and limitations are evaluated with a series of parametric studies of two-phase pipeline embedment simulation.
A key contribution of this dissertation is the development of a stable two-phase contact algorithm within the framework of the MPM for soil-structure interaction problems, which significantly advances conventional MPM. The algorithm's main features include: (1) integration of Chorin's projection method to reduce numerical oscillation, (2) handling of diffusion terms implicitly to enable larger stable time step sizes that are independent of the bulk modulus and permeability of the pore fluid and (3) development of a rigid algorithm with an accurate contact detection algorithm. The proposed algorithm is implemented in C++, and its accuracy and performance are verified through model tests.
Finally, the developed MPM algorithm is utilized to simulate the shear resistance of offshore pipelines in a robust two-phase pipeline embedment simulation. The seabed clay is modeled using Modified Cam-clay material, and material properties are selected to replicate laboratory test results. The study finds that the previous design guideline based on the elastic approach overestimates the effective normal force at the pipe perimeter, demonstrating the potential utility of the developed MPM algorithm for simulating real-world soil-structure interaction problems.
It takes two : how gender, daily stress processes, and dyadic coping shape well-being in same-sex and different-sex marriages
(2023-08) Garcia, Michael Alexis; Umberson, Debra; Powers, Daniel; Fingerman, Karen; Crosnoe, Robert; Cavanagh, Shannon
Marriage has long been considered a gendered institution that produces differential costs and benefits for the health and well-being of women and men, and prior research suggests that daily stress processes may be important for understanding such inequities. Stressful experiences of day-to-day living (i.e., daily stressors), such as arguments with a spouse or financial worries, are detrimental to well-being. Much of the work on daily stressors focuses on different-sex marriages and considers the different ways in which wives and husbands are exposed to, cope with (i.e., dyadic coping), and affected by daily stressors (i.e., affective reactivity). However, research has yet to explore how gender dynamics in same-sex marriages, in addition to different-sex marriages, influence daily stress processes and short-term (i.e., daily) well-being. Moreover, how gendered daily stress processes influence long-term well-being years later in same-sex and different-sex marriages remains unexplored. In this dissertation, I integrate the stress process model and life course perspective and use a gender-as-relational approach to explore how the gender of both spouses in a marital dyad shapes daily stress processes, dyadic coping, and short- and long-term well-being in same-sex and different-sex marriages. Specifically, I use 10 days of diary data from both midlife U.S. women and men in 157 lesbian, 106 gay, and 115 heterosexual marriages (n = 756 individuals; 378 couples) to examine how exposure and affective reactivity to daily stressors differ across union types. I also combine dyadic diary data with longitudinal survey data to consider how affective reactivity to daily stressors influences well-being 6 years later and whether differences in dyadic coping processes alter such linkages across union types. I find that individual gender, spouse gender, and the gendered relational context of marital relationships combine to influence linkages between daily stress processes and short-term well-being in different ways for legally married midlife same-sex and different-sex couples, such that women are exposed to more daily stressors than men across same-sex and different-sex marriages whereas affective reactivity to daily stressors is especially detrimental for the well-being of women in different-sex marriages, and, to a lesser extent, women and men in same-sex marriages compared to men in different-sex marriages. I also find that daily stress processes undermine well-being 6 years later for individuals married to men (i.e., women in different-sex couples; men in same-sex couples). Finally, I find that dyadic coping alters linkages between daily stress processes and long-term well-being, particularly for men in same-sex couples. Considering the heightened risk of stress and poorer mental health profiles of women and sexual minorities, this dissertation has the potential to inform future research aimed at reducing gender and sexual minority health inequities.
Foam flow in rough fractures at elevated temperatures and pressures
(2023-08) Radhakrishnan, Anuradha; Prodanovic, Masa; DiCarlo, David Anthony, 1969-; Johnston, Keith; Daigle, Hugh; Mohanty, Kishore
The flow of foam in fractures has diverse applications, ranging from the oil and gas industry to carbon capture and geothermal systems. This dissertation thoroughly examines the impact of fracture roughness, foam formulations, foam qualities, mineralogy, and elevated temperature (38°C to 150°C) and elevated pressures (1200 psi) on foam performance in fractures. Fractured core flood experiments are conducted to measure the apparent viscosity of foam and investigate the influence of fracture surface roughness on foam structure and stability. Throughout the studies, supercritical CO₂-based foams are employed. The research also aims to determine whether foam behavior inside a rough fracture resembles that of bulk foam or porous media foam. Fracture roughness is characterized using CT scans, and the stability of foam under high temperature and pressure conditions is explored. Furthermore, the ability of foam to suspend proppant particles and its interaction with various rock mineralogy, including sandstones, limestones, shales, and granites, are investigated, leading to interesting insights. The key findings reveal that foam flowing through rough fractures exhibits continuous regeneration and greater stability compared to foam in smooth fractures, irrespective of the rock mineralogy. Rough surfaces within fractures play a crucial role in enhancing foam stability, promoting lamella regeneration, enabling foam resistance against extreme temperatures and pressures. Micro-CT scans confirm the existence of varying aperture sizes along fracture walls, indicating the effectiveness of rough surfaces in facilitating foam flow. In rough fractures, bubbles near the surface form a structure characterized by a single lamella spanning the pore space, while the presence of asperities results in varying bubble sizes, introducing heterogeneity within the foam structure. Conversely, in smoother fractures, foam displays a bulk structure with smaller, uniform bubbles. The effectiveness of CO₂ foam in suspending proppant particles and its interaction with shale are demonstrated, with the foam exhibiting water absorption near shale particles, leading to higher foam quality in the vicinity of these particles. This interaction contributes to the maintenance of a stable foams. By studying foam behavior in fractures and optimizing foam formulations, we can unlock the full potential of foams across various industries, contributing to sustainable and efficient processes.