The role of neighborhood organizations in the production of gentrifiable urban space: The case of Wynwood, Miami's Puerto Rican barrio

Partnerships between government and community-based actors and organizations are considered the hallmark of contemporary governance arrangements for the revitalization and gentrification of economically distressed, inner city areas. This dissertation uses historical, narrative analysis and ethnographic methods to examine the formation, evolution and operation of community-based governance partnerships in the production of gentrifiable urban space in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, FL between 1970 and 2010. This research is based on more than four years of participant observation, 60 in-depth interviews with respondents recruited through a purposive snowball sample, review of secondary and archival sources, and descriptive, statistical and GIS analysis. This study examines how different organizations formed in the neighborhood since the 1970s have facilitated the recent gentrification of Wynwood. It reveals specifically how partnerships between neighborhood-based government agencies, nonprofit organizations and real estate developers were constructed to be exclusionary and lead to inequitable economic development outcomes for Wynwood residents. The key factors conditioning these inequalities include both the rationalities of action of the organizations involved and the historical contexts in which their leaders’ thinking and actions were shaped. The historical contexts included the ethnic politics of organizational funding in the 1970s and the “entrepreneurial” turn of community-based economic development and Miami urban politics since the 1980s. Over time neighborhood organizations adopted highly pragmatic rationalities and repertoires of action. By the 2000s when Wynwood experienced unprecedented investment and redevelopment, the pragmatism of community-based organizations led them to become junior partners in governance arrangements and neighborhood activists were unable to directly challenge the inequitable processes and outcomes of gentrification.

The epidemiology of prostate cancer among multiethnic men

The research goal was to document differences in the epidemiology of prostate cancer among multicultural men [non-Hispanic White (NHW), Hispanic (H), non-Hispanic Black (NHB)], and Black subgroups, particularly among NHB subgroups [US-born (USB) and Caribbean-born (CBB)]. Study findings will be useful in supporting further research into Black subgroups. Aim 1 explored changes over time in reported prostate cancer prevalence, by race/ethnicity and by birthplace (within the Black subgroups). Aim 2 investigated relationships between observed and latent variables. The analytical approaches included confirmatory factor analysis (CFA for measurement models) and structural equation modeling (SEM for regression models). National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from 1999–2008 were used. The study sample included men aged 18 and older, grouped by race/ethnicity. Among the CBB group, survey respondents were limited to the English-speaking Caribbean. Prostate cancer prevalence, by race showed a higher trend among NHB men than NHW men overall, however differences over time were not significant. CBB men reported a higher proportion of prostate cancer among cancers diagnosed than USB men overall. Due to small sample sizes, stable prostate cancer prevalence trends could not be assessed over time nor could trends in the receipt of a PSA exam among NHB men when stratified by birthplace. USB and CBB men differ significantly in their screening behavior. The effect of SES on PSA screening adjusted for risk factors was statistically significant while latent variable lifestyle was not. Among risk factors, family history of cancer exhibited a consistent positive effect on PSA screening for both USB and CBB men. Among the CBB men, the number of years lived in the US did not significantly affect PSA screening behavior. When NHB men are stratified by birthplace, CBB men had a higher overall prevalence of prostate cancer diagnoses than USB men although not statistically significant. USB men were 2 to 3 times more likely to have had a PSA exam compared to CBB men, but among CBB men birthplace did not make a significant difference in screening behavior. Latent variable SES, but not lifestyle, significantly affected the likelihood of a PSA exam.

The development of rubrics to measure undergraduate students' global awareness and global perspective: A validity study

Higher education institutions across the United States have developed global learning initiatives to support student achievement of global awareness and global perspective, but assessment options for these outcomes are extremely limited. A review of research for a global learning initiative at a large, Hispanic-serving, urban, public, research university in South Florida found a lack of instruments designed to measure global awareness and global perspective in the context of an authentic performance assessment. This quasi-experimental study explored the development of two rubrics for the global learning initiative and the extent to which evidence supported the rubrics' validity and reliability. One holistic rubric was developed to measure students' global awareness and the second to measure their global perspective. The study utilized a pretest/posttest nonequivalent group design. Multiple linear regression was used to ascertain the rubrics' ability to discern and compare average learning gains of undergraduate students enrolled in two global learning courses and students enrolled in two non-global learning courses. Parallel pretest/posttest forms of the performance task required students to respond to two open-ended questions, aligned with the learning outcomes, concerning a complex case narrative. Trained faculty raters read responses and used the rubrics to measure students' global awareness and perspective. Reliability was tested by calculating the rates of agreement among raters. Evidence supported the finding that the global awareness and global perspective rubrics yielded scores that were highly reliable measures of students' development of these learning outcomes. Chi-square tests of frequency found significant rates of inter-rater agreement exceeding the study's .80 minimum requirement. Evidence also supported the finding that the rubrics yielded scores that were valid measures of students' global awareness and global perspective. Regression analyses found little evidence of main effects; however, post hoc analyses revealed a significant interaction between global awareness pretest scores and the treatment, the global learning course. Significant interaction was also found between global perspective pretest scores and the treatment. These crossover interactions supported the finding that the global awareness and global perspective rubrics could be used to detect learning differences between the treatment and control groups as well as differences within the treatment group.

The influence of spirituality, race/ethnicity and religion on parent grief and mental health at one and three months after their infant's/child's death in the neonatal or pediatric intensive care unit

The death of an infant/child is one of the most devastating experiences for parents and immediately throws them into crisis. Spiritual and religious coping strategies may help parents with their loss. The purposes of this longitudinal study were to: (1) describe differences in bereaved parents' use of spiritual coping strategies across racial/ethnic and religious groups, mother/father dyads, and time—one (T1) and three (T2) months after the infant's/child's death in the neonatal (NICU) or pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), and (2) test the relationship between spiritual coping strategies and grief, mental health, and personal growth for mothers and fathers at T1 and T2. A sample of 126 Hispanic, Black/African American, and White parents of 119 deceased children completed the Spiritual Coping Strategies scale, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Impact of Events-Revised, Hogan Grief Reaction Checklist, and a demographic form at T1 and T2. Controlling for race and religion, spiritual coping was a strong predictor of lower grief, better mental health, and greater personal growth for mothers at T1 and T2 and lower grief for fathers at T1. The findings of this study will guide bereaved parents to effective strategies to help them cope with their early grief.

Investigating the outcomes of two chronic disease self-management programs and understanding the correlates of completion for each program

Chronic disease affects 80% of adults over the age of 65 and is expected to increase in prevalence. To address the burden of chronic disease, self-management programs have been developed to increase self-efficacy and improve quality of life by reducing or halting disease symptoms. Two programs that have been developed to address chronic disease are the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) and Tomando Control de su Salud (TCDS). CDSMP and TCDS both focus on improving participant self-efficacy, but use different curricula, as TCDS is culturally tailored for the Hispanic population. Few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of CDSMP and TCDS when translated to community settings. In addition, little is known about the correlation between demographic, baseline health status, and psychosocial factors and completion of either CDSMP or TCDS. This study used secondary data collected by agencies of the Healthy Aging Regional Collaborative from 10/01/2008–12/31/2010. The aims of this study were to examine six week differences in self-efficacy, time spent performing physical activity, and social/role activity limitations, and to identify correlates of program completion using baseline demographic and psychosocial factors. To examine if differences existed a general linear model was used. Additionally, logistic regression was used to examine correlates of program completion. Study findings show that all measures showed improvement at week six. For CDSMP, self-efficacy to manage disease (p = .001), self-efficacy to manage emotions (p = .026), social/role activities limitations (p = .001), and time spent walking (p = .008) were statistically significant. For TCDS, self-efficacy to manage disease (p = .006), social/role activities limitations (p = .001), and time spent walking (p = .016) and performing other aerobic activity (p = .005) were significant. For CDSMP, no correlates predicting program completion were found to be significant. For TCDS, participants who were male (OR=2.3, 95%CI: 1.15–4.66), from Broward County (OR=2.3, 95%CI: 1.27–4.25), or living alone (OR=2.0, 95%CI: 1.29-–3.08) were more likely to complete the program. CDSMP and TCDS, when implemented through a collaborative effort, can result in improvements for participants. Effective chronic disease management can improve health, quality of life, and reduce health care expenditures among older adults.

The longitudinal influence of physical activity on adolescent alcohol use

The purpose of this research was to explore the influence of physical activity on depressive symptomatology and adolescent alcohol use during an underexplored transition from middle school to high school. The study initiative is supported by the fact that research has shown a unique and simultaneous decrease in physical activity (CDC, 2010), increase in depressive symptomatology (SAMHSA, 2010) and increase in alcohol use (USDHHS, 2011) during middle adolescence. A risk and resilience framework was used in efforts to conceptualize how these variables may be inter-related. Data from waves I and II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health, Bearman et al., 1997; Udry, 1997) was used (N = 2,054; aged 13–15 years). The sample was ethnically and racially diverse (58.2% White, 24% African American, 11.7% Hispanic, and 6.1% other). Structural equation models were developed to test the potential influence physical activity has on adolescent alcohol use (e.g., frequency of alcohol use and binge alcohol use) and whether any of the relationship was mediated by depressive symptomatology or varied as a function of gender. Results demonstrated that there was a significant influence of structured physical activity (e.g., sports) on adolescent alcohol use. However, contrary to the proposed hypothesis, engaging in structured physical activity appeared to contribute to greater binge drinking among adolescents. Instead of demonstrating a protective feature, the findings suggest that engaging in structured physical activity places adolescents at risk for binge drinking. Furthermore, no significant relationships, positive or negative, were found for the influence of physical activity (structured and unstructured) on frequency of alcohol use. The findings regarding mediation revealed binge drinking as a mediator between physical activity (structured) and depressive symptomatology. These findings provide support for research, practice, and policy initiatives focused on developing a more comprehensive understanding of alcohol use drinking behaviors, physical activity involvement, and depressive symptomatology among adolescents, which this study demonstrates are all associated with one another. Results represent an initial step toward evaluating these relationships at a much younger age.

The effectiveness of a conceptually-based health and wellness course in developing health related factors, exercise self-efficacy and knowledge of health issues and exercise performance among diverse college students

The purpose of the study was to investigate the physiological and psychological benefits provided by a self-selected health and wellness course on a racially and ethnically diverse student population. It was designed to determine if students from a 2-year Hispanic serving institution (HIS) from a large metropolitan area would enhance their capacity to perform physical activities, increase their knowledge of health topics and raise their exercise self-efficacy after completing a course that included educational and activity components for a period of 16 weeks. A total of 185 students voluntarily agreed to participate in the study. An experimental group was selected from six sections of a health and wellness course, and a comparison group from students in a student life skills course. All participants were given anthropometric tests of physical fitness, a knowledge test, and an exercise self-efficacy scale was given at the beginning and at the conclusion of the semester. An ANCOVA analyses with the pretest scores being the covariate and the dependent variable being the difference score, indicated a significant improvement of the experimental group in five of the seven anthropometric tests over the comparison group. In addition, the experimental group increased in two of the three sections of the exercise self-efficacy scale indicating greater confidence to participate in physical activities in spite of barriers over the comparison group. The experimental group also increased in knowledge of health related topics over the comparison group at the .05 significance level. Results indicated beneficial outcomes gained by students enrolled in a 16-week health and wellness course. The study has several implications for practitioners, faculty members, educational policy makers and researchers in terms of implementation of strategies to promote healthy behaviors in college students and, to encourage them to engage in regular physical activities throughout their college years.

Effects of Cultural Distance on Student Socialization and Departure Decisions

The study examines the effects of cultural distance on student retention at an urban, Hispanic-serving university. A Cultural Distance Model based on retention research in higher education and organizational socialization theory is posed and the first half of the model is tested using path analysis with results supporting most model assumptions.

From Bilingualism to Interlinguistics: The Case Against the Deficit Model of Language Acquisition

The article argues against an ahistorical deficit model of Spanish/English bilingualism in educational practice based on interlinguistic research. The bidirectional facilitative effects of Hispanic bilingualism allow Spanish-speaking minorities to exploit their language background while learning academic English and integrating their language and culture into the American mainstream.

Hispanics: Does Our Language (Spanish) Define Who We Are?

Use of the pan-ethnic denomination Hispanic to refer to Spanishspeakers assumes a homogeneous group. Hispanics literally constitute 20 national origins with different characteristics and idiosyncrasies. Because individuals’ national origin may influence their traditions, customs, values, and beliefs, differences in nationality should be considered in designing research.

Mentoring Experiences of Indo-Caribbean Immigrants in the United States

This research explored perceptions of Indo-Caribbean protégés in cross-cultural mentoring experiences with White, Black, Black Cherokee, Indian and Hispanic mentors. Environmental forces, mentor influences, and knowledge sharing shaped these relationships. This research implies that mentors’ and protégés’ understanding of each others’ values, beliefs, and attitudes enhance outcomes of the relationship.

Better Spanish, Better English: Native Language Literacy and Adult Education

Characteristics of the predominantly Hispanic community and native language usage in Miami are discussed in relation to poverty and common adult education programs. Native language literacy instruction is considered as an alternative offering to meet learners’ needs.

A longitudinal exploration of the relationship between oral reading fluency and reading comprehension achievement among a sample of diverse young learners

Exploring the relationship between early oral reading fluency ability and reading comprehension achievement among an ethnically and racially diverse sample of young learners from low-income families, attending elementary school within a large public school district in southeast Florida is the purpose of this longitudinal study. Although many studies have been conducted to address the relationship between oral reading fluency ability and reading comprehension achievement, most of the existing research failed either to disaggregate the data by demographic subgroups or secure a large enough sample of students to adequately represent the diverse subgroups. The research questions that guided this study were: (a) To what extent does early oral reading fluency ability measured in first, second, or third grade correlate with reading comprehension achievement in third grade? (b) To what extent does the relationship of early oral reading fluency ability and reading comprehension achievement vary by demographic subgroup membership (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status) among a diverse sample of students? A predictive research design using archived secondary data was employed in this nonexperimental quantitative methods study of 1,663 third grade students who attended a cohort of 25 Reading First funded schools. The data analyzed derived from the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Oral Reading Fluency (DIBELS ORF) measure administered in first, second, and third grades and the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test of the Sunshine State Standards (FCAT-SSS) Reading administered in third grade. Linear regression analyses between each of the oral reading fluency and reading comprehension measures produced significant positive correlations. Hierarchical regression analyses supported the predictive potential of all three oral reading fluency ability measures toward reading comprehension achievement, with the first grade oral reading fluency ability measure explaining the most significant variance in third grade reading comprehension achievement. Male students produced significant overall differences in variance when compared to female students as did the Other student subgroup (i.e., Asian, Multiracial, and Native American) when compared to Black, White, and Hispanic students. No significant differences in variance were produced between students from low and moderate socioeconomic families. These findings are vital toward adding to the literature of diverse young learners.

Predictors of adolescent sexual intentions and behavior: Attitudes, parenting, and neighborhood risk

The current study was a cross-sectional examination of data collected during an HIV risk reduction intervention in south Florida. The purpose of the study was to explore the relationships between neighborhood stress, parenting, attitudes, and adolescent sexual intentions and behavior. The Theory of Planned Behavior was used as a model to guide variable selection and propose an interaction pathway between predictors and outcomes. Potential predictor variables measured for adolescents ages 13–18 (n=196) included communication about sex, parent-family connectedness, parental presence, parent-adolescent activity participation, attitudes about sex and condom use, neighborhood disorder, and exposure to violence. Outcomes were behavioral intentions and sexual behavior for the previous eight months. Neighborhood data was supplemented with ZIP Code level data from regional sources and included median household income, percentage of minority and Hispanic residents, and number of foreclosures. Statistical tests included t-tests, Pearson's correlations, and hierarchical linear regressions. Results showed that males and older adolescents reported less positive behavioral intentions than females and adolescents younger than 16. Intentions were associated with condom attitudes, sexual attitudes, and parental presence; unprotected sexual behavior was associated with parental presence. The best fit model for intentions included gender, sexual attitudes, condom attitudes, parental presence, and neighborhood disorder. The unsafe sexual behavior model included whether the participant lived with both natural parents in the previous year, and the percent of Hispanic residents in the neighborhood. Study findings indicate that more research on adolescent sexual behavior is warranted, specifically examining the differentials between variables that affect intentions and those that affect behavior. A focus on gender and age differences during intervention development may allow for better targeting and more efficacious interventions. Adding peer and media influences to the framework of attitudes, parenting, and neighborhood may offer more insight into patterns of adolescent sexual behavior risk.

Not getting by: Poverty management and homelessness in Miami

Urban inequality has emerged as one of the dominant themes of modern life and globalization. More than three million people experienced homelessness in the United States last year; in Miami-Dade, more than 15,000 individuals were homeless. Surviving extreme poverty, and exiting or avoiding homelessness, involves negotiating a complex mix of public and private assistance. However, a range of factors influence what types of help are available and how they can be accessed. Frequently, larger social structures determine which resource are available, leaving many choices entirely out of the individual's control. For single men, who are ineligible for many benefits, homelessness can be difficult to avoid and even harder to exit. My study seeks to better understand how adult, minority men living in extreme poverty in Miami-Dade negotiate their daily survival. Specific research questions address: Do black and Hispanic men who are homeless or at risk of homelessness have different personal characteristics and different experiences in avoiding or exiting homelessness? How does Miami's response to extreme poverty/homelessness, including availability of public benefits and public and private service organizations, either maximize or constrain the choices available to this population? And, what is the actual experience of single, adult men who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, in negotiating their daily survival? A mixed methods approach combines quantitative survey data from 7,605 homeless men, with qualitative data from 54 semi-structured interviews incorporating the visual ethnography techniques of Photo Elicitation Interviewing. Results show the differences experienced by black and Hispanic men who are poor and homeless in Miami. Findings also highlight how the community's official and unofficial responses to homelessness intersect with the actual experiences of the persons targeted by the policies and programs, challenging preconceived notions regarding the lives of persons living in extreme poverty. It adds to the existing body of literature by focusing on the urban Miami context, emphasizing disparities amongst racial and ethnic groups. Findings are intended to provide an empirically grounded thesis that humanizes the subjects and illuminates their personal experiences, helping to inform public policy around the needs of extremely poor populations.