Howard Johnson's: Rise and Fall of an American Icon

The Howard Johnson’s restaurant chain was one of the first franchise success stories in the United States. Climbing in size to be over 1,000 restaurants, the chain today boasts fewer than 30 units. How could such a successful company spiral downward to virtually nothing? This article examines the history of the chain and offers reasons for its success and demise.

Feasts of power : how food reveals Eve's influential role in John Milton's epic poem, "Paradise Lost"

This writing explores how food in Paradise Lost reflects Eve's power in the story of man's (and woman's) fall from grace. Critics often emphasize Adam in Paradise Lost; however, I challenge the notion of the first man as the most influential character of the poem. By examining Eve's role and her abilities with food, one sees the first woman as a well-rounded, complete being, albeit the first to succumb to temptation. Notwithstanding her transgression, -- certainly no trivial act of disobedience -- Eve should be viewed at least as Adam's equal, if not his superior. Her uncanny understanding of matters related to food points to skills Adam does not enjoy, and even Milton acknowledges Eve's importance in this arena. By studying the food in this epic, we see Eve sheds much light on all the other elements of Paradise Lost, and her personal strengths become obvious.

La caída del hombre nuevo: Narrativa cubana del “Período Especial”

The purpose of this dissertation is to demonstrate that the societal changes that took place in Cuba during the last decade of the twentieth century, period know as The Special Period in Times of Peace, created the necessary conditions for the development of a new type of narrative. The first chapter constitutes an historical overview of the role of the State in the literary and artistic creation in revolutionary Cuba. The second, third, and fourth chapters analyze the major characteristics in the narrative of this period, creating a contrast with previous decades of the revolutionary era. With such purpose the study is divided into three categories: language, themes, and ideology. The usage of language as a means of transgression, the recurrence of the topic of need, and the rebirth of critical thinking, represent the principal characteristics of this literary period, and confirm the main idea of this dissertation: the fall of the ideal of the New Man. The final chapter summarizes the findings of the study and poses a question: If the ideal of the New Man has ceased to exist, what has replaced it? The question of whether or not a new ideal has replaced that of the New Man, and what that ideal might be, constitutes a stepping-stone for further studies in the area of Cuban narrative of the Special Period and beyond.

Academic orientations of African -American adolescents in Miami-Dade County

The purpose of this research was to answer the following research questions: (a) how high-achieving African-Americans maintain a “racefull” Black identity; (b) how African-American identity affects academic orientation and achievement; (c) how the school's ethnic composition affects African-American students' identity; and (d) how family structure, specifically living in female single-parent households, affects academic orientation and achievement. ^ The data were gathered in an inner-city high school in Miami, Florida. Participants were African-American adolescents, males and females, who started their first-year of high school in the fall of 1995 until their graduation in June 1999. The number of students in the sample varied from 27 students at the beginning of the project to 24 students at the time of graduation. ^ Data were gathered through intensive ethnographic field work, which involved direct participant observation of students in natural contexts; in-depth interviewing of students, peers, teachers, and families; open-ended classroom discussions on matters about the research; and focus groups. Data on demographics, levels of self-esteem and depression, hours spent doing homework, family help with school work, aspirations, and other factors were gained through a survey. ^ African-Americans in this high school developed a racefull persona and still embraced education. They did not need to be raceless to succeed. The ethnic composition of the school where these students were a minority within a minority school resulted in their developing reactive ethnicity formation. Family structure did not affect academic orientation. What made a difference in these students lives were parental support and family ties, which affected their academic orientation. ^

Woody Plant Invasion into the Freshwater Marl Prairie Habitat of the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow: Final Report

In the fall of 2005, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) contracted with Florida International University (FIU) to study the physical and biological drivers underlying the distribution of woody plant species in the marl prairie habitat of the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (CSSS). This report presents what we have learned about woody plant encroachment based on studies carried out during the period 2006-2008. The freshwater marl prairie habitat currently occupied by the Cape Sable seaside sparrow (CSSS; Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis) is a dynamic mosaic comprised of species-rich grassland communities and tree islands of various sizes, densities and compositions. Landscape heterogeneity and the scale of vegetative components across the marl prairie is primarily determined by hydrologic conditions, biological factors (e.g. dispersal and growth morphology), and disturbances such as fire. The woody component of the marl prairie landscape is subject to expansion through multiple positive feedback mechanisms, which may be initiated by recent land use change (e.g. drainage). Because sparrows are known to avoid areas where the woody component is too extensive, a better understanding of invasion dynamics is needed to ensure proper management.