Miami Interpretive Center

The rapid growth and diversity of the City of Miami has left its inhabitants somewhat lost in a city with much to offer. The challenge of this thesis is to provide Miami with an architectural proposal that enhances an understanding of its own urban context through both its form and function. Specifically, the Miami Interpretive Center (M.I.C.) will offer the community a research center for the study of the city, as well as a cultural and exhibition center to allow for the expression of its ever-changing character. With the use of historical context, site relationship and taking advantage of views, the M.I.C. will educate its users towards a better understanding of the city. The goal of the M.I.C. is to establish a center for the continued analysis of the city origins, and growth, while serving as a basis for future initiatives. It will invite the public to seek a new context for the investigation of the natural, urban, cultural, spiritual and political environment that formed the city while participating in the shaping of its future. ^

Lions and roses: An interpretive history of Israeli-Iranian relations

This multi-disciplinary research project explores the religious and cultural foundations within the "master commemorative narratives" that frame Israeli and Iranian political discourse. In articulating their grievances against one another, Israeli and Iranian leaders express the tensions between religion, nationalism, and modernity in their own societies. The theoretical and methodological approach of this dissertation is constructivist-interpretivist. The concept of "master commemorative narratives" is adapted from Yael Zerubavel's study of ritualized remembrance in Israeli political culture, and applied to both Israeli and Iranian foreign policy. Israel’s master commemorative narrative draws heavily upon the language of the Hebrew Bible, situating foreign policy discourse within a paradigm of covenantal patrimony, exile, and return, despite the unrelenting hostility of eternal enemies and "the nations." Iran’s master commemorative narrative expresses Iranian suspicion of foreign encroachment and interference, and of the internal corruption that they engender, sacralizing resistance to the forces of evil in the figurative language and myths of pre-Islamic tradition and of Shi'a Islam. Using a constructivist-interpretive methodological approach, this research offers a unique interpretive analysis of the parallels between these narratives, where they intersect, and where they come into conflict. It highlights both the broad appeal and the diverse challenges to the components of these "master" narratives within Israeli and Iranian politics and society. The conclusion of this study explains the ways in which the recognition of religious and cultural conflicts through the optic of master commemorative narratives can complement the perspectives of other theoretical approaches and challenge the conventions of Security Studies. It also suggests some of the potential practical applications of this research in devising more effective international diplomacy.

Water Quality and Wet Season Diatom Assemblage Characteristics from the Tamiami Trail Pilot Swales Sites (Everglades National Park, Florida, USA)

A pivotal component of hydrological restoration of the Florida Everglades is the improvement of water conveyance to Everglades National Park by the degradation of the current network of canals, roadways and levees. The Tamiami Trail (L29) road/canal complex represents a major barrier to natural water flows into the park and a variety of modification options for flow improvement are currently being explored, including the installation of spreader swales immediately downstream of culverts conveying water under Tamiami Trail from the L29 canal into Everglades National Park. In this study, we evaluated water column chemistry and wet-season diatom community structure to provide baseline information for use in future monitoring activities related to the proposed Tamiami Trail modifications. Water chemistry showed pronounced fluctuations in response to precipitation and anthropogenically mediated hydrological events. Differences in water quality variables among sites were dampened during periods of inundation, and became more pronounced during periods of low canal stage, suggesting the importance of small-scale mechanisms related to isolation of habitat patches. Diatom assemblages were unexpectedly speciose (127 taxa in 40 samples) compared to typical Everglades assemblages, and spatially heterogeneous in sites associated with concentric areas of dense vegetation immediately downstream of culverts. We also observed significant compositional dissimilarities among transects, indicating that culvert pool and north transect assemblages were substantially influenced by propagule input from the canal and areas to the north, while south transect sites were compositionally similar to typical sawgrass prairie diatom communities. Central transect sites were compositionally intermediate to their north and south counterparts. We propose that the position and spatial extent of this “transitional assemblage” is a sensitive indicator of subtle environmental change related to Tamiami Trail modifications.

A Basic Interpretive Study of the Experiences of University Students Who Have Dropped or Failed an Online Course

Online courses have increased in enrollments over the past few decades. As the number of students taking online courses have increased, so has the number of students who have dropped or failed an online course. According to the literature, online courses may have higher drop rates than traditional, face-to-face courses. The number of students who fail an online course is, also, of concern. As online courses may continue to grow over the next few decades, studies on persistence in online courses may benefit students, administrators, instructional designers, educators, and researchers. Although previous research studies have addressed persistence in online courses, very few examine it from the perspectives of students who were unsuccessful in their courses. These students may have unique insights about the online experience that may have related to their lack of success. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of university students who have failed or dropped an online course through the lenses of transactional distance theory and Kember’s model of dropout in distance education. Transactional distance theory discusses the dialog, structure, and learner autonomy involved in an online course, while, Kember’s model presents categories that may relate to dropping an online course. Together, the theory and model may help in understanding the experiences of students who have dropped or failed an online course. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants from a large Southeastern university in the United States. Based on the participants’ responses, the data was sorted and ranked according to the amount of transactional distance in their courses, as well as the categories of Kember’s model. Many of the participants who experienced low or high transactional distance have, also, expressed an issue with the goal commitment category of Kember’s model. Additionally, there were important differences in the student characteristics of those who dropped or failed an online course. Furthermore, suggestions for improving online courses were given by the participants. Some of these suggestions included more student-instructor interactions, the use of more technology tools in their online course, and for orientations to the online environment to be offered.

Lions and Roses: An Interpretive History of Israeli-Iranian Relations

This multi-disciplinary research project explores the religious and cultural foundations within the “master commemorative narratives” that frame Israeli and Iranian political discourse. In articulating their grievances against one another, Israeli and Iranian leaders express the tensions between religion, nationalism, and modernity in their own societies. The theoretical and methodological approach of this dissertation is constructivist-interpretivist. The concept of “master commemorative narratives” is adapted from Yael Zerubavel’s study of ritualized remembrance in Israeli political culture, and applied to both Israeli and Iranian foreign policy. Israel’s master commemorative narrative draws heavily upon the language of the Hebrew Bible, situating foreign policy discourse within a paradigm of covenantal patrimony, exile, and return, despite the unrelenting hostility of eternal enemies and “the nations.” Iran’s master commemorative narrative expresses Iranian suspicion of foreign encroachment and interference, and of the internal corruption that they engender, sacralizing resistance to the forces of evil in the figurative language and myths of pre-Islamic tradition and of Shi‘a Islam. Using a constructivist-interpretive methodological approach, this research offers a unique interpretive analysis of the parallels between these narratives, where they intersect, and where they come into conflict. It highlights both the broad appeal and the diverse challenges to the components of these “master” narratives within Israeli and Iranian politics and society. The conclusion of this study explains the ways in which the recognition of religious and cultural conflicts through the optic of master commemorative narratives can complement the perspectives of other theoretical approaches and challenge the conventions of Security Studies. It also suggests some of the potential practical applications of this research in devising more effective international diplomacy.

Miami Interpretive Center

The rapid growth and diversity of the City of Miami has left its inhabitants somewhat lost in a city with much to offer. The challenge of this thesis is to provide Miami with an architectural proposal that enhances an understanding of its own urban context through both its form and function. Specifically, the Miami Interpretive Center (M.I.C.) will offer the community a research center for the study of the city, as well as a cultural and exhibition center to allow for the expression of its ever-changing character. With the use of historical context, site relationship and taking advantage of views, the M.I.C. will teach its users and provide a better understanding of the city. The goal of the M.I.C. is to establish a center for the continued analysis of the city origins, and growth, while serving as a basis for future initiatives. It will invite the public to seek a new context for the investigation of the natural, urban, cultural, spiritual and political environment that formed the city while participating in the shaping of its future.

A basic interpretive study of the experiences of university students who have dropped or failed an online course

Online courses have increased in enrollments over the past few decades. As the number of students taking online courses have increased, so has the number of students who have dropped or failed an online course. According to the literature, online courses may have higher drop rates than traditional, face-to-face courses. The number of students who fail an online course is, also, of concern. As online courses may continue to grow over the next few decades, studies on persistence in online courses may benefit students, administrators, instructional designers, educators, and researchers. Although previous research studies have addressed persistence in online courses, very few examine it from the perspectives of students who were unsuccessful in their courses. These students may have unique insights about the online experience that may have related to their lack of success. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of university students who have failed or dropped an online course through the lenses of transactional distance theory and Kember’s model of dropout in distance education. Transactional distance theory discusses the dialog, structure, and learner autonomy involved in an online course, while, Kember’s model presents categories that may relate to dropping an online course. Together, the theory and model may help in understanding the experiences of students who have dropped or failed an online course. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants from a large Southeastern university in the United States. Based on the participants’ responses, the data was sorted and ranked according to the amount of transactional distance in their courses, as well as the categories of Kember’s model. Many of the participants who experienced low or high transactional distance have, also, expressed an issue with the goal commitment category of Kember’s model. Additionally, there were important differences in the student characteristics of those who dropped or failed an online course. Furthermore, suggestions for improving online courses were given by the participants. Some of these suggestions included more student-instructor interactions, the use of more technology tools in their online course, and for orientations to the online environment to be offered.^