The men behind the market: Merchants, the Atlantic slave trade, and the shaping of South Carolina plantation society, 1700–1756

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the role played by merchants in the shaping of South Carolina plantation society in its early stages of development. In 1700 South Carolina was on the fringes of the British Empire. By mid-century the colony had become an integral part of the British Atlantic system. This dissertation addresses merchants' activity in the shaping of plantation society through their involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. Records of the British and South Carolina governments, and petitions from merchants on both sides of the Atlantic have been extremely valuable in understanding the complex and rapidly changing political affiliations of merchants on both sides of the Atlantic. These sources are valuable to this study since they illustrate the merchants' strategy of utilizing government policies to acquire the absolute best terms of trade. Records such as wills and inventories yielded valuable information on merchants' economic portfolios and provided valuable insight into their personal lives. The data shows that the integration of Colonial South Carolina into the global economy can be attributed to its merchant class, who actively sought out business opportunities in the global economy while working within the framework of British mercantilism.

The response to an ESL population boom in the Beaufort County, South Carolina school system: A case study

The purpose of this case study was to examine the why the English language learners (ELLs) in the Beaufort County, South Carolina school system have been so successful. This school system has recently experienced a boom in its ESL student population, and this population has performed very well on standardized tests. This study used critical theory as its theoretical framework and examined why the students have been successful rather than marginalized in Beaufort County schools. This phenomenon was investigated using semi-structured interviews with the ESOL Coordinator for Beaufort County, 4 ESL-lead teachers, and 6 mainstream teachers.^ Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with Sarah Owen, the Beaufort County ESOL, Gifted and Talented, and World Languages coordinator. Based on the results of her interview, 4 themes emerged that were used for the semi-structured interviews with ESOL and mainstream teachers. The interviews centered on the themes of ESL policy, ESL leadership, and teacher training. The ESL and mainstream teacher interviews also revealed several subthemes that included teacher attitude, why Beaufort County has been successful with the ELLs, and the teachers' recommendations for other schools systems trying to successfully accommodate a large ESL student population in mainstream classrooms. ^ The findings from the teachers' interviews revealed that additional training for the teachers without ESL experience helped them become comfortable instructing ELLs. This training should be conducted by the ESOL teachers for those without ESOL certification or endorsement. As the teachers had more training, they had better attitudes about teaching ESOL students in their classes. Finally, those who utilized the additional ESOL training and ESOL accommodations saw better student achievement in their classes.^ Based on the finding of this study, the researcher proposed a model for other school systems to follow in order to replicate the success of Beaufort County's ELLs. The implications of this study focus on other schools systems and why ELLs are not obtaining the same level of success as those in Beaufort County's schools. Finally, recommendations for further research are provided.^

The Response to an ESL Population Boom in the Beaufort County, South Carolina School System: A Case Study

The purpose of this case study was to examine the why the English language learners (ELLs) in the Beaufort County, South Carolina school system have been so successful. This school system has recently experienced a boom in its ESL student population, and this population has performed very well on standardized tests. This study used critical theory as its theoretical framework and examined why the students have been successful rather than marginalized in Beaufort County schools. This phenomenon was investigated using semi-structured interviews with the ESOL Coordinator for Beaufort County, 4 ESL-lead teachers, and 6 mainstream teachers. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with Sarah Owen, the Beaufort County ESOL, Gifted and Talented, and World Languages coordinator. Based on the results of her interview, 4 themes emerged that were used for the semi-structured interviews with ESOL and mainstream teachers. The interviews centered on the themes of ESL policy, ESL leadership, and teacher training. The ESL and mainstream teacher interviews also revealed several subthemes that included teacher attitude, why Beaufort County has been successful with the ELLs, and the teachers’ recommendations for other schools systems trying to successfully accommodate a large ESL student population in mainstream classrooms. The findings from the teachers’ interviews revealed that additional training for the teachers without ESL experience helped them become comfortable instructing ELLs. This training should be conducted by the ESOL teachers for those without ESOL certification or endorsement. As the teachers had more training, they had better attitudes about teaching ESOL students in their classes. Finally, those who utilized the additional ESOL training and ESOL accommodations saw better student achievement in their classes. Based on the finding of this study, the researcher proposed a model for other school systems to follow in order to replicate the success of Beaufort County’s ELLs. The implications of this study focus on other schools systems and why ELLs are not obtaining the same level of success as those in Beaufort County’s schools. Finally, recommendations for further research are provided.

Assessment of the occurrence and potential effects of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in South Florida waters and sediments

A LLE-GC-MS method was developed to detect PPCPs in surface water samples from Big Cypress National Park, Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park in South Florida. The most frequently found PPCPs were caffeine, DEET and triclosan with detected maximum concentration of 169 ng/L, 27.9 ng/L and 10.9 ng/L, respectively. The detection frequencies of hormones were less than PPCPs. Detected maximal concentrations of estrone, 17β-estradiol, coprostan-3-ol, coprostane and coprostan-3-one were 5.98 ng/L, 3.34 ng/L, 16.5 ng/L, 13.5 ng/L and 6.79 ng/L, respectively. An ASE-SPE-GC-MS method was developed and applied to the analysis of the sediment and soil area where reclaimed water was used for irrigation. Most analytes were below detection limits, even though some of analytes were detected in the reclaimed water at relatively high concentrations corroborating the fact that PPCPs do not significantly partition to mineral phases. An online SPE-HPLC-APPI-MS/MS method and an online SPE-HPLC-HESI-MS/MS method were developed to analyze reclaimed water and drinking water samples. In the reclaimed water study, reclaimed water samples were collected from the sprinkler for a year-long period at Florida International University Biscayne Bay Campus, where reclaimed water was reused for irrigation. Analysis results showed that several analytes were continuously detected in all reclaimed water samples. Coprostanol, bisphenol A and DEET's maximum concentration exceeded 10 μg/L (ppb). The four most frequently detected compounds were diphenhydramine (100%), DEET (98%), atenolol (98%) and carbamazepine (96%). In the study of drinking water, 54 tap water samples were collected from the Miami-Dade area. The maximum concentrations of salicylic acid, ibuprofen and DEET were 521 ng/L, 301 ng/L and 290 ng/L, respectively. The three most frequently detected compounds were DEET (93%), carbamazepine (43%) and salicylic acid (37%), respectively. Because the source of drinking water in Miami-Dade County is the relatively pristine Biscayne aquifer, these findings suggest the presence of wastewater intrusions into the delivery system or the onset of direct influence of surface waters into the shallow aquifer.

South Beach Wine and Food Festival - Why Participate?

This paper studies why restaurants, wineries, and other exhibiters participate in Wine & Food festivals. We hypothesized [hat the purpose was to acquire new customers thru promotional involvement in the festival. A secondary outcome was to ascertain if there were differences in motivation between the three groups. A survey was conducted of participating companies in one of the largest Food & Wine festivals. We found differences in what motivated winery participants from restaurants or other exhibitors. A discussion of these differences and how festival organizers may aid participants in achieving their goals is presented.

The Allelic Abundance of Afghanistan, a Pool for West and South Eurasian Genes and a Blockade against Eastern Admixture

In this study, I divided samples from individuals within Afghanistan based upon geography (i.e., north versus south). I determined allelic frequencies and other statistical parameters for 15 STR loci (i.e., D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D3S1358, TH01, Dl3S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D19S433, vWA, TPOX, D18S51, D5S818, and FGA). I conducted pairwise comparisons with 19 neighboring Eurasian populations to assign Gstatistics and p-values. Categorizing the populations into five groups (i.e., Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the Caucasus/Anatolia), I derived values for intra-population, inter-population, and total variance. Admixture analyses determined the highest allelic contributions to be from the Caucasus/ Anatolia, while negligible contributions were made by Central Asia and East Asia. A Correspondence Analysis revealed clustering of both northern and southern Afghanistan with Georgia, Turkey, northern Iran, and southern Iran of the Caucasus/ Anatolia and the Middle East. A Neighbor-Joining phylogenetic tree was constructed to generate bootstrap values over 1, 000 reiterations.

Biogeochemical Classification of South Florida’s Estuarine and Coastal Waters of Tropical Seagrasses

South Florida’s watersheds have endured a century of urban and agricultural development and disruption of their hydrology. Spatial characterization of South Florida’s estuarine and coastal waters is important to Everglades’ restoration programs. We applied Factor Analysis and Hierarchical Clustering of water quality data in tandem to characterize and spatially subdivide South Florida’s coastal and estuarine waters. Segmentation rendered forty-four biogeochemically distinct water bodies whose spatial distribution is closely linked to geomorphology, circulation, benthic community pattern, and to water management. This segmentation has been adopted with minor changes by federal and state environmental agencies to derive numeric nutrient criteria.

Board of Governors- State University System of South Florida, Academic and Student Affairs Committee

Board of Governors Meeting of the State University System of Florida, Academic and Student Affairs Committe Meeting held at Graham Center Ballroom, Modesto Maidique Campus, Florida International University on September 15, 2011

Mercosur: The Common Market of the South: Institutional Reality and Challenges

This flyer promotes a lecture by Raquel Rodriguez on Mercosur, an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. Rodriguez is a renowned consultant and former Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Uruguay. This event was held on August 29,2012 at FIU Modesto A.Maidique Campus, DM163.