Forging professional public health nursing in a southern state: Florida's public health nurses, 1889-1934

From 1889 to 1934, Florida's nurses belonging to a new group of professional women ushered in a pioneering phase of public health nursing in Florida. During this era, the nurses' ability to confront health and professional issues varied a great deal but in quiet and forceful ways they tackled cultural and environmental problems to assist people who were ill or help prevent people from becoming ill. This dissertation places the development of professional public health nursing in its social context by uncovering the relationships public health nurses formed with clubwomen, the medical profession, city leaders, midwives, and others. In 1888, there were few graduate nurses in the state, no state board of health and no organized nursing service to respond to Jacksonville's great yellow fever epidemic. By 1934, national and state leaders of public health nursing had built up the profession to become an essential part of the State Board of Health's service to the community. Between these milestones, in the era of white supremacy and Jim Crow, public health nurses combined their professional training with a pioneer spirit of innovation and risk-taking. In the predominately rural state, the public health nurses' resolve to overcome environmental hazards and cultural obstacles stands out as they attempted to reach those who were unserved or underserved by modern medicine.

Hydrologic measurements and implications for tree island formation within Everglades National Park

Tree islands in the Shark River Slough of the Everglades National Park (ENP), in the southern state of Florida in the United States, are part of a wetland system of densely vegetated ridges interspersed within relatively open sloughs. Human alteration of this system has had dramatic negative effects on the landscape of the region and restoration efforts will require adjusting the hydrology of the region to assure the preservation of these important ecologic features. The primary objectives of this study were to document the hydrology in the vicinity of tree islands in ENP by measuring velocities in time and space and by characterizing suspended sediments. The results of such measurements were interpreted with respect to factors that may limit tree island growth. The measurements were conducted in the vicinity of three tree islands known as Black Hammock (BH), Gumbo Limbo (GL), and an unnamed island that was named for this study as Satin Leaf (SL). Acoustical Doppler Velocity (ADV) meters were used for measuring the low velocities of the Everglades water flow. Properties of suspended sediments were characterized through measurements of particle size distribution, turbidity, concentration and particle density. Mean velocities observed at each of the tree islands varied from 0.9 to 1.4 cm/s. Slightly higher mean velocities were observed during the wet season (1.2–1.6 cm/s) versus the dry season (0.8–1.3 cm/s). Maximum velocities of more than 4 cm/s were measured in areas of Cladium jamaicense die-off and at the hardwood hammock (head) of the islands. At the island’s head, water is channelized around obstructions such as tree trunks in relatively rapid flow, which may limit the lateral extent of tree island growth. Channelization is facilitated by shade from the tree canopy, which limits the growth of underwater vegetation thereby minimizing the resistance to flow and limiting sediment deposition. Suspended sediment concentrations were low (0.5–1.5 mg/L) at all study sites and were primarily of organic origin. The mean particle size of the suspended sediments was 3 μm with a distribution that was exponential. Critical velocities needed to cause re-suspension of these particles were estimated to be above the actual velocities observed. Sediment transport within the water column appears to be at a near steady state during the conditions evaluated with low rates of sediment loss balanced by presumably the release of equivalent quantities of particles of organic origin. Existing hydrologic conditions do not appear to transport sufficient suspended sediments to result in the formation of tree islands. Of interest would be to collect hydrologic and sediment transport data during extreme hydrologic events to determine if enough sediment is transported under these conditions to promote sufficient sediment accumulations.

With the highest ideals: The Florida State Normal College at DeFuniak Springs, 1887--1905

The urgent need for teachers led the Florida legislature in 1887 to establish the Florida State Normal College at DeFuniak Springs. The college closed in 1905 with passage of the Buckman Act, which mandated a complete reorganization of state-supported higher education and ended coeducation for white students. This small college, open for eighteen years, was uniquely situated in time and place to examine larger questions in American educational history as well as contribute to the history of higher education in Florida, which developed differently than in other states.^ This historical case study used archival sources to examine this institution, and contribute to the history of the origins of Florida's system of higher education. Key questions guiding the research were the nature of the students, fundamental aspects of school life, the impact of the school on the students, and the role of the school in the development of higher education in Florida. Original sources included the Catalogs, Register and Minutes of the school. The census of 1900 was used to develop information on the backgrounds of the students. Findings were: DeFuniak Springs was chosen for the school because of the Florida Chautauqua; the school was coeducational and had few rules but the internalized social codes of the students resulted in almost no difficulties with discipline; the students, a majority of whom were women, were from middle-class southern families; the college compared favorably in faculty, facilities and curriculum to institutions elsewhere; although few students graduated, alumni played a key role in shaping Florida's common schools; and, the Buckman Act entirely changed the nature of higher education in Florida.^ Implications were: The coeducational nature of the college a hundred years ago significantly changes the picture of Florida's higher education; the school was small, but its influence far outlasted the institution; and, the school struggled with issues which continue to trouble modern educators such as finances, the legislature, student retention, underpreparedness, and the proper structuring of a curriculum, which indicates the persistence of these issues. ^

Phytoplankton bloom status: Chlorophyll a biomass as an indicator of water quality condition in the southern estuaries of Florida, USA

Altered freshwater inflows have affected circulation, salinity, and water quality patterns of Florida Bay, in turn altering the structure and function of this estuary. Changes in water quality and salinity and associated loss of dense turtle grass and other submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in Florida Bay have created a condition in the bay where sediments and nutrients have been regularly disturbed, frequently causing large and dense phytoplankton blooms. These algal and cyanobacterial blooms in turn often cause further loss of more recently established SAV, exacerbating the conditions causing the blooms. Chlorophyll a (CHLA) was selected as an indicator of water quality because it is an indicator of phytoplankton biomass, with concentrations reflecting the integrated effect of many of the water quality factors that may be altered by restoration activities. Overall, we assessed the CHLA indicator as being (1) relevant and reflecting the state of the Florida Bay ecosystem, (2) sensitive to ecosystem drivers (stressors, especially nutrient loading), (3) feasible to monitor, and (4) scientifically defensible. Distinct zones within the bay were defined according to statistical and consensual information. Threshold levels of CHLA for each zone were defined using historical data and scientific consensus. A presentation template of condition of the bay using these thresholds is shown as an example of an outreach product.

Natural Disasters and Comparative State-Formation and Nation-Building: Earthquakes in Argentina and Chile (1822-1939)

Natural disasters in Argentina and Chile played a significant role in the state-formation and nation-building process (1822-1939). This dissertation explores state and society responses to earthquakes by studying public and private relief efforts reconstruction plans, crime and disorder, religious interpretations of catastrophes, national and transnational cultures of disaster, science and technology, and popular politics. Although Argentina and Chile share a political border and geological boundary, the two countries provide contrasting examples of state formation. Most disaster relief and reconstruction efforts emanated from the centralized Chilean state in Santiago. In Argentina, provincial officials made the majority of decisions in a catastrophe’s aftermath. Patriotic citizens raised money and collected clothing for survivors that helped to weave divergent regions together into a nation. The shared experience of earthquakes in all regions of Chile created a national disaster culture. Similarly, common disaster experiences, reciprocal relief efforts, and aid commissions linked Chileans with Western Argentine societies and generated a transnational disaster culture. Political leaders viewed reconstruction as opportunities to implement their visions for the nation on the urban landscape. These rebuilding projects threatened existing social hierarchies and often failed to come to fruition. Rebuilding brought new technologies from Europe to the Southern Cone. New building materials and systems, however, had to be adapted to the South American economic and natural environment. In a catastrophe’s aftermath, newspapers projected images of disorder and the authorities feared lawlessness and social unrest. Judicial and criminal records, however, show that crime often decreased after a disaster. Finally, nineteenth-century earthquakes heightened antagonism and conflict between the Catholic Church and the state. Conservative clergy asserted that disasters were divine punishments for the state’s anti-clerical measures and later railed against scientific explanations of earthquakes.