Authority and stratification in the Bahamas: The quest for legitimacy

This longitudinal study provides a detailed description of the transition in the Bahamas from British colony to independent country. It analyzes the ongoing process of legitimation and delegitimation of Bahamian political parties and of the transfer of authority from the white minority to the black majority. It is a story of social and political struggles that take place within the quarter century following World War II. These struggles are analyzed within a theoretical framework which focuses on the meaning of symbols used to support claims to authority, and/or which function to delegitimize alternative claims. Specifically, this study looks at the delegitimization of the institutions of colonialism and the concurrent profession of symbols to support both independence and a fully enfranchised democracy in the Bahamas. ^ The research methodology includes an extensive analysis of official British colonial documents, private governmental dispatches, and contemporaneous newspaper articles. The sources were primarily the Public Records Office of Great Britain; the Archives of the Bahamas; and the Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies. Secondary literature on civil rights, political science, religion, Black Nationalism, corruption, social theory, and popular culture was studied. Two hundred days of participant observation, spread over seven years of study, resulted in notes from which information was gleaned. During that time, seventeen open-ended interviews with a cross section of Bahamians (male and female, black and white) who lived through this period were recorded, information from which was also incorporated. ^ A detailed description of the socio-historical process, and an analysis of data, demonstrates how the black majority's desire for political representation, and future independence, pressured Great Britain to come into line with the desires of the majority of Bahamians. The symbolic universe that had historically divided white from black now urged dramatic social and political change. ^ The documents and testimonials studied demonstrate how symbols and symbolic events supported and/or undercut the claims to legitimacy proffered by different groups in the Bahamas in their respective attempts to solidify their social and political position within the society. ^

Continuous property measurement techniques and physics based mathematical model for frost growth control

The development of a new set of frost property measurement techniques to be used in the control of frost growth and defrosting processes in refrigeration systems was investigated. Holographic interferometry and infrared thermometry were used to measure the temperature of the frost-air interface, while a beam element load sensor was used to obtain the weight of a deposited frost layer. The proposed measurement techniques were tested for the cases of natural and forced convection, and the characteristic charts were obtained for a set of operational conditions. ^ An improvement of existing frost growth mathematical models was also investigated. The early stage of frost nucleation was commonly not considered in these models and instead an initial value of layer thickness and porosity was regularly assumed. A nucleation model to obtain the droplet diameter and surface porosity at the end of the early frosting period was developed. The drop-wise early condensation in a cold flat plate under natural convection to a hot (room temperature) and humid air was modeled. A nucleation rate was found, and the relation of heat to mass transfer (Lewis number) was obtained. It was found that the Lewis number was much smaller than unity, which is the standard value usually assumed for most frosting numerical models. The nucleation model was validated against available experimental data for the early nucleation and full growth stages of the frosting process. ^ The combination of frost top temperature and weight variation signals can now be used to control the defrosting timing and the developed early nucleation model can now be used to simulate the entire process of frost growth in any surface material. ^

Supplemental instruction, study habits, and the community college student

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate if the academic assistance program Supplemental Instruction (SI) facilitates the acquisition of effective study behaviors through strategies that transcend simple double-exposure to the course material. Its advocates claim it increases academic achievement using learner-centered knowledge and acquisition of effective study behaviors. SI sessions are specifically related to particular courses that students are taking. Sessions are facilitated by the SI leader who has taken the subject matter course in the past. Students review the content of the previous subject matter class using collaborative learning strategies coordinated by a SI leader. In addition, the SI leader models appropriate study behaviors in his or her interactions with the students. ^ An instructor at a large Florida community college who taught five classes of an Anatomy & Physiology I course (traditionally supported by SI) was identified. Two of the classes were randomly selected to participate in SI activities, and two classes were random chosen to participate in alternate, computer-based activities that dealt with the course content, but did not include work in developing students' study behaviors. These treatments were carried out over the course of an entire semester. Participation was mandatory. ^ Data were collected on two variables. Academic achievement in anatomy and physiology content was measured both pre- and post-treatment using an instructor developed examination. Student study behaviors were measured using pre- and post-treatment administration of the Study Behavior Inventory, a valid and reliable instrument that provides scores on three categories of study behaviors: (a) Academic self-efficacy, (b) Preparation for routine academic tasks, and (c) Preparation for long range academic tasks. Measures obtained at the end of the semester of treatment revealed no significant differences between the SI and alternative treatment groups in post-treatment achievement test score and the post-treatment scores on the three study behaviors categories when adjusted for pre-treatment scores. ^ These results suggest that the development of appropriate study behaviors requires more time than SI, as it is now implemented, can provide. In addition, results indicate that improved academic achievement may be attained through any number of means that include repeated exposure to course material. ^

Revaloracion de la comedia de Pedro Munoz Seca: Un teatro menospreciado

The comedies of Pedro Muñoz Seca (1879-1936) received extraordinary public acclaim for over thirty years, yet critics rejected them. Although several experts have recently begun to study his plays in an objective manner, this author has generally either been underrated or omitted from theater histories. This study identifies the merit, contributions and relevance of Muñoz Seca's works so that the unwarranted void that now exists in Spanish theater annals is justly filled. Historical and biographical backgrounds and a brief sketch of the development of comedy in Spain serve to introduce the literary, political and social contexts in which the author develops the subgenre known as "astracán" and introduces the "fresco" character type. ^ This analysis illustrates Muñoz Seca's verbal comic techniques---the use of regional dialects and individuals' speech peculiarities, double entendres, incongruence, periphrasis, and ingenious plays on words. It also explores the author's profound theatrical sense manifested in inter-textual references and self-reflexivity within the content of his plays. In addition, it identifies the scenic creativity he displays through the use of cinematography, the removal of color from stage decor (or the elimination of scenery altogether), and the original application of music to create comic effect. Furthermore, this study comments the satirical tone projected in Muñoz Seca's characters' idiolect and barbarisms as socio-political conditions worsen. Finally, it brings forth the author's use of parody to criticize his society and to deride other theatrical genres in vogue during his time. ^ While the polarization between Muñoz Seca's popular success and the critics' rejection can be explained by esthetic and ideological prejudices, this dissertation ascertains that the true nature of the author's plays has not been properly identified. The "astracán" is a double parody; however, since it caricaturizes a comic subgenre that is already burlesque, its defining parodic features have been consistently misinterpreted as mere exaggerations and defects. What is more, as its critical content is not recognized, its renewing function goes unnoticed. Muñoz Seca's "astracán" illustrates an era of the Spanish comic stage and paves the way for the theater of the absurd. Its merit and relevance must be recognized. ^

Tennessee trabajadores: Global wage arbitrage comes home to roost

In the 1980s, the American meat industry began restructuring both its domestic production methods and the distribution of its processing facilities. Many meat and poultry processing facilities have since been relocated into small rural communities. The red meat industry was once highly-paid and unionized, but now work in both meat and poultry processing is a dangerous, low-paid manufacturing job, heavily reliant on immigrant workers who must turn to local social services to supplement their wages and benefits. In an attempt to discover the manner in which the social relations of a specific locale may be enmeshed with global production, this research explored perceptions of social power and alliances after a rural community became host to a foreign workforce employed by the local poultry processing plant. On-site semi-structured interviews were conducted with sixteen local residents, and a content analysis of the community newspaper was undertaken. ^ The research found that as new production relations were inserted into the community, the society continued to reproduce and social relations remained relatively unchanged. The community's cultural standards and social infrastructure dictate that residents are respectful of authority, extend Christian charity to those less fortunate, and are generally accepting of a community known for low wages, low taxation, and low standards of education. Hegemonic ideologies seem to dictate the goals and beneficiaries of social power, and residents are unable to name any power vectors even in the face of sustained community support of, for example, the company that introduced the immigrant labor into the community. While there are indications of displeasure with the influx of immigrants appearing in the newspaper and the interviews, there are tangible examples that the community was proactive in welcoming the immigrants into their community. Thus, given that the last time elements of the community united around an issue was in the mid-1970s and no other issue has evoked any type of tangible struggle since then, there is no indication that any social alliances will be formed in reaction to changes in the community wrought by the globalization of its economy. ^

Specificity, stability and comparative physiology of coral-Symbiodinium mutualisms: Evaluating the potential for acclimation and/or adaptation in reef corals

The relationship between reef corals and endosymbiotic dinoflagellates is fundamental to the existence of coral reefs. To evaluate the fidelity of coral-Symbiodinium mutualisms, corals maintained in aquaria for years were analyzed by denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Comparing Symbiodinium populations of captive aquarium colonies with known associations in nature is a practical way of examining partner flexibility. The finding of "normal" symbiont populations in corals existing under highly variable conditions supports the premise that most coral colonies possess stable associations. High sensitivity real-time PCR (rtPCR) was used to evaluate background populations of the putatively stress-tolerant Symbiodinium D in reef corals of the Caribbean. Analyses of samples collected during periods of environmental stability indicate the ability of Symbiodinium D to associate with a wider diversity of host taxa than previously recognized. To gain a broader perspective with regard to the ecology of Symbiodinium D1a, rtPCR and DGGE were used to evaluate the symbiont populations of reef corals from Barbados before and after the 2005 mass coral bleaching. Background populations were observed in 56% of the host genera prior to observations of bleaching. These findings indicate that 'stress', not 'bleaching', caused the displacement of 'natural' symbiont population and the opportunistic proliferation of D1a in many host taxa. Of the 12 host taxa monitored before and after the bleaching event, there was a 40% increase in colonies hosting Symbiodinium D1a. Together, these studies elucidate the mechanism responsible for recent observations reporting the emergence of Symbiodinium D following thermal disturbances. These observations are now most easily explained as the disproportionate growth of existing in hospite symbiont populations, rather than novel symbiont acquisition subsequent to bleaching. To evaluate the comparative "fitness" of corals able to host multiple symbiont types, rates of calcification were measured in P. verrucosa hosting either Symbiodinium C1b-c or D1 at elevated temperature. Rates of calcification decreased significantly for both host-symbiont combinations, but differences attributable to symbiont composition were not detected. This research improves our knowledge of the symbiosis biology and ecology of reef corals and contributes information necessary to most accurately predict the response of these ecosystems to global climate changes.

The European Parliament, membership expansions, and organizational change

The European Union (EU) is an extraordinary achievement. From a regional economic organization, it grew into a polity within fifty years. The original EU of six members expanded incrementally to 27 over forty years, and it now comprises a population of almost 500 million people. While the five expansions of the European Economic Community/European Community/European Union (EU) have received considerable scholarly attention, surprisingly little attention has been given to their impacts on "Europe's" only legislative body, currently known as the European Parliament (EP). More specifically, little is known about how waves of new members (from widely diverse parties and national backgrounds) affected—and were affected by—the EP's organizational structure and its internal processes. The purpose of this study therefore is to help fill this gap by describing and explaining how the various EEC/EC/EU expansions or "membership shocks" (1973, 1981, 1986, 1995, and 2004) affected the EP's organizational structure and its internal Rules of Procedure (RoP). The central research question of this dissertation is the following: What were the major structural and procedural effects of the five membership expansions of what eventually became the European Union on the European Parliament? This dissertation answers this question by using concepts and measures drawn from organizational theory. While other studies have applied concepts and hypotheses from organizational theory to legislatures, such an approach has never been used to analyze the EP, which is conceptualized here as a "membership organization." This study, through an analysis of the EP, demonstrates that organization theory can help us fully understand the effects of membership expansions on any membership organization. That is, understanding how this particular organization responded to change can inform not only how others in this class (legislatures) do so, but how this process unfolds in a variety of times and places. The principal findings of this study are as follows: (1) EP staff growth revealed an interesting pattern: Staff did not increase concurrently with EP membership. That is, it turned out that the rate of membership growth exceeded the rate of staff increase, suggesting professionalization of EP staff and their relative empowerment vis-à-vis MEPs; (2) The number of rules and the precision within them increased; (3) the largest number of EP rule changes focused on increasing EP efficiency; and (4) The authority was centralized in the hands of EP leadership, that is, the EP President, the Conference of Presidents and also two major political groups.

Perceptions of underprepared community college students regarding their educational achievement

The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of underprepared college students who had participated in learning communities and who persisted to complete developmental classes and earned at least 30 college-level credit hours to graduate and the perceptions of their peers who had dropped out of college. The theories posed by Tinto, Astin, and Freire formed the framework for this case study. The 22 participants were graduates or transfer students now attending a public university, currently-enrolled sophomores, and students no longer enrolled at the time of the study. Semi-structured individual interviews and a group interview provided narrative data which were transcribed, coded, and analyzed to gain insights into the experiences and perspectives of the participants. The group interview provided a form of member checking to increase accuracy in interpreting themes. A peer reviewer provided feedback on the researcher’s data analysis procedures. The analysis yielded four themes and 14 sub-themes which captured the essence of the participants’ experiences. The pre-college characteristics/traits theme described the students’ internal values and attributes acquired prior to college. The external college support/community influence theme described the encouragement to attend college the students received from family, friends, and high school teachers. The social involvement theme described the students’ participation in campus activities and their interactions with other members of the campus. The academic integration theme described students’ use of campus resources and their contacts with the faculty. The persisters reported strong family and peer support, a sense of responsibility, appreciation for dedicated and caring faculty, and a belief that an education can be a liberatory means to achieve their goals. The non-persisters did not report having the same sense of purpose, goal orientation, determination, obligation to meet family expectations, peer support, campus involvement, positive faculty experiences, and time management skills. The researcher offers an emerging model for understanding factors associated with persistence and three recommendations for enhancing the academic experience of underprepared college students: (a) include a critical pedagogy perspective in coursework where possible, (b) integrate co-curricular activities with the academic disciplines, and (c) increase student-faculty interaction.

Group presence in virtual worlds: Supporting collaborative e-learning

Even though e-learning endeavors have significantly proliferated in recent years, current e-learning technologies provide poor support for group-oriented learning. The now popular virtual world's technologies offer a possible solution. Virtual worlds provide the users with a 3D - computer generated shared space in which they can meet and interact through their virtual representations. Virtual worlds are very successful in developing high levels of engagement, presence and group presence in the users. These elements are also desired in educational settings since they are expected to enhance performance. The goal of this research is to test the hypothesis that a virtual world learning environment provides better support for group-oriented collaborative e-learning than other learning environments, because it facilitates the emergence of group presence. To achieve this, a quasi-experimental study was conducted and data was gathered through the use of various survey instruments and a set of collaborative tasks assigned to the participants. Data was gathered on the dependent variables: Engagement, Group Presence, Individual Presence, Perceived Individual Presence, Perceived Group Presence and Performance. The data was analyzed using the statistical procedures of Factor Analysis, Path Analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA). The study provides support for the hypothesis. The results also show that virtual world learning environments are better than other learning environments in supporting the development of all the dependent variables. It also shows that while only Individual Presence has a significant direct effect on Performance; it is highly correlated with both Engagement and Group Presence. This suggests that these are also important in regards to performance. Developers of e-learning endeavors and educators should incorporate virtual world technologies in their efforts in order to take advantage of the benefit they provide for e-learning group collaboration.

The United States Congress and Venezuela's Hugo Chávez

The Soviet Union's dissolution in December 1991 marks the end of the Cold War and the elimination of the United States' main rival for global political-economic leadership. For decades U.S. foreign policymakers had formulated policies aimed at containing the spread of Soviet communism and Moscow's interventionist policies in the Americas. They now assumed that Latin American leftist revolutionary upheavals could also be committed to history. This study explores how Congress takes an active role in U.S. foreign policymaking when dealing with revolutionary changes in Latin America. This study finds that despite Chávez's vitriolic statements and U.S. economic vulnerability due to its dependence on foreign oil sources, Congress today sees Chávez as a nuisance and not a threat to U.S. vital interests. Devoid of an extra-hemispheric, anti-American patron intent on challenging the United States for regional leadership, Chávez is seen by Congress largely as a threat to the stability of Venezuela's institutions and political-economic stability. Today both the U.S. executive and the legislative branches largely see Bolivarianism a distraction and not an existential threat. The research is based on an examination of Bolivarian Venezuela compared to revolutionary upheaval and governance in Nicaragua over the course of the twentieth century. This project is largely descriptive, qualitative in approach, but quantitative data are used when appropriate. To analyze both the U.S. executive and legislative branches' reaction to revolutionary change, Cole Blasier's theoretical propositions as developed in the Hovering Giant: U.S. Responses to Revolutionary Change in Latin America 1910-1985 are utilized. The present study highlights the fact that Blasier's propositions remain a relevant means for analyzing U.S. foreign policymaking.

Re-imagining Yerevan in the post-Soviet era: Urban symbolism and narratives of the nation in the landscape of Armenia's capital

The urban landscape of Yerevan has experienced tremendous changes since the collapse of the Soviet Union and Armenia’s independence in 1991. Domestic and foreign investments have poured into Yerevan’s building sector, converting many downtown neighborhoods into sleek modern districts that now cater to foreign investors, tourists, and the newly rich Armenian nationals. Large portions of the city’s green parks and other public spaces have been commercialized for private and exclusive use, creating zones that are accessible only to the affluent. In this dissertation I explore the rapidly transforming landscape of Yerevan and its connections to the development of contemporary Armenian national identity. This research was guided by principles of ethnographic inquiry, and I employed diverse methods, including document and archival research, structured and semi-structured interviews and content analysis of news media. I also used geographic information systems (GIS) and satellite images to represent and visualize the stark transformations of spaces in Yerevan. Informed by and contributing to three literatures—on the relationship between landscape and identity formation, on the construction of national identity, and on Soviet and post-Soviet cities—this dissertation investigates how messages about contemporary Armenian national identity are being expressed via the transforming landscape of Armenia’s national capital. In it I describe the ways in which abrupt transformations have resulted in the physical and symbolic eviction of residents, introducing fierce public debates about belonging and exclusion within the changing urban context. I demonstrate that the new additions to Yerevan’s landscape and the symbolic messages that they carry are hotly contested by many long-time residents, who struggle for inclusion of their opinions and interests in the process of re-imagining their national capital. This dissertation illustrates many of the trends that are apparent in post-Soviet and post-Socialist space, while at the same time exposing some unique characteristics of the Armenian case.

Charles Perry Swinging Golf Club, First President of Florida International University, FIU, Founding President

Charles Edward Perry (Chuck), 1937-1999, was the founding president of Florida International University in Miami. He grew up in Logan County, West Virginia and graduated from Bowling Green State University. He married Betty Laird in 1961. In 1969, at the age of 32, Perry was the youngest president of any university in the nation. The name of the university reflects Perry’s desire for a title that would not limit the scope of the institution and would support his vision of having close ties to Latin America. Perry and a founding corps opened FIU to 5,667 students in 1972 with only one large building housing six different schools. Perry left the office of President of FIU in 1976 when the student body had grown to 10,000 students and the university had six buildings, offered 134 different degrees and was fully accredited. Charles Perry died on August 30, 1999 at his home in Rockwall, Texas. He is buried on the FIU campus in front of the Graham Center entrance.

Xavier Zapata (FIU graduate student) collecting a groundwater sample, Taylor Slough

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation through the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program under Cooperative Agreements #DBI-0620409 and #DEB-9910514. This image is made available for non-commercial or educational use only.

Xavier Zapata (FIU graduate student) installing a meteorological tower, Taylor Slough

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation through the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program under Cooperative Agreements #DBI-0620409 and #DEB-9910514. This image is made available for non-commercial or educational use only.

Dr. Rene Price and Jeremy Stalker (FIU graduate student) collecting a groundwater sample, Taylor Slough

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation through the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program under Cooperative Agreements #DBI-0620409 and #DEB-9910514. This image is made available for non-commercial or educational use only.