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Success Rate Of Student Accessibility Services Determined By Students Cumulative Grade Point Average, Christine Brown May 2019

Success Rate Of Student Accessibility Services Determined By Students Cumulative Grade Point Average, Christine Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: National studies have previously found that those within the disabled population are underserved in regard to healthcare, education, employment and medical access. Historically, the majority of those who are disabled due to this engrained inequality receive government assistance. Multiple laws have been enacted to protect those who fall into this minority such as ADA, section 504 and IDEA. These laws ensure the disabled equal access to employment, public services, education, public accommodations and telecommunications. Federally funded departments called student disability services (SDS) are on college/university campuses to ensure equal access and treatment throughout a student's college career. Under the …


Factors Contributing To Low Adequate Prenatal Care Rates In Orange County, Florida, Lauren Daniel May 2019

Factors Contributing To Low Adequate Prenatal Care Rates In Orange County, Florida, Lauren Daniel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2017, only 56% of births in Orange County, Florida, received adequate prenatal care - care that has been shown to prevent maternal and infant death. The Florida Department of Health uses the Kotelchuck Index to determine care adequacy. This index rates care adequacy based on when the mother first receives care, and how many recommended appointments she attends. Prenatal care is rated "inadequate" if it starts after the fourth month of pregnancy, and/or if less than half of the recommended appointments are attended. Receiving earlier and consistent prenatal care has been shown to be an effective way to improve …


I Decide When You Die: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Prior Reporting Of Physical Violence For Intimate Partner Homicides By Heterosexual Spouses In Florida, Donna King Jan 2019

I Decide When You Die: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Prior Reporting Of Physical Violence For Intimate Partner Homicides By Heterosexual Spouses In Florida, Donna King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is generally believed that a victim of an intimate partner homicide, who faced ongoing physical violence prior to the killing, would have contacted authorities for assistance or protection some time prior to their death. However, the results of this study show that this notion that a victim of ongoing abuse will, more than likely, request help is a misconception. Through qualitative and quantitative methods analysis, this study reveals the dearth of prior reporting of physical violence to law enforcement or the court when an intimate partner homicide takes place between heterosexual spouses in Florida between 2006 and 2016. Additionally, …


Victimization And Health Experiences For Tgnc Individuals In Women's Prisons, Kristina Davis Jan 2019

Victimization And Health Experiences For Tgnc Individuals In Women's Prisons, Kristina Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This text examines the health-related experiences of transgender and gender nonconforming persons assigned female at birth within the criminal justice system. It moves through a transgender-centric approach to explore the ways gender nonconformity relates to experiences of violence and healthcare disparities for those interacting with law enforcement and incarcerated in women's prisons. The study utilized statistical analyses of nationally representative data in the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey carried out by the National Center for Transgender Equality. Multivariate analyses suggested significant connections between race and education and experiences of harassment and assault within the criminal justice context. There were largely mixed …


Teachers' Perceptions Of Safety Regarding School Shootings, Megan Olive Jan 2019

Teachers' Perceptions Of Safety Regarding School Shootings, Megan Olive

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As a result of high media attention surrounding school shootings in recent years, it may appear that American public schools are becoming dangerous places (Schildkraut & Elsass, 2016; Elsass, Schildkraut, & Stafford, 2016; Toppo, 2013). Though schools remain to be one of the safest locations for children, various safety measures are discussed and implemented in schools to combat this perceived problem and ensure the safety of school campuses. Discussions of best safety practices spikes directly following a school shooting event from relevant parties, such as school administration, law enforcement agencies, parents, and students, (Crawford & Burns, 2015; Chrusciel, Wolfe, Hansen, …


Hurricane Maria: A Qualitative Study Of Recently Displaced Students To The State Of Florida, Esmeralda Cabrera Jan 2019

Hurricane Maria: A Qualitative Study Of Recently Displaced Students To The State Of Florida, Esmeralda Cabrera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past ten years Puerto Rico has been experiencing a severe economic crisis that was worsened when Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 20, 2017. Maria hit Puerto Rico as a category 4 storm, devastating the whole island and its 3.4 million residents. Many students were left with minimal educational choices after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. Research on Latino/a students shows that they are met with unique experiences and challenges as they pursue higher education. The current study uses qualitative data to investigate what are the unique challenges and needs of displaced students from Puerto Rico? and what …


The Wonder Women: Understanding Feminism In Cosplay Performance, Amber Grissom Jan 2019

The Wonder Women: Understanding Feminism In Cosplay Performance, Amber Grissom

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Feminism conjures divisive and at times conflicting thoughts and feelings in the current political climate in the United States. For some, Wonder Woman is a feminist icon, for her devotion to truth, justice, and equality. In recent years, Wonder Woman has become successful in the film industry, and this is reflected by the growing community of cosplayers at comic book conventions. In this study, I examine gender performativity, gender identity, and feminism from the perspective of cosplayers of Wonder Woman. I collected ethnographic data using participant observation and semi-structured interviews with cosplayers at comic book conventions in Florida, Georgia, and …


The Invisible Men: Analyzing The Virtual Subculture Of England's Punters, Ashley Christensen Jan 2019

The Invisible Men: Analyzing The Virtual Subculture Of England's Punters, Ashley Christensen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research on prostitution has flourished over the last few decades with a new emphasis on the online sex market. To study the online market, researchers have utilized qualitative methods to investigate escort review websites. Coding for violent rhetoric and perceived intimacy are two conventional techniques that have been utilized using qualitative methods. Other areas investigated include the overall characteristics of sex buyers, price variation, and socialization of buyers. What has lacked in current literature has been the use of quantitative methods to study what factors influence the presence of positive reviews. To expand on limited existing literature utilizing quantitative methods, …


Overkill: A First Run Definition, Traccy Martins Jan 2019

Overkill: A First Run Definition, Traccy Martins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Homicide is a major social issue that has been studied by many researchers worldwide. The vast literature available, however, has avoided distinguishing homicide characterized by excessive wounds as a particular category or type of murder. This is what is often referred to as overkill. It has been observed in a variety of incidents, but it has not been systematically defined or examined in the literature in regard to why it occurs. This study aims to define "overkill" based on the number and extent of injuries for LGBT homicides between the years 1969 to 2018 (provided by Dallas Drake, co-founder of …


Domestic Violence In Rural & Non-Rural Areas: A Study On The Influence Of Population Density On Arrest Rates In The State Of Florida, Kiara Gonzalez Cruz Jan 2019

Domestic Violence In Rural & Non-Rural Areas: A Study On The Influence Of Population Density On Arrest Rates In The State Of Florida, Kiara Gonzalez Cruz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Domestic violence (DV) is a global issue that can affect anyone regardless of what role they play in a family household. It does not discriminate by education, age, religion, etc. DV includes any type of violence or abuse that occurs within a domestic setting. For the purposes of this study, this content primarily focuses on intimate partner violence (IPV) as the main form of DV and is used interchangeably throughout the text. This study examines the influence of population density on arrest rates for DV and some factors behind the likelihood of arrests in urban and rural areas. The literature …


Tails In The Wind: An Exploratory Examination Of Media Reports On Nonhuman Animals Throughout Hurricane Maria In Puerto Rico, Nathan Jagoda Jan 2019

Tails In The Wind: An Exploratory Examination Of Media Reports On Nonhuman Animals Throughout Hurricane Maria In Puerto Rico, Nathan Jagoda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

On September 20th, 2017, category four Hurricane Maria rattled Puerto Rico, causing extensive damage throughout the island. While the experiences, injuries, and deaths of humans resulting from Hurricane Maria have received both scholarly consideration and large amounts of attention from media sources, one critical area that has been overlooked by many, particularly academics, are the ways in which various media sources have reported on, described and discussed nonhuman animals impacted by the storm. This study aimed to address this gap by analyzing media reports of nonhuman animals throughout the days before, during, and after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Mixed …


Acoustic Ecology And Sound Mapping The University Of Central Florida Main Campus, Robert Clarke Jan 2019

Acoustic Ecology And Sound Mapping The University Of Central Florida Main Campus, Robert Clarke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"Acoustic Ecology and Sound Mapping the University of Central Florida Main Campus" explores the intersection of place and space, sound studies and acoustic ecology, visualization, and archives. The end result consists of a collection of "soundwalk" and stationary recordings conducted from 2016-2019 at the University of Central Florida (UCF) main campus in Orlando presented as an online Sound Map. This archive previously did not exist and provides a snapshot of the various sounds heard throughout the campus as well as a starting point and context for future research into this still-emerging field of acoustic ecology and sound studies. While the …


Repro, But Make It Fashion: Discourses On Sex, Sexuality, And Reproduction In Teen Vogue Magazine, Estefany Londono Jan 2019

Repro, But Make It Fashion: Discourses On Sex, Sexuality, And Reproduction In Teen Vogue Magazine, Estefany Londono

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There are many possible sources for youth to become educated about sexuality and reproduction, however the media are cited as particularly powerful and prominent sources of information (Jaworski, 2009). Particularly in an era in which abstinence-only messaging dominates sex education, media become a source to which young people turn and where they receive much of their sex-based messaging. Due to backlash over problematic content that perpetuates gender stereotypes and relays harmful messages about sex and sexuality, some magazines, including Teen Vogue, have attempted to shift towards more feminist-minded content (Keller, 2011, Milkie, 2002). This study is a qualitative critical feminist …


Evolutionary Model Discovery: Automating Causal Inference For Generative Models Of Human Social Behavior, Chathika Gunaratne Jan 2019

Evolutionary Model Discovery: Automating Causal Inference For Generative Models Of Human Social Behavior, Chathika Gunaratne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The desire to understand the causes of complex societal phenomena is fundamental to the social sciences. Society, at a macro-scale has many measurable characteristics in the form of statistical distributions and aggregate measures; data which is increasingly abundant with the proliferation of online social media, mobile devices, and the internet of things. However, the decision-making processes and limits of the individuals who interact to generate these statistical patterns are often difficult to unravel. Furthermore, multiple causal factors often interact to determine the outcome of a particular behavior. Quantifying the importance of these causal factors and their interactions, which make up …


Serial Murder Mysteries: Revisiting Definitional Issues, Data Challenges, Archaic Theories, And Myths Using Empirical Evidence, Jolene Vincent Aug 2018

Serial Murder Mysteries: Revisiting Definitional Issues, Data Challenges, Archaic Theories, And Myths Using Empirical Evidence, Jolene Vincent

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While serial killings have been the focus of much scholarly research, the definition of what it means to be a serial killer has been debated by law enforcement agencies and academics for decades. This overall lack of understanding about serial killers and the murders they commit has contributed to the numerous limitations concerning the general knowledge about this unique form of homicide. Furthermore, serial killers have typically been examined using psychological models, psychiatric approaches, or the external drives/motives of the offenders, while the development of a sociological perspective has received less attention. This current research uses arguably the most complete …


My Plate, Your Food: Foodways Of International Students In Us' Colleges And Universities, Boniface Noyongoyo Jan 2018

My Plate, Your Food: Foodways Of International Students In Us' Colleges And Universities, Boniface Noyongoyo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that the world is now more globalized than ever. In the education sector, students' movements have increased from the global South to the North as they look for a better tomorrow. Hence, international students in the US are from almost all countries around the world. The current study examines the changes in the foodways of international students since their arrival in the US The analysis is based on more than 260 surveys and 17 interviews of international students enrolled in US colleges and universities. The results from online self-administered surveys showed that international students' eating habit changes are …


Childhood Experiences And Domestic Violence: The Role That Interpartner Violence Plays In Relationship Functioning And Parenting Behaviors In Adulthood., J'Nelle Stephenson Jan 2018

Childhood Experiences And Domestic Violence: The Role That Interpartner Violence Plays In Relationship Functioning And Parenting Behaviors In Adulthood., J'Nelle Stephenson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is estimated that approximately 25% of women and 7.6% of men report experiencing violence from their romantic partner during their lifetime. Additionally, in households where interpartner violence occurs, there are between 3.3 and 10 million children in the United States alone. It is important to understand the cycle of domestic violence that can occur, as it can inform us about expected outcomes across time. This study examined mothers' childhood exposure to their own parents' domestic violence. It was hypothesized that childhood exposure to domestic violence would be related to unhealthy intimate relationships and to the development of maladaptive parenting …


State Gun Control Laws, Jacob Lafleur Jan 2018

State Gun Control Laws, Jacob Lafleur

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The gun control debate has been placed at the forefront of American politics, as some of the most deadly mass shootings have happened in the last year. Much of the research on the effectiveness of gun control laws have shown inconsistent results. The purpose of the study is to compare states with stricter gun laws to states with more lax laws. This in turn will allow policy makers to identify effective strategies to implement in states that are lacking effective laws. The study examined state gun laws for all 50 states using the Gifford's Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. …


Attitudinal Trends In Support For Police Use Of Force Before And After Ferguson, Tashanda Dennison Jan 2018

Attitudinal Trends In Support For Police Use Of Force Before And After Ferguson, Tashanda Dennison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the 2014 death of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown by a white Ferguson police officer, there has been a string of similar incidents that have occurred in a relatively short period of time. These high profile incidents of police officers using questionable amounts of force have shaken public trust in law enforcement. Studies have shown that public confidence in law enforcement often erodes drastically following heavily publicized, controversial media reports of police misconduct (Tuch and Weitzer 1997; Weitzer 2002). The current levels of public outrage in response to allegations of police brutality have surpassed the levels of outrage …


An Analysis Of Terrorism And Mental Health In Mass Shootings As Perceived By The Media, Amairini Sanchez Jan 2018

An Analysis Of Terrorism And Mental Health In Mass Shootings As Perceived By The Media, Amairini Sanchez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Public mass shootings are the rarest type of mass murder in the United States. Nevertheless, the media tends to focus on mass murders that appear to be the most newsworthy. The most sensational mass murders are those that have the highest victim count, that target perfect victims, and that occur in a public location. Terrorism and mental health are two separate frames that are often used by the media when reporting a mass shooting event. This creates a lack of accurate reporting that displays a distorted image of mass shootings and affects the public's perception. This study evaluated frames used …


Demanding Reduction: An Exploration Of County-Level Characteristics Associated With Areas Of Human Trafficking In Florida, Madelyn Diaz Jan 2018

Demanding Reduction: An Exploration Of County-Level Characteristics Associated With Areas Of Human Trafficking In Florida, Madelyn Diaz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research on the prevalence of human trafficking (HT) is relatively scarce, even though more attention has been brought to this human rights issue in the past couple of decades. Widely known as a form of modern day slavery, trafficking of persons for sexual exploitative reasons to earn a profit for the trafficker occurs in every major city across the country, despite common misconceptions that it only thrives in foreign countries. To expand on limited existing literature on human trafficking, this research study explores possible correlations among areas of high violent crime rates, drug arrests, the presence of demand reduction strategies, …


Don't Do The Crime If You Can't Do A Man's Time: Examining Sentencing Disparities Using Offender Demographics, Vanessa Rinker Jan 2018

Don't Do The Crime If You Can't Do A Man's Time: Examining Sentencing Disparities Using Offender Demographics, Vanessa Rinker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Looking back, America has seen its fair share of differences among its population, so it should not come as a shock that sentencing disparities are a serious criminal justice issue in the United States. Each year, thousands of people are sent to Federal prisons where they receive sentences for crimes they have been convicted of committing. The United States Sentencing Commission publishes these results annually. No matter the number of persons entering the prison system on the federal level, the number of female offenders often remains about the same (8555 in 2000; 9451 in 2007; and 9302 in 2008). While …


Low Income And First Generation Students' Engagement Of Authority Figures, Josalie Condon Jan 2018

Low Income And First Generation Students' Engagement Of Authority Figures, Josalie Condon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Numerous studies acknowledged the potential struggles that first generation (FG) and low-income students (LI) face as they attempt to navigate the college degree pipeline. One struggle these students may face is an aversion to engaging authority figures. Unlike their peers, both FG and LI students can come from families with little to no college literacy, and this lack of support, coupled with not seeking out assistance from authority figures on campus, could lead to potential problems. This lack of engagement with authority figures may be related to childhood socialization such as Cultivation of Intellectual Independence (CII). Individuals with high …


Domestic Stalking, Violation Of Protective Orders, And Homicide In Chicago: The Influence Of Social Disorganization And Gender Inequality, Sarah Sacra Jan 2018

Domestic Stalking, Violation Of Protective Orders, And Homicide In Chicago: The Influence Of Social Disorganization And Gender Inequality, Sarah Sacra

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Domestic violence has been considered a serious issue for many decades. This problem manifests itself physically, sexually, and emotionally and can affect anyone. However, most of the domestic violence literature focuses specifically on physical intimate partner violence. Various theoretical frameworks have been utilized to explain the occurrence of domestic violence including social disorganization theory and gender inequality. These explanations are limited, however, with the former primarily extended to physical assault and the latter focusing on violence against women. This study is important as it extends our knowledge of how these two perspectives can be applied to domestic violence through the …


No Way Out: The Impact Of Intimate Partner Violence On Homelessness And The Consequences Of Poor Health Outcomes, Kristina Bryant Jan 2018

No Way Out: The Impact Of Intimate Partner Violence On Homelessness And The Consequences Of Poor Health Outcomes, Kristina Bryant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

IPV victimization leads many women who suffer from unstable housing into homelessness. These victims are in danger of severe negative health outcomes that are already prevalent in the homeless community, as well as seen in victims of IPV. This study seeks to explore the impact that IPV victimization has on negative health outcomes in the homeless community, compared to the negative health outcomes that homeless women face who are not homeless because of IPV victimization. This study hypothesized that women who are homeless because of IPV victimization face more severe negative health outcomes. The data for the current research is …


Risk Factors Associated With The Arrest For Adolescent To Parent Abuse, Coleen Cicale Jan 2018

Risk Factors Associated With The Arrest For Adolescent To Parent Abuse, Coleen Cicale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored risk factors associated with the arrest for adolescent to parent abuse (ATPA) when compared to arrest for a similar violent misdemeanor against a non-parent. The phenomenon of ATPA is widely under-researched and there is little in terms of prevention policy or treatment. Using 18,548 risk assessment screens performed with adolescents (12-17) arrested in Florida for a violent misdemeanor, and guided by previous literature and social ecological and social bond theories, this analysis explored the relationship between risk factors (categorized as individual characteristics, beliefs, behavior, commitment and involvement and attachment) and arrest for ATPA versus arrest for a …


The Intersection Of Race And Class In Maternity Leave: Who's Left Out?, Christine Ittai Jan 2018

The Intersection Of Race And Class In Maternity Leave: Who's Left Out?, Christine Ittai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Maternity leave is a critical work-family policy that affects over two-thirds of the working U.S. female population. Although it has been studied extensively, especially since the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, the majority of the research has focused on White, middle-class, married, and educated working mothers. There is a plethora of information about access to maternity leave, utilization of maternity leave, length of maternity leave, and compensation during leave. However, there are several limitations in the research. A majority of studies use outdated datasets; measure family leave as a proxy for maternity leave; study paid …


I'M Not Your Waifu: Sexual Harassment And Assault In Cosplay, Anime & Comic Conventions, Alexandria Ellsworth Jan 2018

I'M Not Your Waifu: Sexual Harassment And Assault In Cosplay, Anime & Comic Conventions, Alexandria Ellsworth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Women face sexual harassment and sexual assault far too often with one in every six women sexually assaulted during their life (Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998). In the anime and comic community, women face sexual assault and harassment, often in open public spaces, due to these spaces being labeled as men's (Cote, 2015; Fox & Potocki 2015; Rodriguez 2015; Schott & Horrell 2000). Policies such as Cosplay is not Consent (Facebook, 2018) are not upheld or enforced by anime and comic conventions. Policies that are enforced, have clear and concise wording, and are enforced by staff and volunteers, who have been …


App-Ily Ever After - Self-Presentation And Perception Of Others On The Dating App Tinder, Johnathan Dunlop Jan 2018

App-Ily Ever After - Self-Presentation And Perception Of Others On The Dating App Tinder, Johnathan Dunlop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Location-based real-time dating (LBRTD) apps have become an increasingly common way for people to broaden their social network and meet others for the purposes of dating, friendship, and more. This investigation focused on Tinder, presently the most widely-used LBRTD app. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-three current and recent Tinder users to gain insight into their self-presentation strategies and impressions of others on the app. The questions concentrated around four major topic areas: use of photos, use of bio text, perception of others, and real or imagined deception. A grounded theory approach was used to frame the data. From this, …


Understanding Arson Through Community Resilience, Rhena South Jan 2017

Understanding Arson Through Community Resilience, Rhena South

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over 40,000 arsons were reported in the 2014 Uniform Crime Report; however, this number is underestimated since there are no official arson trends reported by the FBI due to the lack of agencies reporting this offense. Arson is one of the most destructive and under researched crimes. This lack of research can be attributed to the dual definition of arson – that is, the destruction of one's own property or someone else's property – the opportunistic nature of arson, and the inability to determine a measurable rate. The current study uses data from the Chicago Police Department's Citizen Law Enforcement …