Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Sex Differences In Gains Among Hispanic Pre-Kindergartners’ Mental Rotation Skills, Carla Abad, Rosalie Odean, Shannon M. Pruden

Department of Psychology

The current study explores change in mental rotation skills throughout the pre-kindergarten year in a Hispanic population to better understand the development of early sex differences in mental rotation. Ninety-six Hispanic children (M = 4 years 8 months) completed a mental rotation task at the beginning and end of pre-kindergarten. Results suggest Hispanic boys and girls differed in gains on mental rotation ability, with boys improving significantly more than girls during pre-kindergarten on a mental rotation task. This study highlights the significance of studying mental rotation abilities in a Hispanic population of pre-kindergarten aged children and suggests the importance …

Genocide In The Modern Age: State-Society Relations In The Making Of Mass Political Violence, 1900-2015, Zachary Karazsia

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a new conceptual framework for understanding genocide and mass political violence. I build upon existing theories of mass violence that take into account motivations for committing mass atrocities, combine these with the task of counting civilian casualties, and propose a new framework based on the perpetrators’ socio-political standing in society. This model develops a four-part typology of perpetrators by examining the level of government participation and societal participation in the process of violence. Four patterns of perpetrators emerge from this deductive assessment of large-scale violence. These mass political violence perpetrator categories are: a) state perpetrators; b) state-society …

Phonological Interaction In Spanish-English Bilinguals: Effects Of Cognate Usage On Voice Onset Time Of Voiced Stops, Sophia Andrea Younes

MA in Linguistics Final Projects

This study compared Spanish-English bilinguals’ and English monolinguals’ VOT values for voiced stops /b, d, g/ in cognates and non-cognates. The data support cross-linguistic interaction in bilinguals' phonologies, and indicate that cognates can interfere with bilinguals’ phonemic distinctions, realized in their phonetic productions.

For voiced stops, English VOT norms generally average 0 to +35 ms, while Spanish VOT norms average -235 to -45 ms. Twenty-six participants (twelve English monolinguals and fourteen early Spanish-English bilinguals) were administered a picture-naming task, balanced for cognate and non-cognate forms. The VOT values of 30 target words per participant and per language were measured.

In …

Ordered Anarchy: The Origins And Evolution Of A Society Of States In South America, 1864-1939, Nicolas Terradas

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present dissertation studies why South American states have fought so few wars among one another since their independence in the early 1800s, and why those wars in which they did enter were limited in intensity, casualty rates, number of battles, and overall duration. It offers an extensive review of the literature on South America’s “long peace” and advances two critiques. First, that the existing studies have usually followed either a narrow quantitative definition of war, or a broad qualitative definition of peace. And second, that the literature tends to neglect the relevance of the 19th century in the historical …

The "New" Black In The New South: Negotiating Race And Space In North Carolina's Immigrant Communities, Masonya Joy Bennett

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores identity and subject formation among black immigrant populations in Charlotte, N.C, a non-traditional gateway city. It interrogates claims made by regional scholars and policy-makers that, due to recent demographic shifts and economic development, Charlotte embodies the “New South”, a designation signifying the transition from an agricultural to a corporation-based economy and from a racially polarized to a multicultural society. Based upon 18 months of ethnographic research utilizing a mixed method approach among immigrants of African descent in the trans-ethnic enclave of East Charlotte, the dissertation focuses on the role of space, place, material culture and affect in …

Natural Climate Solutions For The United States, Joseph E. Fargione, Steven Bassett, Timothy Boucher, Scott D. Bridgham, Richard Bridgham, Susan C. Cook-Patton, Peter W. Ellis, Alessandra Falcucci, James W. Fourqurean

FCE LTER Journal Articles

Limiting climate warming to

Material Girls: Consumption And The Making Of Middle Class Identity In The Experiences Of Black Single Mothers In The Washington, Dc Metropolitan Area, Aysha L. Preston Ph.D.

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the ways in which black single mothers in the Washington, DC metropolitan area use material goods and consumption practices to inform their identities as members of the middle class. Black middle class women are challenging stereotypes surrounding single mother households, the idea of family, and class status in the United States, as more women overall are having children while single, delaying or deciding against marriage, and are entering the middle and upper-middle classes as a result of advanced education and career opportunities. Because of these demographic and sociocultural shifts, the romanticized “nuclear family” which consists of a …

Exploring The Neural Mechanisms Of Physics Learning, Jessica E. Bartley

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a series of neuroimaging investigations and achievements that strive to deepen and broaden our understanding of human problem solving and physics learning. Neuroscience conceives of dynamic relationships between behavior, experience, and brain structure and function, but how neural changes enable human learning across classroom instruction remains an open question. At the same time, physics is a challenging area of study in which introductory students regularly struggle to achieve success across university instruction. Research and initiatives in neuroeducation promise a new understanding into the interactions between biology and education, including the neural mechanisms of learning and development. These …

Economic Development On U.S. Native American Reservations: A Case Study Of The Tribes Of Florida, Diane Benitez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Unlike most native American reservations in the United States, the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes in Florida are more economically developed. The purpose of this research is to understand this economic development process of the tribes in Florida. Accordingly, there are three key questions guiding this study:

1. What have been the priorities of the Native American reservation population in conceptualizing sustainable economic development?
2. What external institutional factors have enabled or hindered economic development on Native American reservations?
3. What internal tribal governance factors affected sustainable economic development on Native American reservations?

I interviewed Seminole and Miccosukee tribe members and leaders to obtain …

An Exploration Of Names In Social And Professional Settings For Persons With Ethnically Identifying Names, Paige Whitney Johnson

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The overarching purpose of this collected papers dissertation was to explore the perspectives and experiences related to names in social and professional settings for persons with ethnically identifying names. The first paper was an integrative literature review. The second paper was a qualitative study utilizing the phenomenological approach. Both studies utilized self-presentation theory, while Study #2 added social penetration theory and social identity theory. Self-presentation theory posits that people put forth a public face to show that they possess desirable characteristics to observers. Social penetration theory is centered on the concept of self-disclosure and the notion that people carefully construct …

Social Dominance Orientation And Emotion Regulation: A Parallel Multiple Mediator Model Of Instigated Incivility Moderated By Workgroup Civility Climate, Fabiana Brunetta

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While most of the existing research on the topic of workplace incivility has focused upon its consequences on employee and organizational well-being, researchers are recognizing the need for research on predictors, mediators, and moderators of uncivil workplace behavior. The current study contributes to this new wave of workplace incivility research by emphasizing the links among variables not previously explored in incivility research. This nonexperimental correlational study (N = 1027) developed and tested a parallel multiple mediator model of instigated incivility. The model examined the mediation of the emotion regulation strategies – cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression – on the …

A Mixed Method Study Of Prospective Teachers' Epistemic Beliefs And Web Evaluation Strategies Concerning Hoax Websites, Jennifer Coccaro-Pons

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers need to be equipped with the tools necessary to evaluate content on the Internet and determine if it is a credible source, or a hoax website since they are expected to instruct and prepare students on how to evaluate the sites which is now a relevant phenomenon. The purpose of the mixed‑method study was to obtain an understanding of the web evaluation strategies of prospective teachers regarding the evaluation of hoax websites and how their epistemic beliefs may influence their evaluation. Another aspect of this study was to find out what outcomes resulted from providing guidance, or not to …

Elemental Analysis Of Adhesive Tapes By Laser-Based Methods, Claudia Martinez Lopez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Adhesive tapes are a common type of evidence involved in violent crimes and national security threats. This research evaluated the utility of LA-ICP-MS and LIBS for the characterization of the trace elemental signature in adhesive tapes for forensic comparisons. LA-ICP-MS and LIBS methods were developed, for the first time, for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of adhesive tapes.

The backings of 90 black electrical tapes, previously characterized by conventional techniques (physical examination, IR, Py-GC-MS, and SEM-EDS), were analyzed by LA-ICP-MS to evaluate the ability of the technique to discriminate samples originating from different sources and to associate pieces of tapes …

Fundamental Mechanistic Studies On The Ultrasonic Treatment Of Problematic Water Pollutants And Toxins, Danni Cui

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Problematic organic pollutants in industrial and drinking water sources are a leading cause of water scarcity. Among the advanced oxidation processes, sonolytic degradation has received considerable attention because it combines oxidation processes initiated by reactive oxidant species and a pyrolysis processes associated with the high temperatures produced during cavitation.

The degradation of the semi-volatile compound, MCHM, was rapid and followed pseudo-first order kinetics. The Freundlich kinetic model for heterogeneous systems was successfully applied to describe the non-uniform distribution of MCHM at the gas-liquid interface during ultrasonic treatment. Two primary products were confirmed by GC-MS. Computational studies were also applied to …

The Gendered Long-Term Recovery Priorities Of Internally Displaced Persons In Post-Earthquake Haiti, Nicki Fraser

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Professor N. Emel Ganapati, Major Professor

Despite a growing body of research on gender and disaster, little is known regarding the long-term recovery priorities and participation of internally displaced women in the long-term recovery process. Focusing on this important scholarly gap in the public administration literature, the overall goal of this study is to understand the long-term recovery processes of populations displaced by the 2010 Haiti earthquake through a gendered lens. The study’s specific aims are to: (1) understand the rebuilding priorities of IDPs in Haiti through a gendered lens; (2) determine factors that enable or hinder IDP women’s participation …

Plant Pedagogies, Salmon Nation, And Fire: Settler Colonial Food Utopias And The (Un)Making Of Human-Land Relationships In Coast Salish Territories, Janna L. Lafferty

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As knowledge about the constellating set of environmental and social crises stemming from the neoliberal global food regime becomes more pressing and popularized among US consumers, it has brought Indigenous actors asserting their political sovereignty and treaty rights with regards to their homelands into new collaborations, contestations, and negotiations with settlers in emerging food politics domains. In this dissertation, I examine solidarities and affinities being forged between Coast Salish and settler food actors in Puget Sound, attending specifically to how contested sovereignties are submerged but at play in these relations and how settler desires for belonging on and to stolen …

An Alternative Narrative Of Integration In Germany Through An Ethnographic Exploration Of Cuban Immigration, Ana M. Rusch

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This ethnographic study on Cuban immigrants conducted in Germany explored the dynamics of integration through an understudied immigrant population. Most of the research conducted on integration in Germany has overwhelmingly been on Turkish immigrants, which is Germany’s majority immigrant group. To contribute to Integration Studies, this research focused on a minority and lesser studied immigrant group, Cuban immigrants. Cuban immigrants in Germany not only have a different historical and geopolitical relationship with Germany than its majority group but they also subscribe to different cultural and ethnoreligious categories. Because of these varying circumstances, Cubans act as a counter example to the …

The Effect Of Parent Emotion-Related Talk On Infant Behavior And Emotion Regulation, Nicole Elise Lorenzo

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Early parent-infant interactions play a critical role in the social, emotional, and behavioral development of children. While several aspects of parent-infant interactions have been thoroughly examined, parent emotion socialization has not been examined to the same extent. The current work aimed to examine the development of parent emotion-related talk in mothers of infants with and without elevated behavior problems in two studies. The first study examined the developmental trajectory of parent emotion-related talk among mothers of infants with and without elevated behaviors. Furthermore, a secondary goal of the study was to examine the effect of parent emotion-related talk on infant …

School Climate In The School Choice Era: A Comparative Analysis Of District-Run Public Schools And Charter Schools, Christopher Damian Duszka

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Comparative analyses of district-run public schools and charter schools are limited to performance outcomes. There is a dearth of research on how the school-types vary on factors consequential to performance such as school climate. Public-private distinctions, such as in organizational autonomy, value orientations, funding structures, and management practices, could result in school climate dissimilarities between district-run public schools and charter schools.

The aim of this dissertation is to assess the influence organizational factors have on school climate and determine if school-type affects school climate. Student and staff school climate survey data from the Miami-Dade school district were utilized for this …

3d: Dois, Data Files, And Digital Commons, Kelley F. Rowan, Rebecca J. Bakker

Works of the FIU Libraries

This presentation looks at the emerging trends of implementing Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) and the storage, preservation, and accessibility of related data files for both ETDs and retrospective theses and dissertations (RTDs). The first half of this presentation will explore implementation models for DOIs, including additional metadata work that may become apparent, such as standardizing institutional degrees, as well as the successful administration of a DOI workflow between the graduate school and the library. Participants will learn how DOIs work and their benefit of increased cite-ability and discoverability. Attendees will also learn how to develop a successful workflow in conjunction …

Digital Activities: Florida International University Libraries Annual Report, Fy 2017-2018, Florida International University, Jamie Rogers, Jill V. Krefft, Rhia Rae, Veronica Gonzalez, Rebecca Bakker, Kelley Rowan

FIU Digital Collections Center Annual Reports

This report provides information on the digital activities for the fiscal year 2017-2018.

A Transdiagnostic Dimensional Approach Towards A Neuropsychological Assessment For Addiction: An International Delphi Consensus Study, Murat Yucel, Erin Oldenhof, Serge H. Ahmed, David Belin, Joel Billieux, Henrietta Bowden-Jones, Adrian Carter, Samuel R. Chamberlain, Luke Clark, Jason Connor, Mark Daglish, Geert Dom, Pinhas Dannon, Theodora Duka, Maria Jose Fernandez-Serrano, Matt Field, Ingmar Franken, Rita Z. Goldstein, Raul Gonzalez, Anna E. Goudriaan, Jon E. Grant, Matthew J. Gullo, Robert Hester, David C. Hodgins, Bernard Le Foll, Rico S.C. Lee, Anne Lingford-Hughes, Valentina Lorenzetti, Scott J. Moeller, Marcus R. Munafo, Brian Odlaug, Marc N. Potenza, Rebecca Segrave, Zsuzsika Sjoerds, Nadia Solowij, Wim Van Den Brink, Ruth J. Van Holst, Valerie Voon, Reinout Weirs, Leonardo F. Fontenelle, Antonio Verdejo-Garcia

Department of Psychology

No abstract provided.

Religion And Ethnicity Among Afro-Colombian Muslims In Buenaventura (Colombia), Diego Giovanni Castellanos

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the way in which religious beliefs and practices are instrumentalized by a Muslim community in order to strengthen Afro-Colombian ethnic identity, in an urban context of social exclusion. The study aims to examine the relationship between ethnicity and religion, and the role they play in the process of identity construction, particularly the way in which religious concepts and behaviors can be used to fortify ethnic identity. Another aim of this research is to describe and understand the processes of social change in an ethnic-religious minority and, as a final goal, to analyze …

Cultural Politics Of Community-Based Conservation In The Buffer Zone Of Chitwan National Park, Nepal, Yogesh Dongol

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation research examines the socio-economic and political effects of community-based conservation initiatives within the Bagmara buffer zone community forests of Chitwan National Park, Nepal. In particular, the study investigates the role of buffer zones creation in structuring the way rural property rights have been defined, negotiated, and contested, in reinforcing or reducing patterns of ethnic dominance and exclusion, and in influencing how cultural identities are constituted and renegotiated. Using a political ecology framework with a specific focus on theoretical concepts of environmentality and territorialization, I conducted 12 months ethnographic and quantitative survey field research in the buffer zone communities …

Gender, Party, And Political Communication In The 114th Congress, Maria Gabryszewska

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the interaction of gender and party in the political communication of members of Congress (MCs). The study focuses on the tweets of all MCs in the House of Representatives during two weeks of the 114^th Congress (9,374 tweets from 431 MCs). I conduct an in-depth content analysis of these tweets to extract important message characteristics related to issue areas, electoral behaviors, and constituency targeting.

I find that MCs emphasize their partisan ties when they tweet about women’s or men’s issues, but Democratic congresswomen and Republican congressmen go further to address feminine and masculine issue areas respectively. …

Self-Referential Features In Sacred Texts, Donald Haase

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines a specific type of instance that bridges the divide between seeing sacred texts as merely vehicles for content and as objects themselves: self-reference. Doing so yielded a heuristic system of categories of self-reference in sacred texts based on the way the text self-describes: Inlibration, Necessity, and Untranslatability.

I provide examples of these self-referential features as found in various sacred texts: the Vedas, Āgamas, Papyrus of Ani, Torah, Quran, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, and the Book of Mormon. I then examine how different theories of sacredness interact with them. What do Durkheim, Otto, Freud, or Levinas say about …

Spatial And Temporal Distribution Of Total Phosphorus Concentration In Soil And Surface Water In The Everglades Protection Area, Shishir Kumar Sarker

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Draining of the Everglades allowed for the expansion of urban and agricultural development, reducing half of the size of the historic Everglades. The detrimental cascading effect on the Everglades ecosystem function is related to the total phosphorus (TP) concentrations of water inflow, the inflow rate and the distance from the discharge point. As Everglades restoration has approached 15 years since the inception of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), there is a need to assess its progress across the ecosystem. Available data from 2004 to 2014 were collected for soils and from 2004 to 2016 for water to understand a …

Inheriting Illegality: Race, Statelessness, And Dominico-Haitian Activism In The Dominican Republic, Jacqueline Lyon

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2013, the Dominican Republic’s highest court ruled to revoke birthright citizenship for over 200,000 Dominicans of Haitian descent. Ruling TC 168-13 prompted dialogue about race and racism in the country, breaking the racial silence that accompanies mestizaje (racial mixture). Scholars viewed this ruling through the lens of “Black denial” whereby Dominicans’ failure to adopt Black identities, despite being largely afrodescendant, fuels the racialization of Haitians as Black. Less evident in examinations of Dominican racial politics are anti-racist and anti-xenophobic organizing. Addressing the gap in scholarship on Dominican blackness, this dissertation project adopts an ethnographic approach to examine how Domicans …

International Trade And Environmental Regulation, Qingru Tu

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is composed of three chapters regarding international trade and environmental regulation. The first chapter focuses on the relationship between port ownership and the port R\&D investment. I investigate whether a larger degree of private involvement in the port sector makes for a higher level of welfare, as well as an improvement in port performance. I establish the stage games to analyze the reciprocal international trade. The theoretical findings indicate that the endowment of population plays an essential role in choosing the optimal port ownership. In the second chapter, I investigate the effect of port pollution regulation on port …

From Smallville To Metropolis: Career Transitioning From A Small Academic Library To A Large Research University, Ramces L. Marsilli, April Lafferty

Works of the FIU Libraries

Description Any career move can be a stressful endeavor and transitioning from a small to a large academic library is no exception. The addition of responsibilities and challenges can prove to be overwhelming for librarians trying to navigate this process. From writing a resume tailored to the position to finding a mentor, this poster session will uncover the secrets to landing the job at a large university library and how to hit the ground running. Presented by two librarians who have been there, it is our intention to prepare library professionals to make this jump as effortless as possible. Objectives …