Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Associations Between Adolescent Cannabis Use Trajectories And Anxiety, Jacqueline C. Duperrouzel

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the effects of cannabis use is critical for reducing adverse behavioral, social, and academic outcomes, particularly among adolescent users who are most at risk for cannabis related problems. Although support from both the animal and human literatures suggests the relationship between cannabis and anxiety may be associated with levels of use, much is still unknown. Thus, examining relationships between the most common mental health issue in adolescence and one of the most commonly used drugs is of great public health significance and impact. Prior longitudinal studies assessing effects of cannabis use on anxiety have not evaluated different patterns of …

Perception Of Travel Motivation And Intention For Chinese Cruise Travelers: Toward An Integrated Model, Tianyu Pan

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the decision-making process and predicting cruise consumers behavior are critical. This study develops and tests a structural equation model (SEM) using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Motivation – Satisfaction Theory to explain Chinese consumers travel motivation and behavioral intention in the cruise industry. Nine hypotheses were proposed regarding the relationships between second-order factor Motivation, travel satisfaction, and the original TPB constructs. Results of the study demonstrated that the integrated model fits the data relatively well, exploring the driving factors of Chinese consumers to participate in cruise travel. The path weight of every hypothesis is significant, and all …

Utilizing Multi-Criteria Analysis And Analytical Hierarchy Process To Facilitate Everglades Restoration Decision-Making, Chloe C. Vorseth

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Greater Everglades Ecosystem (GEE) restoration is a complex undertaking, with a variety of potential outcomes and trade-offs impacting numerous stakeholders. This study utilizes a strategy for facilitating GEE restoration that is based in social science principles and informed by stakeholder opinion, ecologists, and biological modeling techniques. Information in this study was gathered through the use of an online survey involving stakeholder preferences for GEE restoration outcomes. Results revealed that sample stakeholders weighed the outcome of improving seasonal flow of water highest, followed by reducing polluted discharges from Lake Okeechobee, then increasing water storage for human use, and lastly restoring the …

Characterizing Elasmobranch Species Diversity, Occurrence And Catches In Small-Scale Fisheries Of The Caribbean, Camila Cáceres

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although 95% of fishers are artisanal, little is known about the magnitude of their catches and impacts on marine ecosystems at a global scale. I used a rapid assessment framework to study elasmobranch occurrence, elasmobranch fisheries, and use in coastal small-scale fisheries in the Caribbean, combining observational data and fisher’s knowledge. A total of 800 Baited Remote Underwater Videos were deployed in addition to 660 interview surveys that were collected in Colombia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Tobago and the Florida Keys. In Colombia, I compared elasmobranch and teleost species richness and relative abundance within four coral reef habitats, where species targeted by …

After Deterrence: Policy Choices During Crises Of Conventional And Nuclear Direct Deterrence Failure, Yang Gyu Kim

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite a plethora of research on the conditions of successful deterrence, the literature has been remarkably silent on the aftermath of its possible failure. Especially in the situation of direct deterrence where the defender’s people and territory are at stake, the defender experiences tremendous pressure and stress when a challenger defies the former’s threat. Due to the high interest at stake, direct deterrent threat is regarded as the most credible type of deterrence and, according to the literature, is most likely successful. How could an intrinsically credible threat fail? What should the defender do when direct deterrence fails and its …

Conservation And Management Of Arapaima Spp. In The Colombian Amazon, Ana A. Rojas

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In order to conserve megafaunal, charismatic freshwater fish species, an interdisciplinary, translational ecology approach is needed. This thesis explores trends in conservation of the pan-Amazonian Arapaima spp., with two major components. First, I examined research trends on Arapaima over the last 50 years by categorizing articles by theme and geography. My results showed that aquaculture and biology were dominant themes, with most research conducted in the Brazilian Amazon. Second, I conducted field research in the Colombian Amazon to examine perceptions of Arapaima management at various geographic and political scales. One important finding was the crucial role of communities and small-scale …

Coupling Telemetry And Stable Isotope Techniques To Unravel Movement: Snook Habitat Use Across Variable Nutrient Environments, Cody W. Eggenberger

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Habitat selection by organisms can be driven by a number of factors, including the availability of resources. In particular, nutrient enrichment can alter the quality of landscapes, and thus the availability of resources, with implications for consumer movement and habitat use. In coastal ecosystems, eutrophication can affect the production and distribution of resources, and thus the behaviors and space use of consumers. In this study, I coupled acoustic telemetry methods and stable isotope analyses (SIA) to examine the effects of nutrient enrichment on the movement, habitat use, and resource use of Common Snook (Centropomus undecimalis), a valuable recreational …

How Effective Are Current International Laws In Combating Issues Of Global Cyber Security?, Jessica E. Chadwick Cordero

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the most serious threats or challenges to national and international security that we are facing today is cyber security. Currently, there are no bodies of international law that can be applied in order to hold states accountable for launching cyber-attacks against other states, and thus it is imperative that several obstacles be removed in order for the law to be applicable before we find ourselves in an all-out “World War C” (Segal, 2016). Critical infrastructure systems are at great risk from attacks that could lead to catastrophic events such as total power blackouts, the opening of dams, and …

Workplace Incivility Toward Individuals With Disabilities, Secure Attachment Style, And Mental Health: Focus On Mediator And Moderator Effects, Mia Heikkila

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the value of workplace civility, civility has been replaced by social exchanges that include statements and behaviors deemed largely unacceptable and undeniably rude. One type of rude behavior that appears innocuous is called workplace incivility, yet incivility disturbs efficient functioning among employees, intensifies work stress, and poses a grave financial hazard to an organization. Literature expressly on incivility toward individuals with disabilities is virtually non-existent, although emerging literature reveals that employees with disabilities are at a greater risk of experiencing workplace mistreatment vis-à-vis employees without disabilities. This quantitative study investigated the role of workplace incivility with respect to individuals …

Elaborating The Causes And Consequences Of Unstructured Socializing With Peers: A Consideration Of Mediating, Reciprocal, And Nonlinear Effects, Robert Archer

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An abundance of research provides evidence that unstructured socializing with peers (USWP) is positively associated with a wide variety of delinquent acts. What remains less clear is the degree with which proximate and more distal variables affect this association, the reciprocal nature of theoretically important variables implicated in the relationship between USWP and deviance, and whether these mechanisms are nonlinear. This lack of clarity represents significant voids in the research examining USWP and deviancy and gives rise to the purpose of the present work.

While a number of approaches have been used to nest research examining USWP, the routine activity …

Reggaeir@ Sou Eu: Race, Nation And The Politics Of Identity In Roots Reggae Culture In Sao Luis Do Maranhao, Brazil, Gloria Angebelle Yawson

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the performative space of roots reggae music and dance performancescape in São Luis do Maranhão, Brazil. It examines the ways in which Caribbean sounds are employed by Afro-Maranhese to create performative spaces that contest representations of blackness in Brazil. In this examination, I address how Afro-Maranheses engage in the process of transformation by appropriating Caribbean Sounds in the performative spaces of blackness. The dissertation also examines the ways in which these performative spaces, as spaces of struggle are objects of legal forms of surveillance, discipline and punishments that are targeted by the policia militar (military police) because …

The Cybercrime Triangle, Sinchul Back

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Information technology can increase the convergence of three dimensions of the crime triangle due to the spatial and temporal confluence in the virtual world. In other words, its advancement can lead to facilitating criminals with more chances to commit a crime against suitable targets living in different real-world time zones without temporal and spatial orders. However, within this mechanism, cybercrime can be discouraged “…if the cyber-adversary is handled, the target/victim is guarded, or the place is effectively managed” (Wilcox & Cullen, 2018, p. 134). In fact, Madensen and Eck (2013) assert that only one effective controller is enough to prevent …

Twitter Activity Of Urban And Rural Colleges: A Sentiment Analysis Using The Dialogic Loop, Eugene H. Pons

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study is to ascertain if colleges are achieving their ultimate communication goals of maintaining and attracting students through their microblogging activity, which according to Dialogic Loop Theory, is directly correlated to the use of positive and negative sentiment. The study focused on a cross-section of urban and rural community colleges within the United States to identify the sentiment score of their microblogging activity. The study included a content analysis on the Twitter activity of these colleges. A data-mining process was employed to collect a census of the tweets associated with these colleges. Further processing was …

Understanding The Motivations And Pathways Of Women And Girls' Involvement In Terrorism In Nigeria, Peculiar M. Awa

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the experiences of 20 women and girls who lived in the Boko Haram camp in 2014-2018 and had varying levels of engagement in the organization's activities. The study employs a qualitative phenomenological in-depth interview methodology. Semi-structured interviews conducted in Nigeria and the United States yielded data on the experiences of the respondents before, during, and after their lives with Boko Haram. Based on the analysis of interview responses and field notes, several themes emerged. Overall findings suggest that family and community dynamics play a significant role in terrorism in Nigeria. The study found that early child marriage …

An Examination Of Cuban-American Social Studies Teachers' Cultural Consciousness Relative To Their Identity, Educational Beliefs, And Curricular Decisions: A Critical Latino Theoretical Perspective, Victor Barrios

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine how five self-identified Cuban-American social studies teachers, in a city where they are viewed as the dominant culture, demonstrated ethnic and cultural identity, expressed educational beliefs on teaching and learning, promoted culturally diverse pedagogy, and approached the official curriculum relative to their cultural consciousness. This study used a qualitative research design with multiple case and cross-case analysis. Critical Latino theory was the theoretical framework employed for social and cultural categories pertinent to Latinx groups. The study found that the teacher-participants in this study reflected a dominant cultural ideology in Miami which influenced …

A Genealogy Of Neoliberal And Anti-Neoliberal Resilience In The Ecuadorian Pacific Coast, Vanessa Leon Leon

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Resilience appears to be everywhere, morphing and seducing global discourses, national governmental practices, and scholarship. Inasmuch as hegemonic discourses and national governments promote resilience through both disaster reduction and sustainable development policies, critical resilience scholars have emphasized resilience as a neoliberal security technique. By reinforcing resilience as a governmental practice embedded in neoliberal rationale, theory and practice are neglecting other areas to contextualize resilience. My dissertation traces a genealogy of neoliberal and anti-neoliberal State interventions underpinned by resilience thinking, organizing coastal rural lives in Ecuador. My dissertation shows, no matter the Ecuadorian governments’ rationale, both genuflected to global hegemonic discourses …

The Influence Of Maternally Regulated Prenatal Sensory Experience On Postnatal Motor Coordination In Neonatal Bobwhite Quail, Starlie C. Belnap

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Comparative animal studies aid in understanding how prenatal sensory experiences regulated by maternal activity facilitate or interfere with growth and phenotype development. However, there is a paucity of information on how prenatal sensory experience influence postnatal motor performance. In this series of studies, we used an avian model, the bobwhite quail, to evaluate the effects of prenatal temperature (study 1), prenatal movement (study 2), prenatal light duration (study 3), and prenatal light presentation pattern (study 4) on hatchability, growth and postnatal motor performance in 24hr quail neonates. In study 1, quail embryos were exposed to naturally occurring cool (36.9°C) or …

Democracy And Bureaucracy Of Smart Place: Coral Gables, Fl And The Role Of Aspirational Content In Local Governance, Ramon Trias

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the role aspirational content on democracy and bureaucracy for governance of place in the United States. Place is a fundamental concept for municipal democracy and bureaucracy, as it defines the physical qualities of a community and their effect on people and quality of life. Smart Place would update theory and practices for local governance. Research reviewed process and content for the implementation of place, a gap in public administration theory. Literature review, historical research on 20^th century planning and zoning, research on 1920’s best practices on architecture and archival, qualitative findings and quantitative data on Coral …

Information Literacy In Higher Education: An Interdisciplinary Investigation Of Library Instruction From The Academic Librarian, Faculty, And Student Perspectives, Barbara M. Sorondo

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study is a phenomenological case study exploring how a group comprised of teaching librarians, faculty, and students experienced library instruction at the research site, Florida International University (FIU), in the context of the Framework for Information Literacy (IL) for Higher Education (Association of College and Research Libraries, 2016). The present study uniquely addresses a gap in the literature on library instruction and IL by using interviews with three diverse participant groups within the same setting. The 10 participants included three teaching librarians, three faculty members, two undergraduate students, and two graduate students. They represented a variety of academic …

A Nutrition Education Intervention With Maternal Support Among Children Participating In Summer Camps To Prevent Overweight And Obesity In Kuwait, Mashael Huwaikem

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Kuwait has the highest prevalence of obesity within Arab countries at 37.8%. The prevalence of childhood obesity, believed to be a reliable measure of future obesity, is increasing in there year after year. However, the potential effect of any type of preventive measures has not been adequately studied. Therefore, this dissertation aimed to increase awareness of long-term risks of childhood obesity among children and their mothers. Additionally, to assess the impact of the Healthy Habits (HH) program on changing eating behaviors among 6 to10 year-old children participating in summer camps.

Seventy-nine children participated in two summer camps for 8 weeks …

Theory And Practice In Political Economy: Explaining Continuity In South American Socioeconomic Conditions, Diego Zambrano

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The socioeconomic history of South America has been traditionally marked by the chronic problems of poverty and inequality. South American states and societies have commonly failed to address these issues effectively, which continue to characterize the region’s socioeconomic outlook today. The persistence of poverty and inequality has created social and political pressures on those designing economic policy, prioritizing short-term “alleviating” mechanisms rather than long-term structural solutions. These same conditions, combined with historical experiences, have created a singular cyclical dynamic in the political economy of the region. In this context, this dissertation explores the underlying causes behind the continuity of such …

A Quantitative Study Of Expatriate Hotel Managers In Mainland China: An Exploration Of Perceived Organizational Justice As A Mediator Of Local Employee Job Satisfaction And Their Evaluation Of Expatriate Manager Leadership Performance, Wei Ding

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This nonexperimental, quantitative study (N = 283) is to investigate the relationship between organizational justice, job satisfaction, and expatriate leadership performance. This study, undergirded by both social exchange (Blau, 1964) and transformational leadership theory (Bass & Avolio, 1990). The target population of this study was local employees who work with expatriate managers in the hospitality industry in Mainland China. 64% (n = 182) of the sample was female and 36% (n = 101) of the sample was male participated in this study. The research hypotheses were tested using correlational, regression analyses and structural equation modeling.

The results of …

The Shift From Conspicuous To Inconspicuous Consumption And The Messages Hidden In Plain Sight, Jaclyn Tanenbaum

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the growing fragmentation of the luxury consumer market, the increasing mix of conspicuous and inconspicuous products offered by luxury brands, and the overlapping motivations for (in)conspicuous consumption behavior in the marketing literature, this research investigates under which circumstances a luxury consumer will choose to engage in either conspicuous or inconspicuous consumption. Three cross-sectional studies with experimental designs are conducted to test the proposed Triple C Model of (In)Conspicuous Consumption and determine if the proposed model can be used to predict, and ultimately change, consumption behavior among certain luxury consumers. The proposed model purports that construal level, sender cultural capital …

Motor-Language Cascades: How Fine Motor Relates To Language Outcomes Across Early Development, Sandy Gonzalez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current dissertation examined the role of motor skills on children’s language outcomes across early development. For study one a systematic review was conducted to examine differences in how gross and fine motor skills foster language development from 0-5 years of age. Results based on 22 articles indicated that while both gross and fine motor skills are related to language outcomes, too few studies have measured fine motor skills to conclusively determine differences in how gross and fine motor skills differentially relate to language outcomes.

The aim of study two was to investigate whether gross or fine motor skills were …

Quiet River, Heavy Waters: Un-Silencing Narratives Of Social-Environmental Inequalities In The Cradle Of Soviet Plutonium, Rosibel Roman

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In December 1948, the Soviet Union’s first plutonium production facility, Mayak Production Association (PO Mayak), began operation in the Southern Urals region of Russia, at the western edges of Siberia, near the restricted city of Chelyabinsk-40, known in the present day as Ozyorsk. Since then, rural communities located downstream from PO Mayak have experienced health, economic, ecological and social impacts of contamination from high-level radioactive wastes released by the facility into the Techa River and its surrounding ecosystem. My research, drawing from archival research conducted in Russia and the United States, as well as secondary sources in English and Russian, …

Male Offenders Perspectives On Contextual And Proximal Events Associated With Incidents Of Domestic Violence, Sharon M. Aaron

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Domestic violence is a serious public health problem in the United States; one which has proven intractable to researchers working on theory development and on effective prevention interventions. Although much has been reported from the perspectives of battered women, there are few studies that examine the perspectives of male offenders. In particular, there has been a call for more research on contextual and proximal events associated with incidents of domestic violence from the male offenders’ perspective.

In this study, ten male offenders were interviewed to address this need. Interviews were analyzed using grounded theory method to identify themes in the …

Mitigating Colluding Attacks In Online Social Networks And Crowdsourcing Platforms, Georges Arsene K. Kamhoua

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Online Social Networks (OSNs) have created new ways for people to communicate, and for companies to engage their customers -- with these new avenues for communication come new vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers. This dissertation aims to investigate two attack models: Identity Clone Attacks (ICA) and Reconnaissance Attacks (RA). During an ICA, attackers impersonate users in a network and attempt to infiltrate social circles and extract confidential information. In an RA, attackers gather information on a target's resources, employees, and relationships with other entities over public venues such as OSNs and company websites. This was made easier for …

Assessing Cognitive Interview Mnemonics And Their Effectiveness With Non-Native English Speakers, Bryan Keith Wylie

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The cognitive interview is a widely recommended forensic interviewing strategy which elicits more details than comparison interviews. However, little research has attended to which of its component mnemonics drive the overall effect. Furthermore, some mnemonics—like asking witnesses to recall in reverse order—are cognitively demanding. Responding to cognitively demanding interview mnemonics may be challenging for witnesses who are already under heavy cognitive load, such as non-native English speakers. Speaking a second language is a cognitively difficult task that may leave non-native English speakers with limited cognitive resources to devote to complex interviewing mnemonics. Other mnemonics, though, may be particularly beneficial for …

Attentional Processes In Anxiety: Examining Threat-Related Attention Bias And Attentional Control In Anxious Youth, Raquel Melendez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Attention bias modification treatment (ABMT) is a computer-administered intervention informed by theoretical models implicating the role of attentional processes in the etiology and maintenance of anxiety. Attention bias modification treatment presents an innovative, cost-effective approach to meeting demand for treatment of anxiety disorders; however data are limited regarding long-term outcomes and related predictors of ABMT treatment outcomes in youth. Therefore, the present study examined long-term outcomes of ABMT as a standalone or adjunctive treatment in 74 youth referred to an anxiety disorders clinic. Three groups of youth (ages 9 to 22) were identified and assessed approximately one to six years …

Generating Alternatives: The Possible Energy Transitions For France And Germany After The Paris Accord, Anna Fache

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Following the Paris Accord of 2015, multiple countries, including France and Germany, promised to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in order to slow down climate change. Current energy production and consumption patterns do not allow for such targets. Meeting these emission reduction goals requires a transition in energy production. Energy transitions can be inefficient and costly if not planned properly, and multiple constraints need to be taken into account when putting such a process in place. The model proposed in the present study aims to find the most cost-effective energy portfolios for France and Germany, two highly industrialized nations in …