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2008

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Energy Efficient Cluster-Based Target Tracking Strategy, Waleed Khalid Al-Ghanem Jan 2008

Energy Efficient Cluster-Based Target Tracking Strategy, Waleed Khalid Al-Ghanem

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This research proposes a cluster-based target tracking strategy for one moving object using wireless sensor networks. The sensor field is organized in 3 hierarchal levels. 1-bit message is sent when a node detects the target. Otherwise the node stays silent. Since in wireless sensor network nodes have limited computational resources, limited storage resources, and limited battery, the code for predicting the target position should be simple, and fast to execute. The algorithm proposed in this research is simple, fast, and utilizes all available detection data for estimating the location of the target while conserving energy. lbis has the potential of …

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Exploring Barriers To Education For Native American Indians, Enid. Conley Jan 2008

Exploring Barriers To Education For Native American Indians, Enid. Conley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This qualitative storytelling and exploratory research design investigated the barriers, enhancers, and coping strategies to education experienced by adult Native American Indians from various Native American Indian Nations. In addition, differences between the sexes, Native American Nations, and/or languages spoken, and/or participation in cultural activities regarding barriers, enhancers, and coping strategies of Native American Indians were examined. The study with 23 adult Native American participants revealed a main theme of identity both passive and aggressive that permeated all of the thematic areas: barriers, enhancers, and coping strategies. The barriers ranged from reinventing the Native American Indian to language barriers caused …

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Experimental Evaluation Of The Structural Integrity Of The Repairs For Corrosion-Damaged Marine Piles, Juan Carlos Bolivar Jan 2008

Experimental Evaluation Of The Structural Integrity Of The Repairs For Corrosion-Damaged Marine Piles, Juan Carlos Bolivar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Corrosion damage is the mam cause of deterioration for reinforced concrete marine structures. Given the current economic downturn, it has become increasingly important to repair existing structures with techniques that prolong their life-cycle. The process to identify suitable repairs is affected by the lack of a consistent methodology to predict the outcome of the repairs. This investigation intends to compare the performance of seven different repairs, in terms of corrosion resistance, structural integrity, and cost-effectiveness. Following initial exposure to corrosion, the specimens were repaired using the proposed techniques. They were then tested for durability under simulated tidal conditions with periodic …

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Examining Unique Domestic Migration Processes And Relationships Between Miami-Dade, Broward And Palm Beach Counties, Eric M. Power Jan 2008

Examining Unique Domestic Migration Processes And Relationships Between Miami-Dade, Broward And Palm Beach Counties, Eric M. Power

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) known as Miami Fort Lauderdale Pompano Beach consistently gains migrants from both the United States and abroad. However, despite the constant increase in population, the domestic out-migration for Miami-Dade County has consistently been more than the domestic in-migration. Recently a similar trend is occurring in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. The continual gain in population despite the domestic out-migration is mostly due to the large international in-migration for the region. Using data from the Internal Revenue Service, this paper discusses the migration of domestic populations and determines if possible new trends exist for this MSA. …

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Evaluation Of Water Degradation Ofpolymer Matrix Composites By Micromechanical And Macromechanical Tests, Felipe A. Ramirez Jan 2008

Evaluation Of Water Degradation Ofpolymer Matrix Composites By Micromechanical And Macromechanical Tests, Felipe A. Ramirez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Degradation of the critical components of polymer matrix composites in marine environments had been experimentally investigated. Water absorption behavior of neat resin and composite specimens was examined. The tensile strength of fibers was monitored using the single filament test. The mechanical properties of the resins were monitored by tensile, flexure, and dynamic-mechanical tests. In addition, matrix shrinkage during cure and matrix swelling after immersion in water were monitored. The integrity of the fiber/matrix (F/M) interface of the composite systems was studied using the single fiber fragmentation test (SFFT). Macroscopic composites were examined using transverse tensile and transverse flexure tests to …

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Filipina-South Florida International Internet Marriage Practice, Pamela Sullivan Haley Jan 2008

Filipina-South Florida International Internet Marriage Practice, Pamela Sullivan Haley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This dissertation concerns the structures and individual agency of Filipina brides who met their American husbands through Internet or pen pal advertisements. Popular media, legal scholars, and some feminists have largely described the phenomenon in terms of its oppressiveness toward the women involved, thus dismissing any agency on the part of the women. Similarly, much of the scholarship has located the American Internet grooms as ogres who are out to exploit these women for domestic and sexual services. If prominent researchers of this phenomenon are correct in their assessments that Filipina Internet brides operate as effective agents, then one also …

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Far Winter, Elizabeth. Rodrigues Jan 2008

Far Winter, Elizabeth. Rodrigues

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This collection of poems engages narratives of geographical and emotional displacement on a journey toward a place from which to begin writing. The inciting narrative is one of travel - Brazil, to England, and to adulthood. A second narrative emerges as a gradual realization that these first displacements will never be truly resolved and that this lack of resolution is the only occasion from which to write. As the collection continues, the speaker of these poems is less and less comfortable with pronouncement and more and more comfortable with action. The act of doing something - moving, driving, walking, escaping, …

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Female Directed Sexual Coercion In Intimate Relationships: An Evolutionary Psychological Perspective, Valerie G. Starratt Jan 2008

Female Directed Sexual Coercion In Intimate Relationships: An Evolutionary Psychological Perspective, Valerie G. Starratt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Over human evolutionary history, men faced the adaptive problem of cuckoldry, or the unwitting investment in genetically unrelated offspring. As cuckoldry is potentially so reproductively costly, men may have evolved anti-cuckoldry psychological adaptations. Sexual coercion has been hypothesized as one class of anti-cuckoldry behaviors. By sexually coercing an intimate partner, a man may reduce the risk of cuckoldry by placing his sperm in competition with a rival male's spenn, should his partner have been sexually unfaithful. I will present three studies that investigate the role of female infidelity, an assessment of risk of spenn competition and subsequent cuckoldry, in predicting …

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Frankenstein, Science Fiction, And The Poetry Of Science, Peter Davis Jan 2008

Frankenstein, Science Fiction, And The Poetry Of Science, Peter Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

While Frankenstein has recently received criticism weighted heavily in politics, gender, and feminist studies, what gets overlooked in these discussions is that Mary Shelley's novel remains a story about science--not about empirical science, necessarily, but about abstract science. As science fiction, Frankenstein incorporates fictional science to posit truths about the human experience. Shelley's metaphor for the novel, ''my hideous progeny," reminds readers to respect the uncertain elements in invention in the arts and sciences. The problem for Frankenstein that I address has to do with an uncertainty of the terms, "science'' and "science fiction ,'' which results in further uncertainty …

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First-Principles Study Of Metastable Phases And Structural Anomalies Of Fe, Al, Zn, And Cd Under Pressure, Florin. Apostol Jan 2008

First-Principles Study Of Metastable Phases And Structural Anomalies Of Fe, Al, Zn, And Cd Under Pressure, Florin. Apostol

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Stable and metastable phases of Fe and Al and structural anomalies of Zn and Cd have been studied by epitaxial Bain path (EBP) and minimum path (MNP) first-principles procedures, based on finding equilibrium structures from minimizing the Gibbs free energy G with respect to structure at a given hydrostatic pressure p and temperature T . The main accomplishments are as follows. (1) This dissertation illustrates the effectiveness of the MNP procedure for finding stable and metastable phases of an element by studying four Bravais phases of Fe including body-centered tetragonal (bct), body-centered cubic (bcc), face-centered cubic (fcc) and rhombohedral (rh) …

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Foreign Market Opportunity Analysis, Shirley Ye Sheng Jan 2008

Foreign Market Opportunity Analysis, Shirley Ye Sheng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Foreign-market opportunity analysis is the most frequent objective of international marketing research (Czinkota and Ronkainen 2007). The importance of foreign market opportunity assessment has been well noticed by both marketing managers and scholars. However, a foreign market opportunity analysis model based on theory that goes beyond aggregate demand is still lacking. This dissertation proposes a new model by combining marketing-based Overall Market Opportunity Index (OMOI) scheme with the economic-based gravity model of international trade. Hypotheses were tested as well as the usefulness of OMOI/Gravity Hybrid Model through three separate models with empirical analyses structured as follows. The first model extends …

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Gay-Centric Identity, Robert D. Beebe Jan 2008

Gay-Centric Identity, Robert D. Beebe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

For many gay men performing a gay-centric identity can be challenging. By adopting a set of expected behaviors known as the gay cultural script, many of these men are potentially met with discrimination from both heterosexual and homosexual communities. The gay cultural script is readily available as it is found within the gay ghettos and through various representations of gay men in the media. This research question examines how the gay cultural script when found within the gay ghetto and through the media's representation of gay men provides a lens to which the performance of a gay-centric identity may be …

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Florida Student Progression Policies And Their Effect On Student Achievement, Marielena P. Wright Jan 2008

Florida Student Progression Policies And Their Effect On Student Achievement, Marielena P. Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This study investigated the varied district student progression policies from 9th to lOth grade and their effect on the district-level achievement of the high schools as measured by six categories of FCA T achievement consistent with those that comprise district grades during the 2005-2006 academic year. In Florida, the state assessment policy and the resulting rewards and sanctions policy, known as the Florida A+ Plan, are uniformly defined across districts while the state student progression policy simply provides guidelines for districts to follow. This results in varied student progression policies in the 67 school districts within the state. A quantitative …

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Hierarchical Resource Selection And Movement Of Two Wading Bird Species With Divergent Foraging Strategies In The Everglades, James M. Beerens Jan 2008

Hierarchical Resource Selection And Movement Of Two Wading Bird Species With Divergent Foraging Strategies In The Everglades, James M. Beerens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Seasonal variation in food availability is one of the primary limitations to avian populations, particularly during the breeding season. However, the behavioral responses between species may differ based on foraging strategies. I examined the influence of food availability on landscape-level habitat selection, patch-level habitat selection, and movements of two wading bird species with divergent foraging strategies, the Great Egret and White Ibis. On a landscape scale, there appeared to be a relationship among resource availability, the temporal scale of the independent variable, and whether the response was similar or different between species. At the patch level, results demonstrated a relationship …

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Imaganes De La Mujer Transgresora En La Tradiciâon Romancera, Inbal Mazar Jan 2008

Imaganes De La Mujer Transgresora En La Tradiciâon Romancera, Inbal Mazar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The Sephardic ballad collection contains ballads of varying themes, many of which have been forgotten in Spain, where they were originally sung by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. A popular theme within this genre is that of women committing adultery and transgressions which in many of the ballads is punishable by death. A brief history of the Sephardic Jews and their literary and oral tradition is included. An emphasis is placed on women's role in ballad tradition and the importance of transculturation and mimesis within the oral tradition, both significant to the survival of a tradition that has been continued for …

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Geology And Hydrocarbon Potential Ofthe Beaufort Sea, Alaska, Based On Geophysical Data., Kern Kassarie Jan 2008

Geology And Hydrocarbon Potential Ofthe Beaufort Sea, Alaska, Based On Geophysical Data., Kern Kassarie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Analysis of2D seismic reflection profiles, magnetic anomaly data and four well logs reveals that the continental shelf of the Beaufort Sea is in many ways, a direct geological extension ofthe prolific oil and gas province ofthe North Slope of Alaska. Stratigraphy is divided into four sequences. The organic rich shales are characterized as potential source rocks and the carbonates and marine to non marine sandstones are interpreted to be the reservoir rocks. Structural interpretation has revealed the presence of five structures capable of trapping hydrocarbons. These structures were identified as the Barrow arch, Camden anticline, Dinkum graben, shale diapirs and …

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Impact Of Technology On The Music Industry, Jazmine A. Valencia Jan 2008

Impact Of Technology On The Music Industry, Jazmine A. Valencia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This thesis examines the impact technology has on the music industry. Despite decrease in physical sales and piracy, statistics indicate that consumer requests for music content are strong. Although sales of physical product have decreased, the demand for digital music has dramatically increased. The current market players and technology innovations provide new opportunities to deliver music to the consumer. It is imperative to balance the divergent interests of consumers and artists, while ensuring profits for all parties involved.

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Image Retrieval Using Visual Attention, Liam M. Mayron Jan 2008

Image Retrieval Using Visual Attention, Liam M. Mayron

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The retrieval of digital images is hindered by the semantic gap. The semantic gap is the disparity between a user's high-level interpretation of an image and the information that can be extracted from an image's physical properties. Content based image retrieval systems are particularly vulnerable to the semantic gap due to their reliance on low-level visual features for describing image content. The semantic gap can be narrowed by including high-level, user-generated information. High-level descriptions of images are more capable of capturing the semantic meaning of image content, but it is not always practical to collect this information. Thus, both content-based …

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Impacts Of Harmful Algal Blooms On A Florida Reef Fish Community, Rex E Jr Baumberger Jan 2008

Impacts Of Harmful Algal Blooms On A Florida Reef Fish Community, Rex E Jr Baumberger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Coral reefs worldwide are threatened by many environmental disturbances including harmful algal blooms (HABs) which have been increasing on Florida coasts over the past decade. Research has mainly focused on HAB identification, percent cover and other effects on the benthos but the relationship of HABs with upper trophic levels has received less attention. To study this relationship, a two-year investigation on a 10-m deep reef off of Hallandale Beach, was conducted. Stationary fish census coupled with benthic transect videos were conducted quarterly between April 2005-July 2007. A significant correlation between Lyngbya sp. blooms and alterations in fish assemblages was observed. …

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Isolation And Characterization Of Novel Conopeptides From The Marine Cone Snail, Fred C. Pflueger Jan 2008

Isolation And Characterization Of Novel Conopeptides From The Marine Cone Snail, Fred C. Pflueger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Cone snails are predatory marine gastropods that use venom for means of predation and defense. This venom is a complex mixture of conopeptides that selectivity binds to ion channels and receptors, giving them a wide range of potential pharmaceutical applications. Conus brunneus is a wide spread Eastern Pacific cone snail species that preys upon worms (vermivorous). Vermivorous cone snails have developed very specific biochemical strategies for the immobilization of their prey and their venom has not been extensively studied to date. The main objective of this dissertation is the characterization of novel conopeptides isolated from Conus brunneus. Chapter 1 is …

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Infant Jealousy Responses: Temperament And Eeg, Krystal D. Mize Jan 2008

Infant Jealousy Responses: Temperament And Eeg, Krystal D. Mize

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Jealousy results from the fear of loss of an important relationship partner or his/her exclusive attention (Neu, 1980; Tov-Ruach, 1980). Infants are dependant on their caregivers for basic needs and emotional support. Therefore, if an infant perceives that a rival threatens the parent-child dyad relationship, it is possible that the infant will respond in a jealous manner just as adults do when their important relationships are threatened . Although infants have limited emotional understanding, Palmer and Palmer (2002) suggest that jealousy evolved out of other resource-protecting drives. Because parental care is a valuable resource, supporting survival, infants may have at …

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Indians And Underdogs, Sarah Anne Nohe Jan 2008

Indians And Underdogs, Sarah Anne Nohe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This thesis examines identity as a process, how it is a reflection of, or reaction to, social, economic, and political circumstances. Identity is examined, through an ethnographically informed analysis, as it is represented, contested, and focused in the visual discourse of a small population. The research suggests that identity manifests at specific and strategic moments within the symbolic practices of resistance in coastal Ecuador. Grievances to economic and political power structures are acted out in clear-cut identity terms, or motifs, and function to organize diverse interests into social action. The study illustrates two identity motifs that are commonly asserted in …

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Integrity And Reflections Of The Past, Germina Emily Risos Rio Jan 2008

Integrity And Reflections Of The Past, Germina Emily Risos Rio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The graying of America as a sociological and health care phenomenon continues to dictate the demand for creative and innovative interventions that can directly influence the quality of life of nursing home residents. Creative Reminiscence is a program that fosters the active reliving of the past through narration, such as in story-telling, and the use of creative art expression to uncover meaningful life events or valuable life experiences. The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the meaningful life events elicited by the experience of Creative Reminiscence using a phenomenographic approach. Existing (archived) data-transcribed interviews, poetry and painting …

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Integrating Multi-User Scheduling With Retransmission Diversity Over Wireless Links, Irena Li Jan 2008

Integrating Multi-User Scheduling With Retransmission Diversity Over Wireless Links, Irena Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Research presented in this thesis develops a mainly theoretical basis and computer models for enhancing the throughput of multi-user wireless communication networks. The cross-layer combination of an adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) scheme at the physical layer and the use of automatic repeat request (ARQ) retransmi ssions at the data link layer is integrated into a scheduling framework for multi-user networks. Scheduling algorithms incorporating retransmission diversity are derived for three cases of typical network traffic: best-effort, non-realtime, and realtime. For each case, numeric computer si mulations of wireless communications over Nakagami-m block fading channels are developed to examine the effectiveness …

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Japan's Nuclear Crossroads: The Decision To Pursue Nuclear Arms And What It Means For The World, Douglas Walker Jan 2008

Japan's Nuclear Crossroads: The Decision To Pursue Nuclear Arms And What It Means For The World, Douglas Walker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Japan is currently the country with the greatest ability to influence nuclear proliferation patterns via its own pursuit of nuclear weapons, making it vital to address the foundations and potential influence of Japan's nuclear decision. This analysis applies the history, as well as modern theories, of nuclear arms to conduct a case study of Japan's current status for the purpose of determining how likely Japan is to build nuclear weapons, what may cause it to do so, and what would happen if it did. The study examines numerous factors including Japan's technological and militaristic evolution, its psychological and political barriers …

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Institutional Distance, Social Capital, And The Performance Of Foreign Acquisitions In The United States, Daniel Rottig Jan 2008

Institutional Distance, Social Capital, And The Performance Of Foreign Acquisitions In The United States, Daniel Rottig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This dissertation examined the roles of institutional distance and corporate social capital in the unique context of foreign acquisitions in the United States. A conceptual framework was developed which suggests that institutional distance has a dual impact on international acquisition performance. Institutional distance makes it more difficult for foreign acquirers to establish legitimacy in the United States, and therefore adversely affects acquisition success. Institutional distance also has a beneficial effect on acquisition performance to the extent to which it provides valuable opportunities for institutional arbitrage. Corporate social capital was discussed as a strategy to aid foreign MNCs in overcoming the …

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Isolation, Analysis And Origin Of Bioactive Diterpenes In Pseudopterogorgia Acerosa., Abhijeet S. Kate Jan 2008

Isolation, Analysis And Origin Of Bioactive Diterpenes In Pseudopterogorgia Acerosa., Abhijeet S. Kate

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Nature has served human kind m many ways, one of which is a source of medicines. Natural products from marine sources represent a relatively new area of research and have shown tremendous potential as a source of new chemical entities in drug discovery. Caribbean gorgomans corals of the genus Pseudopterogorgia have been shown to produce a variety of chemically interesting and biologically significant secondary metabolites. ln this dissertation, the Caribbean coral Pseudopterogorgia acerosa has been investigated for the presence of novel diterpenes and these compounds were found to belong to three different classes: pseudopteranoids, bis-pseudopteranoids and lipidyl pseudopteranes. Nine of …

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Lived Experience Of Adolescent Females Who Self-Injure By Cutting, Rhonda Goodman Lesniak Jan 2008

Lived Experience Of Adolescent Females Who Self-Injure By Cutting, Rhonda Goodman Lesniak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Self-injury behavior is identified as the non-suicidal, deliberate infliction of a wound to oneself in an attempt to seek expression. Self-injury is becoming more prevalent in the adolescent population; however, many nursing professionals are unaware of this phenomenon and the implications it holds for nursing. Approximately 12 to 17 percent of adolescents deliberately injure themselves although accurate statistics are difficult to obtain due to the secret and private nature of the behavior. Nurses, especially those who care for adolescents, could benefit from an understanding of the implications of self-injury, the characteristics of adolescents who self-injure, the expressivity of the behavior, …

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Man In The Age Of Mechanical Reproduction, Charles Barry Herzek Jan 2008

Man In The Age Of Mechanical Reproduction, Charles Barry Herzek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Science fiction identifies three characteristics as definitive of and essential to humanity: 1) sentience or self-awareness, 2) emotions, and 3) most importantly, the capacity for sociability. Through the vital possession of these three traits any entity can come to be called human. In the first chapter, I examine Cordwainer Smith's "Scanners Live in Vain" and Samuel R. Delany's "Aye and Gomorrah...," two stories in which human subjects become Other than human. In the second chapter, I explore the prospect of creatures, not biologically human who gain human status through an analysis of Smith's "The Dead Lady of Clown Town" and …

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Living In Abundance: The Experience Of Living With Chronic Illness For Adults Affiliated With A Community Of Faith With Access To A Faith Community Nurse, Susan Macleod Dyess Jan 2008

Living In Abundance: The Experience Of Living With Chronic Illness For Adults Affiliated With A Community Of Faith With Access To A Faith Community Nurse, Susan Macleod Dyess

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The number of adults over the age of 65 years living with one of more chronic illness in the United States is an acknowledged health challenge for the 21st century. This qualitative research investigation examined the lived experience for adults living with one or more chronic illnesses in the context of a community of faith with access to a faith community nurse. Interpretative hermeneutic analysis was used for the phenomenological study. Findings indicate that the adults expressed their primary essence is living in abundance while living faith and living caring. The findings from this study describe the relationship between adults …

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