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2009

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Controlled Research Utilizing Geophysical Technologies In The Search For Buried Firearms And Miscellaneous Weapons, Mary Rezos Jan 2009

Controlled Research Utilizing Geophysical Technologies In The Search For Buried Firearms And Miscellaneous Weapons, Mary Rezos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Incorporating geophysical technologies into forensic investigations has become a growing practice. Oftentimes, forensic professionals rely on basic metal detectors to assist their efforts during buried weapons searches, perhaps being used by someone with negligible or limited training, in turn slowing down investigation time and destroying the scene. This has created a need for research in the area of weapons searches, specifically to formulate guidelines for advanced geophysical methods that may be appropriate for locating weapons that have been discarded or buried by criminals attempting to conceal their involvement in a crime. This research project was the first to demonstrate the …

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Ballcourt Iconography At Caracol, Belize, Patsy Holden Jan 2009

Ballcourt Iconography At Caracol, Belize, Patsy Holden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the more commonly known aspects of the ancient Maya culture is the ballgame. This ancient ballgame was played by most Mesoamerican cultures on a constructed ballcourt and many major Mesoamerican sites have at least one, if not more than one. Contemporary Mesoamericans still play versions of this ballgame today, but without the use of the ballcourts, questioning the importance and purpose of the ballcourt that is no longer the case today. After over a century of research, scholars have yet to unravel all the cosmological and mythological mysteries of the ballcourt and its purpose to the ancient Maya. …

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Geophysical Survey Of Greenwood Cemetery, Orlando, Florida, Dennis Wardlaw Jan 2009

Geophysical Survey Of Greenwood Cemetery, Orlando, Florida, Dennis Wardlaw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Advances in geophysical and remote sensing technology, specifically with ground penetrating radar (GPR) and geographic information systems (GIS), have led to increased use for archaeological research within cemeteries. Because of its non-invasive manner and high resolution of subsurface anomalies, GPR is ideal for surveying areas with marked or unmarked graves within cemeteries. Using a GIS assists cemetery research by facilitating integration of datasets and projection of spatial data. What has not been attempted to this point is systematic attempting to correlate detection rates of marked graves using a GPR with the time frame of the grave while incorporating the data …

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The Forensic Analysis Of Triacetone Triperoxide (Tatp) Precursors And Synthetic By-Products, Kimberly Painter Jan 2009

The Forensic Analysis Of Triacetone Triperoxide (Tatp) Precursors And Synthetic By-Products, Kimberly Painter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP) is a primary high explosive that can be synthesized using commercially available starting materials and has grown in use among terrorists over the past several years. Additives present in the precursors were investigated to see if they carry through the TATP synthesis and can be detected in the final product potentially aiding in the identification of the source. Additives identified in the acetones were also identified in pre-blast and in some post-blast samples. However, these additives are present in trace quantities relative to the TATP, which coupled with the volatility and short lifetimes of some of the …

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Categorical Perception Of Stop Consonants In Children With Autism, Laura Bourdeau Jan 2009

Categorical Perception Of Stop Consonants In Children With Autism, Laura Bourdeau

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine whether children with autism recognize the same perceptual voicing boundaries of stop consonants as normally developing children of the same age group. This was explored using three groups of participants: ten children with autism between the ages of 8-14, five typically developing children between the ages of 8-14, and five typically developing seven-year-old children. Children in all groups listened to initial stop consonant syllables with voicing contrasts, with voiced and voiceless cognates presented. The initial consonants were altered along a voice onset time continuum within the typically perceived boundaries of each consonant. …

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A Model Of Treating Hyperfunctional Voice Disorders For School Age Children Within A Serious Gaming Environment, Suzanne King Jan 2009

A Model Of Treating Hyperfunctional Voice Disorders For School Age Children Within A Serious Gaming Environment, Suzanne King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study is to test the feasibility of implementing a video-game based intervention protocol as a means to improve therapy compliance in school age children with hyperfunctional voice disorders. Three levels of modification were made to an existing entertainment software program in order to implement the therapeutic protocol and test compatibility. The third level of modification included a two-phase quasi-experimental single subject design with a school age participant receiving the video game therapy protocol and traditional therapy for equal time. The independent variables for this study included the mode of voice therapy delivery (traditional vs. video …

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The Whole Headlight-Colored Night, Matthew Bryan Jan 2009

The Whole Headlight-Colored Night, Matthew Bryan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This collection of short fiction probes the lives of characters trying to make their home in the flat, unchanging landscape of the small towns that make up central Florida. The largely static environment reflects the rigid patterns of behavior and domesticity the characters find themselves so easily falling into. Seemingly ordinary items-a shotgun, a t-shirt, a paper bag-and the small moments that make up everyday life are imbued with significance as men and women painfully aware of their own ordinariness struggle to hold onto those fragile instances of connection, happiness, or even their own self-constructed sense of identity. The struggle …

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Until The Meat Falls Off The Bone, Holly Kapherr Jan 2009

Until The Meat Falls Off The Bone, Holly Kapherr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Though this work started as a formal academic cultural study, it stretched and squirmed and became not only an examination of the cultures themselves, but how I came to fit within those cultures. By combining my experiences travelling as a child and young adult as well as learning the craft of professional cooking, the essays in this work are highly centered around food and what food means both to me and to cultures throughout the world. The structure and tone of these essays varies greatly from one to the other, all at once casual, almost conversational in one, and pedantic …

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Humanizing Technical Communication With Metaphor, Ashley Mcclure Jan 2009

Humanizing Technical Communication With Metaphor, Ashley Mcclure

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores how metaphors can humanize a technical document and more effectively facilitate user comprehension. The frequent use of metaphor in technical communication reminds us that the discipline is highly creative and rhetorical. Theory demonstrates that a technical text involves interpretation and subjectivity during both its creation by the technical communicator and its application by the user. If employed carefully and skillfully, metaphor can be a powerful tool to ensure users' needs are met during this process. The primary goal of technical communication is to convey information to an audience as clearly and efficiently as possible. Because of the …

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Selling Sunshine: How Cypress Gardens Defined Florida, 1935-2004, David Dinocola Jan 2009

Selling Sunshine: How Cypress Gardens Defined Florida, 1935-2004, David Dinocola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the relationship between Cypress Gardens and the state of Florida. Specifically, it focuses on how the creator of the park, Dick Pope, created his park after his own idealized vision of the state, and how he then promoted both his park and Florida as one and the same. The growth and later decline of Cypress Gardens follows trends in Florida's growth patterns and shifts in tourism. This study primarily uses a combination of newspaper sources and promotional pictures and other media from the park to explain how Pope attempted to make Cypress Gardens synonymous with Florida. In …

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Post-Apartheid Political Culture In South Africa, 1994-2004, Andrew Kinsell Jan 2009

Post-Apartheid Political Culture In South Africa, 1994-2004, Andrew Kinsell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Between 1994 and 2004 the African National Congress (ANC) dominated government at every level of every branch. As a result, the checks and balances that are a necessary part of any democracy were non-existent. Understanding the powerful position they occupied, the ANC increasingly acted on its own accordance without any regard for the wishes of the South African populace. This lack of public consideration, coupled with the failure to economically redistribute wealth among the vast unemployed majority, turned an optimistic political culture with mass participation in 1994 into a disillusioned political culture with reduced political participation in 2004. These economic …

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Web-Based, Gendered Recruitment Of Women By Organized White Supremacist Groups, Angela King Jan 2009

Web-Based, Gendered Recruitment Of Women By Organized White Supremacist Groups, Angela King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to the hate group watchdog organization, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of hate groups in the United States rose 54 percent since 2000 (SPLC 2009 a & b). Literature on organized white supremacist groups suggests that women have become increasingly more important to such groups for a variety of reasons, many of which are not always agreed upon by and within said groups. In addition, it is believed by many in the hate monitoring world that the World Wide Web has become progressively more dynamic as a medium of recruitment, as a tool of communication among members, …

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Plato's Crito: A Deontological Reading, Lisa Sklar Jan 2009

Plato's Crito: A Deontological Reading, Lisa Sklar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plato's 'Crito' depicts Socrates in prison awaiting his execution and arguing that despite the injustice of his sentence, he is morally obligated to remain there so that it can be carried out. The early Socratic dialogues were concerned with the nature of the virtues which formed the foundation of Athenian morals. This "primacy of virtue" has developed into the modern theory of virtue ethics. In this thesis, I argue that in the 'Crito', Socrates sets aside his typical virtue ethics approach, and instead utilizes a deontological framework for his arguments. I apply the deontological theories of Immanuel Kant and W. …

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The Effectiveness Of Post-Secondary Web Based Communication In The University Of Central Florida's Online Educational Settin, Brandon Hinchman Jan 2009

The Effectiveness Of Post-Secondary Web Based Communication In The University Of Central Florida's Online Educational Settin, Brandon Hinchman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While technology continues to advance, so do methods of learning. In post-secondary education during the twentieth century, the traditional classroom setting was geared toward auditory instruction and face-to-face peer interaction. Not only was this the most efficient means of instruction for the time period but the only means. Along with the advent of communication technology came the concept of Web courses. Web courses have expanded the means by which students can experience course lectures and have beckoned the use of updated media by which such lectures can take place. Such media include threaded discussions, chat rooms and e-mail. At the …

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Standing Waves Of Spatially Discrete Fitzhugh-Nagumo Equations, Joseph Segal Jan 2009

Standing Waves Of Spatially Discrete Fitzhugh-Nagumo Equations, Joseph Segal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We study a system of spatially discrete FitzHugh-Nagumo equations, which are nonlinear differential-difference equations on an infinite one-dimensional lattice. These equations are used as a model of impulse propagation in nerve cells. We employ McKean's caricature of the cubic as our nonlinearity, which allows us to reduce the nonlinear problem into a linear inhomogeneous problem. We find exact solutions for standing waves, which are steady states of the system. We derive formulas for all 1-pulse solutions. We determine the range of parameter values that allow for the existence of standing waves. We use numerical methods to demonstrate the stability of …

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India And China Space Programs: From Genesis Of Space Technologies To Major Space Programs And What That Means For The Internati, Gaurav Bhola Jan 2009

India And China Space Programs: From Genesis Of Space Technologies To Major Space Programs And What That Means For The Internati, Gaurav Bhola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Indian and Chinese space programs have evolved into technologically advanced vehicles of national prestige and international competition for developed nations. The programs continue to evolve with impetus that India and China will have the same space capabilities as the United States with in the coming years. This will present new challenges to the international community in spheres civilian, to space and military applications and their residual benefits.

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Role Of Revolutionary Leadership In Iran To Its Foreign Policy, Aida Latorre Jan 2009

Role Of Revolutionary Leadership In Iran To Its Foreign Policy, Aida Latorre

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the role of different leadership styles within Iran and how such leadership changes influenced Iranian foreign policy. The study utilized event-data analysis of Iranian history and current events and discussed the role of realist and idealist to the development of Iran into the regional power it is today as well as how Western relations played a role in developing Iranian foreign policy, particularly with regard to its nuclear development. The main body of the study drew from the dynamics within Iran, its relations with the West, relations with Israel, and relations with other foreign powers. The event-data …

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The News Media And Public Opinion: The Press Coverage Of U.S. International Conflicts And Its Effect On Presidental Approval, Kristen Mccullough Jan 2009

The News Media And Public Opinion: The Press Coverage Of U.S. International Conflicts And Its Effect On Presidental Approval, Kristen Mccullough

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A standing phenomenon exists in the fields of both political science and communication studies regarding the impact that the news media have on public opinion. This study recognizes the average American citizens' reliance on the press to gain information about international conflicts. Hence, it is theorized that news reports on a political occurrence could very well influence the mass-level opinion of an event such that positive news stories generate positive public opinion, and vice versa. Since foreign crises define a presidency in the public's minds, presidential approval ratings determine the degree to which the news media manipulate public opinion. Specifically, …

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Taking The Initiative: Exploring The Influence Of Citizen Legislating On Good Goverance In The American States, Kerri Milita Jan 2009

Taking The Initiative: Exploring The Influence Of Citizen Legislating On Good Goverance In The American States, Kerri Milita

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The citizen legislator is both a controversial and recurring phenomenon of interest in political science research. A longstanding concern for the discipline has been whether or not involvement of the public in the lawmaking process is an asset or a liability to quality governance. This study explores the desirability of citizen legislating in the American states. A four dimensional index is created that includes empirical indicators of "substantive" and "procedural" governance. These indicators include voter turnout, fiscal health, the ideological distance between government and the citizenry, and the diversity of a state's interest group system. The total number of initiatives …

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Globalization And Identity: A Cross-National Study Among Chinese, Indian, Colombian, And American College Students, Min Cheng Jan 2009

Globalization And Identity: A Cross-National Study Among Chinese, Indian, Colombian, And American College Students, Min Cheng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Arnett (2002) has suggested the development of a typology similar to one that has become popular in the ethnic identity literature (Berry, 1993; Phinney, 1990) whereby people are surveyed in terms of strength of identification with both the dominant national culture and their particular sub-group minority culture. Based on this typology, we have developed a paper and pencil measure, the Global Identity Survey (GIS), which asks participants about the degree to which they identify with either the local or global culture. A new typology is proposed, with behaviors and attitudes falling into one of the four following categories: "locally encapsulated" …

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Adolescent And Caregiver Identity Distress, Identity Status, And Their Relationship To Psychological Adjustment, Rachel Wiley Jan 2009

Adolescent And Caregiver Identity Distress, Identity Status, And Their Relationship To Psychological Adjustment, Rachel Wiley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study addresses identity distress and identity status in adolescents with clinical diagnoses, and their caregivers. There were 88 adolescent participants (43.2% female) ranging in age from 11 to 20 (mean =14.96; SD =1.85) who were recruited from community mental health centers in Volusia and Orange Counties. The 63 caregiver participants included mothers (82.5%), fathers (7.9%), grandmothers (7.9%), and grandfathers (1.6%), ranging in age from 28-70 (mean = 40.24; SD = 9.16). A significant proportion of adolescents (22.7%) met criteria for Identity Problem in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; American Psychiatric Association, …

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Elucidating The Social Skills Deficits In Children With Asperger's Disorder: A Comparative Study, Lindsay Scharfstein Jan 2009

Elucidating The Social Skills Deficits In Children With Asperger's Disorder: A Comparative Study, Lindsay Scharfstein

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children with Asperger's Disorder are considered to have impairments in social interaction, but to date few studies have empirically addressed this issue. This study examined the existence of social skills deficits in children with Asperger's Disorder, children with social phobia, and children with no psychological disorder. Using direct observation of social skills during role-play tasks, blinded observers rated an overall impression of social effectiveness and three specific categories of social skill: pragmatic behavior (e.g., effort to maintain conversation, latency to respond), speech and prosodic behavior (e.g., vocal inflection, voice volume), and paralinguistic conversational behaviors (e.g., facial orientation, motor movement). Children …

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Have You Heard? Predictors Of Hpv Awareness Among A Random Sample Of College Students, Meagan Arrastia Jan 2009

Have You Heard? Predictors Of Hpv Awareness Among A Random Sample Of College Students, Meagan Arrastia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

College students have been identified as at high risk for contracting Human Papillomavirus (HPV) due to engaging in risky behaviors, such as binge drinking and unprotected sex. Before preventative measures like vaccination and condom usage can be promoted, awareness must be evaluated. A random sample of 438 college students was surveyed on their awareness of HPV using both paper and online surveying methods. Using binary logistic regression, HPV awareness was predicted using demographic measures. The majority of the sample reported having heard of HPV before. Sexually active respondents and females were significantly more likely to report awareness. Non-whites and first-generation …

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Education And Spiritual Internalization, Donavan Bowers Jan 2009

Education And Spiritual Internalization, Donavan Bowers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A growing body of research has addressed the relationship between religiousness and spirituality. In addition, recent research focuses on the variations in definition and operationalization of the two concepts. Most of this literature examines spirituality as a construct under religion. Conceptualizing those who are spiritual but non-religious has received far less attention. This study uses recent data from the General Social Surveys to assess the relationship of those who are spiritual but not religious with education and a number of socio-demographic variables. The analysis shows that there is a positive relationship between one identifying as someone who is spiritual but …

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Hurricane Katrina And The Perception Of Risk: Incorporating The Local Context, Nnenia Campbell Jan 2009

Hurricane Katrina And The Perception Of Risk: Incorporating The Local Context, Nnenia Campbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper identifies social conditions that shape perceptions of risk to environmental toxins among residents in the Gulf Coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina. Demographic information from a randomly selected sample of 2,548 residents was used to explore the concept of the "White male effect" as discussed in previous literature, which has found that white males are particularly risk accepting compared to all other race and gender groups. This analysis also evaluated the influence of trust in government and beliefs about environmental justice on perceived exposure and compared responses from residents within and outside the City of New …

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The Effect Of Relative Deprivation On Delinquency: An Assessment Of Juveniles, Adrienne Horne Jan 2009

The Effect Of Relative Deprivation On Delinquency: An Assessment Of Juveniles, Adrienne Horne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact of relative deprivation on juvenile delinquency. Though this topic has been explored by several researchers, there has not been much consistency in the research due to the operationalization of key variables. Traditionally, relative deprivation has been referenced in relation to Merton's Classic Strain Theory, using economic indicators to measure relative deprivation. Webber and Runciman however, expanded upon Merton's original premise and integrated more diverse measures of relative deprivation into their research. The current study utilizes Agnew's General Strain Theory (GST) as a means to measure relative deprivation as a broader and more subjective topic. This …

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Religiosity And Subjective Interpretations Of Personal Wealth, Andrew Lash Jan 2009

Religiosity And Subjective Interpretations Of Personal Wealth, Andrew Lash

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historically, research has connected religiosity to many economic concepts in the United States. Religiosity can be a primary factor in the development of attitudes and values regarding financial issues and personal wealth. This study further expands the sociology of religion and economics by examining how differences in religious affiliation, attendance, and sociodemographic factors affect attitudes regarding personal wealth and financial behaviors. Previous studies have concentrated on religious differences in income, education, and life course achievement; however, few studies, if any, have directly measured religiosity and subjective attitudes toward personal wealth. Using the PEW Research Center's Economy Survey from February 2008, …

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The Effects Of Religious Affiliation And Participation On Racial Discrimination, Jason Levine Jan 2009

The Effects Of Religious Affiliation And Participation On Racial Discrimination, Jason Levine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between religious affiliation and racially discriminatory attitudes. Several investigations have been conducted on the topic, yet they did not choose national representative samples. My research examines four decades of NORC General Social Surveys to analyze how religious affiliation and attendance affect the outcome of a survey question which tests the level of discriminatory attitudes among respondents.

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Defended Neighborhoods And Organized Crime: Does Organized Crime Lower Street Crime?, Hollianne Marshall Jan 2009

Defended Neighborhoods And Organized Crime: Does Organized Crime Lower Street Crime?, Hollianne Marshall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The literature suggests that neighborhoods with organized criminal networks would have lower crime rates than other neighborhoods or communities, because of the social control their organization exerts on residents and visitors. The strictly organized Italian-American Mafia seems to have characteristics that would translate throughout the neighborhood: People will not participate in overt illegal behaviors because they do not know who is watching, and the fear of what the Mafia might do keeps residents and visitors to the neighborhood relatively well-behaved. Using crime statistics from the NYPD and census data for neighborhood characteristics, four linear regressions were calculated. The results indicate …

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A Study Of Regional Language And Identities In A Small Occitan Village, Patrick Sacleux Jan 2009

A Study Of Regional Language And Identities In A Small Occitan Village, Patrick Sacleux

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study utilized qualitative methods to approach regional language abilities of local respondents and how it affects their regional identity. The theoretical framework of this study explored some of the tenets of symbolic interaction emphasizing on identity theory and how the flexible aspect of face-to-face interaction can define the self and someone's regional identity as it relates to their regional language use. Data for this study were collected in a small Occitan village in Southern France. In particular, the study explored the link between an individual residential setting, his/her age and his/her ability to speak the regional language. The …

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