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2009

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Attitudinal Study Of Older Adult African Americans' Interaction With Computers, Nigel Leon Lovell-Martin Jan 2009

Attitudinal Study Of Older Adult African Americans' Interaction With Computers, Nigel Leon Lovell-Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

It was estimated that 35 million people age 65 or older lived in the United States in 2000. Of that number 2.8 million were Black/African American. The U.S. Census Bureau's (2000) population projections show that there will be 70 million older adults age 65 or older by 2030 and African Americans are expected to comprise over 12% of that population. In 1993 older adults had made less elective use of computers than younger adults, accounting for 24.2% of those age 55 to 64 and 4.9% of adults over age 65. By 2003 adults over age 65 recorded a 20.1% increase …

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Automated Nursing Knowledge Classification Using Indexing, Sucharita Vijay Chinchanikar Jan 2009

Automated Nursing Knowledge Classification Using Indexing, Sucharita Vijay Chinchanikar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Promoting healthcare and wellbeing requires the dedication of a multi-tiered health service delivery system, which is comprised of specialists, medical doctors and nurses. A holistic view to a patient care perspective involves emotional, mental and physical healthcare needs, in which caring is understood as the essence of nursing. Properly and efficiently capturing and managing nursing knowledge is essential to advocating health promotion and illness prevention. This thesis proposes a document-indexing framework for automating classification of nursing knowledge based on nursing theory and practice model. The documents defining the numerous categories in nursing care model are structured with the help of …

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"Stop-It Anti-Fidgeting Device, Scott A. Barnard Jan 2009

"Stop-It Anti-Fidgeting Device, Scott A. Barnard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Fidgeting and otherwise constant movements in individuals can be beneficial in those who suffer from Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or Generalized Anxiety Disorder as well as others. However this constant movement can also be a distraction to others as well as protrude an air of no self confidence. It is the drawbacks from these actions that we wish to address. By developing an intelligent system that can detect these motions and alert the user, it will allow the wearer of the device to self correct. It is in this self control that one may exhibit more confidence or simply reduce the …

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Assessment Of The Effect Of Adult Education On Sustainable Development In Jamaica, Pauline. Mclean Jan 2009

Assessment Of The Effect Of Adult Education On Sustainable Development In Jamaica, Pauline. Mclean

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

An assessment of the knowledge and the behaviors associated with sustainable development was conducted to determine the effect of adult education on sustainable development in Jamaica. The discourse for leadership commitment and governance, as well as continuous learning has its tenets in the discovery that the programs do not significantly address sustainable development (SD). While knowledge was significantly addressed, the programs failed to motivate useful action. The study has provided an explanation of the barriers, costs, and limits to sustainability so that program planners can devise transfer of learning strategies that foster adaptation and mitigation. The investigation involved 35 adult …

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Bleeding Roots, Tinea. Williams Jan 2009

Bleeding Roots, Tinea. Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Scholars of the literary depictions of lynching have given the majority of their attention to the emasculation of the black male, but the representation of the black female lynch victim has been overlooked. My thesis examines the deaths of black women that had the same effect as lynching practices used against men. This specific literary form of lynching will concentrate on two plays: Mary P. Burrill's They That Sit in Darkness (1919) and Marita Bonner's Exit: An Illusion (1929) and two novels by Toni Morrison, Beloved and Sula. Considering the contours of these black female deaths we can expand the …

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Blast/Explosion Resistant Analysis Of Composite Steel Girder Bridge System, Fang. Zhou Jan 2009

Blast/Explosion Resistant Analysis Of Composite Steel Girder Bridge System, Fang. Zhou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The design of bridge structures to resist explosive loads has become more of a concern to the engineering community. This thesis proposes a method to evaluate the effects of conventional blast loads on a two span continuous composite steel girder bridge system. The bridge design is based on AASHTO LRFD method. Resistance capacities of bridge deck and composite steel girder are calculated according to AASHTO specifications. Equivalent blast pressures on the bridge components are obtained. Response and performance of concrete deck, steel girders, and supporting piers are evaluated under typical blast loads. The blast induced force in the bridge components …

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Can I Call You Brother?, Elizabeth Andrea Norberg Jan 2009

Can I Call You Brother?, Elizabeth Andrea Norberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The following manuscript is a novel intended to explore the confusing nature of butch lesbian gender identity and the unique bonds of friendship butch women often share with one another. Lesbian culture, today, sometimes puts pressure on the term butch and pushes butch women to choose between transgender, femme and androgynous. The lead character in this novel, Sarah, struggles to come to terms with her own sexual identity amidst all this pressure to conform. She watches her friends and searches for a model of what butch is and is not but she continues to feel emotionally and physically cut off …

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Coastal Ecuadorian Travestâi, Eve E. Brooks Jan 2009

Coastal Ecuadorian Travestâi, Eve E. Brooks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This research is based on an ethnographic study conducted in 2008. The study took place in Ecuador's coastal province of Manabâi and investigates the lives of a community of transvestite males, known locally as travestâis. This research holds that the social space in which the travestâis live and work, in Puerto Lopez, is negotiated and maintained through a complex interchange of three key factors: the experience of mother's love, the local economy, and sexual desire. The social space itself is defined as a "binary passage." Most of the travestâis are employed as hairdressers, and they draw a wide range of …

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Cement Stabilization Of Organic Soils For Controlling Secondary Compression Behavior, Juan. Ramirez Jan 2009

Cement Stabilization Of Organic Soils For Controlling Secondary Compression Behavior, Juan. Ramirez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Western Palm Beach County, FL is characterized by thick deposits organic soils at shallow depths. Because of their high void ratio and compressibility, these soils undergo large primary consolidation followed by extended periods of secondary compression causing excessive premature structural distress. Although soil stabilization has been largely used with remarkable results in soft, expansive and non-organic soils, limited research and practice exist in the implementation with highly organic soils. The main motivation of this research was to investigate the effects of cement stabilization on the compressibility behavior of organic rich soils, and develop mix design criteria for optimum cement contents …

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Coating Selection Process For Gulf Stream Hydroturbines, Andrew Spicer Bak Jan 2009

Coating Selection Process For Gulf Stream Hydroturbines, Andrew Spicer Bak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The study addresses the coating selection for a proposed placement of a hydroturbine into the Gulf Stream. The turbine will generate energy in a similar manner to a wind turbine. The effects of biofouling and corrosion in the current project are assessed. A review of different types of traditional paint coatings is given, as well as the option for a copper-nickel alloy. Testing that should be undertaken for the coating selection is described in detail. Coating considerations are offered and discussed. Design considerations and modifications are also offered.

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Comparative Analysis Of Teacher-Authored Websites In High School Honors And Advanced Placement Physics For Web-Design And Nses Content And Process Standards, Ronald C. Persin Jan 2009

Comparative Analysis Of Teacher-Authored Websites In High School Honors And Advanced Placement Physics For Web-Design And Nses Content And Process Standards, Ronald C. Persin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether statistically significant differences existed between high school Honors Physics websites and those of Advanced Placement (AP) Physics in terms of web-design, National Science Education Standards (NSES) Physics content, and NSES Science Process standards. The procedure began with the selection of 152 sites comprising two groups with equal sample sizes of 76 for Honors Physics and for Advanced Placement Physics. The websites used in the study were accumulated using the Google[TM] search engine. To find Honors Physics websites, the search words "honors physics high school" were entered as the query into the …

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Collection Of Stories From The Ground Up, Dustin. Clark Jan 2009

Collection Of Stories From The Ground Up, Dustin. Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The stories proposed within this thesis examine the daily lives of working class men, women, and children and the subtle dynamics of the relationships between them. The stories engage a variety of narrative perspectives, sometimes employing serious overtones and sometimes shifting toward humor. Stylistically, the stories construct a single unified voice that sifts through common themes including alcoholism, self-pity, the loss of culture, grief, distrust, absolution, and hero worship.

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Chronic Variable Stress Affects Hippocampal Neurotrophic Factor Gene Expression In The Novelty-Seeking Phenotype, Ozge. Oztan Jan 2009

Chronic Variable Stress Affects Hippocampal Neurotrophic Factor Gene Expression In The Novelty-Seeking Phenotype, Ozge. Oztan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Experimentally naive rats exhibit varying degrees of novelty exploration. Some rats display high rates of locomotor reactivity to novelty (high responders; HR), and others display low rates (low responders; LR). The novelty-seeking phenotype (LRHR) is introduced as a model of stress responsiveness. In this thesis I examined effects of chronic variable physical and social stress or control handling on the levels of various neurotrophins in the hippocampus, and changes in mossy fibre terminal fields in LRHR rats. A positive correlation is seen between histone deacetylase 2 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels both of which are oppositely regulated in LRHR …

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Commodification Of Sexual Labor, Jeffrey R. Young Jan 2009

Commodification Of Sexual Labor, Jeffrey R. Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This is an ethnographic study of a self-regulated Internet site that facilitates illegal female prostitution in South Florida. The purpose is to identify the social and economic characteristics of the site that can contribute to acceptable prostitution reform. The members of the site appear to sustain an orderly and mutually respectful exchange of sexual services for money, suggesting that certain social and economic features of this form of transaction diminish barriers otherwise present in typical forms of contemporary prostitution exchange. The study evaluates the thesis that when commercial sex is conducted in an open atmosphere of respect, trust and mutual …

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Compass Of Human Will In Realism And Fantasy, Tracy. Stone Jan 2009

Compass Of Human Will In Realism And Fantasy, Tracy. Stone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

As realist and naturalist writers at the turn of the twentieth century adopted a scientific spirit of objectivity, they reflected the emphasis many contemporary scientific studies laid on the forces of the natural world in shaping the character, behavior, and ultimate destiny of man. In this literary mood of "pessimistic determinism," fantasy literature began to experience a resurgence, providing a marked contrast to naturalism's portrayal of the impotence of man to effect change in his circumstances. I examine fantasy's restoration of efficacy to the human will through a study of two representative works of the opposing genres: Theodore Dreiser's Sister …

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Complete Thermal Design And Modeling For The Pressure Vessel Of An Ocean Turbine -, Khaled. Kaiser Jan 2009

Complete Thermal Design And Modeling For The Pressure Vessel Of An Ocean Turbine -, Khaled. Kaiser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This thesis is an approach of numerical optimization of thermal design of the ocean turbine developed by the Centre of Ocean Energy and Technology (COET). The technique used here is the integrated method of finite element analysis (FEA) of heat transfer, artificial neural network (ANN) and genetic algorithm (GA) for optimization purposes.

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Cryptography In The Presence Of Key-Dependent Messages, Madeline. Gonzalez Jan 2009

Cryptography In The Presence Of Key-Dependent Messages, Madeline. Gonzalez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The aim of this work is to investigate a security model in which we allow an adversary to have access to functions of the secret key. In recent years, significant progress has been made in understanding the security of encryption schemes in the presence of key-dependent plaintexts or messages (known as KDM). Here, we motivate and explore the security of a setting, where an adversary against a message authentication code (MAC) or signature scheme can access signatures on key-dependent messages. We propose a way to formalize the security of message authentication schemes in the presence of key-dependent MACs (KD-EUF) and …

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Cross-Cultural Stories Of Race And Change, Eloise D (Kitty) Oliver Jan 2009

Cross-Cultural Stories Of Race And Change, Eloise D (Kitty) Oliver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

A progressive discourse on race is impeded by several factors: debates on the reality or unreality of the term race itself; discussions of ethnicity that tend to marginalize a discussion of race; the view by majority members of society that race is a topic for discussion principally by minorities; and the lack of models for non-confrontational public conversations on the subject. In the process, a discussion of racial change rarely enters the discourse beyond brief responses in opinion polls. This study proposed the Race and Change Dialogue Model to facilitate the exploration of how race operates in society on an …

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Determination And Evaluation Of Electrical Properties Of Metal-Containing Condensation Polymers, Amitabh J. Battin Jan 2009

Determination And Evaluation Of Electrical Properties Of Metal-Containing Condensation Polymers, Amitabh J. Battin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Doped electrically conductive polymers are one of the critical materials that have allowed the current technological revolution. Essentially all of today's applications of doped conductive polymers involve vinyl-related polymers. While the application of conductive polymers is rapidly increasing, there is need for additional materials with different electrical behaviors. The current focus is on studying condensation polymers that contain a metal atom and the possibility of undergoing entire chain delocalization of electrons. The different series of organometallic condensation polymers were synthesized by employing interfacial polycondensation technique and characterization of these products were carried out using standard techniques like light scattering photometer, …

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Degradation Of The Composite Fiber/Matrix Interface In Marine Environment, Muhammad Umar Farooq Jan 2009

Degradation Of The Composite Fiber/Matrix Interface In Marine Environment, Muhammad Umar Farooq

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Durability of the composite materials in marine environments has been investigated experimentally and with analytical and numerical methods. The main focus of this study is on the integrity of the fiber/matrix interface under seawater exposure. A single-fiber compression test specimen called the Outwater-Murphy (OM) test has been analyzed using mechanics of materials principles and linear elastic fracture mechanics. Sizing of the OM specimen was conducted so that debonding of the fiber from the interface should be achieved prior to yielding of the matrix and global instability failure. Stress analysis of the OM specimen has been conducted from theory of elasticity …

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Design And Implementation Of Efficient Routing Protocols In Delay Tolerant Networks, Cong. Liu Jan 2009

Design And Implementation Of Efficient Routing Protocols In Delay Tolerant Networks, Cong. Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Delay tolerant networks (DTNs) are occasionally-connected networks that may suffer from frequent partitions. DTNs provide service despite long end to end delays or infrequent connectivity. One fundamental problem in DTNs is routing messages from their source to their destination. DTNs differ from the Internet in that disconnections are the norm instead of the exception. Representative DTNs include sensor-based networks using scheduled intermittent connectivity, terrestrial wireless networks that cannot ordinarily maintain end-to-end connectivity, satellite networks with moderate delays and periodic connectivity, underwater acoustic networks with moderate delays and frequent interruptions due to environmental factors, and vehicular networks with cyclic but nondeterministic …

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Design And Finite Element Analysis Of An Ocean Current Turbine Blade, Nicholas S. Asseff Jan 2009

Design And Finite Element Analysis Of An Ocean Current Turbine Blade, Nicholas S. Asseff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

A composite 3 meter ocean current turbine blade has been designed and analyzed using Blade Element Theory (BET) and commercial Finite Element Modeling (FEM) code, ANSYS. It has been observed that using the numerical BET tool created, power production up to 141 kW is possible from a 3 bladed rotor in an ocean current of 2.5 m/s with the proposed blade design. The blade is of sandwich construction with carbon fiber skin and high density foam core. It also contains two webs made of S2-glass for added shear rigidity. Four design cases were analyzed, involving differences in hydrodynamic shape, material …

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Dimensions Of Sexist Beliefs And Psychosocial Adjustment In Childhood, Sarah Bidmead Jan 2009

Dimensions Of Sexist Beliefs And Psychosocial Adjustment In Childhood, Sarah Bidmead

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The levels of 3 dimensions of sexism and 13 measures of psychosocial adjustment were assessed in 236 children in grades 4 through 8. The adjustment measures were factor analyzed to produce 5 adjustment factors. Analysis revealed that one of the factors, peer-reported prosocial tendencies, was moderately and negatively correlated with two of three measures of sexism. This effect was more pronounced for girls than for boys. Another factor, body self-esteem, was negatively correlated with one of the measures of sexism for girls. The findings are congruent with the view that traditionally sexist ideology may detrimentally impact children's psychosocial adjustment.

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Dynamic Positioning And Motion Mitigation Of A Scaled Sea Basing Platform, Sean P. Marikle Jan 2009

Dynamic Positioning And Motion Mitigation Of A Scaled Sea Basing Platform, Sean P. Marikle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

A 6-Degree Of Freedom (DOF) numeric model and computer simulation along with the 1/10th scale physical model of the Rapidly Deployable Stable Platform (RDSP) are being developed at Florida Atlantic University in response to military needs for ocean platforms with improved sea keeping characteristics. The RDSP is a self deployable spar platform with two distinct modes of operation enabling long distance transit and superior seakeeping. The focus of this research is the development of a Dynamic Position (DP) and motion mitigation system for the RDSP. This will be accomplished though the validation of the mathematical simulation, development of a novel …

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Effects Of Covert Audio Coaching On The Job Performance Of Supported Employees, Kyle D. Bennett Jan 2009

Effects Of Covert Audio Coaching On The Job Performance Of Supported Employees, Kyle D. Bennett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The importance of employment in our society is unmistakable. The financial outcome of employment allows us to provide for ourselves and others. Furthermore, our employment status, and the work in which we engage, play a part in defining our self-concept. For many people, however, sustained employment remains elusive. The unemployment rate for individuals with disabilities is staggering, and the consequences of being without a job affects those who are unemployed, their families, and our society. There are many issues that directly challenge the employment status of people with disabilities. Some of these include funding for supported employment programs, employer bias, …

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Eeg In Preschool Children And The Development Of Empathy, Amanda N. Almeida Jan 2009

Eeg In Preschool Children And The Development Of Empathy, Amanda N. Almeida

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Empathy has been shown to have many positive outcomes in individuals at every stage throughout life. It promotes sociability, helping behaviors, and can protect against the development of psychopathology. Evolutionary theorists have hypothesized that humans have a biological predisposition for empathic response. Temperament, as well as parental interaction with children, account for individual differences in empathic response levels. Much research has also looked at maternal depression as a key factor in children's negative emotional responding. We used EEG to measure individual differences in children's empathic emotional responding, as well as parental interaction and its impact on empathy and prosocial development. …

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Effectiveness Of A Violence Prevention Program Used As A Nursing Intervention Tool On Agression Among Children In Pre-Kindergarten, Carol W. Stephenson Jan 2009

Effectiveness Of A Violence Prevention Program Used As A Nursing Intervention Tool On Agression Among Children In Pre-Kindergarten, Carol W. Stephenson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Childhood aggression has captured media attention over recent years. Aggression and violence have permeated schools and affected many communities. There are policies and programs in place for young adults, teens and children in some high schools and elementary schools, but not in preschools or daycare centers. However, intervention programs need to be introduced at the preschool level. There is also a scarcity of nursing research on aggression among preschoolers and successful early intervention anti-aggression programs. This study evaluated the Second Stepª anti-aggression program, utilized as a nursing intervention tool, among 41 preschool children aged 3, 4, and 5 years of …

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Elucidation Of The Features Of The Zinc Finger Associated Domain (Zad) Family Of Transportation Factors In Drosophila Melanogaster, Joseph. Krystel Jan 2009

Elucidation Of The Features Of The Zinc Finger Associated Domain (Zad) Family Of Transportation Factors In Drosophila Melanogaster, Joseph. Krystel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The zinc finger associated domain (ZAD) containing family of transcription factors is not well described in the literature, in part because it is very difficult to study by mutagenesis. We used in vitro-binding techniques to identify characteristics of the ZAD family, by constructing glutathione Stransferase (GST)-ZAD domain chimeric proteins for use in protein binding assays, and GST-Zinc finger array domain chimera for binding site selections. Protein binding assays indicated a possible shared cofactor, as seen in the analogous KRAB system in mammals. DNA binding assays have provided a consensus binding sequence for five of the ZAD proteins, consistent with previously …

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Effects Of National Board Certification On Retention Of Teachers In The Classroom, Lewis. Jackson Jan 2009

Effects Of National Board Certification On Retention Of Teachers In The Classroom, Lewis. Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This study probes the impact that the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification process has on teachers, schools, and school districts. In particular the study provides research to determine if National Board Certification significantly affects teachers staying in the classrooms as full time teachers. The NBPTS process is explored to better understand the background of the endeavor and how it may thereby assist in promoting teacher retention and whether this concept is being realized. The history of leadership is also explored and discussed as it pertains to education and the NBPTS process. Beyond researching the relationship between National …

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Effects Of Caffeine Supplementation On Strength And Muscular Endurance In Resistance-Trained Women, Erica R. Goldstein Jan 2009

Effects Of Caffeine Supplementation On Strength And Muscular Endurance In Resistance-Trained Women, Erica R. Goldstein

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The purpose of this study was to determine the acute effects of caffeine supplementation on strength and muscular endurance in resistance-trained women. In a randomized manner, 15 women consumed caffeine (6 mg/kg) or placebo (PL) seven days apart. Sixty minutes following supplementation, participants performed a one repetition maximum (1RM) barbell bench press test and repetitions to failure at 60% of 1RM. Heart rate and blood pressure were assessed at rest, 60 minutes post-consumption, and immediately following completion of repetitions to failure. Repeated measures ANOVA indicated a significantly greater bench press maximum with caffeine (p<0.05) (52.9 « 11.1 kg vs. 52.1 « 11.7 kg) with no significant differences between conditions in 60% 1RM repetitions (p=0.81). Systolic blood pressure was significantly greater post-exercise, with caffeine (p<0.05) (116.8 « 5.3 mmHg vs. 112.9 « 4.9 mmHg). Our findings indicate a moderate dose of caffeine may be sufficient for enhancing strength performance in resistance-trained women.

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