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2015

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Food, Fantasy, And The Spectacle: The Role Of Food And Illusion At The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter, Erin T. Broemel Jan 2015

Food, Fantasy, And The Spectacle: The Role Of Food And Illusion At The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter, Erin T. Broemel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Each year over 300 million people visit theme parks, making them the major vacation destination worldwide. Theme parks are known for their elaborate spectacle, the creation of artificial realities through intricate immersive experiences including costumed characters, stage shows, and extravagant decor. Though many aspects of the theme park experience have been reviewed, little focus has been given to the role of food in the overall immersion, particularly how food extends the spectacle into a fantastical created reality. This study examined the function of food within a highly immersive theme park setting, and how it contributed to the overall illusion and …

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Does Public Service Ethics Education Include Gender Equity? An Exploration Of Gender Inclusion In Mpa Ethics Syllabi, Michelle D. Evans Jan 2015

Does Public Service Ethics Education Include Gender Equity? An Exploration Of Gender Inclusion In Mpa Ethics Syllabi, Michelle D. Evans

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Public administration emphasizes the importance of diversity (Rice, 2004), representation (Selden & Selden, 2002), ethics, and professionalism, to ensure fairness and equity for all citizens (American Society for Public Administration, 2013a; Cooper, 2012). Research has shown a link between the teaching of ethics and values in leadership courses, and the establishment of consensus for espoused social norms and standards of practice (Begley & Stefkovich, 2007). Through the discourse within classrooms, and the scholarship of public administration, we create and advance the boundaries of social consensus in areas such as diversity (Hewins-Maroney & Williams, 2007; National Association of Schools of Public …

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Effect Of A Spiritually-Guided Intervention On Breast Self-Care Attitudes In Afro-Caribbean Women, Jacqueline S. Marshall Jan 2015

Effect Of A Spiritually-Guided Intervention On Breast Self-Care Attitudes In Afro-Caribbean Women, Jacqueline S. Marshall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Little is known about breast health behaviors in Afro-Caribbean women (ACW) residing in the United States, as they are often included in the collective group of African American women (AAW). The objective of this study was to determine the influence of a spiritually-guided intervention on breast health self-care (BHSC) attitudes in ACW residing in southeastern Florida using a concurrent triangulation mixed methods design. One hundred and seventeen women were recruited from three local south Florida Caribbean churches. Inclusion criteria included: (a) self-identification as Afro-Caribbean, (b) female aged 30 years or older, (c) living in the United States for at least …

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How The Spatial Organization Of Objects Affects Perceptual Processing Of A Scene, Stacey Rashford Jan 2015

How The Spatial Organization Of Objects Affects Perceptual Processing Of A Scene, Stacey Rashford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

How does spatial organization of objects affect the perceptual processing of a scene? Surprisingly, little research has explored this topic. A few studies have reported that, when simple, homogenous stimuli (e.g., dots), are presented in a regular formation, they are judged to be more numerous than when presented in a random configuration (Ginsburg, 1976; 1978). However, these results may not apply to real-world objects. In the current study, fewer objects were believed to be on organized desks than their disorganized equivalents. Objects that are organized may be more likely to become integrated, due to classic Gestalt principles. Consequently, visual search …

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The Influence Of University Student Leader’S Cognitive And Behavioral Agility On Organizational Member Commitment, Lauren Adamo Jan 2015

The Influence Of University Student Leader’S Cognitive And Behavioral Agility On Organizational Member Commitment, Lauren Adamo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The focus of this study was to determine if university student leaders’ cognitive and behavioral agility is related to organizational member commitment and if this relationship is moderated by alterable and non-alterable variables. The empirical results from this study are based on the responses of 37 student leaders who occupy leadership positions in organizations and clubs in their respective university. Cognitive agility was measured by the student leader’s use of systems thinking, reframing, and reflection. Student leader behavioral agility was assessed by a minimum of three organizational members rating the student leader’s use of leader influence actions (transforming, managing, bonding, …

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The Relationship Of Perceived Stress, Religious Coping Styles, And Mental Health Symptoms In University Students, Jenny Chien Jan 2015

The Relationship Of Perceived Stress, Religious Coping Styles, And Mental Health Symptoms In University Students, Jenny Chien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This is the first study to investigate the relationship of perceived stress, religious coping styles, and mental health symptoms in university students within a single, faith- based institution. Students face a variety of stressors that may be directly, indirectly, or not related to the college experience. If these stressors are left unmanaged, there are multiple implications including reduced retention, declines in academic performance, physical health concerns, and mental health symptoms. University personnel are reporting increases in the number and severity of mental health symptoms presented by university students. This study investigated whether religious coping strategies provide a mediating effect on …

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The Influence Of Gardens On Resilience In Older Adults Living In A Continuing Care Community, Christie Bailey Jan 2015

The Influence Of Gardens On Resilience In Older Adults Living In A Continuing Care Community, Christie Bailey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between green environments and resilience in older adults. It had two aims: 1) to explore the effect of a reflective garden walking program on resilience and three of its related concepts - erceived stress, personal growth initiative, and quality of life - in older adults, and 2) to explore the resilience patterns of older adults engaging in the reflective garden walking intervention. A parallel mixed method design using a quasi-experimental quantitative and a descriptive exploratory qualitative approach was used. Participants engaged in a six week reflective garden walking program. By …

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The Relation Of Joint Engagement And Sustained Attention To Gender, Context, And Language Development: A Longitudinal Study, Stephanie N. Welsh Jan 2015

The Relation Of Joint Engagement And Sustained Attention To Gender, Context, And Language Development: A Longitudinal Study, Stephanie N. Welsh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The present study investigated the relation of children’s attentional behaviors to context, gender, and their language skills. Participants were 33 children and their parents. The following attentional behaviors were measured based on coding of video recordings of 30-minute free-play interactions at 30 months: time spent in engaged states (attending to an object, person, or event) and frequency of changes from one engagement state to another. Children’s productive vocabulary and language comprehension were measured using standardized tests at 30, 36, and 42 months. Males spent more time in joint engagement and switched engagement states less frequently. Children spent more time engaged …

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The Meaning Of School Body Mass Index (Bmi) Screening And Referral To The Parents/Guardians Of First, Third, And Sixth Grade Students, Mary Louise Jorda Jan 2015

The Meaning Of School Body Mass Index (Bmi) Screening And Referral To The Parents/Guardians Of First, Third, And Sixth Grade Students, Mary Louise Jorda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The purpose of this study was to discover the meaning of school body mass index (BMI) screening and referral to parents. The goal of school BMI screening and referral is to provide information to compel parents to change their child's diet and activity levels when overweight and obesity are identified. Measuring BMI in schools and alerting parents to findings above what is considered normal is one intervention to reduce overweight and obesity that has been utilized since 2001 in Florida. To determine the meaning of BMI screening and referral to parents a mixed methods approach was utilized. Voluntary interviews of …

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The Role Of Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex In The Motor Control, Avisa Asemi Jan 2015

The Role Of Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex In The Motor Control, Avisa Asemi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

We sought to better understand human motor control by investigating functional interactions between the Supplementary Motor Area (SMA), dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex (dACC), and primary motor cortex (M1) in healthy adolescent participants performing visually coordinated unimanual finger-movement and n-back working memory tasks. We discovered modulation of the SMA by the dACC by analysis of fMRI BOLD time series recorded from the three ROIs (SMA, dACC, and M1) in each participant. Two measures of functional interaction were used: undirected functional connectivity was measured using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (PMCC), and directed functional connectivity was measured from linear autoregressive (AR) models. …

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The Rhetoric Of Law And Love: Legally (Re)Defining Marriage, Volrick Wallace Higgs Jan 2015

The Rhetoric Of Law And Love: Legally (Re)Defining Marriage, Volrick Wallace Higgs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

In just over one year since United States v. Windsor— the case invalidating sections of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that defined marriage, for purposes of federal statutes, as the “union of man and woman”— more than a dozen states have had their same-sex marriage bans ruled unconstitutional. This suggests a shift in legal meaning; previously successful arguments against same-sex “marriage” now seem irrational as argumentative ground has shifted. Since favorable rulings redefine “marriage” to include same-sex unions, this thesis analyzes Kitchen v. Herbert, a 2014 legal opinion from the United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit, to understand …

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The Role Of Interorganizational Trust In The Merger And Acquisition Process, Heather R. Parola Jan 2015

The Role Of Interorganizational Trust In The Merger And Acquisition Process, Heather R. Parola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Although recognized as an important stage of the merger and acquisition (M&A) process, little is understood about the processes that unfold during deal negotiations. In line with recent qualitative research highlighting the role of interorganizational trust, I examine the role of acquirer trust during M&A negotiations. Specifically, through two essays, I consider the effects of acquirer trust on two outcome variables: the acquisition premium and target executive retention. In Essay One, I integrate the social embeddedness theory and agency theory and find that acquirer trust leads to higher premiums. In Essay Two, I integrate the social embeddedness perspective with justice …

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Transnational Islamism And Political Moderation: A Comparative Analysis Of Egypt And Morocco, Yasmin Salem Jan 2015

Transnational Islamism And Political Moderation: A Comparative Analysis Of Egypt And Morocco, Yasmin Salem

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This dissertation examines how transnationalism can affect Islamists’ moderation in both Egypt and Morocco. In this dissertation, I do an in-depth comparative case study analysis to assess the prospects of moderation of two Islamists political entities, the Muslim Brotherhood as a transnational social movement and the Morocco Party of Justice and Development (JDP), which has no transnational ties. Both the Muslim Brotherhood and PJD came to power after the Arab uprising in 2011 and were key players in the democratic transitions in both countries; however, the entities are not related. Further, the dissertation will explore the moderation level of the …

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The Significance For, And Impact Upon, Public Administration Of The Correspondence Theory Of Truth Or Veridicality, Derek Ray Slagle Jan 2015

The Significance For, And Impact Upon, Public Administration Of The Correspondence Theory Of Truth Or Veridicality, Derek Ray Slagle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The dissertation is about the significance for, and impact upon public administration of the correspondence theory of truth or veridicality, and its underlying epistemological assumptions. The underlying thesis is that, unduly influenced by the success of the natural sciences, and naive in accepting their claims to objectivity, many disciplines have sought to emulate them. There are two principle objections. Firstly, all other considerations aside, the supposedly objectivistic methodologies apparently applied to the explanation and prediction of the behavior of interactions of physical objects, may simply be inappropriate to certain other areas of inquiry; and more specifically objectivist methodologies are indeed …

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Multisensory Cues Facilitate Infants’ Ability To Discriminate Other-Race Faces, Nicholas J. Minar Jan 2015

Multisensory Cues Facilitate Infants’ Ability To Discriminate Other-Race Faces, Nicholas J. Minar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Our everyday world consists of people and objects that are usually specified by dynamic and concurrent auditory and visual attributes, which is known to increase perceptual salience and, therefore, facilitate learning and discrimination in infancy. Interestingly, early experience with faces and vocalizations has two seemingly opposite effects during the first year of life, 1) it enables infants to gradually acquire perceptual expertise for the faces and vocalizations of their own race and, 2) it narrows their ability to discriminate the faces of other-race faces (Kelly et al., 2007). It is not known whether multisensory redundancy might help older infants overcome …

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Transportation Engineering Assimilated Livability Planning Using Micro-Simulation Models For Southeast Florida, Athur Dylan O’Berry Jan 2015

Transportation Engineering Assimilated Livability Planning Using Micro-Simulation Models For Southeast Florida, Athur Dylan O’Berry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Transportation engineering has taken upon a new role; to empower the alternative modes of travel: walking, biking, and bus transit. In this new era, engineers are rethinking a network designed predominately for the automobile. The ultimate goal of this research is to create a process that can make a vehicle dominant corridor a desirable, livable thoroughfare by livability design and context sensitive performance measures. Balancing travel modes requires an account of vehicular traffic and the impact of reconfiguring existing conditions. The analysis herein is conducted by field data collection, transportation equations and microsimulation. Simulating traffic behavior will be the means …

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Transformational Learning And Self-Efficacy: An Investigation Into Their Role In Prophylactic Mastectomy, Faith Gordon Jan 2015

Transformational Learning And Self-Efficacy: An Investigation Into Their Role In Prophylactic Mastectomy, Faith Gordon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Breast cancer affects one in eight women in the United States. Estimated new breast cancer cases for 2012 in the U.S. are 229,060 women (American Cancer Society, 2012). For all women it is important to be informed regarding all current treatment options. For women in high-risk categories of breast cancer it is even more important. Risk-reducing strategies for women at high-risk of breast cancer include surveillance, chemoprevention, and bilateral prophylactic mastectomy. Prophylactic mastectomy reduces the risk of breast cancer by excision of most breast tissue. Breast cancer among those initially diagnosed as high-risk is 90-94.3% (Hartmann et al., 1999). This …

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Toxic Island Et L’Empreinte À Crusoé : L’Individuation De L’Identité Franco-Antillaise, Kimberley Jurawan Jan 2015

Toxic Island Et L’Empreinte À Crusoé : L’Individuation De L’Identité Franco-Antillaise, Kimberley Jurawan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Within the Caribbean, the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique are unusual: they are French overseas departments and thus also European Union members. As such, they must assimilate to French national culture even though their heterogeneous populations, mainly descendants of exploited imported labour, have their own unique island identity. Their heavy economic dependence on France and the effects of modernization and globalization pose further identitarian challenges for them. Franco-Antillean literature clearly reflects this long-standing identity confusion. This thesis explores two very recent novels— Toxic Island by Guadeloupean Ernest Pépin and L’Empreinte à Crusoé by Martinican Patrick Chamoiseau— and their divergent stylistic …

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Understanding How National Board Certified Secondary Mathematics Teachers Integrate Academic And Social Knowledge Of Students Into Their Practice, Karen Cook Jan 2015

Understanding How National Board Certified Secondary Mathematics Teachers Integrate Academic And Social Knowledge Of Students Into Their Practice, Karen Cook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This qualitative case study investigated how six National Board Certified secondary mathematics teachers integrate knowledge of students into their practice to create socio- academic spaces for learning. Individual audiotaped interviews were utilized to generate data about what knowledge these teachers had of their students, how they gathered this knowledge, and how this knowledge of students influenced their decisions related to curriculum and instruction. The data were used to form an understanding of the nature and function of the socio- academic spaces that teachers create in planning for and delivering instruction. The study revealed that as teachers interact independently with the …

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Truth And Reconciliation Commissions And The Colombian Justice And Peace Law And Victims, Evelio Jesus Yera Jan 2015

Truth And Reconciliation Commissions And The Colombian Justice And Peace Law And Victims, Evelio Jesus Yera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This dissertation answers the question of what the proper balance is for victims with respect to the formation of a truth or truth and reconciliation commission that is formed to address the aftermath of an authoritarian regime or armed conflict. A review of the historical operation of entities that have operated in the aftermath of authoritarian regimes and armed conflict is conducted in this dissertation. From the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials to the present day, nations have struggled to try to devise a systematic way to deal with the aftermath of harm caused to victims as a consequence of authoritarian …

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The Effects Of Dichoptic And Isoluminant-Chromatic Stimuli On The Perception Of Object And Objectless Motion, Matthew S. Seifert Jan 2015

The Effects Of Dichoptic And Isoluminant-Chromatic Stimuli On The Perception Of Object And Objectless Motion, Matthew S. Seifert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Visual motion can be conveyed by a variety of information sources in the environment, and those types of information may be detected at various levels by different motion-perceiving mechanisms in the visual system. High-level visual information has been demonstrated to have 3rd order, or salience-based properties (Lu & Sperling, 1995). The perceptual system they describe that computes motion from these types of information shares several characteristics with Hock and colleagues' counterchange detection system, notably flexibility with respect to types of input from which motion can be computed, which comes at the cost of diminished processing speed. The mechanism of counterchange …

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The Experience Of Caring For Women With Drug Or Alcohol Problems In The General Hospital, Linda Gail Payne Jan 2015

The Experience Of Caring For Women With Drug Or Alcohol Problems In The General Hospital, Linda Gail Payne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experience of nurses who care for hospitalized women outside of an addiction treatment setting who have a problem with drugs and/or alcohol. The relational experiences of ten registered nurses who had cared for women with drug and alcohol problems were elicited. Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology was the method used to interpret the nurse participant's meaning of their experience. The theoretical framework that was used to explore the nurses' experience o caring for women who abuse or are dependent on alcohol and/or drugs was Boykin and Schoenhofer's Nursing as Caring (1993). The …

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The Emotional Experience Of Language In English Spanish Bilinguals, Uribe Idaly Velez Jan 2015

The Emotional Experience Of Language In English Spanish Bilinguals, Uribe Idaly Velez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Bilinguals commonly report experiencing emotions differently depending on which language are they speaking. Emotionally loaded words were expected to be appraised differently in first versus second language in a sample of Spanish-English bilinguals (n=117). English (L2) ratings were subtracted from Spanish (L1) ratings; the resulted scores were used as dependent variable in the analyses. Three categories of words (positive, negative and taboo) were appraised in both languages (English and Spanish)and two sensory modalities (Visual and auditory). The differences in valence scores in Spanish (L1) and English (L2) were expected to be significantly higher when presented aurally than when presented visually. …

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Exploring Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Voices: A Critical Case Study With Middle School Students, De Moed Simone Tuinhof Jan 2015

Exploring Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Voices: A Critical Case Study With Middle School Students, De Moed Simone Tuinhof

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This dissertation explores the perspectives of culturally and linguistically diverse learners and English learners on school conditions that enable them to share their heritage languages and cultures, as well as the ways that these learners propose that their heritage languages and cultures could be more recognized in an English-only middle school setting. This study focused specifically on the role that culturally and linguistically diverse learners and English learners perceived that they played in the process of their own social empowerment, a role that could be achieved through the development of their voices by becoming critically involved in creating spaces for …

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Birch Roots And Bricks: Finding Home In The Pluralism Of Voice In Migration Novels Of Contemporary Europe, Dorothea Trotter Jan 2015

Birch Roots And Bricks: Finding Home In The Pluralism Of Voice In Migration Novels Of Contemporary Europe, Dorothea Trotter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Through a comparative literary study of Monica Ali’s Brick Lane and Olga Grjasnova’s Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt, this thesis concludes that although the migrant experience is heterogeneous and that integration is a difficult process that varies through the diversity of experiences, these experiences can be unified by the common way in which migrants learn to “belong” by connecting with voices of the past and present and by building and maintaining relationships that extend beyond the limits of place. In defending this argument, the thesis draws upon themes of Bakhtinian heteroglossia, nationalism and transnationalism, space, globalism, and migration.

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Birth Across Borders: A Comparative Study Of Guatemalan-Maya Maternal Care In San Miguel Acatán And Palm Beach County, Inbal Mazar Jan 2015

Birth Across Borders: A Comparative Study Of Guatemalan-Maya Maternal Care In San Miguel Acatán And Palm Beach County, Inbal Mazar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Birth across borders: a comparative study of Guatemalan Maya maternal care in San Miguel Acatán and Palm Beach County

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A Feminist Cultural Study Of Identity, Hair Loss, And Chemotherapy, Celine Guillerm Jan 2015

A Feminist Cultural Study Of Identity, Hair Loss, And Chemotherapy, Celine Guillerm

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The main aim of this dissertation is to discuss the way women negotiate the cultural meaning of hair loss, alopecia, as a result of undergoing chemotherapy, and to understand, accordingly, how cancer's cultural effects regarding women can be deeply different from those of men. Very few studies have been done about the cultural impact and resonance of alopecia. It is often regarded as "secondary" to other effects of chemotherapy. Because, in many cultures, head hair for women expresses or manifests attractiveness and power, to be bald is to be deprived of the ability to fit into society, whether in the …

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A Few Of Us (Algunos De Nosotros): A Multiple Case Study Using Critical Race Theory To Examine Lived Experiences Of Latino/A Senior Student Affairs Officers At Selected Public And Private Two- And Four-Year Colleges And Universities, Terry Mena Jan 2015

A Few Of Us (Algunos De Nosotros): A Multiple Case Study Using Critical Race Theory To Examine Lived Experiences Of Latino/A Senior Student Affairs Officers At Selected Public And Private Two- And Four-Year Colleges And Universities, Terry Mena

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The purpose of this study was to examine the voices of Latino/a Senior Student Affairs Officers (SSAOs) in terms of described challenges in becoming a SSAO and how the intersection of race influences their lived experiences as SSAOs at selected public and private two- and four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. Latino/a SSAOs are dramatically underrepresented in American colleges and universities. The lived experiences of this unique group have been ignored in existing empirical literature. A particular focus of this research was to gain a better understanding of how Latino/a SSAOs experience and respond to what they perceive as …

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Absence, Sarah Johnson Jan 2015

Absence, Sarah Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Absence is the thesis exhibition resulting from the culmination of my three years in the graduate program. In this documentation, I outline historical and contextual influences that shape my ceramic practice. I specify that my work is centered on my life and describe how my work has evolved since I first started in the program. In the process I have gathered source material and have explored key points in the theory and history of Minimalism. As I developed the work, I was able to discuss how my work applied to these sources, and where it differed. I ended with introspective …

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Community College Baccalaureate Transitions In Florida: Student Affairs' Perspectives, Laura Antczak Jan 2015

Community College Baccalaureate Transitions In Florida: Student Affairs' Perspectives, Laura Antczak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Many changes are occurring in community colleges offering baccalaureate degrees across the nation, especially in the state of Florida where 24 of 28 colleges in the Florida College System are offering baccalaureate degrees. The impact of these institutions shifting their missions from associate to baccalaureate degree offerings is unknown on a key area of the college - Student Affairs. The purpose of this study was to describe and document the perceived changes in and lessons learned about Student Affairs programs at two large, multi-campus colleges in the Florida College System offering Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) and Bachelor of Science …

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