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- Title
- The call of public service: motivation and professional commitment in education.
- Creator
- Ackerina, Jacqueline., College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
- Abstract/Description
-
The purpose of this study was to determine if individuals who are professionally committed to careers in public education possess public service motivation. The participants in this study were a sample of convenience selected through their enrollment in graduate education programs within three East Coast universities. The sample was stratified into three groups based on their education roles as teachers, aspiring leaders, and school district administrators. Based on the 258 education sector...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to determine if individuals who are professionally committed to careers in public education possess public service motivation. The participants in this study were a sample of convenience selected through their enrollment in graduate education programs within three East Coast universities. The sample was stratified into three groups based on their education roles as teachers, aspiring leaders, and school district administrators. Based on the 258 education sector participants, the majority were Caucasian, female, and under the age of 30. All respondents held at least a bachelor's degree and the majority held up to ten years tenure in education. Utilizing an abridged version of Perry's (1996) multi-dimensional scale that was modified for the education sector, the public service motivation (PSM) construct was measured using an Internet survey approach. Three of the public service motivation dimensions and two commitment items were used to operationalize the PSM and professional commitment of education professionals within their current roles. Correlation, regression, ANOVA, and t-test analyses were conducted to examine the data collected. Study findings concluded that education professionals possess public service motivation and are professionally committed to their careers. In addition, results indicated that school district administrators possessed higher levels of public service motivation than teachers. Furthermore, demographic characteristics indicated that educators who are older, more experienced, and highly educated possess higher levels of PSM. Perhaps the most critical discovery was that when comparing education professionals to their public administration counterparts, educators possessed higher levels of public service motivation. These findings have several important implications for education institutions, academic scholars, human resource managers, and leadership preparation programs that would all benefit from all
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3342031
- Subject Headings
- Motivation (Psychology), Educational leadership, Public administration, Education, Aims and objectives, Education, Social aspects
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The representation paradox.
- Creator
- Adams, Robert T., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Date Issued
- 2009
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/209983
- Subject Headings
- Politics, Practical, Representative government and representation, Political participation, Politics and government
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Collaborative governance and the implementation of the Ryan White CARE Act: a case study of HIV health services planning councils in two South Florida counties.
- Creator
- Agbodzakey, James K., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
-
The complex problems of the twenty-first century cannot be effectively addressed with twentieth century top-down bureaucratic governance alone because of limited stakeholder participation in collective decision making and/or implementation. The somewhat limited stakeholder participation in the policy process, especially, that of target populations, can impact generating viable solutions to complex problems. Collaborative governance has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional...
Show moreThe complex problems of the twenty-first century cannot be effectively addressed with twentieth century top-down bureaucratic governance alone because of limited stakeholder participation in collective decision making and/or implementation. The somewhat limited stakeholder participation in the policy process, especially, that of target populations, can impact generating viable solutions to complex problems. Collaborative governance has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional management in addressing contemporary complex problems. Collaborative governance is thus a type of governance that promotes joint participation of state and non-state stakeholders in decision making and/or implementation by using agreed upon processes of engagement to collectively address problems. Such governance is especially beneficial for addressing the challenges posed by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This dissertation uses the collaborative governance concept to explicate the efforts of HIV Health Services Planning Councils in Broward County and Palm Beach County of South Florida with the purpose of accentuating how collaborative governance works in providing various categories of services to meet the needs of people with AIDS (PWAs), as part of the implementation of the Ryan White CARE Act. The study focuses on critical variables of collaborative governance such as facilitative leadership and institutional design, the collaborative process variables such as trust building, commitment to the process and shared understanding, and outputs such as allocation priorities of the Councils. This study employed mixed methods in collecting data from various relevant sources., The combined findings from surveys, interviews, observations and document reviews were essential to knowledge and understanding of collaborative governance of the respective Councils. The results revealed more similarities than differences between the Councils in their efforts towards addressing the HIV/AIDS problem. The Councils are similar in all variables of collaborative governance with few exceptions relative to facilitative leadership and institutional design. The differences were relative to membership, number of committees, amount allocated for various service categories and number of clients served. Furthermore, the Councils were slightly different in reaching consensus on subjects of deliberation. On the average, Palm Beach County's Council make decisions by consensus relatively easily when compared with the Broward County's Council. Nonetheless, both Councils are consensus-oriented and strive to make decision by consensus as evidenced by unanimous votes or simple majority votes on various subjects of deliberation. In addition, representation and participation of target populations in collaborative governance have contributed to the empowerment of those target populations. The study contributes to the literature by developing a conceptual model for HIV/AIDS collaborative governance for producing outputs to help meet needs of target populations. Also, the study contributes to collaborative governance theorizing by drawing a nexus between variables of collaborative governance and by complementing the existing non-linear perspective of collaborative process for collective problem solving. Collaborative governance involving state and non-state stakeholders thereby enhances efforts of public managers by harnessing resources to effectively manage and/or address complex problems for the benefit of society.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/368614
- Subject Headings
- HIV infections, Government policy, AIDS (Disease), Patients, Services for, Public-private sector cooperation, Public administration, Decision making
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Strange time: block universes and strange loop phenomena in two novels by Kurt Vonnegut.
- Creator
- Altomare, Francis C., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of English
- Abstract/Description
-
Einsteinian relativity forever altered our understanding of the metaphysics of time. This study considers how this scientific theory affects the formulation of time in postmodern narratives as a necessary step toward understanding the relationship between empirical science and literary art. Two novels by Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan and Slaughterhouse-Five, exemplify this synthesis. Close readings of these texts reveal an underlying temporal scheme deeply informed by relativity....
Show moreEinsteinian relativity forever altered our understanding of the metaphysics of time. This study considers how this scientific theory affects the formulation of time in postmodern narratives as a necessary step toward understanding the relationship between empirical science and literary art. Two novels by Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan and Slaughterhouse-Five, exemplify this synthesis. Close readings of these texts reveal an underlying temporal scheme deeply informed by relativity. Furthermore, this study explores how relativity manifests in these texts in light of the block universe concept, Gèodelian universes, and strange loop phenomena. Vonnegut's treatment of free will is also discussed. All of these considerations emphasize Vonnegut's role as a member of the Third Culture, an author who consciously bridges C.P. Snow's two cultures.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2684306
- Subject Headings
- Criticism and interpretation, Criticism and interpretation, Postmodernism (Literature), Literature and science, Science and the humanities in literature, Space and time in literature
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Beyond culture wars: the role of Christian religiosity in the public support for social safety net policies in contemporary America.
- Creator
- Alvarado, Emmanuel., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of Sociology
- Abstract/Description
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This study examines the impact of Christian religiosity on attitudes toward social safety-net policies over the past three decades in the US. The study used data from the General Social Survey on social safety-net policy preferences and levels of Christian religiosity. Simple cross tabulations, correlations and multiple regression analysis were used to assess the data. Contrary to previous related research, the results of this study indicate that Christian religiosity has a very weak...
Show moreThis study examines the impact of Christian religiosity on attitudes toward social safety-net policies over the past three decades in the US. The study used data from the General Social Survey on social safety-net policy preferences and levels of Christian religiosity. Simple cross tabulations, correlations and multiple regression analysis were used to assess the data. Contrary to previous related research, the results of this study indicate that Christian religiosity has a very weak association with opposition to social safety-net policies. At the national level, the relationship between Christian religiosity and attitudes toward social protection policies was largely mediated by other factors such as race, gender, education, family income, and political ideology. These results indicate that Christian religiosity per se does not independently influence social spending preferences. Instead, these results suggest that social divisions in socioeconomic standing and in political ideology, which in turn are closely related to differences in support for social protection policies, permeate American Christianity. The study also examined the relationship between Christian religiosity and social protection policy preferences among Hispanic and Black Americans separately. Although Hispanics and Blacks are generally more supportive of social spending in comparison to White Americans, Christian religiosity was not found to have a strong independent effect on support for social safety-net policies among these two groups. The study did find, however, a markedly different level of support for social safety-net policies among identifiable Christian groups at the national level and in the Hispanic-American population., Those who self-identified as "evangelical" or "fundamentalist" Christians were much less supportive of social safety-net policies in comparison to "mainline" or "liberal" Christians. Among Hispanics, Catholics were more supp in comparison to Evangelical Protestants. Moreover, the results of this study indicate that religious American Christians have had a tendency to give precedence to moral issues over concerns about social safety-net policies thus facilitating an issue-bundling effect in recent electoral competition. Lastly, the present work proposes a broad framework through which to interpret the aforementioned findings grounded on the existence and interaction of two counterpoised cultural narratives on social protection found within American Christianity.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/1927301
- Subject Headings
- Social service, Christianity and politics, Urban policy, Democracy, Economic aspects, Social policy
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- A patient-centric hurricane evacuation management system.
- Creator
- Ambrose, Arny Isonja, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Abstract/Description
-
The use of wireless sensor networks for a myriad of applications is increasing. They can be used in healthcare for emergency management. In Florida, hurricanes are the main source of natural disasters. There has been a high incidence of hurricanes over the past decade. When a hurricane warning is issued it is important that people who live in potentially dangerous areas, such as along the coast, evacuate for their safety. Nursing homes and other care facilities for elderly or disabled people...
Show moreThe use of wireless sensor networks for a myriad of applications is increasing. They can be used in healthcare for emergency management. In Florida, hurricanes are the main source of natural disasters. There has been a high incidence of hurricanes over the past decade. When a hurricane warning is issued it is important that people who live in potentially dangerous areas, such as along the coast, evacuate for their safety. Nursing homes and other care facilities for elderly or disabled people experience difficulty with the evacuation as their residents require additional assistance. The characteristics and challenges of a hurricane evacuation are investigated. A patient-centric hurricane evacuation management system is proposed to allow healthcare providers the ability to continuously monitor and track patients. During a hurricane there are usually scarce energy resources and a loss of basic communication services such as cellular service and Internet access. We propose the architecture of the system that allows it to operate in the absence of these services. The hardware and software architectures are also presented along with the main phases of operation. The system was then validated and the performance evaluated via simulation using the OPNET Modeler.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3329832
- Subject Headings
- Emergency management, Planning, Evacuation of civilians, Planning, Emergency medical services, Planning, Disaster medicine, Planning, Medical informatics, Wireless communication systems, Internet in medicine, Telecommunication in medicine
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- An exploration of the relationship between experiential learning and self-directed learning readiness.
- Creator
- Amey, Beth E., Florida Atlantic University, College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
- Abstract/Description
-
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between experiential learning and self-directed learning readiness of bachelor's and master's level social work students. A quantitative design was utilized. The study consisted of 115 senior social work students and 70 master's level social work students (separated into three student groups) from a state university. Students participated in a one-semester field education component as part of their social work degree program. The...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between experiential learning and self-directed learning readiness of bachelor's and master's level social work students. A quantitative design was utilized. The study consisted of 115 senior social work students and 70 master's level social work students (separated into three student groups) from a state university. Students participated in a one-semester field education component as part of their social work degree program. The research instrument utilized was the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) constructed by Guglielmino (1978). The SDLRS is a self-report questionnaire with 58 Likert scale items designed to measure the attitudes, values and abilities of learners relating to their readiness to engage in self-directed learning. A pretest, treatment, posttest design was utilized. Demographic data were collected with the pretest administration and level of satisfaction information was collected with the posttest administration. The bachelor's level social work students demonstrated statistically significant differences in the pre and posttest SDLRS scores while the master's level social work students' changes in readiness for self-directed learning were not significant. It is important to note that the master's level social work students spent only half the amount of hours in the field education as the bachelor's level students at the time of the posttest. Correlations between change score from pretest to posttest SDLRS with students' previous exposure to the field of social work, prior experiential learning in a social work program, their satisfaction with the experiential learning component, and demographic factors of gender, age, ethnicity, marital status, number of children, and number of years pursuing degree were not significant., The initial SDLRS scores of the bachelor's level students were found to be consistent with those of nursing students previously scored on the SDLRS. In the ANOVA of all groups, significant differences were not found with the four groups of social work students in their change scores of pretest and posttest SDLRS or their overall level of satisfaction with the field experience and overall level of satisfaction with the quality of the supervisor in the field experience. The internship did not demonstrate particular merit for improving readiness for self-directed learning except for the bachelor's level students. However, students were satisfied with the experience and felt it changed their perceptions of self and others.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/107799
- Subject Headings
- Experiential learning, Adult learning, Learning, Psychology of, Self-culture
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Immigrant identity development in the Christian church: a comparative study of Hispanics in the United States.
- Creator
- Arenas, Diego., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
Christian churches in the United States are very diverse. The diversity seen often goes unmentioned by religion and immigration scholars who write about the key role churches play in the assimilation of Hispanic immigrants. Scholars use the word "church" in order to refer to all Christian religious institutions. The use of one word to encompass the broad range of institutions can misguide readers to believe that all Christian churches in the United States help Hispanic immigrants assimilate...
Show moreChristian churches in the United States are very diverse. The diversity seen often goes unmentioned by religion and immigration scholars who write about the key role churches play in the assimilation of Hispanic immigrants. Scholars use the word "church" in order to refer to all Christian religious institutions. The use of one word to encompass the broad range of institutions can misguide readers to believe that all Christian churches in the United States help Hispanic immigrants assimilate in the same way. This comparative study includes Anglo, Immigrant, and Transnational Christian churches throughout the United States The focus is to explore the particular methods by which immigrants forge identities in Christian churches, identities with assimilation potential into an already multi-cultural, American society. Whether immigrants build an ethnic identity, a religious identity, or a mix of both, there is no guarantee that the identity developed will help immigrants assimilate.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/77654
- Subject Headings
- Assimilation (Sociology), Group identity, Emigration and immigration, Religious aspects, Immigrants, Religious life
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- A comparative analysis of the French and American judicial systems and the cultural effects of judicial decisions.
- Creator
- Avari, Cynthia., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
The histories of France and the United States of America are often compared alongside the judicial systems of each country. While the histories of the countries, starting with the French and American revolutions, have similarities, the judicial systems themselves are based on different schools of thought. The French method of judicial decision making is based on the Napoleonic code whereas the American method is based on that of common law. In available literature regarding comparisons of...
Show moreThe histories of France and the United States of America are often compared alongside the judicial systems of each country. While the histories of the countries, starting with the French and American revolutions, have similarities, the judicial systems themselves are based on different schools of thought. The French method of judicial decision making is based on the Napoleonic code whereas the American method is based on that of common law. In available literature regarding comparisons of France and the United States, it is an assumption that, if the American and French judicial systems are based on different legal theories, the cultural effects of those systems must also be different. Contrary to these expectations, however, my analysis of court cases focusing on labor unions' right to strike demonstrates that there are similarities in judicial decisions' effects on society.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/77655
- Subject Headings
- Justice, Administration of, Justice, Administration of, Constitutional law, Philosophy, Constitutional law, Philosophy
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Emerging narratives of Native American, Asian American, and African American women in middle adulthood with an education doctorate degree.
- Creator
- Bamdas, Jo Ann, College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
- Abstract/Description
-
The purpose of this qualitative narrative research study was to interpret the meaning found throughout the formal educational experience stories of Native American, Asian American, and African American women born after 1944, who had earned an education doctorate degree after 1976, and were working with adults in an educational capacity within the community. Utilizing the snowball technique, 14 participants from across the United States volunteered to collaborate with the researcher. The study...
Show moreThe purpose of this qualitative narrative research study was to interpret the meaning found throughout the formal educational experience stories of Native American, Asian American, and African American women born after 1944, who had earned an education doctorate degree after 1976, and were working with adults in an educational capacity within the community. Utilizing the snowball technique, 14 participants from across the United States volunteered to collaborate with the researcher. The study's conceptual framework included adult learning principles and practices, Nussbaum's 'narrative imagination,' which were used to examine the women's motivation to participate in an education doctorate program as well as the barriers, the enhancers, and the application of the degree in the community. Data collected included an in-depth, face-to-face interview, two reflective narrative guides, document analysis, and researcher journals and analytic memos. All data was coded and analyzed with Atlas -ti 5.0 software, and thematic analyses completed in order to triangulate the data. Six major themes for motivation to participate were found: self-awareness through placement in the family, family and community expectation in importance of education, personal strengths and weaknesses, perceived differences in the classroom and mainstream society, and knowledge of motivation to pursue doctorate. Five barriers emerged: racism, gender, advisers, institutional changes and problems, and juggling multiple roles in limited time. Five main enhancers arose: family and community foundation, financial, friends, and others which motivated participation., The women applied their doctorates through leadership activities in community-based organizations such as role modeling, mentoring, and other scholarly activities which advocated "giving back culturally," which was the ultimate meaning or value of the degree; however, achievement and credibility were also valued a doctorate degree was "only step in the process." This study provided a space for rich descriptive storytelling about each woman's successful experience pursing and completing an education doctorate program. Adult learning discussion of the findings, contributions to the literature, and recommendations for graduate education and future research were included.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/186326
- Subject Headings
- Achievement motivation, Minority women, Education (Higher), Educational equalization, Motivation in education, Education, Aims and objectives
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The age of William A. Dunning: the realm of myth meets the yellow brick road.
- Creator
- Barsalou, Kathleen P., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of History
- Abstract/Description
-
Stripped of the intent of its author, L. Frank Baum, the children's fairy tale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was left to be understood only within a changing cultural construct. Historian Hayden White, arguing that the similarities between a novel and a work of history were more significant than their differences, insisted that history was preeminently a subsection of literature. According to White, historical narratives were manifestly verbal fictions, and the only acceptable grounds upon which...
Show moreStripped of the intent of its author, L. Frank Baum, the children's fairy tale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was left to be understood only within a changing cultural construct. Historian Hayden White, arguing that the similarities between a novel and a work of history were more significant than their differences, insisted that history was preeminently a subsection of literature. According to White, historical narratives were manifestly verbal fictions, and the only acceptable grounds upon which the historian should choose his historical perspective were the moral and the aesthetic. White conflated historical consciousness with myth and blurred the boundary that had long divided history from fiction. Just as changing cultural concerns infused the Dorothy of Baum's children's literature with meaning so social, cultural, and moral imperatives came to dictate the content of historical stories particularly in the historiography of the Reconstruction era. The twenty first century conception of Reconstruction is different from the conception influential at the start of the twentieth. In assessing the scholarship of William A. Dunning, contemporary historians have adopted a new paradigm when describing the scholar's Reconstruction accounts. Modern commentators reject Dunning's authorial intention and the contextual framework needed to define it. Thus, Dunning has receded into the "realm of myth." Careful attendance to Dunning's historical context, contemporary audience, and his authorial intent, will reposition the perspective for analysis of Dunning's work. Removing Dunning from abstract analysis will allow historians to arrive at an understanding of his work, and view the importance of the real Dunning, rather than the fabricated image constructed from a partial and even fragmented reading of his work., Taking Dunning on his own terms restores a meaningful past and brings into bas-relief the tremendous advances the U. S. of twenty first century has made in reshaping social and political patterns.Taking theReconstruction era on its own terms impels historians to move beyond Dunning and return in their research to revisit primary records and documents as they work to clear the grisly ground of Reconstruction historiography for further fruitful examination.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/107801
- Subject Headings
- Criticism and interpretation, Political and social views, Criticism and interpretation, Wizard of Oz (Fictitious character), Oz (Imaginary place), Politics and literature, Criticism and interpretation
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Technology and fifth grade teaching: a study of teacher reported classroom practice, professional development, access, and support.
- Creator
- Beaudry, Debbie., College of Education, Department of Curriculum, Culture, and Educational Inquiry
- Abstract/Description
-
This mixed methods study investigated 5th-grade teachers' reported use of computer technology and variables that have been identified by researchers as affecting teachers' use of technology, including professional development activities, physical access to computer technology, and technical and instructional support provided for teachers. Quantitative data were collected from 80 5th-grade teachers from a Florida public school district through an online survey in which teachers reported how...
Show moreThis mixed methods study investigated 5th-grade teachers' reported use of computer technology and variables that have been identified by researchers as affecting teachers' use of technology, including professional development activities, physical access to computer technology, and technical and instructional support provided for teachers. Quantitative data were collected from 80 5th-grade teachers from a Florida public school district through an online survey in which teachers reported how frequently they used and had their students use computer technology for 27 different purposes. The teachers also reported the amount of emphasis those 27 different topics received during their technology-related professional development experiences, the number of hours they participated in technology-related professional development, the number of months they participating in a technology coaching/mentoring program, the access their students had to computers in the classroom and in a one-to-one co mputing environment, and the frequency that they received technical and instructional support. Information from the school district's technology plan provided a context for the study. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with seven of the survey participants. The findings indicated that for 18 different purposes of technology, there was a significant correlation between how frequently teachers used and had their students use technology and the teacher-reported emphasis those topics received during technology related professional development. Self-reported frequency of support, student-to-computer ratio in the classroom, hours of professional development, and months of mentoring did not moderate the relationship between frequency of technology use and the content of professional development., The relationship between having students use technology to work cooperatively or collaboratively and the reported emphasis that topic received in professional development strengthened if teachers reported that their students had access to a one-to-one computing environment. An additional finding was that the teachers' reported frequency of use of technology and reported emphasis of content of technology-related professional development leaned toward direct instruction and test preparation and leaned less toward innovative uses of technology. Implications and suggestions for future research are offered for technology integration and professional development for teachers at the elementary school level.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3329831
- Subject Headings
- Classroom management, Internet in education, Education, Elementary, Computer-assisted instruction, Curriculum planning, Teachers, Training of, Evaluation, Active learning, Evaluation
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Gay-centric identity: a challenge to gay cultural script, gay ghetto and performance.
- Creator
- Beebe, Robert D., Florida Atlantic University, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
- Abstract/Description
-
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...
Show moreFor 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 communicated and shared. The focus of this research is separated into three interconnected areas: (1) exploration of gay-cultural script, (2) location to which the gay cultural script operates and, (3) analysis of the relationship between the gay cultural script and gay-centric identity performance.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/107802
- Subject Headings
- Gender identity, Gays in popular culture, Gay men, Identity, Gay men in mass media
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- All power to the people: the Black Panther Party as the vanguard of the oppressed.
- Creator
- Berman, Matthew., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
The Black Panther Party was the most famous group born out of the Black Power Movement. Because of the group's inherent link to the Black Power Movement, and the group's slogan of "Black Power," many people, both black and white, believed, and continue to believe, that the Black Panther Party was a group with racial motives. However, this conceptualization of the Party was, and is, incorrect. While the Black Panther Party began as an outgrowth of the black civil rights movement, the Panthers...
Show moreThe Black Panther Party was the most famous group born out of the Black Power Movement. Because of the group's inherent link to the Black Power Movement, and the group's slogan of "Black Power," many people, both black and white, believed, and continue to believe, that the Black Panther Party was a group with racial motives. However, this conceptualization of the Party was, and is, incorrect. While the Black Panther Party began as an outgrowth of the black civil rights movement, the Panthers quickly evolved into a revolutionary vanguard with a non-racial, class-oriented agenda.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/77656, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT77656
- Subject Headings
- African Americans, Politics and government, Civil rights movements, History, Black nationalism, History
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Beyond sustainability: justice and complex systems thinking for just sustainable viability.
- Creator
- Best, Andrea Leigh., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of Philosophy
- Abstract/Description
-
The dominant definitions of sustainability are too various and neglect essential elements necessary for effective sustainability discourse. This project considers what current understandings of sustainable development mean to those who subscribe to them and how those understandings affect public policy for sustainable development. I begin by presenting a timeline on the evolution of the term 'sustainability'. Then, I offer narrative policy analysis as a methodological tool for investigating...
Show moreThe dominant definitions of sustainability are too various and neglect essential elements necessary for effective sustainability discourse. This project considers what current understandings of sustainable development mean to those who subscribe to them and how those understandings affect public policy for sustainable development. I begin by presenting a timeline on the evolution of the term 'sustainability'. Then, I offer narrative policy analysis as a methodological tool for investigating communities of meaning with contending views on sustainability. This provides a foundation for the analysis of case studies using Harrisonian Sustainability Narratives-efficiency, equity, and ethics-as lenses through which three corresponding U.S. case studies are explored, each representing different levels of analysis-corporate, state, and individual. First, the Business Roundtable, a lobbying organization comprised of the CEOs of top U.S. companies exemplifying the efficiency narrative, claims that the problem of sustainable development can be addressed through free markets, which continually increase eco-efficiency and encourage technological advancement. Next, the Environmental Protection Agency, a state organization mandated to protect water and air and to manage toxic and solid wastes and representing the equity narrative, sees the problem of sustainable development as ensuring the just distribution of natural limits so as to reduce the impact of those limits on individuals within communities. Lastly, the ethical anthropology of Anna Peterson, philosopher of religion, points to the power of ethical narratives in creating wide-scale changes to our ideas about humanness and human nature as they relate to our relationship with our environment for sustainability., What I found in common with both the efficiency and equity narratives, representing both the political and corporate perspective and having significant influence on policy formation, is that they are pro market-based solutions of ecoefficiency and technological advancement. What they blatantly lack is guidance on what we ought to do, ought to value. I conclude that a humanist ethic is missing from both these narratives. Neither narrative sees matters of justice as co-equal partners with sustainability for sustainable development. Policy resulting from these narratives may offer efficiency and process but fails to include a robust humanist ethics necessary for a true sustainability. The way we think about our relationship to the environment shapes our behavior towards it. Just Sustainable Viability combines a complex systems approach that views human societies as complex adaptive systems and aims at optimizing social adaptive capacity with notions of distributive and procedural justice. With the inception of this new vision for sustainability, a new narrative must follow that firmly places humanity within the context of complex social and environmental systems.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2684310
- Subject Headings
- System analysis, Policy sciences, Sustainable development, Social structure, Urban ecology (Sociology)
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The grassroots gospel: how spirituals and freedom songs democratized the Civil Rights Movement.
- Creator
- Bimmler, Lauren., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
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The presence of music, especially in the form of freedom songs, is a notable constant in the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Participants sang spirituals and freedom songs everywhere in the South - at mass meetings, demonstrations, and in jails. An engaging and participatory activity, singing unified, empowered, and historicized activists, allowing everyone an opportunity to be included in the action. Without these songs, the African-American communities across the...
Show moreThe presence of music, especially in the form of freedom songs, is a notable constant in the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Participants sang spirituals and freedom songs everywhere in the South - at mass meetings, demonstrations, and in jails. An engaging and participatory activity, singing unified, empowered, and historicized activists, allowing everyone an opportunity to be included in the action. Without these songs, the African-American communities across the South may not have been able to band together to become such a force for change; while the activists were the facilitators for progress, the songs were the inspiration. Freedom songs democratized the Civil Rights Movement, enabling the participation of ordinary people at a grassroots level, therefore creating a strong mass movement.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/77657, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT77657
- Subject Headings
- Civil rights movements, History, Protest songs, History and criticism, African Americans, Civil rights, History and criticism, Spirituals (Songs), History and criticism
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Unintended alliances: Kennedy, Israel, and Arab nationalism.
- Creator
- Bocco, Michael., Florida Atlantic University, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of History
- Abstract/Description
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This thesis will explore the origins of the U.S.-Israeli alliance during the Kennedy administration. John F. Kennedy provided Israel with the first U.S. weapons sale, issued the first informal security guarantee, and established the first joint security consultations between both nations. Ironically, Kennedy gave these concessions to contain Israel, not to establish closer relations. His primary objective for the Middle East was to improve U.S. relations with Egyptian President Gamal Abdel...
Show moreThis thesis will explore the origins of the U.S.-Israeli alliance during the Kennedy administration. John F. Kennedy provided Israel with the first U.S. weapons sale, issued the first informal security guarantee, and established the first joint security consultations between both nations. Ironically, Kennedy gave these concessions to contain Israel, not to establish closer relations. His primary objective for the Middle East was to improve U.S. relations with Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, seeing Nasser as the path for gaining pro-American sentiments among the Arab population in the region to the detriment of the Soviets. Kennedy unintentionally laid the foundations of the U.S.-Israeli alliance while trying to restrain Israel, fearing Israeli actions would impede his plans. The Palestinian refugee issue, the regional arms race between Egypt and Israel, and Israel's secret nuclear weapons program became three pivotal concerns for Kennedy that unintentionally led to the U.S.-Israeli alliance.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/107804
- Subject Headings
- Arab-Israeli conflict, Nationalism, Foreign relations, Foreign relations, Politics and government
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Attitudes toward gun control laws: exploring relationships in recent gathered data.
- Creator
- Borkowski, Elizabeth., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Abstract/Description
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Recently, empirical attention has been directed toward understanding public opinion about gun control laws. Despite this focus, three gaps are evident in extant scholarship. First, few current examinations have relied on recently collected, national data to explore predictors of public attitudes. Second, relatively little work systematically investigates whether type of weapon bans (e.g. handgun versus semi-automatic weapon) affects public support for a given gun control initiative. Third,...
Show moreRecently, empirical attention has been directed toward understanding public opinion about gun control laws. Despite this focus, three gaps are evident in extant scholarship. First, few current examinations have relied on recently collected, national data to explore predictors of public attitudes. Second, relatively little work systematically investigates whether type of weapon bans (e.g. handgun versus semi-automatic weapon) affects public support for a given gun control initiative. Third, and importantly, the general focus in prediction support for gun control measures has been on social and demographic factors. Little is known from a theoretical perspective about how other variables - such as knowledge of Constitutinal issues or perceptions of the U.S. Supreme Court - affect public attitudes toward gun control. Using national poll data collected in 2011 by Time magazine, this study addresses these research gaps by estimating several logistic regression analyses. Research and policy implications are discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3358285
- Subject Headings
- Gun control, Political aspects, Gun control, Social aspects, Gun control, Statistics, Firearms, Law and legislation, FIrearms ownership, Social aspects, Firearms and crime, Public opinion
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Hillary Rodham Clinton: feminism, success, and the First Ladyship.
- Creator
- Boyer, Heather J., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
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This thesis will investigate the ways in which Hillary Rodham Clinton, former First Lady of the United States and the Junior United States Senator from New York State, appropriated strategies of liberal feminism in her political career as the first modern, working mother to serve as First Lady. A feminist First Lady, Clinton broke through the social expectations placed upon that role in an unprecedented manner by taking an active part in the political strategy and substance of her husband's...
Show moreThis thesis will investigate the ways in which Hillary Rodham Clinton, former First Lady of the United States and the Junior United States Senator from New York State, appropriated strategies of liberal feminism in her political career as the first modern, working mother to serve as First Lady. A feminist First Lady, Clinton broke through the social expectations placed upon that role in an unprecedented manner by taking an active part in the political strategy and substance of her husband's administration. Her successful campaign for the United States Senate in 2000 as the first former First Lady to hold such an office proved that she has her own political clout independent of her husband. Hillary Rodham Clinton has all the marks of a liberal feminist success story: a strong political background and educational credentials, unfettered ambition, mastery of public discourse, her own political identity, and a real commitment to tough policymaking and representation in Washington. Yet despite this success, liberal feminism presents problems for the women's movement generally. After mapping the history of Hillary Rodham Clinton as a feminist political figure, I will examine whether liberal feminism is adequate in challenging patriarchal structures and other related forms of domination.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11593
- Subject Headings
- Presidents' spouses, Feminist theory, Women in public life, Feminism, Liberalism, Women in democracy
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- How regulation fuels consumption of ethanol: a spatial analysis of pro-ethanol policies in the USA.
- Creator
- Boyle, Austin, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
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The use of ethanol as a liquid fuel for automobiles began on a large scale in 1978. Since then, it has grown with the help of national subsidies for producers coupled with statewide incentives for producers and consumers. The market for ethanol more than doubled between 2001 and 2005, with even faster growth projected in the near future. Regulation has played more of a role on the recent rapid expansion of the market than natural market forces. This thesis surveys a brief history of ethanol...
Show moreThe use of ethanol as a liquid fuel for automobiles began on a large scale in 1978. Since then, it has grown with the help of national subsidies for producers coupled with statewide incentives for producers and consumers. The market for ethanol more than doubled between 2001 and 2005, with even faster growth projected in the near future. Regulation has played more of a role on the recent rapid expansion of the market than natural market forces. This thesis surveys a brief history of ethanol fuel usage and regulatory action in the United States and provides a few econometric models of production and consumption. Public policy creates a high level of demand for ethanol without consumer preferences changing much. This model could be used to assess the likely effects on the ethanol market of an MTBE ban in states that currently allow its use as an oxygenate.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11592
- Subject Headings
- Motor vehicles, Fuel consumption, Alcohol as a fuel, Gasoline, Additives, Environmental aspects, Agriculture and energy
- Format
- Document (PDF)