Legislative Rhetoric Versus Prosecutorial Realities: Comparing the Framing of Florida’s Teen Sexting Law With Post-Adoption Realities of Enforcement

Vining, Austin Clay University of Florida ProQuest Dissertations & The 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

In the early 2000s, teen sexting rocked the moral conscience of America. The phenomenon was decried for the harmful effects it had on teens including bullying, depression, and suicide. In response to the panic created by the fad behavior, lawmakers in Florida and elsewhere sought to legislate the problem. This research seeks to understand the way Florida lawmakers framed the need for teen sexting legislation as well as how prosecutors have used the legislation since it was enacted.To accomplish this goal, this study employs a mixed-method design. First, a qualitative content analysis was conducted to show how lawmakers from Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Illinois described the need for their respective teen sexting statutes. Next, in-depth interviews were held with twenty Florida attorneys to help show how prosecutors have and have not used the state’s teen sexting law since it was enacted. Finally, legal research was conducted on the two reported cases involving teen sexting in Florida.This study concludes by showing how Florida lawmakers employed frames highlighting the need to lessen the potential punishment for teen sexting while still providing some punishment as well as attempting to increase enforcement. Lawmakers from Texas, Pennsylvania, and Illinois employed similar frames; however, they also emphasized the need to keep up with technology, an emphasis on education, and a split over whether teen sexting should be legislated at all. The data from interviews and cases show prosecutors do not deal with Florida’s teen sexting statute much. This seems to suggest lawmakers bought into a moral panic and rushed to pass teen sexting legislation when in reality, the benefit of such a law is de minimis.Finally, this study concludes by recommending changes to Florida’s existing state law. These changes include legalizing consensual sexting, mandating educational classes for minors who engage in nonconsensual sexting, and lessening criminal penalties. These recommendations are the result of studying Florida’s teen sexting law, but they also serve as model legislation for other jurisdictions.

The State of Literacy Coaching in Florida Elementary Schools

Ricke, Alyssa Perez University of Florida ProQuest Dissertations & The 2022 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

The purpose of this study was to examine the current state of literacy coaching in Florida elementary schools and contribute its findings to the growing body of research associated with the position. Research to date demonstrates how this position holds potential for bridging the gap between teachers’ knowledge and teachers’ instructional practices. Though the literacy coach position was created decades ago, there is still inconsistency and ambiguity attributed to how the position is operationalized. This study sought to uncover the specific roles and responsibilities associated with the position and to determine the educational qualifications and preparation experience of those employed in this position within the state of Florida. A quantitative survey was created and used to gather data related to the roles literacy coaches assume, their qualifications and preparation, and their preparedness to participate in coaching practices and to support teachers with instructional content. The survey instrument was emailed to potential participants at their work email addresses based upon data received from the Florida Department of Education. Respondents to10 the survey included 218 literacy coaches from 43 districts across Florida. A total of 65% of Florida school districts was represented.Two research questions were addressed: RQ1 focused on the roles and responsibilities of literacy coaches in Florida, and RQ2 centered on the educational qualifications and preparation of literacy coaches in Florida. This study used descriptive statistics to answer the research questions. The results showed the types of roles literacy coaches participated in were similar; however, the time they dedicated to these roles varied significantly depending on their setting (RQ1). Literacy coaches in Florida have on average 16.46 years of teaching experience, but almost 50% of literacy coaches had 3 years or less of coaching experience (RQ2). The instructional content or topics coaches are less prepared to support teachers with are supporting students with specific needs, foundational skills, and virtual learning. The results of this study indicate the need for significant improvements related to (a) the distribution of literacy coaches’ roles, (b) how a literacy coaches’ time is prioritized and operationalized, and (c) the trainings, preparation programs, and ongoing professional development offered to literacy coaches.

Exploring Florida Infant Toddler Development Specialists’ Experiences of Training and Support

Conrad, Cheyenne University of Florida ProQuest Dissertations & The 2023 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Early intervention providers (called Infant Toddler Developmental Specialist [ITDS] providers in Florida) are tasked with providing effective, respectful, high-quality services. However, due to the lack of pre-service preparation, minimal onboarding, and lack of ongoing professional development training, their ability to provide these services is compromised. Early intervention providers report feeling inadequately trained, underpaid, unsupported, and understaffed (Spence et al., 2018). Consequently, early intervention services have overall low fidelity in both implementation and intervention practices (Dickenson et al., 2020).The purpose of this study was to better understand the training and support experiences of ITDS providers employed in the state of Florida. In order to accomplish this goal, I explored the following research questions: (1) How do Florida ITDS providers describe their experiences with professional development? (2) What are the barriers and supports that Florida ITDS providers identify as critical to their success? (3) What changes do Florida ITDS providers feel will enhance their ability to provide better quality services to the families they serve? I employed an applied research methodology using qualitative interviews to understand participant experiences.The participants discussed their experiences with training, current supports and barriers, and their desired changes. The participants recognized the supportive role the Florida Embedded Practices and Intervention with Caregivers (FL-EPIC) has played in their training, and its current limitations. The providers identified the need for more training and offered recommendations. Additionally, the participants identified the lack of licensed providers, cost of travel, and cancellations as barriers to success in their role. They also cited job flexibility, team members, and interpersonal skills as supports to their success. Lastly, providers called for changes in access to training, mentoring and shadowing opportunities, and collaborative peer spaces. The most important takeaway from this study was that, with the development of new professional development programs, policy changes, or organizational alterations, it is imperative that the experiences of providers are valued.

Fermion Masses and Mixings, and Leptogenesis in T13 Family Symmetry

Rahat, Moinul Hossain University of Florida ProQuest Dissertations & The 2022 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

In this dissertation we build a unified model using SU(5) grand unification and T13 family symmetry to explain the observed fermion masses and mixings. The main motivation of the model is to demonstrate an electroweak origin of the small reactor angle in the lepton sector, while the large solar and atmospheric angles arise from the unknown physics of the seesaw sector. We take a bottom-up approach to determine the electroweak Yukawa structure for this, assuming a tribimaximal (TBM) seesaw mixing. We find that a phase is required to be introduced to the TBM matrix to reproduce the observed lepton mixing angles. Dirac CP violation predicted by this phase matches well with the current global fits, prompting us to investigate a deeper origin of the Yukawas from the breaking of a family symmetry. We identify T13 to be the ideal candidate, and build a model of effective interactions incorporating gauge-singlet scalars aligned along simple directions in vacuum. Extending our analysis to the seesaw sector, we demonstrate the emergence of the complex-TBM seesaw mixing from the complete breaking of the family symmetry. The model makes sharp predictions for light neutrino masses and neutrinoless double beta decay, within the sensitivity of upcoming experiments. We further investigate high-scale leptogenesis in the context of the model and determine the masses of the right-handed neutrinos for generating the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe. We then extend the study to low-scale resonant leptogenesis and find that GeV-scale right-handed neutrinos with testable active-sterile mixing are sufficient to explain the observed baryon asymmetry.

Comparing Perceptions of Nursing Leadership between Minority and Non-minority Nurse Leaders

Jean-Antoine, Cassandre University of Florida ProQuest Dissertations & The 2018 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Diversity is critical to healthcare to improve access to care and to reduce health disparities. However, throughout the United States, there is a lack of diversity in nursing leadership positions. According to a survey conducted by the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), it showed that Whites had a higher chance of obtaining an executive position as opposed to minority leaders with similar qualifications (ACHE, 2014). Diversity in nursing leadership is essential to advocate for underrepresented communities and to influence strategies, policies, and programs that affect these communities. Yet, there is a significant lack of minority representation in nursing leadership positions. To ameliorate the obstacles that hinder career advancement for minority nurses, it is critical to understand the perceptions of minority nurses who already hold leadership positions. This is a descriptive study to determine the contribution of race to the perception of leadership competencies, barriers, and success among nurse leaders. Using data from a 2013 study, the sample includes 1,683 nurse leaders in the State of Florida. Exploring the perceptions of minority nurse leaders contributes to the career advancement of future minority nurse leaders and increase diversity in nursing leadership.

Role of Axions in Structure Formation in the Universe

Banik, Nilanjan University of Florida ProQuest Dissertations & The 2017 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

One of the most profound puzzles of modern day science is to understand the nature of dark matter. Axions that arise as a result of the solution to the CP problem in the theory of strong interactions are one of the leading dark matter candidates. This dissertation is a compilation of my published works, in which we have explored novel ways axion dark matter can affect structure formation in the Universe. After a brief historical review on dark matter we review in detail the Bose-Einstein. We then present a technique for obtaining the leading behavior of the velocity dispersion near caustics. The results are used to derive an upper limit on the energy dispersion of the local flow of dark matter from the sharpness of the nearby cau.

Hydrologic and water quality model evaluation with global sensitivity analysis: Improvements and applications

Khare, Yogesh P University of Florida ProQuest Dissertations & The 2014 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Hydrologic and water quality (H/WQ) models can well-assess the impacts of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on natural systems. Today, these models have become extremely important policy making tools for tackling a range of water resources problems e.g. Best Management Practices, Total Maximum Daily Loads, etc. For well-informed decision making, applications of these models should undergo thorough reliability/global sensitivity and uncertainty analyses (GSA/UA) evaluation. Though the H/WQ modeling community has begun to realize the importance of GSA/UA, they are often ignored in practice. This study aimed to understand and improve SA/UA techniques and their applications to H/WQ and drought models. This work is divided into three specific research objectives. A drought index, the Agricultural Reference Index of Drought (ARID), a model with correlated parameters was used as a test case for the first objective. An innovative approach was proposed to incorporate parameter correlation while performing GSA using a variance based technique. GSA results obtained using this approach were compared to those of a correlation-based SA methodology. Results were comparable. ARID was found to be monotonic and additive in nature and was most sensitive to the root zone depth and soil hydraulic properties. The second part of this work proposed a new multi-criteria trajectory-based sampling strategy for the screening SA method of Elementary Effects (EEs). The concept of generating uniformly distributed parameter samples was merged with the often-used goal of maximizing sample spread. The evaluation of this strategy with benchmark strategies indicated that it was more than an order of magnitude computationally faster for high dimensional models and that it also somewhat improves parameter screening. The last objective was aimed at the evaluation of the routing and pollutant attenuation module of the Watershed Assessment Model (WAM). GSA/UA showed that WAM was most sensitive to empirical/conceptual parameters, indicating their importance in the model calibration/validation process and the need for monitoring efforts to verify the selection of these parameters. As the first formal evaluation of WAM by GSA/UA, the results obtained in this work are a valuable contribution to the application of WAM to addressing water quality issues in the state of Florida.

Bayesian Analysis and Characterization of Multiple Populations in Galactic Globular Clusters

Wagner-Kaiser, R. A University of Florida ProQuest Dissertations & The 2016 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

First, Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging from the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) Treasury Survey is used to find the most likely isochrones that fit 69 Galactic globular clusters under the historical assumption of "single" populations. Using robust Bayesian analysis techniques, ages, distances, dust absorption, and helium values are determined for each cluster on model grids with scaled-solar abundances. The set of cluster parameters is derived in a consistent and objective method for all clusters using a Bayesian analysis suite called BASE-9. We use our results to re-visit the age-metallicity relation, finding correlations among helium and several other parameters such as metallicity, binary fraction, and various probes of cluster mass. The helium abundances of the clusters in the context of CNO abundances and the multiple population scenario are also considered. Even in the era of multiple populations, value remains in using the visual filters to determine single population estimates of various cluster parameters based on color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs), particularly relative ages, absorptions, and distances. This will continue to be true until theoretical models at ultraviolet wavelengths are able to model clusters with similar quality as the visual wavelengths. Cycle 21 Hubble Space Telescope HST observations in UV filters are also used along with the previously mentioned HST archival ACS Treasury Program observations of 30 Galactic Globular Clusters to find and characterize multiple stellar populations. Our sophisticated Bayesian technique is again employed to simultaneously determine the parameters age, distance, absorption for each cluster. The code has been expanded to also include unique helium values of two distinct populations of each cluster and the relative proportions of those populations. The spread in helium content between the two populations in the clusters tends to fall in a narrow range of 0.04 to 0.11 in fractional mass, in accordance with previous predictions. Evidence is presented supporting previous studies that suggest increasing helium is concurrent with the increasing masses of clusters, which we show holds true for the largest consistently analyzed sample of clusters to date. We also demonstrate relationships between the proportion of stars belonging to each population with cluster mass and environment. Our results are examined in the context of proposed globular cluster formation scenarios and shed light on inconsistencies between the theoretical models and the observed data. Spectral observations are incorporated to uncover the inconsistency between spectral and photometric determinations of population proportion. Moving forward, the incorporation of photometry and spectroscopy in a unified analysis is necessary to fully characterize and understand these clusters. From our preliminary inspection of abundances by population, oxygen is found to correlate strongly with mass. Additional evidence from other light element abundances suggests that the two populations in these clusters show different dilution trends. Furthermore, the radial distribution of each generation of stars is examined in each cluster. Comparing the radial distributions to the models and theories of multiple population formation scenarios is crucial to understanding the formation and evolution of these objects, as well as providing valuable feedback to develop the formation theories further. The clusters have inconsistent radial distributions of their populations, with some having the second population more concentrated (as expected from multiple epochs of star formation), some inverted (as possible from accretion), and some with populations fully mixed spatially. We will continue to expand upon this, using a statistical determination of population membership to examine structure and dynamics of distinct populations in clusters. Future work requires both an expansion of our Bayesian framework and additional observations. Better theoretical models, more flexibility in the allowable parameters (e.g.: light element abundances, [alpha/Fe] variations), and the ability to analyze any number of populations will result in a more accurate characterization of globular clusters. Further incorporation of ancillary datasets, such as spectra and dynamics, with photometry will provide a larger picture of the driving forces of multiple populations in globular clusters. New observations to bolster small number statistics for spectra of individual stars as well as the population of clusters, and especially to external galaxies, will also be vital to fully uncover the entire picture of the formation and evolution of globular clusters. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).

It's a Different World: Cultivating Safe Spaces for Black Women Graduate Students at Predominately White Universities Using Radical Healing

Lane, Dashana University of Florida ProQuest Dissertations & The 2023 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

This qualitative study examined how Black women graduate students engaged in radical healing through the Homeplace Research Collective at the University of Florida. The purpose of this study is to investigate the lived experiences of Black women graduate students by focusing on the challenges they encounter within the academy and how their engagement in radical healing aid in combating racial trauma. Critical participatory action (CPAR) and photovoice were employed as the methodological approaches for this study. Using CPAR and photovoice as guiding schools of thought, it was fitting to employ photo-elicitation interviews and reflective journaling to collect data. This study was grounded within the conceptual framework of Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 1990) and Radical Healing (French et al., 2020). A descriptive thematic analysis (Saladana, 2013) approach was used for this study. There were six emergent themes derived from the data. The implications for practice and future research were discussed.

Exploring Learner and Task Characteristics During Information Visualization Comprehension: Toward Adaptive Infographics

Zlatkovic, Kristine University of Florida ProQuest Dissertations & The 2023 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

New forms of visualizations are transforming how people interact with data. This dissertation explored how undergraduates learn with infographics. The following questions guided this research:(i) What do we know about the factors influencing the processing of data visualizations?(ii) How do task-level and learner-level characteristics impact the visual processing and comprehension of infographics?(iii) Can machine learning be used to reliably predict the visual processing and comprehension of infographics using task-level and learner-level characteristics?Systematic review of the literature has shown that data visualization comprehension includes perceptive and conceptual processes, which are influenced by learning task and its complexity, strategies used to convey data, individual learner differences in previous experiences, cognitive and attentional characteristics. A study was conducted with 51 undergraduates in an eye-tracking laboratory at a major southeastern university. The learning task included using infographics with verbal and visual data representations to find answers to questions of three levels of complexity. Learners' working memory, visual search and inhibitory control abilities were evaluated as measures of individual differences in cognition. The results suggest that learners become more engaged and produce slightly more accurate results when they learn using verbal infographics. Complex tasks that require learners to make inferences by connecting newly acquired knowledge with prior knowledge always produce the least accurate results. Regardless of the data representation format, learners' visuospatial working memory and goal-oriented visual search ability significantly influence comprehension. On the contrary, low verbal working memory and inhibitory control hinder the processing of verbal infographics. Further, a random forest algorithm predicted infographics comprehension with 88.04% accuracy with learner-level and task-level characteristics contributing to the predictive performance of the model. Learners' visual processing was explored using gaze-based saliency maps. Machine learning generated less than 50% accuracy using saliency map predictions. Yet, statistical tests revealed that both task-level and learner-level characteristics are significantly associated with saliency maps. This study implies that machine learning and the proposed saliency maps may contribute to the development of adaptive infographics based on learner-level and task-level characteristics. This study contributes insights to existing knowledge on data visualization comprehension and proposes new approaches to enhance learning with information visualizations.