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“OJALA QUE LLUEVA: FREE TRADE\u27S RIPPLE EFFECT ON RICE FARMING IN EL CIBAO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Full text linkGlobalization has had a tremendous effect on agricultural communities. This study aims to understand Dominican rice farmers\u27 methods of production, their impact on the Dominican economy, and the public health of those involved in production. Some concerns are how mass rice production affects the environment, public health, and the state\u27s economy. The rice industry in the Dominican Republic is one of the most essential sectors due to its cultural and dietary significance. Rice contributes a substantial amount to the diet of Dominicans; its production process and nutritional profile is associated with health problems that burden an already strained public health system. A better understanding of the farming practices, labor conditions, and the pressures placed on the environment can help policymakers make better decisions to support the Dominican people further
SOCIAL CONNECTIONS AND BOND PRICING
Full text linkIn this manuscript, I present two essays that examine the role of social connections in corporate bond pricing.
The first essay examines the effect of interlocking connections between investment banks and corporate executives or directors on bond underpricing and underwriting fees. Interlocking is associated with more accurate bond pricing, reflected in significantly lower excess initial returns on newly issued bonds. Specifically, interlocking reduces underpricing by 6.25-14.01 basis points, saving, on average, up to 347,661-1,552,547 extra first-day profits annually. The study suggests the existence of favoritism between underwriters and institutional investors, which leads to the agency problem between the underwriters and bond issuers
DO MARKETERS NEED TO KNOW? HOW FIRMS\u27 NEWFOUND QUEST FOR CUSTOMER DATA IS ERODING FIRM PERFORMANCE
Full text linkFirms today spend more than 30 billion dollars on marketing data. This obsession with data has been propelled by a firm\u27s ongoing need to better understand its consumers and, in turn, drive positive firm performance. While the relationship between brand equity and firm performance has been confirmed for the last two decades, this study explores how data collection negatively moderates the existing relationship by testing multiple variables of privacy risk. This theoretical paper with a pilot study explores how the conflicting balance of shareholder theory and stakeholder theory can lead firms towards data collection practices that indirectly diminish the firm’s financial benefits due to consumer privacy risk. The pilot study of 13 firms (N=13) with 540 consumer observations (n=540) utilizes OLS regression with interaction to explore the moderating effects of four privacy risk dimensions. The study provides preliminary evidence for a history of data collection having a weakening effect on the relationship between brand equity and firm performance. Exploring this moderating effect confirms stakeholder theory as the preferred theoretical construct for firm governance when establishing data collection practices
DOES FEDERAL FUNDING ADDRESS FUNDAMENTALS? EXAMINING THE EQUITY EFFECTS OF TITLE I ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Full text linkThis dissertation examines the equity effects of Title I funding on student achievement in Broward County Public Schools, one of the largest school districts in the United States. Title I, established under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, aims to address educational disparities by providing financial resources to schools that serve economically disadvantaged students. Despite over five decades of federal intervention, significant achievement gaps persist, particularly among marginalized populations. This study investigates the effectiveness of Title I funding in improving student outcomes in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics during the period 2016–2020.
Using a quantitative research design, this study analyzes data from Title I and non-Title I schools to determine the relationship between funding levels and student performance. The analysis incorporates multiple regression and hierarchical linear modeling (multiple regression) to explore the moderating effects of student demographics (e.g., race, gender, socioeconomic status) and school-level factors (e.g., location, chronic absenteeism). Results from this study contribute to understanding how federal funding influences educational equity and identify conditions that optimize its impact status) and school-level factors (e.g., location, chronic absenteeism). Results from this study contribute to understanding how federal funding influences educational equity and identify conditions that optimize its impact.
The findings reveal that while Title I funding provides critical resources, its effectiveness is influenced by contextual factors such as demographic characteristics and school-level variables. This study underscores the need for targeted interventions and strategic resource allocation to maximize the benefits of federal funding. The implications of this research inform policymakers, educators, and stakeholders about best practices for reducing achievement gaps and promoting educational success and equity. By focusing on Broward County Public Schools, this research offers insights into the challenges and opportunities for reform in large, diverse districts. It contributes to the broader discourse on equity in education, emphasizing the importance of sustained, data-driven approaches to addressing systemic disparities in student achievement
ANALYZING ASTHMA AND ALLERGY EFFECTS OF IMMIGRANT CHILDREN IN SOUTH FLORIDA
Full text linkThrough my research study, I have analyzed the waiting, suffering, and struggle of Hindu immigrants to access quality healthcare treatment in South Florida. I wanted to explore immigrant parents\u27 perceptions and beliefs associated with specific Hindu cultural meanings as well as exercising specific rules and norms of behavior for treating asthma and allergies in their children. My ethnographic study reveals the immigrants\u27 perspectives on their traditional healing system and the healthcare system in South Florida for their children\u27s wellness, as they incorporate plural medical systems . My research findings show how immigrants adapt to the healthcare system in a highly stratified social system based in South Florida, as they seek to address their children\u27s asthma and allergies (Joralemon, 2013)
Reexamining the Second Amendment: The Impact of Police Militarization on Civilian Gun Ownership
Full text linkThe increasing militarization of police forces in the United States contains profound implications on citizens’ Second Amendment rights, specifically concerning the ownership of weapons capable of mass violence. The original intent of the Second Amendment was not only to guarantee self-defense but also to safeguard citizens’ ability to resist a potentially tyrannical government. As police forces acquire military grade weaponry, some argue that civilians should have access to similar arms to maintain the balance of power between the state and its citizens, as outlined by the purpose of the Second Amendment. The historic use of violent police force to suppress peaceful organizers calls into question the necessity of a well-armed citizenry to act as a critical check on government overreach. Ultimately, demilitarizing police forces, rather than increasingly arming civilian forces is the most efficient solution to maintaining the parity of civilian and government forces. This demilitarization would include measures such as limiting access to military-grade weaponry, reevaluating use of force protocols, reducing Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) deployments, and changes in police training and culture. This paper seeks to advance research on Second Amendment rights by recontextualizing the civilian-centric discussion on gun ownership to focus on its relationship to increasing police militarization
INVESTIGATING THE PORTRAYAL OF NATIVE AMERICANS IN FLORIDA’S K-12 SOCIAL STUDIES/HISTORY TEXTBOOKS: A CRITICAL CONTENT ANALYSIS
Full text linkTextbook bias is an enduring and contentious issue in the United States. U.S. textbooks have long been criticized for perpetuating bias and reinforcing dominant narratives that marginalize minority groups, such as members of Indigenous nations. This study confirms that biases continue to exist in textbooks and promote the harmful narrative that Indigenous peoples are people of the past. This narrative undermines the survivance (Vizenor, 1998), contributions, and very existence of Indigenous peoples. Using a critical lens, this content analysis examines the portrayal of Indigenous peoples in select fourth-grade, eighth-grade, and high school social studies and history texts used in Florida during the 2022–2023 school year. Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit; Brayboy, 2005) provided a theoretical framework that was specific to Indigenous peoples.
TribalCrit was used in combination with two bias frameworks. The first was created by the Manitoba Indian Brotherhood Textbook Evaluation Committee (1974) and was specifically designed for recognizing bias in content pertaining to First Nations people in Canada. The second framework was Sadker and Sadker’s (2001) Seven Forms of Bias in Instructional Materials. The study was guided by the following two research questions: How are Indigenous peoples portrayed in content in Florida’s social studies and history textbooks? What underlying narratives about Indigenous peoples are supported by the content in the texts? The findings revealed that the narratives presented in the texts were fraught with bias and perpetuated the erasure of Indigenous peoples from contemporary U.S. society, Tribal sovereignty and the unique political relationship with the U.S. government is minimized in the content, and Indigenous peoples are described by basic lifestyle characteristics instead of by their depth and diversity. The content is void of Indigenous perspective and promotes a Eurocentric curriculum supporting an underlying narrative that contributes to the invisibility of Indigenous peoples and celebrates colonialism. The recommendations provide guidelines and resources that can be used immediately to improve the situation in schools for Native students and curate Indigenous educational principles that would beneficially shift the current educational paradigm for all students
HUMAN-AI INTERACTION IN DRIVING BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS: MACHINE LEARNING AND PATTERN MINING FOR THE UNOBTRUSIVE COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT
No full textCreating unobtrusive, intelligent sensing systems that can be embedded into daily life and assess changes in the physical and cognitive functions of people has garnered significant attention. This dissertation presents a data-driven pattern recognition framework that integrates human-AI interaction and machine learning to analyze and quantify cognitive decline in older drivers based on the data stream of their driving data. This study harnesses real in-vehicle sensing data collected from +65 older drivers. Various AI-enabled data analytics modeling techniques are developed and tested to understand the driving patterns of older drivers, the relations between driving data and their cognitive functions, and detect cognitively impaired drivers. First, an in-vehicle sensing platform is employed to collect and preprocess telematics data from older drivers, capturing critical driving metrics such as speed, acceleration, braking, and steering behavior. Second, pattern mining techniques using unsupervised learning methods, including Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) and Deep Embedded Clustering (DEC), are applied to identify driving behavior patterns. These patterns are then analyzed to differentiate between normal aging-related behavior and behavior indicative of MCI. Third, pattern recognition and quantitative analysis are conducted to examine the relationship between cognitive decline and driving features. Statistical and machine learning models are used to assess how driving behaviors are altered due to cognitive impairment. Finally, a novel two-stage self-supervised deep contrastive learning framework is developed to detect MCI from telematics data. This framework first leverages self-supervised learning to extract meaningful driving behavior representations, followed by supervised classifiers to identify MCI cases with uncertainty quantification.
This study identifies critical driving behaviors—particularly long-term patterns involving trip frequency, nighttime and peak-hour driving exposure, and throttle control—as significant digital biomarkers of MCI, contrasting with traditional assumptions that short-term driving variability is the primary indicator of cognitive decline. This approach significantly contributes to non-invasive, scalable, and privacy-preserving cognitive health assessments, highlighting how AI-driven behavioral analytics can complement traditional clinical assessments effectively. It establishes a pipeline for early detection and personalized interventions in healthcare, transportation safety, behavioral science, and aging research
THE SOULS OF BLACK GHOSTS: CENTERING INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA OF BLACK AMERICANS FROM HARRIET TUBMAN TO BELOVED
Full text linkIntergenerational trauma is being debated and researched in fields such as neuroscience and sociology, and yet many question whether one can genuinely feel the negative effects of a lived experience from a distant ancestor. This project aims to raise awareness on the attempts at erasing Harriet Tubman’s heritage through scholarship on her disability, and to highlight the presence of intergenerational trauma (as defined by Dr. DeGruy’s observations in Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome) in Toni Morrison’s Beloved. I note the ripple effects of chattel slavery in the United States seen in the consciousness and unconsciousness of Black Americans within a literary context by bringing in Orlando Patterson’s concept of social death in conversation with intergenerational trauma. The goal of this project is to encourage continued research into intergenerational trauma of Black Americans and to caution against scholarship that may promote the erasure of their trauma and heritage
COMMISSIONING OF ELECTRON BLOCKS IN MONACO AND DIODE CORRECTION FACTORS
Full text linkThis work examines the Elekta Monaco TPS Monte Carlo electron beam dose calculation model for electron treatment planning. The primary goals are to commission electron blocks and establish correction factors for diode measurements with the use of ion chamber output as references, improving dosimetric procedures and adhering to the AAPM for clinically acceptable precision. Output factor measurements of diodes were compared to ion chamber OFs on a 6 MeV to 15 MeV Elekta Versa HD linear accelerator. TPS calculations were held on the Monaco TPS system. To balance the computational costs and accuracy of the solution, grid sizes of 2 mm x 2 mm and 3 mm x 3 mm were selected and histories of 100,000 and 200,000 were studied. It was found that a 3 mm grid size carrying 100,000 histories was used as the standard to maintain the deviations between the measured and calculated values at 3%.
Calibration of diode-based dose verification against the ion chamber and TPS data was done and the system has linear correlation and thus minimizing ion chamber measurements in routine clinical applications. The results confirm TPS model to allow static electron field calculation and optimization with a treatment planning accuracy within a 5% tolerance level. This improves workflow while not affecting clinical accuracy in anyway