This study was developed to produce data about the prevalence of bullying in Central Florida middle schools. The research was intended to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on bullying and victimization. The focus for this study was provided through research questions: (a) to determine if there is a mean difference in perceived victimization among Central Florida middle school students based on grade level, gender, and ethnicity; (b) to determine if there is a mean difference in perceived bullying among Central Florida middle school students based on grade level, gender, and ethnicity; (c) to determine what support do students perceive Central Florida middle school staff provide to students who are bullied;(d) to determine what school locations, if any, do Central Florida middle school students perceive to be the most prevalent for bullying activities; (e) to determine if there is a relationship between skipping school and perceived victimization among middle school students in Central Florida; (f) to determine what is the average number of school days skipped by middle school students in Central Florida due to perceived victimization; (g) to determine if there is a relationship between feeling safe at school and perceived victimization among middle school students in Central Florida; (h) to determine if there is a relationship between student perceptions of whether teasing and bullying harms their grades and perceived victimization for middle school students in Central Florida; and (i) to determine if there is a relationship between students showing interest in their school work and perceived victimization by Central Florida middle school students. The population of this study was comprised of students in grades 6-8 in three Central Florida school districts during the 2007 - 2008 school years. Data were generated from the 13 schools located in Brevard, Osceola and Volusia counties using a self-reporting survey. Based on the research findings, it was determined that bullying is prevalent in Central Florida schools, with 21% (n = 133) of the students perceiving themselves as a victim of teasing and bullying. Students who perceive themselves as a bully was 5% (n = 30). Minority students perceived themselves as victims the most. Minority students in the sixth grade and non-minority students in the seventh grade, regardless of gender, perceived themselves as victims the most. Students in the sixth grade, regardless of race and gender, perceived themselves as bullies more than students in other grade levels. Students, who perceived themselves as victims, feel it is because they had good grades and show interest in their school work. Perceived victims of teasing and bullying also have poorer grades. Most students, who are victims of bullying, do feel somewhat safe at school and feel what the school is doing about the teasing and bullying problems was sufficient. When asked about attendance, a majority of students reported they have not skipped any days of school as a result of being teased or bullied. Students also identified all campus locations as areas where teasing and bullying takes place, with the gym having the most occurrence

The proposed goal of this research was to take the data gathered and implement it in analyzing the potential reformation of programs in need of evaluation, assessing the potential benefits of further development in the field of bilingual education in the United States as a nation. Using data collected in the Central Florida region as a microcosmic example of how existing programs function in the modern elementary educational system, the purpose of this study was to demonstrate through the conduction of interviews with local teachers and currently available research that a more suitable standard for bilingual education is both necessary and valuable for our school systems and for the future of our students as productive and capable adults. As a survey of the current state of bilingual education in Central Florida elementary schools, this research sought to establish a clearer panoramic view of the ways in which our system is perceived as observed directly through those participating and facilitating it firsthand in local classrooms. Classroom observations and data gathered from educational professionals within the participating elementary school system, inclusive solely of those implementing a bilingual program as a method of assimilation for a high population of Spanish-speaking students transitioning to a targeted language of English, were the primary basis of this research, supplemented by existing psychological and educational research in the field of language acquisition and development in young children. Results have suggested that current methods of bilingual instruction are based upon the integrated standards of three existing models: transitional bilingual education, immersion, and English as a Second Language.; The three appeared to be functioning in such a way that does not fully allow for a wide range of learning needs to be met, and that furthermore does not fully support a directed initiative toward a future in consistently dynamic and progressive research in the bilingual field, such that a standardized system flexible enough to encourage the needs of a diverse population might be realized. With further standardization and research, bilingual education might itself become a standard of American education for all students, native and non-native.

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No description available.

The purpose of this research is to analyze the use of the public train usage in Central Florida to determine the feasibility of high-speed rail usage in the future. This study will be split into parts and expanded upon. The first part will observe rider perspective, values, and issues regarding rail transportation as is available in Central Florida. In further installations, which will be conducted separately from this thesis, there will be an analysis of the providers of rail transportation. It is hypothesized that there will be a moderate demand for rail transportation used by the public. Original: The main purpose of this descriptive research is to describe the feasibility of high speed rail in the United States. Feasibility is defined as the determining factor in the sustainability of a project. In the case of this research study, high speed rail is the project and is defined as a specialized railroad system, including dedicated tracks and specialized rolling stock, that travels upward of 125mph. It is hypothesized that the feasibility in high speed rail is high due to the current functioning transportation systems in Florida.

John’s Pass is a stable mixed-energy inlet located on a microtidal coast in Pinellas County, Florida. It is hydraulically connected to the northern portion of Boca Ciega Bay. Morphological analysis using a time-series of aerial photographs indicated that anthropogenic activities have influenced the evolution of the tidal deltas and adjacent shorelines at John’s Pass. Previous studies have documented the channel dimensions at the location of the existing bridge and calculated the tidal prism. A chronological analysis of these data yielded an increasing trend in the cross-sectional area at John’s Pass from 1873 to 2001. Anthropogenic activities occurring in Boca Ciega Bay impacting this trend begin in the 1920’s when Indian Pass, approximately 7 km north of John’s Pass, was artificially closed. Other significant events causing an increase or decrease in the crosssectional area at John’s Pass include dredging and filling in the bay, channel dredging at John’s Pass, and jetty construction. More recent data collected from a simultaneous current meter deployment at John’s Pass and Blind Pass were used to calculate the bay area serviced by each inlet resulting in an area serviced by John’s Pass being 1.8x104 km2 and 0.33x104 km2 serviced by Blind Pass. In comparison, Blind Pass captures 14 percent of the tidal prism that John’s Pass captures and John’s Pass captures 87 percent of the bay prism while Blind Pass captures 13 percent. Using the discharge equation and assuming the channel area was largely constant the tidal prism at John’s Pass was 1.07x107 m3 during the twenty-one day deployment. Based on a historical analysis of the tidal prism this study is within 40 percent of the tidal prism calculated by Mehta (1976) and Becker and Ross (2001) and within 20 percent of the tidal prism calculated by Jarrett (1976) and Davis and Gibeaut (1990). An analysis of the current meter time-series indicated that flood velocities in the channel were influenced by a frontal system passing through the study area during the deployment increasing the amount of potential sediment being deposited in the channel thalweg. The maximum ebb and flood-tidal velocities during the deployment were 143 cm/s and 115 cm/s, respectively. Morphological analysis of cross-sectional data from 1995 to 2004 indicated that sediment tends to accumulate along the northern portion of the channel. The channel thalweg tends to accumulate more sediment east of the bridge where wave energy is lower and currents are not as strong. An average net accumulation of 0.5 m per year was estimated along all seven cross-sections. Given the length and width of the surveyed channel, 610 m by approximately 150 m, the sediment flux through the inlet is approximately 45,800 m3 /yr along the channel thalweg. A small amount of sediment accumulation has occurred southwest of the bridge in response to channelized flood flows along the newly constructed jetty. An annual sediment budget was estimated for the John’s Pass inlet system using the beach profiles and inlet bathymetry data between 2000 and 2001. Overall, the inlet system has accumulated more sediment than it has lost during this time period.

Shell Key and Mullet Key are two sandy barrier islands on the West Central Florida coast near the mouth of Tampa Bay. These islands are part of an interconnected barrier-inlet system that includes Pass-a-Grille (PAG) and Bunces Pass. Shell Key is a relatively new island about 40-years of age that formed in between the two inlets of Bunces Pass and PAG. Mullet Key is an island to the south of Shell Key situated between Bunces Pass and the main Tampa Bay channel that has demonstrated large scale upward shoaling events. Using numerical modeling, the wave and tidal conditions at the dual-inlet system were investigated in order to understand the hydrodynamic conditions that drive the morphology change. Historical aerial imagery and historical nautical charts were analyzed to determine the large scale accretionary and erosive changes that happened in the study area from 1873 to 2018. Four historical nautical charts, from 1873, 1928, 1966, and 1996 were digitized to create bathymetry maps of the two islands, their adjacent inlets, and the ebb shoals. These historical bathymetry maps were compared with the bathymetry survey by this study in 2016. The research goal of this thesis is to investigate the mechanism of origin and development of two barrier islands along the coast of West Central Florida through a time series of photos combined with numerical modeling. Based on aerial photos from 1984 to 2018, the overall shape and orientation of ebb shoals at both Bunces Pass and PAG were analyzed in order to examine the effect that the 30 year swash bar cycle at Bunces Pass has on a connected inlet system. The ebb shoal orientations were compared to see how swash bar initiation would affect the two ebb shoals; most notably Bunces Pass ebb shoal. A bending of the entire Bunces Pass ebb shoal was identified over the 2002-2018 time span corresponding to the development of a large sand feature located here. Further numerical modeling was conducted at PAG to determine the factors controlling the formation of Shell Key. Before the 1970s, the PAG inlet included two branches, the North PAG Channel and the South PAG Channel. A major dredging event took place at the North PAG Channel in 1966 causing significant widening and deepening of the channel. This dredging event was simulated to quantify the impact to the natural flow pattern. The 1966 dredging project had a significant impact to the overall flow pattern, increasing the ebb jet flow velocity by 0.8 m/s over the dredged area and significantly decreasing flow velocity by -0.4 m/s over a large area where the South PAG Channel was previously located. This artificially induced change of flow pattern resulted in the closure of South PAG Channel and the corresponding development of Shell Key.

West-central Florida has supplied much of the national and global demand for phosphate for over 100 years. The two main tributaries of the Alafia River, the North and South Prongs, have been extensively modified by the strip mining, benefaction, and chemical processing activities associated with the phosphate mining industry. Using aerial photos, an analysis of landscape change in the South Prong Alafia River drainage basin (357.4 km2) between 1940, 1970, and 2004 was conducted. A modified Florida Land Use, Land Cover, and Forms Classification System code (FLUCCS) was used to classify and measure change through the study period. Change in the study area is characterized by a dramatic decline in the area covered by natural lands and an increase in the area covered by anthropogenic activity. Increasing 43.8 km2 from 1940 -- 1970 and 199.96 km2 from 1970 -- 2004, phosphate mining activity is the primary force of landscape alteration in the study area. The historic headwaters of the main stream, Hooker's Prairie, is completely replaced by mining-induced landforms in 2004. Net change in landscape composition from 1940 -- 2004 is 1) phosphate mining (+243.76 km2), 2) surface hydrology (-113.13 km2), 3) urban (+2.42 km2), agriculture (+19.76 km2), and undisturbed / other (-139.66 km2). The results of this study indicate that the regional environment and hydrology have been heavily impacted by phosphate mining activity. The critical management of the industry's environmental impacts and reclamation practices is essential for the current and future health of the local environment and its inhabitants.

A new methodology is proposed for estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) flux at small spatial and temporal scales. The method involves simultaneous measurement of soil moisture (SM) profiles and water table heads along transects flow paths. The method has been applied in a shallow water table field site in West-Central Florida for data collected from January 2002 through June 2004. Capacitance shift type moisture sensors were used for this research, placed at variable depth intervals starting at approximately 4 in. (10 cm) below land surface and extending well below the seasonal low water table depth of 59 in. (1.5 m). Vegetation included grassland and wetland forested flatwoods. The approach includes the ability to resolve multiple ET components including shallow and deep vadose zone, surface interception capture and depression storage ET. Other components of the water budget including infiltration, total and saturation rainfall excess runoff, net runoff, changes in storage and lateral groundwater flows are also derived from the approach. One shortcoming of the method is the reliance on open pan or other potential ET estimation techniques when the water table is at or near land surface. Results are compared with values derived for the two vegetative covers from micrometeorological and Bowen ratio methods. Advantages of the SM method include resolving component ET.

This thesis expands upon the dialogue between speed and architecture, investigating how architecture reinterprets the linear city, originally defined by the continuous fabric of the freeway and more recently reconfigured by the high speed rail line. Using the linear city as a site of exploration and high speed rail as a ground to test new typologies of architectural insertions at amplified speed, this thesis produces an extended civic space along the proposed high speed rail line connecting Tampa and Orlando. Combining a series of performance and commercial programs, this new typology will make the obscured visual experience along the extended territory of the rail line legible, through a sequencing of specific architectural intersections, exploring how monumental civic space will be made and occupied in the sprawl of the American city.