As coastal cities around the world identify and implement adaptations to sea level rise, they are faced with competing interests around what should be done and how to prioritize actions. Often, environmental problems--like confronting the challenge of sea level rise--are posed as requiring expert driven, technical solutions to identify and mitigate risks across the landscape. This framing, however, ignores the way in which diverse knowledge can help inform long-term planning horizons that address complex ways that sea level rise affects communities. The failure to integrate diverse knowledge into sea level rise adaptation can result in barriers to implementation and outcomes that can reproduce inequities. In environmental planning, knowledge integration challenges can stem from ambiguity around the construction of environmental risk knowledge, as well as institutional arrangements that inhibit diverse involvement. Ambiguity refers to a context in which there are different and sometimes conflicting views on how to understand the problem or system to be managed, for example, conflicts around what risks to measure and how to measure them. This manifests in the ways that different groups construct and use knowledge about risks. Often ignored in planning contexts and research on sea level rise adaptation, ambiguity--particularly around social risks--are critical to address, since they can determine whether diverse knowledge about risks are integrated or ignored in planning. This dissertation uses a case study of Miami-Dade County, Florida and is guided by the question: how do different groups understand risk within sea level rise, and what planning and governance factors influence the way diverse dimensions of risk are integrated into adaptation strategies? Findings from this case study suggest that baselines, projections, and the focus of risk rooted in an economic discourse based on short-term planning horizons and technical constructions of risk have more authority as compared with counter arguments around ecological and social risks. Recommendations include the need for transparent adaptation decisions and the inclusion of diverse stakeholders in the production of regional climate science, sea level rise assessments, and adaptation planning. A more integrated approach can better address diverse risks and facilitate long-term planning.

"The purpose of this study was to analyze data collected through the administration of a schedule to the records of the Dade County Child Guidance Clinic, Miami, Florida during the first 11 years of the Clinic's existence, in order to ascertain if there was an age, sex, and/or referral source pattern in the cases which were opened. Data were collected from 4,706 cases with whom the Clinic staff had contact for one or more interviews. The Child Guidance Clinic serving Dade County opened for service in January, 1948, and the records were examined from that date through December, 1958. The hypothesis of this study is that there is an age, sex, and/or referral source pattern revealed in the distribution of cases opened during an 11-year period at the Dade County Child Guidance Clinic, Miami, Florida, and that there are no differences in these patterns between the first 5 years and the last 5 years of the Clinic's 11-year existence. The word "pattern" is used to mean a distribution which was evidenced consistently throughout the Clinic records and which could be expected to continue unless extensive changes are made in Clinic policies or within the community"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "June, 1959." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work." / Advisor: Dorothy D. Hayes, Professor Directing Study. / Includes bibliographical references.

Miami Dade College (MDC) is predominantly an associate degree granting institution also authorized to confer baccalaureates. As “democracy’s college”, MDC is the nation’s largest, most diverse community college. In 2011, a comprehensive redesign effort was launched to increase degree completion. This sequential mixed model design study queried teacher education student voices to explore their perceived impact of three high-impact practices (i.e., mandatory orientations, assigned advisors, and Individualized Educational Plans). A survey (n=218) was administered during an initial quantitative phase, confirming that a) students perceived the interventions as the institution intended and b) ethnicity influenced perception. Focus groups (n=27) were conducted during a subsequent qualitative phase, unveiling three overarching findings about how and why perceptions of operational, affective, and academic aspects of the interventions were useful, not useful, or could be enhanced to help them navigate/ “survive” college, make adequate progress, and anticipate graduating, transferring, or entering a career. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This thesis presents a preliminary study on geochemical conditions within the Snapper Creek well field in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The study investigates the background groundwater chemistry within the Biscayne aquifer in order to provide information on the geochemical processes and water-rock interactions within the study site. In conjunction with hydraulic gradient information, major ion chemistry and deuterium and oxygen-18 data were used as environmental tracers to help describe the groundwater-surface water interactions between the well field and the Snapper Creek canal. Hydrologic data show there is potential for natural groundwater recharge from the canal within the shallow flow zone of the Biscayne aquifer and chemical data show evidence of canal-groundwater mixing within this zone. The limitations for the v environmental tracers employed within the study are addressed, as well as recommendations for further research involving natural geochemical tracers and groundwater-surface water interactions near municipal well fields. This study was part of a larger effort being conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in order to assess municipal well field pumping effects on the Snapper Creek (C-2) canal. / by Dominick J. Antolino. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Thesis (D. Ed.)--Florida International University, 1994. / Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 216-220).

Thesis (D. Ed.)--Florida International University, 1994. / Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 216-220).

From 1988 to 1990 a study of the reproductive ecology of the burrowing owl was conducted to determine seasonality and reproductive success in Dade and Broward Counties. Reproductive data for each of the three years (1988- 1990) reveal a higher reproductive success rate (54%) for 1990 than 1989 (40%) and 1988 (40%). Owls using previously used burrows had a higher success in fledging young (63%) than newly excavated burrows (19%). T-tests were conducted on several appendage measurements of male and female owls to determine sexual dimorphic traits. Metatarsus lengths of males and females were different (t=2.36, p=0.02). As of 1990,197 owls had been banded in the study area. In 1989, 75% and in 1990, 83% of the banded adults were found on the same territory. Only 4 of 129 banded nestlings have been reencountered in the study sites.

Minimum Student Performance Standards in Computer Literacy and Science were passed by the Florida Legislature through the Educational Reform Act of 1983. This act mandated that all Florida high school graduates receive training in computer literacy. Schools and school systems were charged with the task of determining the best methods to deliver this instruction to their students. The scope of this study is to evaluate one school's response to the state of Florida's computer literacy mandate. The study was conducted at Miami Palmetto Senior High School, located in Dade County, Florida. The administration of Miami Palmetto Senior High School chose to develop and implement a new program to comply with the state mandate - integrating computer literacy into the existing biology curriculum. The study evaluated the curriculum to determine if computer literacy could be integrated successfully and meet both the biology and computer literacy objectives. The findings in this study showed that there were no significant differences between biology scores of the students taking the integrated curriculum and those taking a traditional curriculum of biology. Student in the integrated curriculum not only met the biology objectives as well as those in the traditional curriculum, they also successfully completed the intended objectives for computer literacy. Two sets of objectives were successfully completed in the integrated classes in the same amount of time used to complete one set of objectives in the traditional biology classes. Therefore, integrated curriculum was the more efficient means of meeting the intended objectives of both biology and computer literacy.

This is a dissertation about urban systems; within this broad subject I tackle three issues, one that focuses on an observed inter-city relationship and two that focus on an intra-city phenomenon. In Chapter II I adapt a model of random emergence of economic opportunities from the firm growth literature to the urban dynamics situation and present several predictions for urban system dynamics. One of these predictions is that the older the city the larger and more diversified it is going to be on average, which I proceed to verify empirically using two distinct datasets. In Chapter III I analyze the Residential Real Estate Bubble that took place in Miami-Dade County from 1999 to 2006. I adopt a Spatial-Economic model developed for the Paris Bubble episode of 1984-1993 and formulate an innovative test of the results in terms of speculative intensity on the basis of proxies of investor activity available in my dataset. My results support the idea that the best or more expensive areas are also where the greatest speculative activity takes place and where the rapid increase in prices begins. The most significant departure from previous studies that emerges in my results is the absence of a wider gap between high priced areas and low priced areas in the peak year. I develop a measure of dispersion in value among areas and contrast the Miami-Dade and Paris episodes. In Chapter IV I analyze the impact on tax equity of a Florida tax-limiting legislation known as Save Our Homes. I first compare homesteaded and non-homesteaded properties, and second, look within the subset of homesteaded properties. I find that non- homesteaded properties increase their share of taxes paid relative to homesteaded properties during an up market, but that this is reversed during a down market. For the subset of homesteaded properties I find that the impact on tax equity of SOH will depend on differential growth rates among higher and lower valued homes, but during times of rapid home price appreciation, in a scenario of no differential growth rates in property values, SOH increases progressivity relative to the prior system.

Cette Habilitation en est une de géographie et d'analyse culturelle. Elle comporte trois parties. Dans la première, j'aborde le problème que pose la culture à l'analyse scientifique. Je pose la question : est-il possible d'étudier scientifiquement la culture ou un phénomène culturel que l'on ne peut objectiver que partiellement. Cette partie se termine sur l'exposé de méthodologie générale de l'analyse culturelle, qui a été adoptée et adaptée pour l'étude du multiculturalisme. La deuxième partie, intitulée "De la différence et de la diversité culturelle en Amérique du Nord" est à la fois une analyse du multiculturalisme comme phénomène culturel, social et politique, et une exploration du continent de référence sur le multiculturalisme : l'Amérique du Nord. La troisième partie est consacrée à l'analyse d'une situation multiculturelle : celle de la région métropolitaine de Miami-Dade (Miami dans le sud de la Floride). Dans la géographie américaine, cette ville fait figure de ville paradigmatique.