Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1958. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 271-290).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1983. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-58).

<p> This dissertation will demonstrate that a variety of Dominican Spanish in contact with St. Thomas English Creole (STTEC) revealed many features which are consistent with Dominican Spanish in other contact environments and some new features which are emerging as the result of uniquely STTEC influences. The most notable feature is the appearance of the vowel [&epsiv;] in Dominican Spanish, which in STTEC is highly indexical to St. Thomian identity. In the present sociolinguistic analysis, it was found that the variability of [&epsiv;] was significantly influenced by the following phonological segment, syllable stress, the language of the token, and the speaker's&rsquo; social network ties and self-ascribed identity. This dissertation also includes a socio-historical background of St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, a description of St Thomas English Creole, and a history of immigration patterns of people from the Dominican Republic to St Thomas, U.S.V.I.</p>

<p> Junot Diaz&rsquo;s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, <i>The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao</i>, is examined as an encyclopedic work of literature and science fiction. In chapter one, this exploration focuses on the fuku as a post-colonial explanation of diaspora, utilizing postmemory to pass on a history of the Americas to future generations. Chapter two transitions into a discussion problematizing assimilation and hybridity, specifically focusing on Oscar and Yunior, attempting to define and understand what Diaz, himself, has pronounced as masculine subjectivities within the novel.</p><p>

<p>Jamaica?s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have a high failure rate. In 2016, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) recorded Jamaica's SME start-up rate at 4.06% and the discontinuance rate at 9%. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive multiple case study was to explore the strategies some Jamaican SME owners used to achieve business sustainability in the manufacturing sector for longer than 5 years of operation. The conceptual framework used was the entrepreneurship theory, which provided insights into business sustainability. A purposive sample of 5 owners of SMEs who had achieved business sustainability in the manufacturing sector for longer than 5 years of operation were the participants in this study. Semistructured interviews of participants and review of company documents produced in-depth insights into the strategies they used to achieve business sustainability. Coding keywords, sentences, and ideas from the interviews and company documents and categorizing them was the approach taken for data analysis, using methodological triangulation. The themes from the study were entrepreneurial characteristics, competitive advantages, resource management, customer relationship management, quality management, and marketing. Implications for social change include the potential to provide strategies that support SMEs? business sustainability and lead to greater job creation and ultimately the Jamaican government?s ability to fund social projects.

No description available.

<p> Haitian and Antillean literatures are written in French. However, certain linguistic deviations are noticed in the works of Francophone writers from the Americano-Caribbean region. Even though linguistic creativity is one of the most salient characteristics of these literatures, critics tend to analyze the messages of those authors through historical and cultural lenses. However, when one houses the layout of the text, one is able to discover in it a message that is not always accessible to the francophone reader unfamiliar with Haitian and Antillean cultures. That is the reason why this dissertation analyzes the language in the works of Haitian and Antillean authors not only as a medium of communication, but also as a message in itself. To conduct this study, the dissertation examines, in the first chapter, the theories of researchers such as Ferdinand de Saussure, Charles Baissac, Jules Faine, Suzanne Sylvain, Robert Chaudenson, and Albert Valdman. The second chapter takes into consideration the historical aspects of the development of the French-based Creoles and their status in Haiti and the Antilles through the texts of Thomas Madiou, Jean Fouchard, Gabriel Debien, Dani B&eacute;bel-Gisler, Frantz Fanon, Maryse Cond&eacute;, and Edouard Glissant. The third chapter investigates texts of Haitian authors from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the last quarter of the twentieth century. The writers studied include Ignace Nau, Oswald Durand, Justin Lh&eacute;risson, Jacques Roumain, and Marie-Th&eacute;r&egrave;se Colimon. The fourth chapter analyzes the Antillean writings through the three main literary periods: Negritude, Antillanit&eacute;, and Cr&eacute;olit&eacute;. The works of authors such as Aim&eacute; C&eacute;saire, Joseph Zobel, Edouard Glissant, Simone Schwarz-Bart, Maryse Cond&eacute;, and Rapha&euml;l Confiant are investigated. To determine whether and how the linguistic innovations are still reflected in the works published, the fifth chapter studies contemporary Haitian and Antillean novels. To a certain extent, this dissertation emphasizes the importance of the role and the significance of language in these territories. It provides new tools and opens up new research avenues to scholars interested in exploring the written work produced in this area of the Francophone world.</p><p>

The research goal was to document differences in the epidemiology of prostate cancer among multicultural men [non-Hispanic White (NHW), Hispanic (H), non-Hispanic Black (NHB)], and Black subgroups, particularly among NHB subgroups [US-born (USB) and Caribbean-born (CBB)]. Study findings will be useful in supporting further research into Black subgroups. Aim 1 explored changes over time in reported prostate cancer prevalence, by race/ethnicity and by birthplace (within the Black subgroups). Aim 2 investigated relationships between observed and latent variables. The analytical approaches included confirmatory factor analysis (CFA for measurement models) and structural equation modeling (SEM for regression models). National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from 1999 – 2008 were used. The study sample included men aged 18 and older, grouped by race/ethnicity. Among the CBB group, survey respondents were limited to the English-speaking Caribbean. Prostate cancer prevalence, by race showed a higher trend among NHB men than NHW men overall, however differences over time were not significant. CBB men reported a higher proportion of prostate cancer among cancers diagnosed than USB men overall. Due to small sample sizes, stable prostate cancer prevalence trends could not be assessed over time nor could trends in the receipt of a PSA exam among NHB men when stratified by birthplace. USB and CBB men differ significantly in their screening behavior. The effect of SES on PSA screening adjusted for risk factors was statistically significant while latent variable lifestyle was not. Among risk factors, family history of cancer exhibited a consistent positive effect on PSA screening for both USB and CBB men. Among the CBB men, the number of years lived in the US did not significantly affect PSA screening behavior. When NHB men are stratified by birthplace, CBB men had a higher overall prevalence of prostate cancer diagnoses than USB men although not statistically significant. USB men were 2 to 3 times more likely to have had a PSA exam compared to CBB men, but among CBB men birthplace did not make a significant difference in screening behavior. Latent variable SES, but not lifestyle, significantly affected the likelihood of a PSA exam.

Abstract not available.

This dissertation studies the ethic-esthetic project of the Puerto Rican patriot, Dr. Ramon Emeterio Betances Alacan, during half a century of revolutionary struggle. For this study, we will use various texts on Betances that have been preserved to present time. Among them, Betances by Luis Bonafoux is of great importance, in addition to the texts published by Carlos M. Rama, and the written by Feliz Ojeda Reyes. Furthermore, we will rely on the biography, El Antillano by Ada Suarez Diaz, a text of principal importance for this study. However, La virgen de Borinquen y epistolario intimo, the book that contains Betances' poetry, and some of his revolutionary speeches and proclamations, deserves particular attention since they are fundamental to emphasize the symbiosis between the great loves of the patriarch: the fatherland, liberty and a woman. The first chapter is dedicated to explaining the birth and formation of Betances as a patriarch. We will look into the influences Betances received from the bosom of his home. In addition, we will see the importance that Betances' home upbringing had in his political growth and maturity in the revolutionary Paris of 1848, as well as in the rise of his campaign for the abolition of slavery after his return to Puerto Rico in 1856. This part of our study will aim to link his family experience to his revolutionary activities in Paris, in an attempt to reveal the birth of Betances the patriarch. The second chapter will be dedicated to the study of Betances' epistolary texts. Maria del Carmen Henri Betances, the only woman loved by the patriarch, is the cornerstone upon which these texts will be sustained. Maria del Carmen Henri is the muse that illuminated Betances' existence, and whose sudden death unleashed his most poetic and heart-rending writings. This contributed to the link between his esthetic and political concepts, achieving with this a "betanciana" poetry of the fatherland. In the third chapter we will study the narrative, La Virgen de Borinquen, where we will see the symbols of the beloved woman and the fatherland as the center that moves the spirit of this writer. In the fourth chapter we will analyze some of Betances' poetry, as well as a few of his revolutionary proclamations and speeches, in which he uses biblical references to advocate the independence of Puerto Rico. The final chapter will offer the conclusions of this study.