Graduate Session: Presentation 1 - A Master at Work in ‘The Purloined Letter

I explore how critics of Poe\u27s Purloined Letter, through their rigorous, compartmentalized, and focused examination, tend to miss the simple joy of reading it at face value as a detective story

TO DETAIN OR NOT TO DETAIN: THE LEGAL, FINANCIAL, AND HUMANITARIAN RAMIFICATIONS OF DETAINING ALL MIGRANTS WITHOUT A LAWFUL STATUS

This thesis analyzes the implications—legal, financial, and humanitarian—arising from immigrant detention in the United States. The methods used are as follows: legal analysis, both international and domestic; cost analysis of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities and private prisons; and comparative analysis of actual immigrant detention conditions to international norms and ICE’s self-imposed standards. This thesis finds the following: immigrant detention is legal in the United States with limited constitutional protections; the financial costs for immigrant detention are difficult to estimate accurately; U.S. immigrant detention practices appear to violate international norms; and ICE’s self-imposed standards are hard to meet. This thesis concludes policies that more clearly define the requirements for immigrant detention in the United States should be limited in use and scope. Furthermore, the U.S. government should either implement new laws and regulations or modify existing ones to establish a more consistent standard regarding which migrants without a lawful status should be detained pending criminal or administrative proceedings.Civilian, Department of Homeland SecurityApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Do Adult MH Services Need to be Developmentally Appropriate?

State level adult mental health administrators express little belief in needing developmentally appropriate services for young adults, and few such programs exist across the country

Developing an Intranet Resource to Compile and Disseminate Animal Welfare Information for Library Liaisons

The project’s goal is to create and maintain a comprehensive database containing subject-specific information. The information is used to serve as a key resource for grant support and enhance the ethical treatment of animals. A library Intranet allows librarian liaisons to conduct database searches and prepare customized reports for campus researchers. EndNote software is utilized, due to a campus site license

Substance Abuse and the Functioning of Transition-Aged Youth with Psychiatric Disorders

Summary: Youth who had serious emotional disturbances or psychiatric disorders in childhood or adolescence generally have poor young adult functioning. Substance-related disorders increase dramatically from early adolescence to early adulthood in this population. The present study examined the relative contribution of substance-related and psychiatric disorders to decreased young adult role functioning by examining 15-25 year old subjects in the National Comorbidity Study (NCS) in which 8,098 respondents, ages 15-54, from a nationally representative sample of community households were interviewed. Findings indicate that substance-related disorders alone account for some but not other differences in functioning. Relationship to services will be discussed Paper presented on March 2, 2004. Proceedings published in 2005. Link to handout at http://rtckids.fmhi.usf.edu/rtcconference/handouts/default.cfm?appid=171204

A Framework of Contextualized Teaching and Learning: Assisting Developmental Education Instructors

Contextualization in Developmental Education (DE) classrooms is often recommended but underutilized. The Framework of Contextualized Teaching and Learning is based upon existing research and theory in the field. It will help instructors create contextualized lessons and provide researchers a framework for categorizing studies on contextualization

Investigating avian competition for surface water in an arid zone bioregion

Interference competition has the potential to alter avian assemblages at long-lasting arid zone waterholes, particularly in a warming world, as more potentially aggressive species frequent these sites to drink. We used camera traps and observational surveys to investigate interference competition between terrestrial avian species at six long-lasting waterholes across three sampling seasons (two summers and one winter) within the MacDonnell Ranges Bioregion in central Australia. The proportion of individuals drinking for each of four dietary classes (granivores, nectarivores, omnivores, and insectivores) was modelled in relation to their abundance in the immediate waterhole habitat, which informed the potential for competition in each season. We then used the temporal overlap estimators to quantify the degree of competition between species at waterholes with species grouped into families (Meliphagidae, Ptilonorhynchidae, Estrildidae, and Rhipiduridae). We found the proportion of individuals drinking at waterholes was greatest during hot and dry periods, suggesting the potential for interference competition is greatest during these times. This was particularly the case for nectarivores where, in hot and dry conditions, the proportion of drinking individuals increased significantly as their abundance also increased in the waterhole habitat. We predicted that subordinate species would alter their activity periods to avoid competitive interactions with meliphagids (honeyeaters), however, we found there was a high degree of temporal overlap between all families sampled across all seasons. These results suggest subordinate species are unlikely to be excluded from long-lasting waterholes by potentially aggressive species, such as honeyeaters. However, some species may face trade-offs between foraging and accessing waterholes to stay hydrated as they shift their activity to avoid the hottest parts of the day during the summer months. Under global warming, extended hot and dry periods will likely create conditions where balancing energy and hydration requirements becomes increasingly difficult and results in the loss of body condition.</p