Search

This paper explores how residents of Overtown, a low-income neighbourhood in Miami, Florida, view the positive and negative aspects of their neighbourhood “invironment” through photographs taken by residents. The “invironment” [Bell, M., 2004.An invitation to environmental sociology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press] alludes to the interactions between environment/surroundings and the human body. Residents involved with a community social justice organisation were provided with a photographic workshop and cameras to visually document the positive and negative aspects of their neighbourhood. These participant photographers provided narratives paired with their photographs which were then exhibited at local community events. During the exhibits, community members’ comments on the photographs were recorded. This paper analyses community issues through both photographs and neighbourhood comments inspired by the photographs. The following themes of importance to residents were derived from the photographs and discussion with residents: Housing, Public Space, Neighbourhood Economy, History, Environmental/Invironmental Issues, Human Capital and Power. These themes were all connected by residents’ concerns about inequality in Overtown compared to other neighbourhoods in Miami. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The second calibration and intercomparison of infrared radiometers (Miami2001) was held at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) during May–June 2001. The participants were from several groups involved with the validation of skin sea surface temperatures and land surface temperatures derived from the measurements of imaging radiometers on earth observation satellites. These satellite instruments include those currently on operational satellites and others that will be launched within two years following the workshop. There were two experimental campaigns carried out during the 1-week workshop: a set of measurements made by a variety of ship-based radiometers on board the Research Vessel F. G. Walton Smith in Gulf Stream waters off the eastern coast of Florida, and a set of laboratory measurements of typical external blackbodies used to calibrate these ship-based radiometers. This paper reports on the results obtained from the laboratory characterization on blackbody sources. A companion paper reports on the at-sea measurements. Five blackbody sources were intercompared by measurements of their brightness temperature using the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Thermal-infrared Transfer Radiometer (TXR). Four of these sources are used for calibration of sea surface temperature radiometers. The fifth was a NIST water bath blackbody used for calibration of the TXR. All blackbodies agreed to better than ±0.1°C at blackbody temperatures near the ambient room temperature. Some of the blackbodies had reduced effective emissivity relative to the NIST water bath blackbody, and hence they began to disagree at blackbody temperatures far enough away (>15°C) from the ambient room temperature. For these, relative effective emissivity values were determined so that corrections can be applied if they are used in conditions of nonlaboratory ambient temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the effects of acculturation and acculturative stress on the self-esteem of Hispanic/Latino adolescents. The study is comparative in that it focuses on variations among both immigrant and native born Hispanics. The data were derived from a longitudinal study of adolescents (n = 6,760) being conducted in Miami, Florida. The sample for this paper (n = 4,296) consisted of all the adolescents of Hispanic heritage. A complex patterning of acculturative strains was found for US. and foreign-born adolescents. Acculturation strains and family pride have more powerful effects on sell-esteem as acculturation increases among the foreign born, but the opposite is true for the U.S. born. The proportion of variance explained by the acculturation strains and family pride is greater for the U.S. born adolescents (range = 21% to 29%) than for those who are foreign born (range = 15% to 19%). The findings indicate that much of the research on this subject has failed to reflect the differential processes of psychosocial adjustment faced by immigrant and nonimmigrant adolescents. There are differences in the types of strains reported, as well as in the effects of the strains on self-esteem. Low acculturation adolescents who are U.S. born have an especially problematic profile of strain, whereas bicultural adolescents born in the United States appear to have the best profile. The results suggest a need to advance from simple linear explanations to multifactorial stress models that will increase our understanding of the acculturative process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On a steamy May 26, 2012 in Miami, Florida, police officers found Rudy Eugene viciously eating another man's face. Police shot Eugene at least four times, killing him, to stop the attack. Over the next month, the story of the “Causeway Cannibal” (a.k.a. the “Miami Zombie”) fueled debate about what spawned the attack. News explanations included synthetic drugs, cannibalism, Voodoo, and zombies. This textual analysis of immediate news explanations to the attack explores and speculates on why some explanations, such as mental illness, were ignored. By distinguishing between journalistic sensationalism and Ettema's journalistic “imaginative power,” this paper presents possible cultural reasons to explain why news media all but excluded mental illness as a dominant explanation for Eugene's actions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores how second and third generation Cuban Americans from Miami, Florida, use the address pronouns "tú" and "Ud." when formulating speech acts such as requests in Spanish. A qualitative analysis shows that the explicit use of the pronouns when uttering a speech act fulfills a double purpose: 1) to flatter the hearer and express solidarity towards her/him, and 2) to establish distance towards the interlocutor when the speaker is in a position of power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The second calibration and intercomparison of infrared radiometers (Miami2001) was held at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) during a workshop held from May to June 2001. The radiometers targeted in these two campaigns (laboratory-based and at-sea measurements) are those used to validate the skin sea surface temperatures and land surface temperatures derived from the measurements of imaging radiometers on earth observation satellites. These satellite instruments include those on currently operational satellites and others that will be launched within two years following the workshop. The experimental campaigns were completed in one week and included laboratory measurements using blackbody calibration targets characterized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and an intercomparison of the radiometers on a short cruise on board the R/V F. G. Walton Smith in Gulf Stream waters off the eastern coast of Florida. This paper reports on the results obtained from the shipborne measurements. Seven radiometers were mounted alongside each other on the R/V Walton Smith for an intercomparison under seagoing conditions. The ship results confirm that all radiometers are suitable for the validation of land surface temperature, and the majority are able to provide high quality data for the more difficult validation of satellite-derived sea surface temperature, contributing less than 0.1 K to the error budget of the validation. The measurements provided by two prototype instruments developed for ship-of-opportunity use confirmed their potential to provide regular reliable data for satellite-derived SST validation. Four high quality radiometers showed agreements within 0.05 K confirming that these instruments are suitable for detailed studies of the dynamics of air–sea interaction at the ocean surface as well as providing high quality validation data. The data analysis confirms the importance of including an accurate correction for reflected sky radiance when using infrared radiometers to measure SST. The results presented here also show the value of regular intercomparisons of ground-based instruments that are to be used for the validation of satellite-derived data products—products that will be an essential component of future assessments of climate change and variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New York, Los Angeles, and Miami are primate immigrant centers within the U.S. metropolitan system, attracting new immigrant arrivals as well as serving as focal points for internal migrants. Using the segmented assimilation framework as a foundation, this paper emphasizes the role of geography and migration within the assimilation process. Focusing upon selected origin groups, migrant selectivity and the determinants of migration are evaluated and compared, highlighting the differential role of primate centers. While the New York and Miami metropolitan centers clearly dominate Dominican and Cuban migration systems respectively, the role of primate centers is less clear among other national origin groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the papers on viticulture presented at the two session of the 1991 Association of American Geographers (AAG) Meeting in Miami, Florida. `Continuity in early medieval viticulture: secular or ecclesiastical influences?' by T. Unwin and `Aristocratic,' by J. P. Dickenson of the first session; `Napa Valley: diversity of soils and environments,' by Elliot-Fisk, `Napa Valley: influence of soils and other factors on wine flavor,' by A. C. Noble and others of the second session.

What is the appropriate method for classifying Spanish-speaking-origin inhabitants of the United States? This paper presents relevant data from the first wave of a longitudinal study of adolescents in the greater Miami area. As expected, the broadest definition -"up to third generation" Hispanic- identified the largest proportion of the sample as Hispanic, whereas parent self-report placed the smallest proportion into the Hispanic category. When policy-makers are concerned about enumberating the entire Hispanic population, a definition broader than self-identification should be used; in estimating prevalence rates, however, the use of self-identification may be adequate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]