This dissertation is dedicated with love to my grandmother, Caroline D. Farkas, who kept our pact in good times and bad; I aspire to be just like you. Acknowledgements I take tremendous pleasure in thanking, first and foremost, Professor Eric Mallin for his straightforward approach to this dissertation; his insight, experience, patience, wit, and style sustained me as I charted the doctoral waters. I also wish to thank Professor John Slatin for his technical and theoretical wizardry; he gave me the confidence to design and launch the Web site (which was more pleasurable than I thought it might be). I am grateful for his thoughtfulness and expertise, which kept my project within the realm of academic discourse from its inception. Many thanks go the rest of my committee, Professor Linda Ferreira-Buckley, Professor Diane Davis, and Professor Colleen Fairbanks. Your comments helped me hone my project and expanded my understanding across disciplines. Without question, I am grateful everyday for my daughters, Ellen and Lauren, who provide me with unwavering inspiration. I am the luckiest mother in the world.