Digital Commons Network^™

Language Play And Racial Dysphemism In The Marrakchi Language Space, Spencer Fausel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study seeks to divulge the meaning and popular usage of two phonetically similar yet reportedly distinct dysphemisms spoken and understood in the Marrakchi dialect of Moroccan Arabic (Darija). Darija speakers across the North African lingua-space use the term "qlawi" to denote testicles. In Morocco, speakers utter "qlawi" to express negation or pejorative notions of being, the term commonly wielded to disparage or vituperate a frustrating person or object—drawing connections to the subaltern, the lowly, the destitute, the stupid, the possessionless, and potentially to the racialized (non)object. The word itself can stand as a syntactic substitute for “nothing” in certain …

Interracial Instagram: Depictions Of Interracial Couples On Instagram, Christie Sillo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines depictions of interracial romantic relationships on Instagram, a popular photo- and video-sharing social networking site. Social networking sites like Instagram, whereby users connect with each other by creating, sharing, and consuming content, are prime sites for sociological study because ideas are constantly being (re)made on them. On Instagram, meaning-making is mainly done through the construction of a profile and the posting of images and/or videos. Using a mixed-methods research design of hashtag analysis, digital ethnography, discourse and image analysis, I critically analyze Instagram profiles that depict interracial romantic relationships. In doing so, I develop a contemporary, social …

Staying Power: The Struggle For Space And Place In Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Erin E. Lilli

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation looks at how gentrification touches down, at the neighborhood and individual scale, in Crown Heights and reproduces experiences of racial inequality in home and place. Taking an historical materialist approach and drawing on residential oral histories, this study frames these reproductions of racial inequality as always-in-tension with ongoing acts of resistance from Black homeowners, renters, and long-term residents. Specifically, the research explores the conditions under which Black residents of a predominantly Afro-Caribbean neighborhood acquire and maintain—and in some cases lose—their housing and sense of place and belonging. These residents resist the varied tactics of anti-Blackness such as landlord …

Factors Associated With The Life Satisfaction Of Gay And Bisexual Men And Their Variation By Race, Robert G. Considine

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Although the literature is replete with evidence showing that gay and bisexual men experience higher rates of negative outcomes than their heterosexual counterparts, the literature exploring the well-being of this population is limited. Life satisfaction is a key aspect of well-being. There has been little research on the factors influencing life satisfaction for gay and bisexual men. Additionally, how these factors may vary by race for this population remains understudied. This gap in our knowledge impedes the ability of social workers to support gay and bisexual men in increasing life satisfaction. In addition, knowledge of how these factors vary by …

A Race-Police Regime: Nypd Technology And Urban Governance In New York City, Elliott Liu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation draws on three years of ethnographic and archival research to explore the relationship between technology, policing and race at the NYPD. In focusing on the ways problems are constructed and police power enacted, I explore the more-than-human entanglements in the production of race and the governance of cities under racial capitalism. My overarching claim is that urban governance works through contentious techno-political arrangements I call race-police regimes, which sanction and elicit race by enacting forms of exclusion and belonging. Racial capitalism in New York City, I argue, is governed through a technocratic mode of policing which leverages …

The Effect Of Race On Housing Stratification Among Latinos, Julia T. Gomez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Housing discrimination has been an ethical, social, and economic blight on the American society. Among the negative outcomes of this practice are higher crime rates, lower educational attainment, and concentrated poverty. Beyond the moral injustice of this practice, housing discrimination adversely affects the socio-economic mobility of those victimized and this extends across generations. The research on the intersection of race and Latino identity demonstrates the complexity of the issue and suggests that an examination such as done in this study can add to the current knowledge. The purpose of this study was to determine what, if any, association race has …

Race, Gender, Physical Activity, And Cancer: A Quantitative Investigation, Shawna A. Townsend

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Black women are more likely to die from cancer than any other population in the United States. Physical activity is known to be associated with preventing and reducing cancer burden. However, Black women are less physically active than their White counterparts and have a higher prevalence of diseases related to lack of physical activity than any other female group. To better understand these issues, this study employed the self-and-family management framework and intersectionality as theoretical frameworks through a secondary analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) dataset and hierarchical regression modeling to examine the relative impact of (a.) …

Diversity Still Matters: School-Level Racial Diversity, Poverty And Performance Of New York City Public Schools, Byunghwa Kim

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

During the last few decades, schools in New York City (NYC) have experienced great demographic changes due to the massive influx of various ethnic and racial groups. Although the race and ethnicity makeup of NYC is 42% white, 29% Hispanic or Latino, 24% Black or African American and 14% Asian, 74% of Black and Hispanic students attend a school with less than 10 percent white students, while 34% of white students attend a school with more than half white peers. Also, more than 60% of Hispanic and Black students are attending schools where more than 75% of peer students experience …

In The U.S., Mena People Are Legally White. But Their Lived Experiences Say Otherwise, Youcef O. Bounab

Capstones

The U.S. Government classifies people whose origins are from the Middle East and North Africa as racially “white.” This is reflected in the decennial census, as well as in other questionnaires and forms, even as many among those groups prefer to have their own categorization. In this feature article, we explore the history of the issue, how individuals from those backgrounds would prefer to identify, and whether their lived experiences in a post-9/11 United States reflect their current categorization.

Black Cosplayers Push For Proper Dark-Skinned Character Representation In Media, Taylor K. Johnson

Capstones

As cosplay continues to rise in popularity at comic conventions, anime conventions and on social media, Black cosplayers push for media companies to invest in adding more dark-skinned characters in their shows and games.

Pretrial Consequences: The Impact Of New York State Bail Reforms On Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Pretrial Outcomes, Esther Laaninen

Student Theses

This study investigates the impact of New York’s 2020 Bail Reforms on racial and ethnic disparities in pretrial outcomes for New York State. 2019, 2020, and 2021 arraignment data from the Office of Court Administration Pretrial Release Datasets are used to determine whether racial and ethnic disparities for White Non Hispanic, Black Non Hispanic, Hispanic, and other race defendants narrowed after the implementation of the new law. The results from descriptive analysis, binary logistic regressions, and ANOVA tests suggest that racial-ethnic disparities have not abated, even though the proportion of defendants required to pay cash bail has sharply declined among …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Employment Characteristics, Eliana Shatkin

Theses and Dissertations

The following study examines ways in which COVID-19 has disrupted the United States labor market. My findings present disproportionately negative effects of COVID-19 on employment, labor force participation, worker absence, and weekly working hours for the female population in my sample, as well as veterans, disabled persons, and racial minorities.

Microaggressions, Imposter Phenomenon, And People Of Color: A Quantitative Analysis, Rukiya King

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research has demonstrated the impact of racial and ethnic microaggressions on marginalized groups. However, research has not established the presence of imposter phenomenon as a consequence of microaggressions. Imposter phenomenon has been described as intense and pervasive self-doubt experienced by individuals of marginalized identities. Although imposter phenomenon was first conceptualized as an experience among high achieving women, researchers have demonstrated its presence in other marginalized groups, particularly people of color. However, research on imposter phenomenon has mostly focused on perceived racism and racial identity within people of color. The current study examined the relationship between microaggressions, imposter phenomenon, and mental …

Stigma Related To Criminal Justice History: The Role Of Offense Type, Mental Health Treatment, Mental Illness, And Race From Formerly Incarcerated Persons’ Perspective, Lindsey Ryan-Jones

Student Theses

Research has shown that offenders perceive stigma and anticipate stigma once they are released from incarceration, especially regarding employment and housing (LeBel et al., 2012). However, there is limited information about offense type, mental health treatment, mental illness and race affect how formerly incarcerated persons perceive, anticipate and experience stigma. While research has shown that those with mental illness are more likely to have recidivate and sex offenders are viewed negatively by the public, there are gaps in understanding reasons why this occurs (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2017; Sample & Bray, 2006; Levinson et al., 2007; Rade, Desmarais & Mitchell, …

Norm And The People, Jacqueline N. Wade

Theses and Dissertations

Norm and the People is a 90-minute hybrid film about the Minister and activist Norman Eddy and the work he and other activists did in Spanish Harlem from the 1940s through his death in 2013. The film is told through interviews, archival photos and videos, reenactments, and puppets.

Desde El Fuego Que En Mí Arde: Performance, Literatura Y Cine Afro-Latinoamericano Producidos Por Mujeres Afrodescendientes En Perú, Cuba Y Brasil (1960–2000), Elena Ekatherina Chavez Goycochea

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines different films, literary, and performance art pieces created by contemporary afro-descendant women from Peru, Cuba, and Brazil after the sixties with emphasis on the most relevant works of Conceição Evaristo, Sara Gómez, Victoria Santa Cruz, and Lucía Charún-Illescas. I focus my research on the crucial role these artists played in the cultural identity formation of Latin America when inserting ‘race’ as a category of socio-political analysis and cultural production. How did their films, performances, and texts challenge national narratives and imaginaries after 1960? Although in the sixties, women improved their civil rights in different countries, the ‘mujer …

Youth Bystander Intentions To Intervene In Peer Intimate Partner Violence: The Co-Influence Of Perceived Perpetrator Race And Perceived Culpability, Nana Amoh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In recent years, bystander intervention programs that focus on addressing violence have notably become more popular and prevalent on college campuses. Bystander intervention programs serve to help college students identify and intervene in emergency situations like intimate partner violence. Despite advances in the bystander intervention literature, there is a dearth of research that has examined bystander intentions to intervene in situations of intimate partner violence among youth who have witnessed violence between peers. This study examined bystander intentions to intervene among young adults who witnessed peer male-to-female physical intimate partner violence and whether intentions to intervene varied depending on perpetrator …

Parental Plea Bargain Recommendations To Their Child In A Juvenile Court Setting, Aliya J. Birnbaum

Student Theses

This study examined parent acquiescence to attorney recommendations pertaining to plea bargain decisions, as well as whether this differed based on the racial similarity between an attorney and their juvenile client’s parent. Past research has shown that youth are vulnerable to the influence of perceived authority figures in a plea-bargain setting, leading them to rely heavily on the input of their parents and attorneys for how to plead. This study expands the literature to include how attorney race impacts parents’ plea decisions. A sample of parents of youth aged 11- 17 read a vignette, in which attorney race was manipulated, …

Relationship Between Race, United States Nativity, Perceived Discrimination, And Acculturation Stress, Simone N. Henderson

Student Theses

Acculturation has been defined as “changes that take place as a result of contact with culturally dissimilar people, groups, and social influences” (Gibson, 2001). This experience can cause stress for those experiencing it, especially when the individual is having a hard time adjusting to a new culture (Kim, 2019). One’s nativity, a person’s native-born status in their environment, and racial/ethnic group can also contribute to their experience of acculturation due to personal differences that these demographic variables create (Bondy et al., 2017; Hall & Carter, 2006). Studying race, nativity, perceived discrimination, and acculturation are essential for understanding the experiences of …

The Ambiguity Of Diversity: How Parents Understand And React To School Desegregation Efforts, Adam Wilson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

New York City has one of the most segregated public school systems in the United States. The Department of Education is attempting to address segregation through district level diversity planning processes that potentially change school admissions policies. Using mixed methods, this thesis explores how advantaged parents in a Queens school district understand efforts to diversify and desegregate their district. I conducted semi-structured interviews with parents in the district, analyzed transcripts from public meetings about the planning process, and analyzed quantitative data about the schools, students, and residents of the district of study. Although parents were universally supportive of “diversity”, most …

White Racial Identity And Its Impact On Punitive Attitudes Towards Juvenile Offenders, Rossol Gharib

Student Theses

White Racial Identity is a relatively new concept with little to no consensus as to the operationalization of such identity. The first ever White Racial Identity model was developed by Janet E. Helms in 1990. The role of White racial identity has been studied in the context of the racial gap in employment and its influence on racial attitudes, but it has yet to be studied in the context of the juvenile justice system. The criminal justice system is racially imbalanced, with Black males imprisoned 5.5 times more than White males. One of the factors contributing to this imbalance is …

Reimagining What It Means To Be Black In The United States: Family Cultural Socialization Practices That Shape Racial Identities Among Diverse Young Adults, Latifa T. Fletcher

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study explores racial identity development as it is influenced by family cultural socialization practices across diverse ethnic groups that identify either racially or ethnically as Black. The literature on Black racial identity development has relied predominantly on the experiences of African Americans in the United States. This study aims to build on earlier Black identity research by exploring the developmental experiences of the growing ethnic and cultural Black population in the United States.

Young adults between the ages of 18-35 who identify as African American, Afro-Latinx, and Afro-Caribbean were recruited to complete a brief questionnaire and participate in an …

Seeking Clemency: A Profile On Jacob Rouse, Jocelyn A. Contreras, Sarah Gabrielli

Capstones

Jacob Rouse was 18 years old when he drove the getaway car that would define the rest of his life. He sat in his blue Ford Taurus, waiting to drive his three friends away from the scene of a robbery in Rochester, New York. Jacob was parked about a block away when one of his accomplices shot and killed 22-year-old Herschel Scriven, a local youth pastor and church organist.

He is now seeking clemency.

Impacts Of Mental Health First Aid On Mental Health Literacy And Stigma, Junseon Hwang

Student Theses

Mental Health First Aid has been developed to train the general public to give initial support to those in mental health crisis and development. The effectiveness of Mental Health First Aid has been questioned due to its relatively short history of the course. Mental Health First Aid was recently widely-disseminated in New York City as part of the ThriveNYC initiative. While most studies were supportive of the training, there has been no study that specifically examines New York residents. We recruited 328 New York residents who self-reported whether or not they have participated in Mental Health First Aid via Amazon …

Black Parental Involvement In A Suburban School District, Walter L. Fields

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since the historic decision of the United States Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, Black parents in the United States have been in a continual search for public school districts in which their children would receive an education that would allow them to be productive citizens and economically self-sufficient. From the period of the Great Migration to present day, the movement of Blacks in America has been driven by a quest for opportunity. Black parents have made tremendous sacrifices in the hope of securing a good education for their children, including movement away from families, longtime …

Intra-Familial Microaggressions, Object Relations, And Racial Identity Formation In Multiracial Individuals, Ashley Danies

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The concept of the self in relation to others is referred to in psychoanalytic theory as one’s ‘object-relations’ (Kernberg, 1984). One of the earliest object-relationships is between baby and caretaker(s), through which the baby develops a sense of their own identity (Mahler, 1967; Sandler & Sandler, 1978). Multiracial individuals, or those whose families fall in two or more different racial/ethnic groups, report racial microaggressions from within their own families (Nadal, Sriken, Davidoff, Wong, & McLean, 2013). Notably, Multiracial individuals who have one White parent and one non-White parent face a greater possibility of rejection from one or both sides of …

Juveniles Tried As Adults:The Impact Of Youth Demographic Factors On Juror Perceptions, Denieka Ellis

Student Theses

Abstract: This study explored the impact of defendant age, race and stereotypic crime on verdicts and recommended sentencing of juveniles tried as adults. Previous research shows that jurors enter trial with negative preconceptions and biases of juveniles because they are being tried within an adult venue. These negative preconceptions have led jurors to recommend harsher sentencing for juveniles rather than adults with the same defendant characteristics and criminal history. Crime type and crime severity have also been shown to impact perceptions of juvenile defendants in adult court. However, research has not yet explored the potential impact that stereotypic crime—a crime …

“I’M Real I Thought I Told Ya”: Developing Critical Media Literacy Through U.S. Latinx Digital Media Representations, Solange T. Castellar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis explores how audiences engage with U.S. Latinx media representations through the practice of critical media literacy. I interrogate how media consumers construct critical media literacy through interacting with U.S. Latinx figures on digital media platforms, particularly on the social-media app, Twitter, and the user-generated video content platform, YouTube. Throughout this thesis, I argue that users on these platforms who engage with U.S. Latinx pop culture figures, like Jennifer Lopez and Belcalis Almanzar (Cardi B), read, digest, and comprehend a variety of multimedia images, texts, or videos, and that this engagement becomes an accessible form of critical media literacy, …

Truth Telling: Exploring Sexuality In Widowed And Single Older Black Women, Margaret A. Salisu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Interest in older adults’ sexuality is reflected in the significant growth of literature on sexuality and aging, especially in the last few decades, and in growing media interest in this topic. Clinicians, researchers, educators, journalists, policymakers, and other stakeholders continue to highlight the importance of sexuality and sexual health in the older population. However, available studies in this area pertain to older married people almost exclusively and the few available studies on widows focus exclusively on White women. To address this gap in knowledge, this study focused on older widowed and single Black women aged 65 to 75 years. Feminist …

If It Wasn’T For The Women: An Exploration Of Works By Renita Weems, Wil Gafney, & Kelly Brown Douglas, Charlene Adams

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Womanist Bible scholars Renita Weems, Kelly Brown Douglas, and Wil Gafney’s offerings to the world of biblical scholarship have had a profound impact on Christian faith in the United States. Womanist biblical scholarship is the hermeneutics, ethics, critique, theology, and more, done with a specific lens on Black women and how we are understood within and as a result of biblical texts. Weems, Douglas, and Gafney’s work has asked the tough questions of Christianity, and bravely tackled taboo topics like sexuality, abuse, and racism. Their aim has been to interrogate whose voices have not been present in popular Christian discourse, …