Digital Commons Network^™

A Glance In Their Direction: The New York City Press And Their Coverage Of African Americans During World War Ii, Michael Losasso

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

My thesis examines the New York City press’ interpretation of African Americans and the Civil Rights movement of World War II. I seek to determine in what measure the press reported on African Americans in the military and at home during the war including segregation of the Armed Forces, and the riots of 1943. Through examining the white and black media’s perception of these events I hope to elucidate how the press wrote about the topic of race during the period and if there was any change in their reporting on race due to the war. Although addressed marginally in …

Ascribing Meaning To Kidney Disease: A Qualitative Study Of African Americans With A First Degree Relative On Hemodialysis, Loretta Brown

Nursing Dissertations (PhD)

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) poses a serious health threat to African Americans (AA). CKD is responsible for the high incidence of end stage renal disease requiring hemodialysis among AA. CKD is a preventable condition associated with modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors. Having a family history of CKD is an independent non-modifiable risk factor for CKD yet many AA do not perceive CKD as a major health concern. Previous studies on CKD awareness and knowledge have not included the voices of individuals with a relative affected by CKD. The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to explore the meaning of …

An Ethnographic Study Of Socio-Emotional Factors In Interpersonal Peer Relationships And Their Impact On The Academic Success Of African American High School Students In Mathematics, Alanna Johnson

Middle and Secondary Education Dissertations

Nationally, the outlook for African Americans in K-12 education is dismal. While gains are being made, African Americans still lag behind their White peers. The latest reports by the National Center for Education Statistics (2009) show a 31 point gap between 8^th grade African Americans and Whites in mathematics. While statistics such as these are in abundance, there are few accounts of stories of success (Berry, 2005; Jett, 2009; Stinson, 2004). Studies directly related to the role of socio-emotional interpersonal relationships and the means by which African American high school students negotiated that space in terms of successful math …

What Do Young Adults Consider To Be "Smoking?" A Study Of Individual Differences, Amy Susan Farrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Study validity often depends on accurate self-reports of participant smoking. However, a dearth of empirical literature exists addressing how individuals define ‘being a smoker.’ The purpose of this study was to explore predictors of how young adults define smoking, including ethnicity, gender, and amount smoked. A measure of what constitutes “smoking” was created, ranging from very restrictive definitions of smoking to not at all restrictive definitions. A 3-way factorial ANOVA revealed an interaction effect between ethnicity and smoking level. Pairwise comparisons yielded significant differences between Caucasian light and intermittent smokers (LITS) and Caucasian heavy smokers. Caucasian LITS were more likely …

Why Don't They Give Back: Alumni Giving At Two Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Jasmine A. Pope

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the literature, HBCU alumni non-donors were perceived to possess the opposite characteristics of alumni that do give financially. In order to further examine the lack of alumni giving at HBCUs, this study evaluated previously identified characteristics of HBCU alumni that choose not to financially support their alma maters. The purpose of this study was to examine how income, student experience, religious charitable giving, alumni perceptions, and alumni engagement, relate to alumni giving at HBCUs. An explanatory correlational design was used to address the research questions posed in this study. The 4,500 person sample, which consisted of donors and non-donors, …

Pioneering African American Teachers Of Singing, Carl Franklin Du Pont Jr.

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this essay is to identify the first African American teachers to join the faculties of prestigious predominately white institutions in the 1960s and 1970s. In order to accomplish this, sources on African American musicians were examined, university archivists were consulted, and interviews were conducted. While many singing teachers helped pave the way, Sylvia Olden Lee, Willis Patterson, and Camilla Williams were found to be the first African American voice teachers to establish themselves as instructors in the highest-ranked vocal programs of the United States; as such, the focus of this essay is on those three pedagogues. The …

So You Call Yourself A Counselor? School Counselors' Impact On First-Generation African American College Students' Post-Secondary Aspirations, Zevida Antre' Holman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This critical race narrative inquiry seeks to describe and understand first-generation African American college students' perceptions of the impact their experiences with high school counselors had on their post-secondary aspirations. In addition, this study strives to enlighten school counselors about the potential power and impact their words and interaction may have on potential first-generation African American college students' post-secondary aspirations. Participants included six individuals who self-identified as first-generation African American college students; and who were between the ages of 18 and 22. Participants attended a public school in Richmond, a large metropolitan area located in the Southeastern region of the …

The Lived Experience Of African American Caregivers Caring For Adult African American Patients With Heart Failure: A Phenomenological Study, Heather Marie Hamilton

Doctoral Dissertations

An estimated 5.7 million people in the United States are currently living with heart failure (HF); this population is expected to double in the next 25 years due to advances in modern medicine that have decreased the mortality rates for cardiovascular diseases. Because of the complex regimen required, the help of family members, friends or neighbors is crucial to adequately managing symptoms and preventing hospital readmissions. Descriptive phenomenology underpins this study. Formal interviews were used to explore African American caregivers’ lived experience in caring for African American heart failure patients. Snowball sampling and purposive sampling yielded a total of 10 …

Parental Mentoring: An African American Approach To Raising Daughters With Self-Esteem, Qiana Brandy Smith

Dissertations

There is an ample amount of research that documents the positive effect of self-esteem on a child established through an affirmative parental or mentoring relationship, verses a specific parent-mentoring approach designed with a curriculum to enhance the positive self-esteem of African-American daughters based on the relationship with their maternal parent. The purpose of this qualitative study was to answer the following research questions: what strategies and behaviors are used by parents in African-American families to affect the self-esteem of female children and adolescents and, how can strategies and behaviors exhibited by African-American parental mentors be organized in a teachable format …

Sexy But Not Sexual: An Examination Of The Sexual Narratives Of African American Adolescent Females, April Timmons

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Much of the research on sexuality during adolescence has focused on the potential negative sequelae of adolescent sexual behavior such as STI acquisition or teenage pregnancy. Researchers have begun to advocate for examining adolescent sexuality as a normative aspect of adolescent development. One aspect of this examination would be to form a more complete understanding of how adolescents develop their sexual identity – their conceptualization of themselves as a sexual being. Erickson’s (1968) identity development theory asserts that identity is developed internally and shaped by the social environment.

Development of a healthy sexual identity may be particularly difficult for African …

Leadership In African American Politics: The Role Of President Obama On The Issue Of Same-Sex Marriage, Kevin Christopher Faulk

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 2008, African Americans overwhelmingly supported Senator Obama in his bid for the Presidency. Their supported averaged at 95% of African American voters. At the same time that Senator Obama was on the ballet, Prop 8 - legislation designed to amend California's Constitution to define marriage as between a man and woman - was passed with a large majority of African American support. Why did strong Democrats vote in favor of a law that most Democrats rejected? Previous research has concluded it was the role of the Black Church in African American politics that moves the community to a more …

The Influence Of Literacy On The Lives Of Twentieth Century Southern Female Minority Figures, Laura Leighann Dicks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The American South has long been a region associated with myth and fantasy; in popular culture especially, the region is consistently tied to skewed notions of the antebellum South that include images of large plantation homes, women in hoop skirts, and magnolia trees that manifest in television and film representations such as Gone With the Wind (1939). Juxtaposed with these idealized, mythic images is the hillbilly trope, reinforced by radio shows such as Lum and Abner, and films such as Scatterbrain (1940). Out of this idea comes the southern illiteracy stereotype, which suggests that southerners are collectively unconcerned with education …

Urban School Counseling Impact: An Aba Reversal Single Subject Time-Series Analysis Of Academic, Suspension, And Attendance Data, Katherine L. N. Colles

Dissertations

While there is a dearth of longitudinal outcome research on comprehensive school counseling program impact (Carey & Dimmitt, 2006; Carey, Dimmitt, Hatch, Lapan, & Whiston, 2008; Gysbers, 2001; Whiston, 2002) on indicators of importance to school systems (Borders, 2002; Lapan, 2001), school counseling research primarily studies program components (Borders, 2002; Herr, 1979; Whiston, 2002; Whiston & Sexton, 1998) and component outcomes (Hughes & James, 2001; Schmidt, 1984, 2000; Sink, 2002). Grounded in a historical review of the school counseling field and pertinent related research, this research investigated the school counseling program impact of one kindergarten through eighth grade urban school …

Examining The Factors Influencing Female African American Doctoral Students To Select Higher Education Leadership As A Career, Rosalynn Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to identify reasons why African American women who are enrolled in higher education administration doctoral programs become senior higher education leaders, i.e., college presidents, chief academic officers, and vice-presidents. This study applied the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to examine these reasons. The research population included female African American doctoral students enrolled in higher education administration programs from 12 institutions located in the southern United States. Using multistage sampling, a sample of 29 was established. Data were collected using the SCCT survey questionnaire which consisted of five parts: self-efficacy, outcome expectations, vocational interests, barriers, …

Differences In Religiosity And Smoking Among Urban Adolescents, Adam Chancellor Alexander

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Religiosity is a term used to describe how religious an individual is, and it encompasses religious activity, dedication, and belief. Previous research indicates that religiosity is protective against the initiation of smoking among adolescents; however, the possibility of ethnic differences in the relation between religiosity and adolescent smoking has not been explored. This study examines ethnic differences in religiosity in a bi-racial sample of 4,798 adolescents from an urban Mid-South school system. Results reveal that Blacks are significantly more religious than Whites. However, the relation between religiosity and smoking differs across ethnicity. Moderate and strong levels of religiosity are associated …

African American Muslim Fathers And The Factors That Influence Their Notion Of Fatherhood, Usama M. Hussein

College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations

This is a qualitative study that explores African American Muslim father notion of fatherhood. Sixteen African American Sunni Muslims participated in the study. Over 90 percent of the research respondents are converts to Islam. These men perceive their conversion as a reclaiming of their heritage stripped from them when their African ancestors were forcibly taken from Africa and brought to America as slave. While this group of father have been omitted from researchers attention, they are integral members of the African American community. By making Islam the center of their lives these African American Muslim fathers see an active relationship …

Striving For Excellence: Exploring The Experiences Of Economically Disadvantaged, African American, Middle School Students Making The Choice To Be An Exception, Tawanda Lawrence

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to explore the lives of six, economically disadvantaged, African American, middle school students who are demonstrating school success to discover how their home, school, and community experiences influenced their academic achievement.

A phenomenological inquiry approach was applied in this qualitative study to investigate the lived experiences of the student participants and identify the factors that contributed to their academic achievements in spite of the various challenges they encountered. The qualitative data consisted of three individual interviews. Using a semi-structured protocol, questions focused on the students’ perceptions of the factors that contributed to their academic …

Affecting Attitudes Towards Science, High School African American Students, Charles Brett Anderton

Theses and Dissertations

Racial minorities, women, and people with disabilities are underrepresented in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Attitude towards science has been shown to be a reliable predictor of science achievement. Project-Based Learning (PBL) has been shown to improve attitude towards a topic. The sample selected consisted of 113 African American high school students (68% to 32% female to male ratio) from Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. A quasi-experimental research design which consisted of pre and post intervention measures of participants’ attitudes towards science was utilized in this study. Overall, Phase 1, a week-long residential camp, saw greater increases …

Language And Literacy Multilevel Constructs In Young Nonmainstream American English Speakers: Examining Relationships Between Latent Variables, Souraya Mansour Mitri

Communication Sciences and Disorders Dissertations

According to the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP, 2013), children from race and language minority groups continue to perform significantly lower than their peers on reading achievement tests. Current perspectives suggest that multiple factors (e.g., household income, parent education) likely contribute to the achievement gap between African American children and their White peers and children from low income and middle income households (Barton & Coley, 2010; Chatterji, 2006; Jencks & Phillips, 1998), leading to multiple approaches (e.g., Head Start Early Reading First) to prevent or alleviate the trend (Barnett, Coralon, Fitzgerald, & Squires, 2011). However, African American children continue …

Treatment Decision Making In African American Women Diagnosed With Advanced Breast Cancer, Dauphne Annette Sims

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

TREATMENT DECISION MAKING IN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN DIAGNOSED WITH ADVANCED BREAST CANCER

by

Dauphne Annette Sims

When diagnosed with breast cancer African American women have more advanced stage breast disease and encounter disparities throughout the cancer care continuum. The process of making treatment decisions can widen or narrow disparities in health outcomes. The decision making process in African American women may be influenced by several dynamics that influence how treatment decisions are made and have been previously unexplained. Guided by the conceptual framework of Cultural Capital, this grounded theory study explored the treatment decision making process of 12 African …

How Does Your Garden Grow: How Planting Seeds Of Hope Inspire A Community Of Gifted African-American Learners To Flourish In An Early Childhood Setting, Danielle Elaine Macneal-Harris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"Knowledge is like a garden: if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested"

-African Proverb

Each day, African-American children are rarely given the opportunity to reach their full potential and flourish in American school systems. There continues to be a disparity in the number of African-Americans in the gifted population. When identified early, and with appropriate educational opportunities, young, culturally diverse gifted learners will be more likely to have long-term educational success. By utilizing an educational criticism methodology, this study discusses the importance of gifted education for African-American, early childhood students, by answering the question, how does The Hope …

Mental Health In The African American Community And The Impact Of Historical Trauma: Systematic Barriers, Jamie Rose Hackett

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

African Americans are overrepresented in high-risk populations and are known to experience disadvantages in mental health services. In an effort to better understand the barriers that prevent African Americans from receiving adequate mental health services; this study explores barriers on multiple system levels and the implications for clinical practice. This study also explores the relevance and impact of historical trauma. Qualitative interviews were used to collect the experiences of African American clinicians in the mental health field working with African American clients. Findings revealed twelve themes that are consistent with previous research. These themes are; historical trauma, stigma, cultural stereotypes, …

Informally Educating The Community: St. Louis Phyllis Wheatley’S Ywca Committee On Administration Speaks On The Decline Of The Organization Through Historical Narratives, Cheryl Denise Osby

Dissertations

Immediately following the end of the Reconstruction period, Negro Americans were forced to live in the second wave of racial bondage resulting from the institutionalization of Jim Crow Laws. For Black females, this bondage carried a double-edged sword, as the weight of this oppression encompassed every aspect of their lives. Unfortunately, many viewed that there was no outlet from this misery. Even before the official end of slavery, free Black women that rose to the middle-class economic status had begun club work and established clubs in their communities. These organizations not only provided a social outlet for these privileged women, …

Science Fiction/Fantasy And The Representation Of Ethnic Futurity, Joy Ann Sanchez-Taylor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Science Fiction/Fantasy and the Representation of Ethnic Futurity examines the influence of science fiction/fantasy (SFF) as applied to twentieth century and contemporary African American, Native American and Latina/o texts. Bringing together theories of racial identity, hybridity, and postcolonialism, this project demonstrates how twentieth century and contemporary ethnic American SFF authors are currently utilizing tropes of SFF to blur racial distinctions and challenge white/other or colonizer/colonized binaries. Ethnic American SFF authors are able to employ SFF landscapes that address narratives of victimization or colonization while still imagining worlds where alternate representations of racial and ethnic identity are possible.

My multicultural approach …

Gambling Outcome Expectancies And Gambling Behavior Among African American Adolescents: Gender As A Moderating Variable, Jessica L. Simmons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Most high school adolescents have reported past year gambling and are significantly more likely to gamble and to gamble problematically than females. Ethnic minority adolescents appear to be gambling at a higher rate than Caucasian adolescents. Research has indicated that adolescent gambling outcome expectancies are correlated with gambling behavior, with limited evidence that this relation differs by gender. The present study investigated gender as a moderator in the relation between gambling outcome expectancies and gambling behaviors in an African American high school sample. Males gambled more frequently, gambled more problematically, and held more positive gambling outcome expectancies than females. Gender …

Solving The Puzzle Of The Black Vote: Is Education Really The Missing Piece?, Xavier Robert Brown

Honors College Theses

Given the popular knowledge that with greater education comes the likelihood of higher voting participation rates among Americans, it is puzzling that African Americans have not been subject to a rise in voting participation that is equivalent to the increase in the rate of education attainment over the last four decades. This study is dedicated to explaining why education is a weak predictive factor for voting participation among African American voters. It ventures to suggest and support that communal factors tied to group membership exert a strong force on whether or not African American citizens vote.

The Black Experience In The United States: An Examination Of Lynching And Segregation As Instruments Of Genocide, Brandy Marie Langley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This thesis analyzes lynching and segregation in the American South between the years 1877 and 1951. It argues that these crimes of physical and social violence constitute genocide against black Americans, according to the definitions of genocide proposed by Raphael Lemkin and then the later legal definition adopted by the United Nations. American law and prevailing white American social beliefs sanctioned these crimes. Lynching and segregation were used as tools of persecution intended to keep black people in their designated places in a racial hierarchy in the United States at this time period. These crimes were two of many …

Posttraumatic Stress, Family Functioning, And Adjustment In Urban African American Youth Exposed To Violence: A Moderated Mediation Model, Kyle Deane

Master's Theses

Exposure to community violence is a pressing public health issue that disproportionately impacts poor, urban, and ethnic minority youth. It has been associated with a multitude of negative externalizing and internalizing symptoms, most frequently with posttraumatic stress. This study investigates the role that posttraumatic stress has in mediating the relation between exposure to community violence and other adjustment difficulties. Moreover, because not all adolescents experience these difficulties in the face of significant violence exposure, the study examines the moderating role of family cohesion and support in buffering the effect of violence and posttraumatic stress on later adjustment. A sample of …

Are Antidepressants Effective For Smoking Cessation In African American Smokers Aged 18 And Older?, Jennifer M. Myskowski

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not antidepressants are effective for smoking cessation in African American smokers aged 18 and older.

STUDY DESIGN: Review of two randomized controlled trials published in 2002 and 2011 and one pilot randomized control trial published in 2011, all English language.

DATA SOURCES: Two randomized, double-blind, controlled trials comparing bupropion to a placebo group and one pilot randomized controlled trial comparing varenicline with adherence support for smoking cessation to the control without adherence support. All articles were found using Medline, PubMed, and OVID.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: …

Characteristics Of Effective Communication About Mental Health In An African American Urban Community: A Qualitative Analysis, Jeannette Porter

Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown African Americans experience mental health issues at the same rate as the general population but seek treatment at only one-third that rate. Eleven African American low-income urban community leaders with basic training in mental health issues were interviewed about their perceptions of African American patterns of communication on mental health issues. Findings included a general consensus that the topic is generally not discussed, although passing references to a party’s perceived mental illness may be made using humor. When such discussion does take place, it happens only in a “safe space” with a trusted dialogue partner. Non-verbal cues …