Digital Commons Network^™

The Interdisciplinary Work Of Senga Nengudi: How Abjection In Art Can Lead To Greater Deai In Exhibition Spaces By Danielle Lynne Paswaters, Danielle Lynne Paswaters

Theses and Dissertations

Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion (DEAI) have become popular topics in today’s increasingly divisive and political climate. This thesis investigates how the abject in art challenges social structures and institutional norms through an analysis of the interdisciplinary work of Senga Nengudi. While this conversation has been started by Leticia Alvarado regarding the work of Ana Mendieta, there is no scholarship on the more specific ways that Nengudi’s work employs the concept of Blackness itself as abject. This gap in literature is not only a disservice to the work of Nengudi, but also to scholars and institutions that aim to understand …

Wind & Rhythm And Race And Gender: Evaluating Wind Band Programming In Relation To Equity, Diversity, And Inclusion, Connor Thomas Bowman

Theses and Dissertations

While the wind band is known for programming new works by contemporary composers, this thesis explores wind band programming in terms of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Community resources such as composer databases, newspapers and blogs, and social media express the classical music community’s frustration with programming practices. Scholarship in wind band repertoire support these community resources. The wind band community in the United States has a strong tradition of commissioning and awarding new works for the medium. The wind band has a strong relationship with radio as it documented notable developments throughout the twentieth century. Programming on the radio show …

Three Essays On Diversity-Performance Relationship From A Positive Psychology Lens, Manpreet Kaur

Theses and Dissertations

Workplace diversity is an incessant notion in today’s world. Scholars have examined different aspects of diversity (e.g. demographic, cultural, and informational) in context of varying processes and outcomes (e.g. satisfaction, innovation, creativity, and performance). Diversity has been proposed as a double-edged sword, but the overall effects of diversity have been inconclusive, necessitating the investigation of more contextual variables. Efforts have been made to focus on this paucity of diversity research, however, the emphasis has been on objective variables and the positive characteristics of an individual or a team are neglected.

Thus, the purpose of this three-essay dissertation is to address …

Gay Liberation Is One Thing, But Nobody Likes A Dyke: Emerging Frames In Queer Radio, Ryan Charles Sugden

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how a social movement uses the media to progress in society. I conduct a framing analysis on the queer community’s use of radio during two time periods: 1970s queer radio program Gay Perspective and a 2015-2016 program, Queery. I examine the show through three emerging frames: Cultured, Diversity, and Assimilation. The thesis studies how segments of the LGBTQIA+ community framed the discussion of gay rights in the 1970s and how those frames have (and haven’t) changed in 2016. Gay Perspective focused much of its energy on trying to demonstrate the need for rights and attempts to demonstrate …

Communicating Identity In The Workplace And Affinity Groups Spaces, Megan Mary Lambertz-Berndt

Theses and Dissertations

The following dissertation examined affinity group creation and purpose. By using identity management theory and communication privacy management theory the author was able to understand what one both reveals and conceals within an affinity group and organization at large. Two studies addressed the utility of an affinity group for those currently involved in homogeneous racial and nonracial groups, as well as for future employees who may become the next affinity group attendees. Using a thematic analysis, Study I revealed affinity group perceptions including several subthemes (logistics, helpful, harmful, more heterogeneity, and exclusion of identity). Organizational diversity sessions at large revealed …

Old Ideas In New Skins: Examining Discourses Of Diversity On The Websites Of 10 Urban-Serving Universities, Simone Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Deficit discourse, the idea that minorities "lack" intellectually, runs through current ideas about diversity in higher education. Diversity is viewed as a policy that helps the deficient. Recent litigation about diversity, Fisher v. University of Texas (2013), embodied the alignment of deficit and diversity. This study examined portrayals, visual and textual, of diversity on the websites of ten urban-serving universities, using a method of critical discourse analysis and a lens of critical race theory, to uncover the ways they defined diversity and if notions of deficit were attached. This study also addressed the ways these universities, a part of the …

The Effect Of Cultural And Emotional Intelligence On Mentor And Protege Perceptions Of Attitude Homophily And Relationship Quality In Culturally Diverse Mentoring Relationships, Gloria J. Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring has become more common in organizations as firms have discovered the benefits of this process, such as the retention and cultivation of employees who create the work and products of the organization. To meet the challenges associated with increasing diversity within organizations, researchers have focused on understanding diverse mentoring relationships (Athey, Avery, & Zemsky, 2000; Clutterbuck & Ragins, 2002; Hardy, 1998; Knouse, Hill, & Webb, 2005; Ragins, 1997). The demographic (e.g., ethnicity, gender, age) and situational (e.g., position, power) disparities between mentors and protégés often make it more difficult for diverse partners to develop quality relationships that are needed …

The Influence Of Position Type And Generational Grouping On Job Satisfaction Of Milwaukee County's Public Health Workforce, Jeanette L. Kowalik

Theses and Dissertations

Nationally, the public health workforce (PHW) consists of 155,000 staff (NACCHO, 2010). It is projected that half of the PHW will soon retire. Health departments must find ways to retain its diverse workforce.

Job Satisfaction is a critical variable that impacts a sustained PHW. Job Satisfaction assessments can promote sustainability of the workforce because the data assembled from the assessments can inform research, policy, and practice. Public health workers that report high Job Satisfaction are less likely to quit as well as delay retirement (RWJF, 2013).

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of position type and …