Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Queer Rural Youth Online: A Digital Ethnography, Joseph Robert Burns

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is based on digital ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2023 within Queer subcommunities on the social media sites Reddit and Twitter (now known as X) and data collected from interviews with Queer rural youth members of these communities. The data reveal that social media use directly influences the lives and actions of Queer rural youth, who use the space to build social connections, shape their personal identities, and seek advice pertaining to their in-person lives and decisions. By using these spaces, Queer rural youth build both bonding and bridging social capital, learn to subvert restrictions to their Internet access, …

The Mirror Project: Reflections On The Experiences Of African-American Female Adolescents Experiencing Foster Care, Bahia Anise-Cross Degruy Overton

Dissertations and Theses

As the author Zora Neale Hurston says, "If you're silent about your pain, they'll kill you and say you enjoyed it." The Mirror Project (MP) aims to break this silence by giving voice to Black women who have experienced foster care in Portland, Oregon during their adolescence. In focus groups and interviews, participants shared their stories. Racial identity development theory, phenomenology and Afrocentric feminist epistemology provided lenses for gaining insight into their experiences in a predominantly white city. The MP revealed six themes: lack of youth engagement in foster care decisions, the need for a cultural lens in social work, …

Critical Analysis Of Anti-Asian Hate In The News, Benardo Douglas Relampagos

Dissertations and Theses

Since 2019, the United States has had an increase in violence against Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities along with an increase of mainstream anti-Asian racist rhetoric. Between 2021 and 2022, The Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism reported an overall 164% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes (Report to the Nation, 2021). While racism against black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) communities has been the topic of an ever-growing body of critical discourse, prior to 2019 few publications had addressed racism and injustice regarding language choices and discourse in the context of anti-Asian rhetoric in the US, specifically …

Son Otros Tiempos: Generational Experiences Of Male Friendships Amongst Mexican And Mexican American Men, Marisela Rodríguez Molina

Dissertations and Theses

Culturally specific work with Latinx men has also discussed the way Latinx masculinities are being redefined by younger generations. Grounded in Chicana Feminist epistemologies, I use Gloria Anzaldua's borderlands framework to analyze data from 20 interviews with sons and their father figures in understanding experience of masculinities within the context of male friendships. Differences between father's and son's experiences can be attributed to social context in which men are socialized and their borderlands experiences. Findings illustrate how understandings of masculinities represent a melding of cultural values between the dominant individualistic perspective in the U.S. and the collectivist perspective from men's …

Kurdish Filmmaking In Turkey: History And Narratives, Omar Sadik

Dissertations and Theses

This research investigates the history and politics of cultural production by examining Kurdish filmmaking in Turkey. Sadik provide an analysis of contemporary films and filmmakers to explore how Kurdish cinema in Turkey is situated in broader, global political-economic structures. By examining this important case through the lens of history and memory, Sadik clarify how production and aesthetics in Kurdish cinema point to important systemic processes. Sadik uses three main research strategies in this study: a historical survey of Kurds in Turkey, an analysis of ten semi-structured interviews with contemporary Kurdish directors and an analysis of films directed by Kurdish filmmakers …

Stoneware And Earthenware From The Beeswax Wreck: Classification Of The Dubé Collection And Discussion Of The Interpretation Of The Materials In Protohistoric Sites, Vanessa Renee Litzenberg

Dissertations and Theses

Over the past three centuries, items from the Beeswax Wreck have been discovered on Oregon's northern coastline near Manzanita, including stoneware and earthenware fragments. While the stoneware and earthenware were not noticed by beachcombers washing ashore until more recently, similar artifacts have been noted within Indigenous sites for decades. While most of the analysis of the artifacts found in protohistoric settings are used to provide proof of a wreck or potentially a marker of the start of the contact period, this study aims to provide some context to the stoneware and earthenware sherds related to the wreck. The goal was …

Gender Equity And State-Mosque Relations In Middle East North Africa: A Case Study Of Tunisia, Joy Amarachi Agbugba

Dissertations and Theses

Why is the Middle East North Africa region consistently ranked the lowest on the gender equity scale? This question is quite perplexing and that has driven several scholarly researchers to investigate the situation of gender and women's rights within the states in the region. In this research, I explore the various theories explaining the cause of gender inequity in this region including the Islam thesis/social modernization theory, political-economic theory, and psychological/social structural theories, with an emphasis on the Islamic thesis theory. I argue that the state's support and prioritization of Muslim/sharia law over federal law is a major contributor to …

In Their Own Words: Examining The Educational Experiences, Expectations, And Values Of Oregon Low-Income, Single Black Mothers, Reiko Mia Williams

Dissertations and Theses

The long-standing achievement gap between African-American students in grades k-12 and their White counterparts has inspired many educational leaders and policy makers to seek a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the various factors affecting the well-being of Black students. The conversation has historically focused on deficits and dysfunction while ignoring strengths and resiliencies. The research in this study investigates inaccuracies regarding Black families in order to change the conversation from one of deficits to a strength-based lens. In spite of the inequities that exist for Black families with regards to housing, employment, and health, Black parents remain committed to ensuring …

Amplifying Arab American Heritage Language Students' Voices: A Multiple Case Study On Translanguaging Practices And Identity Negotiation In University Arabic Classrooms, Lina Gomaa

Dissertations and Theses

Little research has been conducted on Arab American students at universities and specifically, in the heritage language studies field. The experiences of Arab American heritage language (AAHL) students are significantly less examined than those of other heritage language students. Arabic language curricula and instructional practices in universities tend to privilege the teaching of Modern Standard Arabic over dialects, which marginalizes heritage learners' prior knowledge of the Arabic culture and its language, specifically Arabic dialects used in their home communities. These phenomena can create a non-affirming learning experience for these students. As such, in this study, I addressed these questions:

• To …

Japanese Gender Trouble In Revolutionary France: Ikeda Riyoko's Shōjo Manga The Rose Of Versailles, Saki Hirozane

Dissertations and Theses

Although traditional gender norms are reinforced by pop-culture media in Japan, some comics aimed primarily at female readers fight against those same gender norms. Shōjo manga (Japanese girls' comics) are no exception and have done so since their "revolution" in the 1970s. In the 1970s, a new wave of young female shōjo manga artists pioneered a different kind of girls' manga because they created new perspectives for their young female readers.

Ikeda Riyoko's Rose of Versailles (Berusaiyu no bara, 1972-73), set in Revolutionary-Era France, changed how Japanese women could see themselves in the 1970s. In Rose of Versailles …

The Rise Of Neo-Fascist Populism And Islamophobia In The West, Mohamed Tawfiq Said Tabib

Dissertations and Theses

Trumpism can be defined as racist right-wing neo-fascist populism and nativism combined with a cult of personality. There is very little distinction between neo-fascists, the alt-right, and far-right groups. All can be identified by their socio-political philosophy and vehement beliefs of racial supremacy, ultranationalism, populism, xenophobia, nativism, and anti-immigrant sentiment, as well as being opposed to liberal Western democracy and its values. This thesis explores why there has been a popular international resurgence of far-right neo-fascist movements throughout the European Union and the United States and examines the impact on inter-group social and political relations with those of different racial …

Le Gout Qui Reste: Cultural Identity And Belonging In Ook Chung's Kimchi, Taurean James Weber-Laurencio

Dissertations and Theses

The emphasis placed on the questioning of identity in Québécois society since the Quiet Revolution of the mid-twentieth century continues to this day. Whereas this search for a specifically Québécois identity was originally cast in terms of an Anglophone/Francophone divide, the influx of migrants from around the world to the province since the 1970s has rendered such a simplistic, binary discourse impossible. The population of Québéc in general and of Montréal in particular is now multicultural; visible minorities now constitute twenty-six percent of the Montréal populace. While most migrants in Québéc are able to find a niche in Montréal in …

Geographies Of Urban Unsafety: Homeless Women, Mental Maps, And Isolation, Jan Radle Roberson

Dissertations and Theses

This study explores the intersection of urban unsafety and the marginalized population of homeless women. Specifically, it investigates how homeless women identify/perceive and navigate unsafe urban space. Specific research questions include:

1. What does housing insecurity look like for an unhoused woman?

2. In what ways is mental mapping a robust tool for gathering the stories (data) of vulnerable populations such as unhoused women?

3. What does the spatialization of unsafe locations look like and are demographic groupings dissimilarly affected?

4. What are the critical reasons for unsafety identified by participants?

5. How do homeless women respond to urban unsafety; …

Linking Conservation And Environmental Justice: Exploring Relationship-Building Between A Land Trust And Four Pacific Northwest Tribes, C. Noel Plemmons

Dissertations and Theses

Conservation organizations around the world are addressing exclusionary policies and implicit biases that have alienated segments of society from both the conservation movement and natural places. Native American tribes make up one segment of society with a particular interest in and deep ties to land and resources. Vancouver, Washington-based Columbia Land Trust recognizes tribes' special relationships with their ancestral lands and resources thereon, but has struggled to develop policies that involve tribes in conserved areas and conservation plans. The conception among mainstream scientists that western conservation science is better equipped than Indigenous ecological knowledge (IEK) to determine best practices is …

A Collaborative Approach To Cultural Resource Risk Assessment, Preservation, And Prioritization: A Case Study From Sauvie Island, Oregon, Phillip James Daily

Dissertations and Theses

New and increasing threats to cultural heritage resources have pushed archaeologists, land managers, and Indigenous peoples to develop strategies to identify at-risk resources, determine condition, vulnerabilities, and value of said resources, and then provide mitigation and preservation prioritizations and recommendations for the future. One such strategy is the risk assessment approach. Typically, to guide ongoing and future management of vulnerable cultural resources, risk assessments consider preexisting archaeological data, alongside geomorphological and hydrological landform characteristics, to prioritize sites for preservation. While such assessments have been conducted around the globe, they have not been widely applied on the Lower Columbia of Oregon …

Transformative Health Care: Integrating The Perspectives And Lived Experiences Of Transgender And Gender Diverse Patients Into Health Care Education And Delivery, Shammarie Raquel Mathis

Dissertations and Theses

Prior research studies have found transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) patients at increased risk for poor physical and mental health as a result of disparities in health care access and treatment. Research has shown that perioperative patient education can improve patient outcomes, as well as promote increased knowledge, preparedness, and recovery post-surgery. For TGNC patients, gender affirming perioperative education classes are especially important for prospective patients as they not only provide comprehensive information about perioperative topics but also serve as a mechanism to promote personal empowerment through knowledge acquisition. The Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) Transgender Health Program (THP) …

Judicial Review As An Instrument Of Natural Rights Theory: An Intellectual History, James M. Masnov

Dissertations and Theses

The unique and antidemocratic power of judicial review by the United States Supreme Court is not a bug, but a feature. Its role was critical in establishing and affirming a separation of powers horizontally among the federal branches as well as vertically between the federal government and the individual states. More than this, the Court's power of judicial review acts as an instrument of rights theory and is informed by a rich and rarely-discussed intellectual history. Though judicial review as a mode of constitutional law and the legal history surrounding it has been discussed by various legal scholars, political scientists, …

Values Of Young Adults In An Increasingly Secular World, Joseph Daniel Eichenlaub

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines data from a religion and values survey entitled Young Adults and Religion in a Global Perspective (YARG) conducted in the spring of 2018. The data for this research comes from a sample of college undergraduates from diverse nations, Portland State being one of the sites sampled. This research investigates three main research questions: Do the values of college-age youth tend to be more individualistic, the less religious that they are? Do the irreligious still maintain moral values? And is irreligiosity related to a cosmopolitan-humanitarian outlook? This research finds that the overall sample is individualistic while still holding …

Gender Role As A Mediating Factor In Gender Pay Equity Analysis, Jillian Ann Girard

Dissertations and Theses

The gender wage gap has been persistent despite the introduction of new laws designed to address the disparity. One of the challenges in addressing this inequity is the lack of complete understanding of the driving factors of the pay gap. One yet unexplored factor is the impact of the gender role, which is a social role based on sex/gender which provides a structure and expectations for social relationships. The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between gender role, biological sex, and base pay. A matched, cross-sectional sample drawn from large U.S. cities was utilized to test the …

History And Memory In The Intersectionality Of Heritage Sites And Cultural Centers In The Pacific Northwest And Hawai'i, Leah Marie Rosenkranz

Dissertations and Theses

While working to maintain contemporary and future relationships with stakeholders, heritage sites and cultural centers across the United States attempt to tell the history and experiences of the land and people who were once there, are there in the present, and will be there in the future. Fort Vancouver National Historic Site is one of these heritage places. This study is a response to current management needs identified for the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Through an internship with the ongoing Fort Vancouver National Historic Site Traditional Use Study, my research examines how heritage sites and cultural centers fulfill the …

Catholic Social Teaching And Sustainable Development: What The Church Provides For Specialists, Anthony Philip Stine

Dissertations and Theses

The principles of Catholic Social Teaching as represented by the writings of 150 years of popes as well as the theorists inspired by those writings are examined, as well as the two principal schools of thought in the sustainability literature as represented by what is classically called the anthropocentric or managerial approach to sustainability as well as the biocentric school of thought.

This study extends previous research by analyzing what the Catholic Church has said over the course of centuries on issues related to society, economics, and the environment, as embodied in the core concepts of subsidiarity, solidarity, stewardship, the …

Social Saints In The City: Race, Space, And Religion In Chicago Women's Settlement Work, 1890-1935, Johanna Katherine Murphy

Dissertations and Theses

Many scholars on the settlement movement have mentioned Hull-House's interactions with the Catholic Church and/or the surrounding immigrant communities, but have failed to fully examine the dynamic between Hull-House women, Catholic laywomen who took up settlement work, and the various Catholic immigrant groups of Chicago. This research seeks to place these relationships within the context of space -- meaning physical space in the neighborhood, access to spaces, and space as influence. This lens acts as a thread connecting the tangled and fluctuating dynamics of race, ethnicity, religion, and gender surrounding the settlement house movement.

Hull-House residents and Catholic laywomen contended …

The Rise Of Mono-Ethnic Religious Nationalism In Myanmar And Its Impacts On The Security Situation Of The South Asian Region, S M Anisuz Zaman

Dissertations and Theses

In spite of the technological advancement and progress of liberalism, religion has remained an essential aspect of individual and national life in many countries. In many societies, religion has manifested elements of extremism, which ultimately perpetuates violence and destruction. This radical religious phenomenon is much predominant in the Southeast and South Asian region, including the country known as Myanmar. Myanmar has become a classic example of the religious fusion of politics and social life. The hybrid form of emerging democratic tenets, albeit under military sponsorship in Myanmar, provides a breeding ground for religious nationalism, with dire consequences for religious minorities. …

Crania Japonica: Ethnographic Portraiture, Scientific Discourse, And The Fashioning Of Ainu/Japanese Colonial Identities, Jeffrey Braytenbah

Dissertations and Theses

Japan's colonial activities on the island of Hokkaido were instrumental to the creation of modern Japanese national identity. Within this construction, the indigenous Ainu people came to be seen in dialectical opposition to the 'modern' and 'civilized' identity that Japanese colonial actors fashioned for themselves. This process was articulated through travel literature, ethnographic portraiture, and discourse in scientific racism which racialized perceived divisions between the Ainu and Japanese and contributed to the unmaking of the Ainu homeland: Ainu Mosir. The resulting narrative was used to legitimize Japanese imperialism, transforming the Empire of Japan into the only non-Western member state …

A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Corpus Data From Reddit Discussions Of "Gay Voice", Sara Elizabeth Mulliner

Dissertations and Theses

In the last decade, there have been a number of public discussions about "gay voice" and "sounding gay." These two phrases often serve as a shorthand for the belief that a listener can determine the sexuality of a speaker based on phonetic qualities found in a speaker's vocal output. However, these expressions are more accurately described as "catch-all" terms for speech that may contain features associated with non-gender conforming stances and personae. Notions about gender and sexuality could be intertwined in complicated ways in this language ideology. Investigating popular discussions of gay-sounding voices could provide information on what people are …

Explaining The Sectarian Violence In The Middle East: A Conflict Analysis Of The Case Study Of Saudi Arabia And Iran, Ahmed Elsayed Eltally

Dissertations and Theses

The Middle East has been rife with conflicts, extremism, and sectarianism in recent decades. Many explanations attribute the rise of sectarianism in the Middle East to the historical divide between Sunni and Shia Muslims, while others attribute it to power or identity concerns. This thesis explores the factors that contributed to the rise of contemporary sectarianism in the Middle East through the case study of Saudi-Iranian rivalry. Drawing on the literature on the history of the Middle East, Islam, theories of international relations, and conflict studies, it underlines how Saudi Arabia and Iran use sectarianism to further their interests. This …

The Cosmological Empire Of Pliny The Elder: An Examination Of Political Themes In The Second Book Of The Historia Naturalis, Kevin Alan Mccormick

Dissertations and Theses

Pliny the Elder's Historia Naturalis, written in the 70s CE and perhaps left unfinished at its author's death in 79, is among the largest documents to have survived down to us from antiquity. It comprises some thirty-seven books on a breadth of topics about the natural world, and man's interaction with the world and marshalling of its resources. The work has often been referred to as the world's first encyclopedia. Recent scholarship has rescued Pliny's reputation from its degradation among the scholars of the early twentieth century, and modern scholars have approached the document via several analytical avenues, including …

Understanding The Politicization Of Oromo Identity In The Diaspora: Re/ Locating The Bones Of The Oromo, Madeline Jaye Bass

Dissertations and Theses

The Oromo people of Ethiopia share a common language, worldview, set of sacred meanings, and a historic system of governance. The rise of the Abyssinian Empire in the late 1800s led to the colonization of the Oromo; their language and religion were made illegal, their homeland was expropriated and renamed, and they were forced to live as slaves on their own land. After the end of the Abyssinian colonial era, historic discrimination was institutionalized into the new Ethiopian state form through the politicization of identities. Ethnic identities become political identities when cultural traits are used by the state as criteria …

Can Churches Change A Neighborhood? A Census Tract, Multilevel Analysis Of Churches And Neighborhood Change, David E. Kresta

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines the role of local churches in neighborhood change, analyzing the relationship between Christian churches and changes in household median incomes from 1990 to 2010 in the census tract in which each church is located. Based on a nationally representative sample of churches from 2006 and 2012, the study uses hierarchical linear modeling and statistical matching techniques to analyze how key church characteristics such as social service involvement, social capital generation, residential patterns of attendees, and demographic composition are related to changes in neighborhoods. Two primary research questions were addressed: 1) How have patterns of church location changed …

The Intersections Of Good Intentions, Criminality, And Anti-Carceral Feminist Logic: A Qualitative Study That Explores Sex Trades Content In Social Work Education, Meg Rose Panichelli

Dissertations and Theses

This study uses anti-carceral feminist logic to explore the cultural meanings, criminal implications, and neoliberal influence that shape the landscape of social work education about the sex trades in the United States and transnationally. "What are social work instructors teaching students about the sex trades in coursework?" is the question that directs the study, which uses a feminist qualitative methodology inclusive of intersectional feminist epistemology as well as direct content analysis. To answer this question, I analyzed 20 social work course syllabi from sex trade related courses across the contiguous United States and interviewed 20 social work instructors from 14 …