Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Diffusion Of Policy Innovations: State Adoption Of Value-Added Models In K-12 Education, Kirsten England

Doctoral Dissertations

Schools chase test scores as a means of validating educational practices. Having imposed high-stakes testing, public schools were still not generating the student test scores under policies such as No Child Left Behind, the Department of Education thought would ensue. To hold accountability on the part of the classroom teacher, Race to the Top, and with it, merit pay was imposed by most states within the United States.

Using policy innovation and diffusion frameworks, this research looks at how over time states have come to adopt value-added policies for teacher evaluations. The research takes into consideration the sociopolitical systems that …

Design And Development Of The Urban Population Health Observatory To Improve Disease Surveillance And Response, Whitney Brakefield

Doctoral Dissertations

Chronic and infectious diseases have a profound impact on the quality and length of life of populations that suffer from these conditions. Scientists, physicians, and health officials are seeking innovative approaches to decrease the morbidity and mortality of deadly diseases. Incorporating artificial intelligence and data science techniques across the health science domain could improve disease surveillance, intervention planning, and policymaking. In this dissertation, we describe the design and development of the Urban Population Health Observatory (UPHO), an explainable knowledge-based multimodal big data analytics platform. A common challenge for conducting multimodal big data analytics is integrating multidimensional heterogeneous data sources, which …

Representing Uncertainty: Beliefs And Habits In The International Development Evaluation Context, Christina Peterson

Doctoral Dissertations

Evaluation can be imagined as an uncertainty management strategy and evaluators as a class of professionals whose role is reducing uncertainty for decision-makers. In the development sector, uncertainty about the efficacy of various interventions exists and evaluations are needed to improve organizational resource utilization. Representations of uncertainty impact decision-making. Evaluator beliefs and routines regarding uncertainty representation in evaluation reports contribute to the ability of evaluation to influence decisions about development programs and policies. This study aimed to explore these beliefs and habits and to understand how they are influenced by the evaluation context. Social Representations Theory is used to situate …

Human Dimensions Of Natural Resources: A Case Of Farmers In Northern Rwanda, Jean Francois Regis Nisengwe

Doctoral Dissertations

As food demand increases globally, the world faces the challenge of feeding everyone without harming the environment. Meeting this challenge requires increased food production. Paradoxically, increased food production can harm the environment and natural resources. Change in consumption patterns offers an opportunity to reconcile the increase in food production and environmental protection. However, consumption patterns can only change if they are perceived first, then acted upon. Research shows that people who perceive their consumption of natural resources are more likely to conserve them as they can see how much they are consuming. This study investigated perceptions of natural resources and …

Universal Basic Income Favorability: An Examination Of Discursive Frames Of And Support For Ubi Proposals, John Stacy Elliott

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation work examines the relationship between Universal Basic Income (UBI) favorability and discursive framing. Chapter 1, the systematic review of literature, reviews the role that discursive framing has played in presenting UBI proposals related to the effects that notions of deservedness may have on levels of support for UBI proposals. Chapter 2, an article on a regression analysis, explores the possible associations between attitudes toward women and support for UBI proposals. Chapter 3, an article on a regression analysis, explores the relationship between attitudes toward privilege and systemic racism as they relate to support for UBI proposals.

Effects Of Economic Development Status And Eco-Product On Consumption Values: From The Perspective Of Us Consumers, Mostafa Zaman

Doctoral Dissertations

Consumers select a product based on numerous product characteristics. Numerous studies conducted earlier revealed that consumers in developing countries preferred products made in western or developed countries because their product quality is better than the quality of local products (Lee & Nguyen, 2017; Dao & Heidt, 2018; Rodrigo et al., 2019). Moreover, consumers are increasingly concerned about manufacturers’ environmental issues. Although ethical consumers believe that eco-products could save the environment, some consumers are not concerned about the eco-products and thus select products based on other product attributes (Joshi & Rahman, 2015). Hence, it becomes very challenging for retailers to select …

“In The Skin I’M In…I Represent A Different Version Of What Help Looks Like:” Black Women Sport Psychology Professional’S Experiences In Applied Sport Psychology, Sharon R. Couch

Doctoral Dissertations

Black Feminist Applied Sport Psychology (BFASP) is a culturally inclusive theoretical framework for centering Black women’s experiences in applied sport psychology (Carter et al., 2020; Couch et al., 2022). For the past two decades, (White) Feminist applied sport psychology professionals (FASPPs) described the experiences of Black women as unique but were overlooked in research and participant pools due to the prioritization of White women's and Black male sport experiences. (Carter & Davila, 2017; Carter & Prewitt-White, 2014; Gill, 2020; Hyman et al., 2021). The purpose of this study was to explore the life and work experiences of BASPPs (i.e., faculty, …

Autocracies As Mediators In Conflicts, Jonathan A. S. Honig

Doctoral Dissertations

It is puzzling why autocracies, which typically are not renowned for their human rights record or their observance of international norms related to human rights and are frequently inured in their own violent conflicts, would choose to take on the seemingly humanitarian role of peacemaker as often as democracies in the conflicts of other states in the absence of such things as a former colonial relationship or shared geographic proximity with them. I argue that autocracies will offer more often to mediate when they are subjected to international scrutiny, sanctioning, and/or condemnation, as well as materially and immaterially benefitting from …

Possessed: New Horror Films In The Era Of Neoliberalism, Bethany C. Nelson

Doctoral Dissertations

Since its inception, the horror genre has been reflective of cultural fears. In neoliberal society, horror cinema has experienced a cultural revival that has challenged the conventional boundaries of the genre and expanded our current understandings through a convergence of neoliberalism and gothic horror with unprecedented popularity in the cultural imaginary. The conjuring universe, one of the highest grossing and most popular horror universes to date, presents a key space for cultural criminologists, like horror and film fans, to engage with the terror of the neoliberal world through mediated new gothic images, resulting in a gothic criminology. Through an ethnographic …

Justice Involvement During Covid-19 And The Possibility Of Transitional Justice, Rachel A. Ponder

Doctoral Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced numerous unprecedented political, social, and economic challenges that resulted in unprecedented responses by policy makers. As result, existing inequalities and injustices rooted in a dense history of structural and institutional violence were uncovered and exacerbated. As of June 2021, at least 398,627 people in prison tested positive for COVID-19 and at least 2,715 had died (The Marshall Project 2021). In the United States, the inmate population is disproportionately made up of poor, people of color. This is a pattern that is rooted in the country’s long history of racism and white supremacy. This cycle continues as …

Alt-Education: Gender, Language, And Education Across The Right, Catherine Tebaldi

Doctoral Dissertations

I explore the ideologies of gender, language and education in conservative, Christian Nationalist, and White nationalist mothers groups. I draw on my own family history, as well as on two years of blended ethnographic research in online right wing communities and one year of fieldwork in New Orleans, Louisiana, to look at homeschooling, online schools, and public teachers’ social, linguistic, and educational practices -- what I call Alt-Education. Alt-education is of course a play on alt-right, and refers to the far-right ideology; but it also refers to an alternative to mainstream education, and to education through a broader range of …

The Linearization Of V(P)-Doubling Constructions, Rong Yin

Doctoral Dissertations

When an item moves, it is usually pronounced once but in some cases, it is pronounced multiple times. So, a question is: What determines whether a moved item gets pronounced in only one of its positions or in multiple positions? This dissertation aims at providing an answer to this question by designing a linearization process that yields the correct phonetic realization of a moved item, with a focus on V(P) movement. In particular, this dissertation provides a detailed analysis of how V(P)-doubling cases are linearized and thus show how a V(P) ends up being pronounced multiple times. Regarding the proposed …

Assessing Impacts Of Negative Stereotypes And Designing Theory-Driven Interventions To Support Underrepresented Minorities In Stem, Deborah Wu

Doctoral Dissertations

The underrepresentation of women, racial ethnic minorities, and first-generation college students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in the United States has been well-documented. Members of these minority groups face negative stereotypes casting doubt on their abilities in these fields, which can cause the concern that they will be judged through the lens of the stereotype and devalued. This concern is called social identity threat. This dissertation presents three investigations focusing on the experiences of underrepresented students in STEM, examining when and how altering situational contexts increases or decreases their vulnerability to social identity threat. Chapter 1 is …

By The Numbers: How Academic Capitalism Shapes Graduate Student Experiences Of Work And Training In Material Sciences, Timothy Sacco

Doctoral Dissertations

The neoliberal reorganization of higher education has reshaped the research and education missions of university science. Much of the scholarship examining this shift focuses on faculty experiences. This dissertation centers the experiences of student scientists to explore: (1) how entrepreneurial universities manage marginal academic knowledge workers, including students, through processes that shift responsibility onto individual workers; (2) how universities use mechanisms like internships and Individual Development Plans to shift educational responsibilities onto students; and (3) how performances of masculinity in commercial spaces of university science contribute to durable gender inequalities among students under academic capitalism. Longitudinal qualitative methods were employed …

Perceptions Of Historical Climate Change And Park Policy: The Impact On The Fremont Cottonwood In Zion National Park, Kathleen Kavarra Corr

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite its “natural” appearance and the Organic Act 1916 mandate for preservation of the natural environment in National Parks, the Virgin River as it flows through Zion National Park’s Zion Canyon was transformed through massive flood control re-engineering projects in the 1930s. The armoring of the river has had significant impacts on riparian vegetation, particularly on the stands of native Fremont Cottonwood trees that once filled the narrow valley. What was the motivation for this massive flood control project carried out in an arid region with less than 15 inches of rain per year? This dissertation explores the motivations which …

Quiet Ego And Well-Being: The What, Why, And How -- An Investigation Of The Implications Of The Quiet Ego For Psychological Well-Being, Guanyu Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

Ego is that which constructs and evaluates the concept of self in that it processes information and interprets objects (e.g., people, experiences) and labels them as part of the self (or not). To put it another way, ego is an active experiencer, perceiver, and doer that constructs, maintains, and regulates our sense of self and our relationships with others. Ego processes information in different modes. The mode that has been most extensively studied is the egotistical-narcissistic one because it fits well with the predominant cultural ideology of being individualistic and being motivated by self-interest. Thus, what has largely been ignored …

Reclaiming The Future Through Small-Scale Agriculture: Autonomy And Sustainability In The Caribbean, Dana M. Conzo

Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation, “Reclaiming the future through Small-Scale Agriculture: Autonomy and Sustainability in the Caribbean,” is a political-economic analysis of land politics, foodscapes and foodsheds, and small-scale agricultural activities in plantation economies on the Caribbean island of St Kitts. Using ethnographic and geographic methods, such as participant observation, interviews, social network analysis, and foodshed mapping, I investigate the cultural and economic niche of local farmers, documented and analyzed the island’s foodshed, and provide a historical and economic background of St Kitts to link historical processes to contemporary spatial organization and agricultural practices. I consider the complexities of food inequalities and food …

Evaluation Of A Remote Implementation Of The Well-Being Promotion Program With Middle School Students During Covid-19, Emily C. Barry

Doctoral Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic and pivot to emergency remote teaching changed the way in which many students access school-based mental health interventions. Furthermore, the effects of the pandemic heightened distress and decreased life satisfaction amongst many youth, increasing the need for schools to provide targeted mental health supports (Lazarus et al, 2021; Magson et al., 2021). Empirically supported Tier 2 mental health interventions exist (i.e., the Well-Being Promotion Program; Suldo, 2016), but little is known about how these interventions can be adapted and feasibly implemented in remote school contexts. This retrospective case study evaluated the implementation of a remote version of …

Digital Indigeneity: Digital Media's Uses For Identity Formation, Education, And Activism By Indigenous People In The Northeastern United States, Virginia A. Mclaurin

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to examine the types of digital media being produced in the Northeastern United States, its content, the goals and motivations of its creators, the processes underlying Indigenous digital media creation, and the desired and projected audiences of Indigenous digital artists and content creators. Resulting findings from this study illuminate long histories of Indigenous use of digital media tied to digital media's development in Indigenous lands. I argue that Native people have been producers and influencers in film and later, digital media, and have underwritten digital production due to its development on Indigenous lands. Through interviews and media …