Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 30 of 34

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

“Bad Hombres”: Trump Era Politics And Media In Shaping The Perceptions Of The Mexican Diaspora In The United States, Angelica Soria May 2024

“Bad Hombres”: Trump Era Politics And Media In Shaping The Perceptions Of The Mexican Diaspora In The United States, Angelica Soria

Master's Theses

My research delves into the anti-Mexican immigrant rhetoric spread throughout the United States under Donald Trump’s presidency by himself, mainstream media news outlet Fox News, and the U.S. government. Furthermore, examining the social identity of ethnic Mexicans in the United States in response to and as a consequence of the negative rhetoric. This thesis analyzes discourse including the harmful rhetoric and its impact on policy formulation, public perception, and the lived experiences of Mexican immigrants and ethnic Mexican communities. By looking at existing discourse, this research provides a critical discourse analysis of political speeches, media coverage, and ethnic Mexican testimonios. …


Abolition Ecologies And The Making Of Freedom As A Place In Bayview-Hunters Point, Spencer Daniel O'Hara May 2023

Abolition Ecologies And The Making Of Freedom As A Place In Bayview-Hunters Point, Spencer Daniel O'Hara

Master's Theses

In this paper, I critically explore the subjectivities of Hunters Point Naval Shipyard (HPNS), part of the largest redevelopment project in San Francisco since 1906. Applying an abolition ecologies framework, I ask what explains the duplicity of the Shipyard as a site of radioactive contamination and capital accumulation, and in the same time-space one that creates the conditions for radical place-making. Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is a former commercial and military shipyard located on a peninsula in southeastern San Francisco. Motivated by its desire for a major shipbuilding and repair facility to project maritime power in the Pacific, the Navy …


Fourthspace: The Role Of Active Social Inclusion In The Workforce Entry Of Syrian Refugees In Scandinavia, Anisa Abeytia May 2023

Fourthspace: The Role Of Active Social Inclusion In The Workforce Entry Of Syrian Refugees In Scandinavia, Anisa Abeytia

Master's Theses

The 2015 displacement of Syrian refugees into Scandinavian countries provoked a refugee integration policy adjustment that focused on workforce and higher education entry. It is a policy approach that requires attention on barriers to workforce entry to ensure effective policy implementation. This article provides insight into the larger, often overlooked barriers of Eurocentrism and historical biases on refugee labor integration and provides policy solutions to reduce their impact. Active social inclusion (ASI) and Fourthspace are introduced as a framework to reduce biases to workforce entry and integration time barriers faced by Syrian refugees. ASI can provide mechanisms to increase access …


Mahalaya: Building Community In The Filipinx Diaspora Through Solidarity Journalism, Casey Ticsay May 2022

Mahalaya: Building Community In The Filipinx Diaspora Through Solidarity Journalism, Casey Ticsay

Master's Theses

Unethical approaches to storytelling in professional journalism continue to shape public discourse around the diverse experiences of Asians and Asian Americans. This paper analyzes the origins and impact of ethnic news media, specifically the rise of Filipino and Filipino American press in the United States, and the ways journalists of color continue to challenge traditional practices of professional journalism that perpetuate anti-Blackness and maintain white supremacy. Filipino and Filipino American newspapers in the early twentieth century provide historical insight into the issues, debates, and conversations transpiring at the time and highlight the community’s ongoing response to the misrepresentations of their …


My Generation Will Never Forget: Oral Histories Of Chinese American Students In “Separate But Equal” Oriental Schools, Kelsey Owyang May 2022

My Generation Will Never Forget: Oral Histories Of Chinese American Students In “Separate But Equal” Oriental Schools, Kelsey Owyang

Master's Theses

Asian Americans occupy a contradictory position in the American educational landscape, at once glorified for their academic success and vilified for their “invasion” of White academic spaces. This narrative first took root in the 19th century, when the California Supreme Court ruled in the 1885 case Tape v. Hurley that Chinese American youth had a right to public education. Simultaneously, the state legislature declared that Chinese Americans must be educated in separate facilities from Whites. The first segregated “Oriental school” opened in San Francisco Chinatown that year. This study explores the oft-erased history of Asian American school segregation in …


Contextualizing Bipoc High School Students’ Racialized Experiences Under Trump, Christina Ung May 2021

Contextualizing Bipoc High School Students’ Racialized Experiences Under Trump, Christina Ung

Master's Theses

This thesis contextualizes public high school experiences of self-identified students of color during Trump’s presidency. The study features three recent high school graduates from the same campus, and their perspectives on a series of topics related to their racial identity. It was important that this research served as a space for marginalized voices to share their lived experiences, as they are frequently left out of American curriculum. More specifically in this case, the high school is located in a small, rural town where the population is majority white and politically conservative. Through the lens of critical race theory (CRT), data …


A Treacherous Journey Through Latin America: The Plight Of Black African And Haitian Migrants Forced To Remain In Mexico, Zefitret A. Molla May 2021

A Treacherous Journey Through Latin America: The Plight Of Black African And Haitian Migrants Forced To Remain In Mexico, Zefitret A. Molla

Master's Theses

The growing presence of Black African and Haitian migrants in Mexico poses a new set of challenges to a country that is already struggling to recognize the presence of Afro-Mexicans and where mestizaje still dominates the national discourse on race. Due to restrictive U.S. and Mexican immigration policies since 2016, many of these migrants have found themselves forced to remain in a country they had only intended to transit through on their journey northward to the U.S. Mexico has only recently taken the necessary steps to recognize its Afro-Mexican population which had been marginalized and erased from history. This paper …


Afghan Decision-Making In A Development Context, Daniel Stent Jan 2021

Afghan Decision-Making In A Development Context, Daniel Stent

Master's Theses

Numerous theories exist showing the relationship between stress and decision-making strategies. Conflict Theory, as expressed by Mann et al. (1997) explains that when facing a major decision, individuals will respond to the stress of that decision by using one of four decision-making strategies: vigilance, buckpassing, procrastination, and hypervigilance. In matching Conflict Theory with the cultural scales proposed by Hofstede (2001), the decision-making strategies of buckpassing and procrastination are preferred by individuals from collectivist cultures in contrast to people from individualistic cultures. The current study used Mann’s Melbourne Decision-Making Questionnaire in the context of Afghanistan. This research is pertinent given the …


Minority Student Food Insecurity In Higher Education, Joe Sevillano Dec 2020

Minority Student Food Insecurity In Higher Education, Joe Sevillano

Master's Theses

The minority student population in higher education has been affected by food insecurity at a disproportionate rate. Several studies have captured some of the issues associated with the material deficit but fail to identify more in-depth contributing factors. Using the theoretical framework of intersectionality, the researcher examines the experience, interpretation, and navigation of food insecurity in a medium-sized university located in a major city on the west coast. The researcher interviewed three students that self-identified as having multiple minority identities and experiencing some level of food insecurity while pursuing a degree. Findings from three rounds of interviews gave further context …


A Leadership Change. A Culture Shift...And A Police Riot: The Story Of How The Highest College Going High School In San Francisco Became The Lowest Graduating School In The District, Emmanuel Padilla May 2020

A Leadership Change. A Culture Shift...And A Police Riot: The Story Of How The Highest College Going High School In San Francisco Became The Lowest Graduating School In The District, Emmanuel Padilla

Master's Theses

Thurgood Marshall Academic High School, located in San Francisco’s Bayview, Hunters Point, scored the third lowest in the most recent Academic Performance Index (API) Report. Based on the median household income, the Bayview is a low-income community and according to San Francisco data, is a high crime neighborhood. The odds are against Marshall to provide exceptional service to their students, but it once did. In 2001, Marshall had the highest college-going rate in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). Today, only 20% of its student body would be considered college ready. This study will look into what happened to …


Narratives Of Black Identifying Newcomer Youth, Saniyyah Lateef May 2020

Narratives Of Black Identifying Newcomer Youth, Saniyyah Lateef

Master's Theses

This study seeks to explore and understand the unique and individual experiences of Black identifying newcomer youth in the United States. Current research related to the experience of newcomers is limited in regards to Black identifying newcomers. Through narrative inquiry methodology, this study seeks to share the experiences of Black identifying newcomer youth. It does this while recognizing the omnipresence of racism in the United States, and acknowledging the influence of life prior experience on identity development. The intent of this study is to help educators and community members better understand the integration and assimilation processes of Black identifying newcomers. …


Beluu El Diak Le Belumam: Reclaiming And Decolonizing Palauan-American Cultural Heritage, Connie Ngirchemat May 2020

Beluu El Diak Le Belumam: Reclaiming And Decolonizing Palauan-American Cultural Heritage, Connie Ngirchemat

Master's Theses

Prior to colonization, Palau practiced their own indigenous ways of knowledge and epistemologies in relation to their spirits, land, and community. Through Palau’s colonial and imperial relationships under Spain, Germany, Japan, and evidently the United States, these impacts throughout Palau’s history have affected the community’s traditional ways of knowing. From colonial influences, to the evident emigration of the Palauan diaspora, this created a new generation of Palauan-Americans, who were raised unfamiliar with their cultural heritage and language. This lack of cultural awareness for the Palauan-American diaspora raises concerns of loss of culture, sense of self and identity, and its impact …


The Function Of The Hukou System In Post-Revolutionary China & Its Autonomous Regions, Joseph Kramer May 2020

The Function Of The Hukou System In Post-Revolutionary China & Its Autonomous Regions, Joseph Kramer

Master's Theses

Over the course of more than two millennia the Hukou System has shifted in scope and purpose. In dynastic times it served as a mechanism of tax acquisition. In more recent years it has functioned as a method of census and land distribution. Today it holds a duplicitous function serving as both an economic and social control mechanism. The Hukou achieves this through controlling movement through a passport like system of internal registration. In simpler terms, think of the Hukou as an internal passport regulating movement while simultaneously holding all of your biometric data which is surveilled and controlled by …


Written In Black, White, And Red: An Exploration Of Civilizer Theology In American History, Jeremy Mcginniss Nov 2019

Written In Black, White, And Red: An Exploration Of Civilizer Theology In American History, Jeremy Mcginniss

Master's Theses

This paper proposes an extended definition and discusses examples of civilizer theology within the perceptions and practices of white Protestant American Christianity faith traditions. Civilizer theology is defined as a self-referential, self-fulfilling framework actively shaping the expectations, behaviors and practices of societal norms driving cultural practices. Examples are selected as guided by three significant and interdependent dispositions characterizing civilizer theology: cultural decay/moral decline, authority, and violence. This paper hypothesizes theological interpretation, application and exegesis, mediated by the three dispositions, are deliberately applied to support socio-economic, cultural and political ends with the goal of maintaining power structures benefiting a particular group.


Acting Black: An Analysis Of Blackness And Criminality In Film, Blake Edwards Aug 2019

Acting Black: An Analysis Of Blackness And Criminality In Film, Blake Edwards

Master's Theses

This thesis will attempt to answer how films deal with blackness and crime, specifically when intersecting with the concepts of exploitation, appropriation, whiteness and the criminality of the black body. While not entirely the root of the negative perceptions of African-Americans in the United States, the manner in which African-Americans are portrayed in motion picture media influences how their presence is seen in society. This thesis will examine specific films that include elements dealing with the listed factors and what effects they may or may not have.


Perceptions On The Effectiveness Of Diversity And Inclusion Hiring: Are We Really Getting Ahead? [2019], Deidre D. Pierson Aug 2019

Perceptions On The Effectiveness Of Diversity And Inclusion Hiring: Are We Really Getting Ahead? [2019], Deidre D. Pierson

Master's Theses

Diversity and inclusion hiring in NCAA Division III athletic departments has seen some improvement over the last two decades, but questions remain on whether we are really getting ahead. There continues to be a lack of diversity, particularly in private Northeast institutions. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived effectiveness of hiring practices and initiatives utilized by athletics departments. The study utilized tenants of critical theory which supported the in-depth questioning and centering of the lived experiences of participants. This study used semi-structured interviews of nine Division III female head coaches of women’s sports to examine their …


New England Slave Trader: The Case Of Charles Tyng, Paul J. Michaels Jun 2019

New England Slave Trader: The Case Of Charles Tyng, Paul J. Michaels

Master's Theses

Charles Tyng has been heralded as an American hero after the posthumous publication of his memoir, Before the Wind: The Memoir of an American Sea Captain, 1808-1833, in 1999. Recent research involving British Treasury report books from the nineteenth century suggest otherwise – that Tyng actively promoted and was engaged in the illicit trade of African captives. A Boston Brahmin, Tyng applied the lessons of his time at sea with Perkins & Company, the opium trading firm, to his occupation as an agent of notorious slave trading firms in Havana. This paper uses as evidence records of the captures …


Posthuman And Alien Breeding: The Implications Of Cybersex In Octavia Butler’S Dawn 2019., Elizabeth Rutkowski May 2019

Posthuman And Alien Breeding: The Implications Of Cybersex In Octavia Butler’S Dawn 2019., Elizabeth Rutkowski

Master's Theses

Speculative science fiction affords new ways for authors to represent social problems of the modern day in an apocalyptic manner. Authors such as Octavia Butler use science fiction to analyze social injustices revolving around race, gender, and sexuality. Throughout her novel Dawn, Butler uses the posthuman to represent minority groups in the late twentieth century. The posthuman represents those who have moved from humanity towards a new opportunity that is mixed with the potential for struggle. 1 As demonstrated through Butler’s work posthumanism blurs the lines between binaries such as male / female, straight / gay, and consensual / nonconsensual …


“Flowing Along The Wall”: Anarcha-Feminist Bioethics And Resistance In Octavia E. Butler’S Dawn 2019., Theresa Mendez May 2019

“Flowing Along The Wall”: Anarcha-Feminist Bioethics And Resistance In Octavia E. Butler’S Dawn 2019., Theresa Mendez

Master's Theses

Science fiction (sf) texts conversant with the temporal play between past, present, and future push readers to imagine the extremes of human and environmental existence, interaction, and potential. Simultaneously, despite the sf genre’s tendency to traffic in extremes, these texts provoke readers to consider the ways in which these imagined worlds are grounded in history as well as in the contemporary social moment. As Donna Haraway has argued, “the boundary between science fiction and social reality is an optical illusion” (306). This illusory boundary must continue to be traversed in order to consider how sf literatures, particularly those which imagine …


An Exploratory Study Of Acculturation Experiences Of Graduate Student Immigrants At The University Of San Francisco, Courtney Lamar Dec 2018

An Exploratory Study Of Acculturation Experiences Of Graduate Student Immigrants At The University Of San Francisco, Courtney Lamar

Master's Theses

This study explores the shared challenges during the acculturation process of graduate student immigrants pursuing higher education in the United States. 13 graduate student immigrants at the University of San Francisco discuss their experiences of cultural adjustment into U.S. culture. Through qualitative interviews and thematic analysis, this study seeks to understand the acculturation experiences of graduate student immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. This analysis is based on the individual-level experience examining attitudes and acculturation strategies in the dominant society. Analysis, possibly policy implication for institutions of higher education, and possible directions for future research …


A Discourse Analysis Of Diversity And Inclusion Terminology In The High-Tech Industry, Michelle Nader Dec 2018

A Discourse Analysis Of Diversity And Inclusion Terminology In The High-Tech Industry, Michelle Nader

Master's Theses

The field of Diversity and Inclusion is a growing interest within the High-Tech industry, particularly within the San Francisco Bay Area of California. To combat misconceptions of Diversity and Inclusion, this thesis aims to define and analyze the language used at 20 companies in the High-Tech sector. The trends, nuances, and practices of how companies use language in their programming and data dictates the direction of the company. This thesis investigates the underlying complexities of where Diversity and Inclusion is within the industry today and goals for the future. Findings from this research suggest that companies can strengthen their Diversity …


Now Hiring: Exploring Deportee Transnational Identities And Socio-Economic Reintegration In Baja California, Mexico’S Call Center Industry, Brenda Vargas Dec 2018

Now Hiring: Exploring Deportee Transnational Identities And Socio-Economic Reintegration In Baja California, Mexico’S Call Center Industry, Brenda Vargas

Master's Theses

The anti-immigrant rhetoric in the U.S. intensified deportation, including that of Mexican and Salvadorian migrants with some having served in the U.S. military. Despite weak social connections and explicit/structural barriers in Mexico, many deportees make the decision to stay in Mexico. The focus of this thesis is male deportees belonging to the “1.5 generation,” aged late 20’s-early 60’s, who, after spending their childhood and adulthood in the U.S., have undergone deportation and are faced with social and economic reintegration in the northern border area of Baja California, Mexico. Through 15 in-depth semi-structured interviews, I explore transnational identity negotiations that impact …


Life Being An International Student In The United States: Acculturation, Culture Shock, And Identity Transformation, Lai Yan Vivyan Lam Dec 2017

Life Being An International Student In The United States: Acculturation, Culture Shock, And Identity Transformation, Lai Yan Vivyan Lam

Master's Theses

The population of international students at community colleges in the United States has increased significantly over the past decade. International students play a big role in building the cultural diversity on campus by bringing over different cultures and sharing their global perspective to the local community. However, they often face challenges adapting into American culture due to cultural differences in education system, language, lifestyle, etc. By looking into the acculturation process of international students to analyze the culture shock and cultural identity changes they experienced, this paper intends to seek ways to help this group of students to ease their …


Exploring Employment Equity: Diversity & Inclusion In Canada’S Legislation & Policy, Vanessa Toussaint Miller Dec 2017

Exploring Employment Equity: Diversity & Inclusion In Canada’S Legislation & Policy, Vanessa Toussaint Miller

Master's Theses

Multiculturalism is considered very much a part of Canada’s national heritage and identity, becoming the first nation to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy in 1971. Over the last 40 years, the Canadian population has undergone significant changes bringing in immigrants with different cultures, ideologies, religions and ways of life. Despite the various changes in society, the multiculturalism policies have remained the same. This thesis examines Canada’s Employment Equity-a policy intended to eliminate systemic discrimination in the workplace-and its effectivity at creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. The main research question is, in the past five years, has Employment Equity …


The Chinese Cultural Influence On Filipino Cuisine, Brandon Chase Lantrip Dec 2017

The Chinese Cultural Influence On Filipino Cuisine, Brandon Chase Lantrip

Master's Theses

This paper illustrates the impact of the Chinese cultural influence upon the Philippines with the primary focus being on Filipino cuisine. It examines how the Chinese cultural influence not only contributed to the development of Filipino cuisine, but how Chinese culture has also influenced the everyday life and culture of the Philippines through language and customary practices for over a millennium. The first section of the paper analyzes the cultural connection between China and the Philippines. The second section illustrates the Chinese language influence and it’s effect upon Filipino cuisine and culture. The third section explores the contested origins of …


The Intersection Of Culture And Activism In The Filipino Community In Soma, Ericka J. Martynovych May 2017

The Intersection Of Culture And Activism In The Filipino Community In Soma, Ericka J. Martynovych

Master's Theses

My research analyzes the intersection between culture and activism, through oral histories with participants and organizers of SoMa Pilipinas, the Filipino cultural heritage district in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco. I analyzed the impact of the establishment of the Filipino cultural heritage district on the Filipino community in the South of Market neighborhood. I examined what motivates members of this community to be politically active by organizing and attending protests and rallies, speaking at Planning Commission hearings at City Hall, attending planning meetings for SoMa Pilipinas, building relationships across organizations and fields, and providing resources for community …


"Do Not Fashion The Other": Representing Contemporary Haudenosaunee Literature 2016, Michael Patrick Brewster May 2016

"Do Not Fashion The Other": Representing Contemporary Haudenosaunee Literature 2016, Michael Patrick Brewster

Master's Theses

Historically, the issue of representation in postcolonial studies is one of some contention. While scholarship might recognize the necessity for highlighting the plights and struggles attendant to postcolonial societies, the primary literature being studied is most often written by natives of those societies themselves. This gap is especially evident with Indigenous cultures, because there are relatively few Indigenous scholars working in the academy. We are at the point now when we have a multiplicity (but not a plurality) of Indigenous voices writing literature (poetry, memoir, fiction, film, etc.) and academic criticism. However, there is value in non-Natives reading and writing …


"100 Years Later, It Is Still So Powerful": Navigating The Effects Of The Armenian Genocide And Its Trauma On Armenian American Youth, Lara S. Kleine May 2015

"100 Years Later, It Is Still So Powerful": Navigating The Effects Of The Armenian Genocide And Its Trauma On Armenian American Youth, Lara S. Kleine

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the effects of the Armenian Genocide on five Armenian American university students ages 18 to 29 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The impact of this event from 100 years ago is passed down generationally and still affects the current descendants of its survivors. Since this genocide is still denied by Turkey, its perpetrators, and by the United States, the impact on Armenians has increased as each generation fights for official recognition.

By conducting semi-structured qualitative interviews, the participants revealed its impact on their identity. This thesis was grounded in intergenerational trauma transmission theory and collective memory …


Gender And Self-Representation In Maya Angelou's Autobiography I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings 2014, Jay-Nel Steitz May 2014

Gender And Self-Representation In Maya Angelou's Autobiography I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings 2014, Jay-Nel Steitz

Master's Theses

A voice that has been silenced for so long has much to say. Whether still confined or set free, the statement applies equally to both. The silenced voice wants not only to tell his or her story, but to share the life experiences which in turn reveal the identities of these individuals. These silenced voices then are not those of the oppressors, but the oppressed; and when an oppressor wants to share his or her story, the oppressed wants to tell their side of it as well. How can those labeled the marginalized outcasts of society express their feelings and …


The Plight Of Kenyan Domestic Workers In Gulf Countries, Caroline Muthoni Gikuru Dec 2013

The Plight Of Kenyan Domestic Workers In Gulf Countries, Caroline Muthoni Gikuru

Master's Theses

Kenya’s economy remains the regional leader within the East African Community (EAC) and among East African countries at large. However, political instability such as the 2007 post-election violence and the region’s social and political instability trickling into Kenya, have negatively affected the country’s economic growth. To bridge the economic gap, Kenyan women are seeking employment in the domestic service sector in the Gulf Countries, with Saudi Arabia being the most popular destination. At their destination countries, some domestic workers are subjected to various forms of abuse by their employers, leaving the worker without recourse due to the lack of legal …