Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Intercultural Accommodation: Accommodating Communication To People Of Different Groups, Marcus M. Gruwell

Theses and Dissertations

The current study attempts to address the widening division of race and communication due to a large continuation of demographics in Western countries like the United States. Using Communication Accommodation Theory and studies from Postcolonialism to the study, the researcher hopes to develop a more concrete understanding as to why people will change their speaking behaviors when encountering different groups. Concepts of the behavior of Postcolonial mentality and changes in speaking behaviors will better create a more social construct as to why people act in certain ways towards different people

Harriet Jacobs And Toni Morrison: A Tradition Of Narrative Resistance, Allyson L. Molloy

Theses and Dissertations

This article considers historical constructions of power and the narrative as a mode of resistance. Working in different centuries, under extremely disparate circumstances, Harriet Jacobs in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Toni Morrison in her novel The Bluest Eye, utilize specific narrative strategies to challenge and question institutionalized power which is evidenced through their deliberate employment of narrative strategies not only to challenge the institution of slavery or the hegemonic ideal, but also to question the racial and gender oppression systemic to those institutions of power.

The Racial Politics Of Secularity: Rethinking African-American Religiosity Through New Paradigms In Secularization Theory, Diana Christine Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Revisions to secularization theory over the past two decades call for reconceptualization of the relation between race and secularity. Structural theories— depicting secularization as the linear, straightforward decline of religion in modernity— commonly explain the tenacity of African-American religiosity as resulting from their marginalization in modern society, a product of educational and economic disparities. However, recent theories address the secular as a historically contingent, incidental phenomenon, what has been called an "accomplishment"; it merits substantive study in itself, carrying the distinct values, beliefs, and understandings of a particular social history. This new framework invites analysis of the racial assumptions embodied …

Examining The Processes Of Social Construction On Decision-Making In Domestic Violence Probation Review Hearings, Danielle M. Romain

Theses and Dissertations

In domestic violence courts, judges and other court actors are often trained on one particular model of understanding domestic violence: the Duluth model of violence as power and control. There are, however, different theories and discourses about the causes and nature of domestic violence. Further, specialized domestic violence courts, which have become more prevalent since the 1990s, employ a problem-solving approach to domestic violence, focusing on offender accountability, rehabilitation, and victim safety. Whether these courts reduce violence and increase safety is less clear. Further, limited research exists on how offenders are processed through these courts, including post-sentencing decision-making. Given the …

Mythology Of The Angry Black Man: An Analysis Of Cornelius Eady’S Brutal Imagination As A Rhetorical Counter-Narrative, Junior Ocasio

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how Cornelius Eady’s book of poetry, Brutal Imagination, rhetorically serves as a counter-narrative to the fictional construction of Black characters blamed for committing crimes. Brutal Imagination gives voice to Mr. Zero, Eady’s name for the fictional character Susan Smith created in 1994, whom Smith blamed for kidnapping her children. Thus, by using a counter-narrative lens, this thesis analyzes how fictional creations can alter the socially constructed identity of the “angry” Black man.

Racial And Ethnic Differences In Receipt Of Immediate Breast Reconstruction Surgery: Do Hospital Characteristics Matter?, Jaya Shankar Khushalani

Theses and Dissertations

Immediate Breast Reconstruction Surgery (IBRS) is associated with better quality of life among women who undergo a mastectomy. Despite insurance coverage for IBRS, utilization of IBRS remains low. Data from publicly available sources for 2010-2012 are used to examine the association between hospital characteristics receipt of IBRS by patients. Minority-serving status, low bed size, for-profit ownership, non-teaching status, high competition, low density of plastic surgeons in the market and non-metropolitan location are associated with lower likelihood of receipt of IBRS.

Racial and ethnic minorities are less likely to receive IBRS. A mixed effects logistic regression model with interactions between Black/Hispanic …