Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Contention Within The Family: Environmental Justice And Religion In Indonesia, Husnul Khitam

Masters Theses

The religious dimensions concerning environmental justice have been neglected in scholarly conversation despite the fact that religious organizations were initially part of environmental justice activism and movements. To fill this gap, scholars have begun to scrutinize the role of religious institutions in relation to various environmental harms that disproportionately affect marginalized people and people of color. Pellow and Guo (2017) have identified three main ways in which religion shapes environmental justice. First, religion is used to legitimize environmental injustices. Second, religion can be used as a means of resisting environmental injustices. Third, environmental injustices can negatively impact religious or spiritual …

Worldbuilding: A Theory Of Resilience In Transgender And Gender Expansive Young People, Jennifer Debower

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Transgender and gender expansive (TGE) young people have long histories of surviving, resisting, and even thriving despite hostility. However, dominant narratives rarely explore their stories of agency and resilience. This research aims to address that gap by asking: Where are the stories of TGE youth's strength, creativity, and resistance? What lessons lie within them? Using a critical, constructivist grounded theory approach, this study examines how 16 TGE young people navigate and challenge transphobia’s precarious conditions. Results suggest that because the current realities do not make space for their existence, TGE young people find strength in creative practices (fashion, hair, body …

Aesthetic Attunement To Client Resistance: The Art Therapist's Hand, Bella Silva

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The topic of client resistance in therapy has garnered significant attention over time across various theoretical orientations. However, within art therapy, there remains a notable gap in the comprehensive consideration of client resistance and the effectiveness of art therapy interventions in addressing this phenomenon. This capstone thesis aims to identify that gap by conducting a brief literature review concerning (a) the multifaceted underpinnings of client resistance, (b) the psychological functions of client resistance in therapy, and (c) competencies specific to art therapy training that are beneficial in addressing client resistance. The following review uses information from the existing literature to …

Expressive Therapies And Resiliency – Resistance In Mental Health: A Literature Review, Gabrielle Lopez

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This review evaluates the current literature on psychological resistance amongst human service professionals experiencing burnout and the effect of Expressive Arts interventions on resiliency. Concepts include identifying the main symptoms, risk factors, causes, and treatments for burnout in education faculty, medical staff, and clinicians. Qualitative, quantitative, and meta-analysis studies are included to identify the most prevalent intervention frameworks for reducing stress including Arts-Based and Mindfulness-compassion based techniques. The effectiveness of Arts-based tools on strengthening identity, self-esteem, emotional regulation, and meaning-making in combating burnout is presented. Based on analysis of the literature, the author proposes a three-step intervention framework for utilizing …

The Struggle For Work-Life Balance: Quiet Quitting As A Hyper-Individualized Tool Of Neoliberal Resistance, Hanna Cashion

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a critical/cultural analysis of the quiet quitting trend which took social media by storm in 2022. Quiet quitting became a popular contemporary method to resisting three hurdles of the American workforce: economic turbulence, overwhelming labor standards, and decreasing mental wellness – in hopes of achieving more work-life balance. The analysis applies Marxist theory to contemporary neoliberalism through three case studies of individuals who share their quiet quitting experience. The first chapter covers the case of a K-12 educator who prompts the analysis of out-of-pocket classroom expenses, teacher unions, and the implications for collective action in neoliberal times. …

Staying Power: The Struggle For Space And Place In Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Erin E. Lilli

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation looks at how gentrification touches down, at the neighborhood and individual scale, in Crown Heights and reproduces experiences of racial inequality in home and place. Taking an historical materialist approach and drawing on residential oral histories, this study frames these reproductions of racial inequality as always-in-tension with ongoing acts of resistance from Black homeowners, renters, and long-term residents. Specifically, the research explores the conditions under which Black residents of a predominantly Afro-Caribbean neighborhood acquire and maintain—and in some cases lose—their housing and sense of place and belonging. These residents resist the varied tactics of anti-Blackness such as landlord …

Understanding Needs: Facilitating Faculty Support For Formal Assessment Processes In Higher Education, Terrance Cao

Theses and Dissertations

Prior literature discusses how conflicting beliefs regarding assessment, competing workloads, and a lack of formal assessment resources may contribute to faculty reluctance to engage with formal assessment processes. There is a gap in research on exploring assessment leader-faculty relationships through the lens of Leader-Member Exchange Theory and how that may affect participation in formal assessment processes. To address this gap, the researcher implemented a qualitative, phenomenological study to interview faculty about their lived experiences in working with formal assessment processes and interacting with assessment leaders. The goal was to discover emerging thematic categories regarding faculty perceptions of formal assessment processes …

Exploring The Realities Of Queer/Trans, Black, Indigenous, And/Or People Of Color Students At Humboldt State University, Kat Hồng Nguyễn

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In this thesis, I use participant interviews with 12 queer student activists at Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humboldt) and participant observation from 2019-2021 to provide a qualitative analysis of Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (QTBIPOC) student knowledge. While student activism is not a primary site of analysis in this paper, all of the participants of this study identify as student activists which has implications on their overall experience. Participants in this study note the institutional efforts to disrupt institutional memory between student leaders and activists. This study was specifically designed to combat this issue by …

Analyzing Sex Differences In Human Performance Through 3d Isotonic Resistance, Jacob M. Cunha

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Appraisal of scientific literature and understanding continues to grow in the domain of human performance. The effects of sex on concentric resistance training and power output are not well understood. Recent advancements in technology permit more precise measurements of force output and the kinematic changes elicited by training stress. A unique device in capturing kinematic performance output is Proteus Motion. The machine produces an external magnetic load through a protruding apparatus connected to a gyrosphere, which in turn captures concentric movement through all three planes of movement (sagittal, coronal, transversal). The aim of this study is to investigate power output …

No Injustice So Peace: The Interaction Between Race-Related Stress, Colorblind Racial Attitudes, And Resistance And Empowerment Against Racism, Kaela A. Yamini

Graduate Masters Theses

Past research has indicated that Black people are subjected to overt and covert forms of racism that can have a range of effects on emotional and psychological wellbeing. The current study sought to explore the how race-related stress and colorblind racial ideology impact Black people’s engagement in resistance and empowerment against racism. I hypothesized that higher endorsement of colorblind racial ideology would be associated with lower engagement in resistance and empowerment against racism. Additionally, I hypothesized that moderate levels of race-related stress would be associated with higher endorsement of resistance and empowerment against racism while low and high levels of …

The Impact Of Historical Trauma, Self-Compassion, And Resistance Against Racism Among African Americans, Darrick Scott

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

For African Americans, historical trauma is described as collective psychological, emotional and cognitive distress, producing an intergenerational impact through repeated experiences of oppression that both stems from slavery and continues into the present day through patterned experiences of racism (Williams-Washington & Mills, 2018). The current study explored the association between historical racial trauma, resistance and empowerment against racism, self-compassion, and internalized racism, and symptoms of depression in a sample of 100 African American adults. Due to low internal reliability of the measure, self-compassion in the context of historical trauma could not be examined. The study included exploration of simple correlations, …

Something Wicked: Witches And Rhetorics Of Resistance, K. Scarlett Harrington

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project joins other academic conversations regarding the dynamics of power, modernity, witchcraft, and magic within the contexts of Western hegemony. Occasioned by kairotic cultural events and the reinforcement of ideologies like those found in the Dobbs decision, QAnon conspiracy, and rise of Christian Nationalism, this project contends that evaluating the potential political power residing in witchery is necessary in understanding some of the nuances of hegemonic control and resistance to oppressive authority. Predominantly following rhetorical evaluations of magic found in the works of Gunn and Covino, I maintain a non-universal methodological practice that works to understand the various instrumentality …

Resistencia Indocumentada: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Higher Education Undocumented Students In The San Diego-Tijuana Border Region, Adan Escobedo Sanchez

Dissertations

Undocumented students face myriad obstacles while attending higher education institutions that would deter them from completing their academic journeys. Furthermore, they are placed with a dual narrative that labels them as either dangerous or exceptional. This study explored the lived experiences of undocumented students in college in the San Diego-Tijuana border region to consider what factors have led to resilience and resistance in their academic journey. By understanding these factors, the research aimed to tackle the dual narrative that burdens undocumented students from the illegality as a master status they possess.

This study used narrative inquiry and a literature review …

"I'M Fat As Fuck:" Fat Black Women's Self-Perception And Modes Of Resistance, Savannah Henderson

Senior Honors Papers / Undergraduate Theses

While many past scholars have positioned Black women as not having significant body image anxieties, Black women’s experiences with racism, sexism, and fatphobia is deeply rooted in historical narratives of the “acceptable body.” As a result, body image anxieties are prominent among Black women of size. My project investigates the historical and contemporary positioning of self-defined fat Black women and thoroughly interrogates the assumption that they do not have significant body image anxieties. Through the employment of 14 interviews, my project explores how fat Black women perceive their bodies and navigate the world. Additionally, using Lizzo’s media presence as a …

A Hollow Victory And Unending Problem: The Undying Anti-Russian Insurgency In Ukraine, Abraham Ashley

MSU Graduate Theses

This thesis uses quantitative and qualitative research methods to: (1) explore the base causes of insurgency in Ukraine, (2) examine the historical basis for Ukrainian insurgency, (3) provide historical examples of successful and unsuccessful insurgencies to contrast against Ukraine, and (4) provide recommendations for NATO and Ukrainian policy. Collectively, this project demonstrates that current Russian counterinsurgency tactics will not be successful without significant adjustment. This Ukrainian insurgency may also derail the possibility of peace in the region.

Caribbean Reef-Building Coral-Symbiodiniaceae Network: Identifying Symbioses Critical For System Stability In A Changing Climate, Shaman Patel

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Increasing global ocean temperatures and frequency of marine heatwaves pose dire consequences for coral reefs. High temperatures often lead to disruptions in coral symbiosis resulting in coral bleaching, increasing the mortality of corals. However, corals can potentially avoid bleaching peril by associating with thermally tolerant symbionts. Here we provide a tool for understanding symbiosis network stability of Caribbean reef-building corals. We created a network of Caribbean hermatypic corals and their associated Symbiodiniaceae phylotypes. A bleaching model was applied to this network to test for resilience and robustness (R50) to thermal stress. It was also layered with trait data for coral …

Cracking The Shell Of White Fragility: Priming Employees For Anti-Oppressive/Anti-Racist Learning, Martha Jansenberger

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Despite the adoption of AO/AR practice frameworks by most human service organizations, consistently integrating the practical elements of AR work into professional interactions continues to challenge many organizations (deFinney, 2011; Saraceno, 2012). This OiP considers the barriers to AO/AR praxis for staff in a crisis shelter, drawing from relevant leadership theory, CRT, change management research, and education research to develop a comprehensive plan aimed at building capacity among employees. With a focus on diminishing the impulse to deny or refute the impacts of systems of oppression on racialized and equity seeking groups, this project uses Kolb and Frohman’s model for …

Film Women Violence, Madison R. Ross

Masters Theses

As a condensed version of social reality, film has become a more common object of modern sociological and criminological investigation. As such, we can explore film to understand taken-for-granted as well as innovative constructions of social phenomena. Among these are gendered violence. We can use film to dig deep into its logics, elaborated in visual and narrative representations. Prior literature has analyzed crime films and the behavioral constructions within them, outlining the representations of serial homicide, rape, mass shootings and revenge. However, few studies have outlined films that do meaningful, non-voyeuristic representational work on the issue of violence against …

Cycles Of Domination And Resistance: A Performance Autoethnography Of A Black Woman At A Pwi, Savannah Brown

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis is a performance autoethnography that examines and unpacks my experiences as a Black woman who attends a predominantly white institution. Through narratives, letters, and photos, I reveal and analyze the ways in which I navigate both systems of domination and resistance between my interactions with spaces, people, discourses, and objects. As I use Critical Race Theory, intersectionality, and performance studies as my theoretical underpinnings, I can understand how my Black, female body is situated and contested within the institution that I refer to as Everywhere University. While this project shows my experiences with concepts such as racism, whiteness, …

Adapting To Environmental Crises: Humans’ Resilience To Humanity, Isabella Volonte

Student Theses 2015-Present

This thesis addresses the modern adaptations of human societies in response to environmental crises during the times of Covid-19 and climate change. As humans continue to inflict destruction on the planet and each other, we must understand human adaptation as a response to human action and treat this action as one equal to the forces of nature. Chapter 1 discusses the concept that human action has evolved to be as powerful as nature in terms of destruction and catastrophic consequences on human society. This chapter addresses relevant data on the magnitude of human consequences, in the context of Covid-19 and …

Adapting To Environmental Crises: Humans’ Resilience To Humanity, Isabella Volonte

Student Theses 2015-Present

This thesis addresses the modern adaptations of human societies in response to environmental crises during the times of Covid-19 and climate change. As humans continue to inflict destruction on the planet and each other, we must understand human adaptation as a response to human action and treat this action as one equal to the forces of nature. Chapter 1 discusses the concept that human action has evolved to be as powerful as nature in terms of destruction and catastrophic consequences on human society. This chapter addresses relevant data on the magnitude of human consequences, in the context of Covid-19 and …

Researcher-Participant Privilege: Confidentiality And Qualitative Criminology, Eric Michael

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Research institutions have the responsibility to comply with laws that govern the oversight of all research including research with human subjects. Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) review research protocols and approve research based on the rights and safety of research subjects. When conducting qualitative criminological research, researchers must weigh ethical considerations around their methods. These methodological considerations are coupled with guiding ethical principles that are fundamental to human subject research. One major consideration regards breaking confidentiality which can bring about great risk to participants. The following thesis focuses on the ethics of researcher-participant privilege and issues that qualitative researchers have in …

Uplifting Voices: Implementing A Heritage-Based Civil Rights Program In The United States Forest Service, Amanda Jo Campbell Crawford

Masters Theses

The United States Forest Service holds in public trust hundreds upon thousands of historically significant sites. For decades, the management of these special places has focused on basic site identification and protection to meet legal compliance measures for Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Standard practices within the agency led to cultural sites being identified on the ground in a cursory fashion, but with little research or follow up into the history of the site of the people that had created and occupied it. Sites reflecting the identity, history, or material culture of People of Color were especially …

Exploring Resistance Movements In Interstate Conflict And Integrated Deterrence, Michael G. Harris

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Despite an increase in interstate conflict, including manipulation of information and civil populations by state actors in gray zone campaigns, the study of resistance has concentrated on intrastate conflict. A detailed literature review of resistance was conducted, revealing researchable gaps in understanding of the topic, including: the resistance movements from a security studies and interstate conflict perspective, the resistance as a form of interstate conflict from the perspective of Russian and Chinese security leaders, and the integrated deterrence options in gray zone campaigns as a strategy of international conflict prevention.

Two complementary studies were conducted to explore the identified areas. …

Exploring Climate, Wellbeing, Resilience, And Resistance In 2slgbtq+ Leisure Spaces: A Mixed Methods Study To Advance Inclusion, Tin Vo

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Participating in queer sports groups, rainbow choirs, trans virtual discussion groups and other Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexually and gender diverse (2SLGBTQ+) leisure activities can offer participants safety from societal heterosexism and cisgenderism and opportunities for community connection and peer support, as well as foster their overall wellbeing. Yet, transgender/gender nonconforming (TGNC), racialized, and/or disabled individuals, and those with other diverse identities are often marginalized in these spaces. Though researchers have studied exclusion within 2SLGBTQ+ leisure spaces, relatively little is known about how the climate of these spaces shapes social and mental health outcomes. Connected to …

Gendered Negotiation Of Space- A Study On Gender And Mobility Among Transgender Persons In Pakistan, Sana Illahe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Canceling Vs. #Cancel Culture: An Analysis On The Surveillance And Discipline Of Social Media Behavior Through Competing Discourses Of Power, Julia G. Bezio

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Canceling and #cancelculture have become the topic of many debates over free speech and accountability for oppressive behaviors in social media discourse. This thesis examines Twitter discourse from two recent racism-based cancel cases. Using Foss and Gill’s (1987) adapted epistemic rhetoric framework and emphasizing elements of Foucauldian surveillance and discipline in the discourse, I conduct a comparative qualitative examination of Gina Rodriguez’s and Chris Harrison’s cancel discourse. I contend that in the cancel process, Twitter users engage in surveillance to discipline one another on multiple levels: first, as cancelers use the practice to discipline oppressive behaviors on social media, and …

A Critical Approach To Resilience And The Need For Community: Anti-Oppressive Music Therapy At A Homeless Shelter During Covid-19, Corrine Mina

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected death and infection rates of racial and ethnic minorities, the elderly, immigrants and refugees, and those experiencing poverty, amplifying the racial, socio-economic, and systemic inequalities that already existed in the United States of America. People experiencing homelessness often do not have the privilege to shelter-in-place or work from home; the same goes for essential workers who must work in-person to provide social services. This community engagement project challenges the notion of individual resilience through the lens of critical race theory and a systems approach to oppression observed in an emergency homeless shelter serving …

A Genetic Investigation Of Anticoagulant Rodenticide Resistance In Mus Musculus Of Western Australia: Implications For Conservation And Biosecurity, Bridget Judith Maria Lucrezia Duncan

Theses : Honours

Human-wildlife interactions have developed since the agricultural revolution that occurred 10,000 years ago, and the expansion of commensal species’ geographical distribution led to conflicts that prompted humans to adopt a wide range of control methods for pest species (Horvitz, Wang, Wan, & Nathan, 2017; Riyahi et al., 2013; Saraswat, Sinha, & Radhakrishna, 2015). The order Rodentia is characterised by a high number of successful invaders, which humans have attempted to manage with the use of anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) since the 1940s (Capizzi, Bertolino, & Mortelliti, 2014; Ruiz-Suárez et al., 2014). The rise and spread of a genetic mutation that infers …

Localizing Resistance: How Southern Women Locate Sexual And Bodily Autonomy And Strategically Resist The Institutions Aiming To Shape Them, Gillian Raley

Honors Projects

This paper analyzes the methods of resistance enacted by women-identifying people in Mississippi against the institutions seeking to police how they understand their own sexuality and bodily autonomy. This analysis draws upon a series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted in the summer of 2020 focused on construction of community, intersectional identity, relationship with the body, and what inputs frame how women in Mississippi understand sex. This project puts these interviews in conversation with literature from a variety of subfields, including resistance studies, the Sociology of the South, and the Sociology of sexuality, all of which help bring the argument behind …