Digital Commons Network^™

Raising Roma Voices: An Insider Examination Of American Roma Realities, Resistance, And Revaluation, Sabrina Marks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A vast scholarship has been dedicated to examining the discrimination racial and ethnic minorities endure in the United States. Research has also shown racial and ethnic minorities work to resist discrimination via various social processes. One ethnic minority group absent from the literature is the American Roma, more commonly known as Gypsies. Therefore, this study aimed to gain insights into the situation of the American Roma, including the discrimination they endure and the resistance tactics they employ. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 native-born American Roma adults during the course of this insider study. Participants reported experiencing discrimination in …

Acoustic Ecology And Sound Mapping The University Of Central Florida Main Campus, Robert Clarke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"Acoustic Ecology and Sound Mapping the University of Central Florida Main Campus" explores the intersection of place and space, sound studies and acoustic ecology, visualization, and archives. The end result consists of a collection of "soundwalk" and stationary recordings conducted from 2016-2019 at the University of Central Florida (UCF) main campus in Orlando presented as an online Sound Map. This archive previously did not exist and provides a snapshot of the various sounds heard throughout the campus as well as a starting point and context for future research into this still-emerging field of acoustic ecology and sound studies. While the …

Students Reception Of Ethnic Diversity Topics From White And Non-White Faculty, Cobi Christiansen

Masters Theses

The purpose of the study is to investigate the phenomenon of the student population being more ethnically diverse than the teacher population as well as examining student perceptions of ethnic diversity topics based on their perceptions of faculty ethnicity. A quantitative using a survey method was designed to investigate students' reception of ethnic diversity topics from White and Non-white faculty. From three different institutions in Central Illinois, 141 undergraduate education students, which included students who are majoring in early childhood, elementary, or secondary education as well as students who are receiving teaching certificates with their majors, participated in this study. …

Exploring Social Worker Knowledge, Conceptualization, And Use Of Cultural Humility In Hospice, Shelby L. Schiller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This capstone project examined social workers’ knowledge, values, and beliefs as related to the concept of cultural humility to determine how hospice care professionals treat patients’ cultural preferences and traditions with respect and sensitivity at the end of life; as such practices have the ability to improve the hospice experience. Research questions addressed in the study (a) how social workers in Nevada define cultural humility in the context of hospice social work practice, (b) the values or principles hospice social workers in Nevada consider most important in providing culturally appropriate care to hospice patients, and (c) the ways hospice social …

Narcocultura As Cultural Capital For Latinx Youth Identity Work: An Online Ethnography, Emiliano Villarreal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Why would young Latinxs want to be, talk, look, and act like narcos? This work analyzes the ways in which narcocultura has become an important source of cultural capital for many Latinxs. Narcocultura is the assemblage of music, video, television, and other forms of cultural production that feature figures of transnational narcotrafficking as central protagonists of their narratives. Based on a yearlong online ethnography, I examine the ways in which Latinx Facebook users appropriate and recontextualize narcocultura in their identity work through the lenses of LatCrit theory, critical discourse analysis, and personal lived experiences, which provided the departing point for …

Polyamorous Millenials In Therapy: Interpreting Experiences To Inform Care, Rebecca Calhoun-Shepard

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Polyamory (poly) refers to a way of loving involving multiple concurrent romantic relationships. It has been suggested that consensual non-monogamies are becoming increasingly visible, particularly in the millennial generation. This warrants exploration of cultural considerations and the unique needs of this population to inform care and minimize potential for harm. The present study used interpretative analysis to explore the phenomenon of polyamorous millennials in therapy as described across semi-structured interviews with therapists and poly clients. Three primary themes emerged from aggregate data, including Idiographic Experiences in Therapy, Therapy with Polyamorous Millennials, and information about Polyamory and Millennials beyond a therapy …

"Because I'M A Citizen:" The Experiences Of Transfronterizo College Students In Higher Education Along The U.S.-Mexico Border., Juan Jose Mendoza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Transfronterizo college students are students who reside in México while attending college or university in the United States. This study will be expanding the transnational literature in two ways. First, this study addresses how citizenships status impacts transnational college students. In particular, the study explores how citizenship status affects the everyday lived experiences of transfronterizo college students along the U.S.-México border. The focus of my research is to investigate how citizenship status affects transfronterizo college students’ decisions to enroll in college in the U.S. while living along the U.S.-México border. The current study draws on data collected from November 2016 …

The Representation And Shaping Of The Hispanic Identity And The Assignment Of Power In Three Types Of Hsi-Related Discourse: Hea Amendments, Utep President Diana Natalicio Convocation Speeches, Academic Articles, Julie Ann Rivera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation examines the impact of Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) related written discourse on the representation and shaping of the Hispanic identity and the assignment of power. Performing a critical discourse analysis of three types of written HSI-related discourse: amendments to the Higher Education Act (HEA), academic articles, and UTEP President Diana Natalicio convocation speeches, I look below the surface of the discourse to draw out implications for Hispanic students and HSIs. My analysis merges Norman Fairclough's method of Critical Discourse Analysis, known for its focus on the relationship between language and society, with Lloyd Bitzer's The Rhetorical Situation, which will …

Possibilities For Trans-Affirming Policy Potential: A Case Study Of A Canadian Catholic School, Lindsay Herriot, Tonya D. Callaghan

Journal of Catholic Education

Background: Mainstream media is increasingly reporting on the relationships between Catholic and trans identities in parochial schools, particularly with regard to gendered washroom use. With greater numbers of trans youth coming out at younger ages, significant educational policy changes are being considered around how Catholic schools can or should include trans youth. Method: This study applies trans and queer theologies to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) in investigating the Wilson case, which was the first known instance of a Catholic school including some affirming policy provisions for trans youth. The authors additionally collected and coded 12 news articles from a variety …

The Green Web: Evaluating Online News Communities And Their Environmentalism, Stian Himberg Roussell

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In the past news and media were disseminated through channels that were difficult for consumers to communicate with. Now a new form of news dissemination is taking place on the internet where communication between consumers and producers exists. Crowdsourced social media sites, where users elect and vote on articles and comments to represent a topic, are creating new forms of news dissemination, which heavily alters media content, and community discussions. This study was conducted in order to better understand how crowdsourced social media platforms affect users’ perception of environmental topics, issues, and problems. It focuses on the crowdsourced social media …

Anecdotes, Experience, And ‘Learning By Osmosis’: The Role Of Professional Cultures In Preparing Teachers For Parent-School Engagement, Sue Saltmarsh, Amy K. Mcpherson, Sayan Chakrabarty, Stephen Winn, David Saltmarsh

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Initial teacher education and experiences of the professional cultures of teaching contribute to teachers’ understandings about how to engage with parents. Drawing on qualitative research data, and informed by Michel de Certeau’s theory of culture and everyday life, this paper explores how everyday beliefs and professional practices that shape relationships between teachers and parents can remain relatively stable despite changing expectations of policy-makers and communities. The paper argues that equipping pre-service, beginning and experienced teachers and school leaders with research-based understandings about these cultural dynamics is crucial to informing professional practices that support meaningful and effective parent-school engagement.

Gender And Age Of Migration Differences In Mortality Among Older Mexican Americans, Adriana M. Reyes, Marc A. Garcia

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objectives: Using a gendered life course perspective, we examine whether the relationship between age of migration and mortality is moderated by gender among a cohort of older Mexican-Americans.

Methods: Data from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiological Study of the Elderly and recently matched mortality data are used to estimate Cox proportional hazard models.

Results: Our findings indicate the relationship between age of migration and mortality is moderated by gender suggesting a more nuanced perspective of the immigrant mortality paradox. Among men, midlife migrants exhibit an 18 percent lower risk of mortality compared to their U.S.-born …

Visions Of The Future In Budgetary Discourse, Ewan Macdonald, Brendan O'Rourke, John Hogan

Conference papers

Whilst there is ample precedent to argue against the common-sense notion that the ideological leanings of political parties are congruent with their implementation of fiscal policy (Boix, 2000; Garrett & Lange, 1991; Hibbs, 1977; Liargovas & Manolas, 2007), there is a relative dearth of research on the role of discourse in shaping fiscal policy with one notable exception by Maatsch (2014). With this in mind, we approach the issue of examining fiscal policy through a fixed, contested and subverted within particular texts” (Howarth, 2005, p. 341). This paper examines how the future is constructed in Irish budget speeches delivered between …

On "Icky" Data, The Political Classroom, And Towards Equity And Social Justice In Mathematics Education: A Conversation With Tonya Bartell, Samuel L. Tunstall, Oyemolade Osibodu, Tonya Gau Bartell

Numeracy

Tonya G. Bartell, ed. 2018. Towards Equity and Social Justice in Mathematics Education (Switzerland: Springer International Publishing) 341 pp. ISBN 978-3319929064.

This brief interview with Tonya Bartell introduces Towards Equity and Social Justice in Mathematics Education to the Numeracy audience. The interviewers also discuss with Tonya connections between quantitative literacy and mathematics for social justice, particularly in the context of US K-12 schooling. Tonya shares her perspective on topics ranging from the placement of quantitative literacy in K-12 mathematics education and how one might get started in incorporating a social justice lens into their teaching to paradigms for research …

Bridging The Gap: Utilizing Socratic Inquiry Facilitation In Cross-Cultural Communication And Conflict Exploration, Mikaela G. Zimmerman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objective of this research is to explore the possibilities for improving governmental relations (local, national, and international) using microcosms of cross-cultural dialogues facilitated with Socratic Inquiry methodology and their potential to project situational similarities into more formal political conversation. Using twenty-five recorded dialogues from The Pennsylvania State University’s Center for Public Diplomacy (World in Conversation), I have broadly observed the role of Socratic Inquiry facilitation in cross-cultural dialogues whose content varies across a span of contentious social topics. By generally accounting for a range of relevant social factors such as gender, body language, conversational tools, and proxies for empathy, …

Understanding Tourism Within A Social-Ecological System: Ometepe Island, Nicaragua, Chelsea Leigh Leven

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Tourism endures as a major component of development strategies worldwide, despite a dearth of documented successes. Tourism failures arise in part from simplistic and reductionist approaches to sustainability and tourism. Successfully implementing tourism to support sustainable futures requires, at a minimum, a more holistic and complex conceptualization than tourism currently receives, including recognition of how human values shape a system. To achieve a more complex understanding of tourism, I analyzed tourism through a social-ecological system (SES) perspective using the paradigm of resilience thinking. Through a case study in Ometepe, Nicaragua, my research considered opportunities for tourism contributions to sustainable futures …

Using Google And Twitter To Measure, Validate And Understand Views About Religion Across Africa, Amy Adamczyk, Gary Lafree, Maria Barrera-Vilert

Publications and Research

Researchers typically use social surveys or censuses to examine attitudes and behaviors across nations. While useful for understanding cross-national differences, they are expensive to collect, include only a limited number of issues and countries, and are not very time sensitive. Many countries across the world now have residents who regularly use Twitter and Google, and these internet platforms are increasingly making data on the country-level number of tweets and google searches available for analysis. While there are a lot of challenges with these data, we examine some of the potential benefits. Specifically, our study assesses the extent to which cross-national …

Perceptions Of Vulnerability To Flooding, Hurricanes, And Climate Change On Grand Isle, Louisiana’S Only Inhabited Barrier Island, Lauren Miller

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study used in-depth interviews of permanent residents on Grand Isle, Louisiana, a remote barrier island, to better understand their perceptions of structural flood measures, non-structural responses to flooding and hurricanes, and perceptions of vulnerability to flooding, hurricanes, and climate change on a remote barrier island-Grand Isle, Louisiana. Residents' perceptions regarding the various structural measures implemented by the federal, state, and local government appeared mixed. Non-structural responses to flooding risks implemented at the household, community, state, and federal level continue to strengthen resiliency on Grand Isle. According to interviewees, aspects of environmental, rural, and economic vulnerability on Grand Isle impact …

A Critical Review Of Current Approaches And Practices In Computing Ethics Education, Sophia Farquhar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Recent scandals caused by the results of negligent, malicious, or shortsighted software development practices highlight the need for software developers to consider the ethical implications of their work. Computing ethics has historically been a marginalized area within computing disciplines, so educators in these disciplines do not have a common background for teaching the topic. Computing ethics education, although often a required part of coursework, can vary widely in the method of implementation from university to university.

In this report I summarize the insights I gained from interviewing four educators from three different institutions on their pedagogical approaches to computing ethics. …

In Search Of The ‘Right’ Kind Of Financialization: Politics Of Financial Inclusion In Thailand, Frank Tyler Oneal

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This thesis is a critical observation of the politics of financial inclusion in Thailand from 2001 until the present time. The systemic approach embedded in the Political Economy of Complex Interdependence encourages us to focus on the coevolution of financial innovation and regulation. With data collected through interviews, field observations, and doctrinal analysis, I argue that neoliberal axioms embedded in the first policies to expand financial services evolved to engender the financialization of everyday life under auspices of financial inclusion. Furthermore, how the interdependence of financial development and Thaksin's transformative policies recoupled subjects away from the state, and to the …

Empowerment Of Indigenous Women In Recovery Of Post-Earthquake 2015 In Nepal: A Feminist Perspective, Mintira Premruethairat

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Discrimination against gender and caste can be overwhelming issue to a person or a group who faces it. Similarly, indigenous women of Nepal have been facing impediments in regard to unequal power relations caused by gender, identity, as well as disaster. With the conceptualization of Feminist Political Ecology, this paper analyzes the subjectivities of a feminist perspective that highlights the lives of indigenous women pre-earthquake and their experiences on how they are affected by power relations in political ecology of Nepal. Along with the findings of the indigenous women’s lives and their experiences amid the earthquake 2015 have also been …

วาทกรรม “กัญชา” ในสังคมไทย : กัญชายาเสพติด หรือ กัญชาการแพทย์, อัครพนธ์ เอี้ยวรัตนวดี

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การศึกษานี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาปัจจัยที่ประกอบสร้างภาพแทนของกัญชาในสังคมไทย และเพื่อศึกษาองค์ประกอบความเป็นอาชญากรรมของกัญชา ตลอดจนศึกษาแนวทางการรื้อถอนความเป็นอาชญากรรมของกัญชาในสังคมไทย โดยใช้วิธีการศึกษาเชิงคุณภาพจากการศึกษาเอกสาร (documentary Research) วิเคราะห์วาทกรรม (discourse Analysis) และตรวจสอบข้อมูลโดยการเปรียบเทียบข้อมูลเชิงประจักษ์ ผลการศึกษาพบว่า ความเป็นอาชญากรรมของกัญชามีลักษณะลื่นไหล มีเส้นทางที่ปรับเปลี่ยนไปตามอำนาจทางกฎหมาย (และการลงโทษ) กับกระบวนการผลิตความรู้และความจริงทางวิทยาศาสตร์ ภายใต้การชี้นำของมาตรฐานสังคมโลก สำหรับการประกอบสร้างวาทกรรมกัญชาเป็นยาเสพติดมีเหตุปัจจัยมาจากการเมืองโลกที่ส่งผลต่อการรับรู้ความหมาย (significance) ของกัญชาในสังคมไทย การออกกฎหมายมากำหนดความเป็นอาชญากรรม (criminalized) ให้แก่ “กัญชา” การสร้างความเป็นอื่น (otherness) ให้กับกัญชาโดยศาสนาและวัฒนธรรม การตีตรา (labelling) กัญชาว่าเป็นปัญหาสังคมโดยนโยบายสาธารณะหลายรูปแบบซึ่งมีหลักฐานทางวิทยาศาสตร์มาสร้างความชอบธรรมในกำหนดวาทกรรมดังกล่าว และภาคปฏิบัติการของกลไกต่าง ๆ ในสังคมได้ร่วมกันผลิตซ้ำความหมายทำให้วาทกรรมดังกล่าวคงอยู่เป็นระยะยาวนานในสังคมไทย ส่วนการรื้อถอน “วาทกรรมกัญชาเป็นยาเสพติด” อันเป็นสาเหตุเนื่องมาจากความล้มเหลวของนโยบายยาเสพติด การคำนึงถึงสิทธิและเสรีภาพ โดยมีกระบวนการหาความรู้แบบวิทยาศาสตร์เป็นเครื่องมือในการสร้างความชอบธรรม ภายใต้กระแสการครอบงำทางความคิดขององค์กรระดับนานาชาติที่ชี้ทิศทางใหม่แก่สังคมโลก ในขณะที่วาทกรรมชุดเก่าเริ่มสั่นคลอนและเสื่อมสลายลงก็ได้เกิดมีวาทกรรมชุดใหม่ขึ้นแทนที่คือ “วาทกรรมกัญชาทางการแพทย์” อันประกอบด้วยการรื้อถอนและปรับเปลี่ยนกระบวนทัศน์ใหม่แห่งนโยบายยาเสพติดจากกระแสสังคมโลก การแก้ไขกฎหมายยาเสพติดอนุญาตให้ใช้กัญชาทางการแพทย์ได้ และมีการขับเคลื่อนเร่งรัดจากภาคประชาสังคม โดยมีการสนับสนุนจากภาคการเมืองและวงการวิชาการ

Projection And Determinants Of Cognitive Ability Among Older Persons In Thailand : Role Of Education, Paolo Miguel Vicerra

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This thesis examines the role of education on cognitive ability among the older population of Thailand. The nationally-representative data primarily utilised in this thesis is 2016 Population Change and Well-being in the Context of Aging Society. Other datasets had been used in selected themes within this thesis. Multiple analytic approaches had been applied to this study to show various effects of education gradients on cognitive functioning. In the first study, education and other covariates including income, health status, living arrangement, and social participation among others had been analysed by gender to test if the significant factors would be similar. It …

Opposition To Abortion, Then And Now: How Amicus Briefs Use Policy Frames In Abortion Litigation, Laura Moyer, Alyson Hendricks-Benton, Megan Balcom

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Early in the debate over abortion, opposition to the procedure was primarily described in terms that reflected moral concerns about the protection of “the unborn.” Indeed, much of the media coverage and public discourse describing opposition to abortion since the time of Roe characterizes the movement as focused on securing rights for all human beings from the moment of conception (Huff 2014, 39). However, interviews with activists and movement leaders suggest that antiabortion groups have employed an array of public outreach strategies over time. As seen above, the former director of the antiabortion group National Right to Life …

Disease Diagnosis And Management: The Experiences Of Hemorrhoid Herbal Vendors And Customers In Oyo State, Nigeria, Abolaji Azeez, Uche Isiugo-Abanihe

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Hemorrhoids (or piles) are an anorectal condition that affects many individuals who do not necessarily seek medical support. Many who suffer from this condition resort to home treatment, especially cultural diagnosis and treatment. Consequently, an herbal remedy, popularly known as jedijedi drinks, has gained high patronage but with contested effectiveness. Thus, this study explored the diagnosis and use of hemorrhoid herbal remedy. Using a mixed-methods research design, information was elicited from those who used or sold the remedy at the three points of sales: 107 consumer respondents were surveyed and three herbal vendors were interviewed in Ibadan, Oyo Town, and …

Born Again With Trump: The Portrayal Of Evangelicals In The Media, Eun-Young Julia Kim

Faculty Publications

Since Trump’s ascendancy in American politics and his subsequent election, a number of articles have surfaced in the media trying to explain evangelical voters’ support of Trump. This paper analyzes common descriptions and conceptions of evangelicals by identifying recurring descriptions of evangelicals in 110 online articles published in a two-and-a-half-year period surrounding Trump’s presidential campaign and election. The results indicate that the answer to the question as to why evangelicals support Trump resides not so much in their theology, but in their aspirations for America and assumptions of what America should be like. This paper argues that it is crucial …

Re-Composing Feminism: Australian Women Composers In The New Millennium, Talisha Goh

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In the age of postfeminism and fourth-wave feminism online, Australian women composers are theoretically able to “have it all,” however, the proportion of women in the occupation appears to have plateaued in recent years. In this thesis, I explore the multiple ways in which gender and feminism interact with practising Australian women composers. Feminist musicology has had a large impact on the Australian musicological scene, with theorists such as McClary and Macarthur bringing the subject of women in music to the fore in the 1990s, aiding efforts to advocate for reform on behalf of women composers. Additionally, third-wave feminist scholars …

Understanding School And Community Contexts: Leading For Success Along The Texas-Mexico Border, Erin D. Atwood

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

Enacting social justice leadership requires that school leaders understand social, political, and historic contexts of the communities and schools where they lead. This paper examines the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan area and highlights some of these issues within this particular community along the Texas-Mexico border. This description of the area provides understanding of the uniqueness of borderlands contexts and allows us to better understand the social justice work of one local school district in leading for success in this context.

Alegal: Biopolitics And The Unintelligibility Of Okinawan Life, Annmaria M. Shimabuku

Sociology

Okinawan life, at the crossroads of American militarism and Japanese capitalism, embodies a fundamental contradiction to the myth of the monoethnic state. Suspended in a state of exception, Okinawa has never been an official colony of the Japanese empire or the United States, nor has it ever been treated as an equal part of Japan. As a result, Okinawans live amid one of the densest concentrations of U.S. military bases in the world. By bringing Foucauldian biopolitics into conversation with Japanese Marxian theory, Alegal uncovers Japan’s determination to protect its middle class from the racialized sexual contact around its mainland …

Using What Students Have At Their Fingertips: Utilising Mobile Phones For Circular Writing, Mustafa Naci Kayaoğlu, Şakire Erbay Çetinkaya

The Qualitative Report

The integration of mobile phones into language teaching is at its infancy due to lack of uniform empirical support and limited studies focusing solely on vocabulary and pronunciation teaching. Arguing that writing should be merited further attention, we targeted a group of 26 English majoring students at a large-size public university in the northeast of Turkey to investigate their attitudes towards mobile phone-integrated language practice in the form of collaborative circular writing outside the school borders and collaborative whole class conferencing in the classroom with a seven-week case study. We gathered the qualitative data via an open-ended questionnaire, and a …