Sociology Commons^™

Analyzing Environmental Education In Northern Mississippi And Its Impact On Student Outcomes, Vishnu S. Gadepalli

Honors Theses

This thesis examines environmental education in public high schools in northern Mississippi, investigating how educators describe its presence, delivery, and institutional support in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harm. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with high school teachers across four northern Mississippi schools, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed through iterative thematic coding under Institutional Review Board approval. Five themes emerged: opportunistic curricular integration, time and standards as overriding structural constraints, passive institutional support, student receptivity tempered by limited awareness, and significant variation across school contexts with one magnet school as a clear outlier. The study concludes that environmental education in these …

Palestinian Motherhood In Lebanon: An Analysis Of The Legal And Humanitarian Systems, Enje Matar

Theses and Dissertations

The lives of Palestinians in Lebanon are shaped by a diversity of factors that are exogenous and endogenous. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the impact of existing institutional, legal, and societal structures on Palestinian refugee mothers. It answers the following main question: how do the legal and humanitarian systems in Lebanon impact Palestinian mothers? It specifically scrutinizes 1) How do these systems shape family dynamics, maternal relations with children, and mothers’ daily lives? 2) How are these systems gendered in ways that represent broader questions of power and control? 3) How do mothers respond to these systems …

Topographies Of Being: World-Making And Ontological Formation In Modern Saint Catherine, South Sinai, Ahmad Mahana

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an exploration of the ecological and sociological processes involved in the production of the socionatural space of the contemporary town and natural protectorate of Saint Catherine, South Sinai. Revered by all Abrahamic religions as the site of the Great Theophany, the town has perpetually been considered an area of immense spiritual and natural significance. In recent decades, however, the town has undergone a series of modernizing campaigns that have not only threatened the region’s natural environment and indigenous lifeways but have also jeopardized the plurality of its extant lifeworlds. By relying on a variety of ethnographic methods, …

Technology, Power, And Colonial Modernity: The Making Of The Egyptian Railways, Ahmed Mohamed Rahmy

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines Egyptian railways as a technology of power through which modern temporal order was gradually formed, reorganized, and contested. Focusing on the period from 1850 to 1920, it argues that railway infrastructure did more than facilitate mobility, economic exchange, and imperial administration: it reorganized the temporal relations through which social life was governed and experienced. Timetables, standardized schedules, fares, penalties, stations, and administrative procedures made punctuality, regularity, and measurable time appear as neutral requirements of life, while positioning existing ecological, agricultural, religious, and communal rhythms as signs of backwardness.

The thesis draws on British official correspondence, parliamentary debates, …

The Functioning Of The Refugee Regime In The Global South, Rihem Sejil

Theses and Dissertations

Why do states continue to sign compacts and reaffirm responsibility-sharing, even as protection burdens fall increasingly on the Global South? This thesis argues that this concentration is a direct result of, rather than an exception to, international cooperation. It introduces the concept of "selective cooperation" to explain how states maintain formal commitments to protection while repurposing cooperation: shifting it from a remedial tool designed to assist burdened hosts to one focused on containment and preventing arrivals. Three mechanisms facilitate this shift: donor retrenchment, resettlement contraction, and externalization, with each mechanism closing gaps left by the others. Analyzing cases spanning resettlement, …

The Smuggled Body: Embodied Experiences Of Sudanese Displacement Along The Sudan–Egypt Corridor, Marielys Padua Soto

Theses and Dissertations

The outbreak of conflict in Sudan in April 2023 triggered one of the world's largest displacement crises, forcing millions of Sudanese civilians to flee toward neighboring countries, particularly Egypt. As legal pathways became increasingly restricted following Egypt's tightening of visa policies, many asylum seekers relied on migrant smuggling networks to reach safety. This thesis examines how restrictive mobility regimes are materially experienced through the body by introducing the concept of the smuggled body, defined as the body through which the physical, emotional, and social consequences of border control, irregular mobility, and forced displacement are lived. Drawing on embodiment theory, border …

Shadow Garments: Costume Creation For Integrating Alienated Parts Of The Self, Mega M. Galvin

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This study explores costume creation as a narrative-based intervention for integrating "shadow" parts, or aspects of the self that are repressed or alienated due to shame, trauma, or social pressure. Grounded in Jungian analytic psychology, narrative therapy, and expressive arts theory, the research addresses the limitations of traditional talk therapy in accessing somatic memory and proposes costume making as a pathway for externalization and re-authorship. Using a qualitative, participatory study inspired by Pat B. Allen’s Open Studio Process, four adult participants engaged in a three-session workshop to design, construct, and wear costumes representing their identified shadow aspects. Data was collected …

Self-Reflecting On 30 Years Of Liberational Praxis: A Pluri-Epistemic Journey Embracing The Relational Indigenous Research Paradigm To Expand The Emancipatory Aims Of The Psychology Of Liberation., Adriana Fernand Salazar Ms

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis asks how embracing Relational Epistemology, through accountable Pluri-Epistemic Dialogue, expands the Emancipatory aims of the Psychology of Liberation and deepens Liberational Praxis. Grounded in thirty years of Liberational Praxis, it brings the Psychology of Liberation into accountable encounter with Indigenous and Postcolonial Relational Epistemologies, without claiming Indigenous identity, authority, ceremony, or ownership. Within this situated encounter, Pensar Bonito (Tidy Thinking) illuminates movements from Martín-Baró’s Historical Memory toward Territorial and Ancestral Memory, from Freirean Dialogue toward walking the Word, from Fals Borda’s sentipensante toward Body-Nature and Body-Us, and from decolonial critique toward practices of Care and Subversion. Through a …

Nourishing Births: A Program Evaluation Proposal For Community-Based Nutrition Education, Food Access, And Garden Engagement Among Black Birthing People, Naa Deedei-Vera Hammond

Master's Projects and Capstones

Black birthing people in the United States continue to experience unequal maternal health outcomes, shaped in part by racism and barriers to nutritious food, culturally relevant health education, and supportive community spaces. While prenatal nutrition education and food assistance programs can provide important resources, information alone cannot address the challenges many people face when trying to access healthy and affordable food during pregnancy. The Nourishing Births Initiative is a proposed community-based maternal health program designed to respond to these needs by bringing together prenatal nutrition education, help connecting to food resources, community gardening, and peer support for Black birthing people …

Beyond Symptoms: Examining Perinatal Mental Health Care Among Black, Indigenous And People Of Color With Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome, Vinaya Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) are as a public health concern in the United States. Individuals from minoritized racial/ethnic groups face a significantly elevated risk of maternal morbidity, mortality, mental health disorders, and associated adverse outcomes. Emerging studies also reveal a higher likelihood of experiencing perinatal mental health concerns in individuals with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), currently known as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS). People who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a person of color (BIPOC) face unique healthcare challenges given the added structural and social burdens. This online survey study aimed to 1) understand the relationship between PMOS …

A Journey To The Midwest For Migrant Farmwork: Women's Testimonies Examining Their Lived Experiences Using Autoethnography And Plática Research Methodologies, Yesenia G. Alcalá

Theses & Dissertations

A JOURNEY TO THE MIDWEST FOR MIGRANT FARMWORK: WOMEN’S TESTIMONIES EXAMINING THEIR LIVED EXPERIENCES USING AUTOETHNOGRAPHY AND PLÁTICA

RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES

Yesenia Garza Alcalá, Master of Business Administration

University of the Incarnate Word 2026

The purpose of my research was to share the stories of five women who experienced a yearly migratory routine from Del Rio, Texas, to work in farms and factories in the Midwest, and how that annual journey shaped and educated us. The women are four of my older sisters and me, all of whom traveled and worked in the Princeville, Illinois, migrant camp, where we experienced the …

Examining The Challenges Of Providing Mental Health Treatment In Female Correctional Facilities From The Perspective Of Mental Health Professionals, Lacretia Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Women in correctional settings frequently experience significant mental health issues that are linked to histories of trauma, abuse, and victimization. Despite increased attention to trauma-informed and gender-responsive approaches, numerous obstacles continue to affect the delivery of mental health treatment within female correctional facilities. Existing literature focuses on systemic and policy concerns, overlooking mental health professionals' experiences. Guided by general systems theory, this qualitative study examined the challenges encountered by providers, including how organizational, environmental, and institutional factors influence treatment implementation. Data collected through semistructured interviews with 10 mental health professionals revealed multiple barriers to effective service delivery, including the complex …

Debt And Quality Of Life Among Older Adults After Retirement, Josephine Morrow Seegars

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Understanding debt and the quality of life in older adults after retirement is an important area of concern. Many older adults are forced by escalating debt to reduce spending on essential needs, such as health care, nutrition, and housing, and their physical and mental health is thereby directly compromised. These essential needs represent core social determinants of health, and their erosion under financial strain can have effects on older adults' overall well-being. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of human services practitioners who were actively assisting older adults struggling with debt in …

The Impact Of Leadership Styles From Traditional Policing To Community Policing, Ryan Gates

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examines leadership in a community policing context. It addresses a long-standing problem: injustice, inequality, and unfair treatment. Specifically, it examines community policing and the impact of law enforcement leadership, particularly servant leadership, on policing outcomes. Greenleaf’s Theory of Servant Leadership guided this study. Participants included mid- to senior-level law enforcement officers with community policing experience, at least three years of leadership experience, and at least 18 years of age. Recruitment occurred through social media outlets such as Facebook and Instagram. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 19 participants. Thematic analysis produced six themes: community engagement and partnerships; …

Why Was I Stopped? How Police Encounters Shape The Perceptions Of Black Adults, Darilyn Anita Monk

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Racial disparities in police encounters persist in Illinois, where Black adults are disproportionately subjected to investigatory stops despite ongoing oversight efforts. This study examined how citizens affected by these stops experienced and interpreted these encounters. The participants were seven Black adults from Lake County, Illinois. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis revealed racial profiling and discrimination as central, structuring features of police interactions. Participants described being stopped without clear justification, subjected to heightened suspicion, and treated as presumptively criminal. These encounters were understood not as isolated incidents but as patterned practices, producing mistrust, anxiety, and diminished perceptions of …

From Combat To Congregation: A Guide To Moral Injury For Everyday Ministers, Kristyn Demers

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

Veterans often receive inadequate ministerial care for their unique and complex spiritual needs. Therefore, everyday ministers need training in trauma-informed spiritual care and practices of moral healing. These practices need to be implemented within parish and church communities to aid in the care and reintegration of veterans into our communities. In this paper, I will: a) introduce and distinguish moral injury as a particular concern for veterans; b) offer theological and scriptural evidence of the need for proper ministerial responses to moral injury; and c) list a set of tools and resources for ministers who interact with veterans

Allyship And Affect: Qualitative Investigations Into Social Transformation, Michael Lucinda Jane Greer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Allies have faced several critiques in feminist philosophy. Some have argued that they lack the requisite political interests to be motivated to dismantle the social structures from which they stand to benefit. Others have argued that the epistemic limitations resulting from their social privilege are insurmountable. Yet others have argued that allyship is too individualistic a concept, preferring a more collectivist concept like solidarity. However, there remain privileged individuals who understand themselves as complicit in perpetuating oppressive forms of life, and who wish to transform themselves and work in coalition across difference to dismantle structural oppression. How ought these individuals …

Authoritarianism, Hostility And Threat: An Analysis Of American Political Podcasts Surrounding The 2024 Presidential Election, Noah D. Cohen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Political rhetoric surrounding key events has seen sharp increases in emotionally affective speech, intergroup sentiment, and rhetoric unbecoming of democratic societies in recent years. Similarly, semi-democratic and ideologically driven speech has become increasingly normalized within an era of political polarization and hardline beliefs in modern media. Within this economy of outrage, sensational and largely unmoderated media formats, particularly podcasts, have become a mainstay of political information and discourse. This raises an important question: how does rhetoric surrounding political events construct intergroup sentiment and authoritarian rhetoric within political media, particularly American political podcasts? Further, given political podcasts’ growing social influence in …

The Role Of Temperament In Criminal Trajectories: Development, Stability, And Predictive Power Across The Life Course, Joshua A. Lang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Temperament, an individual's largely innate tendency to experience and regulate responses to their environment, has long been studied but was only recently introduced as a primary predictor of criminal behavior (DeLisi & Vaughn, 2014). While prior criminological theories have incorporated temperament-related constructs, such as negative affect (Agnew, 1992; Moffitt, 1993) and self-control (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990), no other theory has explicitly positioned temperament as the central factor in offending. DeLisi and Vaughn’s temperament-based theory of antisocial behavior posits that individuals with low effortful control and high negative emotionality—features of a difficult temperament—are more likely to engage in criminal behavior. Despite …

Skipping Town: An Examination Of Fugitive Travel Patterns, Flight Duration, And "Journey-From-Crime", Shun Q. Feng

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Purpose: Existing research on fugitive mobility has largely examined fugitive travel patterns and flight duration as separate phenomena, often relying on limited geographic areas or a cross-section of the fugitive population. This dissertation addresses these gaps by examining where fugitives travel relative to their originating county, and how long they avoid apprehension. Utilizing a national sample of fugitives with data provided by the United States Marshals Service (USMS), the study investigates how individual characteristics, situational warrant factors, and county-level characteristics influence fugitive travel patterns across a broader, more comprehensive scope.

Methods: Using data from the Justice Detainee Information System (JDIS) …

Intracommunity Social Capital Systems Of Class And Caste In South Asian Intimate-Partner Violence Survivor Outcomes, Vriddhi Vinay

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study theorizes how caste and class function as transnational forms of social capital that structure intimate partner violence (IPV) outcomes among South Asian diasporic women in the New York City metropolitan area. While existing IPV scholarship foregrounds migration status, gender, and legal precarity, it often treats South Asian communities as internally homogeneous and overlooks how intracommunity hierarchies mediate access to support. Drawing on social capital theory and postcolonial feminist frameworks, this research positions caste and class stratification as underexamined axes of stratification within United States-based IPV analysis. Using survey data from 24 South Asian woman-identifying IPV survivors in New …

The Game Within: An Anthropological Approach To Games And Play, Nehal Maged Mohamed

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is based on an eighteen-month ethnography of El Ghawasa, an Egyptian play-based organization that designs educational games, tools, and services. Claiming that El Ghawasa, with its ethos of play, seeks to create an alternative to the capitalist corporate structure. Through tracking how this organization navigates ruptures, negotiates constraints, and experiments with different practices and internal restructuring, I explore the possibilities and limitations of El Ghawasa, while attempting to resist absorption by the very system it opposes. I ask: when the rules keep changing (while the logic of the capitalist corporate structure remains the same), and the boundaries of …

The Furry Community As A Case Study In Identity-Related Conflict, Patrick Hampton

Graduate Masters Theses

The “furry” community has gained notoriety both on the internet and in physical spaces for the dramatic portrayal of animal-based personas referred to as “fursonas.” This group has become the subject of ridicule and moral concern due to the occasionally controversial nature of the content produced by some members of the community. However, there are many different interpretations both within and outside of the community around what the community entails. In this thesis, I examine how the furry community and the identity of its members is shaped by external pressure or social stigmatization? I answer this through the following three …

Cultural Responsiveness: Examining Assessments Of Therapists For Ethical And Clinical Outcomes (Create Clout), Tsotso T. Ablorh

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The Multicultural Counseling Competencies (MCC) and Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC) are well-researched and supported counseling practices for decreasing microaggressions in therapy and consequent attrition, lack of satisfaction, and maltreatment (Ratts et al., 2016; Sue et al., 1982). However, scholars critique existing methods for measuring therapists’ cultural responsiveness for being disconnected from therapeutic process and outcomes (Hays, 2020; Wilcox et al., 2020). This study examined which MSJCC measures associated with variables clinically and ethically relevant to better treatment outcomes and lower microaggressive, neglectful, and stereotypical treatment for hypothetical Black, female clients by White therapists. 62 White psychologists in …

From Structure To Experiences: How Facility Capacity And Staffing Shape The Adoption And Impact Of Lgbt-Affirming Policies In Long-Term Care, Andrew Alberth

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Long-term care (LTC) settings – including nursing homes (NHs) and assisted living facilities (ALFs) – provide necessary care for individuals with extreme health and functioning limitations. Sexual and gender minority (LGBT) older adults report challenges receiving effective, person-centered care LTC. Some LGBT older adults may hide their sexual orientation and gender identity when entering LTC settings or delay seeking needed LTC fearing discrimination from staff and other residents. Furthermore, staff in LTC settings indicate little awareness of LGBT-residents and possess inadequate LGBT-cultural competency necessary for providing person-centered care. Therefore, LGBT-residents LTC experiences remain underexplored in the broader research. Adopting LGBT-affirming …

Our Claims Matter: Latin American Migrants’ Nonviolent And Everyday Resistance Across Transnational Spaces, Pryanka Penafiel-Cevallos

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines how Latin American migrants engage in nonviolent resistance across transnational spaces in Ecuador, challenging dominant narratives that portray migrants primarily as passive actors or humanitarian subjects. Focusing mainly on Venezuelan, Colombian, and returned Ecuadorian migrants, the study places migrants’ political agency at the center of analysis. It asks how migrants resist, for what purposes, and under which conditions they mobilize nonviolent and everyday resistance practices to claim rights, dignity, and human security in a host country marked by both legal innovation and growing exclusion.

Drawing on civil resistance theory, everyday resistance approaches, and migration scholarship, the research …

The Effect Of State Policy On Individuals With Mental Illness In Nursing Homes: A Multilevel Analysis, Adrita Barooah

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

THE EFFECT OF STATE POLICY ON INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS IN NURSING HOMES: A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS

August 2026

Adrita Barooah, B.Sc., University of Delhi, India

M.S., University of Massachusetts Boston

Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Boston

Directed by Professor Pamela Nadash

The proportion of individuals living with a mental illness in U.S. nursing homes has grown substantially over the past few decades (Fashaw et al., 2020), raising serious concerns about care quality, resource adequacy, and costs to both nursing homes and government payers. The lack of adequate resources and knowledge has resulted in sub-par mental health care (O'Connor et al., …

Home, Neighborhood, And Community Environments And Social Isolation In Later Life: Joint Associations And Their Moderation By Life-Course Socioeconomic Mobility, Jeein Law

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Social isolation is a major public health concern among older adults, yet less is known about how multilevel residential environments shape isolation among those aging in place. Guided by the Socio-Ecological Model, Person–Environment Fit, and a life-course perspective, this dissertation examined whether micro-level home hazards, meso-level neighborhood social cohesion and physical disorder, and macro-level census-tract structural conditions were associated with social isolation. It also examined whether life-course socioeconomic mobility moderated the associations between home and neighborhood environments and social isolation.

This dissertation used two nationally representative longitudinal studies of U.S. older adults. Aims 1 and 2 used the National Health …

“When I’M Not Heard, I Feel Like I Don’T Matter”: Advancing Equity In Disability Policy Through Critical Participatory Action Research With People With Intellectual Disability, Cris Marchionne

Student Theses

People with intellectual disability deserve a system that offers flexible, timely, and person-centered support — one that is innovative, sustainable, and holistic in enabling them to live fulfilling lives. This qualitative study, grounded in Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR), examines how people with intellectual disability experience participation in decision-making within New York State's disability service system. By centering lived experience, the study identifies factors that facilitate or hinder participation in decision-making and examines structural, social, and policy-related barriers that limit agency. Through six focus groups and a Photovoice project with self-advocates receiving OPWDD services, participants described systemic barriers that limited …

Psychosis Among Justice-Involved Youth, Muhubo Y. Alinur

Master of Arts in Human Services

Abstract

Justice-involved youth face considerable mental health challenges, yet psychotic symptoms are frequently overlooked or misclassified as behavioral problems. This capstone critically reviews peer-reviewed literature on the prevalence, risk factors, assessment strategies, clinical needs, and systemic responses related to psychosis in justice-involved adolescents. Literature was sourced from Concordia University, St. Paul Library, Google Scholar, and PubMed. Research indicates that these youth often experience complex, overlapping issues such as trauma, substance use, mood disorders, neurodevelopmental difficulties, and barriers to accessing appropriate mental health care. Unaddressed, these co-occurring needs can result in punitive or unsuitable responses from justice and related systems when …