UMD Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item Displacement: Placemaking for the Uprooted(2018) Khan, Dur-e-Nayab; VanderGoot, Jana; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Increasing migration to cities in developed countries is an inevitable part of present day’s globalizing society. For those migrating, the process is often a byproduct of war or absence of opportunities in migrants’ native homelands. It is a privilege, a manner of freedom, and a chance at a higher quality of life. As waves of migrants enter foreign countries, various problems arise, exacerbated by rising impressions of detachment from the loss of everything native. Migrants also experience feelings of displacement both physical and psychological. This thesis analyzes how architecture can mediate the process of assimilation into a new geography by creating a sense of place. The argument will assert that idiosyncrasies within the population are catalysts for an enlightened culture. This thesis does not intend to solve the problem of migration, but rather open a conversation about belonging, memory, and hybridity as it applies to the migrant and the built environment. Currently, there is a lack of architectural precedent successfully accommodating migrating populations. To fill this gap, this thesis will propose both a dwelling and a gallery to raise awareness, memorialize the remaining fragments of homelands and construe immigrants’ feelings of deracination to evoke a sense of empathy. The proposal will be situated in Washington D.C. so that it may serve as a model for creating similar forums in this age of mass migration.Item INCORPORATING IDEAS OF DISPLACEMENT AND DIFFUSION OF BENEFITS INTO EVALUATIONS OF COUNTERTERRORISM POLICY(2015) Safer-Lichtenstein, Aaron; Dugan, Laura; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Criminologists and terrorism specialists alike have conducted research on the deterrent effect of policies; however, to date, only criminologists have thoroughly examined the associated displacement of crime and diffusion of benefits. Using data from the Eco-Incidents Database, this study first examines the deterrent effect of government efforts targeting animal rights and environmental terrorism over several years. Next, it extends this application by examining non-terrorist actions by both terrorist groups and non-terrorist groups to see if deterrent actions have any unintended consequences. Results show no evidence of displacement, but rather that several government actions evidenced a diffusion of benefits. If anti-terrorist laws reduce other types of crime, particularly by non-terrorists, then this has policy implications for law enforcement strategies.Item Attending to Stories of High School Displacement: The Lived High School Experience of GED® College Graduates(2009) Snyder, Mary Grace Catherine; Hultgren, Francine H; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry is called by the question, "What is the lived high school experience of GED college graduates?" GED college graduates are people who have dropped out of high school, used the GED Tests to earn their jurisdiction's high school diploma, then graduated from a four-year institution. If these individuals have the intellectual acumen and personal commitment to earn a bachelor's degree, then why did they drop out of high school? Conversations with seven GED college graduates uncover the displacement that drove them out of a traditional high school program. The hermeneutic phenomenological methodology is grounded in the philosophical work of Heidegger, especially as developed by Merleau-Ponty and Levinas, which elicits an awareness of our embodied being's struggle to embrace Being and the moral necessity of responding to that presence. Van Manen's work guides the "doing" of this philosophy as human science research in education. The stories of the lived high school experiences of the seven GED college graduates reveal the disquiet of their displacement. They each felt that they did not fit the mold that high school wanted: they felt they were different, outcasts, not part of the "in crowd." They felt the inequitable treatment and bodily discomfort caused by this difference. They report only a nominal, caring presence at school, and this disregard further alienated them. School was disappointed in their lack of commitment and enthusiasm for traditional coursework, and the students, in turn, were disappointed that school cared so little for their needs. Dropping out protected them from the pain of further displacement. Attending to these stories of displacement may help educators imagine a different way of creating high school. Smaller high schools might make each student a more significant part of the student body, better known to teachers, and more likely to feel implaced. Additionally, alternate programs might allow students to deviate from the traditional K-12 timeline into work experiences, to follow compelling interests, or to gather into community around similar questions about their world. Teacher preparation programs that offer multiple visions for high school could be instrumental in making such change a reality.Item Essays on the Role of Specific Human Capital(2007-06-04) Hu, Xiaohan; Hellerstein, Judith; Economics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Human capital theory states that workers' knowledge and skills increase their productivity and thus raise their earnings. An important dimension of human capital theory distinguishes between general human capital and specific human capital. Chapter Two and Chapter Three of this dissertation examine two groups of individuals who encounter interruptions in their work careers and cannot completely transfer their specific human capital to their new jobs. Chapter Two investigates displaced workers who lose jobs due to mass layoffs by their employers. Their success in job transition depends partially on the extent to which their human capital can be carried over across jobs. The Chapter Two analysis adds to the extensive literature on the earnings cost of displacement by distinguishing the earnings losses between high technology (hi-tech) displaced workers and low-tech displaced workers. Earnings losses are estimated using a generalized difference-in-difference model which compares the earnings patterns of displaced workers with a comparison group of non-displaced workers. The empirical results demonstrate that earnings decline substantially upon displacement and then recover gradually. Hi-tech displaced workers suffer larger initial earnings losses and have faster recoveries than other displaced workers. Chapter Three examines female immigrants to the U.S. whose entry wages fall short of those of comparable natives because their human capital accumulated in foreign countries is not completely transferable to the U.S. labor market. The entire literature on immigrant skills has focused almost exclusively on male immigrants. Chapter Three extends the previous research to the population of female immigrants by examining changes across cohorts in their labor market skills, as measured by their English proficiency, educational attainment and wages. The results show that, across successive cohorts of female immigrants, English proficiency at entry stays constant and average education level increases. After controlling for human capital and demographic characteristics, predicted wages are lower for female immigrants upon entry relative to female natives. Compared to male immigrants in the same period, female immigrants exhibit faster growth across cohorts in educational attainment and in predicted wages. Overall, this dissertation provides further evidence of the role of specific human capital in explaining multiple dimensions of workers' earnings patterns.