Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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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 give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
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Item Vellathinai Dhahikunna Vezhambal (As a Bird Searches for the Rain Water) Social Perceptions of Indian American High School Youth Within Home, School, and Community Spaces(2018) Titan, Caroline; Brown, Tara M; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Broadly, this dissertation study examines: 1) the role of space in influencing social perceptions of Malayalee, Indian American, Christian youth and the ways these spaces and perceptions influence these youth’s schooling experiences; and 2) the role of human agency in and larger structural influences on Indian American youth’s schooling experiences. This study is exploratory and qualitative in nature, drawing on interview data from 7 Indian American youth (5 girls and 2 boys) who attended high schools in a single district located in the mid-Atlantic, United States and archival documents, specifically the school district’s English and history standards. To make sense of the study data and findings, I used a conceptual framework composed of key concepts from intersectionality, structural racism, and spatiality. Three key conclusions emerged from the present study: 1) teachers’ and peers’ perceptions of participants influenced their schooling experiences; 2) participants’ assigned importance to the social aspects of school as much as academic aspects; and 3) participants experienced racial/ethnic bias in their interactions with teachers and learning materials (e.g. curricula) which also influenced their schooling experiences.Item Feasibility of An Online Survey Examining the Physical Activity Patterns Among South Asian Adults Residing In the United States(2016) Haider, Syeda Rabab Zehra; Butler III, James; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Background: Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes among South Asians (SAs) - Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Indian, Maldivian, Nepali, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan. Methods: An online survey was used to determine the feasibility of examining physical activity (PA) levels of SAs living in the US. The Social Ecological Model was the theoretical basis for identifying individual-level, social environmental, and physical environmental factors that impact PA. Results: Ethnicity, intention, self-efficacy, and perceived health benefits of PA were significantly associated with being physically active. Facilitators to PA included achieving improved health; while barriers were lack of time to exercise, unfamiliarity with PA, and nonexistent gender-specific PA facilities. Conclusions: This study showed that online surveys can be a promising tool for data collection among SAs. Health promotion programs should include education on the benefits of PA, and provide culturally sensitive facilities that support PA, especially for SA women.Item Sangam, A Confluence(2012) Desai, Aditya; Norman, Howard; Creative Writing; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Sangam, Sanskrit for "confluence," is a novel set across three storylines, all connected by a single ghazal poem, the evolution of which spans the lives and times of three men. In medieval India, Sufi poet Amir Khusrow arrives at the ruins of an ancient Hindu Temple, seeking inspiration and revival for his work; centuries later, at the turn of India's independence from Britain, young lawyer Jayant finds his idealism tested in against the nation's messy beginnings; in the present day, a young Indian-American disc jockey navigates the night club scene, hoping to become the modern music star. The novel is meant to mimic how music is sampled, re-appropriated, and remixed over time. In the same way songs are matched by a DJ for beats and melody, so too are the themes and emotional arcs of each man's story line meant to echo one another, and resonate as a whole.Item Enculturation and Acculturation of television use among Asian Indians in the U.S.(2008-04-18) Somani, Indira Satyanarayan; Heider, Don; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study explored how a cohort of Asian Indians who migrated to the U.S. nearly 40 years ago have become acculturated to watching Indian television via the satellite dish. The study used the integrative communication theory and how two concepts of the theory relate to adaptation: enculturation, the process of socialization individuals undergo in their native culture; and acculturation, the process in which newcomers acquire some, but not all, aspects of their new host culture (Kim, 2001). Oral history interviews were conducted with 10 couples who migrated to the U.S. between 1960 and 1972 in the Washington Metro area to understand their media use over the past 40 years and why they watch Indian television via the satellite dish. The study produced findings that described how these Asian Indians used American television to acculturate to the U.S.; as well as how this cohort learned the act of watching television. Another finding was that the portrayal of India and Indian culture in American media was stereotypical. The third finding showed described how these Asian Indians maintained their sense of Indian culture through using other forms of media and cultural practices. The fourth finding demonstrated how Asian Indians discovered a new way to stay connected to their culture, particularly in real time as they watched Indian programming via the satellite dish. The fifth finding was that this cohort used American television as a filter through which they judged Indian television. Overall, these Asian Indians were found to believe Indian programming was copying Western culture. The study concluded with analysis of how this cohort changed its media habits as media technology itself changed over time. The study showed how diasporic communities form through media use, as well as how audiences also become fragmented and individualized in their choice of media. It uncovered the ways how these Asian Indians became skilled television viewers and could distinguish between good and bad programming.