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
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item Phasehood and Phi-Intervention(2021) Thivierge, Sigwan; Preminger, Omer; Polinsky, Maria; Linguistics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation investigates the notion of phases in syntactic theory, and offers a reanalysis of certain phases as instances of phi(φ)-intervention. Under the standard view, phases are syntactic structures that, according to the Phase Impenetrability Condition, are opaque to operations originating outside of the phase (Chomsky, 2000; 2001). Phasehood was linked to certain heads such as C and (transitive) v, but several issues arise once the empirical domain is broadened beyond English. As more work has turned to unrelated languages, a less stipulative alternative has presented itself: phases are intervention effects, and are reducible to a more general locality issue. In Rackowski and Richards’ (2005) account of Tagalog wh-movement, for example, CPs act as phases because they constitute the closest goal. In Halpert’s (2019) account of Zulu hyper-raising, CPs do not act as phases due to the cyclic nature of Agree. In Keine’s (2017) account of Hindi long-distance agreement, vPs do not act as phases, which I argue is because v is not a φ-goal. In Georgian, vPs act as phases because v0, in contrast, is a φ-goal (as I will argue in this thesis). These languages show that XPs act as phases only when they are potential goals for a syntactic operation. These languages also illustrate two ways of diagnosing phasehood as φ-intervention: via movement out of the domain, and via agreement into the domain. These results suggest that phasehood is an epiphenomenon, and that the interior of the ‘phase’ is accessible even after the phase is complete. In this dissertation, I argue that certain instances of phasehood derive from the ‘phase’ head bearing a φ-probe: the φ-features on the probe intervene for φ-agreement, which results in phase-like effects. The empirical data in favour this claim comes from the Georgian agreement system. I show that subjects in Georgian are base-generated in different positions, depending on whether they fall under the basic agreement paradigm or the inverse agreement paradigm. In the basic, subjects are introduced above v and are the closest goal for Agree operations that originate outside the vP domain. In the inverse, subjects are introduced below v; in this case, the φ-features that are associated with the φ-probe on v constitute the closest goal for Agree.Item Emerging Adult East Asian Women Witnessing Racism Events: To Act or Not to Act(2020) Thai, Christina Jean; Hill, Clara E; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Racial discrimination acts continue to occur and impact the lives of people of color. One mechanism that may help in halting discriminatory behavior is bystander intervention. While there have been studies on bystander intervention during discriminatory events, there is little research on how other people of color intervene during these events. This present study focuses on bystander interventions by emerging adult East Asian American women. As Asian Americans, they are often perceived as more privileged than other people of color and as women they been socialized to “keep their head down.” This present study utilized a qualitative methodology to investigate how they determine whether or not to intervene when they witnessed racism events. Our results showed that participants had three response types: minimized response/did not react, nonaggressive challenged perpetrator, and supported the target. Some of our most interesting findings were that participants voiced that they were motivated to help because of their relationship with the target and/or perpetrator and were inhibited by their fear of retaliation, being unsure of how to respond, and difficulty determining if an event was racist.Item Appealing to Masculinity or Empathy?: Educating Men to Recognize Warning Signs of Dating Violence(2018) Kearney, Monica Sherri; O'Brien, Karen M; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Dating violence continues to be a social concern for young adults (Barrick, Krebs, & Lindquist, 2013). Dating violence occurs often on college campuses, with between 16% and 50% of college women reporting experiences of dating violence prior to graduation (Knowledge Networks, 2011; Murray & Kardatzke, 2007). However, over half of college students reported that it is difficult to identify warning signs of dating violence (Knowledge Networks, 2011). Moreover, one study determined that undergraduate, heterosexual men have more difficulty recognizing warning signs of dating violence than undergraduate heterosexual women (Kearney & O’Brien, 2016). Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess multiple strategies to increase recognition of warning signs of dating violence and engagement in an online dating violence intervention with a sample of heterosexual college men. Participants were assigned randomly to one of four conditions: (1) the appeal to masculinity condition, (2) the appeal to empathy condition, (3) the combined appeal to masculinity and empathy condition, or (4) the control condition. Participants were instructed to watch the first component of STOP Dating Violence (O’Brien et al., 2016), a short online video intervention developed to educate college students about dating violence. Participants in the control condition received the standard intervention, while participants in the experimental conditions viewed a brief (one minute) introduction before beginning the intervention. Results indicated that all participants demonstrated an increase in ability to recognize warning signs of dating violence after participating in the intervention. Moreover, there was an interaction of time and condition for three dimensions of dating violence warning signs. However, condition did not have an effect on engagement with the intervention material. The results and future directions for research are discussed.Item Experiencing Temporary Artscapes(2013) Patrick, Nicholas Alan; Chanse, Victoria; Plant Science and Landscape Architecture (PSLA); Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The focus of this thesis is on temporary artscapes - public installations that are originally-creative and intentionally-temporary in some way. A temporary art installation has the ability to quickly and clearly transform a place, increase our understanding and awareness of a particular site, and redefine and highlight the importance of public space. This design-research thesis proposes that temporary artscapes have the capacity to significantly alter the experience of a landscape. Through the investigation and evaluation of the theories, intentions and working methods of the artists, landscape architects, and architects involved in recent projects, this thesis explores the value of temporary artscapes in landscape-design. Two key research investigations assist this investigation. Designing the Experience explores the artistic process of designing a temporary installation, through the collaborative designing and building of a temporary art installation with a sixth-grade class at the British School of Washington. Experiencing the Design explores the experience of a temporary art installation from the perspective of the public audience, through the surveying of people during a temporary art installation in a prominent public space at the University of Maryland. The outcomes of the investigation and two research investigations determine my strategy in choosing a site within the University of Maryland campus in which to design and test a conceptual temporary artscape.Item Suburban Cleansing: An Ecological, Economical and Social Intervention in Tysons Corner Virginia(2006-05-17) Fenchel, David Matias; Kelly, Brian; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Suburban sprawl in America is destroying the environment and communities at an overwhelming rate. The rapid growth of unplanned suburban sprawl has led to increased traffic congestion, increased dependence on fossil fuels, worsening air and water pollution, lost open space and wetlands, increased flooding, destroyed wildlife habitat, and dying city centers. There is a great need for a thorough investigation in the areas of suburban sprawl and how to transform them into sustainable developments. This thesis investigates Tysons Corner Virginia and attempts to transfigure it into an ecologically, economically, and socially responsible place. The thesis exploration has three primary concentrations: a master plan, a site study within the master plan, and a proposed building typology. The master plan critiques the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan for Tysons Corner Urban Center and the Dulles Corridor Rapid Transit Project. Within the master plan is a more detailed analysis of a specific site that deals with environmental functions and preservation, adaptive reuse, and infill viability. Lastly, this thesis proposes a mixed-use housing typology that intervenes an existing regional mega-mall.