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 Criminal Case Processing of Sexual Assaults in Alaska(2016) Smith, Jaclyn; Johnson, Brian; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Discretion plays a role in nearly every facet of the American criminal justice system. It is widely regarded as necessary to do justice but is not without criticisms – especially when it leads to unfavorable or disparate treatment. The role of discretion in sexual assault cases has been particularly scrutinized. Since the majority of sexual assaults do not fit stereotypic beliefs about what constitutes a “real rape” and “genuine victim,” criminal justice officials use their discretion to filter these cases out of the justice system. This study explored this issue by examining two stages of the criminal justice process: the police decision to refer cases for prosecution and the prosecutorial decision to accept referred cases. In doing so, it contributes to this body of literature in three ways. First, it included sexual assault cases that involve Alaska Native victims and suspects. Second, it addressed a gap in the theoretical scholarship by examining the downstream nature of police decision-making. And finally, it examined the formal reasons prosecutors give for charge dispositions. This study found a significant amount of attrition of sexual assault cases as they progressed through the criminal justice system. Moreover, a combination of legally relevant and extralegal factors was found to be important, but not consistently across all types of sexual assaults. Among legal factors, the number of victim injuries was the most consistent predictor. Among extralegal factors, cases that involved Alaska Native suspects had significantly higher odds of case referral and case acceptance compared to white suspects. The effect of suspect race was particularly pronounced in cases with a white victim. Additionally, the findings suggest that not only are Native American defendants more likely to have their cases referred by police, but once referred, they are also more likely to have them accepted for prosecution. Contrary to expectations, victim-suspect relationship, specifically non-stranger assaults, increased the odds of police referral compared to stranger cases. However, the opposite appears to be true for the decision to prosecute cases. Once referred, prosecutors were five times more likely to accept sexual assaults perpetrated by strangers. The implications of these findings are also discussed.Item NATIVE CLASSICAL: MUSICAL MODERNITIES, INDIGENOUS RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES, AND A KANIENKÉHA (MOHAWK) CONCEPT OF NON:WA (NOW)(2014) Avery, Dawn; Witzleben, John Lawrence; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In this dissertation I explore how Indigenous methodologies that foreground cultural advocacy, revitalization, and education can be articulated using Indigenous language and cultural metaphor in research on North American Indian composers. Toward this end, I apply the Kanienkéha (Mohawk) concept of "non:wa" or "now" that also refers to three modes of perception--the now of the past, the present, and the future--toward understanding the intersection of innovation and tradition in classical Native music. This research joins the existing discourse that critiques binary oppositions separating Indigenous tradition (as past) and innovation (as present and future). Through interviews, fieldwork, and musical analysis, I illustrate Native values of interconnectedness, relationality, continuity, politics, and soundscapes in the processes of Native composition as well as the resultant works, I explore how these, in turn, may be understood through the application of Indigenous research techniques. In collaboration with a cohort of contemporary musicians, I look primarily at two Navajo composers--Raven Chacon and Juantio Becenti--and examine my own work as a composer, performer, and ethnomusicologist of Kanienkéha descent to explore the following questions: How can the topic of classical Native music best be served by using Indigenous methodologies in fieldwork, research, and representation and What is classical Native Music and is it different from other contemporary classical music styles? Drawing on the teachings of Indigenous dotahs (elders/teachers), the scholarship of ethnomusicologists, and examining oral and written tradition while using language and cosmology as cultural metaphors, I present a variety of possibilities for looking at Indigenous music through Indigenous eyes. Rather than offering a set of conclusions, I offer a set of tools for discussion and reflection: 1) how we might understand a definition of classical Native music; 2) how we are part of a modern movement of artistry; 3) how our creative processes reflect Indigenous sensibilities; 4) how specific composers are contributing to that movement; and 5) how Indigenous language, metaphor and worldview are a powerful and applicable epistemology for research.Item Removing the college involvement "research asterisk": Identifying and rethinking predictors of American Indian college student involvement(2010) Garland, John L.; Komives, Susan R; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to identify campus environmental predictors of American Indian college student involvement. The American Indian research asterisk, or not including American Indian data, has prevailed over student development research for decades. As a result, student affairs professionals have been limited in their ability to develop evidence-based student development interventions for American Indian student involvement. This study addressed the research asterisk related to American Indian college student involvement through a quantitative multi-institutional study of 99 campuses with a total of 1,931 American Indian respondents. This study confirms many prior research study findings with American Indian college students that were limited in scope and context and where findings lacked transferability. Several key findings emerged from this research study including the importance of pre-college involvement in high school academic clubs and holding leadership positions as significant predictors of college student involvement. Mentor relationships with faculty and student affairs staff were also significant predictors of American Indian student involvement indicating the importance of these types of interactions for this population. Most importantly, a sense of belonging for American Indian students was quantitatively confirmed as a significant predictor of American Indian student involvement. The concept of involvement, however, should not be limited by its historical on-campus context and should be viewed as a dynamic process whereby American Indian students are provided an opportunity to shape an involvement experience that helps to maintain their sense of self and identity while promoting a sense of belonging and collegiate success.Item Culture | Community | Place : Sustaining cultural values: Past, Present, & Future(2009) Kunkel, Joseph F.; Wortham-Galvin, Ph.D., B. D.; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)It is fundamental that culture is embedded within the act of communication and social interaction. This thesis will examine how architecture has embodied and reinforced a tribe's central notions about their society. A focus will be placed on past architectural traditions and continued changes in built forms. This will become the framework for a process where traditions are re_Introduced, re_Defined, and re_Interpreted in a contemporary context. Through analysis and interaction with the American Indian I will seek to understand how architecture(s) can play a role in culture and the definition of a community environment. With this research, I am looking for a deeper understanding of the built environment of the Northern Cheyenne through the context of the culture, community, and place. The focus here will be to explore the community as it relates to an "Indian's" definition of living and interaction within society. Design proposals will attempt to identify and clarify the ways in which the American Indian lives and operates in a world, seen and inhabited by Euro-American ideologies. The research and data presented will challenge the thesis to understand "Dwelling" as it relates to the physical environment, built environment, and the correlation between the two.