Theses and Dissertations from UMD
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2
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 The Critical Race Framework Study: Standardizing Critical Evaluation for Research Studies That Use Racial Taxonomy(2024) Williams, Christopher M.; Fryer, Craig S.; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Introduction: Race is one of the most common variables in public health surveillance and research. Yet, studies involving racial measures show poor conceptual clarity and inconsistent operational definitions. There does not exist a bias tool in the public health literature for structured qualitative evaluation in critical areas of critical appraisal – reliability, validity, internal validity, and external validity – for studies that use racial taxonomy. This study developed the Critical Race (CR) Framework to address a major gap in the literature. Methods: The study involved three iterative phases to answer five research questions (RQs). Phase I was a pilot study of the CR Framework among public health faculty and doctoral students to assess measures of fit (RQ1) and to identify areas of improvement in training, instrumentation, and study design (RQ2). Study participants received training and performed a single article evaluation. Phase II was a national cross-sectional study of public health experts to assess perceptions of the revised training and tool to assess measures of fit (RQ1), to determine the influence of demographic and research factors on perceptions (RQ3), and to gather validity evidence on constructs (RQ4). In Phase III, three raters performed article evaluations to support reliability evidence (RQ4) and to determine the quality of health disparities and behavioral health research studies against the CR Framework (RQ5). Analysis: We assessed the reliability of study results and the CR Framework using non-differentiation analysis, thematic analysis, missingness analysis, user data, measures of internal consistency for adopted instruments, interrater agreement, and interrater reliability. Validity was assessed using content validity (CVI and k*), construct validity, and exploratory factor analyses (EFA). Results: The study recruited 30 highly skilled public health experts across its three phases as part of the final analytic sample. Phase I had poor reliability in which the results could not be confidently interpreted (RQ1) and indicated needed improvement in study design, training, and instrumentation (RQ2). Based on Phase II results, we met or exceeded acceptable thresholds for measures of fit – acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, and satisfaction (RQ1). Demographic or research factors were not associated with responses (RQ3). Interrater agreement was moderate to high among rater pairs (RQ4). Due to lack of confidence in significance testing, interrater reliability results were inconclusive. Overall data results showed excellent content validity. Based on EFA results, construct validity for reliability and validity items was poor to fair (RQ4). Data results were inconclusive on internal validity and external validity. The twenty studies used in critical appraisal showed low quality or no discussion when the Critical Race Framework was used (RQ5). Discussion: The CR Framework study developed a tool and training with quality evidence for implementation effectiveness, content validity, and interrater reliability to fill a major gap in the public health literature. It contributed an innovative theory-based tool and training to the literature. Future research should seek to study individual perceptions and practices that influence outcomes of CR Framework application and to reduce barriers to ensure that minimum sample sizes can be met for additional testing.Item “WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE FROM ME?” CONSIDERATIONS FOR DEVELOPING A TAILORED COMMUNITY CENTERED HUMAN SUBJECTS AND RESEARCH PROTECTIONS AND RESEARCH ETHICS WORKSHOP(2020) Jordan, Margaret; Franzini, Luisa; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Research exploitation is a topic often relegated to history books and introductory ethics courses with the implication that these insidious practices could never thrive in today’s enlightened and humanistic world. While much progress has been made in the standards and oversight of research projects, participation in research is not a risk-free endeavor, and every protection available to participants should be made readily accessible. While many ethical consideration trainings exist for investigators and their teams, trainings that focus on the experience and rights of the participant are lacking. In this literature review and lesson plan development, the author outlines important considerations around research participation and best practices for building a workshop and provides a suggested lesson plan based on collected literature.Item Reimagining Resilience: Exploring Black Early Adolescent Girls’ Experiences, Desires, and Needs While Growing Up In Baltimore City(2018) Akoumany, Stephanie Yvonne; Parks, Sheri L; American Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)"Reimagining Resilience: Exploring Black Early Adolescent Girls’ Experiences, Desires, and Needs While Growing Up In Baltimore City" asks the following research questions: What are black early adolescent girls’ resilience strategies while growing up in poor and working class communities in Baltimore City? What are the girls’ perceptions of their own life experiences, desires, needs, and the quality of their interpersonal relationships? This dissertation is informed by a three year longitudinal ethnographic and participant action research study, conducted from 2010-2013, at a Baltimore City public school. Eighty-five, hour-long, weekly and biweekly workshops were conducted with 55 black middle school girls between the ages of 11-14 years old, who were in three different grade-based cohorts, until their respective eighth grade graduations. The black early adolescent girls in this study shared that their major stressors were feeling misunderstood, increased domestic and academic responsibilities as they transitioned into adolescence, conflicts with peers and adults, cyberbullying on popular social media sites, race, gender, and class stigmatization and policing at school, a lack of social supports, pressure to engage in sexual activities, physical and sexual violation, navigating structurally decaying neighborhoods, and community violence. This dissertation argues that black early adolescent girls utilize resilience strategies, particularly, self-assertion, storytelling, creativity, play, and community building to cope with these daily stressors and other traumatic life events. This dissertation explores connections between adolescent development, relational aggression, adverse childhood experiences, emotional intelligence, neuroplasticity, and resilience. It suggests that holistic wellness approaches such as mindfulness and play based therapy, socioemotional learning opportunities, restorative justice, facilitated intergroup dialogue, story exchange, participant action research, and comprehensive and medically accurate sexual education interventions that listen to black girls’ perceptions of their own experiences and needs can help schools promote health equity among adolescents in Baltimore City, the United States, and the world.Item Forum Theatre as Theatre for Development in East Africa(2017) Warheit, Emily Jane; Frederik, Laurie; Theatre; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Theatre for development (TfD) includes a variety of performance practices that aim to communicate or foster dialogue in a development context. Forum Theatre, developed by Brazilian Director Augusto Boal as part of his Theatre of the Oppressed movement has become one of the most widely used forms in TfD. This dissertation looks at the use of Forum Theatre specifically in public health-focused programs funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Uganda and Kenya. The appeal of Forum Theatre for addressing development issues stems from its participatory nature, particularly as it aligns with current trends towards community involvement in development. However, power imbalances inherent in foreign-funded projects, public health communication theories modeled after advertising, and the realities of life- and livelihood-threatening conditions on the ground all work against the liberatory potential of the form. The focus of Forum Theatre is on identifying and combatting oppression; in developing communities, what oppressions can theatre projects initiated from the top down by USAID actually address in practice? This study is a multi-sited exploration of the organizations and individuals involved in the funding, planning, and executing of two forum theatre projects promoting global public health goals. Through interviews of stakeholders and organization publications including training manuals and project reports, I examine how the organizations involved implement, evaluate, and justify the effectiveness of the use of theatre in their work. Despite the popularity of theatre for development in Sub-Saharan Africa, many development professionals, particularly in the US, have limited knowledge of how to use theatre in their programs. This study has the potential to improve the understanding of the use of Forum Theatre for both development professionals and theatre artists, allowing for more effective application. It will also place theatre for development in its context in the complicated web of the development industry, illuminating how TfD projects are planned and funded for an audience of theatre scholars and practitioners.