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 Information Avoidance in the Archival Context(2024) Beland II, Scott; St. Jean, Beth; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Information avoidance (IA) has been researched across several disciplines like psychology, economics, consumer health informatics, communications, and the information sciences, but the exploration of this phenomenon in archives is nearly non-existent. As information professionals, IA should be seen as a relevant concern to archivists as it may impact how people interact with archival materials, and more importantly how they may avoid certain materials, or the archives altogether. My study provides an extensive overview of IA in the archival context with a systematic literature review across disciplines and through qualitative interviews with 12 archivists across the United States of varying experience levels and from varying institution types. The aim is to explore how they think about IA in archives and how they may have experienced it in their work to answer the two research questions: 1) What abstract ideas do archivists have about IA as it relates to archives? 2) How do archivists experience IA in their daily work? Thematic analysis and synthesis grids were used to converge the transcripts into five key themes and findings about who is susceptible to IA, the contributing variables that impact and are impacted by IA, how IA manifests, real life applications of IA, and specific archival practices and concepts that impact and are impacted by IA in the context of archival work and research. Interpretations of this data resulted in theoretical models and implications that draw on existing understandings, as well as new understandings of IA that impact the information lifecycle of archival records and how people interact with them. These contributions to the archival and IA literatures can be used as a roadmap that will allow archivists to approach their work with a more mindful, and hopefully empathetic, ethic of care in handling information, understanding the costs and benefits of those decisions and actions, and better serving their patrons.Item Breastfeeding Without Nursing: The Lived Experiences of Exclusive Pumpers(2020) Jardine, Fiona Mary; St Jean, Beth; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Worldwide, the overwhelming majority of parents initiate chest/breastfeeding at birth. Human milk is regarded as optimal nutrition for infants and the perfect version of milk for the first years of life; lactation also prevents disease in chest/breastfeeders. Most birth parents want to chest/breastfeed and it is seen as central to motherhood. Chest/breastfeeding is often challenging, resulting in early cessation. Exclusive pumping—that is, only expressing/pumping milk rather than nursing directly at the breast/chest—provides an alternative for those who cannot or do not want to nurse, while retaining most chest/breastfeeding benefits. Existing literature on EPing predominantly focuses on neonatal intensive care unit settings, milk composition, and quantitative data, such as secondary analyses of nationwide surveys. Despite the growing numbers of exclusive pumpers, there is little-to-no data concerning the lived experiences of exclusive pumpers, particularly pertaining to support needs and information provision. Through a retrospective, cross-sectional survey of over 2,000 exclusive pumpers and longitudinal follow-up with over 300 participants, the Breastfeeding Without Nursing study collected qualitative and quantitative data to explore their lived experiences, including: why some chest/breastfeeding exclusively pump; how they feel about it; and what information and support they need and where they find it. Themes within four domains—the circumstances surrounding exclusive pumping, affective experiences, information, and support—were identified through inductive thematic analysis. The findings of this analysis, combined with descriptive and statistical analysis of quantitative data, demonstrate that exclusive pumpers, in general, wanted to nurse at the breast, but as a result of a variety of socioecological influences, were unable to. This led to feelings of loss, grief, and anger, but also determination and pride. Participants needed earlier and better information, many having been incognizant of exclusive pumping despite receiving chest/breastfeeding education. Online support groups were vital sources of information and support; lactation consultants were often not regarded supportive or providing useful information. Having identified gaps in exclusive pumping information, education, and support, I suggest best practices and future research. Contributions to information science include recognizing the importance of education in overcoming incognizance and using a socioecological perspective to analyze the influences on information experience.Item Health-Related Communication Behaviors of Environmental Action Gatekeepers: A Qualitative Study(2015) Pomerantz, Sarah; Aldoory, Linda; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore behaviors of community members regarding environmental health information. Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with environmental action gatekeepers from Prince George’s County, Maryland and Wards 7 and 8 of the District of Columbia to identify health-related communication behaviors and how they make meaning of those behaviors. Participants engaged in a range of behaviors to acquire, manage, and transmit information related to local environmental health issues. Although different behavior patterns did not emerge among activists versus advocates, a number of factors including perceived community constraints and informational subjective norms were identified as potential influences on communication behaviors. These findings support existing theoretical models, and suggest future research on how communicative behaviors among environmental health and environmental justice advocates may differ from those working on traditional ecological environmental issues. Findings suggest future opportunities to improve environmental health information sufficiency in the region.