Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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Item FROM BLACK LIVES MATTER TO WE DON’T EVEN MATTER: THE INVISIBLE HAND OF POWER ON SOCIAL MOVEMENT PARTICIPATION AND ACTIVISM IN URBAN AND RURAL SPACES(2024) Koonce, Danielle; Marsh, Kris; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The field of social movement research is vast and evolving as technological advances continue to expand the field of movement space to include virtual worlds and digital platforms, ensuring new research endeavors. However, as movement spaces expand, one constant is the pursuit and exchange of power between competing groups and within groups with similar collective identities. My research focuses on identifying and tracing some of the diverse paths within social movement spaces that power dynamics manifest. Specifically, I ask the following three questions. What do participants in Black Lives Matter reveal about the movement and internal power dynamics? How does power manifest itself in public hearing spaces? How do Black people living in the rural South engage in the Environmental Justice Movement? I explore power within groups such as Black Lives Matter participants in local chapters, participants in state-regulated public hearings, and development of a local movement center within rural, eastern North Carolina through engagement with the Environmental Justice Movement. Through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and discourse analysis, I investigate, analyze, and interrogate the various pathways of power within movement spaces. I find that participants in local Black Lives Matter chapters negotiate power through their activist identity. Also, residents can be rendered illegitimate because they do not speak the language of those in power even though they have the power to participate in public hearing spaces. Finally, there is a shift from indigenous funding sources within rural, Black communities which potentially disempowers those communities from advocacy and engagement.Item EFFECTS OF THREATS TO GROUPS ON INGROUP-PROSOCIAL BEHAVIORS AND ORIENTATIONS(2017) Kerns, Kristin; Lucas, Jeffrey W; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This research investigates how threats to people’s ingroups promote ways of thinking and behaving that benefit these groups (ingroup prosociality). Drawing on terror management theory and other relevant literature, I propose that threats promote ingroup prosociality, and that threats play an important role in explaining why members of collectivistic societies (e.g., Eastern) tend to exhibit more ingroup prosociality than members of individualistic societies (e.g., Western). Three experimental studies isolated effects of threats on outcomes I propose reflect ingroup prosociality: holistic versus analytic types of cognitive and social orientations (Study 1), upholding status orders in groups (Study 2), and promoting the legitimacy of power in groups (Study 3). To experimentally manipulate threat, participants wrote about either a threatening or non-threatening situation. In the group studies (2 and 3), the threat situation was also part of the task itself. Study 1 provides some support for increased ingroup prosociality when threatened, and some evidence for differences by culture and type of threat. Though results generally suggest that Americans respond more ingroup prosocially than Indians, they do not provide compelling evidence of consistent cross-cultural patterns as predicted. Study 2 provides only minimal support for threat increasing adherence to status orders. Study 3 provides a great deal of support for threat increasing promotion of the legitimacy of power structures, and results suggest especially strong responses among high-status participants with low-status partners. For each study, I also address some results in the opposite direction predicted. Taken together, the results only somewhat support my proposed ingroup prosociality worldview theory. Alternatively, patterns in results suggest that threatened ingroup members may be motivated to preserve their self-esteem and reduce their anxiety. Though this self-serving explanation is consistent with terror management theory, it is not consistent with the ingroup prosociality worldview initially proposed. Overall, the results provide evidence that threat (1) affects both behaviors and orientations (many proposed to reflect ingroup prosociality), which warrant consideration together as defensive responses to threats, and (2) increases promoting the legitimacy of power based on status in some situations. I discuss limitations, implications for theory and potential leadership interventions, and directions for future work.Item Navigating Power and Politics: Women of Color Senior Leaders in Academe(2012) Huang, Belinda Jung-Lee; Fries-Britt, Sharon L.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to understand how women of color who are at the senior level of academe continue to advance while navigating and maneuvering through power and politics encountered in the organizational system. Although we know that there are few women of color at the senior level of administration, this qualitative study provided information about the challenges and obstacles women of color senior level leaders face at micro- and macro-levels in a doctoral granting or baccalaureate granting university. The major research question guiding this study was: How do women of color navigate power and politics to arrive at the senior level in academe? The research design was nine individual case studies of women of color at nine institutions: three African Americans, two Asian American Pacific Islanders, two Latinas, and two American Indian women at doctoral granting and baccalaureate granting universities. Five women were senior leaders at minority serving institutions; seven were presidents, one was a provost, and one was a vice-provost. Three participants came from historically Black colleges and universities, one woman held a position at a Tribal college, and one worked at a Hispanic serving institution. Drawing upon five theoretical frameworks, four themes emerged that were grounded in the data: 1) Advancing Women Through Opportunity and Experience; 2) Challenges of Race and Gender: Inviting Partnership with Community; 3) Inclusive and Persuasive Leaders: Creating Positive Change; 4) Using Power and Politics to Achieve Goals. Participants saw power as the ability to bring people together and to use a strategy to achieve one's objectives. They defined power as the privilege one has because of social identity or as something that was borrowed or loaned. Women of color leaders described using politics for the community, to reap benefits, not for oneself but to achieve a broader goal. Participants maneuvered through the system by finding allies, and enlisting people to intervene on their behalf. Women of color senior leaders saw politics as a means to get things done and to emerge with a win-win situation.Item DOES STRENGTH TRAINING IMPROVE MUSCULOSKELETAL HEALTH AND BODY COMPOSITION IN BLACK MEN WITH PROSTATE CANCER ON ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION THERAPY?(2011) Hanson, Erik; Hurley, Ben F; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in U.S. men and disproportionately affects black men more than any other racial or ethnic group. Despite this disparity, black men have been underrepresented in previous studies. PCa is commonly treated using androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). However, ADT induces numerous adverse side effects, including loss of muscle mass, strength, power, and physical function with concomitant increases in fat mass, fatigue, and bone fractures. Because strength training (ST) can reverse these factors in healthy older adults, it was hypothesized that ST would be effective in PCa patients on ADT but with an attenuated response. Therefore, the purpose of this study was 1) to examine the effects of ST on musculoskeletal and body composition side effects in black men on ADT, 2) to compare ST responses of black PCa patients on ADT to those of black healthy reference controls, and 3) to determine if changes in musculoskeletal health and body composition with ST are associated with changes in fatigue, physical function, and quality of life (QoL). PCa patients (N=17) completed a 12 week ST program, which produced many beneficial effects on factors adversely affected by ADT, including substantial gains in muscle power, size, strength, and endurance (all P < 0.001), resulting in a more favorable body composition (P < 0.001) and increased physical function (all P < 0.05). ST also improved fatigue perception and QoL (both P < 0.05). Compared with healthy reference controls (N=20), PCa patients responded to ST with similar gains in muscle power, strength, and mass, which was contrary to expectations. However, PCa patients had higher fat mass and lower muscle power and strength than controls at baseline (all P < 0.05). Finally, the changes in physical function, fatigue perception, and QoL were associated with some of the changes in muscle function with training. The findings in this study provide support for the hypothesis that ST improves musculoskeletal health and body composition in black men with PCa on ADT by demonstrating significant improvements in muscle power, mass, strength, and endurance, which can enhance physical function and QoL.Item THE POWER OF INFORMATION: THE INTERNET AND THE RISE OF SOFT POWER(2009) Shin, Yookyoung; Schreurs, Miranda A; Government and Politics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation explores how the Internet changes the concept of political power. It focuses on information as a source of political power, and the relationship between information and power. As a conceptual analysis of the impact of the Internet on political power shift, it argues that the Internet transforms the concept of power from hard to soft. This dissertation argues: (i) the Internet changes power sources from material, such as military or economic, to non-material, such as information or policies; (ii) the Internet promotes the rise of soft power in international relations. This dissertation aims to improve theoretical as well as empirical understanding of information as a source of political power, and to conceptualize political power from hard to soft. According to Nye, soft power is defined as "the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion." This study begins with an analysis of the concept of power in politics, and continues to analyze the impact of the Internet on the conceptualization of political power. This dissertation examines the Internet as a new form of communication media with particular emphasis on the political use of the Internet. Then, it explores digital divide, and discusses some implications of the changed concept of power for two Koreas and the U.S.Item Power Conflict: Struggles for Intragroup Control and Dominance(2009) Keller, Kirsten Michelle; Gelfand, Michele J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)There has been a considerable amount of research at the individual level of analysis examining strivings for power and influence within an organizational context. However, research has largely yet to examine how these individual motives and behaviors designed to garner power may translate to processes at the interpersonal and group level, and in particular, the extent to which they may result in conflicts or power struggles between individuals. Therefore, the goal of this dissertation was to delineate and explore a construct of power conflict using both qualitative and quantitative methods in two complementary studies. In the first study of this dissertation, I conducted an inductive, qualitative examination of power conflict designed to provide an in depth exploration of different types or manifestations of power conflict. Using data obtained from 58 semi-structured interviews with employees across 23 different bank branches, this study explored how conflicts over power are enacted within context, including key actions and motives. In addition, this study explored potential antecedents and consequences of power conflict in an effort to begin developing a nomological network. In Study 2, I then built upon these qualitative results by using survey data from 131 bank branches to empirically establish power conflict as an important fourth factor of intragroup conflict, along with the already established task, relationship, and process factors. In support of this, the confirmatory factor analysis results provide evidence that power conflict is a distinct factor of intragroup conflict and is distinct from the potentially related construct of dominating conflict management strategies. I also test a portion of the nomological network developed through the qualitative study by examining the relationship of power conflict to several group level antecedents and consequences. Regression results indicate that groups with higher mean levels of extraversion, lower mean levels of agreeableness, and that are predominantly female tend to have higher levels of power conflict. In contrast, groups that have high learning goal orientation climates tend to have lower levels of power conflict. In terms of consequences, power conflict was significantly related to branch stress and greater branch turnover above and beyond the other three conflict types.Item Identity, power, and difference: The management of roles and self among public relations practitioners(2007-10-09) Tindall, Natalie T.J.; Aldoory, Linda; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Public relations is important to organizations because this function has boundary spanning roles and responsibilities. Public relations practitioners work between the organization and various publics to communicate messages in an effort to inform and influence the organization's leadership and dominant coalition and to inform and effect change among the organization's stakeholders. According to public relations theory, the communicators in the public relations department must match the diversity in the internal and external populations the organizations serve (e.g., L. A. Grunig, J. E. Grunig, & Dozier, 2000; Sha & Ford, 2007). However, public relations has been called a "lily-white profession" (Layton, 1981) and has been classified as "gay industry" (Woods & Lucas, 1993). Recent surveys about the field have indicated modest changes in the profession's demographic makeup (cf. 2005 PR Week Diversity Survey). The aim of this dissertation research is to examine and explore how power and identity merge and diverge in the everyday, professional lives of minority public relations practitioners. This research identified how these practitioners navigate through organizational networks, how they manage identity in their organizations, and how these practitioners interpret the concept of power. To recognize how practitioners interpret their experiences in organizations and to examine the meaning-making of practitioners, I needed the resulting product to be descriptive data that could be unraveled and clarified, then bracketed back to the Excellence Theory of public relations. Therefore, I utilized qualitative methodology. I conducted in-depth interviews with 51 public relations practitioners of various backgrounds--African American and Hispanic heterosexual practitioners; white lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) practitioners; and African American and Hispanic gay male practitioners. The findings revealed some particularly distinct themes. Black and Hispanic public relations practitioners and lesbian, gay male, and bisexual (LGB) public relations practitioners encountered heterosexism, racism, sexism, and occasionally all of these prejudices at the same time. As research participants encountered these barriers, they said they simultaneously resisted and enacted countermeasures to avoid those pitfalls. Power was perceived as having access to knowledge; access and control of financial resources; holding a seat in the dominant coalition; and having a high-ranking position in the organization. Participants achieved power and empowerment in their organizational roles through various avenues--avenues such as mentoring, seeking social support, and reaching out.Item Firm Decision Making Under Financial Distress: A Study of U.S. Air Fares and an Analysis of Inventories in U.S. Manufacturing Industries(2007-07-09) Hofer, Christian; Dresner, Martin E; Windle, Robert J; Business and Management: Logistics, Business & Public Policy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation investigates the effects of firm financial distress on two key firm decision variables: sales prices and inventories. These analyses contribute to the Structure-Conduct-Performance paradigm literature. Specifically, the feedback loop between financial distress, a result of poor past performance, and two firm conduct parameters, prices and inventories, is explored in great detail. The first essay is motivated by the ambiguity of prior research on the relationship between firm financial distress and prices. The extant economics, corporate finance and strategic management literatures differentially approach this relationship, and empirical research has found only limited, at times ambiguous support for any single theoretical contention. These theoretical perspectives are reviewed and an attempt is made to reconcile the apparent conflict by adopting a strategic contingency perspective that identifies in which way and in what instances firm financial distress may impact prices. The model is empirically tested using data from the U.S. airline industry. The results indicate that firm financial distress and prices are generally negatively related. Moreover, this effect is substantially stronger for firms operating under Chapter 11 protection than for firms approaching bankruptcy. It is further shown that the magnitude of the effect of financial distress on prices depends on firm factors such as operating costs, market power, and firm size, as well as on competitive characteristics such as market concentration and the financial condition of competitors. The second essay analyzes the impact of firm distress on firm inventories and investigates if this relationship is impacted by a firm's power relative to its upstream and downstream supply chain partners. Building on prior work in the economics field, this research is not only based on microeconomics theory, but also draws on inventory theory as well as on prior work on supply chain relationships. A comprehensive inventory estimation model is specified, and novel measures of inventory determinants and power are developed. The hypotheses are tested using panel data from the U.S. manufacturing industry. It is shown that distressed firms hold less inventory and that a firm's power within the supply chain will determine to what extent inventory ownership is reduced during times of financial distress. Implications for supplier selection and supply chain cooperation are discussed. In summary, this research significantly enhances researchers' understanding of why, how, and when firm financial distress affects prices and inventories.Item Semiparametric Cluster Detection(2007-06-08) Wen, Shihua; Kedem, Benjamin; Mathematical Statistics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In this dissertation, a Semiparametric density ratio testing method which borrows strength from two or more samples is applied to moving windows of variable size in cluster detection. This Semiparametric cluster detection method requires neither the prior knowledge of the underlying distribution nor the number of cases before scanning. To take into account the multiple testing problem induced by numerous overlapping windows, Storey's q-value method, a false discovery rate (FDR) methodology, is used in conjunction with the Semiparametric testing procedure. Monte Carlo power studies show that for binary data, the Semiparametric cluster detection method and its competitor, Kulldorff's scan statistics method, both achieve similar high power in detecting unknown hot-spot clusters. When the data are not binary, the Semiparametric methodology is still applicable, but Kulldorff's method may not be as it requires the choice of a correct probability model, namely the correct scan statistic, in order to achieve power comparable to that achieved by the Semiparametric method. Kulldorff's method with an inappropriate probability model may lose power. Moreover, when the data are binary, the Semiparametric density ratio model reduces to the same scan statistic as Kulldorff's Bernoulli model. If a cluster candidate is known, under certain conditions the Semiparametric method achieves a higher power than the power achieved by a certain focused test in testing the hy- pothesis of no cluster. The Semiparametric method potential in cluster detection is illustrated using a North Humberside childhood leukemia data set and a Maryland-DC-Virginia crime data set.