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
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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 AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY OF THREE RURAL ELEMENTARY MUSIC TEACHERS(2020) Fernsler, Stephanie; Hewitt, Michael; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this exploratory case study was to examine the experiences and perspectives of three rural elementary music teachers. The study explored rural elementary music teachers’ attitudes, perceptions, and opinions about their current music programs. After collecting survey data from three rural elementary music teachers, results indicated similar and different experiences and perspectives of teaching in a rural elementary school, with effective communication, community support and creative implementation being similar experiences. These findings may contribute towards rural elementary music teachers’ voices being heard in the music community and inspire other rural music teachers to contribute to music education.Item Implementation of Janani Suraksha Yojana and other maternal health policies in two Indian states: Predictors of maternal health service utilization among poor rural women(2012) Vora, Kranti Suresh; Koblinsky, Sally; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Poor, rural women in India contribute disproportionately to the nation's high maternal mortality ratio. In response to this problem, the Indian government launched a conditional cash transfer scheme, "Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY)," in 2005 to increase poor women's access to maternal health care. The state of Tamil Nadu reorganized public health system resources and the state of Gujarat contracted with private providers to implement the scheme in rural areas. This study investigated the role of JSY/government assistance, and other health care sector and household factors in predicting poor, rural women's utilization of maternal health services in the two states. Health care sector factors included receipt of JSY payment, availability of a primary health center with round-the-clock services, and connection to a health facility by an all-weather road. Household factors included maternal education, paternal education, age at first birth and parity. Use of four maternal health care services was examined: adequate antenatal care, institutional delivery, private facility delivery and Cesarean section. State findings were compared and contextualized by examining health polices/practices and health infrastructure within each state. The study employed secondary data analyses using District Level Household Survey (DLHS)-3 data, with a sample of 2,267 rural women from the lowest two wealth quintiles. Multivariate logistic regression analyses examined associations between identified factors and maternal health care utilization in the two target states. Overall, Tamil women had better access to maternal health care services than Gujarati women. JSY payment predicted use of private facility deliveries in Gujarat, which incentivized use of private providers, but not institutional deliveries in Tamil Nadu where women also received cash regardless of the place of delivery. JSY payment did not predict adequate antenatal care, which was not incentivized. Access to an all-weather road predicted institutional deliveries in both states and adequate antenatal care by Tamil women. Maternal education was a significant predictor of maternal health services utilization in Tamil Nadu, while paternal education predicted such usage in Gujarat. Parity significantly predicted poor, rural women's use of all services. Implications of the findings for strengthening conditional cash transfer schemes and improving maternal health care services are discussed.Item Standing Tall: U.S. Efforts at Democratizing Rural Japanese Women During the Occupation of Japan, 1945-1952(2010) Price, Emily Rebecca; Mayo, Marlene J; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)During the U.S. Occupation of Japan, 1945-1952, dismantling the political and cultural systems that were perceived to have led Japan to war was a primary goal. Democracy, a word that came to encompass much more than its standard definitions, was to be the replacement ideology and coupled with demilitarization. Through a survey of SCAP documents from Record Group 331 located in the National Archives, this paper examines the way in which varying concepts and meanings of democracy were promoted to rural Japanese women by U.S. Occupation forces. It also explores the ways in which Japanese farm women embraced, rejected, and/or modified the evolving ideas about democracy into their daily lives. While the impact of democracy - in all of its many guises - was not as powerful as Occupation members desired, it still had a definite effect on the way rural Japanese women thought about their society and on their daily lives.Item Stressor Events, Resources, and Depressive Symptoms in Rural, Low-Income Mothers(2008-08-11) Waldman, Joanna; Braun, Bonnie; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study, based on stress theory, sought to understand whether resources moderate the effects of stressors on depressive symptoms over time among a sample of rural, low-income mothers. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were utilized to explain the phenomena under investigation. Results revealed that higher numbers of stressors were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. At time one, resources were found to moderate the effects of stressors on depressive symptoms, with higher levels of resources and higher levels of stress producing the greatest level of depressive symptoms. At time two, resources did not moderate the effects of stressors on depressive symptoms. This study found that resources do not always serve a protective function. One explanation appears to be the "hidden cost" of resources revealed in the mothers' interviews. Recommendations for future research and practical applications are discussed.Item The Role of Parenting Social Support, Religious Coping, and Religious Practices in Moderating the Effects of Financial Poverty on Symptoms of Depression Among Rural, Low-Income Mothers(2004-07-30) Marghi, Jamie Rose; Braun, Bonnie; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study explored relationships between financial poverty, social support, religious coping, religious practices, and symptoms of depression among rural, low-income mothers. Given the higher incidence of depression in these impoverished mothers and the limited mental health services in rural areas, this study sought to identify factors that are protective against depression. While research suggests that social support, religious coping and religious practices are protective against depression, there has been little research exploring these relationships among rural, low-income mothers. Correlations, t-tests, and hierarchical multiple regressions were utilized. The findings did not support the hypotheses that social support, religious coping, and religious practices functioned as moderators. However, for all mothers the higher the perception of economic situation and income adequacy, parenting social support, and religious practices, the lower the symptoms of depression. Additionally, for minority mothers the higher the religious coping, the lower the symptoms of depression. Recommendations for future research and psychotherapy are discussed.