School of Public Health

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1633

The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations.

Note: Prior to July 1, 2007, the School of Public Health was named the College of Health & Human Performance.

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    THE PHYSICAL CULTURE OF DIVERSITY WORK: A CASE STUDY OF EMBODIED INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION WITHIN THE CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
    (2019) Cork, Stephanie Joan; Jette, Shannon; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Considering recent incidents of white nationalism and racial violence on college campuses, the efficacy of diversity and inclusion work within this context has garnered increased attention. What received less attention, however, the embodied experiences of university employees, specifically “diversity workers,” who are tasked by their institution to combat equity issues. Previous research has shown that experiences of exclusion and discrimination can negatively impact work, educational, and health outcomes.This study explores how these impacts are experienced by the diversity workers themselves, many of whom inhabit intersectionally marginalized identities. In examining the physicality of the diversity worker, this project merges scholarship from the field of public health and the sociology of work to investigate occupational health and wellness through the lens of critical theory. It builds on a long tradition of studying the working body in the field of kinesiology through the lens of occupational health, and in doing so also fills a gap in the area of Physical Cultural Studies given that bodies at work (outside the sporting context) have received little attention in this subfield.The aims of this study are to explore the social, political, and economic context of the diversity worker in contemporary American post-secondary education, and how this impacts health, wellness, and job performance. This study uses a critical qualitative approach drawing from theories of embodiment, radical contextualism, and intersectionality. Data collection entailed a survey (n = 48) and one-on-one semi-structured interviews with diversity workers (n = 8) at an anonymized site referred to here as “public four-year university.” Using thematic analysis and the radical contextual method of articulation, the data was coded and synthesized to construct the three empirical chapters. Through centering the embodied experiences of diversity workers within the context of the contemporary American university, this study contributes to existing scholarship in a variety of disciplines. Study findings point to how we might better support diversity work and workers through a more supportive and healthier workplace environment.
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    Investigating the Global Productivity Effects of Highly Skilled Labor Migration: How Immigrant Athletes Impact Olympic Medal Counts
    (2011) Horowitz, Jonathan Joseph; McDaniel, Stephen R; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Labor migration is a defining attribute of today's global economy, as more people live outside their country of birth than ever before and workers have more opportunities beyond their local borders (GCIM, 2005). This has motivated scholars to better understand the mobility of human capital and its various effects. While data are available to track aggregate migration patterns between countries, it is much more difficult to determine its association with such metrics as gains or losses in productivity for specific sectors of industry (Asis & Piper, 2008). Athletes are among the few groups of workers (along with information technology specialists, senior academics, health professionals and teachers) who can seek employment on a global market level while most people have fewer opportunities based on national markets (GCIM, 2005). Moreover, given the availability of records and clear metrics of productivity, the sports entertainment industry provides a unique opportunity to investigate the movement of a highly skilled labor force (Kahn, 2000). Therefore, the current study will investigate 21st century labor migration patterns and their relationship to productivity in the context of arguably the largest, oldest and most global example of sports business, the Summer Olympics. The scholarly and practical implications and future directions for research will be discussed.