This thesis investigates how queer women on the social networking site (SNS) TikTok are expressing their cultural identity and building community. Previous research has shown that self-expression and self-presentation are important parts of defining one's identity and building community for queer individuals, and this study analyzes details specifically within the unique platform of TikTok. Its popularity and success as an SNS that utilizes an advanced algorithm justifies its examination and highlights its multifaceted benefits, such as ease of community building and accessibility to diverse content. In a thematic analysis of 66 TikTok videos using the song "girls" by Girl in Red, and consisting of female-presenting individuals, two themes were revealed and defined: color combinations communicating identity and viral trends as queer confirmation or communication. These themes reveal two ways those in the queer community are embracing small content details to find each other and practice cultural identity expression. Study findings outline the social and technological advancements of online community building, while also illuminating how stigma symbols defined by previous studies are continually employed in the TikTok videos examined in this study. Results also support previous TikTok research suggesting that queer users are developing self-organized practices in response to algorithmic functions. / MACOM / This study examines strategies employed by queer women on TikTok to express their identity and build community with one another. The mobile app, which allows users to post short video clips accompanied by audio, often songs that are popular or coordinated with the message of the video, has become an increasingly important channel of communication for members of various communities. For gender and sexual minorities, self-expression and self-presentation are important parts of defining one's identity and building community. Inspired by the growing popularity online of the Norwegian singer-songwriter Girl in Red, this study analyzes the contents of 66 videos using her song, "girls." The study illustrates how online community building has advanced since early social media, the influence of the innovative TikTok algorithm, and provides context for a popular trend on the app. Results show that queer women recognize and utilize TikTok affordances to their advantage, such as participating in trends or liking specific content to encourage cultural identity connections via the algorithm.

Kamala Harris made history on November 7, 2020, when she was elected as the first female Vice President of the United States. In addition to being the first woman, she became the first African-American and Indian-American to attain this position. As a result, the media had to grapple with how to cover her historic campaign from the moment she was announced as the vice-presidential selection. This qualitative thematic analysis examined The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal's coverage of her campaign with significant analysis on important events such as the initial buzz surrounding her selection, the convention speech, and the vice-presidential debate. Specifically, this study examines 70 news articles total from both newspapers from August 11-November 3, 2020 to determine the recurring themes from her coverage. Results indicated that although traditional media frames and themes were not a significant focus, Harris's intersectionality brought about a new set of frames to explore, with subtle differences between the two newspapers. Implications of these results and future considerations for the media are discussed. / Master of Arts / Kamala Harris made history on November 7, 2020, when she was elected as the first female Vice President of the United States. In addition to being the first woman, she became the first African-American and Indian-American to attain this position. Throughout her campaign, the media had to learn how to cover an historic candidate effectively, since this moment had no precedent. This thesis chose to explore The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal's coverage of her campaign because of their influence in shaping the news around the country and they both represent different sides of the political spectrum. Important events that are covered include the initial announcement, the convention speech, and the vice-presidential debate. This study looks to determine if the stereotypical frames that the media places on female candidates are still seen with Harris. Results indicated that although traditional media stereotypes were not a significant focus, Harris's identity brought about a new set of themes to analyze, with each paper focusing on different aspects. Implications of these results and future considerations for the media are discussed.

Historically, autistic people have been portrayed as lacking empathy. However, more recent research reveals mutual, rather than one-sided, gaps in empathy between autistic and neurotypical (NT) people. Decreased empathy can lead to marginalization and even violence, usually toward those in the minority. Regardless of diagnosis, however, there are fundamental aspects of the human experience upon which empathy could be built. In the present study, we explored commonalities and differences in how autistic and NT individuals experience comfort and discomfort. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to discover the causes, emotions, and reactions to comfortable and uncomfortable social situations and environments across autistic and NT individuals. Thematic analysis revealed three universal influences of comfort and discomfort across groups, including social influences, environmental influences, and personal/emotional influences. Each of these main themes revealed subthemes exploring how autistic and NT individuals differ and overlap. Analysis of all themes, subthemes, and codes revealed that autistic individuals differ in degree and frequency, rather than type, of factors influencing comfort and discomfort. Knowledge of these themes and findings could help to challenge the outdated belief in autistic empathy deficits and promote empathy-building.

A suburban district in the southwestern region of the United States created a choice-based program in which students have the opportunity to address their social, emotional, and academic needs through a mid-day period where they have the ability to attend tutorials or engage in a variety of club and social activities. Each day, students choose the activity that best serves their needs, be those academic, social, or emotional. In order to determine students' attitudes, opinions, and uses of the program in an effort to improve its effectiveness for student success, this qualitative study was planned to respond to the research questions: (1) how do students spend the emPower period? and (2) what are students' thoughts, attitudes, and opinions with regards to emPower? The research began by examining student responses to a previous principal survey asking their opinions on the program. Following the analysis of the survey, focus group sessions of five students from each high school grade were held to discuss student perceptions, choices, and uses of the program. The discussions were audiotaped and transcribed. Thematic data analysis resulted in themes of stress, social life, environment, regulations, choice and tutorials. Findings included a continuum of maturity evident with students' choices as they progressed in grade level; enhanced student decision making and self-reflection; cultivating positive student-teacher relationships. Student suggestions for the program involved extending the time length of the period, teaching younger students to use the program effectively, and updating the way the advisory class is taught to be more beneficial to students.

This qualitative case study examined how integrating technology, specifically digital storytelling, influenced secondary student perceptions of literacy learning and student engagement in an English language arts and reading classroom in a rural district. Understanding student perceptions of literacy learning can offer insight into which technological tools can support literacy development and classroom engagement. Through the implementation of case study design and thematic analysis, overarching themes highlight participant experiences and equip education professionals to make more informed choices regarding technology integration decisions.

The integration of technology and technological advancements in qualitative research has transformed the research process over the past several decades. Various tools, applications, and devices have expanded opportunities for multimodal field sites and created possibilities for online observations, focus groups, and interviews. As a result of new technologies and innovations, methods of qualitative data collection and analysis have transformed, and methodological approaches have evolved. As new technologies emerge, it is important to understand their impacts on the research process. With the increasing accessibility of large language models, researchers and institutions must carefully assess the implications for qualitative analysis. In this qualitative methodological dissertation I explore the possibilities and limitations of utilizing generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to analyze text data. I demonstrate the knowledge required to approach thematic analysis using Copilot Pro in Word (Copilot). I discuss the methodological decisions I encountered while exploring Copilot's features for qualitative analysis and explain my reasoning for choosing to utilize Copilot for this study. Further, I compare the results from a traditionally human-conducted thematic analysis to the codes, categories, and themes generated by Copilot. In the process, I developed the criteria by which I compared the outcomes while also evaluating Copilot’s output against the American Educational Research Association’s Standards for Reporting on Empirical Social Science Research. The findings provide insights into opportunities and limitations in leveraging GenAI tools in the qualitative research process. Through this methodological study I demonstrate Copilot’s capabilities generating codes inductively, grouping codes into categories, and developing themes. I argue that researchers need to balance the capabilities of the tool with an understanding of its limitations, particularly concerning time and efficiency, transparency regarding its analytic process, the reliability of its responses, the presentation of its outcomes, and the level of support provided to substantiate its claims.

This study explored the experiences of members of an OCD support group, utilising a qualitative design, social constructionist approach, and a systemic framework. Participants were obtained through purposive sampling; data was collected via faceto- face semi-structured interviews with four participants. It emerged that these participants attended two OCD support groups (initial support group and sub-support group). The participants’ experiences were analysed using thematic analysis. Major findings: the participants’ motivation to attend both support groups was to reduce their OCD symptoms and improve functioning. The initial support group was a professional-led psychoeducational support group while the sub-support group was a self-help psychotherapeutic group. The groups also complemented each other with information from the initial support group being implemented in the sub-support group. The participants reported to have benefitted from participation in both support groups as their OCD symptoms reduced and their daily functioning improved. Recommendations for future research were discussed. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Asperger syndrome is a relatively recent diagnostic classification. Several factors, including a high prevalence of mental illness, mean receiving a diagnosis in adulthood is a very unique experience but remarkably there is little literature about the impact on individuals. Instead the dominance of the medical/psychiatric paradigm pervades and limits understanding and possibilities. The main implication is a lack of clarity about what support services are needed and effective, and as such the needs of this population are often overlooked. This is the first study to explore the sense of self among a sample of males and females diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in adulthood using social constructionist and constructivist ideas. It was interested in whether personal construal of the self before diagnosis and self after diagnosis were differentiated. Given the importance in the development of self-concept of discriminations between the self and others, the research also sought to explore how people diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in adulthood construe other people with and without Asperger syndrome. Using the repertory grid and other techniques from Personal Construct Psychology (Kelly, 1955) in combination with a semi-structured interview, this study presents a novel exploration of idiosyncrasies and commonalities across a demographically diverse sample of eight participants. An extended analysis of a unique subsample of women diagnosed aged 50 years and over was undertaken. Both cognitively complex and simple construct systems were found across the sample. Findings indicated the self before diagnosis was construed critically and was more elaborated than the self after diagnosis. Several participants had a reduced sense of self following diagnosis. The diagnosis offered an explanation of symptoms but for some participants these symptoms were a way of life and accommodating the new label with the existing view of self posed challenges. An overarching and striking theme was the sense of difference felt by participants before and after diagnosis. This study offers a fresh insight into a virtually unexplored population which, through dissemination, may influence the way clinical psychologists and other practitioners work to support adults diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Recommendations for clinical practice included approaches that target the need for individuality, commonality and sociality, and should be gender-specific where possible. Such approaches might elaborate multiple aspects of self, the diagnosis and related dilemmas. They should support people to widen their perceptual field to alternative ways of construing and explore change. The mixed method approach was assessed to be a strength of the study and a number of recommendations for future research are presented.

Background: In recent years Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has gained increasing status as a promising approach to treating chronic pain physical functioning and psychological well-being. The basic premise of ACT as applied to chronic pain is that while pain hurts, it is the struggle with pain that causes suffering. This approach aims to restore effective and adaptive functioning for an individual within a context of continuing pain so that the individual can live a more vital and meaningful life. There is a growing empirical support for the effectiveness of ACT however research has relied on self-reported quantitative outcomes, focused on addressing changes in pain intensity and the physical and psychological impact of chronic pain. There appears to be a gap in the literature on the exploration of the experience of attending an ACT programme for chronic pain from the patient’s perspective. Aim: This study sought to explore the experience of attending an ACT programme for chronic pain within an outpatient NHS hospital setting. Furthermore the study sought to explore the modulating factors influencing clients learning and understanding of the construct of acceptance from the perspective of the participants. Additionally, the experience of attending a group based ACT intervention was explored. Methodology: A qualitative methodology was chosen for the project. The study used a purposive sample of twelve participants, who had all attended the Luton & Dunstable Hospital ACT 8 week outpatient programme for chronic pain. The participants were interviewed through the use of a semi structured interviews, and the transcripts were transcribed and then analysed using Thematic Analysis. Identified themes were further organised using the tool of Thematic Network Analysis. Results: Three global themes emerged from the analysis of the data. The first global theme encompassed the participant’s pre-programme expectations and this theme highlighted the participant’s feelings of hope and hopelessness prior to attending the programme. The second global theme demonstrated the on-going process of living with chronic pain and highlighted the benefits and barriers to adopting and ACT based approach to chronic pain. Finally the third global theme addressed the experience of a group based intervention and included the positive and negative aspects of this experience for the participants. Clinical Implications & Conclusion: Based on the results of this study a number of clinical implications were highlighted in relation to the future development of ACT programmes for chronic pain. These included suggestions in relation to engaging participants in such programmes. Notably, timing issues, validation of physical symptoms, and consideration of the potential barriers to acceptance and understanding of the benefits of adopting and ACT group based pain management approach were discussed.

The balance between family support and child protection services is continuously challenged by high-profile cases. These highlight shortcomings both of the UK system and of research on the effectiveness of child maltreatment interventions (Munro, 2011). One such intervention is the Resolutions Approach to ‘denied’ child abuse (Turnell and Essex, 2006) – a systemic approach which creates a support network including extended family, friends, community members and professionals. There is, however, only limited research analysing the supporters’ experience of this intervention. In the present study five semi-structured group interviews were conducted in order to investigate how the family support network members made sense of their participation in Resolutions. Through a thematic analysis three related themes: returning hope; building safety and trusting a professional were identified. Additionally, special attention was paid to processes linked to the creation of family resilience (Walsh, 2003). Based on two contrasting case studies the potential creation of family resilience through Resolutions was discussed and clinical recommendations for creating family resilience within support networks were outlined.