This thesis investigates the rise of the cultures and music of hip-hop and rap in the West and its effects on its female listeners and fans, especially those in academia. The thesis consists of two parts. First I conducted a content analysis of 95 lyrics from the book, Hip-Hop & Rap: Complete Lyrics for 175 Songs (Spence, 2003). The songs I analyzed were performed by male artists whose lyrics repeated misogynist and sexist messages. Second, I conducted a focus group with young female university students who self-identify as fans of hip-hop and/or rap music. In consultation with my former thesis supervisor, I selected women enrolled in interdisciplinary programmes focused on gender and race because they are equipped with an academic understanding of the potential damage or negative effects of anti-female or negative political messaging in popular music. My study suggests that the impact of hip-hop and rap music on young women is both positive and negative, creating an overarching feeling of complexity for some young female listeners who enjoy music that is infused with some lyrical messages they revile. The attraction to hip-hop and rap music and cultures by young women in academia seems to be largely contingent upon an appreciation of the aesthetics of the genre and music, including its rhythmic flow, melodic structure and the general appeal of the artists. Therefore, even when the messaging comes across as antagonizing or antithetical to the well-being of the young female academic listener, her enjoyment of the music remains intact. By organizing a discussion group and candid dialogue between young academic women who are self-described hip-hop and/or rap fans, I was able to obtain an intimate understanding of their personal struggle between this appealing musical aesthetic and the sometimes-violent messages of hip-hop and rap.

This thesis investigates the rise of the cultures and music of hip-hop and rap in the West and its effects on its female listeners and fans, especially those in academia. The thesis consists of two parts. First I conducted a content analysis of 95 lyrics from the book, Hip-Hop & Rap: Complete Lyrics for 175 Songs (Spence, 2003). The songs I analyzed were performed by male artists whose lyrics repeated misogynist and sexist messages. Second, I conducted a focus group with young female university students who self-identify as fans of hip-hop and/or rap music. In consultation with my former thesis supervisor, I selected women enrolled in interdisciplinary programmes focused on gender and race because they are equipped with an academic understanding of the potential damage or negative effects of anti-female or negative political messaging in popular music. My study suggests that the impact of hip-hop and rap music on young women is both positive and negative, creating an overarching feeling of complexity for some young female listeners who enjoy music that is infused with some lyrical messages they revile. The attraction to hip-hop and rap music and cultures by young women in academia seems to be largely contingent upon an appreciation of the aesthetics of the genre and music, including its rhythmic flow, melodic structure and the general appeal of the artists. Therefore, even when the messaging comes across as antagonizing or antithetical to the well-being of the young female academic listener, her enjoyment of the music remains intact. By organizing a discussion group and candid dialogue between young academic women who are self-described hip-hop and/or rap fans, I was able to obtain an intimate understanding of their personal struggle between this appealing musical aesthetic and the sometimes-violent messages of hip-hop and rap.

“Ambassadors of Pleasure” examines the social and cultural history of ‘sin’ in the Detroit-Windsor border region during the post-World War II period. It employs the interrelated frameworks of “borderlands” and “vice” in order to identify the complex ways in which illicit economies shaped—and were shaped by—these border cities. It argues that illicit economies served multiple purposes for members of local borderlands communities. For many downtown residents, vice industries provided important forms of leisure, labor, and diversion in cities undergoing rapid changes. Deeply rooted in local working-class communities, prostitution and heroin economies became intimately intertwined in the daily lives of many local residents who relied on them for both entertainment and income. For others, though, anti-vice activities offered a concrete way to engage in what they perceived as community betterment. Fighting the immoral influences of prostitution and drug use was one way some residents, particularly those of the middle class, worked to improve their local communities in seemingly tangible ways. These struggles for control over vice economies highlight the ways in which shifting meanings of race, class, and gender, growing divisions between urban centers and suburban regions, and debates over the meaning of citizenship evolved in the urban borderland. This dissertation subsequently traces the competing interests brought together through illicit vice activities, arguing that they provide unique insight into the fracturing social lines developing in the postwar North American cities.

The Canadian early childhood landscape is changing substantially, pushing early childhood from a private family responsibility into the greater public policy discourse. New investments in early childhood services, combined with research that defines the importance of early years learning, requires a careful analysis of the professional preparation of early childhood educators. At the same time typical understandings of family and childhood are being challenged through legal and social policy reforms. Although Canadian demographic changes indicate a growing number of queer families with children, the gap in addressing the interests of queer identified parents and their children is exacerbated by the dominance of a heteronormative perspective in early childhood theory, training and practice. My study demonstrates the disparity between the professional preparation of early childhood educators in Ontario and how queer families are understood in the Canadian context. I draw upon queer theory to deconstruct how educators understand child development patterns and family composition including the newly defined family units that can include single or multiple parents of varying sexual identities that may consist of, but are not limited to lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and trans parents. Using qualitative methods, the research is grounded in data sources including text analysis of key early childhood texts, focus groups with early childhood educators who have graduated from ECE training programs in Ontario during the last decade and interviews with queer parents with young children enrolled in early childhood programs. I argue that the inherent heteronormative discourse of developmentally appropriate practice silences queer in early childhood training and is embedded in foundational approaches including standards of practice, curriculum frameworks and textbooks commonly used in the training of early childhood educators. Notions of diversity, equity and inclusion structure this silencing. My study also found that early childhood educators have a narrow understanding of how queer parents may be similar or different from other parents. Educators have a limited capacity to support and engage with parents that do not fit the dominant framework of family identity. The queer parents’ narratives consistently present subtle forms of homophobia and transphobia through the silencing of their family in their child’s early childhood program. The results of the study provide an opportunity to reimagine the professional training of early childhood educators embedding a much richer theoretical grounding and teaching practice of diversity and difference that includes queer parents and their children.

“Ambassadors of Pleasure” examines the social and cultural history of ‘sin’ in the Detroit-Windsor border region during the post-World War II period. It employs the interrelated frameworks of “borderlands” and “vice” in order to identify the complex ways in which illicit economies shaped—and were shaped by—these border cities. It argues that illicit economies served multiple purposes for members of local borderlands communities. For many downtown residents, vice industries provided important forms of leisure, labor, and diversion in cities undergoing rapid changes. Deeply rooted in local working-class communities, prostitution and heroin economies became intimately intertwined in the daily lives of many local residents who relied on them for both entertainment and income. For others, though, anti-vice activities offered a concrete way to engage in what they perceived as community betterment. Fighting the immoral influences of prostitution and drug use was one way some residents, particularly those of the middle class, worked to improve their local communities in seemingly tangible ways. These struggles for control over vice economies highlight the ways in which shifting meanings of race, class, and gender, growing divisions between urban centers and suburban regions, and debates over the meaning of citizenship evolved in the urban borderland. This dissertation subsequently traces the competing interests brought together through illicit vice activities, arguing that they provide unique insight into the fracturing social lines developing in the postwar North American cities.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Personal Financial Planning / Sonya L. Britt / John E. Grable / This dissertation explores financial behavior outcomes based on economic, relational, and behavioral characteristics within marriages and individually. Data for the three essays are obtained from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort (NLSY79) and the NLSY79 Child and Young Adult (1986-2008) survey. Essay one examined the determinants of money arguments within marriage utilizing Lundberg and Pollak’s (1994) theory of non-cooperative game theory. Respondents’ negative financial behaviors, higher income, and birth order (being laterborn) were found to influence a greater frequency of money arguments. Essay two examined the predictors of individuals’ financial behaviors, specifically socialization characteristics and gender role attitudes (traditional versus non-traditional). Using a theoretical framework of gender role theory (Eagly, 1987), younger age, not being married, being non-Black, non-Hispanic, being males, and having higher income were all found to be predictive of at least of one of the three financial behaviors used in this study. Finally, using a theoretical framework of Becker’s (1993) theory of human capital, essay three explored the intergenerational transfer of attitudes and human capital across two generations and their possible link to the respondents’ financial behaviors. Results showed that mothers’ enhanced human capital, endowed and attained, and nontraditional gender role attitudes have a significant positive impact on the children’s financial behaviors. Respondents’ income was also found to be significant. Combined results of the dissertation reveal that a link exists between the three issues discussed in the individual papers. Essay one examined what factors, including financial behaviors, might influence spousal money arguments. In response, essays two and three explored the predictors of financial behaviors within one generation and across two generations. These studies may be beneficial to financial planners, counselors, and therapists by exposing specific determinants of positive versus negative financial behaviors. These findings also provide useful information for policymakers in creating programs that best serve the needs of individuals related to their personal financial issues. Overall, by exploring not only monetary, but attitudinal and socialization effects of financial behaviors, this study adds to the body of knowledge related to the encompassing field of personal financial planning.

On October 21st , 2005 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that immigration officials “can no longer assess potential immigrants to be ‘medically inadmissible’ to Canada solely on the basis of a person’s disability” and their likelihood to make “excessive demands on Canadian social services” (Chadha 2005, 1). In this thesis I will explore this ruling using a methodological approach that engages practices of: self-reflexivity; tracing historical and political genealogies; and case study analysis. What I am interested in thinking about is how this moment gestures to the necessity of conceptualizing the nation, nationalism, and citizenship as highly medicalized terrains. Through an engagement with transnational and black feminist theorizing, anticolonial studies, and disability studies, I will suggest that “medical inadmissibility” is one of many regulatory mechanisms that work to fashion the Canadian nation-state as white, healthy, fit, and productive.

On October 21st , 2005 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that immigration officials “can no longer assess potential immigrants to be ‘medically inadmissible’ to Canada solely on the basis of a person’s disability” and their likelihood to make “excessive demands on Canadian social services” (Chadha 2005, 1). In this thesis I will explore this ruling using a methodological approach that engages practices of: self-reflexivity; tracing historical and political genealogies; and case study analysis. What I am interested in thinking about is how this moment gestures to the necessity of conceptualizing the nation, nationalism, and citizenship as highly medicalized terrains. Through an engagement with transnational and black feminist theorizing, anticolonial studies, and disability studies, I will suggest that “medical inadmissibility” is one of many regulatory mechanisms that work to fashion the Canadian nation-state as white, healthy, fit, and productive.

In general, the number of Christian male disciples are less than women disciples in all churches. This phenomenon is prevalent in churches throughout America. C. Eric Lincoln, (Lincoln, 1990), conducted a study where he found that 70% of the adults who attends church are women. A misinterpretation of the patriarchal style of leadership and a lack of empathy for the dilemma of today's men shed great insight into the problem of men not attending church regularly. The misinterpreted patriarchal style of leadership is very confusing too men who want to share the leadership of the church. Women seem to endure this style of leadership better than men, but this probably because women are socialized by the church and society to consider themselves the weaker of the sexes in all phases of life. Empathy from male pastors toward male parishioners is inadequate for several reasons. Males are socialized to be strong and not show true emotions when faced with crises. This leads male pastors to be indifferent to many of the issues that male parishioners face on a day to day basis. Because men have a general inflexibility and fear about expressing their feelings, when these men become pastors and unless they are taught how to empathize with their brothers, they carry these inadequate traits of leadership to the pastoral office.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Curriculum and Instruction / Jeong Hee Kim / Sexual orientation is only one facet of diversity (Banks et al., 2005), but teacher preparation may not adequately address sexual prejudice (Lamb, 2013). Sexual prejudice arises when heterosexuality is assumed to be the default for all students. School environments reinforce heteronormativity (Dean, 2010; Foucault, 1990; Himmelstein & Bruckner, 2011) such that when hate speech or physical violence occur against the non-hetersexual or the transgender student, teachers may not be prepared to respond appropriately. Prejudice toward gender or sexually variant students may not be adequately addressed in teacher preparation to challenge the reproduction of heteronormativity in school environments. A mixed method approach was followed to address the beliefs and attitudes of pre-service (undergraduate) and in-service (graduate) teachers toward sexual minorities through an online survey and face-to-face interviews. Group means of the PREJUDICE scale for each independent variable were analyzed for statistical significance. The total variance of the PREJUDICE scale was accounted for by personal characteristics only (political, 38%; religious, 9%; non-heterosexual friends, 18%; and family members, 5%; participant sexual orientation, 8%; and finishing the survey, 6%). Neither demographic nor educational characteristics accounted for statistically significant differences in group means of the PREJUDICE scale. College-level coursework completed in multicultural education did not significantly account for any of the total variance in PREJUDICE scores. Significantly lower levels of sexual prejudice were associated with having non-heterosexual friends and family members or being non-heterosexual, and there were no significant effects from educational interventions. However, one-on-one interviews provided stories of direct experience with sexual minority youth in K-12 classrooms. A majority of qualitative participants had questioned their conservative backgrounds and the familial/societal messages they had received regarding gender and sexual variance. Their questioning was strengthened by having non-heterosexual friends and family members. In addition, several participants had worked directly with sexual minority youth in their own school buildings and classrooms. Had this study been limited to a survey, the lived experiences of these pre-service and in-service teachers would have been lost. Having friends and family members who are non-heterosexual transcended their socialization and facilitated their development as social justice allies.