This thesis is a comparative, empirically driven, small-n, comparative study that attempts to answer the question: Does morally motivated violence increase the level of conflict brutality? The study argues that higher levels of moral violence will lead to an increase in conflict brutality due to psychological processes that limit restraint. Two rebel groups are studied, the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra li al-Sham in the context of the intrastate conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic. Motivations of violence are measured through an idea analysis and are operationalized in both instrumental and moral motivations. The Islamic State shows higher rates of conflict brutality and are more morally motivated in their acts of violence than Jabhat al-Nusra, who show more instrumental objectives and are not as brutal. The study concludes that there is a relation between morally motivated violence and conflict brutality and urges future research to further establish this relation.

The analysis of mainstream newspaper content has long been mined by communication scholars and researchers for insights into public opinion and perceptions. In recent years, scholars have been examining African-American authored periodicals to obtain similar insights. Hearkening back to the 1950s and 1960s civil rights movement in the United States, the highly-publicized killings of African-American men by police officers during the past several years have highlighted longstanding strained police-community relations. As part of its role as both a reflection of, and an advocate for, the African-American community, African-American journalistic texts contain a wealth of data about African-American public opinion about, and perceptions of, police. In years past, media content analysts would manually sift through newspapers to divine interesting police-related themes and variables worthy of study. But, with the exponential growth of digitized texts, communication scholars are experimenting with computerized text analysis tools like topic modeling software to aid them in their content analyses. This thesis considers to what degree topic modeling software can be used at the exploratory stage of designing a content analysis study to aid in uncovering themes and variables worthy of further investigation. Appendix A contains results of the manual exploratory content analysis. The list of topics generated by the topic modeling software may be found in Appendix B. / Media Studies & Production / Accompanied by one .pdf file: NLG Thesis Appendices Final.pdf

The racial composition of elected officials in the United States has significantly diversified in recent decades. Nevertheless, the proportion of candidates of color still fall far short of the underlying voter population, particularly as the minority demographic continues to grow at a rapid pace. To explain the source of racial disparity in government, scholars have long examined various political opportunity structures under which minority candidates arise, suggesting that whether candidates of color emerge or not is a strategic matter: minority candidates enter politics when they perceive high electoral viability, which they estimate using information such as the racial composition of a district and prior electoral success of co-ethnic candidates. However, absent from this scholarship is a comprehensive understanding of how minority individuals enter the emergence process in the first place and how the factors that advance them through the pipeline to power evolve over time. This dissertation investigates the process by which racial minorities decide to enter politics, examining the entire pipeline to power from developing an initial interest in running for office to officially becoming a candidate. First, I examine political ambition among the general American public, focusing on the racial differences in the development of political ambition and the factors uniquely influencing ordinary minority voters' entry decisions. Through an online survey on a sample of ordinary American voters, post-stratified to be representative of each racial population, I find that factors commonly used to predict political ambition, such as encouragement from personal or political sources, political efficacy, and community participation, operate differently between minority respondents and their white counterparts as well as across different racial groups. A conjoint experiment designed to examine entry decisions among ordinary minority voters both confirms existing theories and offers a new insight. I find that the perceived electoral viability is higher in electoral districts with larger share of co-ethnic populations, which aligns with conventional wisdom that minority population is often used to gauge the primary voter base among minority candidates. Furthermore, I find that among politically ambitious minority respondents, perceived electoral viability is higher when an incumbent shares the respondent's ethnicity. However, this effect is reduced when both the incumbent and the challenger share the same ethnicity, indicating that minority status is no longer a comparative electoral advantage. Second, in two field experiments embedded in real-world candidate recruitment efforts, I investigate the relative influence of intrinsic and extrinsic appeals on developing nascent interest in running for office. I find that intrinsic motivation to run, such as a desire to bring about social change, increases not only the immediate information-seeking behavior but also a longer-term commitment to candidacy, including applying to and attending a campaign training program. On the other hand, extrinsic appeals intended to increase the perceived likelihood of winning generate a significantly smaller effect on the immediate consideration of political candidacy while exerting a modest amount of influence on the longer-term commitment. Third, through a conjoint experiment on minority individuals situated at different stages of the emergence process, I study how the motivation to run evolves as they progress through their political journey. I find modest evidence of a shift in priority, from intrinsic to extrinsic, as minority individuals advance through the pipeline to power. Specifically, those with low levels of political ambition prefer to run in districts that have undergone a surge in violence targeted toward co-ethnic groups. In contrast, those with a high level of political ambition prefer districts with a substantial share of their co-ethnic population. Fourth, I examine how both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations to run play out in real-world elections. Leveraging city-level exposure to police brutality, I find that the share of Black candidates running in municipal elections increases in cities after a fatal police shooting of a Black resident, suggesting that racial violence politicizes group consciousness among the Black community, which, in turn, influences their desire to enter politics. However, exploring individual cases of who those candidates are and when they appear on a ballot reveals that Black candidates emerge for both intrinsic and strategic reasons: political veterans emerge immediately after the incident as they take advantage of increased minority voter turnout and open seats, whereas political newcomers arise several years later as they require more resources. The empirical findings challenge the conventional wisdom that attributes minority under-representation to strategic calculations alone. Instead, they highlight the importance of examining both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations at each stage of the emergence process to fully understand why racial minorities run for office. In doing so, this research offers new insights into the nuanced dynamics of minority candidate emergence and, in turn, minority representation in the United States.

Arising from the complications of an underprivileged and impoverished background this thesis focuses on exposing the grotesque consequences of conflicting ideologies through personal and societal suffering while in search of universal connections to showcase the need for compassion and understanding. My artistic practice is utilized as an entry point to have difficult discussions, a tool for teaching themes of injustice, inequality, and mistreatment. The traumatizing experience of poverty or corruption has the potential to be transmuted into something beneficial. I utilize discarded, low valued, unwanted, and damaged materials in my artmaking to symbolize transfiguration, an advanced state of former self. What seems hideous has its own beauty. What seems rotten and ugly has the potential to be adapted into something beneficial, any suffering we have experienced should not and has not gone to waste. The wisdom and resilience that arose from the experience will serve you in the future. This attempt at an honest, unflinching exploration of self and society is to shift perspectives away from apathy, towards thoughtfulness for other's struggles.

This thesis examined the conditions under which taharrush (sexual harassment) has become normalized in Cairo, allowing acts once deemed unethical by Egyptians to become a daily experience. Experiences of taharrush were explored through an ethnographic study of three neighborhoods in Cairo and 20 semi-structured interviews with women from diverse backgrounds and age groups. Through the literature review of key themes and a historical analysis of the Egyptian context, this research explored the rise in sexual harassment over time and under different presidential regimes. The cross-generational aspect of this research highlighted the prevalence of sexual harassment in the past three decades. Furthermore, through the participants’ voices, numerous themes emerged explaining the increase of taharrush, such as: economic difficulties, decline in akhle (sense of community), and violence against women perpetrated by security officials. The interviews showed women’s experiences of sexual harassment, the perceived causes behind the issue of harassment being trivialized and normalized, and ways in which women combat harassment and security issues within Cairo. / February 2016

There is increasing concern in news media sources regarding police killings of unarmed Black males. However, there is limited research on the portrayal of such incidents in the news and the implications for police-community relations in African- American communities. In order to address this gap, this study analyzed 120 experts’ quotes provided by two of the largest and most respected newspapers in the United States -- the New York Times and USA Today. This research comprised a content analysis of quotes related to the deaths of Eric Garner (Staten Island, New York), Michael Brown (Ferguson, Missouri), and Freddie Gray (Baltimore City, Maryland). A number of factors are discussed: The news organization’s predominate category and specialty of experts selected; whether the experts’ quotes attributed to pro-police or community bias; if the experts’ quotes discussed social or racial inequalities in the cities selected; whether the experts addressed evidence-based strategies necessary to improve police-community relations in the Black community, and whether experts’ quotes discussed solutions to improve police and community relations in the Black community. The findings suggest that the selected national news sources, in the one year following the deaths of each of the unarmed victims, highlighted quotes from state manager, particularly politicians, at a much higher rate than intellectuals. Although revealing a substantial level of procommunity bias, the quotes presented very little regarding evidence-based strategies for improving police-community relations in the Black community and reducing the number of unarmed deaths caused by police. The implications for research on media and crime as well as policing strategies are discussed. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-07-18T11:47:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Wagner Jacinto de Oliveira.pdf: 2169116 bytes, checksum: 4e36d79d000e6d51b67f01e1c738a661 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-18T11:47:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Wagner Jacinto de Oliveira.pdf: 2169116 bytes, checksum: 4e36d79d000e6d51b67f01e1c738a661 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-05-11 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / The present thesis aims to analyze the performance of the extermination group “Kombão of the death” that operated in the city of Uberlândia-MG between the years of 1980 and 1990. His practice showed that the violence of the State made use of this group as a way to perpetuate its repression against ordinary people, demystifying the idea that the state was limited to social sanitation. Death squads, like the one analyzed, integrated the repressive system with their own mode of action, meeting the aspirations of the bourgeois hegemonic segments represented by the State, whose agents received political protection for the fulfillment of their "social function" in those years that ended a long period dictatorship and the beginning of a process of political re-democratization. The main source of research for this study are the interviews given by four military police officers who composed the referred group of extermination — also denominated, in this thesis, by "squadron of the death" — composed at that time by seven military policemen. Besides this source, we also use the documentation found in local newspapers and those of great circulation, in addition to bibliographical reviews / A presente tese tem como objetivo analisar a atuação do grupo de extermínio “Kombão da morte” que atuou na cidade de Uberlândia-MG entre os anos de 1980 e 1990. Sua prática evidenciou que a violência do Estado fez uso desse grupo como forma de perpetuar sua repressão contra pessoas comuns, desmitificando a ideia de que o Estado se limitava à higienização social. Os esquadrões da morte, como este analisado, integravam o sistema repressivo com um modo de atuação próprio, atendendo aos anseios dos segmentos hegemônicos burgueses representados pelo Estado, cujos agentes recebiam proteção política pelo cumprimento de sua “função social” naqueles anos que encerravam longo período ditatorial e início de um processo de redemocratização política. A fonte principal de pesquisa para este estudo são as entrevistas concedidas por quatro policiais militares que integraram o referido grupo de extermínio — denominado também, nesta tese, por “esquadrão da morte” — composto à época por sete policiais militares. Além dessa fonte, valemo-nos, ainda, das documentações encontradas em jornais locais e os de grande circulação, além das revisões bibliográficas

In this paper, Kait Spong examines alternative practices of mothering that are strategic nature, heavily analyzing Patricia Hill Collins’ concepts of “othermothering” and “preservative love” as applied to Toni Morrison’s 1987 novel, Beloved and Harriet Jacob’s 1861 slave narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Using literary analysis as a vehicle, Spong then applies these West African notions of motherhood to a modern context by evaluating contemporary social movements such as Black Lives Matter where black mothers have played a prominent role in making public statements against systemic issues such as police brutality, heightened surveillance, and the prison industrial complex.

On March 14, 1975, twenty-eight year old Portland Police Officer Kenneth Sanford shot and killed seventeen-year-old Rickie Charles Johnson in the back of the head during a sting operation. Incredulously, Johnson was the fourth person of color to be shot and killed by Portland police within a five-month period. Due to his age and surrounding circumstances, Johnson's death by Sanford elicited extreme reactions from varied communities of Portland. Unlike previous deaths of people of color by the police in Portland, Johnson's death received widespread attention from mainstream media outlets. In response, some white citizens decried Johnson's death as unjustified police brutality. Still, several white citizens defended the Portland Police Bureau and their actions. Members of Portland's African American community, however, firmly believed that Johnson's death was just another instance in the PPB's long history of police brutality within Portland's black neighborhoods. Johnson's death motivated young black activists in Portland, Oregon to form the advocacy group the Black Justice Committee (BJC). The BJC, along with several pre-established advocacy groups in Portland, demanded that the city host its first public inquest to investigate Johnson's death. A public inquest is a public "trial" that usually occurs after a sudden or unexpected death. Black citizens felt this public inquest would hold the city accountable for repeated mistreatment of the city's communities of color; whereas, the nearly all white city government believed a public inquest would quell racial unrest within Portland. Mayor Neil Goldschmidt and District Attorney Harl Haas agreed to host the inquest, at which assistant District Attorney John Moore questioned Officer Sanford's motivations and actions. Despite the advocacy efforts before the public inquest, the jury voted 4-1 for Sanford's innocence. The only black jury member casted the sole vote against Sanford's innocence. Heralded for its progressivity, the city of Portland, Oregon is contemporarily viewed as a liberal mecca where all are welcome to speak their truth and "Keep Portland Weird." However, communities of color have experienced widespread repression, oppression and discrimination since the establishment of the city. Whereas some may see Portland as a city that cherishes individuality, Portland's black community has been robbed of autonomy for generations. Police surveillance, harassment and brutality have plagued Portland's black community for years and continues to be a contentious issue within the city. This project focuses on the history of Portland's black community, the history of the Portland Police Bureau, and the relationship between the two. Starting with World War II and ending with Officer Sanford's public inquest in April 1975, this thesis showcases the unassailability of Portland's black activist community and the city's continued denial of culpability for police actions. Despite the inquest's results, Johnson's death and the advocacy surrounding the incident fueled the motivations of activists at both the national and state level, and encouraged the city to acknowledge the wrongdoings of the Bureau.

This thesis examines three cases of fatal police-involved killings of black men in order to understand the significance and value of citizen journalism. Citizen journalism, journalism that is produced by ordinary people rather than professional journalists, functions as an alternative to mainstream news media. With technological developments like smartphones and social media, people have the means to produce and disseminate their own news in real-time. There has been a recent trend of witnesses filming videos of acts of police violence against people of color. I argue that these videos are significant because of the way they challenge our perceptions of police officers and black men, force mainstream news media to report on news that are of public interest, amplify historically marginalized voices, and expose the issue of police brutality to a wider audience.