Bangladesh is a country at the heart of debates about climate change and migration. This thesis probes to what extent climate- and environment-related hazards influence decisions of villagers in Bangladesh to stay or move out of their place. It considers their experiences of hazards such as cyclones, droughts and floods as proxies of what might happen in the future as a result of changing climate; and probes how they respond when their livelihoods are affected by these stresses and shocks. The qualitative analysis in this thesis shows that villagers from three hazard-prone districts of Bangladesh –Nawabganj, Munshiganj and Satkhira – often migrate for better livelihoods. However, they usually do not associate their movement to the hazards. At the same time, the quantitative analysis shows that experiences of drought and cyclone positively influence migration outside the district. Though riverbank erosion and flood negatively influence longdistance migration, people affected by erosion tend to move locally. Logit models suggest that though migration is largely driven by poverty and income needs, the poorest, especially those without any assets, are often unable to migrate outside the district. Meanwhile social networks and education contribute to migration. Whether people state it or not, migration can be a strategy that helps them offset losses and prepare better for future stresses and shocks. However, whether such migration leads to adaptation to climate change depends on the policy environment in the country. A textual analysis of policy documents, however, shows that though urban migration is inevitable for Bangladesh's economic growth, its role as a climate change adaptation strategy is often not acknowledged. The thesis argues that policies need to be more proactive so that migration does not become maladaptive or people unable to move out are trapped in places exposed to climate- and environment-related hazards.

To date, there is compelling evidence to show that theory-of-mind development is influenced by different environmental and cognitive factors. However, despite our understanding of the different individual processes that facilitate theory-of-mind acquisition, what remains relatively unclear is how these processes operate together during development. The goal of the present dissertation is to examine mediation (examines the relationship between two different factors and address the question of “why” or “how” one variable predicts or causes an outcome variable) and moderation (examines “when” or “for whom” a variable most strongly predicts or causes an outcome variable) processes that can help explain why and under what conditions environmental and cognitive factors are important for theory-of-mind development. The investigation began by examining the influence of environmental factors on theory-of-mind development. Mediation analyses were used to examine “why” environmental factors such as family (i.e., family risk) and socio-linguistic factors (i.e., parental cognitive talk), may be important for theory-of-mind development. Preliminary results demonstrated possible mediated effects of both family risk and parental cognitive talk on theory of mind. That is, family risk may delay children’s theory-of-mind development by impeding the rate of language acquisition, whereas parental cognitive talk may facilitate more advanced theory-of-mind understanding by encouraging more parent-child reciprocity during conversations. Next, the effects of cognitive factors on theory-of-mind development were explored. Moderation analysis was used to examine under what conditions children’s language abilities and conflict inhibition skills (children’s ability to inhibit a prepotent response while responding with a less salient response) are important for theory-of-mind acquisition. Although there may be limited effects of child language and conflict inhibition on early theory of mind, advanced theory-of-mind understanding such as false belief requires both. However, optimal effects of child language on false-belief understanding occurred when children also had high levels of conflict inhibition ability. These findings suggest that effects of child language on false belief are contingent on children’s conflict inhibition skills. Finally, to investigate how environmental and cognitive factors operate together during theory-of-mind development, moderation analysis was conducted to examine whether delays in language and/or conflict inhibition can be compensated for by more exposure to parental cognitive talk (and vice versa) during theory-of-mind acquisition. Although there was no evidence to suggest compensatory effects, results demonstrated that child language and parental cognitive talk both independently contributed to theory of mind. These findings suggest that environmental (e.g., parental cognitive talk) and cognitive factors (e.g., child language) play distinct roles during theory-of-mind development. Overall, these results demonstrate the value of understanding theory-of-mind development from a bioecological perspective where children are both directly and indirectly influenced by multiple mechanisms during theory-of-mind development.

Rates of obesity in children are rising at an alarming rate, particularly among girls and ethnic minorities. Engaging in regular physical activity can help reduce this risk. Little is known about factors associated with physical activity (PA) in preadolescent populations, an age when intervention is ideal. Guided by Social Cognitive Theory, this study used a repeated-measures design to examine PA and its correlates, including PA self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and social influences (from parents and peers). Among participants (N = 57) in Girls on the Run, an innovative PA intervention for elementary school girls. Participants (M age = 9.4) predominately include girls from ethnic groups at highest risk for obesity, with 74% African American and 18% Hispanic. Multiple regressions indicated that, at baseline, girls with higher self-efficacy were significantly more likely to report greater intentions to be physically active (ß =.40, p ps p > .05). Overall, findings suggest the importance of targeting physical activity self-efficacy and fostering high levels of peer and parental support for physical activity to help girls meet recommended guidelines. Implications for future interventions are discussed.

To date, there is compelling evidence to show that theory-of-mind development is influenced by different environmental and cognitive factors. However, despite our understanding of the different individual processes that facilitate theory-of-mind acquisition, what remains relatively unclear is how these processes operate together during development. The goal of the present dissertation is to examine mediation (examines the relationship between two different factors and address the question of “why” or “how” one variable predicts or causes an outcome variable) and moderation (examines “when” or “for whom” a variable most strongly predicts or causes an outcome variable) processes that can help explain why and under what conditions environmental and cognitive factors are important for theory-of-mind development. The investigation began by examining the influence of environmental factors on theory-of-mind development. Mediation analyses were used to examine “why” environmental factors such as family (i.e., family risk) and socio-linguistic factors (i.e., parental cognitive talk), may be important for theory-of-mind development. Preliminary results demonstrated possible mediated effects of both family risk and parental cognitive talk on theory of mind. That is, family risk may delay children’s theory-of-mind development by impeding the rate of language acquisition, whereas parental cognitive talk may facilitate more advanced theory-of-mind understanding by encouraging more parent-child reciprocity during conversations. Next, the effects of cognitive factors on theory-of-mind development were explored. Moderation analysis was used to examine under what conditions children’s language abilities and conflict inhibition skills (children’s ability to inhibit a prepotent response while responding with a less salient response) are important for theory-of-mind acquisition. Although there may be limited effects of child language and conflict inhibition on early theory of mind, advanced theory-of-mind understanding such as false belief requires both. However, optimal effects of child language on false-belief understanding occurred when children also had high levels of conflict inhibition ability. These findings suggest that effects of child language on false belief are contingent on children’s conflict inhibition skills. Finally, to investigate how environmental and cognitive factors operate together during theory-of-mind development, moderation analysis was conducted to examine whether delays in language and/or conflict inhibition can be compensated for by more exposure to parental cognitive talk (and vice versa) during theory-of-mind acquisition. Although there was no evidence to suggest compensatory effects, results demonstrated that child language and parental cognitive talk both independently contributed to theory of mind. These findings suggest that environmental (e.g., parental cognitive talk) and cognitive factors (e.g., child language) play distinct roles during theory-of-mind development. Overall, these results demonstrate the value of understanding theory-of-mind development from a bioecological perspective where children are both directly and indirectly influenced by multiple mechanisms during theory-of-mind development.

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On October 8th 2005 the villages surrounding Chinati bazaar in Bagh district of Pakistani-administered Kashmir (PaK) were hit by an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale that affected the lives of more than 3.5 million people in PaK and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa. In this thesis I attempt to understand, through the stories and narratives of the people of Chinati bazaar, how they lived through, made sense of, and dealt with the earthquake and its aftermath. I use participant observation and conversations to tell the stories of those affected by the earthquake in their own voices as much as possible. The storytellers of the bazaar lived through two types of events: the earthquake itself and the post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction process. The latter brought with it both positive and negative impacts: if, on the one hand, it brought progress and a new hope that life could be ‘Built Back Better', on the other hand, it brought a different type of suffering – one that led to a loss of honour and dignity, resulted in social upheavals, and led to the exclusion and marginalization of certain groups. In this thesis I focus on both these ‘events'. Through these stories I build an argument about post-disaster discourses of change. I argue that while the narratives of the storytellers of Chinati bazaar posit the earthquake as a point of rupture in their confabulated stories, from which the collective memory of the bazaar dates its movement towards becoming modern and global, these changes have their origins instead in ‘bigger' stories of modernisation and globalisation that predate the earthquake and that highlight and emphasise more continuous processes of change that have been occurring over a longer period of time. In this thesis I analyse how these two competing discourses of rupture and dramatic change on the one hand, and slow, continuous change on the other, play out in the lives of the storytellers of Chinati Bazaar.

This study responds to the need for more research around (im)mobility decision-making to better support people facing environmental shocks and climatic changes. The concept of Trapped Populations, first appeared with the release of the 2011 Foresight report yielding repeated use in environmental migration studies and to a more limited extent policy. Although a seemingly straightforward concept, referring to people's inability to move away from environmental high-risk areas despite a desire to do so, the underlying reasons for someone's immobility can be profoundly complex. The empirical literature body referring to ‘trapped' populations has similarly taken a fairly simple and narrow economic explanatory approach. A more comprehensive understanding around how immobility is narrated in academia, and how people's cultural, social and psychological background in Bangladesh influences their (im)mobility, can provide crucial research insights. To better protect and support people living with environmental shocks and changes worldwide we need to build robust and well-informed policy frameworks To achieve this, a set of discourse analyses were carried out. Firstly, a textual Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) reviewed how ‘trapped' has been framed within academia. Secondly, a Foucauldian inspired discourse analysis was performed on field data to explore how power, knowledge and and binary opposites shape and determine people's social norms in terms of their (im)mobility decision-making. These key concepts critically showcased how meaning, values and power can constrain the mobility of a social group. The analysis was carried out on a large set of field data gathered between 2014 and 2016 in Bangladesh. The data on urban immobility and rural non-evacuation behaviour was gathered through a mixed-method quant-qualitative approach that included Q-methodology, storytelling group sessions, in-depth interviews and a survey questionnaire. Other key concepts used to frame the analysis included those of subjectivity, gender, place and space. The textual discourse analysis highlighted the dangers of framing mobility or resettlement as a potential climate adaptation. Assisted migration, could for example end up disguising other hidden political and economic agendas. The research identified how the empirical notions of ‘trapped' move beyond economic immobility. People in Bangladesh described being socially, psychologically and emotionally ‘trapped'. These empirical notions are useful within the area of climate policy, as they raise questions around whether mobility in fact is the solution.

This thesis develops a conceptual and methodological approach to understanding how future climate change is likely to affect migration, and then applies this approach to explore the likely effects of climate change on different migration flows in and from Mexico. Scientific and policy interest in the climate change-migration nexus has been growing over the last decade, yet empirical results remain inconclusive. Existing approaches are often conceptually and methodologically unconvincing as they assume a linear relationship between climate change and migration, or try to separate climate stressors from other factors involved in migration decisions. Furthermore, most current research into the climate-migration nexus has focused on a relatively simple framing of localised environmental pressures forcing people to migrate. In contrast, this thesis acknowledges the complexity of migration and suggests that climate change is likely to affect factors involved in migration decisions at the local and the global level. It develops a more realistic understanding of the potential effect of climate change on migration by examining the impact of the local and global consequences of climate change on livelihood stressors and other factors involved in migration decisions. This thesis adopts a qualitative and comparative approach to illustrate this concept, based on fieldwork in Zacatecas and Veracruz, two Mexican states with different migration profiles and different local climate stressors. It analyses the factors involved in migration decisions, which include livelihood stressors but also networks, recruiters and individual agency. A risk matrix is then developed to explore the climate sensitivity of the various factors that influence internal and international migration flows. It analyses the extent to which each factor is likely to be affected by climate change in combination with the relevance of this factor for the migration decision-making process. This approach allows identifying those factors that, affected by future climate change, have the highest potential to impact on existing migration patterns. It also allows a comparison between different migration flows. Results suggest that climate change is likely to have moderate effects on migration, mainly on internal rural flows. Alarmist predictions of large numbers of 'climate change refugees' are thus inappropriate and policies should instead focus on the factors projected to impact most on migration under scenarios of future climate change. Policies should also aim at mitigating the negative effects of climate change on people's livelihoods and at protecting migrants and non-migrants.

The overwhelming focus on causal linkages between environmental stressors and the migration decision making, disagreement among stakeholders regarding the positioning of migration within CCA discourse, and the lack of empirical evidence surrounding the role of migration as adaptation have been major impediments to mainstreaming migration in adaptation policies. There is a growing consensus among migration scholars regarding the potential contribution of migration to the lives and livelihoods of the migrants and their families left behind. However, the extent to which migration can contribute to climate change adaptation (CCA) in migrant-sending households, origin communities, or origin countries is a complex issue and requires further exploration. This thesis attempts to fill some of this knowledge gap by developing a conceptual approach to understand the effects of migration in the context of adaptation to extreme events such as drought and floods. As such, it is not concerned as to why someone migrates, but purely on its effects. This thesis shifts the focus to consequences of migration outcomes. The discourse on migration and adaptation has witnessed the same contestations of structuralism, neo-classical, and pluralist viewpoints with reference to effects of migration on development of migrant-sending households and origin communities. These lessons are pertinent for migration and adaptation discourse, and I use these lessons to build the conceptual framework of this thesis. It attempts to understand how the choices on remittance usage already made by households affects the CCA to extreme events. This thesis adopts a mixed-methods and comparative approach to validate the conceptual framework, based on case studies from Baoshan County of Yunnan Province in China and Upper Assam in India. A key component of CCA is the reduction of vulnerability of a system to climate change and variability. The vulnerability concept provides a framework to unpack the constituents of vulnerability. A reduction in vulnerability to an extreme event requires a reduction in sensitivity and enhancement of capacity to adapt. This thesis analyses the vulnerability of the remittance-recipient households compared to households that do not have access to remittances. It also characterises sensitivity and adaptive capacity of the remittance-recipient households in context of duration for which a household has received remittances and distance to destination. Results suggest that remittances affect certain sub-dimensions and attributes of vulnerability and these affects vary in different contexts. The mobility patterns and its consequences within a country are shaped by a wide range of policies and institutions. The creation of an enabling condition for adaptation remains a critical function for the governments, thus migration could not be a substitute for public investment in development and adaptation in origin communities. The availability of an enabling environment and reduction in structural constrains would reduce the risks from migration and help remittance-recipient households to leverage remittances for CCA.

African American women continue to enroll at historically White institutions (HWIs) to pursue their bachelor’s degrees (Miller, 2017). African American women continue to experience exclusion (Zamani, 2003) and hostile environments (Evans, 2007; Patton & Croom, 2017; Zamani, 2003) that demean African American women. Nevertheless, African American women persist and succeed in higher education. Although access in the United States has increased for non-white populations, decades of research on discriminatory environments at historically white colleges and universities creating campus climates that are unwelcoming towards African American women. Intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991) focuses on how African American women’s lives cannot be explored without consideration other multiple identities. In spite of the challenging campus climate, African American women continue to attend HWIs (Miller, 2017) and succeed (Miles, Jones, Clemons, & Golay, 2011). Prior research does not adequately explore the pathways to African American college women's success. The purpose of this study is to investigate the strategies and networks of African American undergraduate women access, create and employ to succeed while attending historically white institutions.