<p> This dissertation investigated if the implementation of six different female-oriented teaching strategies had an effect on the attitude of middle school female science students. Female-oriented teaching strategies included single-sex groupings, student-teacher interactions, introduction of female role models, guided-inquiry teaching pedagogy, demonstration of real world relevance of science, and the implementation of more technology into science lessons.</p><p> Quantitative data was collected by an initial and final administration of an attitude survey. The survey consisted of 48 Likert-type questions and was separated into six attitude domains (perception of the science teacher, anxiety, self-concept, value, enjoyment and motivation). Qualitative data was obtained through student journaling and interviews. A two-tailed, paired t-test was run on the qualitative data to gauge a degree of change in attitude, while deductive coding methods were used to gain female students&rsquo; viewpoints of the strategies implemented.</p><p> The implementation of four of the six female-oriented teaching strategies had a positive effect on the female students&rsquo; attitude toward science. These strategies included grouping students in single-sex pairings, using guided-inquiry lessons, showing students the relevancy of science, and introducing female students to historical and current women in science.</p><p>

abstract: This dissertation examines the history of urban nightlife in New York City and San Francisco from 1890 to 1930 and charts the manifestation of modernity within these cities. While some urbanites tepidly embraced this new modern world, others resisted. Chafing at this seemingly unmoored world, some Americans fretted about one of the most visible effects of modernity on the city—the encroachment of sex onto the street and in commercial amusements—and sought to wield the power of the state to suppress it. Even those Americans who reveled in the new modern world grappled with what this shifting culture ultimately meant for their lives, seeking familiarity where they could find it. Thus, this dissertation details how both Americans who embraced the modern world and those who perceived it as a threatening menace similarly sought a mediated modernity, seeking out and organizing spaces within modern amusements that ultimately reinforced existing cultural hierarchies. Using the lens of spatial analysis, this dissertation examines how different groups of Americans used the spaces of nighttime amusement to interrogate how nightlife culture reflected and reinforced dynamics of power in a historical moment when social movements seemed to be upending existing power structures of race, class, and gender. Pioneering works in the field of the history of popular amusements tend to frame the experience of commercial amusements—and by extension modern life—as a liberating force lifting Americans from the staid traditions of the nineteenth century. But this dissertation charts the way Americans sought to moderate the effects of modern life, even as they delighted in it. Even as the modern world seemed on the cusp of overturning social hierarchy, Americans found comfort in amusements that structured space to reaffirm the status quo; while so much of the modern world appeared to break with the past, existing structures of social power remained very much the same. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation History 2018

<p> This research study evaluated the modified gap analysis of knowledge and skills, motivation, and organization on how low socioeconomic status (SES) Black male students who were exposed to community violence and participated in Our Kids, a pseudonym for a non-profit community based organization that provides extracurricular programs to at-risk males. The purpose of this study is to understand how the in-school violent behavior of low SES Black males affects these students&rsquo; abilities to realize future goals. Using the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis, the collection of data from interviews and documents identified and validated the source of the students&rsquo; performance gaps. Findings revealed that the urban school district had positive and negative aspects in its current program that addressed students&rsquo; in-school violent behavior. Overall, the findings exposed that the students in the study had procedural knowledge, knowledge of self-regulation and support their increase in knowledge of self-identity even though the documents exposed that Black male students may lack self-regulation. The students had self-efficacy and students&rsquo; emotions influence their motivation. The students believe that there is racial equities and opportunities to build trusting relationships but urban school district created a threatening environment. Yet, the documents show racial inequities. This research study recommends research-based solutions to assist organizations in decreasing in-school violent behavior. Finally, Our Kids can utilize the modified gap analysis model to identify and validate causes of performance gaps and recommend solutions.</p><p>

<p> Prevention is key to keeping men who have sex with men (MSM) protected from Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Despite new and innovative HIV prevention resources such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), factors such as education level, employment status, number of sexual partners, and access to health resources may inhibit certain populations from using PrEP. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the association between education level, employment status, number of sexual partners, and access to health resources and the use of PrEP among MSM. The fundamental cause theory was used to examine how socioeconomic barriers are associated with the use of PrEP among MSM in the United States. Secondary data from 217 surveys were collected from the Public Library of Science. Findings from multiple regression analyses indicated that employment status, access to health resources, and number of sexual partners were not associated with use of PrEP among MSM. Those who had at least some high school or a high school diploma were 3.98 times more likely to be likely to extremely likely to use PrEP, compared to those who had less than a high school education (<i>OR</i> = 3.98, <i> p</i> = .048). Those who had some college were 6.91 more likely to be likely to extremely likely to use PrEP, compared to those who had less than a high school education (<i>OR</i> = 6.91, <i>p</i> = .028). Findings may be used to assist public health professionals in identifying factors that prevent the use of PrEP. By addressing these health threats, and social barriers, specialists could have the ability to increase HIV prevention activity in populations that are more susceptible to being infected with HIV and may decrease HIV infections not only within the MSM population but also in other populations.</p><p>

<p>To understand the life-course narratives of women who leave the California prison system, life history interviews were used. The focus was on how they perceive their identities and how their life trajectories have been influenced by social institutions (i.e., family and education). Reform to California penal policy is recommended based on the experiences discussed in the interviews. It is thus proposed, based on the narratives, that policy be community-oriented for effective prevention, intervention, and reintegration programming and strategies. While reform is needed within government, it must largely come from within communities in which crime and trauma have been normalized. Part of the process is changing the way in which communities are defined as ?ghetto? or ?crime-ridden? and how such definition influences women?s lives. To change how women in this study are defined socially and legally, public perception of them has to expand beyond the lens of crime and conviction.

<p> This work explores the limiting beliefs that modern American man is surrounded by that create suffering and isolation for him. Utilizing heuristic and hermeneutic methodologies, this thesis leans into the primary feelings of anger, guilt, and shame typically expressed by American males. It examines how these feelings came to the forefront of his expressions and how he can allow himself to find ways to safely express the other feelings repressed inside him. Just as the blind man when given a matzo turned it over and over, examining it with his fingers and exclaiming &ldquo;who wrote this?&rdquo;, this thesis suggests new interpretations regarding how males express themselves. Through awareness of the value of rituals and metaphors, this natural language of men can serve as a beginning toward his feeling safe in expressing his repressed feelings. This thesis tempts the reader to see beyond the mask of the American male</p><p>

<p> Currently, there is limited research investigating participant perceptions of after-school program impacts. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of an after-school leadership program for adolescent females. Specifically, this study assessed adolescent perceptions of program impacts on changes in dietary behavior, body image, and self-esteem. Data was gathered through a series of semi-structured questions posed during a focus group. The focus group transcript was coded using the qualitative analysis technique of theoretical thematic analysis. Six major themes related to youth perceptions of program impacts emerged as follows: practicing healthy behaviors, applications at home, focus on health and inner beauty, awareness of false media messages, embracing true self, and realizing capabilities. Additionally, participants identified several components, such as hands-on activities, field trips, and structured &ldquo;sharing moments&rdquo; to have enhanced their experience. The perceived positive impacts demonstrate the potential benefits of programs to address common concerns in this audience related to nutrition, body image, and self-esteem.</p><p>

<p> <b>Purpose.</b> The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify barriers for women to advance into executive management positions in STEM professions, and to identify strategies deemed to be effective for women to advance into STEM executive management positions, by women currently in STEM executive management positions in the aerospace industry. </p><p> <b>Conceptual Framework.</b> The conceptual framework included 3 concepts: (a) cultural and societal factors; (b) mentorship, sponsorship, and networking; and (c) motivation and power levels. These concepts are connected to barriers women face when entering leadership and efforts to empower women entering leadership in the aerospace industry. </p><p> <b>Methodology.</b> This was a qualitative case study utilizing the transformative framework. The participants were 7 women in STEM executive management position in the aerospace industry. The participants responded to 8 open-ended questions designed to reveal barriers women in STEM executive management positions face and to highlight strategies deemed to be effective for women to advance into STEM executive management positions in the aerospace industry. </p><p> <b>Findings.</b> Through data collection and analysis, the data indicated major themes consisting of work performance, big picture, strong work ethic, underrepresentation, and trusted networks. Other themes emerged such as diversity of thought, advocacy, mentorship, credibility, no plan for executive management, and unfavorable perception. </p><p> <b>Conclusions and Recommendations.</b> The findings revealed that 5 major themes emerged from the data analysis pertaining to barriers women face to career advancement and effective strategies used by successful women in STEM executive management positions in the aerospace industry. It is recommended that this qualitative case study be replicated with a larger sample population. Additionally, future studies could explore other populations that would directly benefit from women in STEM executive management positions, such as men, millennials, aspiring women leaders, and other key stakeholders in the aerospace industry. </p><p>

<p> Preventive health care is effective in reducing both infectious diseases and chronic conditions among the elderly. Despite efforts to prevent or decrease the risk of illness, unmarried men are less likely to receive selected preventive services compared to married men. The purpose of this cross-sectional survey was to describe disease prevention attitudes and behaviors of retired, unmarried, male baby boomers residing in Harlingen, Texas. Further, the study examined the effects of socioeconomic status on disease prevention attitudes and behaviors. The health belief theory framed the study. A validated questionnaire collected disease prevention attitudes, behaviors, and sociodemographic characteristics data. Data inquiry included ANOVA, multiple regression and moderation analysis. The findings did not show any differences in disease prevention attitudes and behaviors among retired, unmarried male boomers. Multiple linear regression indicated that the socioeconomic factors explained 24% of the variance in disease prevention behaviors (p = .001). Moderation analysis showed that 29% of the variability in the dependent variable could be explained by the independent variables and interaction terms. The only significant predictor was education, p= .002); none of the interaction terms were significant. Positive social change from the study is the possible increase in disease prevention behavior among the retired, unmarried male baby with a low level of education. The study results may help in developing policies that would target education barriers and raise awareness of disease prevention behavior among the retired, unmarried male baby boomers.</p>

This dissertation examines the intersection of art, dance, and queer sociality though Andy Warhol, Jack Smith, and their lesser-known contemporary, Fred Herko, a dancer and choreographer. Traversing art history, dance studies, and queer theory, this study uses analyses of movement, gestures, and embodiment as a bridge between the artistic and the social. In film, photography, and dance, these artists not only made art as queer artists, but their work stemmed from the form of sociality of their communities—the social and creative labor spent on seemingly unproductive ends, such as lounging together on a sofa, posing in performative-social studio sessions, or dancing in an improvised performance-party. Gestures and embodied experience became both the site of the art, and the site of the production of queer subjectivity in this watershed decade for art and queer histories. To unpack their cultural significance, I draw on the work of anthropologist Marcel Mauss on “techniques of the body,” and recent scholarship on embodiment and subjectivity. I propose queer gestures as dances of “inefficiency” in the Maussian sense, that is, as techniques of the body that do not confirm or sustain the social scripts of somatic norms. Given the contemporaneous debates about work, leisure, and alienation in the 1960s, inefficient techniques—as represented in the recurrent motif of the recumbent, languorous male body, for example—can also be read as a critique of industrial efficiency and heteronormative definitions of (re)productivity. Through this focus on bodily techniques, I open up a dialogue between this “underground” body of work with contemporaneous artistic milieus in which the body played an important role, including in 1960s sculpture, proto-feminist practices, postmodern dance, photography, and experimental theater. Throughout I also foreground the intertwinement of dance culture and queer culture. Drawing on Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s reading of the psychoanalyst Melanie Klein, this study interprets artistic practices through a reparative lens, drawing together a queer repertoire made up of inefficient moves—just as the artists’ engagements with, and making of, dance culture and queer culture were reparative: an accretive practice of assemblage for imaginative and embodied sustenance. / History of Art and Architecture