<p> The role of grievances in drawing public concern and activist support is a surprisingly understudied topic in modern social movement literature. This research is the first to parse grievances into core components to understand whether some grievances are more successful than others in evoking mobilizing, affective and cognitive reactions that can ultimately benefit social movements. I find that not all grievances are created equal when it comes to concern, support and interest in activism, and that the content of grievances can be studied in systematic ways to identify the types of grievances likely to be more powerful injustice events. </p><p> This dissertation bridges social psychology and social movements by applying concepts from Affect Control Theory (such as evaluation ratings and deflection) to grievance evaluations. To understand the differential effects of grievances, I break grievances into three basic building blocks&mdash;a Perpetrator (Actor), the act itself (Behavior), and the victim (Object). I then use measures of cultural perceptions of the goodness or badness of behaviors and identities to investigate how people react to different configurations of good or bad perpetrators, behavior and victims in injustice events. I posit that two mechanisms&mdash;concern about the wellbeing of others and desire for consistency in meanings about the world&mdash;drive reactions to the goodness or badness of elements in a grievance. I test hypotheses using an experimental design, specifically a vignette study. </p><p> I find strong support, across outcomes, that bad behavior, particularly when directed toward good victims, constitutes a form of grievance that promotes strong mobilizing, affective and cognitive reactions. I also find that the perpetrator matters for many outcomes, but that the effect of perpetrator is weaker than the effect of behavior and its target, tends to be insignificant for measures specific to behavioral activism, and largely disappears in cases of bad behavior toward good victims. In general, bad perpetrators produce higher levels of concern and emotion than do good perpetrators. The results also show that while concerns about the wellbeing of others dominate grievance evaluations, expectations about how the world should be (and deflection from those expectations) are useful for understanding reactions to perpetrators and to injustice events involving good behavior. </p><p> The conclusions from this dissertation contribute to a number of social movement arenas, including participation, movement outcomes, framing and emotions. Further, it has the real world implications of suggesting how well particular social issues might fare in attracting public concern and activist attention. This provides insights into both the types of movements more likely to be successful as well as the types of social problems less likely to draw public attention, increasing the chances that such problems persist.</p>

<p> As a disengaged and underutilized community resource, young people have the potential to develop leadership skills and express themselves in community action. For this study, the researcher interviewed 13 young adults from rural areas of Alabama. These 18- to 20-year-olds had taken part in community leadership skills programs during their high school years. In this qualitative investigation, the researcher used a multiple case study model that included in depth, one on one interviews and personal observations. Analysis of the data revealed three themes for civic engagement: (a) the participants expressed their ideas and feelings, orally and in their writings; (b) they discussed their leadership skills; and (c) they applied their leadership skills. These results further suggested to the researcher that motivation, confidence, self esteem, and relationship building skills were reinforced by the leadership skills programs, and those factors were applied within the participants' communities. Based on the evidence derived from this study, the ideas and leadership skills of young people have value and strength, especially for rural communities.</p>

<p> The role of fathers in the workplace and in the home has changed dramatically over the past 30 years. The typical American family has two full-time working parents in a household, rather than one full-time worker and one full-time stay-at-home parent. Additionally, the ways in which fathers are expected to contribute to a child's caretaking and development has changed dramatically during this timeframe. The benefits in the workplace for fathers in the United States have not changed to reflect these dynamics however. While equal pay, time off work and other benefits have been increasing for mothers in the workplace, there is a noticeable absence of paternity leave available for fathers in the United States. Moreover, fathers in the United States typically take less time off following the birth of their first-child than fathers in other countries, reducing the amount of bonding time available with their newborn child. Understanding how these experiences impact first-time fathers in the United States who were forced to take unpaid time off to bond with their child formed the research question and focus of this qualitative study: What is the lived experience of first-time fathers in the United States as they attempt to manage the work-life balance without government mandated paid paternal leave? Heuristic research methodology was utilized to discover the meaning and essence of the experiences of becoming a first-time father while managing their work and home life responsibilities while taking unpaid time off work. Eight first-time fathers who were forced to take this unpaid leave during the past five years were interviewed, gathering their experiences on managing their dual roles, finances and the transition to becoming a parent. The personal experience of the researcher is also included in this process. The aim of this qualitative study is to provide additional insight into the current body of knowledge and add to the experiences of becoming a first-time father for working fathers in the United States, where paid paternal leave is not a government sponsored benefit.</p>

<p> An organization that seeks to transform persons, places or things needs resilience to achieve its goals. In their effort to transform their societies, political organizations compete "not just for resources and customers (followers), but for political power and institutional legitimacy, for social as well as economic fitness" (DiMaggio and Powell 1991). Weber believed that 'turning raw power into legitimate authority was the central dilemma of politics' (Ikenberry 2001:17). Political organizations that are transformation-seeking and also strategically use violence as part of their transformation missions&mdash;defined as insurgencies in this research&mdash;are arguably the most resource-intensive forms of non-state political organizations (Ashforth &amp; Gibbs 1991; Weinstein 2006). </p><p> There is wide variation, however, in the resilience of these organizations (Byman 2007 and 2006, Hoffman 2002). This dissertation will investigate the specific payoff to three insurgent organizations for their 'social deposits' to legitimate their power sufficiently prior to the shocks. The specific organizational payoff to be studied is the impact on the organization's resilience. Goodwin &amp; Skocpal (1989) noted that the lifeblood of any insurgent organization "is the ongoing provision of such collective and selective goods (e.g., security, social aid), not ideological conversion in the abstract, that has played the principal role in solidifying social support for guerilla armies." This research will challenge that position in the sense that the provision of material payoffs is likely necessary but far from sufficient to produce organizational resilience.</p>

<p> The following grant project was established to develop and implement a music therapy program at Children Are Our Future, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that services foster and probation youth through residential treatment in Los Angeles County. To establish this program research into psychosocial issues affecting adolescents in outof- home care, as well as current interventions to mediate the issues, was conducted. Music therapy, as an alternative form of therapy, was supported through evidence-based research and all relevant information pertaining to alternative forms of therapy was researched and included in order to reinforce the position for the program. The Weingart Foundation was chosen as a funding source after conducting a thorough search for a compatible grant funder and a grant proposal was written. Actual submission and/or funding of this grant was not a requirement for the successful completion of this project.</p>

<p> Catholic colleges and universities in America have significantly changed philosophically, demographically, legally, and financially during the past 5 decades. Since the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council in 1965, there has been considerable focus on attempting to accurately describe the Catholic identity for institutions affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. Called to embrace the modern world, Catholic institutions of higher learning have been challenged to retain their distinctiveness even as they have become more closely aligned with secular institutions within the academy. Because of this convergence of institutional similarities, how does a potential student come to understand institutional Catholic identity during the search process? With over 230 Catholic degree-granting institutions to choose from in the United States alone, the task of determining a &ldquo;best-fit&rdquo; for the student can be challenging. It is important to have a framework for independently determining the strength of institutional Catholicity for a student seeking a uniquely Catholic undergraduate experience.</p><p> Specifically, this research identifies a set of 15 signal features for identification of a distinctively Roman Catholic institution of higher education within a framework for understanding institutional positioning with respect to the Roman Catholic Church from an external, or off-campus, perspective. In addition to the exploration of public documentation and the campus environment, select faculty and student leaders were interviewed at &ldquo;Holy Catholic College&rdquo; (a pseudonym) to understand their perspectives on the strength of Catholicity of their particular institution in the development of the framework and associated signal features.</p>

<p> The Church of the Nazarene asserts that homosexuality is a perversion of human sexuality, and that homosexual acts are sinful and subject to the wrath of God. The denomination also states that all people should be treated with dignity, grace, and holy love&mdash;regardless of sexual orientation&mdash;while firmly maintaining its position that a &ldquo;homosexual lifestyle&rdquo; is sinful and contrary to scripture. Nazarene clergy experience a tension between the denomination&rsquo;s position on homosexuality and ministering to LGBT people. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of thirteen Nazarene clergy responses to homosexuality and their interactions with LGBT people. The resulting themes offer implications for Nazarene clergy, the Church of the Nazarene, LGBT people, counselor educators, and clinical practitioners.</p>

<p>The purpose of this ministry project was to help 1^st United Methodist Church of Glassboro, NJ connect with their community. The intent was to strengthen the outreach and hospitality ministry in the church in such a way that it became a part of the church&rsquo;s DNA. The goal was to set up a process that was an integral part of all decisions in the church and would be used to connect with the community. </p><p> The project proved that community could be taught and nurtured. It also helped show the importance that scripture places on community. We used sermons, bible study, teaching, and projects to find ways to engage with each other and the community around us. During the project, attention was taken to involve every aspect of the church and to encourage the church to participate in community building ways. </p>

<p> This thesis considers the structural characteristics of online criminal networks from a technical and an economic perspective. Through large-scale measurements, we empirically describe some salient elements of the online criminal infrastructures, and we derive economic models characterizing the associated monetization paths enabling criminal profitability. This analysis reveals the existence of structural <i>choke points:</i> components of online criminal operations being limited in number, and critical for the operations&rsquo; profitability. Consequently, interventions targeting such components can reduce the opportunities and incentives to engage in online crime through an increase in criminal operational costs, and in the risk of apprehension.</p><p> We define a methodology describing the process of distilling the knowledge gained from the empirical measurements on the criminal infrastructures towards identifying and evaluating appropriate countermeasures. We argue that countermeasures, as defined in the context of situational crime prevention, can be effective for a long-term reduction in the occurrence of online crime.</p>

<p> Latino parents of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience numerous challenges when seeking services for their children including lack of support from medical providers, lack of knowledge on autism services, and cultural barriers that impede them from appropriately advocating for them. The purpose of this project was to write a grant proposal to develop a support program for low-income Latino parents of youth with ASD in Inglewood, California. The goal of the program is to increase awareness of ASD and improve access to services through various educational workshops for these parents. Subsequently, Latino parents of youth with ASD will be equipped with the skills needed to be a more effective advocate for their adolescents. The actual submission of this grant program was not required for the completion of the project.</p>