The Psychology of Working Theory (PWT; Duffy, Blustein, Diemer, & Autin, 2016) was recently proposed as an empirically testable approach to understanding the work processes of those for whom work decisions are influenced by contextual factors and who engage in work for reasons other than satisfaction. In the present study of 285 adults, I investigated the relationships between marginalization, economic resources, work volition, career adaptability, and decent work. I found that work volition, career adaptability, and economic resources all uniquely predicted decent work. I also found that greater economic resources and lower marginalization predicted greater work volition. Economic resources and marginalization have a significant negative correlation, and work volition significantly predicted career adaptability. I failed to support the hypotheses that greater marginalization would predict lower decent work experiences when accounting for other variables and that greater economic resources and lower marginalization would predict greater career adaptability. I identified two alternative models for the data. A model with only work volition and career adaptability predicting decent work provided an adequate fit. A model with only work volition predicting career adaptability provided mixed results. This study provides empirical support for the initial propositions of the PWT, provides further evidence for the importance of contextual variables in work experiences, and identifies several key factors that lead individuals to attain a decent work experience.

Migration and its consequences are often discussed in contemporary postcolonial discussions. This topic of migration is central in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah. Adichie’s portrayal of the migrating subject has placed her in the center of the Afropolitan discussion about transnational Africans and their right to represent. This essay aims to bring this discussion to light. Furthermore, with the use of Benedict Anderson’s ideas of nations as imagined communities, Edward Said’s definition of Orientalism, and Homi K. Bhabha’s concept of mimicry, this essay intends to illuminate the colonial discourse of Americanah’s America. I argue that the novel’s protagonist Ifemelu’s migration to the land of the free is bordered by remnants of colonial discourse, placing her within a western array of marginalization. As Ifemelu struggles with issues connected to her migration into a culture that marginalizes and discriminates under the proud flag of “the American Dream,” she is forced to resort to mimicry of western traits, to get access to western privilege. I contend that the mimicry of western traits consequently reduces her presence in America to partial.

abstract: This dissertation research examines the impact of migration on the emotional well-being of temporary, low-wage workers who migrate from the Global South to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Unlike previous research in the UAE, this study’s sample reflects a far broader diversity of nationalities and occupations, and focuses on those earning in the lowest wage bracket. Their experiences revealed the systemic attributes of precarity and the violent structures that perpetuate them. My research addresses several substantive debates. I found that rather than emigrating for rational reasons—as neoclassical theory of migration posits—the migrants in my study tended to rationalize their reasons for emigrating through processes of cognitive dissonance. Further, where previous scholarship has tended to conflate issues of national, ethnic, and racial discrimination, I disentangle the processes that motivate discriminatory behavior by showing how seemingly innocuous references to “nationality” can be driven by a desire to hide racial prejudices, while at the same time, conflating all as “racism” can reflect a simplistic analysis of the contributing factors. I show how past historical structures of colonialism and slavery are manifest in current forms of structural violence and how this violence is differentially experienced on the basis of nationality, perceived racial differences, and/or ethnicity. Additionally, my research expands theories related to the spatial dimension of discrimination. It examines how zones of marginalization shape the experiences of low-wage migrant workers as they move through or occupy these spaces. Marginalizing zones limit workers’ access to the sociality of the city and its institutional resources, which consequently increase their vulnerability. Individual well-being is determined by stressful events that one encounters, by personal and external sources of resilience, and by perceptions of oneself and the stressful events. For the migrants in my study, their stressors were chronic, cumulative, and ambiguous, and while they brought with them a sufficient amount of personal resilience, it was often mitigated by non-compliance and lack of enforcement of UAE laws. The result was a state of well-being defined by isolation, fear, and despair. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Justice Studies 2018

Book Summary: This work is the fourth Small Wars Journal anthology focusing on radical Sunni Islamic terrorists and insurgent groups. It covers this professional journals writings for 2016 and is a compliment to the earlier Global Radical Islamist Insurgency anthologies that were produced as Vol. I: 2007-2011 (published in 2015) and Vol. II: 2012-2014 (published in 2016) and Jihadi Terrorism, Insurgency, and the Islamic State spanning 2015 (published in 2017). This anthology, which offers well over 900 pages of focused analysis, follows the same general conceptual breakdown as the earlier works and is divided into two major thematic sectionsone focusing on Al Qaeda and Islamic state activities in 2016 and the other focusing on US-Allied policies and counterinsurgent strategies.

This thesis explores the lives and works of Carlo Gozzi and Carlo Goldoni. Specific emphasis is placed on their feud, positions in society, the motivations behind their theatrical styles, and the ways they used theatre to either attempt to maintain the status quo (Gozzi) or strive for social change (Goldoni). Contrary to previous studies, this study suggests that Goldoni tried to influence the world around him, rather than merely reflect it. This study examines the above through the lens of several twentieth century theories including semiotics, structuralism, and the avante-garde. The contents of this work are essential to anyone seeking biographical information, doing dramaturgical research or producing one of their plays, and those investigating the ways theatre has been used to incite change and create an atmosphere of social equity. This work demonstrates that theatre can, has been, and should be actively used to influence that change.

Those who are given access to develop and plan our urban areas are in possession of great power and potential. With the vast sums of both private and governmental money associated with the creation and organization of urban areas, the motivations of those constructing plans and deciding developmental strategies need to be considered. When a city has a dual identity and is socially and spatially conflicted, then the task of planning equitably for all residents becomes even more complex. The extent to which planners address the needs of their community, and the divisions which may exist, reveals the intentions of the city regarding which residents are to be included within city life. This study examines these factors as they appertain to the city of St Petersburg, Florida which contains a population that is polarized racially, socially and spatially. St. Petersburg promotes itself as a city of consumption, with a focus upon the tourist trade and its related support services. There exists an excluded 'underclass' which is incongruous alongside this promotion of the city as a tourist destination, but essential to the maintenance of the services needed. Faced with these conflicting city identities, the Developmental Services Department is under pressure to address resident contentions and to provide equitably for the city. Vision 2020 is a recent development which seeks to address some of the residents' concerns, and plan for the future development of the city. The document makes claims to citizen participation and asserts that it has addressed the concerns of residents. However, methods employed to illicit citizen participation failed to actively encourage participation from all social groups within the city and potentially alienated low-income residents.

Postgraduate research presents particular challenges to students: self-management, independent research, extended writing, and working with a supervisor. If we add to these challenges those faced by international students - the complexity of a new culture, a new academic culture, and the difficulties of a second language - we begin to see the hurdles that such students must overcome. Postgraduate students are already well socialised into their discipline, its discourse, research, and methodology. However, when students undertake their study abroad, how easily do they 'fit' into their new environment? And in what ways does their previous disciplinary socialisation, clash with, or complement their new academic socialisation? Given the large numbers of Chinese international students studying abroad particularly at postgraduate level, a focus on individual student experiences was seen as important in advancing our understanding of these students' experiences and sensitising international providers of such education to the ways in which they may better respond to such students. The purpose of the study was to examine the experiences of Chinese international postgraduate students studying in Singapore to find out how they perceived their new learning environment, and to explore the coping strategies they employed to manage, understand and construct meaning out of their learning situation. The study also sought to focus on their particular learning needs, given their perception of their environment, and the ways in which higher education providers could best accommodate these needs. A qualitative constructivist methodology was used to examine the learning experiences and coping strategies of 12 Chinese international postgraduates balanced by gender and level of higher degree study involved. The students were interviewed twice over a five-month period, with each interview lasting approximately one hour. The study focused on understanding students' experiences of positive and negative incidents in their learning environment, on the construction of meaning around those incidents, and on students' subsequent responses to them. Potential differences across the variables of level of degree study, gender and marital status were also considered in the analysis. Four major themes were identified in the student experiences those of marginalisation: student/supervisory relationship, academic/organisational marginalisation, social marginalisation, and advantaging. The coping strategies identified are those of self-determination and technique. It was found that adjustment for students was most difficult in the first six to twelve months from entry into the new cultural context, largely due to the influence of previous educational and cultural experiences on expectations. Also highlighted was the range of interpersonal and intrapersonal coping strategies that students used to help manage their cultural transition. The importance of collegial support as a key coping strategy for international student adjustment was confirmed in the study. Self-determination was also shown to be a strong motivator for managing research work and interpersonal relationships. The research indicated a number of important differences between masters and doctoral students' experiences and highlighted differences concerning traditional gender roles. Implications arising from the study may inform intervention programmes that are directed to the points of tension identified in students' experiences. The tensions in student experiences may largely be understood in terms of unrealistic or unfulfilled expectations being brought to the new study context but grounded in the home culture. Addressing these needs may be seen in various ways, including: (1) changing student expectations to make them more realistic; (2) sensitising students in cross-cultural issues; (3) sensitising host university staff in understanding and responding to cross-cultural issues in students; (4) providing appropriate levels of support in dealing with issues as they arise; and (5) structuring opportunities for mutual support by students in the host institution. Further research is indicated into the investigation of the cultural transition experiences and coping strategies of other national or ethnic groups at postgraduate level. Investigation of the experiences of international Chinese students in other disciplines, other host countries, and at other education levels is also indicated.

College is a time marked by a significant level of stress, especially for Latina students. One of the changes that often occurs during an individual's time in college involves one's gender role beliefs, shifting from traditional gender role beliefs to more liberal beliefs. Though a great deal of research has been done to show that college attendance plays an important role in the liberalization of gender role beliefs, little is known about this relationship for Latina students. This is particularly problematic as Latina students face unique challenges on the college campus, including issues relating to acculturation. Because the Latino cultural norms often dictate women to be dependent on their family, a move towards nontraditionalism can create family conflict and intragroup marginalization, both of which can contribute to psychosocial distress in ethnic minority groups. As Latina students face unique educational challenges, and may develop family conflicts, a supportive academic environment may serve to buffer some negative effects. This study conceptualizes this supportive environment as "academic families" which foster family like relationships in the college setting. This study examined the relationships between gender role beliefs, family conflict, family intragroup marginalization, academic family support, and psychosocial distress among a sample of 170 Latina college students to get a clearer picture of how changing gender roles impact this population. A statistically significant relationship was found between gender role beliefs and family intragroup marginalization, as well as between gender role beliefs and family conflict, though different from initially hypothesized. A statistically significant relationship was also found between family conflict and psychosocial distress, though academic family support was not shown to moderate this relationship. Implications for researchers and educators are also discussed.

This thesis focuses on the individual experience of being a migrant in the context of the development of local, municipal politics concerning immigrants, in Sweden during the time period between 1972 and 2002. The thesis is based on two different empiric materials. One consists of narratives from networks of Muslim women migrants in the suburban, immigrant- dense area of Fittja in the municipal of Botkyrka, located in the greater Stockholm area. The other consists of immigrant-centered policies and political decisions, found in Botkyrka municipal archives. The thesis focuses on a dynamic time period when big-city areas in Sweden have become increasingly heterogeneous and where integration policies have become a growing part of political agendas but where segregation and societal differentiation in many cases are increasing in spite of political efforts to achieve equality and multiculturalism. In this complex context, the thesis examines the relation between local political structure and individual agency. The study shows that subjective factors such as motherhood, background or future plans often are most important when defining an individual self-image in relation to the major society, which in turn impacts active, subjective strategies of inclusion or marginalization. Ethnicity, culture and gender are however, in almost all cases, the factors around which well meaning municipal immigrant-related political discourses are based in Botkyrka. The interviewed women are highly included in different areas outside of the political framework, although this activism often goes unnoticed in the hegemonic political system that reproduces unquestioned, collective categorization concerning immigrant women as passive “victims”. The findings in this thesis’ historical case study therefore indicate the development of a “non-meeting” between political structure and immigrated citizens, which leads to a critical discussion regarding the contents of inclusion and marginalisation as well as the meaning of political rhetoric like integration.

This study examines how Asian Americans articulate their marginalization and identity, as well as other issues related to race, through the use of blogs. Specifically, I look at discourse surrounding the Deadly Viper Character Assassins publication controversy on three different blogs. I draw upon critical discourse analysis (CDA) to compile patterns, themes, and anomalies from the online discussions. This paper highlights key findings, given the scarceness of Asian American voices in public culture, that prompt ongoing discussions about identity and the use of blogs as a platform to speak and conceptualize Asian American identity.