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This study investigates the influences for, methods of, and impact of sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) on transgender individuals. SOCE uses methods such as religious practices, behavioral modification, cognitive reframing, and counseling as ways to change sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual (Fjelstrom, 2013). This phenomenological, multiple case study analysis examines individual cases of SOCE to find cross-sectional themes among participants. The study identified participants who were influenced to undergo SOCE due to familial attitudes towards transgender identity. Participants described various methods used to suppress their gender identity during SOCE. They reported being negatively impacted by SOCE, experiencing issues such as loss of faith, interpersonal harm, feelings of inauthenticity, lack of trust, negative self-esteem and sexual dysfunction. This study aims to advocate for policy change regarding SOCE and to bring awareness on the use of SOCE among transgender individuals.

This dissertation explored the relationships among social injustice, social dominance orientation, aggression, and cyberbullying across Chinese and American populations. Direct effect and mediation models were proposed to test the explanatory power of perceived social injustice on the likelihood of cyberbullying. Twelve hypothesized social injustice scenarios written with first person perspective and based on three types of perceived social injustice (distributive, procedural, interactional), two social settings (pay, power), and two levels of injustice (high, low) were created to test four groups of hypotheses on the relationship between social factors and cyberbullying. Data were collected from an online survey site. A total of 639 Chinese participants and 484 American participants were randomly assigned to one of the 12 scenarios and then instructed to complete the survey based on the way they were treated in the scenarios. Participants were asked to report the level of their social dominance orientation, perceived injustice based on the scenarios, level of aggression, and likelihood of cyberbullying. Demographic characteristics of the participants were also recorded. Results revealed that (a) perceived distributive injustice positively predicts likelihood of cyberbullying among both American and Chinese participants, (b) perceived interactional injustice positively predicts the likelihood of cyberbullying only among Chinese participants, (c) the level of proactive aggression mediates the effect of perceived distributive injustice on the likelihood of cyberbullying, (d) the level of reactive aggression mediates the effect of perceived procedural and interactional injustices on the likelihood of cyberbullying, and (e) social dominance orientation negatively predicts three types of perceived social injustice and positively predicts the likelihood of cyberbullying. The theoretical and practical contributions of the dissertation are discussed. / Media & Communication

My dissertation explores the demographics and composition of sexual minority populations in the United States, their labor market experiences, and public policy, respectively. Using a novel method of Cross-Survey Multiple Imputation (CSMI), I create a unique dataset which allows me to examine the demographic profile of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) populations at the national and state levels. I then measure the prevalence of discrimination experienced by these groups in the labor market through regression analyses and decompositions of wages. Finally, I examine the effectiveness of sexual orientation nondiscrimination policies at the state level. My analyses show that LGB people make up just over four percent of the national population, a sizeable minority though smaller than popular and historical estimates. I show that LGB people tend to be younger, more racially and ethnically diverse, and slightly more educated than the heterosexual majority. However, LGB people are also more likely to be unemployed, more likely to be living below the poverty line, and less likely to have health insurance than heterosexual people. I find that lesbian women and gay men earn a wage premium over similarly situated heterosexual women and men while bisexual men and women experience a significant wage penalty relative to heterosexual men and women. After cataloguing and analyzing all state-level sexual orientation nondiscrimination policies for textual themes, I test for policy effectiveness. My analyses suggest that while policies raise the wages of all workers, the specific effects of policies on LGB workers’ wages are inconsistent, suggesting other factors play a role in shaping wage differentials. / Sociology

A material model capable of reproducing the anisotropic behavior of polycrystalline materials will prove to be useful in simulations in which directional properties are of key importance. The primary contributor to anisotropic behavior in polycrystalline materials is the development of texture through the rotation and alignment of slip systems due to plastic deformation. A large concentration of aligned slip systems will influence the glide of dislocations in the respective global deformation direction resulting in a directionally dependent flow stress. The Evolving Microstructural Model of Inelasticity (EMMI) is modified to account for evolving anisotropy due to the development of texture. Texture is characterized via a second order orientation tensor and is incorporated into EMMI through various modifications to the EMMI equations based on physical assumptions. Evolving anisotropy is captured via a static yield surface through a modification to the flow rule based on the assumption loading is entirely elastic within the yield surface. A separate modification to EMMI captures evolving anisotropy through an apparent yield surface via a modification to the EMMI internal state variable evolution equations. The apparent yield surface is the result of a smaller yield surface translating through stress space and assumes the state of the material is disturbed at stresses much lower than indicated by experimental yield surfaces.