The most common goal of professional sociology is to describe and or explain the social world. However, recognizing the performative aspects of science, and in keeping with Burawoy’s (2005) emphasis on “organic public sociology,” I ague that there is latitude within the discipline to design research with the aim of linking knowledge production and social change. I also argue that the discipline’s understanding of effecting change need not be limited to outcomes such as teaching, publication, or the creation of policy; the research process itself has social effects (Hesse-Biber, Leavy, and Yaiser 2004). Importing a performative research design from human geography (Community Economies Collective 2001, Cameron and Gibson 2001, 2005, Gibson-Graham 2006b), I co-designed a participatory action research (PAR) project with a graduate student in Geography. We hired 23 artists and artisans from Franklin County, Massachusetts forming a research team. Our goal was to act on the world in real-time through the use of peer-to-peer interviewing. In this paper I explore the outcomes, including the challenges, of researching from this approach. The research design and the ensuing process—training members of the research team, conducting interviews, and collaborating on projects—is the focus of my analysis. I discuss how aiming for transformation shaped our research decisions. Through my analysis of the research process, and in contrast to decision-making processes from a common sense epistemology, I argue that the interactions and connections engendered by the process itself matter just as much as the ensuing sociological understanding.

This research seeks to explore the origins and values of participatory action research, as well as its role in transforming possibilities to knowledge production and shaping equal relationships between research participants. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of intersectionality and decoloniality and with a focus on the experience of the asylum interview, the research seeks to explore the ways that those epistemological paradigms intertwine with participatory research to deconstruct the dichotomy between researcher and research subject (expert/community) and re-balance the power differentials embedded within academia, canonical knowledge production and traditional research methodologies, to initiate change.On one hand, the research documents the tangible difficulties and practical obstacles that young researchers may come across when employing participatory and inclusive approaches to research, discussing with honesty and self-reflectivity the limitations and shortcomings of this effort. More importantly though, it provides the space and framework for a young woman who navigated the European asylum system, to voice, without mediation and within academia, her narrative and lived experience, and discuss ways towards fairer and more humane asylum systems. As such, it is also a testament to what PAR can offer when conducted with respect and reference to its ontological and epistemological origins, within universities that can sustain it.

Background: In general, it is very complicated to build submarines. There are many parts and equipment that must be in place, and there are tight spaces on the boat. As submarine development progresses and new modern concepts take shape, the installation of new equipment on board becomes more complex, placing higher demands on well-defined interfaces, both geometrically and logically. The approach to electrical cabinets today is to run the cables from the bottom or top through a cable transit system, and only after the cabinet is installed on the submarine can the cables be installed in the proper terminals. This means that the installation takes a lot of time and combined with the fact that there are so many cables sticking out of the cable grommet, the work becomes even more superficial as installers are also constrained by the tight space. Sometimes workers also must move around to make room for others to pass through other parts of the submarine. This means that workers must leave their jobs and move before resuming their work. The following can happen several times a day, which means more time is needed to install electrical cabinets on the submarine.   Purpose: The purpose of this work is to develop and design a solution that is a standardized interface for equipment in the form of electrical cabinets that are present and used in submarines. In this way, the solution must be able to satisfy the different interfaces of the devices that the different subcontractors provide to the company. The created proposals must be illustrated with a CAD software to visualize the concept.   Methodology: The research methodology used in this project is a combination of Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Design Thinking (DT).   Result: The result presents a solution (ISO-box) that shows that it is possible to reduce and optimize the time to install the cabinet once the cabinet is permanently mounted on the submarine. The solution is presented in the form of a CAD model. The model is set up so that all the cables coming from the cable transit system have an adapter at the end, which has a counterpart in a box to the cabinet that is installed on the submarine. Then when the cabinet is assembled, all that must be done is to plug the right connector into the right place in this box. The box has colors for the connectors and numbering that makes it easier for the installer to know which adapter to use.   Conclusions: The work shows that it is quite possible to change the current solution so that less time is needed in the final assembly of the cabinets. It will be easier to just connect the contacts and then leave room for others to pass in the confined spaces. It will also be easier to maintain, as the installer can replace broken contacts as the solution is modular, and there is the possibility of installing new equipment with ISO-box if necessary.

This dissertation examines the processes by which multiple positioned actors in Participatory Action Research or Community-Based Participatory Research (PAR/CBPR) understand, reproduce, and contest systems of power and oppression in the context of their relationships and collaborations to support community-driven change efforts. The first chapter serves as a preface by reviewing relevant literature on participatory action research and power. The rest of the dissertation consists of three empirical papers. The first of these papers examined the extent to which scholars interrogate systems of power and oppression in (PAR/CBPR) to advance social justice. Scoping review methodology was employed to systematically review scholarly literature written in English and published between 2010 and 2020 across 5 databases. Thematic analysis and data charting yielded six scholarly articles using critical self-reflexive qualitative methodologies to explore manifestations of power within the partnership. Articles describe researchers employing individual critical reflections to confront individual assumptions, modify individual collaboration practices, and identify multilevel structures restraining participatory action approaches to research. The second paper explored the perceptions of researchers and community stakeholders regarding key processes questioning and addressing power issues within the (PAR/CBPR) collaborations. Individual in-depth semi-structured interviews (n=23) were conducted with social work researchers (n=13) and community stakeholders (n=10) with current or prior experience engaging in (PAR/CBPR) to examine the ways they define, negotiate, and address power differentials and oppression within their collaborations. Key emerging themes and discourses merged into a conceptual model illustrated with a metaphor of a river to highlight key social sites, paradigms of knowledge production, and the degree to which it aligns with the pursuit of social justice. Downstream strategies that sustain colonial forms of knowledge production included othering, disembodiment, and extraction. Conversely, upstream approaches underscored the centrality of redefining social relationships and ethical commitments within PAR/CBPR collaborations through the cultivation of unsettling counterspaces, counternarratives, and dialogical brave spaces. Finally, the third paper explored researchers and community stakeholders’ conceptualization and understanding of social justice as well as recommendations for social work research, practice, and policy to contest power and oppression in the context of PAR/CBPR. A second wave of individual in-depth semi-structured interviews with social work researchers (n=11) and community stakeholders (n=11) with current or prior experience engaging in PAR/CBPR were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings illustrated converging and diverging understandings of social justice, in particular, community stakeholders emphasized an understanding of social justice interdependent of systemic transformations through dialogical processes among stakeholders, researchers, and social institutions. PAR/CBPR was described as a facilitating factor of social justice by fostering counterspaces and counternarratives. Additionally, PAR/CBPR was defined as a factor limiting the pursuit of social justice and deeply entrenched with tenure-track promotion and funding mechanisms perpetuating top-down configurations of power. Together and independently these papers further our understanding of the ways in which structural oppression and power in (PAR/CBPR) can be addressed. Research findings from all three studies highlighted participatory action research is not exempt from power hierarchies, and that multilevel strategies promoting counterspaces, counternarratives, and institutional changes are essential when redressing, negotiating, and contesting power and oppression. Findings inform best practices for the development of PAR/CBPR collaborations embodying ethical relationality across social work research, practice, education, and policy. Future studies should consider the use of longitudinal and critically in-depth dialogical approaches between multiple positioned actors in PAR/CBPR when defining social justice, PAR/CBPR, and power. / 2028-04-30

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Disability and arthritis in Mexico are important public health problems. There is a need to develop rehabilitation interventions aimed at reducing the prevalence and disabling effects of arthritis in low socioeconomic communities in this country. This thesis reports findings from the initial execution of a mixed-methods participatory research program. This program was designed to develop, implement and evaluate a community-based rehabilitation program to decrease disability of people living with arthritis in the municipality of Chankom, a low-income rural Mayan community located in Southeast Mexico. Epidemiologic results showed a high prevalence of arthritis in Chankom associated with low levels of wealth and high body mass index. In addition, arthritis was associated with a higher prevalence of disability in this municipality. Further results showed that people who live with osteoarthritis in Chankom perform standardized and real-life activities with significant levels of disability. This disability was associated with levels of wealth, pain, muscle strength, self-efficacy, and physical activity. Ethnographic results showed that: a) arthritis reduces the health-related quality of life of people in Chankom through a process of disablement, b) people living with arthritis need access to culturally sensitive healthcare, and c) there are availability, attainability and acceptability barriers to accessing culturally sensitive health services in this municipality, which result from power imbalance between indigenous and non-indigenous people. The work presented in this thesis is the extensive examination of the problems associated with arthritis in Chankom, using quantitative and qualitative methods. Our findings justify the need to develop health policies and interventions to prevent and decrease the disabling effects of arthritis in this marginalized community. Moreover, these findings will support the creation of a culturally sensitive, community-based rehabilitation program, as a multi-level strategy to promote social development and improve health-related quality of life of people living with arthritis in the municipality of Chankom. / Thesis / Candidate in Philosophy / There is a need to develop rehabilitation interventions aimed at reducing the onset and disabling effects of arthritis in poor areas of Mexico. This thesis reports findings from the initial implementation of a research project designed to decrease disability of people living with arthritis in Chankom, a poor rural Mayan community located in Southeast Mexico. These findings show that arthritis is common in Chankom and it is related to having problems performing usual activities, which reduce people’s quality of life. People living with arthritis in Chankom need culturally appropriate healthcare services; however, they don’t obtain these due to different barriers associated with their indigenous background. Consequently, it is necessary to design health policies and interventions to decrease the disabling effects of arthritis in Chankom. The findings of this thesis will help creating a rehabilitation program that increases access to appropriate healthcare, improving function and quality of life of Chankom’s inhabitants.

This photovoice study explored the lived experiences of nine Puerto Rican mental health professionals who provided postdisaster counseling services to children. Due to the complex and multilayered experiences of Puerto Rican mental health professionals, this study used intersectionality as the theoretical lens to facilitate thematic analysis of the data. Results from coresearchers' narratives and photographs generated seven major themes: (a) la politiquería of disasters; (b) the impact of compounding disasters; (c) Puerto Rico se levanta: strategies for collective healing; (d) impact of disasters on children; (e) experiences with clients; (f) awareness, action, change; and (g) supporting, connecting, and transforming. The results and discussion provide awareness into the experiences of Puerto Rican clinicians who formed part of disaster response efforts in their own community. Clinical, educational, and research implications are drawn from coresearchers' narratives and insight.

People with intellectual/developmental disabilities experience exclusion from social spaces. In this dissertation, I address social inclusion in: a) research and b) peer relationships in the context of mental health services. To address inclusion in research, we conducted key informant interviews with academic researchers (n = 8) and co-researchers with intellectual disability (n = 6) who have expertise in inclusive research (study 1). Using principles of grounded theory we analyzed the data and developed a conceptual model describing the contextual factors and team-level factors that coalesce to foster and maintain inclusive research collaborations. We found that team members’ values and characteristics influence inclusive research collaborations and drive a commitment to accessibility. Additionally, perceived personal and societal benefits contribute to co-researcher involvement. Contextual factors, including funding and partnership duration, influence teams’ processes and structures. These processes and structures influence the extent to which co-researchers perceive the inclusive research team to be co-facilitated or academic-facilitated. This model describes how contextual and team-level factors and processes may be optimized to support co-researcher engagement in inclusive research. To address peer relationships in the context of mental health services, I used a stakeholder-driven approach to develop a peer mentoring intervention for young adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and co-occurring mental health conditions (study 2). This approach included partnership with 3 young adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and co-occurring mental health conditions and a 7 member advisory board composed of self-advocates and professionals. In addition, I conducted focus groups with mental health clinicians (n = 10), peer support specialists (n = 9), and transition specialists (n = 20) to identify the desired peer mentoring outcome and intervention components and content that may facilitate these outcomes. The focus group participants identified several relationship-driven and outcome-driven actions peer mentors may use to support outcome achievement. Stakeholders also identified five components relevant to the intervention: safety considerations, mentor matching, degree of intervention structure, mentor training and support, and collaboration with mentees’ support teams. These findings draw attention to the importance of social relationships and individualization of both mentoring and supports for mentors. Together, these two studies highlight the importance of valuing the unique strengths of people with disabilities and the need for task and environmental adaptations to foster social inclusion of people with intellectual/developmental disabilities. / 2021-06-18T00:00:00Z

The purpose of this participatory action research study was to explore queer womxn of color's experiences of microaggressions in therapy. Due to the multifaceted and complex experiences of queer womxn of color, this study was informed by intersectionality theory and utilized photovoice methodology to answer the following question: How do queer womxn of color experience microaggressions in therapy? The seven queer womxn of color who participated in this study provided vivid, honest, and courageous portrayals of their experience of microaggressions in therapy. Six major themes were prominent in their photographs and narratives: (a) collective and pervasive experiences of oppression, (b) therapy as a tool of oppression, (c) impact of oppression in therapy, (d) strategies for survival, (e) healing for queer womxn of color, and (f) the power of sharing mi historia. Overall, co-researchers provided insight into their experiences of oppression in therapy, while highlighting clinical and research practices that may be healing and liberatory for queer womxn of color. Additionally, implications and conclusions drawn from the experiences of co-researchers provide recommendations for mental health professionals, educational programs, and researchers to consider when working with queer womxn of color.