My thesis is about one of the most distinctive cities in the Russian Federation - Kazan. In my thesis I focus on the changes that were unfolding in the landscape and structure of Kazan in the post-Soviet period (1991-2000s). The collapse of the Soviet Union produced an immense paradigm shift as combined revival of nationalism and religion swept over Tatar people who in turn have been actively changing the city. In this work I researched how the Tatar religious and national revival affected the landscape and structure of Kazan. I used data such as landmarks, memorials, establishments, institutions and other symbolic, religious or national elements of the city in order to demonstrate the scope of the Tatar urban revival. Additionally, I tried to understand the actual causes and processes that contributed to the revival. Tatar revitalization of Kazan is a complex social phenomenon which reveals many important political and global processes. / Urban Studies

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Geography / Bimal K. Paul / Given the recent recognition that not only physical processes, but social, political and economic aspects of hazards determine vulnerability and impact of an event, the next logical step would seem to be the development of classification systems that address those factors. Classifications for natural disasters, such as the Fujita Scale for tornadoes and the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, focus on the physical properties of the event, not the impact on a community. Pre-event vulnerability to a natural hazard is determined by many factors, such as age, race, income and gender, as well as infrastructure such as density of the built environment and health of the industrial base. The behavior of residents in the community, construction quality of shelters and warning system effectiveness also affect vulnerability. If pre-event vulnerability is to be determined by such factors, post-event impact should, at least in part, be as well. The goal of this research was to develop the Tornado Impact-Community Vulnerability Index (TICV) that utilizes variables such as the number of persons killed, economic impacts and social vulnerability to describe to the level of impact a tornado event has on community. As tornadoes that strike unpopulated areas are often difficult to classify, even in the traditional sense, the TICV will take into consideration only events that strike communities with defined political boundaries, or “places” according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By assigning a rating to the impact, this index will allow the severity of the storm to be understood in terms of its effect on a specific community and hence its impact, rather than an physically-based rating that gives only a broad, general indication of its physical strength.

<p> Today&rsquo;s emerging patient centered health movement is focused not on a specific condition or demographic, but rather on shifting the balance of power and enabling access to information to drive decision-making in healthcare. This takes place through electronic health records as well as more generalized sources. The uptake of social media is contributing to an innovation in patient centered healthcare: information and support on a global scale is coming not only from the formal healthcare system, but also within online social networks. Today, through computer-mediated interactions, patients are not only seeking information, they are curating and sharing information. Subsequently, patients are also creating information, establishing a novel ecosystem of engagement that has the potential to disrupt the current healthcare system. </p><p> This dissertation explores an online health community, BCSM (which stands for &ldquo;breast cancer social media&rdquo;), established using Twitter, a largely public and searchable social media platform. Drawing primarily from social network theory, disruptive innovation, and ecological systems theory, this research identifies essential characteristics within the community that may inform future development and support for patient centered healthcare. To conduct this research, a blended approach of netnography &ndash; referring to the approach of ethnography applied to the study of online cultures and communities &ndash; and in-depth interviews with BCSM participants were employed. </p><p> Data collected via interviews and tweets using the hashtag #bcsm provide evidence of clinical support, emotional support, information sharing, and knowledge translation. Underpinning this activity is the opportunity to associate not only with peers, but also with individuals of varying roles (including patients, providers, advocates, researchers, and caregivers). As evidenced by the data collected, educational opportunities flow in both directions. </p><p> This work contributes to the larger corpus of health-related literature in the identification and naming of a significant community element that has seen little focused attention: cross-peer engagement, a term used to highlight the interaction amongst individuals of differing status, ability, or rank. This research also documents the formation of microspurs, defined as relationships that form as a result of community participation. These come in many forms and range from expanding a personal support network to participation in federal policy work. Findings suggest that the future of healthcare will not revolve around hospitals and bounded systems. Instead, patients will demand an expanded set of entry points for health information sharing, knowledge transfer, condition management, and general support.</p>

<p>This research project explored the anatomy of satisfaction of undergraduate students&rsquo; experiences in order to identify the themes common to students who were satisfied with their college careers. The study also examined the conditions that help students thrive on campus focusing on college seniors who self-reported as very satisfied with their college experience. Furthermore the study analyzed the motivation behind satisfied students&rsquo; behavioral choices, including their choice of major and extracurricular involvement. Assessment of the quality of students&rsquo; relationships to others on campus served as a component of this research as well. A grounded theory qualitative approach was used to collect and analyze data. The study found that satisfaction is a function of a student&rsquo;s integration on campus. Integration resulted when students enjoyed their majors, actively engaged in campus life, and formed and maintained successful social relationships. Characteristics common among satisfied students included openness to experience, self-awareness, sociability, and a willingness to make intrinsically motivated decisions with respect to behavioral choices. Students thrived in an environment that promoted the exploration of their intrinsically motivated behavioral choices, where they felt seen, valued, and supported in their identities, activities, and interests, and where they were afforded opportunities to discover, grow, and expand their capabilities and skills. </p><p> <i>Keywords</i>: college satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, student engagement, thriving </p>

<p> Today&rsquo;s young gay men are experiencing life choice options in manners greater than any prior generation of gay men, particularly when considering family building. These men are coming out at earlier ages and facing a socio-political world of increased legal rights and opportunities, among which is the opportunity to parent outside of a heterosexual past. Informed by interviews with 51 gay men, aged 18-35, this research explores the personal views of today&rsquo;s young gay men about parenting. While past research has primarily focused upon the views of gay men who were already parenting, thus recalling past aspirations, this project focuses on the current views of gay men who have yet to pursue parenthood. Central discussions have explored the views of gay men who desire or are yet undecided about wanting children, as well as those men who actively speak to a preference to remain childfree. Among these three groups, how they are personally constructing their parental desires, what they perceive the pros and cons of parenting to be, and the manner in which their aspiration influences intimate and family relationships are examined. These views are additionally contextualized to the men&rsquo;s cultural observations of media and political climate. Despite social and historic assumptions that a gay identity implies a childfree path, these men particularly speak to the emergent and active consideration of parenthood by many. One may no longer presume a gay identity is incompatible with a fathering identity&mdash;it is a choice to be made at the individual level.</p>

<p>Based on Berry&rsquo;s model of acculturation, when immigrants move to a new country, they choose to live according to any one of the following four acculturation modes: assimilation, integration, separation, or marginalization. The specific cultural and psychosocial characteristics of the acculturating individual or group determine what acculturation mode they will most likely follow. Generation, ethnic identity and modernity are few examples of those cultural and psychosocial referents. The present study examined the relationship of generation first and second, ethnic identity and modernity to acculturation among Lebanese American immigrant women living in the metro-Detroit area. Using the snowball technique, ninety women (first generation = 51, second generation = 39) took part in the study. The participants responded on Qualtrics (online survey platform) to the four measures used in this study: (1) a demographic survey, (2) the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), (3) Traditionalism-Modernism Inventory-Revised (TMI-R), and (4) the Acculturation Rating Scale for Arab Americans II (ARSAA-II). Multiple regression was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that generation and ethnic identity had a significant relationship to acculturation, as they were the best predictors of acculturation in Lebanese American women in the metro Detroit area. Unexpectedly, modernity did not contribute significantly to acculturation. The main implication of this research is that if immigrants&rsquo; generation (first, second, etc.) and ethnic identity are known, then professionals can make meaningful determinations of immigrants&rsquo; acculturation. Discussion of the relationships among the variables as stated in the hypothesis is provided. Implications for future research and practice are also provided. </p>

<p> Test anxiety is problem that affects college students. Explanatory mixed methods research was completed with the objective of understanding the interrelationship of prayer and test anxiety as well as the potential therapeutic effects of Christian prayer on test anxiety. It was hypothesized that Christian prayer would have significant effects on the reduction of physiological test anxiety biomarkers of salivary cortisol (SC), salivary alpha amylase (SAA), and heart rate (HR). The framework of the cognitive attentional theory (CAT) of test anxiety was used as a lens to gain insight into the phenomena of test anxiety and the use of prayer as a hypothesized alleviating agent. Undergraduates among four different majors of study from a university in the Northwest United States were volunteer participants in the study. Forty-eight participants were put into three 20-minute experimental groups to determine if a relationship existed between concentrated Christian prayer and test anxiety. The experimental groups were: Focused Christian Prayer, Guided Meditation, and Study Guide. In order to further understand the relationship of prayer and test anxiety, students were also grouped and analyzed by their scores on the Westside Test Anxiety Scale (WTAS) and their value of prayer in their lives. The mean age of the sample was 20.02 yrs old. SC and SAA were measured with Assay kits ordered from Salimetrics Company, and HR was measured using Gurin Santamedical SM-110 finger pulse oximeters. Two focus groups were conducted to help explain the quantitative data gathered. Results from the quantitative research did not clearly show that prayer is more effective than meditation or a study guide to alleviate biomarkers of test anxiety. Quantitative results did suggest that students who valued prayer higher in their lives experienced less biomarkers of test anxiety. Nine qualitative themes from the two focus groups emerged to help shed light on the findings of the quantitative data. The unique interrelationship of prayer and test anxiety is discussed. More studies on the phenomena of prayer and test anxiety are supported.</p>

<p> A significant number of Liberian ex-militants are unemployed and underemployed despite the job skills, formal education, and entrepreneurial training they received as participants in the Formal Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program that was established to reintegrate combatants into civilian society at the end of the two civil wars in Liberia in 2003. The purpose of this study was to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the vocational training offered by the DDR program. Informed by the theories of Human Capital, Peace Building, and Bronfrenbrenner, the research questions for this study assessed the benefits of the educational component of DDR. A phenomenological study design was employed with a purposeful sample of ex-militant participants that included 12 ex-militants and a focus group of 6-ex-militants drawn from the 12 who completed vocational training at the Monrovia Vocational Training Center in Monrovia (MVTC). All data were inductively coded and analyzed using a constant comparative method. Data analysis uncovered five textural themes: motivation for disarmament, hope to rebuild lives through vocational training, dissatisfaction with reintegration, perception of reintegration, and perception of future combat participation. Findings support human capital, peace building, and ecological systems theories in that ex-militants perceived the benefit of education in their transition to peacetime endeavor, but consider themselves only partially reintegrated since all consider themselves unemployed with no means to survive economically. This study is significant because it provides recommendations to policymakers on how such a program can improve the vocational training offered and provide follow-up life-skills counseling. </p>

<p> The intent of this research is to reveal and understand the symbolic meanings of cultural and ethnic identity that cultural creators and receivers perceive through their involvement in mariachi. This study&rsquo;s shows the way those involved in mariachi perceive their cultural and ethnic identity while living in a city that infuses Mexican and Texan cultural sensibilities. A mixed-method approach was taken between in-depth qualitative interviews and participant observation. Participant observation was utilized as a means to build a stratified snowball sample of the various cultural producers and receivers of mariachi. The cultivation of this sample was guided by Griswold&rsquo;s cultural diamond framework. Reliance on semi-structured in-depth interviews as the primary research method of inquiry illuminated the various horizons of meaning that mariachi performers, instructors, gatekeepers, and aficionados held in regards to their efforts to preserve a long standing cultural musical art form in San Antonio, Texas. Some findings include various stories and perspectives on cultural and ethnic identity in mariachi, varying strategies undertaken to preserve mariachi music in the twenty-first century through technology, its institutionalization into a public-education setting, the varying gender dynamics among mariachi performers, the question of authenticity and hybridization in mariachi music, and cultural politics in the mariachi music scene.</p>

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Farrell J. Webb / The current military family life is punctuated by a series of events that are not present in the lives of most Americans, most notably the stress, fear, and disruption of lives that accompany the periodic absences of one or both adults in the family. These absences fostered by deployments, challenges of readjustments, coupled with combat injuries have tremendous effects on not only the troops and their families, but also the communities that military families live in as well. This investigation examined how military assistance, family connectedness and community networks contribute to the well-being of families affected by anticipated and repeated deployments that cause family interruptions. Despite the myriad of studies on military deployments and the impact on families, there has been little focus on the spouse and children that relates to their resilience during the deployment process. Using an online national all service unit sample from military spouses (n = 185) who have children and have experienced a recent deployment (n = 153) it was possible to isolated the specific components that influenced the well-being of those affected by deployments. The Influence of Interruptions on Family Well-Being Model—which combines ideas from both the ecological systems and boundary ambiguity perspectives—was tested and utilized in this study. It was disclosed that 45% of the variance in well-being could be explained by knowing how families perceive the deployment process, military assistance, community networks, family connectedness, and how these families coped with periodic family interruptions. These data revealed that deployments have a greater impact than originally conceived and that issues addressing deployments must be placed on the national agenda, particularly where family well-being is concerned. The research findings underscore the importance of family to both the deployed personnel and the ones that they leave home. The implications from this investigation are simple and direct—there needs to be a more comprehensive program for children that employ pre-, during- and post-deployment related issues, such as adjustments to absent parents, developing better responses to the authority structure of the remaining parent, and some program focused on the immediate and long-term psychological needs of the children and their families.