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Today’s second-generation immigrants who are mostly of Hispanic, Afro-Caribbean, and Asian descent face new challenges that prevent them from replicating the high levels of intergenerational upward mobility that were achieved by most European immigrants and their offspring in earlier periods. Segmented assimilation theory argues that the persistent racial and ethnic discrimination against nonwhite children of immigrants constitutes a major barrier to their incorporation into the middle class as such experiences foster a reactive mindset that is detrimental to socioeconomic incorporation. To test this claim, I analyze whether perceived discrimination (PD) has a negative impact on the educational and occupational outlooks, and ultimately on the socioeconomic status attainment of second-generation immigrants. Further, I examine how socioeconomic background and contextual factors influence the risk of PD on the one hand, and its short- and long-term consequences on the other. Drawing from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS), which was conducted in three waves when respondents were on average fourteen, seventeen, and twenty-four years old, I include individual-level and school-level data and use school random effects logistic and linear regression modeling to examine the effects of perceived racial/ethnic discrimination on second-generation immigrant incorporation. I find very little evidence for the notion that PD has a negative impact on future outlooks or status attainment; only youth who come of age in relatively privileged socioeconomic circumstances are more likely to have higher educational aspirations than expectations, but this mechanism does not translate into lower status attainment. I discuss possible explanations for the lack of support of segmented assimilation theory’s claims as well as the theoretical and methodological implications of my study. / Sociology

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Master of Arts / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / Laszlo Kulcsar / Undocumented immigrants are an exploited and disenfranchised faction of society that garner counterfactual attitudes by the public. This study aims to dispel myths held among the public by contesting fiction with facts. First, I argue that media sources and misinformation have culpability in inciting the publics' misguided perceptions about undocumented immigrants. For example, the images propelled to viewers reproduce moral panics, stratification, subjugation, social injustice and the fallacious notion that Mexican‟s are representative of all Hispanic unauthorized immigrants. This thesis then examines the public opinion responses of participants from the CBS and New York Times monthly survey poll of May 2007, compared to academic and government sources on health care, terrorism, and economics. The analysis concludes that participants‟ responses reveal misconceptions on the usage of health care by undocumented immigrants; the threat of terrorism as a means to deny Hispanics citizenship; the economic impact of cost to benefit analysis of the undocumented; and that Mexicans are not representative of all undocumented immigrant groups.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Blake Belanger / As the world continues to grow and cities continue to change, landscapes architects are constantly challenged with identifying design solutions that address the endless change of urban environments. In 1973, C.S. Holling developed the term “resilience theory,” which identified how social and ecological systems communicate across different landscape scales (Holling, C.S. 1973). In 2013, Kansas State Graduate Kevin Cunningham tested the validity of Holling’s resilience theory as a theoretical basis for urban design. This report attempts to further test the validity of resilience theory as a theoretical basis for social systems within urban design. Methodology utilized includes literature review with specific attention to current social resilience frameworks and guidelines, case study analyses, and an application of the author’s social resilience goals and strategies through a projective design of Washington Square Park, Kansas City, Missouri. Social resilience goals and strategies were developed to respond to social objectives identified within Washington Square Park RFQ/P, GDAP, Main Street Streetcar, Making Grand “Grand” and KCDC’s plan for the park. Objectives were derived based upon their relationship to resilience theory. The created social resilient goals, objectives and strategies will be specific for the revitalization of Washington Square Park. However, the process of identified social resilience goals, objectives and strategies can be utilized as a tool for designs of other urban, civic spaces. The process of identifying social resilience goals, objectives and strategies utilized within this report has the potential to continually promote landscape architects as the primary leaders in urban design practice.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Melinda Stafford Markham / Walter R. Schumm / This study produces a grounded theory of how parents make decisions regarding the custody arrangements of their children in the divorce process. Eleven parent/adolescent pairs in shared physical and legal custody arrangements were interviewed. Ten factors were found to influence the custody arrangement decisions of divorcing parents: former partner, children, work, new partner, use of a lawyer, role of family, parenting role, place of residence, finances, and divorce. Parents also weighed perceived costs and rewards when making custody arrangement decisions. In addition, an understanding of the involvement of an adolescent in the custody arrangement decisions was gained through this research. The majority of adolescents in this study had some type of input in the custody arrangements at one point or another. Parents and adolescents both expressed concerns with involving adolescents in custody arrangement decisions as well as an appropriate age for adolescent involvement, and how to determine when an adolescent is ready to be involved in the custody arrangement decisions. Custody arrangement decisions are complex decisions that parents and adolescents face; a number of factors are considered and the custody arrangement decision making process varies for all families.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Katherine Nesse / Rural communities continue to consolidate and close schools across the country at an alarming rate. Debates surrounding school district consolidation have been known to cause deep tension throughout many communities. It is widely held that, schools in rural areas not only provide education, but create jobs, provide entertainment, and bolster social relationships within a region. Social relationships are necessary for the health and cohesiveness of any community. This in-depth case study of the rural community of Mount Hope identifies the change in cohesion over time. This research shows that there is a relationship between the closing and opening of the school and levels of community cohesion amongst some, but not all, of the groups. The key findings are that a range of social activities not directly related to the school have been affected by the closure. Personal interviews were conducted with local officials, school employees, group leaders, parents, and community members of Mount Hope. This study is relevant to planners, school administrators, and educators alike, as local communities across the state debate the value of district consolidation. The findings are beneficial to communities and school districts to help determine what is best for a community when considering school consolidation or closure.

<p> The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the identity development of mixed race Asian students, also known as Hapas, and the influence of college environments of their perceptions of self. More specifically, this study will use Narrative Inquiry to gain insight into the lives and experiences of 20 Hapa students at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). In order to uncover the shared experience of Hapas on this college campus and to discern any specific activities or aspects of university life that contributed to their identity development while at Penn, I conducted 20 one-on-one interviews. I also conducted one focus group with 8 of the participants in order to observe the interactions between the students. This topic is relevant to student affairs administrators and faculty because of the rapidly changing demographics in the United States. Some projections estimate that by 2050, mixed race Asian people will represent the largest Asian constituency in the country, thus potentially changing the face of our campuses.</p>