Employee support is a key factor in creating more welcoming and accepting work environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in sport. As such, organizations need to understand what factors encourage employees to display attitudes and behaviors that support inclusion. Thus, the purpose of my dissertation was to advance the literature by examining antecedents and outcomes related to employee support for LGBT inclusion and equality in the workplace. In Study 1, I provide LGBT employees the opportunity to share their perceptions of support for LGBT inclusion, particularly how the attitudes and behaviors of their coworkers foster or inhibit acceptance in the workplace. Results indicate that various micro-level (demographics, personality, experiences with LGBT individuals) and meso-level factors (organizational culture for diversity, support of relevant others) influenced the level of employee support for LGBT inclusive policies. Furthermore, power meaningfully influenced these dynamics, such that individuals in low status positions within the athletic department were hesitant to show support for LGBT equality. However, those who did champion LGBT inclusive initiatives successfully modeled supportive behaviors and positive attitudes toward LGBT individuals, vocally opposed discriminatory treatment, and provided sexual minorities with a safe space at work. In Study 2, I develop a multilevel model that addresses factors at the macro-level (i.e., mass media, inclusive community), meso-level (i.e., sexual orientation diversity, presence of other allies), and micro-level (i.e., personality, personal values, attitudes toward LGBT individuals, contact with LGBT individuals) that influence ally support. In addition, I differentiate between attitudinal and behavioral support for LGBT equality, and discuss various factors that may encourage allies to engage in more active ally behaviors. In Study 3, I drew from the multilevel model to examine how micro-, meso-, and macro-level factors influence attitudinal support for sexual LGBT inclusion among sport employees, and determine if these attitudes affect behavioral support for LGBT inclusion in the workplace. The results from the study offered support that multilevel factors relate to support for LGBT inclusion. Specifically, sex, supervisor support, and typed of media consumed were related to attitudinal support for LGBT inclusion, and these attitudes positively associated with championing behaviors.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Donald A. Saucier / Individuals who associate with a stigmatized group may take on a “courtesy stigma”, and this may lead individuals to dissociate from stigmatized individuals for fear of also being stigmatized (Goffman, 1963). However many heterosexual individuals (i.e., straight allies) openly associate with lesbians and gay men (LG), and/or actively engage in LG social activism despite the risk of assuming a courtesy stigma. The current research examined the perceptions of and the identification processes associated with being straight allies. Results revealed that the willingness to take on a courtesy stigma may be influential in the process of straight ally identification. This research has implications for understanding the processes related to straight ally perceptions and identification. The current research will also promote general understanding of individuals who engage in prosocial behaviors despite possible negative consequences.

While many organizations have taken steps to protect minority individuals from the negative effects of prejudice and discrimination, such initiatives may be met with limited success. That is, prejudice and discrimination may remain major problems even with organizations who adopt organizational policies to enhance equity and reduce workplace discrimination. This dissertation examines the use of an individual-level strategy that individuals can enact in response to prejudice and/or discrimination, and that is the strategy of directly confronting the prejudice of their co-workers. This study examines the utility of confronting co-workers in the workplace with particular emphasis on the cognitions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions of third-party bystanders following witnessing a confrontation. I anticipated that the identity of the confronter (a member of the target group or an ally) and the level of conflict (high or low conflict) as well as the type of conflict (aggressive vs. calm, and personalized to the individual vs. generalized to society as a whole) in the confrontation would differentially impact outcome variables. Indeed, the results suggest that allies (versus targets) who confront elicit more positive behavioral intentions from observers to enact such strategies in the future; that high conflict (either aggressive or personalized) confrontations elicit more negative cognitions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions than do low conflict confrontations; and that targets and allies who confront have the most impact on third-party individuals if they utilize different strategies. Specifically, allies received particularly negative ratings when they confronted in an aggressive and personalized manner (compared to the other three strategies) and targets received relatively negative ratings only when confronting in an aggressive manner. These results held true in data obtained several weeks later. This research assesses the practicality of using confrontation as a prejudice-reduction tool and potentially informs future diversity management initiatives in organizations.

abstract: This dissertation is guided by the following questions: How do People of Color define and experience White people as "authentic" allies? What does a White ally look like to People of Color? How do White allies view themselves as "authentic" White allies? What experiences lead White people to anti-racism and anti-racist praxis? How do White people translate what they know about racism into an active and courageous anti-racist praxis in their own lives? What kinds of educational experiences in the social work classroom might foster or hinder students from learning how to translate anti-racist knowledge into anti-racist praxis? Using narrative methods, I explore some of the answers to these questions. Findings from this study offer ways to design deeper and more meaningful social work/social justice pedagogy that will better prepare social workers to be active, anti-racist practitioners and allies in all aspects of their work. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2012

Les chercheurs en intelligence artificielle se sont toujours intéressés aux problèmes des jeux de société. Ces jeux sont depuis longtemps perçus par les humains comme des façons de prouver leur supériorité intellectuelle face à leurs adversaires. Bobby Fisher, ancien champion du monde d'échecs, a dit: « C'est juste vous et votre adversaire sur l'échiquier, et vous essayez de prouver quelque chose. » Il a expliqué aussi: « Le moment que je préfère le plus dans une rencontre, c'est celui où je sens que la personnalité de l'adversaire se brise. » Il est naturel que les programmeurs voulant prouver l'efficacité de leurs techniques de programmation se confrontent aux mêmes jeux. L'objectif de ce mémoire est de proposer un système d'intelligence artificielle au jeu de société Axis & Allies. Il existe un système propriétaire qui joue présentement à ce jeu. Il a été crée par Avalon Hill, une entreprise qui s'occupe de la distribution du jeu. Selon les opinions recueillies sur les forums de discussions, le système d'intelligence artificielle qui existe n'est pas au niveau des joueurs expérimentés. Un joueur a posté le commentaire suivant: « Iron Blitz has an ALI (Artificial Lack of Intelligence » Il sera donc question dans le présent travail de proposer une meilleure solution à ce problème. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Intelligence Artificielle, Axis & Allies, Système expert, Jeux de société.

Velvet ants are solitary wasps that have been virtually ignored in the past. Although over 4200 species have been described, fewer than 10 articles are published on these wasps each year. Their research potential is hindered by lack of phylogenetic and taxonomic data and lack of interest in the scientific community. In this dissertation, I sought to overcome the hindrances to mutillid research with a holistic systematic research model. By reconstructing phylogenies using molecular methods and correcting taxonomy based on the phylogenetic reconstructions, I was able to diminish the barriers to velvet ant research while concurrently presenting broadly interesting hypotheses. I applied this model to multiple hierarchical levels within the most widely studied velvet ant genus, Dasymutilla, and its allies. Molecular phylogenetic reconstructions, particularly those using the internal transcribed spacer units of ribosomal DNA (ITS1 and ITS2), were effective under Bayesian criteria. My results reveal the utility of velvet ants for studying biogeography and mimicry. I specifically determined that velvet ants dispersed between North and South America prior to the Great American Biotic Interchange and members of the genus Dasymutilla form the world’s largest known Müllerian mimicry complex. Taxonomic problems in Dasymutilla and their allies are addressed in the remaining sections of the dissertation. Overall, 35 species were treated taxonomically. Seven new sex associations were discovered, 22 species were recognized as synonyms, and nine new species were described. In each taxonomic treatment, hypotheses concerning biogeography, mimicry, and host selection were discussed briefly.

Yes / Poor people attempting to claim a share of resources in post-conflict societies seek allies internationally and nationally in attempts to empower their campaigns. In so doing, they mobilize the languages of liberalism, nationalism and local cultural tradition selectively and opportunistically to both justify stances that transgress the strictures of local culture and to cement alliances with more powerful actors. In the case of poor widows in East Timor, the languages of nationalism, ritual, and justice were intermingled in a campaign aimed at both international actors and the national state in a bid to claim a position of status in the post-conflict order.

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Through a critical qualitative approach, four focus groups of exclusively white or non-white participants were conducted in order to discover the ways in which individuals enact and navigate whiteness in discussions of racial allies. Further, this study attempted to capture how white and non-white individuals may differ in their approach to this subject matter and in their recommendations for racial allies. Findings revealed that eight themes defined these interactions: “Whiteness”, “Experience & Voice”, “Whitewashing Advocacy”, “Polite Protest”, “(Dis)Comfort”, “White Fragility”, and “The Complexity of Allyship”. The study finds that while whiteness is frequently perpetuated throughout this dialogue and white and non-white individuals often differ in their perceptions of privilege and racial allyship, discussions of this complex tension resulted in a dialogic nature across focus groups, heightening the need for these types of discussions in advocacy movements and future scholarship.

School counselors need to advocate and act as an ally for all students. Safe Space, a training designed to facilitate competency for working with and serving LGBTQ youth (i.e., LGBTQ competency), has received increased attention in the field of school counseling. However, limited empirical support exists for training interventions such as Safe Space, with only one study to date examining its effectiveness for graduate psychology students (see Finkel, Storaasli, Bandele, & Schaefer, 2003). This study used a randomized pretest-posttest control group design to evaluate and examine the impact of Safe Space training on competency levels of a sample of school counselors/school counselor trainees and to explore the relationship between LGBTQ competency and awareness of sexism and heterosexism.