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From Pasture to Pavement: Urban Expansion and Its Environmental Consequences in Perth
No full textThis thesis addresses the pressing issue of ecological problems of urban sprawl and its intricate impacts on urban health, with a particular focus on vulnerable communities in Perth, Australia. Chapter 1 presents the city\u27s historical background and emphasizes the depletion of ecosystem services, underscoring the need for environmental justice. It also introduces the causes and effects of the sprawl in Perth and draws upon a diverse range of environmental problems created by suburbia, such as air pollution, biodiversity loss, water pollution, and runoff. As these threats translate into urban health declines, such as respiratory problems and increased healthcare issues, Chapter 1 addresses the potential ways to deal with these sets of problems. The following chapters apply interdisciplinary perspectives. Chapter 2 delves into the history of environmental problems and the development of urban sprawl in the suburbs of Perth and correlates the findings with the increase in healthcare problems. Chapter 3 explores human rights issues, such as equal accessibility to educational and healthcare institutions, which expands the discussion of environmental injustice mentioned in Chapter 1. Chapter 4 focuses on environmental politics by analyzing the environmental and urban policies from the past and present while examining their effectiveness and consideration for communities and the ecosystem. Chapter 5 synthesizes the interdisciplinary analysis and formulates a set of concrete policy recommendations to mitigate healthcare issues, accessibility disparities, and ecological waste. These recommendations underscore the need for comprehensive urban planning, transportation reform, affordable housing initiatives, and strengthened environmental regulations. Moreover, they emphasize that with the changes, the city will become economically cost-effective and sustainable. As urban sprawl poses a twofold threat: it erodes urban well-being while exacerbating environmental degradation, this thesis underscores the complex relationship between urban development patterns and equity and offers a holistic policy framework for addressing this critical issue
Cultural Hybridization in the United States: The Case of Chicanos/Mexican-American Music
No full textHow do immigrant communities in the United States maintain aspects of their culture when they have to navigate between an American culture and their own? This study will center Chicanos, who fit this description by being Mexicans who have to navigate between having roots in Mexico and a new cultural environment in America. More specifically, an analysis of corrido music (and their corresponding music videos) produced by a Chicano band in the 21st century will be important to understanding how a hybrid identity is communicated through that medium. Lyrics, Slang, Styles of Dress, Instruments and Rhythms will be used as points of analysis to distinguish between which elements are highlighting or referring to a Mexican or American identity. Research reveals that these elements construct a hybrid identity, because the band maintains their working class Mexican roots while demonstrating an influence of other styles of music, particularly African-American hip hop. The implications of this study are how we can understand the way that immigrant communities in the United States maintain their cultural roots through music. Music offers a unique way of understanding cultural hybridization, as scholars can apply the case of Chicanos to other immigrant communities in the world. For further research, we need to consider the perspective of women Chicana artists, as the corrido genre explored in this thesis is predominantly performed by men
Revitalizing New York City Food Deserts: On Addressing, Examining, and Solving Food Insecurity in New York City
No full textThis paper aims to expose the food deserts of New York City and present ways that the government and non-governmental organizations can combat food insecurity in the urban environment. Food deserts are the product of insufficient access, availability, utilization, and stability of food in a particular area due to environmental racism. Food insecurity in New York City will rise with the increased impacts of climate change on our agricultural system. To that end, disadvantaged neighborhoods will bear the burden of environmental costs. The first chapter of this paper considers the failing agricultural system to prove that massive reform to protect the world\u27s food security is necessary. It considers how climate change threatens food security by putting farms at risk through rising temperatures, desertification, and land loss. This chapter will propose policy solutions on the agricultural level, including the diversification of commodity crop subsidies. Chapter 2 will define the food desert as an environmental justice issue. It will examine the disparities in food distribution, comparing different neighborhoods in New York City while highlighting race as a significant factor. Chapter 3 discusses the irony of Hunts Point in the Bronx, a food distribution center that sources the largest amount of food to a surrounding area globally. Despite this, the Hunts Point community remains in a food desert. Chapter 4 looks into the adverse health effects of food deserts and identifies the food desert as an obesogenic environment. The fourth chapter will then focus on how an obesogenic environment impacts an individual\u27s daily well-being. To erase food deserts, Chapter 5 argues that there needs to be a reconstruction of our supermarket networks, food system reconstruction, support of community gardens and mobile food stands, and helpful zoning policies. With the increased threat of climate change disproportionately affecting communities of color, food deserts must be taken seriously as a public health crisis
The Long Fight: How Serbian and Albanian Media Narratives Sustain Conflict in the Balkans
No full textKosovo, recognized for its profound historical and cultural roots, remains a contentious region claimed by both Serbia and Albania. Despite Serbia’s territorial claims, the majority of Kosovo’s 2 million inhabitants identify as Kosovo-Albanian, comprising over 90% of the population. This paper delves into the pivotal roles played by Serbian and Albanian media narratives shaping the international community’s perception of Kosovo’s ongoing struggle for independence. In many instances, the U.S. media narrative casts Albania as the aggrieved party and Serbia as the aggressor, often omitting instances where Albania\u27s actions were questionable. By examining both Serbian and Albanian media perspectives, this study aims to unravel the multifaceted layers of the Kosovo conflict, historical contentions, territorial disputes, and the profound impact of media portrayals on shaping international viewpoints
Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Identities and Beliefs Related to Children’s Creativity and Artistry
No full textPreservice elementary teachers’ identities and beliefs related to children’s creativity and artistry shape current and future elementary students’ opportunities. As preservice elementary teachers forge new professional identities, they can engage in critical self-reflection to interrogate their identities and beliefs related to creativity and artistry, improving their understanding of the discourses they enact so they can better serve their students. This mixed methods case study explores how preservice elementary teachers enrolled at a private university in the northeastern United States talked and wrote about their identities and beliefs related to children’s creativity and artistry. Findings have implications for preservice elementary teachers, teacher educators, and elementary school curricula
Exposure to Gendered Racial/Ethnic Discrimination, Friendships, and Mental Health Among Young Women of Color
No full textYoung adult women of color experience pervasive offline and online gendered racial/ethnic discrimination, a manifestation of convergent sexism and racism, which is positively associated with mental health distress. Yet there is a lack of research on the roles of communications with close friends in navigating gendered racism, particularly regarding friends’ co-rumination against gendered racism (i.e., excessive discussion, reiteration, and speculation about gendered racism with an emphasis on negative emotions) and gendered racial/ethnic socialization (i.e., discussions aimed at either fostering pride and empowerment about one’s gender and racial/ethnic identities or enhancing awareness of gendered racism’s oppressive nature), despite that high quality friendship characterized by intimacy and support has been identified as a protective factor against discrimination. This study examined the extent to which friendship communications mediated or moderated the positive association between exposure to gendered racial/ethnic discrimination and mental health distress. Online survey data were collected from 111 Asian American, 115 Black, and 113 Hispanic/Latina women aged 18 – 24 years old. Measures included demographics, experiences of discrimination, co-rumination against gendered racism, gendered racial/ethnic socialization, friendship intimacy and support, depressive and anxiety symptoms, substance use as coping, and percentages of time spent online with friends. Participants on average had frequent experiences of gendered racial/ethnic discrimination. Results of correlational analysis yielded significant associations between exposure to discrimination and depressive and anxiety symptoms and substance use as coping. Co-rumination against gendered racism was positively associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms. Pride and empowerment socialization was negatively associated with substance use as coping, while oppression awareness socialization was positively associated with depressive symptoms. Structural Equation Modeling analyses found that co-rumination partially mediated the association between discrimination and anxiety, and other friendship indices did not moderate such associations. Spending more time with friends online was associated with more exposure to discrimination and co-rumination. Significant racial/ethnic differences emerged in exposure to discrimination and friendship communications. Results highlight the importance of examining young women’s multifaceted friendships and the development of targeted online practices and support mechanisms and call for algorithmic transparency and reform to mitigate the risk of exacerbating gendered racism and co-rumination
Middle School Urban General Education Teacher Beliefs Towards Supporting Students With Disabilities
No full textThis dissertation presents the results from a mixed methods study designed to understand what beliefs urban middle school general education teachers hold when it comes to supporting students with disabilities (SWDs) in an inclusion classroom including classrooms that implement the integrated co-teaching (ICT) model. The quantitative portion of this study was a survey shared with N=120 gen-ed teachers who met the inclusion criteria where there were N=75 responses, from which there were 74 valid responses that fully met the inclusion criteria. To complete the survey through Qualtrics, participants had to select whether they met the inclusion criteria of teaching in both urban and middle school settings as a general education teacher, with at least one period teaching in ICT. After completing the survey, participants had the opportunity to self-select into the qualitative portion of the study. The qualitative portion was a 30-minute semi-structured interview where roughly 10 questions were asked to delve further into understanding teacher beliefs in supporting SWDs. When analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data, the findings illustrated a more nuanced understanding of gen-ed teacher beliefs in their support and practices in supporting SWDs in the inclusion classroom, including those implementing an ICT model
Understanding Cannabis Use, Polysubstance Use, and Sexual Behaviors Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults
No full textNationally representative studies of cannabis use in adults aged 50-65 show that the prevalence of cannabis use has increased significantly over the past two decades (Han et al., 2017; Han & Palmer, 2018; Reynolds et al., 2018). As cannabis use has increased, a greater understanding of potential medicinal benefits of cannabis use and a reduction in perceptions of risk have contributed to positive attitudes about cannabis use among middle-aged and older adults (Kaskie et al., 2017). Although studies have assessed presence or absence of lifetime cannabis use (Bon-Miller et al., 2022; Cavalli & Cservenka, 2021; Compton et al., 2019; Feingold et al., 2020; Leung et al., 2020; Zellers et al., 2023), research at the intersection of public health, substance use, and legislation has not fully examined how duration of use may affect overall attitudes and health outcomes in middle and older age. Additional research exploring cannabis use among middle-aged and older adults is needed, including how duration of cannabis use impacts health behaviors across the lifespan. This research addresses specific gaps in the literature that have yet to be examined among middle-aged and older adult populations, utilizing survey data from 180 community-dwelling older adults (aged 50 and over) living in New York City. The aim of this research is to examine associations between cannabis use duration, sexual health, and polysubstance use among older adults. Results showed that increasing total years of cannabis use was associated with decreasing internal consequences of cannabis use, risky sexual behaviors, and use of other substances. The findings from the current study will enable further research in community health, psychology, and health policy as we explore underreported behaviors such as substance use and sexual behaviors
The Impact of Targeted Support Programming on College Students With Learning Disabilities
No full textThis study examined the relationship between enrollment in structured and semi-structured support programming and the adjustment, stress, and coping among a sample of 186 undergraduate college students with learning disabilities. Participants aged 18 to 25 completed an online questionnaire composed of the items from the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Ways of Coping Questionnaire WAYS), and select scales from the Behavior Assessment System for Children, 3rd Edition – SelfReport of Personality, College (BASC-3 SRP-COL). Information was also collected about participants’ grade point average (GPA), family involvement, and extracurricular involvement on campus to control for the impact of these factors. Findings demonstrated that students in supportive programming had significantly higher levels of Attachment to Institution. Further, students in programming engaged in the adaptive coping processes of Self-Controlling and Planful Problem Solving significantly more, and the maladaptive coping process of Confrontive Coping significantly less, than students receiving only accommodations. The former students reported significantly lower levels of social stress and school maladjustment, and higher levels of self-reliance and interpersonal relations than those not receiving support through targeted programming. However, students in supportive programming reported significantly higher perceived stress and lower levels of self-esteem than those receiving only accommodations. Collectively, findings emphasize the value of targeted support programming for undergraduate students with learning disabilities
From Augustine to Toni Morrison: Textuality, Temporality and the Inner Self
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to examine the role of textuality, temporality and the inner self to the protreptic of Confessions. In this examination, the protreptic is the culmination of the impression of the text on its reader as well as the methods Augustine deploys to interpret Scripture. The interrelated structure of all three help to create a work that is not ambiguous but lives within many interpretations of the Christian experience. The structure of Augustine’s writing and the context it springs from will also be central to this paper, since from that discussion this paper comes to compare the protreptic found in Morrison’s writing. While Morrison’s work aims to reach its reader in a different way, in a different context. The purpose of this paper is to draw a parallel between the two showing that Confessions’ form of protreptic can be found in contemporary authors such as Toni Morrison