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ADVANCING THE SECURITY AND RELIABILITY OF OPERATIONAL MOBILE NETWORKS
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Computer Science - Doctor of Philosophy, 2025As mobile networks have become critical infrastructure underpinning global connectivity, their security and reliability are vital for the functioning of our digital society. However, the rapid evolution of cellular technologies, heterogeneous device ecosystems, and diverse operational scenarios continues to introduce complex and underexplored security challenges.This dissertation addresses these challenges by advancing a service-oriented, system-level approach to mobile network security. Recognizing that modern mobile networks are defined by a convergence of both essential services\u2014including IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)-based voice and messaging, and Internet Application Services (IAS)\u2014and emerging services such as cellular IoT (CIoT), this work systematically investigates security issues and develops practical, standard-compliant defense solutions across all major service categories.First, the research uncovers significant security gaps in IMS-based communication services, showing that device-side implementations often fail to uphold the protections envisioned by evolving standards. By analyzing protocol behaviors and conducting real-world experiments, the work exposes practical threats such as denial-of-service, SMS source spoofing, and covert media channels, and recommends targeted countermeasures to close the gap between standardization and deployment.Second, the dissertation introduces MPKIX, a novel Mobile-assisted PKIX framework for IAS, leveraging cellular authentication infrastructure to provide privacy-preserving user verification and robust accountability. MPKIX addresses longstanding challenges for both service providers and users, enhancing trust and compliance in mobile-driven digital services.Third, the dissertation conducts a comprehensive empirical study of operational CIoT services, revealing critical vulnerabilities in device identification, billing, and power management. Through experimental attacks\u2014including remote IP/phone number enumeration, data and text spamming, and denial of IoT service\u2014it demonstrates real-world risks with significant financial and operational impact. The proposed mitigations, developed in collaboration with industry, offer actionable improvements for securing large-scale IoT deployments.Collectively, these contributions demonstrate that a holistic, service-oriented perspective\u2014grounded in real-world deployments\u2014can effectively bridge the gap between foundational protocols, network architectures, and user-facing applications. The insights and solutions presented in this dissertation chart a unified path toward more secure, reliable, and accountable mobile networks, benefitting operators, service providers, and billions of end users worldwide.Description based on online resource. Title from PDF t.p. (Michigan State University Fedora Repository, viewed ).Includes bibliographical references
Creating Space for Women and Queer Folk in Video Game Communities : Culture Circles as a Participatory Methodology for Community Empowerment
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Information and Media - Doctor of Philosophy, 2025Women and queer folk are frequently marginalized in gaming communities: this is a much-studied phenomenon. Far fewer studies have focused on interventions which empower marginalized players to make safer, more supportive communities for themselves. This dissertation presents a methodology adapted from Freirean culture circles to a specific population (women and queer folk) with a specific interest (video games) and in a specific place (Discord). Culture circles are participant-led discussion groups which focus on critical discourse as a means of emancipation (Freire, 1968; Souto-Manning, 2010). The culture circles in this study were a blended, qualitative approach which drew from feminist and queer research practices, methods for community-based online research, the concept of participatory culture drawn from fandom studies, and an ethics of care. The design of the Discord server where the study took place and the structure of the culture circles were informed by background ethnographic research and semi-structured interviews with participants and iterated upon using a participatory process in collaboration with participants.The two culture circles in this study met weekly on Discord from September to December 2024. During circle meetings, participants engaged in critical dialogue around the topics of gender and gaming. Through this process, participants were able to better understand their own experiences and produce knowledge which allowed them to find space to make meaningful and positive change in their lives. Two examples of circle outcomes are discussed in the dissertation. First, participants shared and developed queergaming practices: means of engaging with games and gaming culture which are alternative to normative structures, and which make space for queer bodies and queer modes of play. The findings in this chapter extended Edmond Chang\u2019s (2017) initial queergaming framework by showing that queergaming practices are built atop a critical praxis and are deeply participatory in nature. Second, participants used critical narrative analysis within the circles to examine the effects of societal narratives on the media they enjoyed and on their own lives. In doing so, participants developed new narratives which matched their own values and through those narratives, found space to make impactful change in their lives. I also used critical narrative analysis to interpret the narratives and practices participants developed in the circles, and in doing so, extended Souto-Manning\u2019s (2014) conception of the critical narrative analysis tool to include media narratives as an important object of analysis. This study contributes to the fields of games studies and to computer supportive cooperative work (CSCW) by showing the value of an interventionalist approach to research which focuses on community well-being. This dissertation also shows a blueprint for how culture circles, a methodology typically only used in education and health-related contexts, can be adapted to a unique context by closely considering the place, demographics, and interests of the people the circles are intending to impact and by collaborating closely with participants. Ultimately, this dissertation is a call for interventionalist research which materially improves the lives of participants in the process.Description based on online resource. Title from PDF t.p. (Michigan State University Fedora Repository, viewed ).Includes bibliographical references
Understanding Subsegmental Speech Perception with Bayesian Modeling
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Linguistics - Doctor of Philosophy, 2025Perception presents a fundamental cognitive challenge: how do systems extract stable and meaningful interpretations from sensory input that is inherently continuous, ambiguous, and uncertain? Across perceptual domains, studies have identified three core properties that characterize this process: competition among alternative interpretations, probabilistic integration of sensory evidence, and categorical judgments derived from gradient input. Speech perception exemplifies this complexity, as it requires the integration of linguistic knowledge with performance factors that influence how phonological representations are processed and expressed in real time.This dissertation investigates speech perception within Marr's three-level framework for analyzing cognitive systems, focusing specifically on the level of computational theory -- the functional goals that the perceptual system must accomplish. It centers on the sub-segmental time course of perception, a dimension often unexplored in previous speech perception models, and uses vowel nasalization as a test case for examining how perceptual decisions unfold within a segment. Bayesian mathematical tools are employed as a formal modeling framework -- not as a theoretical commitment to Bayesian computation per se, but as a flexible and interpretable way to evaluate alternative hypotheses. To this end, a set of perception and production experiments was conducted in Mainstream American English and Standard Hindi respectively, two languages that exhibit distinct patterns of vowel nasalization. Listener perception was assessed using gated stimuli that incrementally revealed segments of the vowel, and these behavioral responses served as the empirical basis for evaluating the predictions generated by a set of formal perceptual models. Production data from the same participants were used to build timestep-conditioned acoustic models that generate likelihood distributions for each vowel category: /CVC/ words for oral vowels, /CVN/ for phonologically nasalized vowels, and /C~VC/ for phonemic nasal vowels. Perceptual models were then trained on this data and varied systematically along four dimensions: inference updating, time sensitivity, specificity of phonological contexts, and temporal normalization. Perceptual models were tested using the same gated stimuli employed in the perception experiments, and model performance was evaluated against human responses from gated perception experiments, with the best-fitting model identified based on its correspondence to listener behavior. The resulting framework proposes that any successful theory of speech perception must account for four key properties: incremental inference updating, sensitivity to time-series information, incorporation of non-underspecified distributions, and reliance on normalized rather than absolute time.Overall, the formal models outperformed human listeners in generating more accurate predictions of the test stimuli. Among the models tested, the updating, time-sensitive, context-specific model most closely captured listener behavior across both languages. Importantly, the results also show that even categorical, time-insensitive models can exhibit gradient perceptual patterns, highlighting the need for precise formal modeling in identifying the source of observed gradience. Gradience can emerge from the computational process of perception itself and does not necessarily imply gradient underlying representations. Finally, the findings indicate that perception operates over normalized rather than absolute time, posing challenges for any theoretical framework that assumes listeners directly track detailed temporal information without normalization.The modeling approach adopted in this dissertation, through training models on vowel production data independently of listeners' responses and then testing them against perceptual behavior, generates testable predictions rather than post hoc interpretation fitting to the data. This strategy mitigates the risk of data-dependent decision-making in interpretation, as highlighted by Gelman and Loken (2013) and Simmons et al. (2011). This strategy also constrains the degrees of freedom available for model adjustment, thereby reducing the risk of overfitting -- an important methodological consideration emphasized in recent critical assessments of modeling practices (Persson et al. 2025). Furthermore, by developing and evaluating formal models grounded in empirical data, this dissertation addresses two major gaps in the field: (1) it advances our understanding of the computational goals of speech perception, particularly how listeners interpret time-series acoustic input -- an aspect underexplored in prior perception models; and (2) it offers a formal framework for testing the assumptions and predictions of perceptual theories by isolating and examining theoretical subcomponents such as acoustic mapping, phonological underspecification, and temporal normalization.Description based on online resource. Title from PDF t.p. (Michigan State University Fedora Repository, viewed ).Includes bibliographical references
RESILIENCE AND ADAPTATION IN AGRICULTURE : CONFLICT, AGRICULTURAL CLUSTERS, AND LABOR DYNAMICS
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics - Doctor of Philosophy, 2025Recent years have seen a rise in production shocks worldwide, including conflict, pandemics, and natural disasters. Understanding their impact on agriculture is crucial due to agriculture\u2019s role in food security, poverty reduction, and rural transformation. This dissertation examines the linkages between shocks, agricultural outcomes, and adaptation strategies through three dissertation chapters, covering both developing and developed country contexts. The first and third chapters focus on the effects of conflict on rice production and processing in Myanmar. The second chapter analyzes labor supply shocks, investigating how workforce shortages affect farmer adaptation strategies in California, one of the most labor-intensive crop-producing states in the U.S.The first chapter quantifies the effects of conflict on household-level rice production\u2014total output, yield, value, and input/output prices. It also explores heterogeneity by conflict type (civilian vs. non-civilian targeted) and timing (planting vs. harvesting), as well as pathways through land, labor, capital, and input decisions. The analysis uses a nationally representative phone survey combined with geo-coded conflict data from the Armed Conflict and Location Event Data Project (ACLED). A fixed-effects panel model with household and year fixed effects, time-varying controls, and district trends establishes a causal relationship between conflict and agricultural performance. Results indicate that conflict significantly reduces rice production and alters production decisions. The second chapter examines how labor shortages influence production and labor management practices among California farmers. Using a 2019 farmer survey, the study employs the fixed-effects panel model at the farmer-year level. Results provide strong evidence that farmers are altering their production and labor management practices to cope with labor shortages. The third chapter investigates the role of agricultural clusters in mitigating the impacts of conflict on rice mills in Myanmar. Using 14 survey rounds in the Delta region and ACLED conflict data, I employ the Extended Two-Way Fixed Effects (ETWFE) model. Results show that conflict significantly reduces rice production and markup rates. However, mills located in village tracts with a high number of nearby rice mills (referred to as high clusters) are more resilient. Overall, the findings underscore the importance of agricultural clusters in enhancing firm-level resilience and provide new insights into how conflict affects critical midstream actors in agricultural value chains. In conclusion, given the increasing prevalence of global conflict, the first and third chapters aim to provide timely and informative insights for intervention strategies and development policies in contexts characterized by conflict and fragility. The findings in the second chapter contribute to the ongoing policy discussion related to food stability in the U.S., addressing the major challenge of labor shortages faced by agricultural producers.Description based on online resource. Title from PDF t.p. (Michigan State University Fedora Repository, viewed ).Includes bibliographical references
SEISMIC STUDIES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES - CASE STUDIES AT THE EAST AFRICAN RIFT SYSTEM AND THE ALASKA PENINSULA
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Earth and Environmental Sciences \u2013 Doctor of Philosophy, 2025The dynamic interactions between tectonic plates shape Earth\u2019s surface, governing the distribution of earthquakes, volcanism, and lithospheric deformation. Subduction zones generate the world\u2019s largest earthquakes, while continental rift zones offer a unique window into the early stages of plate divergence and lithospheric extension. This dissertation investigates two contrasting plate boundary systems\u2014the East African Rift System (EARS) and the Alaska Peninsula of the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone\u2014to explore the seismic processes controlling continental extension and subduction dynamics.As the largest active continental rift system, the East African Rift System consists of a magma-poor branch, a magma-rich branch, and deformed Archean and Proterozoic terranes, providing an ideal setting to study continental breakup and lithospheric deformation. This study integrates ambient noise Rayleigh wave phase velocity dispersion, Z/H ratios from ambient noise and teleseismic Rayleigh waves, and teleseismic P waveforms to image the crust and uppermost mantle structure. Data from 232 broadband stations (17 networks) deployed between 1994 and 2019 reveal little evidence of crustal melt beneath magma-poor rifts and decoupling of crust and lithospheric mantle. Modification in both Archean and Proterozoic terranes is observed, likely due to long-term tectonic reworking and localized Cenozoic magmatism. The Alaska Peninsula, part of the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone, exhibits significant along-strike variations in seismicity and subduction processes. Between 2020 and 2023, the region experienced three large megathrust earthquakes\u2014the 2020 Mw 7.8 Simeonof, 2021 Mw 8.2 Chignik, and 2023 Mw 7.2 Sand Point earthquakes\u2014and a 2020 Mw 7.6 Sand Point intra-slab strike-slip event. This study introduces a new deep-learning model for earthquake detection and constructs a high-precision earthquake catalog (1997\u20132023), significantly increasing the number of detected events compared to traditional methods. The results reveal an abrupt change in slab dip at 30\u201340 km depth in the Shumagin segment, acting as a barrier to the Simeonof and Sand Point ruptures. The Simeonof event triggered more aftershocks in the overriding plate than the Chignik event, suggesting greater deformation and hydration in the Shumagin segment. The Sand Point earthquake activated aftershocks delineating a fault in the overriding plate, mirroring the intra-slab mainshock fault geometry but occurring seven days after the mainshock. An increase in regional seismicity since 2016 is observed in areas later ruptured by 2020\u20132023 megathrust events, suggesting that stress release may precede major earthquakes. Additionally, our results reveal along-strike variations in earthquake distribution, including the lateral extension of a previously identified double seismic zone (DSZ) near the Semidi Islands. The catalog also provides new insights into volcanic seismicity, particularly beneath Trident volcano, where increased earthquake activity is linked to magmatic processes. These findings enhance our understanding of seismic hazard assessment, subduction zone dynamics, and volcanic activity along the Alaska Peninsula.Description based on online resource. Title from PDF t.p. (Michigan State University Fedora Repository, viewed ).Includes bibliographical references
DEVELOPMENT OF MANUAL SKILLS FROM INFANCY THROUGH EARLY CHILDHOOD
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Kinesiology - Doctor of Philosophy, 2025Manual skills are fundamental for early object exploration and are foundational for functional tasks during early childhood (Kahrs et al., 2012; McCarty et al., 2001; Thelen, 1981). An infant\u2019s perception of an object\u2019s properties (object size, shape, texture) influences how infants grasp and manually explore the object, while also specifying what behavioral action is afforded (E. J. Gibson & Pick, 2000; Lockman & McHale, 1989; Ruff, 1984). This dissertation addresses manual skill development from infancy through early childhood from both an experimental design and standardized assessment perspective. In Study 1, we examined manual exploratory behaviors longitudinally from 6 to 12 months of age in an experimental setting. We found that age and certain object properties (object size, object shape) influence the quantity of types of grasp (finger activities, wrist activities, and transportation activities). Additionally, through sequence analysis, we revealed the impact of age on the stringing together of different exploratory behaviors, as well as the role of certain exploratory behaviors on the exploratory sequence. Lastly, we performed a follow-up visit with participants now in preschool (30 to 47 months) to evaluate manual skills through a standardized assessment; this result informed us that our sample is typically developing. In conjunction, these findings illustrate the affordances enabled by certain exploratory behaviors based on both object properties and their position within an exploratory sequence. In Study 2, we synthesized the most utilized pediatric occupational therapy assessments to understand how different standardized assessments evaluate a child\u2019s manual skills of visual-motor integration, fine motor, visual perceptual, and handwriting skills. We found that there is no single pediatric assessment that begins in infancy and continues throughout early childhood. Additionally, each of the standardized assessments utilizes differing tasks to assess manual skills, and, in reverse, each type of manual skill is defined and evaluated slightly differently between assessments. Overall, the similarities and differences among standardized assessments were shown, highlighting when each assessment is best selected based on skill area of concern, administration time, and age range. Together, the results of both studies highlight the importance of evaluating and tracking manual skills through infancy and early childhood. Manual skills during infancy impact future fine motor skill abilities, which in turn impacts academic achievement and educational access. Manual skills are influenced by the perception of an object, affording certain exploratory actions. Since these behaviors change with age, having the ability to systematically track manual skills longitudinally throughout early childhood would be beneficial.Description based on online resource. Title from PDF t.p. (Michigan State University Fedora Repository, viewed ).Includes bibliographical references
LANTHANIDE SINGLE-MOLECULE MAGNETS CONTAINING NITROGEN-BASED RADICAL AND BULKY AMIDE LIGANDS
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Chemistry - Doctor of Philosophy, 2025Lanthanide single-molecule magnets (SMMs) are a fascinating class of functional molecules that have received considerable interest from the scientific community over the course of the past two decades while substantial progress has been made within the realm of mononuclear SMMs, successful design strategies towards well-performing multinuclear SMMs are still in development. Multinuclear SMMs require strong magnetic coupling between lanthanide ions which is difficult to achieve due to the contracted nature of the 4f ions. An effective method of generating strong coupling is through the implementation of open shell ligands (e.g. organic radicals) between lanthanide ions, where the diffuse spin orbitals of the radical allow strong magnetic interactions. However, so far, the number of radical bridged SMMs is small necessitating the systematic exploration new redox-active bridging ligands and their utility in multinuclear SMM design. The best-performing mononuclear SMMs are composed of cyclopentadienyl derivatives, which prompts the question whether other sterically demanding ligands are suitable to generate axial coordination spheres to lanthanide ions. Chapter 1 contains an overview of electronic structure, general reactivity, and SMM properties of the lanthanides. Common design criteria for mono- and multinuclear SMMs are introduced, and relaxation mechanisms are described. Chapter 2 describes the introduction of 2,2\u2b9-bisimidazole (bim) into rare earth chemistry, the synthesis and characterization of bim-bridged dinuclear complexes via various methods such as density functional theory (DFT) and SQUID magnetometry. The Dy congener is a SMM, however the magnetic moments are essentially uncoupled due to the diamagnetic nature of the bim ligand. Chapter 3 and 4 introduce 2,2\u2b9-bisbenzimidazole (Bbim) into rare earth chemistry, and the first structurally authenticated bbim trianionic radical of any type stabilized as dinuclear rare earth metallocene complexes. The radical character was confirmed via electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, DFT and ab initio calculations. The Gd, Tb, and Dy congeners exhibited strong magnetic coupling stemming from the interaction between the Ln and radical magnetic moments. The observation of open hysteresis loops below 5.5 K proved real magnetic memory effect in the Dy complex. Chapters 5 and 6 present a series of dinuclear complexes bearing the deprotonated fluoflavine (H2flv), ligand as the bridge in various oxidation states. This bridge represents an extremely rare case of multi redox reactivity, giving rise to the isolation of two distinct new radical oxidation states. The radical character was confirmed via EPR spectroscopy and DFT calculations. With the two radical oxidation states, SMM behavior was observed for the Dy congener, where the flv3 12-bridged complex showed open magnetic hysteresis loops at higher temperatures than the variant bearing the monoanionic flv ligand. Chapter 7 explores the magnetic properties of dinuclear Dy complexes containing smaller tetraazaacene radical ligands. Chapter 8 describes the potential of Bi-containing ligands to promote magnetic exchange coupling between Er ions. Here, the diffuse Bi valence orbitals were proven to promote significantly improved coupling between two Er ions through a diamagnetic Bi66 12 bridge. Chapters 9 and 10 introduce sterically demanding triarylamide ligands in mononuclear SMM design. A cationic bis(amide) Dy complex yielded the first bis(amide) SMM with open magnetic hysteresis. The triarylamide ligands are also able to stabilize a formally divalent Tb complex that exhibited slow magnetic relaxation under applied magnetic fields. Chapter 11 summarizes all aforementioned chapters. Chapter 12 provides an outlook into future research directions based on the presented research.Description based on online resource. Title from PDF t.p. (Michigan State University Fedora Repository, viewed ).Includes bibliographical references
Place, Identity, and Hybridity Matters : An Ethnographic-Computational Study of Critical Information Ecosystems in Remote Communities in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Information and Media - Doctor of Philosophy, 2025Rural communities face unique information challenges, yet current theories largely ignore the contextual elements essential for understanding how place-based information systems operate. Existing scholarship often treats rural areas as monolithic, overlooking diverse experiences and depicting rural information environments as merely reactionary systems responding to local news loss and technological disconnect. This contributes to deficit framings that overlook the reality: rural information systems are diverse, vibrant, and long-established networks that communities have intentionally developed over generations.To better understand this diversity, I employ Communication Infrastructure Theory (CIT), which identifies storytelling networks facilitating information flow. However, CIT fails to account for place-based identity processes that systematically determine access to these networks. This dissertation argues that place, identity, and hybridity are crucial for understanding sophisticated rural information ecosystems in ways current scholarship overlooks. To address the gap in CIT\u2014how identity creates gatekeeping and uneven access to storytelling networks\u2014I develop Informational Belonging, a framework extending Abdelal et al.'s (2006) operationalization of identity to place-based contexts. This framework centers on four dimensions of place-based identity assessment: constitutive norms (who we are because of where we are), social purposes (what we do to care for our own), relational comparisons (where you fit in our social map), and cognitive models (how you understand how things work here).Using convergent mixed methods, this dissertation explores how information ecosystems and identity assessment interact through systematic community processes. Computational analysis of 253,392 Facebook posts from 2,463 organizations across Michigan's Upper Peninsula reveals that remote areas operate through systematically different information ecologies rather than simple underservice. Statistical analysis demonstrates that organizational composition varies significantly across remoteness levels (\u3c72(48) = 837.41, p < .001), with remote communities served by distinct hybrid ecosystems where non-news actors fulfill specific community functions that traditional media cannot address. Historical analysis spanning 1867-2023 suggests that non-news actor prominence emerges from long-established adaptive patterns rather than recent crisis responses. However, attempts to identify critical information content using an ensemble classification model that combines RoBERTa and CardiffNLP transformers encountered challenges with place-specific cultural references that are integral to identity dimensions (Macro F1 = 0.348, Cohen's \u3ba = 0.296). These findings highlight the limitations of algorithmic approaches in understanding and identifying critical information within local information networks.These computational boundaries necessitated ethnographic investigation to understand how identity assessment determines network access. Fieldwork conducted over 24 months in "Huronia," a pseudonymized remote community, demonstrates that accessing information networks requires demonstrating competence across all four identity dimensions through sustained community engagement. Communities evaluate participants through complex graduated assessments extending beyond simple insider-outsider categories to include nested place identities and cultural competence markers. During crises, a "values override" mechanism enables social purposes centered on community care to temporarily supersede normal boundary maintenance, allowing communities to activate collective assistance while preserving the identity assessment systems that make such assistance meaningful.This research extends Communication Infrastructure Theory by providing a process-oriented framework explaining how communities systematically determine storytelling network inclusion rather than treating access patterns as random or demographic. The findings demonstrate that place operates as an active force shaping information needs and competence requirements, identity functions as community assessment infrastructure determining graduated network access, and hybridity represents sophisticated adaptive systems refined over generations rather than makeshift crisis responses. Understanding these convergent processes offers insights crucial for supporting rural information equity through recognition of existing community assets rather than deficit-based interventions that may inadvertently undermine the sophisticated place-based systems communities develop to ensure collective care.Description based on online resource. Title from PDF t.p. (Michigan State University Fedora Repository, viewed ).Includes bibliographical references
DESIGNING OUR OWN PATH, TELLING OUR OWN STORIES : USING DESICRIT FOR EDUCATION TO EXAMINE FIRST-GENERATION INDIAN-AMERICAN IDENTITIES AND EXPERIENCES IN MUSIC EDUCATION
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Music Education - Doctor of Philosophy, 2025First-Generation Indian-American (FGIA) students and educators remain largely invisible in music education scholarship, often subsumed under monolithic Asian American categories that fail to capture their complex racialization, cultural hybridity, and transnational realities (Cayari, 2021; Palkki et al., 2024). Existing literature on music education continues to privilege whiteness and Western classical traditions, erasing diasporic perspectives and undervaluing the cultural wealth that FGIA communities bring to music learning (Hess, 2021; S\ue1nchez-Gatt et al., 2025; Yosso, 2005). In this study, I addressed these absences by centering FGIA voices and theorizing conditions that support their persistence in music education using DesiCrit for Education (DCE), a theoretical lens I developed that extends DesiCrit (Harpalani, 2013) and Critical Race Theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 2023) to account for caste, hybridity, and anti-colonial resistance.The purpose of this study was to explore how FGIA music educators navigate their educational and professional trajectories, and what factors enable their persistence in a field that often marginalizes their identities. Specifically, I asked: (1) How do FGIA educators recall their K\u201312 music experiences? (2) How do family, community, and out-of-school contexts shape their participation in music education? (3) How do higher education programs influence their career decisions? and (4) What factors support their persistence in the music education profession? Using a qualitative case study design (Yin, 2018), I examined the experiences of four FGIA music educators. Data included semi-structured interviews (Roulston, 2010), focus groups (Krueger, 2014), and researcher reflexive journaling (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016. I coded data iteratively through constant comparison (Strauss & Corbin, 2014), with the tenets of DCE guiding both thematic development and interpretation. Reflexivity served as an ethical anchor in this process, allowing me to interrogate my inbetweener positionality (Milligan, 2016) and resist imposing my frameworks onto participants\u2019 stories. Analysis revealed that FGIA educators experienced music education as a site of both belonging and marginalization. Participants\u2019 narratives illuminated nonlinear musical pathways shaped by negotiations of cultural hybridity, intergenerational dynamics, and the pressures of racialization in predominantly white spaces. Their persistence was relational and collective, sustained by mentors, identity-affirming communities, and critical moments of reframing success. Participants described how they strategically navigated assimilationist expectations while simultaneously cultivating resistance to cultural erasure. From these findings, I developed a conceptual model of FGIA persistence in music education, which delineates five interrelated domains: affirming hybridity as a pedagogical resource, fostering social belonging, redefining success beyond assimilationist logics, supporting the development of critical consciousness, and creating identity-affirming spaces. This model offers researchers a lens for understanding persistence as more than individual resilience; it highlights the structural, relational, and cultural conditions that may make persistence possible. I suggest both theoretical and practical implications of this work. I advanced DCE as an analytic framework capable of representing the racialized and diasporic realities of FGIA educators, offering tools for future research across minoritized groups in music education and beyond. Practically, these findings call on PK\u201312 teachers to create classroom environments that affirm hybridity and resist tokenism, teacher educators to model anti-colonial pedagogy and build affinity spaces, and researchers to embrace reflexive methodologies that center minoritized voices. Ultimately, I found FGIA persistence as a collective and culturally situated process, grounded in relationships, identity affirmation, and resistance to systemic erasure. Centering FGIA voices challenges music education to move beyond superficial diversity toward practices that sustain and empower.Description based on online resource. Title from PDF t.p. (Michigan State University Fedora Repository, viewed ).Includes bibliographical references
URBAN FISH TRADE LIVELIHOODS IN TRANSFORMING FOOD SYSTEMS : MARKET ACCESS, WOMEN\u2019S EMPOWERMENT AND LIVELIHOOD DIVERSIFICATION
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Fisheries and Wildlife - Doctor of Philosophy, 2025Small-scale fishery livelihoods play a vital role in the lives of more than 500 million globally. In Africa, where a significant share of the population depends on fisheries resources, these livelihoods have been widely recognized as a pathway for addressing poverty and broader welfare concerns. However, small-scale fisheries are increasingly embedded in rapidly transforming food systems, transformations that are altering how these livelihoods are pursued and introducing new complexities, trade-offs, and questions around inclusion and equity. One such transformation is the intersection of small-scale fisheries and urbanization, illustrated by the emergence of urban wholesale markets in specific contexts. These developments raise critical questions about the future role of small-scale fisheries: How will these livelihoods evolve? What forms will they take? And how can we better account for intersectional dynamics, such as gender, to ensure their continued contribution to well-being? Ultimately, realizing the full potential of small-scale fisheries to support livelihoods depends on our ability to critically examine and respond to these transformations, particularly those associated with urbanization and other context-specific changes in food systems.This dissertation investigates the livelihoods of small-scale fishery (SSF) post-harvest actors, within the context of food systems transformation in Malawi, with a specific focus on governance, gender, and livelihood strategies at the Lilongwe urban dry fish wholesale market. Using a three-essay format grounded in mixed qualitative and quantitative methods, the study examines (1) how governance arrangements shape inclusion and equity outcomes in an urban wholesale market; (2) how female traders navigate gendered systems to engage in livelihoods that require travel to distant urban markets; and (3) how these trader livelihoods are linked to broader household diversification strategies.The first essay asks: how do governance arrangements shape who participates in urban wholesale fish markets, and what equity and inclusion outcomes emerge from these arrangements? The study uses mixed-methods fieldwork that included a trader listing survey, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews. Several key findings emerged. First, access to selling space is a key value of concern, with governance arrangements, shaped by rules and norms (e.g., membership fees, gender norms), social relations (e.g., kinship, tribal ties), and market characteristics (e.g., size, location), collectively determining participation. Second, the market enables five livelihood roles: local traders, incoming traders, brokers, broker-traders, and broker assistants. These roles reflect expanded employment opportunities but also reveal persistent limitations to upward mobility and gender equity. The study also highlights the resilience and adaptability of informal wholesale markets in the Global South. Notably, the Lilongwe market is governed by a market committee rather than directly by the state, pointing to the importance of building on rather than replacing existing local governance systems in specific contexts. A key policy implication is that public\u2013private partnerships in which the state invests in infrastructure while local committees manage governance could enhance inclusive livelihoods in transforming food systems. The second essay shifts focus to household dynamics, examining how intra-household decision-making shapes women\u2019s participation in urban markets. This essay explores the \u201cparadox\u201d of persistent gender inequality alongside emerging evidence of women\u2019s participation in roles traditionally viewed as outside their gender propriety. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 112 married female traders from fishing communities, the study explores how women gain the ability to travel and trade in urban markets despite common assumptions about limited female mobility in Malawi. Findings reveal a range of decision-making processes, wife-led, joint, husband-led, and sole, and underscore the importance of knowledge (rather than just norms) in influencing women\u2019s ability to participate. While prevailing norms influence these decision-making processes, knowledge, often associated with male-led decision-making in the literature, emerged as a major influence on decision-making processes within households. The third essay analyzes the livelihood strategies of wholesale fish trader households. Using both survey and qualitative data, the essay explores patterns of livelihood diversification, the role of fish trade in household welfare, and how asset endowments, particularly land, shape diversification decisions. Findings show that fish trade functions as both a safety net for land-constrained households and a springboard for investing in alternative livelihoods. While land ownership was the strongest determinant of diversification, patterns differed by geography: households in fishing districts tended to pursue on-farm diversification, while those in urban or non-fishing districts leaned toward non-farm strategies. These findings carry important policy implications, challenging prevailing assumptions that fishing households are not engaged in farming and thus do not require support in those livelihood activities. On the contrary, the evidence suggests that integrated investments in both fisheries and farming may be warranted to support the full spectrum of livelihood strategies pursued by these households. Overall, this dissertation demonstrates that transforming food systems have far-reaching implications for livelihoods, and that multifaceted dimensions, such as market access, livelihood strategies, and women\u2019s empowerment, are critical areas of scholarship for advancing more equitable and inclusive food system outcomes. The evidence highlights the importance of integrating livelihood perspectives into food systems research and policy. What remains is for policymakers and researchers to more deliberately incorporate livelihood-based approaches in addressing the broader challenges and trade-offs associated with food systems transformation.Description based on online resource. Title from PDF t.p. (Michigan State University Fedora Repository, viewed ).Includes bibliographical references