3948 research outputs found
Sort by
Striving for Status: Uncovering the Mechanisms and Context of Elite Undergraduates' Summer Decision-Making
No full textThesis advisor: Karen ArnoldMaximizing college summer breaks for career preparation and prestige accumulation is an established routine for elite undergraduates in the United States. Social reproduction, meritocracy, and changes to the world of work increasingly complicate this issue. Yet despite this additional burden, there is little research into the costs and benefits of participation and limited comprehension of how and why elite undergraduates internalize norms around summer breaks. This study fills that gap by introducing the High Prestige Summer Experience Model, a framework for understanding this decision-making process. Using interviews with 13 undergraduates and recent alumni from an Ivy League university, this grounded theory study presents the five phases of summer planning and participation. Students refine decisions at each stage by measuring possible opportunities against three mental measurements (Threshold of Acceptability, Narrative Currency Value, and Summer Prestige Ranking). The norms and beliefs inculcated through peer culture influence this paradigm through which they view their college summers. Underlying this process are the mediating factors that nudge and shape each particular student’s decisions: personal context; campus context; and societal context. Participants reported that summer experiences play an important role in peer positioning. They carry a narrative currency on campus and the ability to frame their experiences buys social acceptance for undergraduates. Summer experiences allow students to explore jobs in ways not normally available during term-time study, provide opportunities for personal development and growth, and equip them for their post-graduate elite status through capital accumulation. Participants noted that significant emotional and social consequences flow from actions in the summer experience process while simultaneously questioning its value to them in the long term. The findings of an additional comparison group of participants at a different selective campus indicate that this trend toward high prestige summer experiences is being normalized at lower rungs on the institutional prestige ladder as well.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education
Generation Z and Greenwashing: A Comprehensive Study of the Marketing Phenomenon and Its Implications on Boston College’s Undergraduate Clothing Consumption Habits
No full textThesis advisor: Richard SpinelloThis thesis studies the effects of greenwashing in the fashion industry on the Generation Z cohort. It aims to understand the behaviors, motivations, attitudes, and processes behind their clothing shopping habits, including external and internal factors. It seeks to broaden the discussion around greenwashing in the 21st century, especially in the current age where firms are being evaluated on their Environmental, Social, and Governance practices. Therefore, it includes an extensive research background, including a brief history of greenwashing as a marketing tactic, the fashion industry, a study of clothing supply chains, and finally background information on Generation Z and their generational characteristics.This, as well as the small research study conducted at Boston College, all inform the conclusions of this study.Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Departmental Honors.Discipline: Environmental Studies
Next Stop Eastie: Using Machine Learning to Predict Socioeconomic Change in Boston and Beyond
Get PDFThesis advisor: Christopher MaxwellThis paper examines neighborhood socioeconomic ascent in both Boston and the Greater Boston metropolitan statistical area. Using random forests, a supervised machine learning algorithm, and a collection of physical and demographic neighborhood characteristics gathered from the American Community Survey, I model changes in neighborhood socioeconomic status and identify neighborhoods in my study area that experienced relative socioeconomic ascent or relative socioeconomic decline between 2010 and 2019. In order to gain a better understanding of future socioeconomic change throughout my study area, I use a random forests model to predict neighborhood socioeconomic status in 2028. I find that my best random forests model offers an improvement over traditional linear modeling techniques and, through mapping results for Boston specifically, that change in Boston is occurring in minority, working class neighborhoods, especially along the city’s waterfront. These findings, in combination with qualitative community data, can be used to inform policy concerning matters ranging from housing to transportation in the years to come.Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Departmental Honors.Discipline: Economics
Effective Equidistribution on Hilbert Modular Varieties:
Get PDFThesis advisor: Dubi KelmerWe compute effective error rates for the equidistribution of translates of diagonal orbits on Hilbert modular varieties. The translation is determined by n real parameters and our results require the assumption that all parameters are non-zero. The error rate is given in explicit polynomial terms of the translation parameters and Sobolev type norms of the test functions. The effective equidistribution is applied to give counting estimates for binary quadratic forms of square discriminant over real number rings.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Mathematics
Development and Evaluation of a Fluorescent Activated Droplet Sorting Regulatory Assay for Ribosomal Cis-Regulatory RNAs:
Get PDFThesis advisor: Michelle M. MeyerExisting methods of assaying the function of cis-regulatory RNAs come with significant drawbacks when assaying large RNA libraries. Highly sensitive cell-based assays such as the β galactosidase assay are labor intensive, difficult to scale up and may lose sensitivity with increased throughput. GFP and luciferase reporters can be used with FACS to increase assay throughput, but sorting small bacterial cells is challenging and greatly reduces assay sensitivity. Conversely, in vitro methods allow for fast screening of very large RNA libraries, but only select for properties of binding, not regulation. By combining the principles of classic in cell regulatory assays with modern tools, cis-regulatory RNAs can be quickly screened for regulatory activity at a large scale. The assay under development, Fluorescent Activated Droplet Sorting Regulatory Assay (FADSRA), uses microfluidics to encapsulate single cells expressing a fluorescent protein under the control of a cis-regulatory RNA. These cells are then cultured into microcolonies within the droplets, which are subsequently sorted according to fluorescent signal. Deep amplicon sequencing of the regulatory RNAs can then reveal which sequences can regulate and which cannot. Thus, FADSRA can help bridge the gap between in vitro RNA binding and gene regulation assays, providing a way to answer sophisticated questions about cis-regulatory RNAs requiring high-throughput assay methods.
While many applications for FADSRA are possible, such as verifying regulatory activity of in vitro binders or screening synthetic regulators, one such application of FASDRA is the creation of fitness landscapes that probe sequence-function relationships of RNA cis-regulators. This dissertation first develops and optimizes the regulatory assay for ribosomal leaders in Chapter 2, following by creating a single mutant fitness landscape of the E. coli S15 leader RNA in Chapter 3. Results of this fitness landscape largely support previously published mutational studies and highlight the necessity of stable hairpin formation for regulation of the E. coli S15 leader. Chapter 4, examining the regulation of S15 protein and leader homologs, and Chapter 5, testing the adaptability of FADSRA to other cis-regulatory RNAs, examine possible further applications of the assay.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Biology
Critical Consciousness and Educational Leadership: Adult Learning for Critical Consciousness
Get PDFThesis advisor: Rebecca LowenhauptThere is a need for schools to implement practices to disrupt the inequities that exist for marginalized students in public education. As the theory of critical consciousness details, inequality is sustained when the people most affected by it are unable to decode their social conditions (El-Amin et al., 2017). An equitable democracy depends on critically conscious citizens (Seider & Graves, 2020). When educators and students can identify oppressive systems, they are better prepared to take action to disrupt those systems. This study analyzes how adult learning opportunities might position educators as agents of social justice-oriented educational practice. For the sake of this research, adult learning is defined as encompassing the learning experiences of educators, including district professional development as well as outside learning experiences in higher education institutions or the community. There is limited research regarding how the construct of race impacts adult learning experiences for critical consciousness. Therefore, this research studies the impacts of the construct of race during the process of adult learning. This study investigates how educators narrate their experiences with race during adult learning through the lens of critical consciousness.Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education
Trust in Educational Leadership in Times of Crisis: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Leadership, Work, and Trust
Get PDFThesis advisor: Raquel MuñizEducational leaders are being called as activists to achieve equity in schools and transform inequities through social justice initiatives. Whereas research exists in support of social justice leadership in education, research that intersects the work of current DEI leadership and the relevance of trust to pursue DEI initiatives is wanting. Trust in this context is important because relationship-building is a large component to implementing DEI work, which needs the support, buy-in, and active engagement from the entire community, requiring stakeholders' trust in the process. In this study, I take a deep dive into the role of DEI leadership by exploring the practices and perspectives that are common in the role and the work two decades into the 21st century. I conducted four semi-structured interviews with DEI leaders, during which participants reflected on many collective practices central to their daily work. These practices fell into three different categories encompassing similar characteristics: support, development, and resource. Through further analysis, I found that DEI leadership served four separate areas: families, students, adult staff, and the institution. Above all, a core practice of building relationships was found to be essential to achieving all said practices. In addition, the analysis revealed three common perspectives that impact DEI leadership work: the role is larger than a single person, the role must have trust and support from power positions, and the leader must have a deep connection with the work through experience and/or training. Finally, I found that benevolence, reliability, and openness are essential facets of trust impacting DEI work, as is the importance of time. The study’s results are valuable for the development of DEI leadership and achieving equitable access and inclusive environments in schools.Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education
Racial disparities in special education: Persistence, remedies, and impacts
Get PDFThesis advisor: Laura O'DwyerBlack males are disproportionately placed in special education throughout the United States. Yet, the degree to which such disparities are warranted has been subject to debate. Prior research suggests that special education is used too often in high-poverty schools partly due to limited resources available to support struggling students (Skiba et al., 2006). More recent studies, however, suggest that, when considering student background characteristics and peer racial and socioeconomic composition, Black students are underrepresented in special education, specifically in high-minority schools (Elder et al., 2021). Given these varying findings and interpretations, in this dissertation I sought to bring further clarity to the issue of disproportionality as it relates to Black males. First, I replicated previous research using student-level data from two high-poverty school districts based in a Northeastern state to examine variation in special education placement by race and gender, before and after adjusting for background characteristics. To then understand whether special education placement was effective, I used student fixed effect models to estimate how academic achievement trajectories changed for students after placement and whether these findings differed by race and gender. I found that Black males in the sample were placed in special education at higher rates than students of other race-by-gender groups, even after adjusting for background characteristics. Prior to placement, Black males experienced large declines in academic achievement, and this trend continued after receiving special education. Together, these findings support the notion that Black males are likely overrepresented in special education. Provided these findings, in the second part of this dissertation, I tested the effectiveness of a potential policy mechanism in reducing disproportionality. Specifically, I asked whether providing teachers with additional resources to direct struggling students through a comprehensive student support program reduced the probability of special education placement for Black males. Using two distinct identification strategies, I found that this form of support reduced special education placement rates for Black students, nearly eliminating their disproportionate representation in the districts. I conclude with policy implications for both measuring and addressing disproportionality.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation
An Emerging Adulthood Psychology of Working Theory Model of Vocational Identity and Psychological Flexibility:
Get PDFThesis advisor: David L. BlusteinThis study aimed to illuminate a piece of complexity behind vocational identity development in emerging adulthood. While identity development involves changes across various areas within one’s life, the establishment of a vocational identity is thought to be among the most vital and daunting tasks to manage during the transition from adolescence to adulthood (e.g., Erikson, 1959). For those fortunate enough to experience positive developments in this aspect of their identity, a plethora of positive life- and career outcomes are associated with them (Diemer & Blustein, 2007; Hirschi, 2011a; Hirschi, 2011c; Klotz et al., 2014; Luyckx et al., 2010). While this form of identity development is historically understood to be among the most challenging, evolving changes in “macrostructural conditions” (i.e., technological innovation and AI) have further complicated things, leading some to feel discouraged from taking an “active engagement in the exploratory process,” likely followed by a delay in making an occupational choice (Mortimer, 2002, p. 442). Despite the prominent role that establishing a vocational identity has in a young person’s maturation process (Erikson, 1959), this phenomenon has yet to be introduced and examined in a modern career development theory, and more specifically, within psychology of working theory (PWT; Duffy et al., 2016). The current study postulates that both original and new PWT career variables: economic constraints, marginalization, work volition, career adaptability, and psychological flexibility, interact and contribute to the overall development of an emerging adult’s vocational identity.
The purpose of the present study was to demarcate how specific paths of PWT (Duffy et al., 2016) were connected to vocational identity development for those within emerging adulthood (ranging in ages 18-25). Broadly, it was hypothesized that work volition and career adaptability would predict vocational identity development and that these relationships would be moderated by psychological flexibility. Additional exploratory models, which placed psychological flexibility in two other locations, were also assessed. These relationships were examined by surveying 283 emerging adults via an online survey tool. These participants responded to questions about their vocational identity, levels of psychological flexibility, work volition, career adaptability, experiences of macro-level barriers, and demographic characteristics. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression. Findings revealed that the primary hypothesized model describing work volition and career adaptability to predict vocational identity was an excellent fit to the data.
Additionally, the model results indicate that psychological flexibility did not moderate these relationships. However, it does play a significant role in overall vocational identity development, career adaptability, and work volition independent of other variables. Among demographic variables, SES differences were found within the sample. These results are discussed and grounded in their unique contribution to the existing literature on vocational identity development, psychological flexibility, and career development. Theoretical, policy, and practical implications are discussed. Future directions and limitations of the study are also considered.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology
A Reading of the Gospel from the African Worldview: The Case of Spirit Possession in the Gospel of Mark
No full textThesis advisor: Angela K. HarkinsThesis advisor: Giovanni B. BazzanaThesis (STL) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry.Discipline: Sacred Theology