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Anti-Racist Educational Leadership in Times of Crisis: The Relationship Between Anti-Racist Leadership and White Racial Identity
Get PDFThesis advisor: Andrew MillerMany White educators are not aware of their White privilege, and therefore they need support in developing their White racial identity and racial awareness so that they can identify problems associated with racism and participate in conversations about race and racism with an eye towards dismantling systemic racism. Data was collected from semi-structured interviews with educational leaders, document review, and focus groups with educators in order to discover how, if at all, school leaders support their White teachers in developing an anti-racist White racial identity. Finding suggested that despite professional development initiatives dedicated to racial identity development, there was a noted lack of formal opportunities designed specifically for White racial identity development and instead the schools relied on pockets of informal White racial identity development among White colleagues. The data revealed some insights as to why racial identity work specific to White people is not happening: (a) White educators think they already know this information, (b) White educators have a desire to focus on teaching content, (c) White educators shield themselves, and (d) White educators believe that the timing is not ideal for anti-racist work.
One recommendation to support White staff in the development of their White racial identity could be for educational leaders in districts like this to introduce the staff to the scholarship about Whiteness, so White educators can use this new information about Whiteness to promote personal reflective practices about what it means to be White and progress to conversations with colleagues about what it means to be White and how their Whiteness impacts their daily lives and the daily lives of their students and colleagues.Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education
AMultimethod Approach to Understanding the Biopsychosocial Underpinnings of Chronic Cancer-Related Pain in Cancer Survivors:
Get PDFThesis advisor: Lisa Wood MageeBackground: Chronic cancer-related pain is a considerable problem in cancer survivors. The incidence of chronic pain in cancer survivors is nearly double the rate in the general population. Chronic cancer-related pain reduces quality of life and results in higher healthcare utilization. Due to a lack of alternative treatments, the management of chronic cancer-related pain relies on a biomedical model, with opioids being the cornerstone of cancer-related pain management. As concerns about the risks of long-term opioid therapy rise, there is a need to understand the factors that influence chronic cancer-related pain experience. This manuscript dissertation aims to answer the overarching question, “What are the unique factors that inform the chronic cancer-related pain experience in cancer survivors?”
Methods: First, an integrative review aimed to examine the evidence of long-term opioid use in cancer-survivors. Next, a qualitative study using descriptive phenomenology was conducted to develop a deeper understanding of the daily lived experience of chronic cancer-related pain. And finally, a prospective cross-section quantitative study was completed to quantify the contribution of unique cancer-specific factors to the chronic cancer-related pain experience in cancer survivors.
Results: The integrative review shed light on the biopsychosocial factors associated with the transition to long-term opioid therapy (LTOT), including the role of cancer type, medical comorbidities, mental health diagnoses, and socioeconomic factors. No studies examined pain severity, pain interference, or cancer-specific psychosocial factors in cancer survivors prescribed LTOT. Second, cancer survivors describe living with chronic cancer-related pain as the cost of survival. Yet, their suffering was often invisible to others. The role of opioids in chronic cancer-related pain leads to strained communication with clinicians and the need to self-navigate a treatment plan characterized by ‘trying everything’. And finally, select cancer-specific psychosocial factors explained relatively little variance in the pain experience compared to non-cancer specific factors of multisite pain and pain catastrophizing.
Conclusions: The constellation of the finding from this body of work demonstrates unique factors that inform the chronic cancer-related pain experience in cancer survivors, and several areas of overlap with other chronic pain syndromes.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Connell School of Nursing.Discipline: Nursing
Molecular Beam Epitaxy Synthesis and Investigation of Iron-based Quantum Materials:
Get PDFThesis advisor: Ilija ZeljkovicThe splendid world of quantum materials is being unveiled in modern condensed matter physics, thanks to the advanced material synthesis methods, refined experimental probing techniques and deeper theoretical understanding. Unconventional superconductivity and topological phenomena are two of the main themes in this realm. Many outstanding problems are waiting to be solved and there is also a great potential in future technological applications. Among many routes of studying the quantum materials, creating thin film structures provides a special opportunity to learn the physical properties in low dimensions, to explore the effect of substrate and strain and to make novel electronic devices.In this thesis, I will present successful molecular beam epitaxy thin film synthesis of: (1) unconventional superconductor FeSe, (2) topological insulator Bi2Se3 doped with magnetic Fe atoms and (3) kagome structure magnets FeSn and Fe3Sn2. For (1), I will describe the finding of a dislocation network, its impact on the spatially-modulated strain field and its interesting interplay with the spontaneous symmetry-broken nematic phase. This is a new finding in the FeSe/SrTiO3 heterostructure and also provides fresh insights in the understandings of nematicity. For (2), I will show how we cross-check the doping ratio using different characterization techniques. Our observation indicates the possible formation of Fe clusters or impurity phases and sets the foundation for future synthesis of similar structures. For (3), I will demonstrate the novel selective synthesis of FexSny thin films. A plethora of spectral features were found in Fe3Sn2, implying a link with the Weyl physics. The FexSny thin films can potentially be a platform for the exploration of correlated, topological quantum phases in low dimensions.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Physics
Transforming Correctional Landscapes:
No full textThesis advisor: Stephen PfohlIn a moment when the legitimacy of institutions that respond to crime is being challenged in new ways, there is also a growing interest in the use of ecological sustainability and environmental justice initiatives as a possible intervention in this context. These initiatives take many social and spatial forms across correctional landscapes, from prisons, jails, and youth detention centers to communities impacted by incarceration. Across three articles, this dissertation critically examines some of the contexts, limits, and possibilities of ecological sustainability initiatives as a means to transform correctional landscapes. Considering that ecological sustainability programs can involve some form of work done by incarcerated people, the first article explores the social-historical context of prison labor. It reviews the contested development of theories about prison labor among scholars, reformers, and activists. The article examines how the role of prison labor has been imagined in society, from punitive and rehabilitative theories to the more recent restorative and abolitionist or transformative ones. Contested theories of prison labor across time and space suggest that although work programs have often been exploitative, there are pathways, within and outside of the present system, towards forms of labor that might better contribute to crime prevention and public safety. The second article looks at some current efforts to intervene in correctional landscapes through the lens of environmental justice and ecological sustainability programs in the Northeastern United States. It explores these efforts through surveys, workshops and experiences of practitioners who have been trying to implement green interventions in correctional landscapes over the last ten years. The article denaturalizes the commonsense assumption in sustainability discourses that green interventions are necessarily good for individuals and institutions, and instead looks to the social contexts within which practitioners aim to implement interventions towards the possibilities of transformation. Overall, the article shows how some educators and activists have sought to seed transformative possibilities from within the constraints of existing theories and practices of correctional rehabilitation, as they work to design and implement specific program protocols, practices, curricula, networks, and collaborations. Finally, the third article turns to a case study of the emerging role of social cooperatives in Italy, as a crime response and prevention strategy that promotes social inclusion. It situates the model of Italian Social Cooperative movement in the context of W.E.B. Du Bois’s coopertivist thought and the emerging field of design for transitions. It looks at specific Italian laws, policies, and organizations that relate to the transformation of correctional landscapes and have possible applications to U.S. context. The Italian case, which emphasizes the role of ecological sustainability and cooperative practices in the context of incarceration, is used to better understand how future interventions might become pathways to decarceration, environmental justice, and sustainable communities.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Sociology
Misinformation as a Negative Externality: Theory to Remedy
Get PDFThesis advisor: Thomas WesnerIn the wake of events like the COVID-19 pandemic, the storming of the Capitol, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it’s time to start labeling misinformation for what it is: a negative externality to society. The spillover effects from the proliferation of mis- and disinformation have the potential to negatively impact the institution of democracy, civic engagement, and downstream health outcomes. Put simply, to understand the misinformation problem is to understand its complexities, its pitfalls, and its motivations. Taken as a whole, this paper articulates the need for a divergence from conventional economic theory on efficiency to a pro-social, welfare-based approach to internalization efforts. In doing so, this analysis presents a full-scale characterization of misinformation as a negative externality, starting with the reorganization of traditional microeconomic theory, followed by a platform-by-platform evaluation of various internalization strategies and evidence from the literature on the impacts of misinformation, and concluding with a commentary on potential remediation approaches.Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Departmental Honors.Discipline: Economics
The Well-Being of Kenyan Children Reunified With Family After Living in Residential Care Institutions:
No full textThesis advisor: Thomas M. CreaAbout 5.4 million children worldwide live in residential care institutions (also known as “orphanages”), including an estimated 60,000 in Kenya alone (Desmond et al., 2020). Estimates suggest 80% of children in orphanages globally have at least one living parent (Berens & Nelson, 2015; Csáky, 2009; Petrowski et al., 2017), and human rights principles (United Nations General Assembly, 2010) have motivated the Kenyan government to carry out “care reform,” reducing reliance on residential care and prioritizing family-based care for vulnerable children. In this context, many children have reunified with their families after living in residential care. The aim of this dissertation is to examine the experiences and well-being of such children. The first study uses qualitative methods to explore how Kenyan children and young adults who previously lived in residential care describe their lives in residential care and after leaving it. The second study describes the development of a quantitative measure of subject well-being tailored to the priorities of young people who have lived in residential care, and includes an exploratory factor analysis to determine the factor structure of the measure. The third paper uses multivariate analyses to examine how Kenyan reunified children’s subjective well-being may statistically relate to child characteristics, including disability status, when controlling for child gender, age, and time since family reunification. Specifically, I hypothesize that having a disability will be associated with worse subjective well-being and more negative experiences of reunification than children without disabilities. Together, these three studies are designed to address gaps in existing knowledge related to successful transitions of children from residential care into families in Kenya, suggesting promising practices for social workers overseeing children’s reunifications and future directions for research on this population.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work.Discipline: Social Work
Critical Consciousness and Educational Leadership: Educators of Color (EOC): What Do They Think Districts Should Do to Retain Them?
Get PDFThesis advisor: Rebecca LowenhauptSchool districts throughout the Commonwealth have engaged in initiatives to increase educators of color. Ingersoll et al. (2019) argue that while “many believe that the small number of minority teachers is caused by a lack of recruitment or intake” they concur with Pearson and Fuglei (2019) that recruitment is not the only problem. The issue is retention. Recent studies like these shed new light on the need for additional research on factors that increase the retention of educators of color. I posit that supporting the development of critical consciousness in Educators of Color can also support their retention in school districts. The purpose of this individual study is to identify the practices that Educators of Color (EOCs) report to be supportive, increase their critical consciousness, and/ or impact their retention in the district. This study centers the experiences of Educators of Color (EOCs), and amplify their voices in order to learn about the impact of school-based and district-sponsored practices. This individual study is part of a group qualitative case study that examines the practices of district leaders, school leaders, educators, and students to foster and advance the development of critical consciousness.Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education
Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?: Turnover and Retention in Public Child Welfare
Get PDFThesis advisor: Erika L. SabbathChildren are vital members of our society and arguably its most vulnerable. The job of public child welfare workers is to serve children who are experiencing abuse and neglect and their families. Essential to the public child welfare systems serving these families are the employees who work directly with them – frontline workers and supervisors. Their relationships with families are a key component in the life of the case and can have a strong impact on case outcomes. These workers, however, are under considerable stressors, and turnover rates are a continual problem. Despite extensive research on worker turnover, further work is still needed to better understand the processes by which these workers decide to stay or go. These include a deeper understanding of the impact of safety perceptions, how workers of color might differently experience these systems, and what factors into supervisors’ intent. Focus on retention rather than turnover is an additional area in need of a broader evidence base. This study seeks to add knowledge on how safety perceptions, organizational culture, job satisfaction, and role impact public child welfare employees’ retention decisions. Utilizing a statewide data set derived from a survey of Texas public child welfare workers and supervisors, this study uses regression models to learn more about their experiences and how they might shape decisions on whether to leave or remain. We found that in workers, feelings of unsafety are significantly associated with intent to leave; this was moderated by perceived organizational support. We additionally found that inclusion is significantly related with both intent to leave and intent to remain, and this does not vary by race in this study. Supervisors were just as likely to intend to leave or remain as their workers; intent to remain was moderated by perceived organizational support in both. Intent to leave and intent to remain are similar in some ways, but rather than being flip sides of the same coin, they are unique constructs. Increasing retention of these workers is vital to the long-term outcomes in the lives of children and families. Strengthening the child welfare workforce strengthens the families they serve.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work.Discipline: Social Work
Filipino Americans and the Rise of Anti-Asian Hate: Exploring Identity, Resilience, and Responses to Racism Among Older Filipino Americans
Get PDFThesis advisor: Eve SpanglerThe recent rise in anti-Asian hate amidst the COVID-19 pandemic provides a novel circumstance within which to investigate Filipino American ethnic and racial identity development. Existing literature on this topic highlights the impact of colonization on present-day Filipinos, regarding their ethnic identification, panethnic consciousness, and responses to discrimination. Most of this research focuses on college-aged and second-generation Filipino Americans. However, victims of the rise in anti-Asian hate include older Asian Americans. Therefore, this study explores Filipino American identity and experiences with racism through 10 interviews with first-generation Filipino Americans, aged 65 and above. The study finds that, although Filipino Americans experience racial discrimination, many are resilient. However, their resilience may reflect internalizations of Filipino cultural values, the colonial mentality, and the model minority myth, as well as the search for a positive identity. Additionally, this study has an unexpected finding that Filipino Americans may collectively construct their identities, with many of their ethnic/racial identities reflecting that of their spouse. Ultimately, the lives and identities of Filipino American involve a dynamic process that adapts and reflects shifting political, social, and cultural contexts.Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Departmental Honors.Discipline: Sociology
Retention & Graduation Rates from Participation in Short-Term Study Abroad Programs at Small Private Liberal Arts Institutions in the United States of America:
Get PDFThesis advisor: Rebecca SchendelOver the past several decades, the number of students participating in international academic programming has increased drastically, having quintupled in from the early 1990s to 2017. Many of these students have participated in increasingly popular short-term programming models where students spend less than eight weeks in an international location doing academic coursework. Considerable research exists tying the participation in study abroad experiences to positive institutional and academic outcomes such as increased institutional retention and academic performance. Underrepresented in this literature is the impact these experiences have on smaller institutions, such as private liberal arts colleges, which are increasingly looking for ways to diversify themselves in a crowded educational marketplace. Using the case study of Moon Crest College, this quantitative study uses statistical and regression analysis to determine if participation in short-term study abroad experiences have a relationship with institutional retention and time-to-degree. This analysis finds at Moon Crest College a statistically significant relationship between participation in short-term study abroad experiences and graduating from the institution. This study found no clear relationship between participation in these experiences and time-to-degree rates at Moon Crest College.Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education