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“ It’s almost like you’re learning through cooking”: A Conversation Analytic Study of Parent-Child Number Talk during an Early Math Intervention
Get PDFThesis advisor: Eric DearingResearch has shown that parents’ number talk predicts preschoolers’ concurrent and prospective math skills; yet, there is considerable heterogeneity in parents’ use of number talk (e.g., Ramani et al., 2015). Given this, researchers are developing resources and interventions designed to encourage family numeracy (e.g., Hanner et al., 2019). Interventions, however, are based on a limited understanding of how families engage in numeracy conversations, particularly when parents are working to teach their children. Developmental researchers tend to operationalize parent talk as discrete, decontextualized instances of environmental input. In contrast, scholars using Conversation Analysis (CA) argue that understanding interactional phenomenon requires attention to how it is collaboratively and incrementally constructed through turn-taking sequences and how it allows interlocutors to accomplish social actions across stretches of interaction (e.g., Schegloff, 2007). The current study used CA to examine parent-preschooler conversations about numeracy during a home-based math intervention for which parents and children cooked together. The 30 parents—primarily middle-class, college educated parents of color— and their 3- to 5-year-old children received a cookbook with domain-general learning tips and 15 recipes. Families in the treatment condition received additional numeracy tips, some specific to the recipes provided and some broadly applicable to any recipe. Families were asked to audio record themselves cooking twice a month for three months. Results indicated that exchanges in which numeracy pedagogy was irrelevant (i.e., low-relevance pedagogy) for completing the recipe were qualitatively different from exchanges in which numeracy pedagogy facilitated children’s participation in cooking tasks (i.e., high-relevance pedagogy). While low-relevance pedagogy engaged children in rehearsing their numeracy skills, high-relevance pedagogy invited children to use their numeracy knowledge to plan and implement recipe tasks. Counting occurred primarily within low-relevance pedagogy, meaning parents’ prompts to count were disconnected from cooking. The recipes, ingredients, and cooking tools families selected shaped the affordances for numeracy pedagogy. This dissertation has implications for improving early learning interventions.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology
Electronic Spectroscopy of Topological Superconductor FeTe_{0.55}Se_{0.45}:
Get PDFThesis advisor: Kenneth S. BurchIn condensed matter physics we study the behavior of crystals at finite density and low temperatures. By tuning and breaking the various materials, symmetries, and the topology of a crystal one can bring about brand new quantum phases of matter. These new phases of matter in turn produce emergent quasiparticles such as the cooper pair in superconductivity, the spinon in magnetic systems, and the Fermi arcs in Weyl semimetals. Of particular interest are systems in which superconductivity interacts with topology. These systems have been theoretically predicted to produce anyonic quasiparticles which may be used as qubits in a future fault-tolerant quantum computer. However, these ideas usually require the use of the superconducting proximity effect to inject cooper pairs into the topological system. This in turn requires interfacing two different materials which not only requires extremely clean interfaces, but also matching Fermi surfaces, comparable Fermi velocities, and
more. The ideal candidate for topological superconductivity would therefore be a material that is both superconducting and topologically non-trivial. One promising candidate is the iron-based superconductor FeTe(1−x)Sex, specifically at the FeTe0.55Se0.45 (FTS) doping which also has non-trivial topology. In this dissertation, we address the fabrication of pristine interfaces using a new tool as well as new probes into the topology of FTS. In Chapter II we discuss the motivation, construction, and use of the “cleanroomin-a-glovebox”. This tool places an entire nanofabrication workflow into an inert argon atmosphere which has allowed us access to study a myriad of new materials and systems. A delightful offshoot of this glovebox is that it is a useful tool in training new scientists in fabrication techniques. The photolithography, Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD), and characterization tools in the glovebox are designed to be easy to use and thus afford new users a low-risk method of learning new techniques. In chapter III we discuss a specific example of a new quantum phase of matter e.g. topological superconductivity in FTS. There, I discuss the fabrication requirements to probe this elusive phase as well as the unique measurement technique used to provide evidence that FTS is a higher-order topological superconductor. The characterization of FTS continues in Chapter IV where we reveal some exciting new results in the FTS system. These new results are direct evidence for the topological nature of FTS, a feat which has only been shown in Angle-Resolved Photo
Emission Spectroscopy (ARPES) and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM). Chapter V concludes the dissertation with a summary of Chapters II, III, and IV. In addition, we give suggestions for future experiments to investigate the FTS system further as well as suggestions for insightful teaching programs with the cleanroom-in-a-glovebox.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Physics
Jesus’ Teaching About Discipleship in the “Way Section” in Mark 8:22-10:52: A Challenge and Encouragement for Jesus’ Followers
Get PDFThesis advisor: Thomas D. StegmanThesis advisor: Matthew S. MonnigThesis (STL) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry.Discipline: Sacred Theology
Dynamical Properties of Biomolecules, Ions and Glass-Forming Liquids: A Theoretical and Computational Study
Get PDFThesis advisor: Udayan MohantyThe conformational dynamics plays a significant role in a wide range of biological systems, from small RNA molecules to the large-scale ribonucleoprotein assemblies, in which ions are found critical and have notable structural and functional impacts. In the glass-forming liquids, the structural dynamics also calls for further investigations and deeper understandings. To this end, using four distinct chapters, this dissertation discusses the ion-related conformational dynamics in various scales of biomolecular systems, as well as the fluctuation effects in the glass-forming liquids. In chapter 1, we investigate the dynamics of ions and water molecules in the outer solvation sphere of a widely studied 58-nucleotide rRNA fragment. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with explicit solvent molecules and atomic details are performed for the RNA fragment in ionic solution. We determine all of the association sites and spatial distributions of residence times for Mg2+, K+, and water molecules in those sites. In accordance to the analysis of the dynamics of the RNA fragment, we provide insights into how the dynamics of ions and water molecules are intricately linked with the kinetics of the RNA fragment. In addition, the long-lived sites for Mg2+ ions identified from the simulation agree with the metal ion locations determined in the X-ray structure. The excess ion atmosphere around the RNA fragment is calculated and compared with the experimental measures. The results from this study indicate that the 58-mer rRNA fragment in ionic solution forms a complex polymer that is encased by a fluctuating network of ions and water. In chapter 2, the conformational dynamics of a large-scale ribonucleoprotein assembly, ribosome, is studied with molecular dynamics simulations with a newly developed model that accounts for electrostatic and ionic effects on the biomolecules. In this study, an all-atom structure based model is constructed with explicit representations of non-hydrogen atoms from biomolecules and diffuse ions. Implicit treatment is applied to the solvent molecules with the solvation effect associated with diffuse ions described by effective potentials. Parameters in this model are refined against explicit solvent simulations and experimental measures. This model with refined parameters is able to capture the excess Mg2+ ions for prototypical RNA systems and their dependence on the Mg2+ concentrations. Motivated by this, we apply the model to a bacterial ribosome and find that the position of the extended L1 stalk region can be controlled by the diffuse ions. This simulation also indicated ion-induced long-range interactions between L1 stalk and tRNA, which provides insights into the impact of ions on the functional rearrangements of ribosome. In chapter 3, we focus on the dynamics of the glass-forming liquids. In this study, we generalized the Adam-Gibbs model of relaxation in glass-forming liquids and take into account the fluctuations in the number of molecules inside the cooperative rearranging region. We obtain the expressions of configurational fractions at the glass-transition temperature with and without the fluctuation effect in Adam-Gibbs model, and determine the configurational fraction for several glass-forming liquids at glass-transition temperature in the absence of fluctuation effects. A connection between the β Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts parameters and the configurational fraction at the glass-transition temperature is also reported in this study. In chapter 4, we apply the model developed in chapter 2 to a ribosome structure to investigate the effects of diffuse ions on the aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA) accommodation process. The aa-tRNA accommodation is a critical step in the tRNA selection process which serves the purpose of protein synthesis in the ribosome. Experimental and computational efforts were made to reveal the mechanism and the energetic properties of the accommodation process, while the effects from diffuse ions on this process remain elusive. To this end, we design and perform MD simulations of ribosome structure with different treatment of electrostatics and diffuse ions in the system. Simulations with various ionic concentrations are also performed to study the concentration effects. The simulation trajectories indicate that diffuse ions can facilitate the aa-tRNA accommodation process and stabilize the accommodated configurations. In addition, we observe that Mg2+ ions play critical roles in stabilizing the accommodated configurations and a few millimolar change of Mg2+ concentration can alter the tendency of the tRNA configurational change during the accommodation process. This result shed light on the investigations of suitable ionic environment for the tRNA selection in the ribosome. It will be fruitful to extend this strategy into the investigations of other conformational rearrangements in the ribosome, such as tRNA translocation and subunit rotation, which will provide us with deeper understanding about the functional mechanism of the ribosome.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Chemistry
TheIntrapsychic Dynamics of Racial Self-Designation, Internalized Racial Identity, and Well-Being in Part-White Multiracial Adults:
Get PDFThesis advisor: Janet E. HelmsPart-White Multiracial adults undergo a unique racial identity development process within a racially stratified society. Theorists suggest that different ways of self-designating either improve or impede healthy psychological outcomes for Multiracial people, but virtually no theoretical rationale or empirical studies account for the internal mechanisms underlying self-designations and mental health outcomes. People of Color and White racial identity theories were used to investigate racial dynamics implicit in the identity development and self-designations of Multiracial individuals. The current study examined the relationships between racial self-designations, internalized racial identity, and well-being in part-White Multiracial adults. Part-White (Asian/White or Black/White) Multiracial adults (N = 169) completed a measure of frequency of use of five multiracial self-designations, People of Color and White Racial Identity Attitudes Scales to assess their internal race-related processes (i.e., statuses), and the Brief Symptom Inventory 18 (Derogatis, 2001) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1979) to assess healthy and unhealthy psychological outcomes.
Multivariate Multiple Regression Analyses were conducted to examine the relationships among racial self-designation and well-being, racial self-designation and internalized racial identity, and internalized racial identity and well-being. Results specific to racial self-designations were (a) greater disorientation about racial dynamics predicted more frequent identification as White and Multiracial, (b) withdrawal from Whiteness increased monoracial minority self-designation and decreased self-designation as Multiracial (c) more complex appraisals of Whiteness predicted more frequent use of most self-designation choices, and (d) an intellectualized view of Whiteness reduced use of the monoracial minority designations and increased identifying with no racial groups at all. Self-designation use was not related to psychological outcomes, but racial identity statuses were.
Overall, the results of the study supported examining racial self-designation, internalized racial identity and well-being in a single study. As expected, internalized racial identity was predictive of self-designations and well-being. This study provides initial support for adding conceptual and empirical complexity to discussions about the mental health and wellbeing of Multiracial people. Methodological limitations and implications for future theory, research, and practice are discussed.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology
Coercive control in the courtroom: Legal abuse and its correlates
Get PDFThesis advisor: Lisa A. GoodmanAt the vulnerable time of separation, many survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) enter into family courts in search of protection for themselves and their children. However, they may instead face a distressing court process in which they must confront the person who abused them and encounter legal determinations that place them and their families in danger. As many survivors – particularly those who are mothers - have no choice but to engage in the family court system to address matters such as divorce and child custody, this legal institution serves as an important gatekeeper to safety. Thus, it is essential to understand why survivors repeatedly report such - often extreme - negative experiences. A growing number of qualitative studies point to legal abuse -- abusive partners’ use of court processes to enact coercive control -- as an overlooked, yet critical mechanism through which survivors and their children are harmed during family court processes. To shed light on the role of this pernicious process, this study 1) established an ecologically and psychometrically valid measure of legal abuse, 2) used the measure to explore the psychological correlates of legal abuse for survivors, and 3) leveraged a mixed-methods approach to investigate the vocational, economic, and related mental health factors associated with legal abuse. Results pave the way for further research and policy efforts that recognize and respond to legal abuse in family court.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology
Emotions, Moral Formation, and Christian Politics: Rereading Karl Barth
No full textThesis advisor: Lisa S. CahillThis subject of this dissertation is moral formation, that is, the process by which people become more just in their interactions with others. Moral growth, then, refers to how the moral capacities of individuals are developed to facilitate right decisions and good actions. Additionally, moral formation here refers to the shaping of society in ways that bring about more just social arrangements. A key claim is that emotion is vital for both the moral shaping of individuals and society. Emotions fitting to the struggle for justice are developed through relationships and participation in communities of growth.This project is undertaken in dialogue with Karl Barth. I begin in chapter 1 by considering Barth’s theological anthropology grounded in God’s self-disclosure in Jesus Christ which contends that true humanity consists in living in covenant partnership with God and solidarity with fellow humanity. To more closely correspond to this determination is the goal of moral formation. Building on his relational conception of the self, I argue that Barth provides an account of moral formation in his treatment of the growth of the community. Moral progress is rooted in participation in the body of Christ that is growing as a hearing community and increasing in the practice of holy things such as worship and service.
Chapter 2 and 3 argue that moral growth does not occur through rational capacities alone, but depends on the development of emotions. These interdisciplinary chapters turn to recent studies of emotions in the natural and social sciences and philosophy. After a survey of various debates, I argue for a relational and cognitive conception of emotions and highlight their critical role in regulating group and social relations. Emotions are fundamental to interpersonal interactions, to group relations, and for the reinforcement and disruption of social structures.
While these disciplines provide insight into the nature and development of emotions, I return in chapter 4 to Barth for the project of constructing a normative account. While we must not attempt to supplant the command of God which decides the good, I contend that we ought to evaluate emotions by whether they engender communion with God, solidarity with fellow humans, and care for creation. This account of emotion is further developed in chapter 5 by turning to Barth’s apocalyptic account of the kingdom of God and the lordless powers. While we wait on God to bring about the consummation of the kingdom, Christians are yet to actively struggle for justice in anticipation of that day. This entails unmasking and resisting the powers. Barth’s account of unmasking the lordless powers draws attention to the ways they shape human emotions. He also underscores the importance of emotions, such as hope, in the human struggle for justice. Drawing on Barth’s earlier account of growth, I highlight the role of the church in forming these emotions. This account of moral formation and emotion is illustrated through the example of climate change. A community shaped by love for God, solidarity with other creatures, and a concern for all of creation leads to an awareness of hegemonic forces and fosters emotions shaped by the kingdom that enables the struggle for climate justice.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Theology
Getting Your Message Across: Costly Signaling Success and Failure During the Cold War
Get PDFThesis advisor: Jennifer EricksonPolicymakers are faced with filtering, understanding, and assessing an overwhelming, and often conflicting, amount of information on a constant basis. States signal resolve over issues, such as during a crisis, or to demonstrate intentions by sending reassurance signals of benign or defensive intentions. But states also have incentives to keep some information private or manipulate the information it sends. Whether or not policymakers believe an adversary’s signals influences, and often determines, the prospect of cooperation or competition. This dissertation examines how policymakers believe the reassurance signals of an adversary. Costly signaling theory argues states can cut through these issues by attaching costs to their signals. Only a sincere state would attach and accept these costs, thus demonstrating the sender is sincere and credible. I argue costly signaling theory is unable to explain variation in why policymakers believe signals in certain situations and not others, despite having costs attached. In this dissertation, I argue policymakers look to see whether sender policymakers risk their own political position to send signals. To risk political vulnerability, sender policymakers must demonstrate they have reduced their control over domestic political processes to send reassurance signals. This is done by sending signals which go against the interests of important domestic constituencies, such as the military or members of the elite. In doing so, sender policymakers demonstrate they are committed to the success of the signal, and will not deflect the costs imposed by signaling failure onto the population or state itself. When sender policymakers demonstrate political vulnerability, target policymakers will believe the signal is genuine. If sender policymakers do not demonstrate political vulnerability, target policymakers will not believe the signal is genuine.
I test the domestic political vulnerability thesis by examining how U.S. policymakers believed Soviet reassurance signals during the Cold War. Studying cases of reassurance signaling also allows me to examine for the ability, or inability, of U.S. policymakers to update assessments of Soviet intentions. I select nine cases of Soviet reassurance signaling across three signaling strategies identified by costly signaling theory: strategic arms control (tying hands); conventional troop reductions (sinking costs); and de-escalation signaling. The cases were chosen to test the explanatory power of my theory against the alternative explanations. I use extensive archival research and process tracing to study these cases and find support for the theory of domestic political vulnerability.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Political Science
" We Don’t Look at Them as Any Different”: Educators’ Discourses About Immigrant-Origin Students in Two Different School Districts
Get PDFThesis advisor: Rebecca J. LowenhauptAs the population of students with at least one foreign-born parent increases in US schools, educators play key roles in supporting them. The anti-immigrant context during the Trump era has heightened the urgency for all US educators to understand the experiences of their immigrant-origin students and respond accordingly. Discourses about immigrant-origin students have profound implications on how their educators understand and support them. In this study, I explored the nature of the discourses educators privilege and perpetuate when working with immigrant-origin students. I studied two distinct contexts with varying community reflections of the national conversation during the Trump era. I proposed the following questions: How do educators in two different immigrant-serving districts make sense of their immigrant-origin students’ experiences in an anti-immigrant sociopolitical context? What larger discourses about immigrants and immigrant-origin students do educators reflect as they make sense of their immigrant-origin students’ experiences? Through a thematic analysis of 10 educator interviews from each district, I found that three key factors influenced educators’ sensemaking about their immigrant-origin students’ experiences: 1) comparison of immigrant-origin students to non-immigrant-origin peers, 2) responsibility towards deeply understanding immigrant-origin students’ experiences, and 3) personal and professional identity and experiences with immigrants and immigration. A critical discourse analysis of policy documents and language related to supporting immigrant-origin students surfaced different defining discourses about immigrant-origin students on federal, state, and district levels. The findings led to three key insights: 1) Educators made sense of their immigrant-origin students’ experiences through existing individual and collective mental models of immigrants and immigration, or lack thereof, 2) The location, student demographics, and sociopolitical backdrop of each district context heavily influenced individual educators’ discourse about immigrant-origin students’ experiences, and 3) Power can be shared between federal, state, and district-level entities in order to create more humanizing and culturally sustaining environments for immigrant-origin students. The conclusion includes implications related to these key insights.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Making Space in the Curriculum: Examining Purpose in a Middle School Makerspace
Get PDFThesis advisor: Katherine McNeillGaining popular recognition in the U.S. with the advent of the first White House Maker Faire in 2014, makerspaces have become an increasingly popular feature of the K-12 educational landscape. While makerspaces have been subject to critique related to the lack of inclusivity within the broader predominantly white and male ‘maker culture’, they have also been recognized for their potential to include and attract students that have been historically underrepresented in the STEM fields, specifically female, African-American and Latinx students (Halverson & Sheridan, 2014; Kafai et al., 2014; Vossoughi, et al., 2016). However, despite their popularity and the growing body of empirical evidence documenting their use in the K-12 context, there are many topics that warrant further exploration, from teachers’ experiences with making, to the processes involved in their long term success or failure, and issues related to leadership, professional development and teacher expertise (Haron & Hughes, 2018). Responding to the need for greater understanding of these issues, this exploratory case study examines the organizational and curricular role of an established middle school makerspace through observations, student surveys, and individual interviews with teachers and school leaders. Findings of this study revealed themes related to (a) discrepancies between participants’ aspirational ideals and the practical reality of their experiences; (b) the important role of flexibility and rigidity within the curriculum and school structures; and (c) the mutually influential relationships that exist between materials, identity, expertise and participation. Each of these themes held specific consequences for equity and inclusion. The findings of this study highlight the critical importance of attending to equity in the implementation of maker learning environments and the central role that school structures, materials and perceptions play in addressing historical inequities in making and STEAM. This study concludes with recommendations for researchers, teachers and school leaders that place equity at the center of plans for school-based making and directions for future research.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction