3948 research outputs found
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Three Essays in Entrepreneurial Finance, Financial Intermediation, and FinTech:
No full textThesis advisor: Thomas ChemmanurMy Ph.D. dissertation consists of three chapters focused on topics in entrepreneurial finance, financial intermediation, and FinTech. The first chapter analyzes the effects of bank competition on gender and racial gaps in entrepreneurship. By leveraging interstate bank deregulation from 1994 to 2021, I find that stronger bank competition increases the quantity and quality of banking services offered to minority borrowers. Developing a novel measure of discrimination using narrative information in the complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I demonstrate that bank competition reduces discrimination, alleviating the financial constraints of female and minority entrepreneurs. Stronger bank competition also reduces gender and racial gaps in firm performance and business equity accumulation, promoting wealth equality and fostering equitable economic growth.The second chapter draws on the context of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) publicly disclosing consumer complaint narratives in 2015. Utilizing a difference-in-differences design, I find that, following disclosure, CFPB-supervised banks whose complaint narratives are disclosed are less prone to discriminate against minority borrowers in the mortgage lending market. This reduces racial disparities in interest rates, default rates, and rejection rates. The disclosure saves minority borrowers $102 million in interest payments and aids over 14,000 minority households in securing loans annually, thereby narrowing the racial gap in homeownership. Stakeholders including consumers, peer banks, and stock market investors facilitate the disclosure's effects on reducing discrimination.
The third chapter, co-authored with Bibo Liu and Xuan Tian, studies how policy uncertainty affects household credit access. Using crowdfunding data from a major peer-to-peer (P2P) crowdfunding platform, Prosper.com, and a news-based policy uncertainty index developed by Baker, Bloom, and Davis (2016), we find that policy uncertainty negatively affects households’ access to small loans. Using an instrument variable based on partisan conflicts and a difference-in-differences analysis relying on plausibly exogenous variation in policy uncertainty generated by gubernatorial elections, we show that the relation is likely causal. Investors’ increased caution on deal selection and enhanced value of the “wait-and-see” option appear to be two plausible underlying channels through which policy uncertainty affects P2P crowdfunding. Further evidence suggests that policy uncertainty decreases households’ incentives to borrow at the aggregate level, and increases loan interest rates and default probabilities.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024.Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management.Discipline: Finance
Explaining Mobilization: A Case Study of the 2020-21 Farmers' Movement in India
Full text linkThesis advisor: Thibaud MarcesseThis is a case study of the 2020-21 Farmers’ Movement in India which brought an alliance among farmers who belong to historically different social groups by their social status, land ownership, and amount of land owned. It also brought together farmers and laborers as a united front, and for the first time, an alliance of urban-based individuals and civil society groups, workers, students, and opposition political parties came together to support the farmers and their cause. How do people of different social groups and ethnicities construct common interests and act collectively? I review the literature on the structural and historical theories of peasants’ uprisings, the collective action theory, and the political opportunity structure to explain why the movement emerged and how it emerged. I argue that the movement emerged as a consequence of economic grievances and the potential for mobilization which is determined by the political opportunity structure. Farmers feared that the Farm Laws that were intended to liberalize agricultural marketing by facilitating intrastate trade, contract farming, and direct marketing would lead to the collapse of the state government-regulated marketplaces and eventually to the collapse of the minimum support price system. The discontentment of farmers, farmers’ unions, and opposition parties provided the political opportunity structure for the movement. I argue that economic grievances and political opportunity structure are necessary conditions for the emergence of social movements, but they do not explain how people of different social groups and ethnicities construct common interests and act collectively. Communities converge on a common frame through the process of frame alignment. Therefore, framing is a necessary and sufficient condition for participation in a social movement. The process of frame alignment creates common interests and non-monetary selective incentives like solidary and purposive incentives which are necessary and sufficient conditions for collective action.Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2024.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Political Science
AVirus-Based Platform for Directed Evolution and Mutational Profiling in Mammalian Cells:
No full textThesis advisor: Abhishek ChatterjeeThesis advisor: Jia NiuDirected Evolution has emerged as an invaluable tool for advancing protein functions in both research and industry. Our lab has pioneered a directed evolution platform in mammalian cells, utilizing an AAV delivery vector to package a DNA library and linking the biomolecule of interest to AAV production. During my tenure in Prof. Chatterjee's lab, I focused on harnessing our lab’s directed evolution platform, known as Virus-Assisted Directed Evolution of tRNA (VADER), to develop highly efficient tRNAs for genetic code expansion. Additionally, I contributed to the development of the AAV-based selection platform, termed Virus-Assisted Mutational Profiling (VAMP), as a profiling tool. Through the utilization of VAMP, I conducted comprehensive profiling of tRNA and RNA polymerase III promoter sequences. This enabled me to gain insights into regions of flexibility and evolution, ultimately leading to the construction of improved constructs with enhanced activity relative to the starting sequence.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Chemistry
Cultivating Social Justice Pedagogical Knowledge And Skill: Educational Leaders Disrupting Deficit Thinking Regarding Black Males
No full textThesis advisor: Martin ScanlanMany district and school leaders have leveraged instructional leadership or social justice leadership to advance student achievement for minoritized students. While research has examined these approaches separately, we identify a potential gap at the nexus between instructional and social justice leadership. In particular, we need further research examining how leaders bridge instructional and social justice leadership practices to disrupt educational inequities. Our study examines how educational leaders weave instructional and social justice leadership skills to cultivate others' social justice pedagogical knowledge and skill. Employing a collective case study framework, this study explores how a mid-sized urban district’s superintendent and school leaders cultivated and promoted the social justice pedagogical knowledge and skill of others. Data was collected through interviews, surveys, and document reviews. The primary research participants included one superintendent, two assistant superintendents, three central office leaders, five school leaders, and six teachers. Our findings highlight four themes: the importance of leaders’ critical self-reflection perceptions of district-level infrastructure and strategic planning, school-level instructional infrastructure and capacity building, and gaps in social justice pedagogical skill. This research has implications for practice, policy, and existing literature related to cultivating and enacting social justice pedagogical knowledge and skill across diverse contexts.Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2024.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education
Positive Emotions Coping on Stress and Burnout Prevention: A Pilot Trial of an Emotional Expression Game Intervention
No full textThesis advisor: Christopher Salas-WrightChronic work stress and burnout, as identified by the World Health Organization (2020), are pervasive issues that have been likened to silent epidemics. A global survey conducted during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic revealed a startling increase in the prevalence of negative emotions associated with burnout in the workplace (Gallup, 2021). Despite the alarming global impact of stress and burnout, there remains a significant void in our understanding of the systemic causes of chronic stress and strategies to prevent emotional exhaustion, a precursor to burnout. This research gap is not just a mere academic concern, but a pressing issue that demands immediate attention.The core objective of this three-paper dissertation is to address these important gaps via building on exploratory research conducted in the context of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, and evidence-based research to evaluate a pilot intervention designed to build psychological resources to cope with stress and promote work engagement. In Paper 1, we explore resources and strategies used in the context of the pandemic to cope with stress. In Paper 2, we provide an in-depth description of a groundbreaking therapeutic board game known as Animalia designed to offer mental health benefits. Specifically, this second paper lays out a conceptual foundation to guide, test, and refine a multicomponent game-style treatment for the prevention of stress and emotional exhaustion, the antecedent of burnout. Paper 3 is a pilot study focused on preliminary evidence of change in mediators and proximal outcomes as a result of playing the Animalia game. A pretest - posttest single group two observations pre-experimental design is used to test whether playing Animalia, an emotional expression game, improves well-being through the deconstruction and transformation of unpleasant and constraining emotions into pleasant and expanding emotions. The intervention presented as a transformational game aims to develop personal and social resources through the deliberate practice of awareness, connection, insight and purpose.
Paper 1 focuses on the international doctoral student population, specifically global south students (age 21 and older). Research for Paper 3 was conducted with full-time international graduate students, a population that has been consistently affected by stress and burnout. Implications of this dissertation include providing evidence for the development of (1) a transformational theory of stress through positive coping, (2) practices and programs to prevent burnout and stress in a variety of settings and work environments, (3) public, institutional and organizational health and work environment policies, and (4) better social work and social services practices.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work.Discipline: Social Work
Design, Synthesis and Functionalization of Geminal and Vicinal Organometallic Compounds:
No full textThesis advisor: James P. MorkenThis dissertation presents the development of catalytic enantioselective synthesis and selective functionalization of geminal or vicinal borylsilanes and bis(boronates). In the first chapter, a modular approach to the catalytic synthesis of enantioenriched anti-1,2-borylsilanes will be described, which is enabled by the stereospecific 1,2-metallate shift that occurs during Pd-catalyzed conjunctive cross-coupling reaction. In the second chapter, the Cu-catalyzed site-selective cross-coupling of vicinal bis(boronates) to an array of electrophiles is developed to provide a new method to construct complex boron-containing products from terminal alkenes. A dramatic rate acceleration in transmetalation to copper is enabled by the neighboring activating boronate group in the substrate. Mechanistic experiments suggest that the formation of a chelated cyclic ate complex may play a role in facilitating the transmetalation. As a follow-up project, the site-selective cross-coupling of vicinal diborylsilanes is also investigated. A Pt-catalyzed enantioselective hydrosilylation of (Z)-1,2-diborylethylene provides access to a vicinal 1,2-diboryl-1-silylalkane that can be used in catalytic cross-coupling reactions. Depending on the catalyst employed and the electrophile class, the coupling reaction can occur at either the α or β carbon relative to the silane center. In the last chapter, a practical method is developed to prepare a TiO2 supported gold nanoparticle catalyst that facilitates the cis-diboration of terminal alkynes. The resulting products can undergo a practical Cu-catalyzed site-selective cross-coupling with proton or other non-aryl/alkenyl electrophiles to yield α-substituted alkenyl boronates with excellent yield and site-selectivity.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Chemistry
Shifting Landscapes: The Role of Institutions of Higher Education as Drivers of Gentrification in Cities
No full textThesis advisor: Lacee SatcherThis study explores the role that institutions of higher education play in gentrification in the cities they occupy. I use Northeastern University and the Roxbury neighborhood in the city of Boston as a case study, specifically with the expansion efforts of the institution over the past decade, to examine universities as potential drivers of gentrification. Using publicly available data, Google Street View data, and semi-structured qualitiative interviews with long-term Roxbury residents, I find notable neighborhood change occuring in the area in relation to Northeastern University, including changes to racial/ethnic and SES demographics, as well as changes to the neighborhood's physical environment. Moreover, interviews with the residents of Roxbury revealed the mixed reactions to the univeristy expanding into the neighborhood and the concerns of the community who want a say in the changes occuring.Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2024.Submitted to: Boston College. Morrissey School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Sociology.Discipline: Departmental Honors
Site-Selective and Stereospecific Functionalization of Organoboronate Compounds:
No full textThesis advisor: James P. MorkenThesis advisor: Marc L. SnapperThis dissertation presents three projects focusing on catalytic, site-selective and stereospecific functionalization of organoboronate compounds. First, we have developed a Cu-catalyzed regioselective coupling of 1,2-bis(boronic esters). This transformation provided an effecient route to a range of enantiomerically enriched secondary boronic esters. Mechanistic studies indicated that a chelated cyclic boron “ate” complex may promote transmetallation to Cu catalyst.
We have also developed a Cu-catalyzed sterespecific cross-coupling of alkylboronic esters. Boron “ate” complexes derived from alkylboronic pinacol esters and tert-butyllithium underwent stereospecific transmetallation to copper cyanide. The so-formed organocopper species engaged alkynyl bromides, allyl halides, propargylic halides, β-haloenones, hydroxylamine esters, and acyl chlorides in coupling reactions.
Finally, we have developed non-directed site-selective activation of bis(boronic esters), followed by Cu-catalyzed cross-coupling. A bulky activator was shown to selectively activate the less hindered boronic ester, enabling it to undergo stereospecific cross-coupling to a variety of electrophiles. This steric-based site-selectivity offered a simple and efficient route to prepare propionate derivatives as well as other valuable difunctional molecules.
The appendix describes an ongoing study towards the synthesis of a novel analog of amphidinolide H. In an effort to elucidate the relationship between biological activity and structure of amphidinolide H, we designed a simplified analog that is likely to resemble amphidinolide H in shape. Development of its synthesis is currently underway. With an anticipated streamlined route to the analog, we expect to carry out rapid interrogation of its biological activity in collaboration with other research groups.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Chemistry
TheExperiences Of Black Emerging Adults With Psychotic Disorders Who Have Community Violence Exposure: A Phenomenological Approach
No full textThesis advisor: Ann W. BurgessPurpose: The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to understand the lived experience of Black emerging adults with psychotic disorders who have community violence exposure (CVE). The aims included understanding how Black emerging adults with psychotic disorders described the experience of community violence in their lives. A secondary aim was to understand how these individuals described how their experience of community violence has impacted their ability to attain goals that are consistent with emerging adulthood.Background: CVE is a public health crisis. Black emerging adults are at an increased risk of CVE and having a psychotic disorder. CVE and psychotic disorders can cause an increased burden on life. While there is research examining the impact of CVE on mental health and research examining the effects of trauma on psychotic disorders, there is limited qualitative work in Black emerging adults with psychotic disorders and CVE.
Method: This study was guided by Husserl's descriptive phenomenology philosophy, and Giorgi's descriptive psychological phenomenological approach guided data collection and analysis. Eleven participants were recruited through purposive sampling. Participants had to have a psychotic disorder, report CVE, identify as Black or African-American, and be between 18 and 29. Interviews were conducted individually with each participant to understand their experiences of CVE. Using bracketing, the data was coded and analyzed. Rigor and trustworthiness were ensured by using Lincoln and Guba's criteria for credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability.
Results: The sample consisted of eleven participants, ranging in age from 21 to 28, with an average age of 24.6. Six identified as male, four identified as female, and one participant identified as transgender and non-binary/non-conforming. All participants identified as non-Hispanic Black/African-American and had a primary psychotic disorder. Four themes were identified: (1) CVE results in a range of emotional responses, (2) CVE results in a range of behavioral responses, (3) CVE causes disruptions in life and relationships, and (4) participants aspire for a better life without a clear pathway. These four themes represent the lived experiences of CVE in these Black emerging adults who have psychotic disorders in Boston, MA. The themes shed light on the consequences CVE had in their lives.
Conclusion: Utilizing descriptive phenomenology created a comprehensive understanding of the experience of the phenomenon of CVE in Black emerging adults with a psychotic disorder. The results illuminated the complex nature CVE has on their life and mental health. Future research should focus on quantitative studies to explore the impact of CVE on various health, social, and psychological outcomes.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024.Submitted to: Boston College. Connell School of Nursing.Discipline: Nursing
" Work of the heart”: Lived Experiences of Undocumented Student Resource Center Professionals
No full textThesis advisor: Heather T. Rowan-KenyonMany postsecondary students in the United States exist at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities, such as race, socioeconomic status, (dis)ability, and legal status. Amidst a tumultuous sociopolitical context, a number of higher education institutions in the United States established Undocumented Student Resource Centers (USRCs), identity-centered student services that provide specialized support for students who hold marginalized legal identities (Ballerini & Feldblum, 2021; Castrellón, 2021; Cisneros & Valdivia, 2018; Cisneros et al., 2021; Gomez & Pérez Huber, 2021; Tapia-Fuselier, 2021). This study, which focuses on the professional employees at USRCs, is ultimately in service of students who are united by their marginalized legal statuses—those who are undocumented, those who are DACA recipients, and those who belong to mixed-status families. This issue is addressed through the following primary research questions: 1) What are the lived experiences of the professional employees who work at USRCs?; 1a) What personal factors inform their experiences in their role?; 2) What are the experiences of USRC professionals when they encounter systemic factors, ranging from the centered to the marginalized? While there is existing literature that recognizes the ways in which USRCs benefit their students, less is known about the experiences of the professional employees who work in USRCs (Cisneros et al., 2021; Tapia-Fuselier, 2021). This hermeneutic phenomenological (van Manen, 1990) study sought to address this gap by examining the experiences of the professional employees of USRCs. Three intersecting frameworks were used to conduct this research: Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005), Tierney's (1988) framework of Organization, and Critical Systems Thinking (Cordoba & Midgley, 2008; Jackson, 2001; Midgley, 1992; Midgley et al., 1998; Rajagopalan & Midgley, 2015; Raza, 2021; Ulrich, 1983, 1988). The sample consisted of 6 professional employees from 2- and 4-year higher education institutions across the United States. Three semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant, and data was analyzed using the hermeneutic circle (Dibley et al., 2020; van Manen, 1990). The findings indicate that the professional employees of USRCs bring untold assets and forms of wealth to their work, including their commitment to joy and their employment of aspirational, familial, and navigational capital. Systemic factors within their organization and beyond create barriers to their work, resulting in mentally and emotionally exhausting experiences, overburdened work environments, and instances where their identities and offices are marginalized by their tumultuous sociopolitical context. Implications for higher education practice, research, and theory are offered.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education