Theses and Dissertations
Permanent link for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2022/3086
Browse
Recent Submissions
Now showing 1 - 20 of 690
Item UNDERSTANDING THE SEXUAL EXPERIENCES OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH SICKLE CELL DISEASE([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-08) Wright, Brittanni N.; Herbenick, DebbyBackground: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a blood disorder that mostly affects people of African heritage. The most known symptom of SCD is a pain crisis. A pain crisis is when red blood cells sickle in the blood vessels and cause intense, often debilitating pain. Until the late 1990s, SCD was seen as a pediatric health condition as people were not expected to live beyond their childhood. However, due to the advancements in medicine, people living with sickle cell disease (PLWSCD), in economically advanced countries, are living longer into adulthood. Thus, attention has shifted to investigate how SCD affects a person’s sexual health. Methods: 18 PLWSCD, in the United States of America and Canada, participated in in-depth recorded interviews. Using thematic analysis, the interviews were coded, and themes were created. Results: In Manuscript 1, four themes were produced: 1) Pain and Pleasure or Pleasure and Pain; 2) It Happens: Pain in Genitals; 3) Conversations with Partners; and 4) Please Talk to Us. For Manuscript 2, three themes were generated: 1) Let’s Reposition: Navigating Mobility; 2) Not Right Now; and 3) What Will They Think About Me. Conclusion: Overall, PLWSCD experienced a sex-or orgasm induced pain crisis, but little attention is given to this phenomenon by healthcare providers or within the sickle cell community at large. Furthermore, to their displeasure, PLWSCD lamented that sexual partners often questioned their ability to decide if they were fit enough to engage in sexual activities. Finally, due to complications from SCD, many participants have undergone surgeries for joint replacements. However, after undergoing joint replacement surgery, their ability to navigate sexual positions was stymied. Therefore, the Sickle Cell Disease and Sexuality Framework was created to help clinicians and PLWSCD understand how SCD affects a person’s sexual life.Item SONIC INTERVENTIONS: SILENCE, SOUND, AND MELODY IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-08) Stern, Kortney; Ingham, PatriciaIn “Sonic Interventions: Silence, Sound, and Melody in Medieval Literature,” I examine five early literary texts, spanning from the late-fifth to early-fifteenth-century: Geoffrey Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, the anonymous Le Roman de Silence, the aptly named Book of Margery Kempe, John Gower’s “Apollonius of Tyre” and the anonymous, late fifth-century Historia Apollonii Regis Tyri. These five works may differ in author, time of composition, and genre, but I yoke these stories together because of each author's treatment of agency and the sonic. In response to the latter, many texts from past and present include representations of sound, but there is more regarding the sonic in these five works than the mere presence of such a literary feature. What joins these five works is how each author draws upon sound as an alternative way to animate their marginalized characters when their voices fail. Even when voice proves to be impossible for myriad reasons, these early literary works showcase marginalized characters that can temporarily rebel, refute, and resist through their author's orchestration of what I refer to as “sonic expressions” or the ability to express through sound. In this dissertation, I examine expressions of silence, laughter, weeping, and song. As a result, I argue that each author repositions minoritized character(s) from the margins of the text to its center because the agency sound affords these figures, however temporarily. When marginalized voices are silenced, oppressed, or ignored in the story, their sonic expressions still pulsate across the page.Item NEGOTIATING GENDER ACCOUNTABILITY ACROSS CONTEXTS: THE CASE OF THE FORMER COLLEGE ATHLETE([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-07) Russian, Anna Elyse Acosta; Cha, YoungjooThe purpose of this dissertation is to uncover the nuanced ways individuals make sense of shifting gender accountability norms as they transition out of a unique social context and into broader U.S. society. This dissertation examines how 84 former Division I college athletes use the socialization they acquired through college sport in their lives once they are no longer student-athletes. I ask: When is being a former college athlete utilized as an asset, and when is it seen as a liability? How does race and gender impact these choices? I use the case study of former Division I college athletes to investigate three key things. First, to explore how women and men translate the skillset acquired in the previous context of college athletics to their current workplace context that associates such skills with the masculine-typed ideal worker image. Second, to uncover the degree to which women and men can use a gendered status marker to their advantage at work. Third, to explore the extent to which broader cultural gender norms impede or facilitate the maintenance of one’s athletic identity—a social identity cultivated and rewarded by all genders in the college athletics context, still seen as masculine by broader U.S. society. Results show all former student-athletes use the social skills learned through college athletics in their work life today, but men can benefit from these skills to a greater degree than women because they more directly embody the ideal worker image. Respondents are more likely to use their college athlete credential in workplace contexts that share similar values and norms as college athletics. These workplace contexts are more likely to be predominantly white and men-dominated spaces than not. Thus, unsurprisingly, white men were more likely than Black men and Black and White women to use their athlete credential to their advantage at work. Furthermore, I find men have a smoother transition to recreational sporting life than women because broader gender norms continue to view athletics as a predominantly man-centric activity. I argue the case of the former D1 college athlete serves as an appropriate site to explore the ways in which people use or reject social practices previously learned in an overarchingly masculine institution as they navigate the contexts surrounding work and sport in their lives today.Item PERINATAL LOSS – BEREAVEMENT CARE EXPERIENCES OF INDIANA WOMEN AND HEALTH PROVIDER PERSPECTIVES([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-08) Jackson, Frederica; Obeng, Cecilia S.Background: Perinatal bereavement care after a miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal death is understudied in Indiana. The aims of this dissertation study were five-fold: (1) to understand perinatal bereavement care experiences of Marion County, IN women, (2) to examine how women’s participation in a peer support program impacts their journey with loss, (3) to collect bereaved women’s recommendations for improving existing bereavement care in Indiana, (4) to identify provider-reported challenges and gaps in perinatal bereavement care, and (5) to collect health provider’s recommendations to improve perinatal bereavement care in Indiana. Methods: Adopting a critical theoretical framework, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 bereaved women and 8 perinatal bereavement nurses. Using a phenomenological approach, interview transcripts were coded, analyzed, and organized into categories and themes. Results: Bereavement care experiences vary depending on the facility where the loss occurred, and the availability of a bereavement nurse. Widespread disparities in bereavement care for early term miscarriage persists, while attitudes of hospital staff continue to affect women’s emotional health. Support group participation impacts women positively through finding healing and purpose in their loss. Women recommend bereavement as a standard of care across Indiana birthing facilities, mandatory bereavement training for health professionals, robust follow-up care and mental health support for bereaved parents, and comprehensive lactation education for women who experience late to full term loss. Providers face challenges following up with patients, providing care to families as a result of financial barriers, and encounter language and cultural difficulties when serving immigrant and refugee groups. Providers recommend creating more community-based and culturally inclusive bereavement resources, and increased financial support for loss families. Conclusion: Future programs to improve perinatal bereavement care in Indiana must consider the experiences of bereaved parents and the recommendations made by women and health providers when designing interventions for this underserved group.Item SILENTLY FINDING THE FULCRUM: TIPPING THE GENDER BALANCE IN THE AMERICAN TURNERS TURNVEREIN MOVEMENT([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-05) Hamilton, Holly H.During much of the nineteenth century the flow of European immigrants to the United States was dominated by those of German origin. Among them were many Turner (gymnasts) who were political exiles from the 1848-1849 Revolutions and facing imprisonment in Germany for revolutionary activities. In 1848 the first Turnverein (gymnastic society) was founded by Turners who had settled in Cincinnati. Turner societies were established mostly in larger cities east of the Mississippi where Turnplätze (outdoor grounds) were erected or Turnhallen (gymnasiums) were built to accommodate Turnen (gymnastics). In 1866 the Turners established a Turnlehrerseminar (Turner Normal College) to train gymnastics teachers and successfully lobbied to introduce Turnen and physical education in the public schools. Membership in a Turnverein was limited to men, yet as early as 1857 girls and women were encouraged to participate in Turnen. Even though women were denied membership and the privileges it afforded, by the early twentieth century Turnen had been transformed from a predominantly male activity to one dominated by females. The primary aim of this project is to explain why females were able to thrive corporeally in the male-dominated Turnverein environment. The Turners maintained annual statistics which are used to provide evidence of greater participation levels by females than males, and convention meeting minutes expose how and why the membership did not support women's rights or women as Turnverein members. Females were able to thrive because the Turner constitution stated its commitment to developing strong and healthy individuals. The Turners chose to integrate females into the Turnen ranks, rather than limiting their classes to males. Because females had access to physical spaces like the Turnhalle, they were able to leverage the agency of the body in pursuit of Turnen. Women were able to go to school, become gymnastic or physical education teachers, and be independent. Locating female corporeal empowerment, especially in a male- dominated environment, is vital for countering oppression. Hopefully, the Turners' contributions to gymnastics, physical education, and women's sports will be more fully recognized.Item FLASHES DE UM PASSADO PRESENTE: A FOTOGRAFIA E A MEMÓRIA DAS DITADURAS MILITARES BRASILEIRA E ARGENTINA NA PROSA LITERÁRIA DO SÉCULO XXI([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-08) de Oliveira e Silva Lemos, MarcelaNesta tese, investigo a écfrase enquanto recurso de inserção de fotografias em narrativas brasileiras e argentinas sobre o legado das ditaduras militares sul-americanas publicadas após 2011—em um contexto de crescentes disputas memoriais e polarização política—e classificadas como literatura de memória e/ou pós-memória. Baseando-me em um referencial teórico e crítico sobre fotografia, (pós-)memória, filosofia da história, intermidialidade e desconstrução, dirijo a um corpus literário composto por obras de Micheliny Verunschk, Marcia Tiburi, Claudia Lage, Paloma Vidal, Julián Fuks e Mariana Enriquez as questões: (1) que funções têm as fotografias ecfrásticas em cada obra? (2) Como essas funções corroboram ou retificam o papel atribuído à foto na popular estrutura de transmissão de memórias conhecida como pós-memória? (3) Que efeitos têm as fotografias ecfrásticas na leitura das narrativas em nível estrutural e diegético? (4) Considerando esses efeitos, que extrapolações se permitem sobre a relação entre a literatura e a memória de forma a contribuir para o entendimento da literatura de memória? Proponho inicialmente que, no corpus, a écfrase transpõe para o texto literário a instabilidade ontológica da fotografia e seu potencial vestigial e espectral. Pressuponho também a necessidade de se considerarem as especificidades do contexto sul-americano na utilização da pós-memória como enquadramento de produtos culturais sobre as ditaduras, bem como as dificuldades de se projetarem expectativas éticas atuais sobre essa literatura. O estudo do corpus confirma esse pressuposto e convida à reformulação da hipótese inicial. Ao revelar a estrutura fotográfica das narrativas brasileiras e argentinas e a utilização da écfrase nessas narrativas como figuração de processos de resistência, deslocamento e arruinamento da representação, a análise evidencia que os momentos ecfrásticos e as fotos (d)escritas simbolizam, ou ainda, ressaltam que aquela instabilidade ontológica e aquele potencial vestigial e espectral já habitam tanto a fotografia quanto a escrita. Ao formular o papel das fotos ecfrásticas e refletir sobre suas implicações para a literatura de memória, esta tese reforça a noção de que uma estrutura de transmissão de memórias em produtos culturais da América do Sul se caracterizaria como antilogocêntrica e dispersa na esfera pública em vez de restrita à privada e familiar.Item FROM BATEY TO MARQUESINA: THE HISTORY, FORM, AND USE OF THE CARPORT IN PUERTO RICO([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-07) Colom Braña, Gloria M.; Jackson, Jason BairdThis project examines the cultural practices enacted within carports in Puerto Rico, specifically how these have been transferred from the packed earth batey in front of the house, to the modernist space associated with car storage. The research interweaves material culture, geography, and folkloristic ethnography to gain a more complete concept of how vernacular architecture continues to develop in Puerto Rico. This work takes into account the Puerto Rico’s historic relationship to the United States and the contemporary economic, social, and political realities. I traveled to Puerto Rico during the summers and fall over various years, performing a building survey of single-family houses throughout the municipality of Arecibo, archival research, interviews, an online survey, ethnographic observations, and autoethnographic reflections. The introductory chapter presents the research context, theoretical framing, and methodology along with a chapter breakdown. The rest of the dissertation is dedicated to presenting (1) the historical context of how the carport became endemic in Puerto Rico as part of overarching changes throughout Puerto Rico, with the socio-cultural impact; (2) taking a closer look at the carport as a space within the Puerto Rican house, its different materials and components, the relationship of each part to the other, and what these say about contemporary Puerto Rican houses; (3) an analysis of the social and cultural engagements within carports, ranging from daily interactions to life major life events, and how people’s relationship to the carport is changing due to climate, political, and economic changes occurring in Puerto Rico. This project contributes to folklore studies by researching uses of space that have not been previously studied, and within these spaces, seeking the contemporary adaptations of traditional interactions in modernist spaces, in such a way that can be compared to other case studies throughout the world.Item IDENTITY AND CODE-SWITCHING: A SOCIOPHONETIC STUDY OF BILINGUALS OF MEXICAN HERITAGE([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-07) Colina-Marin, Andreina Isabel; Díaz-Campos, Manuel, Ph.D.The objective of the present study is to analyze word-initial voice onset time (VOT) in the context of code-switching (CS). More specifically, this study combines research methods from sociolinguistics and phonetics to investigate how 32 heritage Spanish speakers (HSSs) of Mexican descent, living in Indiana, produce VOT for /p t k/ in word-initial stops in CS contexts. There is a scarcity of work in his area and by adopting a sociophonetic approach the investigation provides new insights into the phonological system of bilingual speakers. The methodology included four tasks: a demographic and language attitudes questionnaire, a reading task, an image naming task, and an opinion task. A total of 4,608 tokens were analyzed, for which several crosstabulations and logistic regressions were run in R. Participants’ VOT values were compared to their perceptions of their heritage identity, their language use, and their language attitudes. The present study advances the field of sociophonetics regarding the existing understanding of five main topics. First, it shows that for the community of heritage Spanish speakers that live in Indiana, the most relevant variable that predicts the type of VOT production seems to be switch direction. According to the results, switching to Spanish promotes shorter, Spanish-like VOT, and switching to English promotes longer, English-like VOT, supporting Bullock et al. (2006), Piccinini & Arvaniti (2015), Olson (2016), and Ronquest (2016). Second, the results show that there is a higher variability of VOT in the image naming task. Third, the results show that the amount of Spanish and CS used, as well as the languages spoken by the participants’ parents, are related to production. Fourth, the results indicate that participants’ attitudes toward CS are mostly neutral in Indiana, and they are not related to VOT. Lastly, the results show that the higher use of CS, as part of translanguaging, does not hinder the resemblance of phonetic production of /p t k/ VOT to monolingual parameters. The results suggest that the use of CS as part of the pedagogical approach of translanguaging in the classroom may be beneficial.Item NEGOTIATING GENDER ACCOUNTABILITY ACROSS CONTEXTS: THE CASE OF THE FORMER COLLEGE ATHLETE([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-07) Russian, Anna Elyse Acosta; Cha, Youngjoo, Ph.D.The purpose of this dissertation is to uncover the nuanced ways individuals make sense of shifting gender accountability norms as they transition out of a unique social context and into broader U.S. society. This dissertation examines how 84 former Division I college athletes use the socialization they acquired through college sport in their lives once they are no longer student-athletes. I ask: When is being a former college athlete utilized as an asset, and when is it seen as a liability? How does race and gender impact these choices? I use the case study of former Division I college athletes to investigate three key things. First, to explore how women and men translate the skillset acquired in the previous context of college athletics to their current workplace context that associates such skills with the masculine-typed ideal worker image. Second, to uncover the degree to which women and men can use a gendered status marker to their advantage at work. Third, to explore the extent to which broader cultural gender norms impede or facilitate the maintenance of one’s athletic identity—a social identity cultivated and rewarded by all genders in the college athletics context, still seen as masculine by broader U.S. society. Results show all former student-athletes use the social skills learned through college athletics in their work life today, but men can benefit from these skills to a greater degree than women because they more directly embody the ideal worker image. Respondents are more likely to use their college athlete credential in workplace contexts that share similar values and norms as college athletics. These workplace contexts are more likely to be predominantly white and men-dominated spaces than not. Thus, unsurprisingly, white men were more likely than Black men and Black and White women to use their athlete credential to their advantage at work. Furthermore, I find men have a smoother transition to recreational sporting life than women because broader gender norms continue to view athletics as a predominantly man-centric activity. I argue the case of the former D1 college athlete serves as an appropriate site to explore the ways in which people use or reject social practices previously learned in an overarchingly masculine institution as they navigate the contexts surrounding work and sport in their lives today.Item THRIVING OR SURVIVING IN NEW YORK CITY: THE BLACK TEACHER EXPERIENCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-06) Hawkins, Jasmine N.; Danns, Dionne, Ph.D.This study aims to explore the experiences of Black teachers in New York City within the context of neoliberal urban reforms. It seeks to understand how these teachers articulate their ideas of freedom in the classroom and how neoliberal policies such as gentrification and accountability affect their experiences. By centering the voices and experiences of Black teachers, the study aims to shed light on the complex relationship between race, economics, and liberation, ultimately informing policy and systemic solutions informed by their insights. The literature on Black teachers in both the North and South regions, spanning historical and contemporary contexts, reveals systemic challenges rooted in racial and economic policies. These issues, historically known as slavery and Jim Crow, have evolved into contemporary manifestations under neoliberalism. Neoliberal ideologies exacerbate disparities for Black educators, leading to displacement, job insecurity, and underrepresentation. Prioritizing market-oriented approaches in education exacerbates inequalities and weakens community connections. Gentrification worsens these challenges by displacing long-time residents, including Black teachers, favoring corporate interest over community needs and wants. The study’s framework integrates Critical Race Theory (CRT) with an emancipatory perspective, emphasizing legal, subjective, and socio-economic liberation to understand the experiences of Black teachers in New York City. Drawing from CRT’s focus on normalizing racism and storytelling, the study aims to illuminate the complexities of racism and liberation. The methodology employs qualitative research techniques, primarily in-depth interviews, to capture the diverse voices within the Black teaching community. Sixteen teachers were interviewed. The findings reveal Black teachers’ deep commitment to teaching as a contribution to liberation, emphasizing the importance of representation in schools for both students and educators. Despite challenges such as affordable housing and accountability, Black teachers aspire to go beyond mere survival, seeking authentic representation, connection, and leadership opportunities within educational institutions. Addressing the challenges faced by Black teachers requires transformative approaches that center their voices and experiences, challenge systemic inequalities perpetuated by neoliberalism, and prioritize equity, justice, and empowerment.Item BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE RHOTIC VARIATION AND DELETION IN SALVADOR AND SÃO PAULO([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-05) Jagiella, Francis Edward III; de Jong, Kenneth, Ph,D.Brazilian Portuguese has two rhotic phonemes: the alveolar flap /ɾ/ and the historically long version which previous publications variously call velar, uvular, or glottal fricatives, or alveolar trills or approximants. This variation occurs both within and across dialects. Deletion is also common, most notably in word-final position. This word-final deletion has been attributed to African influences on Brazilian Portuguese. Salvador is the largest Brazilian city with a population predominantly self-identified as being of African descent (Brazilian census categories preto “black” and pardo “brown” or “mixed race”). Given these factors, there is a question of how race may be tied to deletion of the rhotic in this variety. For this dissertation, 35 participants (self-identified as 21 preto, 6 pardo, 7 white, 1 indigenous) from Salvador were recorded reading predetermined stimuli of isolated words and sentences. Additionally, 10 participants (1 preto, 3 pardo, 6 white) from São Paulo were recorded and demographically matched to a subset of participants from Salvador. There are 6,383 total instances of the rhotic phoneme. Productions were classified as exhibiting deletion or for voicing, frication, flapping, and place characteristics. The results indicate that the surface forms of the phoneme are more variable than previously cited, with palatal fricatives common in Salvador and flap + fricative variants common in São Paulo, along with other less frequent forms. Furthermore, participants identifying as preto or pardo delete the phoneme more frequently than those identifying as white. This difference is further complicated by the fact that most Brazilians, regardless of identification, have a mix of African, Indigenous American, and European ancestry, and a lack of consistent classification of individuals into racial categories. In Salvador, glottal fricatives predominate across the board with higher deletion rates. In São Paulo, glottal fricatives predominate in onset position, but alveolar trills and approximants and flap + fricative variants predominate in coda position. When demographically matched for race, age, gender, and socioeconomic class, deletion rates are higher in Salvador, suggesting that African influences are stronger there than São Paulo. Deletion is the most common word-finally, but it occurs in all environments.Item EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE OF BIOMETRIC APPROACHES FOR VERIFICATION AND MONITORING IN COMMERCIAL FOREST CARBON ACCOUNTING([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-05) Cala Suarez, Daniela; Novick, Kimberly, Ph.D.Of the strategies to increase land carbon storage and avoid GHG emissions through natural ecosystem management, Forest-based Climate Solutions (FbCS) are believed to offer the greatest mitigation potential. As more funds are allocated towards FbCS deployment, questions arise regarding their actual mitigation potential and the extent to which status-quo approaches can quantify or verify the FbCS efficiency. Carbon accounting methodologies currently attribute climate benefits to projects whose ex-ante change in aboveground biomass stocks is expected to be additional to a business-as-usual static carbon baseline derived from forest inventories and species-specific allometric models. However, stock-centric carbon baselines fail to capture all carbon sources and sinks, and dynamic meteorological conditions drive carbon uptake and forest growth. A combination of high temporal and spatial resolution monitoring of land-atmosphere carbon fluxes (flux towers) and stand-level biometric approaches (increment cores and forest inventories) provides a better understanding of the movement (or flux) and storage of CO2 between ecosystems and the atmosphere from which the net ecosystem productivity (NEP) is estimated. Thus, performing an intercomparison of NEP estimates from flux towers (NEPEC) versus biometric methods (NEPBM) provides a unique opportunity to evaluate the performance of static carbon baselines in response to interannual climate variability on tree growth. Here, we performed static carbon baseline scenarios from a forest inventory approach in three flux sites in the Eastern United States. Carbon stock-centric baselines were confronted with flux tower data from those AmeriFlux sites and tree rings data to assess the representativeness of interannual climate variability on tree growth. Differences in magnitude between NEPEC and NEPBM were sensitive to variations in meteorological conditions, tree species composition, stand age, and biases in allometric equations. Furthermore, NEPEC and NEPBM estimates show a weak correlation over time, with tower-derived estimates averaging 28% to 71% higher than those derived from biometric methods. This study highlights the representativeness of temporal variability in static carbon baselines, and the research needs to evaluate and assess the performance of allometric equations for commercial carbon accounting.Item Observations and theories: cognitive mechanisms of discovery([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-05) Dubova, Marina; Goldstone, Robert L.This dissertation research lies at the intersection of cognitive science, psychology, machine learning, and philosophy, aiming to enhance our understanding of how theories and data are—and should be—integrated to arrive at understandings of the world. In the first part, I empirically examine how our everyday concepts and theories shape our perception of the world. I further investigate the impact of scientific conceptual systems, such as the taxonomy of brain regions, on scientific experimentation. I conclude this part by conducting a computational study examining the effectiveness of different theory-motivated experimentation strategies at guiding agents towards useful theories of the world. In the second part, I explore the construction of theories based on observations, emphasizing the human and scientific bias towards relatively simple representations. I critique this preference for simpler accounts and introduce the concept of learning with excess capacity, or a complexity bias, as an alternative approach that allows learning systems to develop useful representations of the world in many contexts. Then, I build on this insight to re-examine the principle of model parsimony in science, identifying contexts where the preference for simpler scientific models could either facilitate or impede scientific progress. The third part broadens the scope by analyzing social aspects that influence the emergence and evolution of useful concepts in a community of interacting agents. Here, I identify the conditions that promote the development of stable communicative conventions, including the role of social network structure, supervision, and the strategy of starting small and gradually expanding one’s vocabulary. Finally, in part four I reflect on the mutual interactions between concepts and observations in science by drawing insights from empirical research on human concept learning and conceptual influences on human perception. I conclude by suggesting that progress in science can be facilitated by both empirical (with psychological experiments) and formal (with mathematical and computational models) examinations of the cognitive processes of observing and representing the world.Item QUEER EXPERIENCES IN HISTORICALLY WHITE FRATERNITIES: A NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO THE LIVES OF GAY AND BISEXUAL FRATERNITY MEN([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-05) Dominguez, Anthony Michael; LePeau, Lucy, Ph.D.Queer students have been notably absent in qualitative studies involving historically White fraternities (HWFs). To address this gap and work toward a more inclusive representation of diverse identities within HWFs, it is essential to understand the challenges and opportunities that impact the experiences of current Queer members within these social structures. Consequently, this dissertation aimed to investigate the experiences of Gay and Bisexual members in HWFs and assess the progress made in accepting and including members whose identities extend beyond the hegemonic masculine norm. This study places particular emphasis on how Gay and Bisexual members derive meaning from their experiences within HWFs and how these experiences contribute to their understanding of their own identity. The study is underpinned by two theoretical frameworks, including gender order theory, which examines the various forms of oppression faced by all, and inclusive masculinity theory, which argues that embracing diverse forms of masculinity promotes healthier relationships. While employing narrative inquiry with a critical epistemological approach, I recruited each participant to join in one to two individual semi-structured interviews. In these interviews, they shared their experiences in their fraternity chapters at a Southern research-intensive institution and connected these experiences with their perceptions of fraternity culture, homophobia, and masculinity. Seeking to answer if Gay and Bisexual students join HWFs, why, if fraternity environments influence identity formation, and how fraternity membership informs ideas of masculinity, I discovered four key themes from the research data. These themes shed light on how participants navigate the homophobic and heteronormative structure of HWFs, how they shape their identities within HWFs, how these environments develop their multiple intersecting identities, and how Gay and Bisexual members in HWFs engage in performative masculinity. The implications of this research for future studies and higher education practice stress the importance of research, training, and assessment in matters concerning Queer students by professionals in fraternity and sorority life. This approach aims to facilitate the inclusion of various identities within HWF communities.Item MIGRATION, ETHNOGENESIS AND TRADITION. ZAPOTEC URBAN ORGANIZATION IN POSTCLASSIC GUIENGOLA, TEHUANTEPEC, OAXACA([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-05) Ramón Celis, Pedro Guillermo; King, Stacie M., Ph.D.This project determined how and why Zapotec commoners accompanied elites in building new urban spaces outside their traditional home region of the highland Central Valleys of Oaxaca. Most research on the Postclassic Zapotec migration from the Central Valleys to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec has relied heavily on ethnohistoric documents that focus on the lives of nobles to understand sociopolitical dynamics. Consequently, the 13th-15th century Zapotec migration has been interpreted as the outcome of ongoing struggles and competition among elites, which portrays the non-elite Zapotecs who accompanied them as blind followers of their rulers’ political desires. The study focuses on the distribution and variability of residential architecture and material assemblages in different site zones. Detailed records on archaeological artifacts and the urban layout of the site provide the data necessary for drawing comparisons between Guiengola and other Zapotec sites, especially those in the highland Central Valleys from which the Zapotecs who lived in Guiengola may have traveled. Additionally, these data consider how the settlement differs from highland Zapotec sites and other Zapotec sites in the Isthmus in terms of the adoption or changes in everyday practices within this new environment. Finally, this research looks to encompass ethical field methods that address the relevance of Guiengola as a sacred landscape for the descendant population of Santo Domingo Tehuantepec. This research considers questions and inquiries that members from the town, especially from the Comisariado de Bienes Comunales de Lieza, landowners of the archaeological site and the mountain of Guiengola, have shared and expressed. The community has expressed significant concerns about the impact and consequences of extracting archaeological materials from their lands. This project shows how archaeological research can be improved if researchers incorporate local knowledge, respect protocols to retrieve resources from the mountain, and take community concerns into account as part of ethical scientific practice. This research shows that the use of cutting-edge technology such as LiDAR scanning or photogrammetry are not impediments for ethical research as long as there is a transparent process of consultation with the descendant communities that continue to have sacred connections with their cultural heritage sites.Item Changes in Running Gait Biomechanics Under Heat Stress([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-05) Chien, Kai-Wen; Gruber, Allison H, Ph.D.Millions of Americans regularly participate in outdoor physical activity for exercise (Statista, 2022). Running is one of the most common and popular exercises because of its accessibility and health benefits (Nystoriak & Bhatnagar, 2018). Part of running’s appeal is that it can be done nearly anywhere outdoors. Furthermore, running is a significant component to many popular sports performed outdoors including football, soccer, and many other organized and unorganized physical activities. Many organized and unorganized activities involving running and international sporting competitions are held during the summer (Fields et al., 2010). However, the hot and humid weather during summer months in many regions of the United States and worldwide makes outdoor physical activity challenging and potentially dangerous because of an increased risk for heat stress injury (Nichols, 2014). The mean global temperature in 2020 was 1.2ºC greater than the temperature during 1850-1990 (World Meteorological Organization, 2021). With sufficient exposure, exercise in hot and humid conditions poses serious health risks of heat-related illnesses, such as heatstroke which can be fatal (Bergeron, 2014). According to the US Natural Hazard Statistic report, heat is the leading cause of weather-related fatalities in the United States (The U.S. Natural Hazard Statistics, 2022). The growing effects of global climate change exacerbate the risk for heat stress injury, which makes heat stress an inevitable problem that must be overcome by elite runners and recreational athletes alike. Running and exercising in hot and humid conditions will result in physiological changes detrimental to physical performance and accelerate the occurrence of fatigue (Dill et al., 1931; Febbraio et al., 1996; Galloway & Maughan, 1995). Prolonged exercise in the heat is associated with elevated body core temperature, decreased maximal aerobic metabolic rates, and increased rates of body water loss due to sweating (Périard et al., 2021). Combined, these physiological changes and responses to exercising in the heat can reduce performance and increase perceived exertion levels compared to exercising in cold or moderate temperatures (James et al., 2017; Tatterson et al., 2000). These physiological changes are similar to the changes experienced during prolonged exercise under controlled environmental conditions, but heat exposure accelerates the rate and severity of these changes (Tatterson et al., 2000). The physiological effects of exercising under heat stress conditions likely cause functional movement changes such as altered gait biomechanics. Previous studies have primarily focused on characterizing biomechanical changes under heat stress conditions during movements such as walking lifting, striking, and pulling (Hostler et al., 2021) or investigated how footwear mechanical properties change in hot environments (Dib et al., 2005). A study investigating the relationship between running biomechanics and core temperature revealed significant increases in kinetics, such as shock, impact, and braking segmental acceleration, as well as in runners' core temperature throughout the outdoor race completed when the heat index ranged from 21–42ºC (DeJong Lempke et al., 2024). Furthermore, another study has indicated that heat stress could impair proprioception, although it also suggests that heat stress may not affect foot strike angle at initial contact. However, the lack of observed gait changes may be attributed to the fact that participants in this study were able to freely adjust their paces in both hot and control conditions, ultimately resulting in different pace and perceived exertion levels between conditions. Overall, these studies found that human movements can be affected by heat stress (Demura et al., 2010; Hostler et al., 2021). Based on this research, it can be assumed that heat stress potentially impacts running gait biomechanics. However, no studies to date have documented these changes in athletes or recreationally active individuals while running at the same pace and perceived exertion. It is particularly important to study alterations in gait biomechanics while exercising in the heat because alterations in gait due to fatigue are hypothesized to increase the risk of developing musculoskeletal injury (Winter et al., 2016). For example, prolonged running under controlled environmental conditions alters gait mechanics, such as increased foot eversion and dorsiflexion at initial contact (Urbaczka et al., 2022), which may be related to overuse injury development (Powers et al., 1995). Additionally, changes to footwear mechanical properties may affect the ability of the shock absorption of a shoe (Dib et al., 2005; Kinoshita & Bates, 1996), and thus may further exacerbate heat- and fatigue-related changes in gait. Given that the physiological response to heat stress is similar to but more severe than the physiological response to prolonged exercise (Tatterson et al., 2000), running under heat stress may result in larger alterations of runners’ movement that occur earlier during a run and thereby contribute to the risk of developing a running-related musculoskeletal injury.Item “DOING IT” DIFFERENTLY? NARRATING AND NAVIGATING AUTISTIC SEXUAL DESIRE([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-05) Kizer, James Samuel; Wu, Cynthia, Ph.D.This dissertation examines how Autistic college students conceptualize and perform sexual activities and expressions. Scholarly interest in Autistic sexuality has historically been relegated to quantitative studies on childhood and adolescence. From 2000-2022, only 18 of 741 such studies analyzed the sexual behaviors and motivations of Autistic adults, and fewer than half of those were qualitative. A majority of these also did not incorporate Autistic people into the study design. My project addresses these oversights by centering Autistic voices in research about their lived experiences with sex and sexuality. Drawing upon data from twelve semi-structured indepth interviews with Autistic college students around the United States, I argue that Autistic young adults develop notions of intimacy, temporality, and space that are uniquely theirs. Collectively, they form the foundation of a process I label “sexual logistics,” or the ways that Autists negotiate sexual activities and desires. I propose neuropleasure as a theoretical inroad towards understanding these sexual logistics in context. Broadly conceived, neuropleasure explicitly describes how Autists always and already perform sexuality in public and private, even if those performances go unrecognized by others. The theory is comprised of discrete yet tightly interwoven tenets that, when examined holistically, demonstrate how sexual logistics are pluralistic and unfixed, contingent upon their social context, and open to contestation and how these negotiations occur at individual, relational, and communal levels. In short, neuropleasure is a paradigmatic constellation of Autistic sexual desires, motivations, and practices. This framework is uniquely Autistic but can—and should—be applied broadly to expand our understandings of desire, pleasure, fulfillment, and even sex itself.Item THE HADZA LANGUAGE: VITALITY, PHONETICS, AND PHONOLOGY([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-05) Coburn, Jeremy Richard; Berkson, Kelly, Ph.D.Hadza is a language isolate spoken by approximately 1,500–2,000 people in the Lake Eyasi area of north-central Tanzania. Hadza is widely known for its robust inventory of typologically uncommon speech sounds, e.g., clicks, ejectives, and lateral obstruents. The linguistic literature on Hadza is marked by discrepancies on basic components of the sound inventory, including the number of phonemic consonants, the nature of phonological contrasts, and the role of tone. Based on primary linguistic data collected during nine months of fieldwork with Hadza speakers in Tanzania in 2022 and cutting-edge 3D/4D ultrasound data collected with a Hadza speaker in a speech laboratory in 2020, this dissertation offers a current, empirically-based description and analysis of aspects of the phonetics and phonology of Hadza. In particular, the temporal characteristics of laryngeal contrasts in obstruents (i.e., aspiration and glottalization) and a phonemic vowel length distinction are investigated with acoustic data. The description of Hadza vowels and select consonants (e.g., clicks) is augmented with articulatory information using ultrasound data. A systematic analysis of the tone system, including basic contrasts and interesting tonal processes, is also developed. This tone analysis highlights typologically unusual phenomena prevalent in the Hadza tone system. Additionally, this dissertation provides a contemporary assessment of Hadza language vitality based on ethnographic participant observation and unstructured interviews in numerous Hadza communities. This research addresses discrepancies which pervaded the literature, contributes to the typological literature on laryngeal systems and tonal phenomena, and calls attention to the endangered status of Hadza in contemporary Hadza communities.Item KANT’S DOCTRINE OF TRANSCENDENTAL IDEALISM([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-04) Buchinski, Alexander; Wood, Allen, Ph.D.My dissertation proposes a novel interpretation of Kant’s doctrine of transcendental idealism as presented in the Critique of Pure Reason. I aim to give a consensus interpretation by overcoming past errors in interpreting this doctrine. I support my interpretation through a textual exegesis of the Critique of Pure Reason with a special focus on the direct and indirect proofs of transcendental idealism. Transcendental idealism is the doctrine that objects of our experience, space, and time, when taken as they would be outside our possible experience, are nothing but mere representations. However, this does not make them into illusions. This is because Kant takes objects of our experience, space, and time to be empirically real. Empirical realism is the doctrine that objects of our experience, space, and time, when taken within our possible experience, exist independently of us. Yet, their empirical reality is not grounded in things in themselves, about whose existence Kant is agnostic. Instead, the reality of objects of our experience, space, and time depend on a standard of empirical reality that differs from the standard of transcendental reality. This separate standard of empirical reality allows Kant to hold transcendental idealism and empirical realism at the same time. Finally, while not strictly part of the doctrine of transcendental idealism, I answer the question of the relation of appearances and things in themselves. The distinction between appearances and things in themselves is a metaphysical distinction between two different ways of being, i.e., objectivity, properties, existence, reality. Yet, this is a metaphysical distinction within the same concept of an object. Thus, appearances and things in themselves are the same object conceptually that is determined metaphysically in two different ways.Item CONSTITUTING THE DEMOS: CONSTITUTIONALISM, CONSTITUENT POWER, AND THE ARTICULATION OF DEMOCRATIC BOUNDARIES([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-01) Briedis, Rafael Bruno Macía; Williams, Susan, J.D.This dissertation develops a critique of the theory of “constituent power” and of its incorporation into our understanding of constitutional democracy. The theory of constituent power argues that, in a democracy, the people always retain the power to alter or replace their constitutional regime regardless of the constitution’s amendment procedures. Because of its democratic appeal, this theory has been adopted by constitutional scholars and adjudicators interested in reinforcing the link between constitutionalism and popular sovereignty. Through a case-study of revolutionary constitution-making in Venezuela, however, this dissertation looks at the more troubling implication of attributing to “the people” a constituent power that exists beyond the reach of constitutional norms. In dialogue with theorists writing on the relationship between law and democracy, it argues that any allegedly “popular” exercise of extraconstitutional lawmaking requires the intervention of a self-authorized “representative” with the power to arbitrarily decide whether (and in what sense) “the people” have spoken. It is through this power-grounded, heteronomous intervention—which allows us to definitely ascertain who gets to participate (and how) in the process of constituent will-formation—that the people are then constituted as a constitution-authorizing unity. In contrast to this “constituent” mode of democracy, the dissertation proposes a view of constitutionalism as rendering “the people” independent from ad-hoc mediation by those in power. By projecting into the future a set of stable and legible norms of democratic belonging and participation, constitutional democracy transforms the demos into a “substantiated” agent whose participants can know themselves such (and know their mode of participation) prior to the act of identification of the popular will. The dissertation then studies how this unique democratic function (along with the very integrity of the constitutional framework) can be fundamentally undermined whenever the theory of constituent power is turned into a principle of constitutional design and interpretation. It concludes by proposing the constitutional codification of participatory reform clauses as a way of preempting the recourse to constituent extraconstitutionality during times of constitutional upheaval.