Matching Items (38)
Description
This study explores the ways in which LGBTQ young adults describe the aspects of their identities, and how those identities shape their service needs and experiences. A participatory action research component was explored as a research and service approach that is sensitive to LGBTQ young people living at the intersections of multiple identities. Although it is understood that LGBTQ young people come from a variety of backgrounds, research is limited in its understanding and exploration of how aspects of identity, such as race and class, influence the lives and service needs of this population. The data was collected through an initial set of interviews with fifteen LGBTQ-identified young adults ages 18 to 24. The interviewees were recruited from an LGBTQ youth-serving organization using a purposive sampling approach to reflect racial/ethnic and gender identity diversity. Following the interviews, eight of the participants engaged as co-researchers on a participatory action research (PAR) team for sixteen weeks. The process of this team's work was assessed through a reflective analysis to identify factors that impacted the participants' lives. Analysis of the interviews identified key themes related to identity among the LGBTQ young people. The interviewees experienced a multiplicity of identities that were both socially and individually constructed. These identities were impacted by their immediate and social environments. The young people also identified ways that they used their identities to influence their environments and enhance their own resilience. The service experiences and needs of the LGBTQ young people in this study were directly influenced by their multiple identities. Implications for intersectional approaches to serving this population are explored. Analysis of the PAR process identified four areas in which the young people were most impacted through their work and interactions with one another: relationships, communication, participation, and inclusion. Implications for research and service approaches with LGBTQ young people are discussed.
ContributorsWagaman, M. Alex (Author) / Segal, Elizabeth A. (Thesis advisor) / Adelman, Madelaine (Committee member) / Ayón, Cecilia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
For many adolescents, high school is a critical period of self-awareness, peer-influence, and identity construction. During this volatile period, young people explore how to express themselves in ways that range from conformity to non-conformity and transgression. This is particularly true when it comes to young people's understanding and expression of gender identity. For some youth, their personal form(s) of gender expression align neatly with social expectations; for others, it does not. When gender expression does not align with social expectations, students may be vulnerable to bullying or harassment by peers or adults. Often, youth who are policed and regulated by their classmates through bullying (or harassment, depending upon the relevant or implemented policy) are targeted based on their perceived identity, be that racial, ethnic, citizenship, or, most frequently, gender and sexuality. This project advances the need for research done from a critical youth studies perspective (both methodologically and ethically) and provides new insight into the types of language and practices used by youth to express, perform and "do" gender. Utilizing qualitative methodology, including participant observation, focus group and individual interviews, surveys, and the collection and content analysis of school ephemera, this research investigated how high school students navigate gender identity amidst other intersecting identities. This project examined how youth both "do" and "perform" gender in their everyday lives as high school students. Their gender identity is frequently understood amidst other intersecting identities, particularly sexual orientation, religion and race. These youth also pointed to several important influences in how they understand their own gender, and the gender identity of those around them, including media and peer groups. Because this research took place at two charter art schools, the findings also provided a framework for understanding how these two schools, and charter art schools more generally, provide alternative spaces for young people to experiment and play with their identity construction. Findings indicate that youth are forced to navigate and construct their gender identity amidst many conflicting and contradictory ideologies. Schools, media, and peer groups all heavily influence the way young people understand themselves.
ContributorsPrior, Sarah (Author) / Cavender, Gray (Thesis advisor) / Adelman, Madelaine (Thesis advisor) / Swadener, Beth Blue (Committee member) / Katsulis, Yasmina (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This study is based on 31 interviews conducted in 2012 with male, female, and transgender sex workers at the St. James Infirmary, a full-spectrum health clinic run by sex workers for sex workers, located in San Francisco, California. My primary goals were, first, to document the lived realities of a diverse range of sex workers who live and work in the San Francisco Bay Area, and, second, to understand the impact of sex work discourse on the facilitation of stigma toward the sex work community and, finally, how that stigma influences the sex worker group identity and individual identity constructions. My primary findings indicate that although sex work discourse has traditionally been constructed within the dominant public sphere and not by sex workers themselves, this discourse has a profound effect on creating and perpetuating the stigma associated with sex work. In turn, this stigma affects both how the group and how individuals construct their identities, often negatively. Alternatively, a benefit of stigma is that it can induce the production of counterpublics which facilitate the emergence of new discourse. However, for this new discourse to gain acceptance into the public sphere, activist organizations must utilize traditional (and sometimes unintentionally marginalizing) strategies that can impact both the identity construction of the group and of individuals within the group. Understanding these complex relationships is therefore essential to understanding how activist organizations, such as the St. James Infirmary, situate themselves within the larger dominant public sphere, their impact on sex work discourse, and their impact on individual sex worker identity construction.
ContributorsRead, Kathleen (Author) / Adams, Karen L (Thesis advisor) / Katsulis, Yasmina (Thesis advisor) / Adelman, Madelaine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Lakoff and Levinson claim they have discredited the theory of universal grammar. This dissertation discusses the possibility of a universal humor, suggesting that if universals exist in language's most playful and least rule-governed aspect then they must exist in grammar, language's least playful and most rule-governed aspect. Lakoff's and Levinson's texts are closely analyzed to demonstrate that their claims against Chomsky are not firmly supported; that their groundbreaking new theories of language, perception and cognition do not constitute data that undermines Chomskyan theory; that Levinson's theory of a universal mechanism for human interaction is no stronger than the the grammar universals that Levinson strongly rejects. It is suggested that the litmus test of culture-specific versus universal language may be its level of rhetorical density, as illustrated with humor and naming samples. It is argued that Fillmore's deep case theory, as explained by Nilsen using semantic features and pragmatic intent, has never lost its status as a linguistic universal; Chomsky's theoretical debt to Charles Fillmore may indicate that he unconsciously used Fillmore's deep case, which for Chomsky became thematic relations, without realizing that Fillmore had been the impetus for his research. It is argued that none of the theories of universality, typology or conceptual metaphor may be considered mutually exclusive.
ContributorsNathan, Sheri (Author) / Nilsen, Don L. F. (Thesis advisor) / Adams, Karen L (Committee member) / Nilsen, Alleen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Using a sociocultural framework, this dissertation investigated the writing processes of 31 ESL learners in an EAP context at a large North American university. The qualitative case study involved one of the four major writing assignments in a required first-year composition course for ESL students. Data were collected from four different sources: (a) A semi-structured interview with each participant, (b) process logs kept by participants for the entire duration of the writing assignment, (c) classroom observation notes, and (d) class materials. Findings that emerged through analyses of activity systems, an analytical framework within Vygotskian activity theory, indicate that L2 writers used various context-specific, social, and cultural affordances to accomplish the writing tasks. The study arrived at these findings by creating taxonomies of the six activity system elements - subject, tools, goals, division of labor, community, and rules - as they were realized by L2 writers, and examining the influence that these elements had in the process of composing. The analysis of data helped create categories of each of the six activity system elements. To illustrate with an example, the categories that emerged within the element division of labor were as follows: (a) Instructor, (b) friends and classmates, (c) writing center tutors, (d) family members, and (e) people in the world. The emergent categories for each of the six activity system elements were then examined to determine if their effects on L2 writing were positive or negative. Overall, the findings of the present study validate arguments related to the post-process views that an explanation of L2 writing processes solely based on cognitive perspectives provides but only a partial picture of how second language writing takes place. In order for a more comprehensive understanding of L2 writing one must also account for the various social and cultural factors that play critical roles in the production of L2 texts.
ContributorsBhowmik, Subrata Kumar (Author) / Adams, Karen L (Thesis advisor) / James, Mark A (Committee member) / Major, Roy C (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Extensive cross-linguistic data document a wide gamut of semantic and pragmatic uses of the diminutive that revolve around the fundamental concepts of `small' and `child'. As typical inventory of informal registers, diminutives are utilized as pragmatic markers of politeness in a wide range of contextual meanings. This dissertation is intended to fill some major gaps in the systematic and empirical research on the formation and pragmatic uses of the diminutives in Macedonian and to explore the role of diminutivization in a broader linguistic framework, by examining the consistency of the field of diminutives, the core and peripheral meanings of the diminutive, their typology, as well as their pragmatic potential. The morphology and pragmatics of the diminutive is examined by combining data from electronic and printed sources, video recordings of natural conversations, as well as from material collected from participant and non-participant observations. At the level of morphology, it is argued that three fundamental semantic constraints underlie the formation of diminutives: [-big], [+ emotional], and [+ informal]. Furthermore, it is shown how diminutive combinability is rule governed in Macedonian by proposing sets of formal constraints for all grades of diminutives. At the level of pragmatics, the pragmatic functions of the diminutives proper and the related periphrastic diminutive malku are investigated in a variety of contexts involving child-directed speech (CDS) and adult communication. By analyzing the pragmatic functions of the diminutive in a series of speech acts, and drawing upon cross-cultural interpretations suggested by Wierzbicka (1991), it is argued that, in Macedonian, social bonding, cordiality, intimacy or affection are pragmatically more salient than personal autonomy in the Anglo-Saxon societies, realized through non-imposition, tentativeness, or similar pragmatic strategies for saving face. Additionally, it is contended that there exist cultural differences in the assessment of the concept of imposition between these societies. The analyses of the pragmatic potential of the diminutive proper and the periphrastic diminutive 'malku' give rise to the claim that Macedonian culture is predominantly founded on the pragmatic principle of positive politeness.
ContributorsSpasovski, Lupco (Author) / Adams, Karen L (Thesis advisor) / Gelderen, Elly van (Committee member) / Sipka, Danko (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This dissertation examines the organizational discourse of business meetings in a Kuwaiti financial organization (Innovative Kuwait Co., pseudonym) and an American non-profit trade organization (Global Phoenix, pseudonym). Specifically, I explore the discourse and social identities, agency, and power used in staff members' task-oriented business meetings (Bargiela-Chiappini & Harris, 1997). The study is based on ethnographic business meetings data collected during eight months of fieldwork in 2010, 2011 and 2012. I used three major qualitative methodologies: observation, audio recording, and feedback focus group. In this study, I propose three research questions: 1) How does agency of staff members reflect membership in the corporate culture of an organization as a whole? 2) How is power used in relation to agency in business meetings? And 3) How are discourse and social identities of staff members enacted in business meetings? The analyses of ethnographic and fieldwork data demonstrate similar and different business linguistic behaviors in the two companies. In Innovative Kuwait Co., male managers are responsible for opening and closing the meetings. They also perform power by using language directives and suggestions directed to staff members. In contrast, female staff members in the Kuwaiti company participated insignificantly in meetings and produce more nonverbal cues. However, in one meeting, a female manager organized the discussion by controlling topics and giving directions. In Global Phoenix, female managers outnumber their male counterparts; therefore, agency, power, discourse, and social identities are performed differently. Female managers are responsible for opening and closing the meetings and for organizing the overall discussions. Additionally, female and male staff members participate equally and they interrupted their colleagues less frequently compared to staff members in Kuwait. Interestingly, American staff members laugh and joke more together than staff members in Kuwait. The findings of this dissertation will contribute to existing linguistic literature on business discourse and the examination of social meanings and structures in organizations, explaining how language shapes the actions and relationships of business staff members. This dissertation will also encourage business people to become mindful of the role of language and language training in developing and maintaining the corporate culture of their organizations.
ContributorsAlHaidari, Fatma M. (Author) / Adams, Karen L (Thesis advisor) / Prior, Matthew (Committee member) / Broome, Benjamin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This dissertation considers how adolescent identity is constructed and represented in commercial musical theatre for youth (e.g. Broadway and Disney Theatrical Group) by examining two commercial productions with adolescents in lead roles--Spring Awakening and Disney's High School Musical. My theoretical framework is intersectionality which creates a foundation for my research within the field of childhood studies, gender studies, and performance studies to illuminate current US American trends in youth oriented art and research. My framework extends into a case study methodology exploring the world of childhood and youth sexuality through a close read of the popular Broadway musical adaptation, Spring Awakening. In addition, a second investigation chronicles the world of Disney's High School Musical through my own intersectional tool, the Disney Industrial Complex. I claim that adolescence, as a constructed identity, exists as a multi-faceted intersectional category composed of multiple and conflicting intersections such as gender, race, sex, ethnicity, and so on. These intersections develop over the course of the period known as "adolescence" and "youth." The goal of this dissertation is to serve as a reference for other theatre educators and their work with young people creating art.
ContributorsBliznik, Sean J (Author) / Etheridge-Woodson, Stephani (Thesis advisor) / Saldana, Johnny (Committee member) / Adelman, Madelaine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
In spite of numerous legal interventions and a fairly strong legal capacity compared to other neighboring countries, Zimbabwean law enforcement and judiciary have failed to overcome Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). This research examines the role of customary law in the continued prevalence of IPV among Zimbabwean women, particularly, the subtle ways in which customary law legitimates the ideals of patriarchal domination in the communal and legal handling of IPV cases. The study utilized qualitative methodology in the form of structured interviews as well as pre-interview questionnaires. Eighteen women who identified as IPV survivors or victims were recruited using snowball sampling method whereby each person interviewed was asked to suggest additional people who were either present victims or survivors of IPV. Five lawyers from Chinhoyi, ten lawyers from Harare, ten police officers from Chinhoyi and ten police officers from Harare were identified using judgement or purposive sampling where subjects are chosen due to availability. The research established that IPV is a way in which abusers exercise their assumed patriarchal rights over women. Likewise, police officers are also influenced by attitudes and mentalities acquired from customary law in the way they handle IPV cases which resultantly leads to secondary victimization of IPV victims. The research concluded that much work still needs to be done by the judiciary, law enforcement and the community to combat the prevalence of IPV in Zimbabwe.
ContributorsMarekera, Shantel (Author) / Durfee, Alesha (Thesis advisor) / Adelman, Madelaine (Committee member) / Kittilson, Miki (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Relevant literature was analyzed alongside interview data from participants concerning issues of anti-Semitism, Israel affiliation, and Jewish identity. Qualitative coding and theme identification were used to determine possible relationships among the variables, with special attention to the role anti-Semitism plays in influencing Israel affiliation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 9 young American Jews (18-24) currently enrolled as undergraduate students in universities. The results revealed that continuity of the Jewish people is a core value for many American Jews. Anti-Semitism is often under reported by young American Jews, but for some anti-Israel sentiments are conflated with anti-Semitism. It was also observed that knowledge of anti-Semitism plays an integral role in shaping Jewish identity. Finally, it was found that Israel affiliation polarizes the Jewish community, often resulting in the exclusion of left-leaning Jews from the mainstream Jewish community. These results were analyzed within racial, social, and political frameworks.
ContributorsHobbs, Emma Caroline (Author) / Adelman, Madelaine (Thesis advisor) / Shabazz, Rashad (Committee member) / Cohen, Adam (Committee member) / Langille, Timothy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018