Examining Shifts in Group-Based Motivations for Civil Conflicts in Libya

This study examines shifting group alignments in Libya from 2011 to 2019, exploring their impact on continued conflict. Following up on our original research into group bonding among insurgents during the 2011 revolution, we conducted two surveys in Benghazi: first in 2015, during the aftermath of Operation Dignity, and again in 2019, as General Khalifa Haftar’s forces waged war against Tripoli. Our results show that the previously very strong group bonds with 2011 revolutionary fighters had dissipated by 2015, replaced by allegiance to Haftar’s militias. By 2019, this alignment extended to Haftar himself, reinforcing an “us versus them” mentality that fueled intra-state violence. Our findings highlight how shifts in strong forms of group alignment can both reflect and drive political fragmentation, with profound implications for Libya’s governance and peace prospects. More broadly, our findings contribute to the study of how group loyalties shape and sustain civil conflicts, offering insight into the psychological mechanisms underlying failed state dynamics

Weathering Inequality: The Belief-Action Gap and Barriers to Everyday Climate Adaptation

As climate threats become more frequent and intense, the need for preparedness and adaptation has become an urgent, rather than distant, priority. Longstanding structural inequities, including redlining, economic exclusion, and racialized labor segmentation, have disproportionately exposed low-income and racialized communities to environmental hazards. Among these groups, Latinos, one of the fastest-growing populations in the United States, face heightened vulnerability to climate risks. This dissertation examines the climate belief-action gap and structural barriers to individual and household climate adaptation across racial and ethnic groups, focusing on Latino communities in the United States. It is structured into three empirical chapters, moving from macro-level theoretical and statistical validation using survey data to comparative demographic analysis to qualitative focus group narratives. Chapter 2 uses Confirmatory Factor Analysis to introduce climate preparedness into the structure of climate culture and test its model fit against traditional measures of climate attitudes that overemphasize agency or individual values and responsibility. Preparedness emerged as a distinct behavioral construct, weakly associated with attitudinal measures, supporting the belief-action gap in climate change, and setting the methodological and conceptual ground of the project. Chapter 3 builds on this by disaggregating the structure of climate culture by race and ethnicity, uncovering significant variations in the belief-action gap. The findings show that, first, Black and Latino respondents are generally less prepared than white respondents despite showing higher levels of concern and policy support, and second, concern is more strongly associated with preparedness for Black and Latino respondents. These patterns suggest a narrower belief-action gap among structurally marginalized groups and challenge the assumption that climate preparedness uniformly follows concern across all populations. This finding supports the expectation that preparedness, shaped by the interplay of agency and structure, reflects situated forms of knowledge, social capital, perception of risk, and the lived experience of disproportionate exposure to environmental risks. To better understand the meanings, motivations, and barriers behind these patterns, particularly for Latino residents in two climate-vulnerable communities, Chapter 4 draws on qualitative focus group data from residents of East Boston and Chelsea, Massachusetts. The findings illustrate how the complex interplay of structural constraints, transnational perspectives, and community-based support systems shape preparedness. This dissertation contributes to broader discussions on environmental justice and climate adaptation, underscoring the need for policies that promote localized, culturally responsive strategies that leverage community knowledge and collective action to enhance climate resilience. By centering on the perspectives of structurally marginalized groups, this study redefines climate adaptation as both an individual and collective process embedded within broader systems of constraint and inequality

An Examination of How the Ethno-Racial Socialization Process Influences Women of Color’s Engagement With Mental Health Treatment

Women of Color (WOC) are uniquely deterred from engaging with traditional mental healthcare services due to the generational harm that has been wrought to Communities of Color when accessing support in generations’ past and present (Godoy-Ruiz et al., 2015). Thus, to protect WOC from further marginalization, parents and caregivers disseminate messages to WOC about their gender and racial identity during the ethno-racial socialization (ERS) process. While this process is intended to be protective, an unintended consequence is that it can socialize WOC to be distrustful of others and reluctant to engage with mental health services to support their mental health. Informed by Black feminist theorist Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989, 1991) theory of intersectionality, focus group interviews were conducted to explore how the messages relayed to South Asian (N = 3), Black (N = 5), Latina (N = 4), Biracial (N = 4), and Southeast Asian (N = 4) women during their respective ERS processes influenced their willingness to engage with mental healthcare services. Intragroup and intergroup findings revealed the following themes: 1) WOC often question whether mental health treatment is right for someone with their identities and lived experiences; 2) WOC take their mental health education onto themselves; 3) WOC experience similar social and systemic barriers to mental healthcare; and 4) WOC have identified what they need from the mental health profession in order to feel comfortable seeking support. With these findings, implications are offered surrounding how the mental health field can support WOC’s engagement with treatment in the future

NOTIONS OF SOVEREIGNTY: EUROPEAN UNION INVOLVEMENT IN INDEPENDENCE-SEEKING REGIONS

This study examines alternative ways of conceptualizing sovereignty through European Union involvement in the issue areas of conflict management, capacity-building, and human rights promotion in four independence-seeking regions: Western Sahara, Somaliland, Abkhazia, and Transdniestria. Document analysis and in-depth key informant interviews were used to develop a theory of European Union involvement in independence-seeking regions. The theory of European Union involvement proposed in this study rejects state-centric notions of sovereignty as the only mode of understanding sovereignty and holds that independence-seeking regions (ISRs) enact various sovereignties through their existence. Further, the theory formed in this research suggests that state-centric notions of sovereignty are unhelpful in understanding ISRs as a varied phenomenon; and that ultimately, state-centric notions of sovereignty perpetuate instability in the international system due to the isolation of ISRs by nation-states and international organizations, including the European Union. This theory proposes that many exclusive sovereignties coexist, have done in the past, and will do in the future, along a spectrum of sovereign iterations. Such a theory allows us to conceive of a political world(s) that will not always be constructed and ordered as we know it today

Speech Camp: An Action Research Approach to Transformative Presentation Skills Coaching

This synthesis explores the evolution of Speech Camp, a participant-centered coaching program developed by the author to support individuals with presentation anxiety to increased confidence in their communication. This program, developed through iterative redesign and informed by Action Research and Action Learning, reframes presentation skills development as a relational and reflective process rather than a performance-based task. The project draws upon theoretical frameworks—including Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory, Ryan and Deci’s Self-Determination Theory, and Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory—to analyze the program’s current methodology and curriculum to reveal how elements of structured reflection, peer engagement, and psychological safety promote meaningful internal change. Special attention is given to Michael Motley’s communicative orientation model as a practical and philosophical foundation for rethinking public speaking pedagogy. Intended for communication coaches, educators, learning and development professionals, and others facilitating human-centered growth, the synthesis also serves individuals seeking to integrate greater authenticity and agency into the presentation of their ideas in professional and other settings. Participant feedback and critical reflection are used to surface how transformation emerges over time through intentional facilitation and trust-building. The author concludes by reflecting on her learning journey within the Critical and Creative Thinking graduate program at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and introduces a draft Speech Camp Playbook as a generative outcome of this inquiry

Burnout and Productivity: An Action Research Study on Workplace Impact and Mitigation

Employee burnout is a prevalent issue across industries, impacting both individual well-being and organizational productivity. This action research roadmap project examines the impact of burnout on productivity through a qualitative study involving professionals from corporate marketing, higher education, government/public health, corporate analytics, accounting, technology, human resources, and product operations. Participants were interviewed and shared their experiences with burnout. They provided insight into situational triggers, support systems, and the impact of burnout on productivity. Findings highlight that burnout often appears gradually but can reach a critical tipping point, leading to emotional exhaustion, disengagement, and diminished task completion. Organizational support, like leadership behaviors, workload management, and access to resources, plays a large role in either exacerbating or mitigating burnout. The study concludes with recommendations for organizations to implement targeted interventions and suggests future research opportunities to further explore burnout prevention and recovery strategies across a wider range of industries and demographics. Keywords: burnout, productivity, employee well-being, workplace stress, leadership support, flexible work, emotional exhaustion, job performance, burnout recovery

Investigating Testosterone and Cortisol in Romantic Relationships

Romantic relationships are a primary relationship in adulthood. Relationship satisfaction has been suggested to decline over time across couples with and without children but explanations as to what might lead to decreased relationship satisfaction are lacking. Combining internal factors with external factors is likely to provide a more thorough understanding of what relationship satisfaction looks like after the major life change that is parenthood. The current dissertation focuses on understanding how hormones (i.e. testosterone and cortisol) and interpersonal interactions such as social support and partner investment might help explain what romantic relationship satisfaction looks like in parents. This project uses salivary assays and relationship satisfaction reports across three studies to investigate romantic relationships. The first study utilized an undergraduate sample, the second study used a sample of first-time fathers, and the final study included mothers and fathers during the postpartum period and at a 10-year follow-up. Together the findings of this dissertation suggest that the interaction of testosterone and cortisol (dual-hormone hypothesis) is not applicable to certain interpersonal interactions such as romantic relationships

ANALYTICAL APPROACHES FOR IDENTIFICATION OF ESSENTIAL GENOMES OF PLASMODIUM KNOWLESI AND BABESIA DIVERGENS

Apicomplexa constitute a large phylum of single-celled, obligate intracellular protozoan parasites. Notably, Plasmodium spp. and Babesia spp. are apicomplexan parasites that infect red blood cells. Plasmodium species are the causative agent of malaria and are transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes, affecting large human populations, whereas Babesia spp., transmitted through the bite of Ixodes ticks cause babesiosis. In this dissertation, we investigate the essential genome of these parasites using high-throughput transposon mutagenesis. Identifying the essential genome is key to finding new drug targets and understanding resistance mechanisms, a crucial pursuit given the rising resistance to frontline antimalarial drugs and the challenges in treating babesiosis. We have developed analytical frameworks and Bayesian methodologies to quantify and predict the essentiality and the fitness of protein-coding genes, transcript variants, and lncRNAs in P. knowlesi and B. divergens. These organisms serve as ideal representatives of the Plasmodium vivax and Babesia clades, respectively, offering robust in vitro systems for genetic studies. Highly saturated transposon mutagenesis libraries enable identification of essential domains within larger, non-essential genes. We introduce a robust mathematical framework to systematically assess truncatability, offering high-resolution analysis of essentiality of protein domains. Our analysis not only confirmed previously known truncatable genes such as PTEX150 but also uncovered novel candidates. Furthermore, by employing Hidden Markov models, we systematically evaluate insertional bias based on sequence composition, ensuring rigorous data quality control. Leveraging our highly saturated mutagenesis libraries, we conducted drug perturbation experiments to uncover resistance mechanisms to both antimalarial and antibabesial drugs. We present a robust computational framework for analyzing perturbation data, which enables the identification of drug resistance genes through differential insertion analysis. Analysis of these data revealed both previously validated and novel genes implicated in drug resistance. Interestingly, our findings reveal that mitochondrial metabolism genes NDH2 and RFK are enriched under drug pressure in P. knowlesi, and that RFK inhibition by roseoflavin shows an antagonistic effect on DHA activity, pointing to a potential mitochondrial-based resistance mechanism to artemisinin. The thesis is organized as follows. In chapter one, we review the background on Plasmodium spp., Babesia spp., transposon mutagenesis, and current essentialomes in Apicomplexan parasites. Chapter two details the application of our mathematical models and computational approaches to P. knowlesi, revealing its essential genome and identifying novel resistance genes and synergistic mechanisms associated with the frontline antimalarial drug DHA and the investigational compound GNF179. In chapter three, we present optimized protocols for generating transposon mutagenesis libraries in B. divergens and apply our models to construct a preliminary essentialome for this organism. Chapter four provides a comparative analysis of the essentialomes across major Apicomplexans, including P. falciparum, P. berghei, P. knowlesi, and T. gondii. We close the thesis with concluding remarks and future directions. Overall, this thesis delivers a novel computational toolbox for transposon-based essentialome analysis in Apicomplexan parasites, paving the way for innovative therapeutic strategies and applications in diverse organisms

Latinos in Massachusetts: Dominicans

The Gastón Institute’s 2024 Latinos in Massachusetts series includes this statewide report on the Dominican population in Massachusetts. This report analyzes Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data from the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Our descriptive analysis uses both household- and individual-level data to estimate population size and percentages and to compare Dominicans to Other Latinos and Non-Latinos in the state

Choked: How Decades of Failures to Address Air Pollution and Housing Shortages Exacerbated Mortality in Pittsburgh During the Influenza Pandemic of 1918

Pittsburgh experienced the highest death rate of all major U.S. cities during the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic. This record mortality was not due to inadequate, absent, or ignored nonpharmaceutical interventions and mandates. Instead, for decades prior, city officials prioritized industry at the expense of the collective health of the laboring class. They were especially egregious in permitting industrial smoke pollution and overcrowded housing to persist in immigrant-heavy working-class wards, leaving residents susceptible to respiratory disease incidence and mortality. As a result, Pittsburgh’s annual influenza and pneumonia death rates were drastically the worst in the nation to such an extent that nonpharmaceutical interventions during the 1918 outbreak would not have significantly abated the death rate. An analysis of over 3,300 influenza/pneumonia deaths in Pittsburgh between October 1 and November 5, 1918, reveals the virus most viciously attacked polluted, overcrowded working-class wards (Strip District and South Side) and ethnic enclaves (Chinatown and Polish Hill). Male foreign-born unskilled and skilled laborers were especially victimized by the pathogen. Pandemic preparedness officials should utilize this research to understand how historical roots of collective health can leave marginalized sectors of the population more susceptible to disease incidence and mortality in future pandemics