Being Female and Indigenous: Barriers to Reducing Bolivia\u27s Maternal Mortality Rates Under Evo Morales

This thesis seeks to answer the question: What are the barriers to attempts to reduce Bolivia’s maternal mortality rate under Evo Morales? While Morales’ presidency began in 2006, the timeline is from 2004 to the present to account for changes due to his policy. Using activity theory and social capital theory, I argue that machismo and racism are two social factors that are barriers to efforts to reduce the maternal mortality rate. Machismo manifests itself uniquely in Bolivia, as I argue through a comparison to Paraguay. Machismo is also riddled with a history of anti-indigenous racism. I examine the Rockefeller Foundation’s international aid in the 20th century and how foundations like this have impacted intercultural healthcare today. The resulting racism experienced in the past and present limits participation in intercultural healthcare initiatives to combat maternal mortality rates. I apply this theory to the UNPF Midwifery Program and the Family Community Intercultural Health Program proposed by Morales. Then, I find the correlation coefficient between gender statistics provided by the World Bank and maternal mortality rates. This adds to the argument that machismo is unique and thus impacts intercultural healthcare’s efforts to intervene in maternal mortality rates. Such a complicated health issue requires a complex solution that addresses the social issues both causing the problem and impeding a solution. I propose that two of these social issues are machismo and racism, but there is room to explore what other social issues are influencing this issue and how solutions may address them

What I wish I knew: A reflection of a first-year chairperson

This session will provide the “top 10” list of things I wish I knew before becoming chairman. Valuable tips will be offered on time management, positive faculty interactions, working with shared governance to achieve more, overcoming imposters syndrome, understanding inter-office politics, and dealing with the onslaught of email

Supporting Student-Veterans Transitioning to College Life

Transitioning back into civilian life for military personnel can be very overwhelming, unfamiliar, and challenging. For a majority of these individuals, there is a sense of loss of rigid structure, fierce companionship, and purpose. Most have experienced the traumatic death of others during combat deployments. Thus, these individuals may have a harder time transitioning back into civilian life. One way veterans can turn their losses around is through meaning-making outlets, such as obtaining a college education. Higher education provides an opportunity to re-enter civilian life with a new purpose, learn new skill sets, and engage academically and socially with similarly minded peers. While attending URI’s Student Veteran Organization meetings, I observed that student- veterans often felt ostracized and stereotyped because they did not attend college in the “traditional” fashion (after high school). Consequently, many did not attend URI orientation, and thus were starting school at a disadvantage. As a result of hearing these concerns, I worked with Rachael Garcia, Assistant Director of Veteran Affairs and Military Programs at URI, and Jeff Johnson, an academic advisor, to construct and implement an orientation program specifically programmed for both incoming and current student-veterans. This orientation program included informative sessions on navigating URI’s campus and online resources. Additionally, the program offered a variety of other resources specific to veterans. Between the informational sessions and the resource representatives, this orientation program aimed to guide student- veterans through their educational and financial experiences, as well as elicit feedback that could be analyzed and applied to the future program. In order to further my understanding of the military-to-civilian transition, I interviewed a group of current student-veterans at URI on their transition experience and how it specifically pertained to college. Through these interviews, I gained a more personal awareness of the obstacles, advantages, losses, and gains that student-veterans face during this transition period. I also learned more about their specific needs during this transition and how URI can adjust to meet these needs. Overall, this project created a program for a minority population at URI that will ultimately help them feel like they belong and positively reinforce their decision to enroll at URI. This orientation program will provide a supportive foundation for future student-veterans who are ready to redirect their lives and make meaning of losses they experienced during their time in the service. Hopefully, it will raise awareness of and appreciation for their presence on campus

\u27Music is Life, and like Life, Inextinguishable\u27: Nazi Cultural Control and the Jewish Musical Refuge

This thesis focuses on the concept of cultural national identity during the Third Reich and how the Nazis attempted to shape an image of Germany to their liking. By specifically examining musical culture and restrictions, this thesis investigates the methods the Nazis used to define Germany through music by determining what aspects of Germany’s culture were not “traditionally” German—namely those of the Jewish minority in Germany. Therefore, this study follows the Nazi restrictions on the German population who participated in the creation and performance of music and is then contrasted with those imposed upon the corresponding Jewish population. The resulting conclusion is that the Nazis created a place for exclusion and oppression, but managed to, ironically, create a place of refuge for Jewish musicians in the Third Reich. Music was, in the end, an unstoppable force which the Nazis could not control or fully regulate

An investigation of the relationship between alcohol use and satisfaction with life among college students

The purpose of the investigation was to determine the relationship between alcohol use and satisfaction with life among college students. Six null hypotheses were developed to address the purpose of the study. Null hypothesis one states,no significant relationship exists between satisfaction with life and frequency of alcohol use. In the five other hypotheses the relationship was interacted by class standing,ethnicity, gender,living arrangement,and social fraternity or sorority membership.The population selected for the investigation was students attending theUniversity ofTennessee-Knoxville and enrolled in selective courses during the spring 2000 semester. A sample of convenience was selected from students enrolled in Health And Safety Sciences classes during the spring 2000 semester. Nine sections,consisting of 216 students participated in the study.Data were collected by administering a paper-and-pencil survey to students enrolled in general elective health classes during the Spring 2000 semester. Participantswere given a packet of materials consisting of the demographic and drug use survey questionnaire,the Satisfaction with Life Scale(Diener and Pavot,1985)instrument,and an envelope. The packets were completed in one sitting, during a regularly scheduled health class. Due to the lack of need for identifying each participant and the sensitivity of the drug use questions,total anonymity was required. Participants were informed of subjects\u27 rights, and that participation was voluntary and could withdraw from the study at any time.Each survey was visually inspected and data were entered into a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. The Statistical Package For Social Sciences(SPSS)was used for data analysis. A Spearman\u27s rho correlation was used to determine the overall,general relationship between alcohol use and satisfaction with life. Analysis of variance was used to evaluate differences in mean satisfaction with life scores between the levels of alcohol use. Analysis of variance was used to evaluate the relationship of alcohol use and satisfaction with life by class standing,ethnic origin, gender,living arrangement,and social fraternity or social sorority membership.The Spearman\u27s rho correlation indicated a nonsignificant,indirect correlation of-.109(p=.111)for the overall,general relationship between alcohol use and satisfaction with life was reported. The analysis of variance did not find significant differences[F(3,212)=1.13,p=.345] in mean satisfaction with life scores for the four levels of use.The main effect,the relationship of alcohol use and satisfaction with life was interacted by class standing,ethnicity, gender,living arrangement,and social fraternity or sorority membership. The analysis of variance did not find significant differences for any of the interactions. It was concluded that no evidence was found of a definitive nature to associate alcohol use with satisfaction with life. Based on the findings of this study,alcohol use does not influence or affect satisfaction with life

Presidential Succession Planning for Governing Boards in Higher Education

This study examined desired characteristics presidents of colleges and universities exhibit through the perspective of the governing board chairperson. Three overarching characteristics investigated in this study were leadership ability, the ability to articulate a defined mission, and the ability to work with others. Comparisons were made between characteristic-determining questions to institution type and institution size. Participants were selected from a random sample of regional public colleges and universities and public community colleges that held membership in the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the American Association of Community Colleges, respectively. Through the use of the Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5x), governing board chairpersons rated qualities they deem important for their campus leader. Data were examined through an analysis of variance (ANOVA) on individual questions and question groupings, and a comparative analysis was made of characteristic-based question groupings by institution type and size. Results showed that public community colleges and public four-year institutions value the same qualities, and that smaller schools were more likely to place a high value on leaders who display a strong sense of purpose, ethical leadership, voiced values and beliefs, and the ability to lead collectively toward a common goal. There was a strong correlation among the three characteristic groupings when compared with the other, non-grouped survey questions, showing that board chairs who value leadership skills are also looking for presidents who can clearly articulate a mission for the institution and who can work well with others

Longitudinal Losses Due to Breathing Mode Excitation in Radiofrequency Linear Accelerators

Transverse breathing mode oscillations in a particle beam can couple energy into longitudinal oscillations in a bunch of finite length and cause significant losses. We develop a model that illustrates this effect and explore the dependence on mismatch size, space-charge tune depression, longitudinal focusing strength, bunch length, and RF bucket length

Left of Maidan: Self-Organization and the Ukrainian State on the Edge of Europe

This dissertation examines the intersection of processes of Europeanization and decommunization in Ukraine during a time of war and upheaval. Through the lens of leftist and feminist activists, it explores how political action was renegotiated during and after the mass mobilizations of 2013-2014, known as Euromaidan or Maidan. I use the concept of “self-organization” to consider ways these activists have engaged with a dominant national ideology, which draws from specific political ideas about Europe and communism. I trace how self-organization has roots within socialist-era political forms, how it was enacted during the Maidan mobilizations, and its path since the end of the protests and the onset of war in Ukraine’s eastern regions. In the dissertation, I consider the relationship between self-organization and neoliberalism, as this latter force has permeated activist discourses. I use three specific ethnographic examples from participant observation with leftist and feminist activists to make these arguments. During the Maidan period and after, I consider the ways leftist activists organized volunteer-based initiatives in order to engage during the protests without using violence and without supporting right-wing national ideologies. Second, I use the example of education-based activism to understand how the leftist student population made criticisms of state institutions that they integrated into the broader anti-state protests of Maidan. Finally, I examine how feminist activists’ views of Europe widely diverged from those of the majority of protesters on Maidan, and I follow how these feminists—like leftists—reconfigured their own participation through self-organization. Together, these elements provide both an ethnographic analysis of this significant moment of disorder and a lens onto a more complex understanding of the relationship between the state and political action. More specifically, examining how marginalized groups participated in this form of collective political action has led me to determine that these protests have reformulated people’s expectations of their governing regimes and their notions of what political participation can and should achieve. I conclude, ultimately, that this reformulation has great bearing on the future of Ukraine’s relationship with its more dominant neighbors—namely, Russia and the European Union