CIS

Refugee Resettlement in Charlotte, North Carolina:
A Qualitative Study of Health Inequity

This qualitative comparative study focuses on the perspectives of refugees and stakeholders within Charlotte. Semi-structured interviews were used as a means of understanding the perspectives of both parties. Significant time was invested in this community in order to adequately establish both context and contacts for this research. Contacts served as main informants for their own cluster. Given the lack of access to this population, a snow-ball sample was utilized, in which participants had the opportunity to recommend other contacts. A thematic analysis of both the positive and challenging aspects of resettlement in Charlotte revealed how the perspectives of these sample populations differ and converge. The social ecological model of public health research framed this exploratory research, acknowledging the complex and interconnected determinants of health. Interviews with both stakeholders and refugees revealed challenges with navigating community dynamics and accessing affordable housing and employment opportunities in Charlotte. Interviews with refugees and stakeholders described how Charlotte’s lack of upward mobility and low-income housing make resettling into Charlotte especially challenging for refugees. This research reveals the nuances of how specific marginalized populations experience health inequities and how broader trends in employment, housing and community dynamics can exacerbate disparities.

The Reversal of Amendment to Article 116: How Victims of Violence Disappeared from the Dialogue on a Domestic Violence Law

In the summer of 2016 the Russian parliament and President Vladimir Putin signed into law amendments that codified the criminalization of domestic violence; less than a year later, on January 27th, Russia formally rescinded the amendments, thereby softening domestic violence law. This sudden shift in policy represents a larger shift in Russian family policy to more traditional Russian values in opposition to the influence of the “liberal West.” The reversal of this domestic violence law exhibits an attempt to find a new cultural narrative in post-Soviet Russia and President Vladimir Putin’s initiative to position Russia as a cultural power rivaling the west. As President Putin and the Russian parliament arranged this policy reversal female victims of domestic abuse were excluded from the conversation. The intent of this thesis is to illustrate how a bill on domestic violence served to promote Russia as an influential moral authority rather than address issues of gendered violence.

The Perspectives of Medical Professionals on the Nature and Practices of Integrative Medicine:  A Qualitative Pilot Study of Integrative Medical Centers in the United States

Integrative medical centers have recently increased in number throughout the United States. Subsequently, minimal research exists on this relatively new medical phenomenon. The objectives of this study are to collect and analyze qualitative data, which partially describe the landscape of integrative medical centers currently existing within the United States. Five participants were recruited from four medical institutions currently practicing integrative medicine. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with each participant in order to gain perspective into his/her (1) definition of integrative medicine; (2) the perceived reasons for the rise of integrative medicine within the United States; (3) the outlook for integrative medicine within the realm of the United States healthcare system; and (4) the organization, practices and standards of care as it is evolving into an integrative setting. These five participants provided perspectives that represent the variability and lack of consensus that currently exists within the integrative medical community on the definitions and concepts that define “integrative medicine” as practiced in these contexts. Integrative medicine is a relatively new and growing phenomenon and continued research into its nature and effectiveness is imperative for the sake of standardization, coordination and patient safety. This study contributes valuable insight and knowledge to this exploration of an emerging practice within the healthcare landscape.

Standardized Tests, Standardized Students:
Teaching to the Test in Middle School ELA

This classroom ethnography explores the way standardized testing is affecting language use, linguistic development, and broader sociocultural socialization of middle school English Language Arts (ELA) students. It addresses the existing gaps in understanding of how students’ socialization, not just curricular learning, is affected by the language of testing, standardized English. The research draws from transcribed audio recordings of classroom observations, interviews with the teacher, and secondary literature to conduct an ethnography using a critical sociolinguistic lens.  Fostered by high stakes testing and created by curricular programs targeted at “turn around schools,” standardized English is a modern tool to reproduce existing social hierarchies. It constrains what content to which students are exposed, produces narrow definitions of students’ roles in classroom and society, and encourages students to reproduce existing role/identity performances, and creates an incentive system meant to measure achievement but which really measures acquiescence to sociocultural elites’ demands of the marginalized. In order to effectively subvert today’s oppressive educational practices, we must continue to address these specific ways students are taught to the test beyond just content. We must simultaneously make sure they still have access to standardized testing’s credentials, since test scores continue to be used to allow or deny access to educational, and subsequent economic, opportunities to students.

Davidson Planned, Davidson Imagined:
A Case Study in Town Planning and Theories of Community

In June 2001, the Town of Davidson, North Carolina passed a land ordinance to control development projects in the town limits and in its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). The ordinance drew heavily from smart growth planning trends and faced strong dissent from town members and landowners in the ETJ. Through an analysis of the ordinance and conversations with stakeholders involved in the process of its creation, this paper gives voice to the diverse perspectives in Davidson leading up to 2001 and examines the conflicting notions of community that manifested in this case study. The paper follows a constructivist grounded theory methodology and uses a triangulation of theoretical scholarship, archival research, and in-depth interviews to guide an analysis of the ordinance’s creation as a case study in conceptualizing community. As a case study rooted in community studies scholarship, this research provides insight into larger questions of community and community development through the planning and zoning regulation process.

College Access Para Todos: Sustaining the Latin American Coalition’s Efforts
to Connect Latino Immigrant Youth to Higher Education

In December 2015, College Access Para Todos, a youth-led initiative to equip Latino immigrant students in Charlotte with the knowledge, skills, networks, and resources needed to effectively navigate the college readiness and college application processes, was discontinued. Eight months later, under the leadership of a new Executive Director, regular and ongoing requests for college preparation assistance from Latino immigrant families in the area inspired the Coalition to consider reviving the program. However, due to miscommunication among incoming and outgoing staff throughout the Executive Director’s transition to the organization, the Coalition was left with a strong desire to support local students but a lack of clarity around why the program had been discontinued and whether it should return. Inspired by this dilemma, “College Access Para Todos: Sustaining the Latin American Coalition’s Efforts to Connect Latino Immigrant Youth to Higher Education” investigates the causes and consequences of the discontinuation of the College Access Para Todos program through analysis of semi-structured interviews with ten key stakeholders including current and former staff and volunteers, former program participants, parents of former program participants, and a program officer at a local foundation. The report then uses the concept of Social Capital Theory to interpret key findings and substantiate recommendations for the consideration of a revision and renewal of the College Access Para Todos program. These findings and recommendations reveal how the Latin American Coalition and similar organizations and initiatives can best support Latino immigrant students in their journey toward higher education. The report was produced in partial fulfillment of the course requirements for a Senior Capstone project in the Education and Community Studies major at Davidson College in collaboration with the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and the Latin American Coalition in Charlotte.

Reconciling Contradictions: University Women’s Experiences
with Shifting Premarital Relations in Fez, Morocco

The purpose of this study is to examine the changing male-female friendships and relationships that exist in the emerging period of adolescence in Fez, Morocco. As research continues to show increasing rates of premarital sexual debut, the process of forming and maintaining relationships, as well as the importance attributed to them, has been widely left out of academic study. To assess the perspectives of university-age women on romantic relations, the study relied on eleven semi-structured interviews of women in local master’s programs, focusing on topics surrounding this discussion: sexual education, contraception, stereotypes, and relationship pressures. The use of anecdotes and stories based in gossip were encouraged to gather a more representative picture of the dating climate. Spending time with a key informant added an ethnographic component and gave more insight into trends in social media and actual dating practices. Using data from both interviews and observations provided a more complete picture of the public attitudes and private behaviors of Moroccan women. Dating continues to be prevalent despite a lack of recognition from official bodies, leading to a general lack of protection for men and women who participate. No systems exist to prevent inappropriate exchanges over social media, and a dismissal of sexual education leaves many adolescents without health coverage. By further exploring the nuances of this emerging culture, strategies can be found for how adolescents circumvent such systems, and recommendations can be made for future changes.

Invasive Pneumococcal Disease and Child Mortality

Introduction: Invasive pneumococcal disease is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable death in children younger than five throughout the world, and over 90% of the deaths occur in developing countries (CDC, 2012). It is important to understand the mechanisms behind this problem and how interventions can lower child mortality. Channels available include vaccination programs, as well as cultural/economic/social changes that would improve female status and child health. I draw on theories and empirical methods in the fields of health economics, chemistry and public health. The specific aims of my thesis are: (1) Analyze the relationship between invasive pneumococcal serotypes, pneumococcal vaccines and child mortality using organic synthesis and translational science methods. (2) Analyze the association between child mortality, invasive pneumococcal serotypes and female status in developing countries using the OLS regression method. The findings demonstrated the need for continued gendered policy formation, alongside vaccine program policy approaches. Socio-economic and cultural determinants of health may mitigate or exacerbate the presence invasive pneumococcal serotypes. The findings from the analyses in Part 1 and Part 2 demonstrate the importance for continued inter-disciplinary research to inform future policy formation to address child mortality.