Alumni Theses & Dissertations

2023

"Earthbound in the Anthropocene: Spirituality, Collective Identity, and Participation in the Direct Action Climate Movement" by David Osborn

"Son Otros Tiempos: Generational Experiences of Male Friendships Amongst Mexican and Mexican American Men" by Mari Rodriguez

"Let Out to Dry: Understanding the Experiences of Groundwater Depletion in Washington State's Columbia River Basin" by Alexis Guizar-Dias

"'We just have to trust the people in white lab coats': Analyzing Vaccine-Hesitant Public Comments on an HHS Proposed Rule" by Hima Vedantham

"How Unequal Access to Personal and Professional Networks Impacts Success Among Construction Apprentices" by Cameron Arnold

2022

"Does Instructional Autonomy Matter? Exploring Job Satisfaction for Math and Non-Math Teachers in Low, Middle, and High SES Schools", by Hannah Sean Ellefritz

"Leaving College Without a Degree: The Student Experience at an Urban Broad Access Institution", by Andrea Garrity

"The Call is Coming from Inside the House": Tracing Experiences in the Institutionally-Centered Process of Establishing Limited Conservatorships in California", by Barbara Imle

"Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Pain Treatment: Evidence From Oregon Emergency Medical Services Agencies", by Jamie Kennell

 

2021

"The Experience of Female Caregivers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia", by Nouf Albugami

"What Does it Mean to be Deaf? Changing Meanings of Deafness, Communication Technology, and Beliefs about Normality in the US", by Kathryn Burrows

"Working From Home: Analyzing the Autonomy of App-Based Adult Content Creators", by Jenna DePasquale

"Values of Young Adults in  an Increasingly Secular World", by Joseph Eichenlaub

"Smoking Behaviors in Patient Offered Lung Cancer Screening", by Sara Golden

"Exploring "What Works" in Veterans Affairs Home-Based Primary Care", by Elizabeth Hulen

"Decolonizing Healthcare: a Black Feminist Analysis of Sisters Informing Sisters on Topics of AIDS (SISTA)", by Joy Mutare Fashu Kanu

""Not 'Just' a Barista": the Story of Portland's College-Educated Baristas", by Ned Tillbrook

"Black/White Health Disparities in the U.S. The Effect of Education over the Life-Course", Elizabeth Withers

2020

" Outsiders Within Inequality Regimes: a Sociological Framework to Advance the Lives of Women Veterans", by Sarah Aktepy

"Transitioning into Conventional Housing: Narratives of Houseless Individuals", by Joyce McNair

"The Influence of Age at Migration on Criminal Offending Among Foreign-Born Immigrants", by Omar Melchor-Ayala

"Family, School, and Forms of Capital", Sonja Taylor

"Exploring How Community College Transfer Students Experience Connection in a Commuter University," by Christa Zinke.

2019

"Understanding the Politicization of Oromo Identity in the Diaspora: Re/ Locating the Bones of the Oromo," by Madeline Bass

"Radical Doulas Make "Caring a Political Act": Full-spectrum Birthwork as Reproductive Justice Activism," by JaDee Carathers.

"Concerted Cultivation, Academic Achievement, and the Mediating Role of Non-Cognitive Factors," by Bryant Carlson.

"Convivial Clothing: Engagement with Decommodified Fashion in Portland, OR," by Sarah Guldenbrein

"Closure and Censure? Examining the Determinants of Disclosure of Sexual Assault Among College Students," by Whitney Head-Burgess.

"Gender and the Voir Dire Process," by Tasha Lane.

"What About the Men? Investigating Alcohol Consumption, Masculinities, and Risky Sex in Peri-Urban Eswatini," by Aaron Levine.

"The Influence of Age at Migration on Criminal Offending Among Foreign-Born Immigrants," by Omar Melchor-Ayala.

"Evaluating the Utility of Theories of Social Integration in Understanding Areal Suicide Rates in the United States," by Nathan Finch Parsons.

"Reproduciendo Otros Mundos: Indigenous Women's Struggles Against Neo-Extractivism and the Bolivian State," by Gisela Rodriguez Fernandez.

"Racial Disparities in a State Based Workers' Compensation System," by Caroline Smith

"Family, School, and Forms of Capital," by Sonja Taylor.

2018

"Who am I? Criminal Social Identity as a Mediator in the Relationship between Criminal Peers and Criminal Attitudes within a Sample of Probationers/Parolees," by Quinton Alexander.

"White Space Black Space: Community Gardens in Portland, Oregon," by Doc Billings

"Tindersluts" & "Tinderellas:" Examining Young Women's Construction and Negotiation of Modern Sexual Scripts within a Digital Hookup Culture," by Mackenzie Christensen.

"The Gender Gap in Postsecondary Enrollment intentions: The Mediating Role of Student Attitudes and Behaviors," by Paul Deppen III.

"The Dispute Over the Commons: Seed and Food Sovereignty as Decommodificationin Chiapas, Mexico," by Carol Hernandez Rodriguez. Dissertation.

"Reconciling the Opportunities and Obstacles of Motherhood Following Corrections Involvement," by Summer Newell. Dissertation.

"Exiters of Religious Fundamentalism: Reconstruction of Identity, Social Relationships and Support, and Meaning Related to Well-Being," by Andreea Nica. Dissertation. 

2017

"Stereotype Threat and Effects of Students' Perception of Their Math Teacher's Fairness on Their Math Self-Efficacy," by Alexis Devigal.

"Are We Building Biking Solidarity": Gendered, Racial, and Spatial Barriers to Bicycling in Portland, Oregon," by Kyla Tompkins

"The Efficacy of Virtual Protest: Linking Digital Tactics to Outcomes in Activist Campaigns," by Rina James.

"When You Aren't Who Your Friends Are: The Moderating Influence of Racial Similarity on Association between Friendships and Mental Well-Being," by Philip Tostado. 

"Neither of the Boxes": Accounting for Non-Binary Gender Identities," by Erin Savoia. 

2016

"Inequality, Position, and Perception: Understanding and Addressing Workplace Harassment in Oregon's Construction Trades," by Sasha Mae Bassett.

"Local Approaches to Regional Problems: Suburban Government Responses to Portland's Regional Housing Crisis," by Emma Deppa.

"Examining Generational and Gender Differences in Parent-Young Adult Child Relationships During Co-residence," by Lauren Ferguson.

"The Use of Anti-Bullying Policies to Protect LGBT Youth: Teacher and Administrator Perspectives on Policy Implementation," by Michelle Holliday. Dissertation.

"Does the School Day Matter? The Association Between Adolescent School Attachment and Involvement and Adult Criminal Behavior," By Madeline O'Neil.

"On Both Sides of the Tracks: Light Rail and Gentrification in Portland, Oregon," by Nathan Eric Rochester.

"Transgender Patients' Experiences of Discrimination at Mental Health Clinics," by Corrine Ann Stocking.

2015

"Staying on Script : Sexual Scripts and Sex Education," by Elizabeth Carol Hauck,

"Activist Doctors : Explaining Physician Activism in the Oregon Movement for Single-Payer Healthcare," by Jennifer Loomis. Dissertation.

"Democratizing the City Through the Colonization of Public Space : A Case Study of Portland Food Not Bombs," by Trent Adam Saari.

"Use of Role and Power in Parent-Teacher Relationships : Perceptions from the Parent Perspective," by Sonja Taylor.

"Therapy and the Nontraditional Transgender Narrative," by Dylan Ellingson Waller.

2014

"Mediating Academic Success: Race, Class, Gender and Community College Persistence," by Schaylee Marie Esparza.

"Trauma-Informed Research and Planning: Understanding Government and Urban Native Community Partnerships to Addressing Substance-Exposed Pregnancies in Portland, OR," by Amanda Mercier.

"Beyond the McNair Program: A Comparative Study of McNair Scholar's Understandings of the Impacts of Program Participation on their Graduate School Experiences," by Cristina Restad.

"Cultivating Common Ground? A Case Study of a Community Garden Organization in Northeast Portland, Oregon," by Bryan Zinschlag.

2013

"First-Generation Latinos at Pacific Northwest University: Their Adjustment and Experience during Freshman Year," by Marco Aguirre.

"We don't have any of those: " Looking for leaders in the horizontal structure of Occupy Portland," by Aaron Bach.

"Queer! Narratives of Gendered Secuality: A Journey in Identity," by Kym Bradley.

"The Effects of Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Religion on Formal End-of-Life Planning," Tina Dawn Lillian Burdsall. Dissertation.

"I'm Not Gonna Be Like That Guy: Exploring the Montana Meth Project Through the Eyes of That Guy," by Jaysen Nicole Ferestad.

"A New Low in Getting High: Illegal Drug Use and Crime," by Erica Ferrelli.

"The Use of Music as a Pedagogical Tool in Higher Education Sociology Courses: Faculty Member Perspectives and Potential Barriers," by Jerry C. L. Loveless.

"Victimization, Separation and Anti-intellectualism: An Empirical Analysis of John McWhorter's Theory on African American's Low Academic Performance," by Marlon DeWayne Marion.

"Division of Labor within the Household: The Experience of Bosnian Immigrant Women in Portland, Oregon," by Miro Paljevic. 

"From College to Career: Understanding First Generation and Traditional Community College Transfer Students' Major and Career Choices," by Jeff Scott Shelton.

"Learning to Adapt: Onlien Social Science Instruction in Higher Education," by. Patrick Steven Smith.

"The Economic Impact of Veteran Status: The Effect of Veteran and Demographic Statuses on Household Income," by Daniel Standridge.

"Game Over" for the Climate: The Keystone XL Pipeline on TV News," by Elisabeth Wilder.

2012

"Working in an Artist Collective in Portland Oregon: the artistic benefits of cooperation and place in an underground art world," by Elizabeth Furlong Borders.

"Assessing Environmental Inequality in Portland, Oregon:  An Exploration of Local Environmental Justice Struggles," by Jordan Douglas Folks.

"Atheist Scripts in a Nation of Religiosity: Identity Politics within the Atheist Movement," by Jacqueline Frost.

"Toward a Richer Shade of Blue: The Impact on Oregon Police Officer Perceptions of Racial Minorities After Anti-racial Profiling Training," by David Andrew Kline.

"Understanding the Role of Patient Activation in the Association Between Patient Socio-Economic Demographics and Patient Experience," by Katsuya Oi.

"Gendering Gardasil: Framing Gender and Sexuality in Media Representations of the HPV Vaccine," by Maura Kathleen Pisciotta.

"Understanding Sand Mining on the Maha Oya: The Conflict Between Economic and Environmental Survival," by Meredith Corea Talbert.

"Cultural Hybridization, Glocalization and American Soccer Supporters: The Case of the Timbers Army," by Jesse Harold Wagner.

2011

""An' I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation" : The Effects of Family Type and Patriarchy in the Home on Female Adolescent Delinquency and Mental Health," by Stephanie-Kaye Guenther.

"Gendering the Body: Exploring the Construction of the Sexually Dimorphic Dody," by Sarah Kaye Lewis. 

"Race, Ethnicity, and Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Unions in the United States," by Claudia Pleşa.

"Erosion and Adjustment: A Bourdieuian-Inspired Analysis of Imprisonment and Release," by Joshua David Seim.

"Black/White Health Disparities in the U.S. The Effect of Education over the Life-Course." by Elizabeth Withers.
 

2010

"Globalization; But Under What Conditions?: The Case of the E.U.," by Michaelangelo Anastasiou.

"Do Parents Matter?: Parental Attachment and its Effect on Becoming Independent in Emerging Adulthood," by Cara Joy Copeland.

"The Pulpit at the End of the Rainbow : How Queer Clergy Enter Into and Maintain Religious Occupations," by Brian Gregory Gerow.

"Beyond the "Stalled Revolution": Stay-at-Home Fathers, Gender Identity and the Division of Household Labor," by Aundrea Janae Snitker.

"War, Peace, & Prinicipled Action: A Study of Veterans and the Peace Movement," by Laura Wegener.