Master of Arts, Miami University, 2018, English

This thesis argues that the emergence of the reproductive justice (RJ) framework in reproductive politics not only shifted activist strategies and discourses, but also fostered the emergence and circulation of more complex abortion representations in U.S. popular culture. I examine these (still)-emergent counter-hegemonic reproductive justice abortion counternarratives as potentially transformational interventions in both RJ theory and activist practice. Chapter 1 introduces my project and highlights the differences between the “pro-choice” and reproductive justice frameworks. In Chapter 2, I outline RJ's theoretical foundations, analyze its historical emergence in reproductive politics, and juxtapose how abortion is represented in dominant cultural discourses vs. emerging RJ counterdiscourses through a comparative analysis of the abortion plotlines in Joan Didion's Play it as it Lays and Alice Walker's Meridian. Chapter 3 traces the post-Roe trends of abortion representations on television, and the last decade's shift towards more counter-hegemonic representations, analyzing abortion plotlines from television shows including Scandal, Shameless, and Black Mirror through the RJ framework. Finally, through a brief examination of abortion storytelling campaigns in ongoing RJ advocacy efforts, Chapter 4 frames the emergence of RJ counternarratives as a vital component of RJ movement strategies and an urgent intervention into dominant cultural discourses of abortion.

Committee: Stefanie Dunning Dr. (Committee Chair); Mary Jean Corbett Dr. (Committee Member); Madelyn Detloff Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; American Literature; American Studies; Comparative; Gender; Gender Studies; History; Literature; Rhetoric; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2008, Psychology

Social skills deficits are a defining feature of children with autism. Over the last decade Social Stories, personalized brief fables with a lesson, have been used with autistic children. The rationale behind Social Stories is that they can provide autistic children with social information they are lacking, and thus can modify their social responses in social situations. However, studies addressing the efficacy of Social Stories (Gray, 2000) have been mixed. Critiques of the existing Social Story research show that the majority of stories deviate from recommended Social Story ratios, are confounded by the use of additional intervention strategies that are used at the same time as the Social Story intervention, or do not provide adequate descriptions of the participants' communicative and cognitive skills even though the developer of Social Stories stated that they were more likely to benefit students with basic language skills and higher intelligence (Reynhout & Carter, 2006; Kuoch & Mirenda, 2003). Even though studies have been inconclusive, researchers have begun to modify populations that Social Stories are used for and the methods in which they are delivered, which is premature since the basic intervention has yet to be validated as effective.This study controlled for many of the limitations criticized in previous Social Story literature. The present study used a multiple baseline design across six subjects diagnosed with Autistic Disorder who scored above 55 on the PPVT-III and were capable of verbal speech. Furthermore, in the study teachers were not aware when students started the intervention. Thus, potential decreases in students' disruptive behaviors were ostensibly not due to an increase in additional teacher prompting or an increase in teacher attention. The undergraduate students who coded the data were similarly unaware of when students began treatment so that it could not influence coding behavior. Results indicated there was no significant decrease i (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Steven Beck PhD (Advisor); Michael Vasey PhD (Committee Member); Luc Lecavalier PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2022, Journalism (Communication)

As journalism increasingly shifts to the digital space, social media apps like Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook are offering new potentials to present news. Exciting and lively storytelling is particularly in demand to capture the recipient's interest and immerse them into the story. With its specific features, Snapchat Discover provides a suitable platform for digital storytelling. Using a qualitative content analysis, the news stories of two German and two U.S. media outlets on Snapchat were examined over a period of three months, considering both long-established as well as new formats, produced exclusively for Snapchat. The results show that the media outlets examined each take their own unique storytelling approaches on Snapchat. They range from intensive storytelling to short breaking-news or even infotainment. The media outlets rely on both traditional storytelling methods and new multimedia opportunities for their news. However, it turns out that the newer formats on Snapchat are somewhat more experimental and exploit the possibilities of the platform more than the long-established ones.

Committee: Alexander Godulla (Committee Chair); Elizabeth Hendrickson (Committee Member); Rosanna Planer (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Journalism

Master of Fine Arts, Miami University, 2020, English

My creative thesis, Desires & Debacles, consists of two short stories and a novella that explore themes related to communal, familial, and personal life in Pakistan. The stylistic texture of these pieces marks my departure from what is now the quintessential character of South Asian fiction: politically dense, lacking lightness, devoid of sensuality, and stylistically risk-averse. Spurning the external, commercially-defined standards, Desires & Debacles insists on its autotelic being: it follows Flaubert's aesthetic axiom by treating "a humble fact as respectfully as a big one" and by probing the "damp and mouldy corners of the soul."

Committee: Margaret Luongo (Committee Chair); Brian Roley (Committee Member); Bates Joseph (Committee Member) Subjects: Aesthetics; Asian Literature; English As A Second Language; Individual and Family Studies; Literature

Bachelor of Arts, Miami University, 2005, College of Arts and Sciences - Psychology

One of the difficulties facing people with Anxiety disorders is the lack of understanding from society about what they go through. This thesis is an attempt to bring Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Social Anxiety/Phobia out of textbooks and theories through short stories, with the goal of allowing readers to understand and experience the disorders at a personal level. The diagnostic criteria in the DSM-IV and other research into each disorder are incorporated through the characters' personalities, thought patterns and reactions to their worlds, as well as the situations that brought about the development of the disorders. Each story is followed by a psychological analysis that provides a brief explanation of the disorder in clinical terms and demonstrates its presence in the story through specific examples.

Committee: Mia Biran (Advisor) Subjects: Psychology, Clinical

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2008, English: Creative Writing

This collection of inverted love stories and wry tales of family and friendship explores the ways the political intersects with the everyday, especially when unexpected. Most of the narratives unfold from the perspectives of young women whose lives refuse to conform to any typical bourgeois standards of adulthood. These voice-driven stories are playful with their tone, language, and subjects, and they use humor and absurdity as a method of exploring serious issues of human connections and misconnections.

Committee: Margaret Luongo (Committee Chair); Brian Roley (Committee Member); Laura Mandell (Committee Member) Subjects: English literature

Master of Education (MEd), Bowling Green State University, 2013, Reading

The purpose of the study was to determine whether inappropriate behaviors in students with autism can be decreased through children's literature and Social Stories that address the behaviors. The research question guiding this study was, “Does using children's literature and Social Stories help students with autism to decrease inappropriate behaviors?” The study's participant was one third-grade student with autism. The study took place over four weeks. During the first week, the researcher observed the student in his classroom setting to establish a baseline of the student's behavior. The researcher read the stories with the student twice a week over three weeks. The researcher went into the student's school two days a week for one hour. The stories were read with the student for 10 minutes and then a 50-minute observation followed. Qualitative data were collected through observations. Quantitative data collection included counting the opportunities the student had to engage in the inappropriate behavior and the amount of times he did engage in the inappropriate behavior. This number was converting it to a percentage. The student steadily decreased the number of times he engaged in the inappropriate targeted behavior after beginning interventions. The percent of time the student engaged in the behavior provided evidence of the connection. Overall, the data support that there was a decrease in the inappropriate targeted behavior over four weeks by reading Social Stories and children's literature stories to the student.

Committee: Cindy Hendricks Dr. (Advisor); Lessie Cochran Dr. (Committee Member); Mark Earley Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Reading Instruction