American Studies Dissertations

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Taken Spaces: Perceptions of Inequity and Exclusion in Urban Development
(2020-12) Chambers, Abbey Lynn; Haberski, Raymond J., Jr.; Guevara, Tom; Hyatt, Susan B.; Kelly, Jason M.
American cities are rampant with structural inequities, or “unfreedoms,” which manifest in the forms of poverty, housing instability, low life expectancy, low economic mobility, and other infringements on people’s abilities to do things they value in their lives and meet their full potential. These unfreedoms affect historically and systemically disenfranchised communities of color more than others. Too often, economic development that is supposed to remediate these issues leads to disproportionate economic growth for people who already have access to opportunity, without adequately creating conditions that equitably remove barriers, extend opportunities, and advance freedoms to all people. This dissertation investigates why this pattern persists. In this work, I describe the significance of the differing ways in which economic development is perceived by people living and working in an historically and systemically disinvested urban neighborhood facing socioeconomic transformation near downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, and city decision-makers in governmental, nonprofit, and quasi-governmental organizations. The ethnographic research methods I used in this study revealed that: many residents described economic development as a process that takes real and perceived neighborhood ownership away from the established community to transform the place for the benefit of outsiders and newcomers, who are, more often than not, white people; and city decision-makers contend that displacement is not a problem in Indianapolis but residents consistently see economic development leading to displacement. I contend that the type of disconnect that persists between the perceptions of people who live and work in the neighborhood and those of city decision-makers is the result of exclusionary development practices and helps perpetuate inequities. This work concludes with a solution for rebalancing the power between well-networked and well-resourced decision-makers and residents facing inequitable and exclusionary development.
The Center for Ray Bradbury Studies: A Case Study in Sustaining a Single Author Archive
(2020-12) Aukerman, Jason Michael; Eller, Jonathan R.; Calloway, Heather K.; Goff, Philip K.; Haberski, Raymond J., Jr.
The Center for Ray Bradbury Studies (cited also as the “Bradbury Center” or the “Center”) is a single author archive, museum, and outreach center housed in the Institute for American Thought, located in the School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI. This dissertation employs a case study methodology to explore the complex issue of single author archive management and sustainability as it applies to the Bradbury Center by extending the research process beyond working with primary sources and published materials. The applied research project unfolded in two phases. The first involved an intensive four-day on-site consultation in which five professional archivists and preservation experts from across the Midwest visited the Bradbury Center and examined its collections and policies. Following their visit, the consultants prepared recommendations concerning artifacts, manuscripts, correspondence, physical layout, access, operational procedures, processing priorities, and environmental/climate control for artifacts. The on-site consultation team also informed objectives, goals, and strategies for addressing the preservation needs of the Center’s vast and varied collections, aiding in systematically moving forward with curatorial initiatives, and planning for general organizational development. The second research phase involved site visits to five peer institutions to tour facilities, interview directors and archivists about best practices, and established a plan for adapting these practices to the Bradbury Center. Findings from both research phases inform the Bradbury Center’s immediate and long-term plans for center staff, fundraising, spatial expansion and renovation, and the Center’s strategy for identifying key constituencies as it endeavors to serve a broad spectrum of public and academic audiences through various outreach and programming initiatives. Upon completion of the case study field research, a formal report was prepared. That report serves as the cornerstone for this applied dissertation. Additional chapters cast a vision for the Bradbury Center and address potential opportunities to serve the Indianapolis region by tapping into tourism markets, conventions, and local cultural festivals and celebrations while also developing into an international research hub as the sole entity that preserves the material legacy of Ray Bradbury. The introductory chapter situates the Bradbury Center within the legacy of the central figure of the Center—Ray Bradbury.
Tweet or Fired: An Analysis on the Practice of Managing Public Sector Employees that Engage on Social Media
(2022-05) Kemp, Desmond L.; Etienne, Leslie K.; Eckerd, Adam; Walker, Marquita; Merritt, Breanca
This study explored the perspectives of six public sector human resource professionals on social media policies and how it maintains the behavior of employees that engage on social media. The expansion of technology in the public sector allows personnel to build relationships with the people they serve and participate in public forums. As more legislators and professionals use social media for work and personal matters, they are more likely to face public humiliation and disciplinary punishment over uncivil behavior. This research shows the public sector institutions in the Indianapolis area have lenient social media policies. In addition, this research argues that work policies, i.e., social media, should be modernized and relevant for all cultures. This dissertation analyzes how social media policies are established and executed within local government organizations using a multi-method approach. The first phase of this study surveyed and interviewed human resources professionals. While social media issues are still relatively new, progressive disciplinary procedures are most likely to be implemented when an employee engages in uncivil behavior on social media. The Logic of Appropriateness as the framework for the content analysis of social media policies from eight local agencies explores how the organizations direct employee behavior. The analysis findings determine certain public sector institutions in the Indianapolis area have social media policies for legal protection but place ethical value on respect as an expectation for employee conduct. This study backs the development of transparent social media policies in public sector agencies, especially since there is a recurring shift in the generational and cultural background of public representatives.
Course of Life: A Transformative Design Inquiry into the Modern Academic CV
(2023-08) Ganci, Aaron M.; Wheeler, Rachel; Dombrowski, Lynn; Hong, Youngbok; Haberski, Raymond J.
This project addresses the growing issue of burnout among U.S. higher education faculty. An inquiry into the causes of faculty burnout points to weaknesses within the American higher education system that have been exacerbated by a network of external and internal pressures. From the outside, institutions are being pressured to act more like corporations and embrace neoliberal values. At the same time, the societal pressure to democratize American institutions by asking them to become inclusive in their policies and practices is felt acutely in academia. These aims—productivity and inclusive democratization– are often in tension in academia, with overseeing bodies like trustees and legislatures prizing measurable, economic productivity, and faculty and administrative bodies prioritizing gender and racial inclusivity. There is one place where all these pressures play out: the academic CV. The CV is an ideal lens through which to examine these dynamics as it struggles to link faculty, administrators, universities, and funding agencies, in their attempt to convey both neoliberal and inclusive values. Many stakeholders trying to construct different narratives leads to an inherent tension and leaves no one satisfied. To make matters worse, the growing use of digital analytic software in place of traditional CVs has led to an imbalance, with neoliberal success indicators overshadowing inclusive ones. This disparity negatively impacts faculty wellbeing, especially faculty in underrepresented demographics, as their sense of personal achievement is diminished under these criteria and raises the question: how might the CV evolve to balance the needs of all of its stakeholders? Doing so may ease some of the tension within academic life and enhance faculty wellbeing. This study employs a transformative research design to explore whether the CV can be reformed to rebalance the tensions within academia. The mixed-method qualitative study draws on interviews and participatory co-design activities, and a constructive design process to explore divergent ways the CV might evolve to benefit faculty more. After evaluating the designs through transformative criteria, new insights are developed about the nature of modern academic work and spheres of action that can lead to faculty wellbeing.
Collaborative Leadership in Social Innovation: A Leadership Framework for Tackling Wicked Public Challenges
(2023-11) Freije, Brenda Hacker; Haberski, Raymond J., Jr.; Blomquist, William A.; Craig, David M.; Hong, Youngbok
In today’s world, we regularly hear about and experience intractable, systemic social problems that seem to defy solutions. How do we engage in systems change to address them? What processes can help us deal more effectively with them? It is not enough to say we need to change their systems. We need to know how to change them and lead others in the work. This dissertation explores how leadership teams and organizations can tackle wicked public challenges by working collaboratively with stakeholders through a process of trying to understand the challenge and designing strategies to influence systems change. I offer a Leadership Framework for these efforts that puts the collaborative leader in the role of expert intermediary responsible for seven Core Functions within the Leadership Framework. As expert intermediary, the collaborative leader facilitates vision-informed and values-driven decision-making and draws on a range of leadership and problemsolving approaches with four priorities: (1) to provide a systems view and understanding of the challenge, (2) to facilitate collaborative engagement and learning from a wide range of stakeholders, (3) to consider in the design and implementation of strategies and solutions the interconnections between economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection in human flourishing, and (4) to recognize that values run through it all. I refer to the Leadership Framework and its process as Collaborative Leadership in Social Innovation. I lay out the Leadership Framework as a concept map showing the Core Functions arranged along a path with Key Actions for each Core Function and other foundational components to the path. Learning is the glue that holds the Leadership Framework together and a key output. The Leadership Framework is designed to improve decision-making about wicked public challenges by ensuring sufficient time is dedicated to the Core Functions that precede the design and implementation of strategies and solutions. Following the Leadership Framework reduces the chances that solutions will lead to unintended results, miss opportunities, or focus on solving smaller problems in siloes that get at symptoms but rarely the heart of a challenge.
Intersectional Solidarities: A Design Approach to Building Collective Power in Racialized Organizations
(2024-05) Carey, Nicole C.; Schall, Carly; Shasanmi, Amy; Edmonds, Joseph Tucker; Wheeler, Rachel
This dissertation explores the development of a novel framework for fostering intersectional solidarities within racialized organizations, aimed at enhancing anti-racism efforts and building cross-racial coalitions. Drawing on Critical Participatory Design and grounded in real-world experiences, the Doing Intersectionality framework is presented as a practical tool for practitioners navigating the complexities of racialized organizations. It presents the importance of addressing power dynamics, belief in marginalized stories, the creation of inclusive norms, disruption of harmful narratives, implementation of transformative change, and the importance of continuous healing. Theoretical underpinnings from scholars like Gloria Anzaldúa, Patricia Hill Collins, and Audre Lorde informed the framework, emphasizing the role of consciousness, healing, and coalition-building in dismantling dominant narratives and fostering new realities in solidarity. The discussion also navigated the lived experiences of Black and/or Latinx professionals in Indianapolis, highlighting how their identity formation and relational dynamics inform cross-racial interactions and contribute to multiracial coalition-building efforts. Practical insights were shared, including challenges encountered during the design process, such as resistance to change and the emotional toll on professionals of color. The dialogue underscored the necessity of adopting an intersectional and relational lens in organizational practices to address complex social issues and promote equity and inclusivity. By integrating theoretical insights with actionable strategies, this research advocated for a new consciousness in organizational antiracism work, one that acknowledges the interconnected liberation of individuals across diverse social locations. This synthesis aims not only to contribute to the academic discourse on race, identity, and organizational behavior but also to offer tangible solutions for practitioners committed to fostering meaningful systemic change within their organizations.
Bringing Clinical Organizational Ethics into Practice
(2024-05) Swartwood, Brigitte Rene; Beckman, Emily; Haberski, Raymond; Hartsock, Jane; Helf, Paul R.; Meagher, Ashley
This dissertation consists of four papers that focus on the integration of clinical organizational ethics (COE) concepts into clinical practice. As defined by Miller and Hartsock, COE is a distinct area of ethics that addresses recurrent clinical ethics dilemmas. These dilemmas are issue-based and arise directly from patient care, yet these issues affect multiple patients. The resolution of these dilemmas are often revisions of procedures, policies, or practices.1 By analyzing specific organizational-level policies and practices, I attempt to ground these theoretical ideas by considering their impact on clinical outcomes. These four papers illustrate the integration of COE into practice in three ways: conceptually, empirically, and through recommendation of change in practice. "Victims of Violence, Hospital Policies, and Potential for Bias" and "Opioid Prescribing, Hidden Influences, and the Cultural Impact of Christianity" conceptually discuss a policy or practice affecting clinical care. "Victims ofViolence ... " investigates the implications of No Information Status policies and suggests that they may burden bedside staff while providing a false sense of safety and may exacerbate existing health disparities. "Opioid Prescribing ... " examines how Christian frameworks may be implicitly shaping clinicians' approaches to opioid prescribing within the setting of chronic nonmalignant pain management. "Evaluation of Security Emergency Responses: Racial Disparities in Activation" uses empirical evidence to discuss racial disparities in security emergency responses (SERs) within a hospital. This paper used a retrospective, descriptive cohort study to illustrate ethical implications of polices that exacerbate health disparities. Finally, "The Importance of Data Collection in SERs" proposes a framework for collecting data and addressing SER challenges within an organization. This improvement in hospital practices will provide opportunities to address some of the complex challenges surrounding SERs. Collectively, these papers aim to fill gaps in the literature, challenge implicit biases, and address specific challenges in clinical care using a Clinical Organizational Ethics framework.

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