Browsing by Author "Opsal, Tara, committee member"
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Item Open Access A women's support group: addressing gaps in community services(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Linenberger, Katie, author; Cross, Jeni, advisor; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Gerst, Katherine, committee memberSupport groups and self-help groups have been studied in the field of psychology to understand the individual effects of these groups but minimally studied in sociology on how support groups create a community and their potential to produce or reproduce norms, values, and ideas. Through analyzing a local women's support group, this research contributes to the sociological understandings of support groups and the community services they provide while also aiding in self-exploration. More importantly, this research adds to limited research on women's only support groups by analyzing the power of having a place dedicated for women to share with one another. The sociological understandings of groups and values was applied to understand how this support group might be shaping the values and norms of its group members. This research demonstrates how support groups build community through providing the space to socialize, be vulnerable with others, and participate in the storytelling process. Further, this support group produced supportive social ties in many of the group members' lives.Item Embargo COVID-19, policymaking, and the production of harm in the meatpacking sector(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Luxton, India M., author; Malin, Stephanie, advisor; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Cross, Jennifer E., committee member; Sbicca, Joshua, committee member; Ipsen, Annabel, committee member; Hausermann, Heidi, committee memberIn March 2020, the United States was forced to respond to the impending threat of COVID-19. Businesses, schools, and many of society's institutions shuttered in hopes of preventing mass transmission. And yet, meatpacking plants remained open. By September 2021, over 59,000 meatpacking workers tested positive for COVID-19 and close to 300 workers had died from the virus (Douglas 2021). In this dissertation, I document the socio-political, structural, and institutional roots of high rates of COVID-19 transmission among meatpacking workers—and the impacts of firm decisions and federal, state, and local governance structures on workers. I utilize literature pertaining to industrialized animal agriculture, political economy, green criminology, and racial capitalism to analyze the intersections among policymaking and production of harm within the meatpacking sector. Drawing on 39 in-depth interviews, critical policy ethnography, and content analysis, I explore the impacts of labor and food policies on the safety and wellbeing of meatpacking workers prior to and during COVID-19. Through an extended multiscalar case study of the JBS plant in Greeley, Colorado, I trace the involvement of agribusiness actors in federal, state, and local level policymaking during COVID-19. I examine how legacies of racialized labor exploitation have enabled firms to uphold the treadmill of meat production and perpetrate hazardous working conditions—conditions further upheld through corporate self-regulation, rather than federal intervention. I document how regulatory power of the federal agencies tasked with protecting worker and public health, including the CDC and OSHA, has been greatly diminished in recent years due to declined funding, staff capacity, and a neoliberal political structure that favors corporate self-responsibility over state enforcement. I argue that a system of harm has been codified into the regulatory system; harm that emerges directly from policymaking and the outcomes of a neoliberal capitalist political-economic system. Throughout this dissertation, I analyze how meatpacking workers' vulnerabilities during COVID-19 were amplified by issues of procedural injustice and historical legacies of racial inequality and exploitation. I conclude with a discussion of theoretical and policy implications and offer suggestions for future researchItem Open Access Dosage matters: the role of community corrections interventions on client recidivism(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Naday Walker, Alexandra, author; Shelley, Tara O'Connor, advisor; Hogan, Michael, committee member; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Harman, Jennifer, committee memberFor the last 50 years, effective correctional programs and interventions have been defined by their ability to lower recidivism rates. There is considerable research about what works to reduce an individual's risk for recidivism, yet recidivism rates remain high. The revolving door within the criminal justice system comes with tremendous economic and social costs for individuals, their families, and communities and therefore understanding the impact that interventions have on long term outcomes has become a primary focus area for researchers in the justice space. Using risk/need/responsivity theory as a framework, this study examined the impact of the intensity of nonclinical and clinical interventions, clinical dosage hours, and case management meetings on one- and two-year recidivism outcomes. This study seeks to broaden our understanding of the dosage literature by examining a sample of offenders placed in an open (full access to community with expectations of employment and other responsibilities while in treatment), residential, community corrections (halfway house) setting. The final sample for this study includes 147 adult male and female offenders who successfully discharged from two community corrections (halfway house) programs in Colorado. Findings support prior research suggesting an inverse relationship between clinical dosage hours and recidivism. While the results demonstrated a lack of support for the relationship between nonclinical interventions and recidivism reduction, the intensity of clinical interventions provided to clients were statistically significant at both one- and two- years post program completion. Finally, the results indicate that regular case management meetings play an important role in recidivism reduction.Item Open Access Ethical dilemmas in college campus victim advocacy(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Woods, Kathryn Scott, author; Bubar, Roe, advisor; Tungate, Sue, committee member; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Cespedes, Karina, committee member; McShane, Katie, committee memberThis dissertation examines ethical dilemmas in college campus victim advocacy. Dilemmas were identified by experts in the field of college campus victim advocacy. A Grounded Theory approach was used to identify categories of dilemmas, and interviews were conducted with experts in the field. Ultimately, dilemmas were identified that led to participants experiencing significant institutional trauma. These dilemmas related, not to working with individual survivors, but rather to working within broken systems and navigating complicated relationships with other professionals. Participants’ own and survivors’ identities were also explored, and ultimately also related back to systems and the “bad” professionals working within them. Based on these findings, implications for future research are discussed.Item Open Access Fair chance legislation: a state-level socio-political analysis(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Creech, Danielle, author; Nowacki, Jeffrey, advisor; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Makela, Carole, committee memberLaws vary greatly from state to state, with little clear understanding of what conditions make certain legislation politically viable. Although many studies have examined the ways that voter sentiments and race/ethnic social dynamics are tied to certain types of legislation, little has been done to evaluate the ways power dynamics in state government might impact the type of legislation enacted. Thus, this study examines the relationship between racial/ethnic measures, socio-political measures, and 'fair chance legislation' (FCL). Using OLS regression, this work lays the foundation for further in-depth examination of state-level socio-political dynamics and legislative outcomes.Item Open Access Green crime, space, and place: an examination of the role of environmental victims in the treadmill of crime(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Kovacs, Julia, author; Mao, KuoRay, advisor; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Tulanowski, Elizabeth, committee memberThis project uses the concepts of "place" and "space" as defined by the geography field to examine the role of environmental victims in the treadmill of crime theoretical framework. The current roles of environmental victims within the treadmill of crime are primarily complacent actors or environmental activists. This study uses in-depth interviews, critical content analysis, and geospatial mapping to further explore how environmental victims respond to environmental harm as enacted by the treadmill of crime. Through applying space and place to the analysis of environmental victims, we find a more nuanced understanding of environmental victims' responses to environmental harm. Through examining a community's sense of place, we find that the environmental victims' role is more complex than simply abiding with exploitation or pushing against it. In this case, environmental victims employed agency through this manufactured sense of place to accept further extraction in their community.Item Open Access How universities participate in agricultural extension: a comparative study of two Chinese agricultural universities(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Shan, Yan, author; Taylor, Peter Leigh, advisor; Swanson, Louis, committee member; Carolan, Michael, committee member; Cabot, Perry, committee member; Opsal, Tara, committee memberUniversity-based agriculture extension is a system set up to help local farmers access the newest agricultural technology and techniques developed by universities, which is comparatively different from the traditional government-led approach. US is currently the only country in the world which has based this service within the university, yet many other developing countries have started to incorporate universities into their agricultural extension system in order to improve the effectiveness of the agricultural extension services. However, little literature pays attention to how the universities adopt this practice and how this adoption influences the organizational capacity of universities. This study tries to fill this gap by exploring how two Chinese agricultural universities adopted two different ways to build platforms for conducting agricultural extension, how these newly built platforms impact agricultural extension activities, and what the future for these new platforms looks like in terms of institutionalization. This dissertation draws on relevant literature of organization theory and rural sociology to frame the innovation process happening in these two agricultural universities. The research questions which this dissertation tries to answer are: 1) How did the university incorporate this new function into their daily practices; 2) What kind of organizational changes did they experience? Is there a better way to do this? 3) How might this new practice in the university influence the previously existing agricultural extension system? To explore these questions, I conducted a comparative case study that included: 1) semi-structured in-depth interviews with key informants; 2) direct field notes from the local sites of universities; 3) secondary documents including collaboration contracts, university handouts, news reports, official websites etc. There are several major findings from this dissertation research. First, the two universities both made within-organizational change and outside-organizational change. They had similar within-organizational change which is clearly required by the national policy to build a new institute for extension within the university. But the New Institute faced different issues of legitimacy in the two universities. With regard to outside organizational change, the two universities built different kinds of platform to conduct agricultural extension activities, one established physical land with all kinds of facilities and the other one is project oriented. Different platforms bring the two universities both unique advantages and distinct challenges. Second, with these organizational changes, the new practice of agriculture extension transformed their previous singular, sporadic individual activities of agriculture extension by upscaling the extension team and funding for the activities. Third, though via different platforms, the two universities face similar challenges of institutionalizing university-based extension. With the platform with physical land comes with the issue of development differentiation and the platform based on projects lacking a stable safeguard mechanism. Fourth, the decision of how to build platforms is not a standalone issue but is related to the history, current economic and political conditions of each of the universities. This dissertation contributes to theory by illuminating the process of how university organizations change or innovate to fulfill the new role of university-based agricultural extension. Based on the findings from this study, I argue that universities need support from local governments or local agribusiness to fulfill this new role of agricultural extension, otherwise the advantages of university in agriculture extension cannot be realized. There is no certain path universities need to follow to complete this task and it depends on the local situation and the social contexts of each university. Lastly, this dissertation contributes to methodology with its comparative in-depth case study of institutional innovation in Chinese universities. What's more, this study also proposes some practical suggestions for universities to consider when creating their own agricultural extension platforms and partnerships with local governments and local agribusiness to promote agricultural extension. This study also shows the need for further study related to the future development of these newly built university-based agricultural extension and the organizational capacity of universities to become involved in agricultural extension across different locations and social contexts.Item Open Access Hunger strikes and carceral resistance: embodied struggle, discourse, and the political meaning-making of hunger(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Clark-Hargreaves, Becca, author; Sbicca, Joshua, advisor; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Cox-York, Kimberly, committee memberSince 2014, there have been a series of hunger strikes at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, WA. Hunger strikes have been utilized globally and throughout history, and, among other tactics, have been one of the primary tactics utilized by prisoners to protest their conditions and make broader political demands. In this study, I analyze the specific discursive repertoires created and deployed my media, detention officials, detainees, and one community activist organization surrounding the NWDC hunger strikes, in order to discover how hunger strikes operate as a mode of symbolic contestation. By delineating the specific frames constructed and deployed by each group, I construct an analysis of the dynamic and relational processes of discursive resistance and the ways that dominant and subaltern actors structure and contest the symbolic field surrounding immigration, detention, and carcerality. Overall, I find that detained hunger strikers and members of one grassroots solidarity organization draw upon a few primary discursive repertoires, including legalistic and rights-based discourses, and a discourse of family to contest hegemonic narratives of the hunger strikes. Finally, I draw upon the notion of differential consciousness to argue that subaltern actors engage in impure tactics of discursive resistance, deploying hegemonic languages only to subvert them, and in this way, challenging dominant narratives and the symbolic power of the state.Item Open Access Mind over machine? The clash of agency in social media environments(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) McConnell, Stephen J., author; Kodrich, Kris, advisor; Wolfgang, David, committee member; Champ, Joe, committee member; Williams, Elizabeth A., committee member; Opsal, Tara, committee memberUnderlying many social media platforms are choice recommendation "nudging" architectures designed to give users instant content and social recommendations to keep them engaged. Powered by complex algorithms, these architectures flush people's feeds and an array of other features with fresh content and create a highly individualized experience tailored to their interests. In a critical realist qualitative study, this research examines how individual agency manifests when users encounter these tools and the suggestions they provide. In interviews and focus groups, 45 participants offered their experiences where they reflected on how they perceived the engines, e.g., their Facebook feed, influenced their actions and behaviors, as well as how the participants felt they controlled it to achieve personal aims. Based on these and other experiences, this study posits the Social Cognitive Machine Agency Dynamic (SCMAD) model, which provides an empirically supported explanatory framework to explain how individual agency can manifest and progress in response to these tools. The model integrates Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory concepts and emergent findings. It demonstrates how users react to the engines through agentic expressions not dissimilar to the real-world, including enacting self-regulatory, self-reflective and intentionality processes, as well as other acts not captured by Bandura's theory. Ultimately, the research and model propose a psycho-environmental explanation of the swerves of agency experienced by users in reaction to the unique conditions and affordances of these algorithmically driven environments. The study is the first known extension of social cognitive theory to this technology context. Implications of the findings are discussed and recommendations for future research provided. The study recommends that future research and media discourse aim for an individual-level psychological evaluation of these powerful technologies. This stance will afford a greater understanding of the technology's impacts and implications on individuals, particularly as it is anticipated to significantly evolve in the coming years.Item Open Access Mothers in relationships with sex offenders: understanding life experiences(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Dawson, Alyssa, author; Peek, Lori, advisor; Cross, Jennifer, committee member; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Harman, Jennifer, committee memberThis thesis examines the experiences of mothers in relationships with sex offenders. The research draws on data gathered through interviews with eighteen mothers. Seven of the participants had entered into their relationships prior to their partner becoming a registered sex offender; the other 11 women had entered into their relationships with men who were already registered as sex offenders. This study explores stresses experienced in seven life spheres--employment, housing, peer and family relationships, relationship with their partner, their children's lives and self-perception--as a result of their relationship with a sex offender. In addition, this study identified the strategies used to cope and the support relied on to mediate the effects of those stresses. Further, I map the respondents' stress trajectories, integrating their stressors and coping strategies. I conclude with recommendations to assist mothers in relationships with sex offenders in the future.Item Embargo Nothing about us, without us: elevating voices from the autistic community(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Banks, Tiffany N., author; Holmquist-Johnson, Helen, advisor; Williford, Anne, committee member; Brown, Samantha, committee member; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Gabriels, Robin, committee memberAutism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurocognitive, developmental disability that impacts social communication and is associated with restricted and repetitive behaviors. Autistic youth, however, are more likely than their peers to have a co-occurring mental health challenge and less likely to engage in outpatient mental health treatments compared to typically developing peers. Emerging evidence to support the efficacy of complementary and alternative medicines, such as animal-assisted interventions, lacks input from this historically marginalized and oppressed population. In this dissertation, I explore what the experience of engaging in animal-assisted interventions is like for 3 young people. Using a multiple case study analysis, I am sharing the lived experience of difference, voice, and individualization in a therapeutic horseback riding program. Ultimately this dissertation emphasizes the importance of voice in the evidence-based practice model and illustrates the value of being heard and seen in this world, regardless of our differences.Item Restricted Paradise(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Moening, Mike, author; Candelaria Fletcher, Harrison, advisor; Levy, EJ, committee member; Opsal, Tara, committee memberParadise is a collection of creative nonfiction essays, fragments, and vignettes that explore addiction, the process of recovery, and most importantly, what it means to be oneself. Focusing less on the traditional grittiness of an addiction memoir and instead on narratives, this collection seeks to discover who is really in charge of one's own story, if anyone is at all. The memoir leads the narrator to question whether he has ever been present in his own life. Beginning as an autoethnography of sorts, exploring life as an addict and then a former addict, the narrator moves to question what it means to be in control of one's own life.Item Open Access The male dominated field: a study on the gendered experiences of female farmers in northern Colorado(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Shisler, Rebecca C., author; Sbicca, Joshua, advisor; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Thilmany, Dawn, committee memberThis research seeks to understand the gendered experiences of female farm operators in Northern Colorado. Specifically, how do female farmers perceive their experiences through a gendered lens? Semi-structured interviews with sixteen women from Boulder, Larimer, and Weld Counties in the state of Colorado were conducted to explore these experiences. Additionally, a supplementary observation at an agriculture conference was completed to reinforce themes. Analysis revealed that female farmers face many of the challenges faced by women in other male-dominated industries. The data collected through over a dozen interviews revealed that women in agriculture cope with pressures inherent to other male-dominated workspaces, such as coping with tokenism, navigating the double bind, and balancing motherhood with their farmer roles. Additionally, women’s work in agriculture often reflects an ethic of care through engagement with education, feeding others healthful food, and taking care of farmland and the environment.Item Open Access The nexus of farming & energy: navigating social tensions at the intersection of sustainable agriculture and unconventional O&G drilling(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Sprague, Cherilyn, author; Malin, Stephanie, advisor; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Thilmany, Dawn, committee memberThe purpose of this research was to examine how unconventional O&G development is interacting with small-scale sustainable and organic agriculture in Northern Colorado, particularly Boulder, Weld, and Larimer counties. The issues explored are impacts which farmers face as a result of development, the political economic context that small-scale farmers operate under, and how these interactions with O&G development may result in voluntary or forced shifts in identity. By examining these issues, I show how the institution of split estate structures farmer’s interactions with O&G development because it dictates how much control they enjoy and how they are able to participate in procedural equity. I hope this research shows the unique challenges that sustainable and organic farmers face when dealing with O&G development, while also illustrating that it is the institution of split estate that impacts these challenges the most.Item Open Access Victimhood and actorhood: constructions of agency in anti-trafficking advocacy(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Casey, Emma Elizabeth, author; Hempel, Lynn, advisor; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Roberts, Anthony, committee member; Zahran, Sammy, committee memberThis study seeks to advance understanding of how anti-trafficking organization websites construct victims' agency, and to engage in critical analyses of these constructions. Using content analysis of 264 websites for organizations which advocate for adult victims of human trafficking in the United States, I inductively identify themes in the ways victimhood and agency are portrayed. The use of 'survivor stories', definitions, images, and relational comparisons with other actors were several of the most common ways in which organizations represented victimhood, and I find that the majority of organizations construct victims' agency as insufficient and misused for self-advocacy. To interpret my findings, I turn to neo-institutional theory to understand how victims' agency is constructed, and patterned in the same way, across the majority of anti-trafficking organizations.Item Open Access Words matter: how institutional disruption policies reinforce white power in higher education(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Zanotto, Anton, author; Barone, Ryan, advisor; McKelfresh, David, advisor; Chesson, Craig, committee member; Opsal, Tara, committee memberStudent conduct exists as the intersection of student development theory, legal compliance, and institutional policies. While literature in the K-12 and criminal legal system shows the way that policy has a disproportionately negative impact on Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, there are few studies that do similar work in higher education. Furthermore, research in student conduct largely focuses on student learning and conduct administrator practices and does not consider the policies at the root of our practice. This study explores the campus discourse about disruption at eight institutions of higher education and uses a theoretical framework that uniquely considers the various nuances of this work. By centering the policies and using a critical policy discourse analysis methodology, I enter the discussion about how to create liberatory policy that subsequently supports the practice of many student conduct administrators. The subsequent model offers a set of guiding principles for liberatory policy revision and development for the future.