Climate change is a growing problem for those living in the Himalayas, threatening water availability and livelihoods. This research seeks to explore the various factors contributing to water shortage and the factors leading to perceptions of water shortage in Himachal Pradesh, India. This thesis explores data collected from 50 interviews conducted in summer 2019 and seeks to understand why participants of these interviews indicated that they do not experience water shortage. The research highlights the importance of further research and needed action in terms of addressing and mitigating the impacts of climate change in the Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh.

This research project sought to holistically understand how educators in Texas understand educational policies that impact LGBT students, their practices, and interventions in the classroom. The project looks at two policies: anti-bullying and sexual education policies, and provides evidence that they are intrinsically linked through the discourse surrounding LGBT issues in Texas schools.

Despite advancements in research on sexual morphology as well as increasing interdisciplinary theory on gender, medicine continues to perpetuate anti-transgender stigma in health care. Research on this topic has typically lacked perspectives from health professionals, who operate in and contribute to the environments in which patients seek care. In collaboration with Dallas non-profit Trans Pride Initiative, this study seeks to begin filling this research gap, relying on a sexual stigma framework created by Gregory Herek and applying it to anti-transgender (or gender) stigma to examine its manifestations in health care environments through narrative inquiry. The data from narrative interviews with health care professionals revealed themes of inadequate schooling on transgender competency models and health needs, difficulties in resisting gatekeeper practices while addressing mental health needs, a patient-as-expert approach amongst trans-affirming providers, and understanding of patient family dynamics as a catalyst for understanding stigma. Exploration of sexual identity prior to claiming gender identity, lacking language to explain gender experiences until encountering other LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) people, and religious trauma as restrictive to gender exploration during childhood emerged as themes amongst transgender and gender diverse participant interviews. The practical implications of these themes present issues for institutional, social, and …

This work describes ethnographic research completed in order to understand how local community members in Denton, Texas define, conceptualize, and speak about sustainability. The goal of this research is to encourage a more representative approach to sustainability initiatives within the City of Denton by uniting community ideas with local governance. Data for this study was collected through semi-structured interviews with residents, participant observation at community meetings, and quantitative survey analysis. Through the use of a Foucauldian framework for analysis, in conjunction with David Harvey's "entrepreneurial city," and work done in the field of environmental justice, this study highlights a potential link between neoliberal approaches to city governance and community perceptions of sustainability. This research concludes by calling for more representation of all community members within local sustainability initiatives, and provides several suggestions for how this can be achieved.

This thesis focuses on tribal engagement and tribal consultation in the United States. In the thesis, I discuss my experience working on an interdisciplinary research team completing a formal ethnographic study which was submitted to a federal agency. Using insights gained from this experience and additional experience working with American Indian tribes, I discuss historic, contemporary, and potential future strategies for involving and engaging American Indian tribes in land and resource stewardship decisions in the United States.