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Lewis's modal realism is the view that possible worlds are maximal mereological sums of spatiotemporally connected individuals. Classical theism is the view that God is necessary, unitary, omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, simple, and the creator and sustainer of all existence. Lewisian theism is the conjunction of modal realism with classical theism. In my thesis by interrelated papers, I argue, firstly, that Lewisian theism is consistent, provided certain theoretical revisions are made to modal realism, and, secondly, that Lewisian theism has the resources to solve certain philosophico-theological problems. In the prologue, I introduce the thesis and expound Lewisian theism. In the first substantive paper, I argue that God's necessity is incompatible with counterpart theory; but, in the second, I argue, contra the dominant view in the literature, that if we eschew counterpart theory for analysing God's necessity, Lewisian theism is consistent. The third and fourth papers concern material adequacy; the third concerns the existence of evil worlds, wherein I argue that Lewisian theists can non-problematically deny the existence of such worlds; and the fourth concerns the existence of an empty world, wherein I argue that Lewisian theists can supply such a world. The fifth paper concerns Lewisian theism's ability to solve a philosophico-theological problem; herein, I argue, firstly, that a valid version of the contingency argument against divine simplicity can be supplied (contra some philosophers), and secondly that Lewisian theism has the resources to render this argument unsound. The last paper contains an abductive argument for the existence of God from modal realism; I argue that the best way to account for the truths of advanced modal claims is to posit the existence of God.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a disability characterized by social communication deficits, repetitive and restrictive behaviors, and language and communication deficits. Its prevalence among the general population has led to increased efforts to intervene effectively during childhood and adolescence. Prior quantitative and qualitative research suggests that camps are an effective setting to deliver social skills intervention for children with ASD; however, there are gaps in research that need to be addressed, such as a lack of empirical qualitative evidence, difficulty with language and communication issues inherent to ASD, and limited reliable studies involving the photovoice methodologies. The research questions designed to address such gaps asked what a camp for adolescents with ASD might mean to participants and whether such a camp might produce a change in belonging, self-confidence, and independence among its campers. As such, this study employed the photovoice qualitative methodology to interview 8 adolescent males about their experiences at Camp Jigsaw, a social skills camp in the southeastern United States of America. Results of phenomenological qualitative analysis suggest that the most dominant themes expressed by campers were Positive Emotions, Socialization, Unique Experiences, Collective Identity, and Self-Improvement. The interplay and linkages between these themes revealed that the security of belonging with a group of like-minded peers resulted in increased independent experiences and self-confidence among participants of Camp Jigsaw. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]