Digital Commons Network^™

A New Twist On The “Un-African” Script: Representing Gay And Lesbian African Weddings In Democratic South Africa, Michael W. Yarbrough

Publications and Research

This essay examines the media coverage surrounding two African weddings of lesbian and gay couples in South Africa, as a lens onto the evolving cultural politics of black queerness in that country. Two decades after South Africa launched a world-leading legal framework for LGBTI protections, I argue that these media representations depict the growing inclusion of black LGBTIQ people as a process of bridging the supposed “gap” between homosexuality and African culture. This new “bridging the gap” script seemingly rejects the older, dominant script portraying homosexuality as intrinsically “un-African.” But I argue that it instead reproduces the “un-African” script in …

Let’S Talk: An Examination Of Parental Involvement As A Predictor Of Stem Achievement In Math For High School Girls, Nicol R. Howard, Keith E. Howard, Randy T. Busse, Christine Hunt

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This research was conducted to examine the influence of parental involvement, in the form of parent conversations, on mathematics achievement for high school girls. Data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) public-use file provided a sample of 13,694 students, including 6,592 girls for our analyses. A scale for measuring parent conversations was developed and regression analyses were conducted to examine whether this scale variable predicted mathematics achievement. Results indicated that conversational parental involvement was a significant predictor of mathematics achievement for Black and White girls, but not Hispanic and Asian. Implications for research and policy initiatives are …

The Roles Of Parents In Shaping Fathering Across Generations In Cebu, Philippines, Lee T. Gettler, Patty X. Kuo, Abet Bas, Judith B. Borja

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective: This study examined how parental caregiving and parent–child closeness are associated with future fathering among 335 Filipino men who are participants in a long-running birth cohort study.

Background Few studies have multidecade longitudinal data to test the pathways through which parenting is transmitted across generations, with most relevant research conducted in the United States, Europe, and other similar settings. The roles of mothers and fathers in shaping their sons’ future parenting is particularly understudied despite fathers having the potential to positively influence child health and development.

Method: Participants’ mothers (Generation 1 [G1]) reported on caregiving during Generation 2 (G2) …

Material Girls: Consumption And The Making Of Middle Class Identity In The Experiences Of Black Single Mothers In The Washington, Dc Metropolitan Area, Aysha L. Preston Ph.D.

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the ways in which black single mothers in the Washington, DC metropolitan area use material goods and consumption practices to inform their identities as members of the middle class. Black middle class women are challenging stereotypes surrounding single mother households, the idea of family, and class status in the United States, as more women overall are having children while single, delaying or deciding against marriage, and are entering the middle and upper-middle classes as a result of advanced education and career opportunities. Because of these demographic and sociocultural shifts, the romanticized “nuclear family” which consists of a …

La Relación De Prácticas Religiosas E La Identidad: Los Campesinos Migrantes Q’Eros / The Relationship Of Religious Practices And Identity: The Migrant Peasants Q'Eros, Autumn Delong

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este estudio se enfoca en la relación entre la experiencia religiosa de los campesinos migrantes q’ero y la concepción de la identidad. Describe el estado de los rituales religiosos en la ciudad de Cusco y explica la preservación y el cambio de las prácticas a través de la migración de los q’ero del campo a la ciudad. Además, explica el papel de las tradiciones religiosas como un fortalecimiento y reafirmación de la identidad q’ero en medio del nuevo ambiente de la ciudad. Este informe muestra que las perspectivas de los especialistas y practicantes de los rituales de la cosmovisión andina …

Discovery Orientation, Cognitive Schemas, And Disparities In Science Identity In Early Adolescence, Patricia Wonch Hill, Julia Mcquillan, Amy Spiegel, Judy Diamond

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Why are some youth more likely to think of themselves as a science kind of person than others? In this paper, we use a cognitive social-theoretical framework to assess disparities in science identity among middle school–age youth in the United States. We investigate how discovery orientation is associated with science interest, perceived ability, importance, and reflected appraisal, and how they are related to whether youth see themselves, and perceive that others see them, as a science kind of person. We surveyed 441 students in an ethnically diverse, low-income middle school. Gender and race/ethnicity are associated with science identity but not …

From The Margins To The Frame: Social Identities And A “Pan-Pacific” Moana, Keara Sternberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper investigates the implications of Pacific representation and regional identity in Disney’s film, Moana. It evaluates if the film successfully represented a broad range of Pacific cultures and peoples. It weaves together 20 secondary sources, 8 interviews and 56 surveys. The sample population involved college-aged students from universities throughout the Pacific along with academic professionals and involved members of the Oceanic Story Trust. Overall, the study found that Moana successfully captured a pan-Pacific identity on several indicators, while it also found dissenting reactions toward the film by some respondents on measures of cultural representation. To Pacific students, Moana appears …

Lgbtq+ Young Adults On The Street And On Campus: Identity As A Product Of Social Context, Rachel M. Schmitz, Kimberly A. Tyler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) young adults face unique identity-related experiences based on their immersion in distinctive social contexts. The predominant framework of performing separate analyses on samples of LGBTQ+ young people by their primary social status obfuscates more holistic understandings of the role of social context. Using 46 in-depth interviews with LGBTQ+ college students and LGBTQ+ homeless young adults, we ask: How are LGBTQ+ young adults’ capacities for “doing” their gender and sexual identities shaped by their distinctive social contexts? In developing their identities, both groups of LGBTQ+ young adults navigated their social …

Science Possible Selves And The Desire To Be A Scientist: Mindsets, Gender Bias, And Confidence During Early Adolescence, Patricia Wonch Hill, Julia Mcquillan, Eli Talbert, Amy N. Spiegel, G. Robin Gauthier, Judy Diamond

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

In the United States, gender gaps in science interest widen during the middle school years. Recent research on adults shows that gender gaps in some academic fields are associated with mindsets about ability and gender-science biases. In a sample of 529 students in a U.S. middle school, we assess how explicit boy-science bias, science confidence, science possible self (belief in being able to become a scientist), and desire to be a scientist vary by gender. Guided by theories and prior research, we use a series of multivariate logistic regression models to examine the relationships between mindsets about ability and these …

La Construcción De Una Identidad Propia Por Parte De Las Mujeres Piqueteras De Claypole, Como Protagonistas, Dentro Del Frente De Organizaciones En Lucha (Fol) / Mujeres Piqueteras Of Claypole Constructing Their Own Identity As Protagonists Within The Frente De Organizaciones En Lucha (Fol), Luz Daniela Castro

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the late 1990s in Argentina, the model of neoliberalism transformed political and economic policies, aggravated free trade and promoted the privatization of companies and free enterprise. A direct consequence was job instability, with masses amounts of unemployment prevailing, and no action nor response pursued by the state. As a result, the unemployed workers “desocupdos” came together and introduced new repertoires of action: the picketing “piquetes” and the temporary blockage of roads “corte de rutas”. The movement’s first appearance was in the Cutral-Có y Plaza Huincul in the Province of Neuquén (1996-97), extended to Salta and Jujuy (1997) and then …

Enough: Narratives Of Migration On A Small-Farm In Sidibouafif, Steven Ring

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Small-scale family farms in the Eastern Rif have undergone challenge after challenge throughout the 20^th century, including war, poverty, restrictions of natural resources, overpopulation, and extensive labor migration. This paper aims to examine the ways in which narratives of migration manifest in the daily lives of a family living in the plain of Al-Hoceima. I hold the belief that the ways in which large-scale processes manifest in our daily lives is indicative of how these processes affect our identity. This research comprises a case-study with the Khalid family of SidiBouafif, and aims to examine the ways in which media, …

Cultural Capital: An Investigation In Community Sustainability, Harrison Luft

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study analyzed the place and role of cultural capital within the existing community sustainability framework. The purpose of the study was to look at the organization Graos de Luz e Grio and analyze their strategies in education, dialogue, culture, empowerment, and sustainability with young people and with the community. It was built upon a review of the literature, which found that although culture is included in the current sustainability framework, it is not given the necessary credit it deserves in shaping populations. The study was conducted over four weeks in the city of Lençóis, located in the interior of …

Wanted More From Moore, Rashida Aluko-Roberts

SURGE

I was very excited when I first picked up Wes Moore’s book The Other Wes Moore. After hearing that it was chosen as the common reading text for the incoming class, and also being given the opportunity to co-facilitate a discussion based on the book, I was even more excited.

However, as I read the book, I found myself more frustrated than fulfilled. [excerpt]

The Importance Of Motherhood And Fertility Intentions Among U.S. Women, Julia Mcquillan, Arthur L. Greil, Karina M. Shreffler, Andrew V. Bedrous

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Fertility intentions are associated with achieved fertility; therefore, understanding the factors associated with fertility intentions is important. Considerable research has examined factors associated with fertility intentions, but no one has explored the importance of motherhood to women. Guided by life course and identity theories, we use the National Survey of Fertility Barriers, a data set collected from a random sample of U.S. women aged 25–45 in 2004 through 2007, to assess the relationship between importance of motherhood and fertility intentions. Adding importance of motherhood to a model including other variables associated with fertility intentions increases the variance explained by 6.4 …

Is Gaining, Losing Or Keeping A Self-Identified Fertility Problem Associated With Changes In Self-Esteem?, Elizabeth A. Richardson

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Because motherhood is an expected and valued identity in the United States, becoming a mother should lead to an increase in self-esteem and perceiving a problem becoming a mother should lead to a decrease in self-esteem. Little research has examined the combined experience of both identifying with a fertility problem and becoming a mother or not over time. Guided by identity theory framework, this study uses two waves of data from the National Survey of Fertility Barriers (NSFB) to examine how change and stability in motherhood status and perceived fertility barrier status is associated with changes in self-esteem among women …

On The Margins: Considering Diversity Among Consensually Non-Monogamous Relationships, Jennifer D. Rubin, Amy C. Moors, Jes L. Matsick, Ali Ziegler, Terri D. Conley

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Consensual non-monogamy (CNM) encompasses romantic relationships in which all partners agree that engaging in sexual and/or romantic relationships with other people is allowed and part of their relationship arrangement (Conley, Moors, Matsick & Ziegler, 2012). Previous research indicates that individuals who participate in CNM relationships are demographically homogenous (Sheff & Hammers, 2010; Sheff, 2005); however, we argue that this may be an artifact of community-based recruitment strategies that have created an inaccurate reflection of people who engage in CNM. To achieve a more nuanced understanding of the identities of individuals engaged in departures from monogamy, the present study provides a …

Unaffiliated Parents And The Religious Training Of Their Children, Christel Manning

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

This article examines how parents who are religiously unaffiliated make decisions about the religious upbringing of their children. Drawing on qualitative data, this study explores the diverse worldviews that are included within the term "None” and how those beliefs are reflected or not reflected in the way parents raise their children. The article identifies four distinct worldviews among unaffiliated parents and identifies five different strategies that parents use to incorporate religion in the lives of their children. The article then analyzes the relationship between parent worldviews and actions, with particular attention to secular unaffiliated parents who incorporate religion in the …

Melungeon Portraits: Lived Experience And Identity, Tamara L. Stachowicz

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The desire to claim an ethnicity may be in response to an institutional and systemic political movement towards multiculturalism where ethnic difference is something to be recognized and celebrated (Jimenez, 2010; Tatum, 1997). Those who were a member of a dominant or advantaged group took that element of their identity for granted (Tatum, 1997). Identity work has included reflections and congruence between how individuals see themselves and how they perceive others to see them, including Optimal Distinctiveness Theory where one determines the optimal amount of individual distinctiveness needed to feel a healthy group and personal identity (Brewer, 2012). When most …

Does The Reason Matter? Variations In Childlessness Concerns Among U.S. Women, Julia Mcquillan, Arthur L. Greil, Patricia Wonch Hill, Kari C. Gentzler, John D. Hathcoat

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Does the reason why women have no children matter with regard to level of childlessness concerns? Reasons include biomedical barriers, situational barriers, delaying motherhood, and choosing to be childfree. The concept of ‘‘childlessness concerns’’ captures the idea that holidays and family gatherings are difficult because of not having children or feeling left out or sad that others have children. Life course and identity theories guided the structural equation model analyses of a representative sample of 1,180 U.S. women without children from the National Survey of Fertility Barriers. The results indicated that women with the least control over pregnancy, those with …

The Bride Is Keeping Her Name: A 35-Year Retrospective Analysis Of Trends And Correlates, Richard J. Kopelman, Rita J. Shea Van-Fossen, Eletherios Paraskevas, Leanna Lawter, David J. Prottas

WCBT Faculty Publications

We used data obtained from wedding announcements in the New York Times newspaper from 1971 through 2005 (N=2,400) to test 9 hypotheses related to brides' decisions to change or retain their maiden names upon marriage. As predicted, a trend was found in brides keeping their surname, and correlates included the bride’s occupation, education, age, and the type of ceremony (religious versus nonsectarian). Partial support was found for the following correlates: officiants representing different religions, brides with one or both parents deceased, and brides whose parents had divorced or separated. There was mixed support for the hypothesis that a …

Singapore And The Experience Of Place In Old Age, Lily Kong, Brenda S. A. Yeoh, Peggy Teo

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Through case studies of two neighborhoods in Singapore with large concentrations of elderly residents-Tiong Bahru and Chinatown-we explore the relationship between the aged's emotional attachments to place and the sustenance of their personal identities, their continued participation in life, and their adaptation to changing circumstances. In particular, we examine their feelings of physical, social, and autobiographical insideness. We emphasize the rapidly changing physical conditions in Chinatown wrought by the government's conservation strategy and their implications for the elderly. In Tiong Bahru young people are moving to newer housing developments, leaving the aged behind in an essentially little-changed physical environment; we …

Ethnicity And Lifetimes: Self Concepts And Situational Contexts Of Ethnic Identity In Late Life, Mark Luborsky, Robert L. Rubinstein

Anthropology Faculty Research Publications

This chapter reports on finding from a study of ethnic older men, aged 65 an older (Jewish, Irish, and Italian) who were widowed from 2 to 8 years after a long-term study. It focuses on life reorganization after the initial bereavement period. It identifies key issues in the process concerning continuity and change in identity reformulation, changes in health and activity patterns, ethnic identity and lingering attachment to the deceased spouse. Ethnicity as a dynamic life course process, shaped by contextual and historical dimensions, and personal meaning processes are highlighted. Supported by NIH# R01-AG005204