Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Sociology

PDF

Rhode Island College

Honors Projects

Keyword
Publication Year

Articles 1 - 18 of 18

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Generational Differences: A Look At Dialectic Formation In Cranston, Rhode Island, Michaela Delgallo May 2012

Generational Differences: A Look At Dialectic Formation In Cranston, Rhode Island, Michaela Delgallo

Honors Projects

In most dialects, the pronunciation of the words bear and beer is different. However, dialects found in Charleston, SC and New Zealand merge the vowel sounds found in these words. In both locations, it appears that there is a sound change in progress, resulting in different pronunciations among generations. Cranston, RI may also have this merger and may be undergoing a sound change as well.
To explore this possibility, acoustic recordings and analyses have been made of 18 participants from Cranston. Each participant produced different pairs of words that contained the vowels heard in beer and bear. Three different …


What's Best For Women: Examining The Impact Of Legal Approaches To Prostitution In Cross-National Perspective And Rhode Island, Malinda Bridges May 2012

What's Best For Women: Examining The Impact Of Legal Approaches To Prostitution In Cross-National Perspective And Rhode Island, Malinda Bridges

Honors Projects

This research analyzes legal approaches to prostitution on a cross-national level in order to determine if legal methods that regulate prostitution have an effect on prostitution. In order to examine these concepts, legel approaches were first identifed in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Following this analysis, the effects of these legal approaches are reported. Instead of working from a strictly sociological standpoint, this project focused greatly on the legal aspects that affect prostitution.


Perceived Job Readiness Among The Previously Incarcerated, Amy Audet Apr 2012

Perceived Job Readiness Among The Previously Incarcerated, Amy Audet

Honors Projects

This study aims to determine the primary factor in employment readiness for previously incarcerated individuals. Ex offenders were were surveyed for job readiness using a scale developed in the studies' literature review. This scale emcompasses factors such as skills, knowledge, confidence and goals. Surveys were also done according to age, age of first incarceration, incarceration history and job training history. Because this population is marginalized, this study may bring new awareness about the effects of employer discrimination and the need for future programs to increase job readiness among the previously incarcerated individuals.


Biased Visual Attention To Out-Group Members' Skin Tone Does Not Lead To Discriminatory Behavior, Sathiarith Chau Apr 2012

Biased Visual Attention To Out-Group Members' Skin Tone Does Not Lead To Discriminatory Behavior, Sathiarith Chau

Honors Projects

According to the racial phenotype theory, the extent to which members resemble or depart from the physical prototype of a particular race will determine how strongly the perceiver associates them with preconceived racial stereotypes. For Blacks, skin color was predicted to be a primary feature attended to and those with dark skin were more negatively stereotyped. The current study aimed to explicitly measure visual attention during judgment of faces through the use of eye-tracking. Past methodologies measuring the attention to skin tone and its relationship to stereotype judgment were not directly measured. The study used a mixed model design: Label …


Sex Education In Our Schools, Kelley Conti Apr 2012

Sex Education In Our Schools, Kelley Conti

Honors Projects

This research project involved interviewing 42 parents with children between the ages of 12 to 18-years-old regarding their views and opinions on sex education for today’s youth. All 42 parents agreed they wanted a more informative sex education for their children than what they were exposed to as children. This included those with formal sex education as well as those that learned from peers, siblings or in their neighborhood. Another aspect all parents agreed on was the need for a more comprehensive sex education. Thirty-eight parents thought abstinence should be included as an option in sex education classes but not …


Apartheid Transition: Assessing A Black Township Education In South Africa's Disparate Social System, Adrienne Gerard Apr 2011

Apartheid Transition: Assessing A Black Township Education In South Africa's Disparate Social System, Adrienne Gerard

Honors Projects

An analysis of township education in South Africa and why outcomes are still so poor despite varied attempts y the post-Apartheid government to elevate these previously disadvantaged schools to the level of the country's primarily white schools. This paper looks into financial reason as well as policies, teacher qualification and domestic culture.


Predicting Police Discretion: A Traffic Stop Analysis, Andrew Girard May 2010

Predicting Police Discretion: A Traffic Stop Analysis, Andrew Girard

Honors Projects

Examines Donald Black's (1976) theory of pure sociology with data from traffic stops collected over eight months during seventy hours of "ride alongs" with eight different police departments in Rhode Island. Posits that the social structure of each traffic stop is predictable based on observable characteristics of the parties involved and that distance in social space increases the likelihood of a police officer issuing a citation to a driver, while social characteristics similar to that of the police officer reduces the likelihood of a driver receiving a citation. Twenty-one variables throught to impact a police officer's discretion are analyzed. As …


Urban Dystopia, John Mccaughey Apr 2010

Urban Dystopia, John Mccaughey

Honors Projects

Depicts American urban decay in large scale murals and small chine colle prints. Includes the project proposal and a reflective essay, along with photos of the murals and selected prints.


A Descriptive Review Of Health Care Providers Perspective On Stigmatization Of Hiv/Aids Patients: United States And South Africa, Ana I. Fonseca Dec 2009

A Descriptive Review Of Health Care Providers Perspective On Stigmatization Of Hiv/Aids Patients: United States And South Africa, Ana I. Fonseca

Honors Projects

Compares the issue of social stigma affecting people with HIV/AIDS in the United State and in South Africa. Posits that stigma is more of an interpersonal problem in the United States, while it is a huge barrier to access to care in South Africa. Data was compiled through personal conversations and experiences in South Africa during June 2009, interviews with health professional and community members in Rhode Island during the fall of 2009, and reading of the professional literature.


Finding Solutions To Language Barriers Between Nurses And Their Clients, Tammy Poisson Dec 2009

Finding Solutions To Language Barriers Between Nurses And Their Clients, Tammy Poisson

Honors Projects

Explores perceptions of current registered nurses' encounters with limited English proficiency (LEP) Spanish speaking clients, negative outcomes related to LEP perceived by these nurses, and suggestions offered by these RNs for innovative interventions that would lessen language barriers. Describes an exploratory study conducted via a survey of nurses working in urban health clinics within Rhode Island and discusses microscopic and macroscopic nursing implications related to language barriers between nurses and their clients.


What Qualities Do Parents Value In Their Children ? : A Revision Of Earlier Findings, Caitlin Lantagne Jan 2009

What Qualities Do Parents Value In Their Children ? : A Revision Of Earlier Findings, Caitlin Lantagne

Honors Projects

Using General Social Survey data, examines the qualities that parents have valued in their children since 1986. Offers evidence that, in contrast to trends reported prior to this date, autonomy was no longer increasingly valued by parents during the period from 1986 to 2006 and that the trend away from valuing obedience had also slowed dramatically.


Careers In Corrections: Perceptions From The Inside, Kelsey A. Kanoff Jan 2009

Careers In Corrections: Perceptions From The Inside, Kelsey A. Kanoff

Honors Projects

Examines the perceptions of correctional officers on recruitment, retention, and promotion processes within the Rhode island Department of Corrections. Studies the extent to which gender, and to a lesser extent, race, impact officers at all three stages of their careers.


"What It Takes To Be A Man": A Comparison Of Masculinity And Sexuality In Rebel Without A Cause And River's Edge, Alyssa Costa May 2008

"What It Takes To Be A Man": A Comparison Of Masculinity And Sexuality In Rebel Without A Cause And River's Edge, Alyssa Costa

Honors Projects

Compares the teen films, Rebel without a Cause and River's Edge, using cultural studies to analyze what they reveal about the complexities of masculinity and sexuality. Contends that while the cultural ideologies of the 1950s and 1980s promote a tough-guy hyper-masculinity, these films offer multiple models of masculinity, various forms of homosocial bonds, and veiled messages about homosexuality.


"You're Tearing Me Apart"! Investigating Ideology In The Image Of Teens In The 1950s, Danielle Bouchard May 2008

"You're Tearing Me Apart"! Investigating Ideology In The Image Of Teens In The 1950s, Danielle Bouchard

Honors Projects

Using cultural studies as a critical paradigm and ideological analysis as methodology, argues that gender, sexuality, and the nuclear family are core issues treated in two films and one television program from the 1950s featuring American teenagers. Focuses on the classic juvenile delinquent film, Rebel without a Cause, the quintessential clean teen film, Gidget, and the television series, Leave It to Beaver.


Tattoo World, Agnieszka Marczak Apr 2007

Tattoo World, Agnieszka Marczak

Honors Projects

Presents a holistic look at the world of tattoo. Covers the history of the practice of tattooing in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. Discusses such major issues as tattooing in relation to the body, authenticity, commodification and meaning, functions, medical and legal concerns, the impact of technological developments on the practice, and the increase in popularity of tattooing in recent decades.


Language, Gender And Identity In The Works Of Louise Bennett And Michelle Cliff, Nicole Branca Jan 2007

Language, Gender And Identity In The Works Of Louise Bennett And Michelle Cliff, Nicole Branca

Honors Projects

Examines the writings of two female, Jamaican authors, Louise Bennett and Michelle Cliff. Bennett flourished during the period of de-colonization and independence for Jamaica, while Cliff came into prominence after Jamaican independence. Shows how both writers played an important role in helping Jamaica establish a national identity by focusing on multiple dimensions of what it means to be Jamaican, including issues of language, gender, and identity.


Domestic Violence Blame Attributions In The State Of Rhode Island, Kyle Gamache Jan 2006

Domestic Violence Blame Attributions In The State Of Rhode Island, Kyle Gamache

Honors Projects

Focuses on domestic violence blame attitudes in the State of Rhode Island. Using the Domestic Violence Blame Scale (Petretic-Jackson, 1994) and additional variables generated by a survey designed by the researcher, examines the attitudes of domestic violence shelter care workers, police officers, and students.


Textual Possession: Manipulating Narratives In Wilkie Collins's Sensation Fiction, Kieran Ayton Apr 2005

Textual Possession: Manipulating Narratives In Wilkie Collins's Sensation Fiction, Kieran Ayton

Honors Projects

Examines the mechanisms through which Collins updated the gothic novel to create the sensation novel, with particular emphasis on The Woman in White, The Law and the Lady, and The Haunted Hotel. Highlights Collins's use of transgressive gender characterization, whereby his main characters use documents to gain social power over other characters. Describes the influence of Ann Radcliffe's gothic novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho, on The Woman in White.