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Assessing The Persistence To Graduation Of Students Joining Fraternities At Western Kentucky University, Charles Pride

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In the study, I assessed the persistence of students who joined fraternities at Western Kentucky University. Also included is a comparison between them and the general student population. The study includes 1467 students who joined fraternities between the Fall 1986 to Spring 1991 semesters. A five-year time period was used as the benchmark for graduation from the institution. Factors that were explored included race, initiation status, year in school when pledging, and organizational affiliation. Pearson Product-Moment Correlations and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data. The results illustrated that students who join fraternities graduate at a higher …

Does Sex Discrimination Exist In Faculty Salaries At Western Kentucky University? An Empirical Examination Of The Wage Gap, Reed Vesey

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis examines wage differentials between male and female faculty salaries at Western Kentucky University. A human capital model of salary determination is examined by using regression analysis on relevant personal and job characteristics of faculty members. A large portion of the wage gap between men and women is explained through differences in the personal and job characteristics. A portion of the wage gap remains unexplained, however, the probability of discrimination playing a substantial role in salary is very small.

Stigma And The Negotiation Of Identity By Rural And Small-Town Lesbians, Margaret Cooper

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Fifteen women who identify themselves as lesbians were located through snowball sampling. These women participated in confidential taped interviews and assigned pseudonyms. They were questioned on topics which included growing up gay, family, work relations and friendship associations.

It was assumed that life experiences may differ on the basis of social environments. This study focused on the unique experiences of rural lesbians.

Erving Goofman’s book, Stigma, provided the theoretical framework utilized in the analysis of lesbian identity management. It also allowed for a discussion of stigma and its effect on lesbians.

The women in the study experiencing homosexual feelings during …

The Sex Stereotype Of A Job As A Moderator Of Sex Bias In Performance Evaluations, Sandra B. Crooks

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In accordance with the stereotype-fit model of discrimination (Dipboye, 1985), the results of past research indicate that the extent to which jobs are sex stereotyped dictates whether or not a main effect for rate sex is present in performance evaluations. The purpose of this study was to further examine the relationship between the sex stereotype of the job and the presence of sex bias in evaluation. Two hundred and five undergraduate psychology students viewed one of eight videotapes of a confederate job applicant performing a work sample task and evaluated the observed performance. A 2 x 2 x 2 between …

Misattribution Of Interpersonal Attraction: A Case Of Mistaken Chemistry Or Cognition, William John Bowman Ii

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Prior research endorsed two theories of misattribution of interpersonal attraction. Both the two-component theory and the excitation transfer theory demonstrate misattribution and, in combination, enhance the probability of misattribution. However, which theory provides the primary source of misattribution has not been distinguished. The present study asked 60 undergraduate males to rate their interpersonal attraction toward a female in a video recording engaging in self disclosure. A manipulation of different levels of environmental saliency and physiological arousal was used to determine which condition or combination of conditions is most likely to elicit misattribution of interpersonal attraction. An analysis of variance followed …

Sharing The Wealth: Movement Toward Gender Parity In Managerial & Professional Specialty Occupations From 1950 To 1980, D. Leeann Jolly

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Data on the managerial and professional specialty occupations that were specified by the United States Census of the Population for the years 1950 through 1980 were used to analyze the influence of occupational sex ratios, growth rates, and male and female salary levels on the ability of females to move into those occupations. An analysis of the change in the Standardized Occupational Sex Ratio (SSR) showed that, over the thirty year period studied, growth rates became more important than salary levels in influencing movement toward parity in high status occupations.

Before the 1980 census year, occupational growth rates were found …

A Study Of The Relationship Of Socioeconomic Status & Student Perceptions Of School Effectiveness To Academic Achievement Of Engineering Students, Geronimo Mendoza Meraz

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the relative contribution of socioeconomic status and student perceptions of school effectiveness to academic achievement in engineering students. The variables representing the general factor of socioeconomic status were 1) father’s occupation, 2) father’s schooling, 3) mother’s schooling, 4) family income, and 5) family’s community population. The variables representing student perceptions of school effectiveness were: 1) help seeking factor, 2) professional preparation factor, 3) experience factor, 4) outside classroom activity factor, 5) personal encouragement factor, and 6) delivery factor.

A question was developed for this specific study and was completed by 110 senior …

A Study Of Retention Between The Cadette And Senior Level Of Girl Scouting In The Kentuckiana Girl Scout Council, Diane M. Weigel

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study was made in attempt to identify the characteristics of a troop program in which tenth grade girls had been involved and to determine why they did or did not continue in Scouting. A survey instrument was devised and pretested to validate and improve upon the questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed through the mail to 190 girls who had been registered in the Kentuckiana Council Scouting program in 1981. All girls, despite their present status in Scouting were asked to complete and return the survey. The questions pertained to such areas as years involved in Scouting, frequency of meetings, …

Stereotype Bias In Selection: A Process Approach, Donald V. Currie

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This investigation was to determine if an applicant’s sex and the job’s sex orientation stereotypes affected the evaluation of applicant information and subsequent selection decision outcomes. Interviewers (N=48) were asked to rate the employment suitability of 49 hypothetical applicants. The results indicated that an interaction of the applicant’s sex and job’s sex orientation had marginal affect on the importance weightings in two of the four applicant attribute factors, motivation/ability and personality/appearance. Applicants with equivalent qualifications did not receive comparable employment suitability ratings, Unfair job discrimination was demonstrated by these data. It was concluded that the applicant’s sex and the job’s …

The Structure Of Relevance And Marxian Sociology Of Knowledge: An Analysis Of Hegemony And Voluntary Associations, Larry R. Irons

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis examines the hegemonic function of symbolic structures of relevance as they are related to phenomenological commitments to social change held by voluntary associations of homosexuals. The data base of this investigation consists of the literature of 21 homophile organizations.

Organizations literature is used to facilitate a theoretical adaptation of Alfred Schutz’ discussion of relevance structures which addresses he hegemonic organization of voluntary associations. The concept of relevance structure was implemented to relate predominant orientations within the sociology of deviance to a phenomenological interpretation of group commitment serves as a heuristic device for scrutinizing the instrumental as well as …

Influence Of Sex Role Stereotypes On Ratings Of Male And Female Behavior, Constance Barclay

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

An attempt was made to investigate the extent to which individuals are unknowingly influenced by a sex role stereotype in their evaluations of men and women. It was hypothesized that subjects would describe a character in more potency-related, “masculine” terms if that character had been identified as a male than if the character had been identified as a female. Subjects taking part in this study were an equal number of male and female students in introductory psychology classes. The semantic differential technique was employed as a descriptive tool for the subjects’ evaluations of a character they read about in a …