Digital Commons Network^™

Paradise Found? Black Gay Men In Atlanta: An Exploration Of Community, Tobias L. Spears

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Theses

This study examines the ways in which Black gay men in Atlanta create and experience community and culture every day, notwithstanding those discursive sources that situate life for Black gay men as particularly troubled. Drawing on ethnographic methods, including participant observation and interviewing, I attempt to show the complexity of Black gay men by exploring their world in Atlanta, Georgia, a city that has increasingly become known as a Black Gay Mecca. Qualitative research examining the ways Black gay men create and experience community has the potential to broaden academic discourses that have increasingly medicalized the Black gay male experience, …

Borders And Barriers: Perspectives On Aging And Alternative Medicine Among Transnational North Indian Immigrants, Kanan B. Mehta

Anthropology Theses

This study explores the practice of alternative medicine among a group of senior, transnational Indian immigrants. I analyze how cross-cultural ideologies influence aging and immigrant experiences in healthcare. I explore the ways in which transnational networks nurture social relations and aid in acquiring healthcare resources. This study also examines the developments that alternative medicine underwent during the colonial rule and how those developments affected the trajectory of biomedicine. I focus on the practice of alternative medicine as a significant contributor to immigrant health. Finally, I argue that we need to strive for a symbiosis between alternative medicine and Western biomedicine …

Teaching, Learning, And Writing In The Third Space: A Study Of Language And Culture Intersecting With Instruction, Susan Toma-Berge Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to compare the characteristics and attributes of an effective first grade teacher of writing to English learners through the lens of the "third space." The "third space" represents a place where sociocultural theory interacts with language and culture, and authentic, integrated literacy instruction. Because there is no empirical evidence to support the theory of the "third space" the observation and interview data were analyzed using literature that draws on three areas of study: English learners, first grade literacy, and urban schools. The key findings from this study produced three themes that came about by …

Still Flying: The Communicative Constitution Of Browncoat Fandom As Culture, Jonathon Nicholas Lundy

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

In contemporary western culture, fandom is common. Many academics and members of the general public alike conceive of fandom as outside the norms of spectatorship; to be a spectator is to enjoy an interest individually and passively. However, others contend that fandom is a more significant cultural achievement.

This study qualitatively investigated how Browncoats, or fans of the cancelled television series Firefly , communicatively construct their fandom culture. Methods included participant observation, semi-structured interviews, data analysis through Grounded Theory, and a comparative thematic analysis of the original Firefly source texts and Browncoat cultural data in order to discover meaningful themes …

Reposition, Ratna Khanna

Theses

Landscape should be an instrument of cultural force. This work contemplates the relationship between the artificial and the natural. It resulted from thinking about matters concerning my interactions with public space; the combination of nature and the culture we inflict upon it. By including "nature" here, I use it to denote an outside environment that includes biological activity that is untamed, yet still capable of being influenced by human agency. This human agency takes the form of culture, that which appropriates nature towards our social needs. Hence, this agency benefits the formation of landscapes. A cultural artifact such as an …

Towards Understanding Water Conservation Behavior In Southwest Florida: The Role Of Cultural Models, Bernard T. (Terry) Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This applied anthropology dissertation aims to enhance public policy and best practices for conserving potable water resources, using the Tampa Bay region of southwest Florida as a case study. It addresses not how humans conserve, but why they may or may not choose to do so. To date, a limited anthropological focus on water conservation behavior in western, urban settings has created a gap in the role culture plays in understanding why people conserve. The research problem is to identify how water conservation behavior in Tampa, Florida can be enhanced through a better understanding of beliefs and values reflected in …

Clinicians' Understanding And Perception Of Coping Behaviors And Cultural Differences In Families Dealing With A Childhood Cancer Diagnosis : A Project Based Upon An Independent Investigation, Kara J. Rule

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This research provides insight into social workers' understanding and perceptions of coping behaviors in families faced with a pediatric cancer diagnosis. The three research questions that guided this study were: (1) Do clinicians observe/perceive cultural distinctions in coping behaviors among families dealing with a pediatric cancer diagnosis? (2) How does a clinician's own culture impact his or her assessments of a family's coping abilities? and (3) How can clinicians gain better cultural sensitivity and cultural competence in working with diverse populations? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 social workers who were working in pediatric oncology centers across the United States. …

A Different World : First Generation Latinas And Family Role Change : A Project Based On An Independent Investigation, Emely D. Velez

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative study explored the subjective experiences of the transition to college among first generation Latinas as well as their caregiver's subjective understanding of the student's family role and the changes that occurred in the family once the student entered college. This study explored how Latino cultural values influence the Latina students' understanding of their family role and the influence of cultural phenomena on the transition to college. Data for this research were gathered from 12 individual interviews; 6 interviews conducted with alumnae from Mount Holyoke College and 6 selected caregivers. Alumnae participants in this study were self-identified first-generation Latinas …

One Somali Parent's Perceptions Of Intervention For Her Child With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Survey Research With The Somali Community, Lindsay Knutson

Culminating Projects in Communication Sciences and Disorders

Few studies have examined services for children with autism who are culturally and/or linguistically diverse (CLD), or parent perceptions of the appropriateness of those services. The purpose of this research was to gain a broader understanding of the values and perspectives of Somali parents of children with autism. One Somali parent of a child with autism was interviewed with the aid of a cultural mediator using survey style open-ended interview questions. The responses to the questions were transcribed and compared to extant research. Responses indicated that many mothers of children with autism, regardless of cultural, ethnic, or linguistic background, often …

Cultural Factors And Communication During Medical Consultations With Hiv-Positive Racial/Ethnic Minority Patients, Lillian Stevens

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationships between cultural characteristics, communication variables, and medical outcomes in HIV-positive racial/ethnic minority patients. Participants included 33 patients and 5 providers across two urban, community medical clinics. The patient sample was 61% African American, 24% Latino, and 15% Other/Mixed. The majority (73%) were male. Providers included one White female physician, one White male nurse practitioner, two White female nurse practitioners, and one White male physician assistant. In this descriptive study, patients completed self-report ratings of their desire for engagement in decision-making prior to their scheduled medical consultation. After their consultations, patients rated their provider regarding engagement …

Culture, Cognition, And Parenthood In Japanese And American Homes, Saori Yasumoto

Sociology Dissertations

Previous family researchers have found that parents who share different demographic backgrounds construct unique parenting styles and beliefs. Although such studies contribute to understanding how parenthood is socially constructed, the information about how parents internalize cultural information and everyday experiences to raise children is missing in the extant literature. To fully comprehend the social construction of parenthood, the linkage between the mind and the behavior of parents within specific social structures needed to be studied. I thus conducted conjoint interviews with 24 Japanese couples and 24 American couples who were raising four-to-six year old daughters and sons to examine how …

Living Together: Conservative Protestants And Cohabitation, Anthony E. Healy

Sociology Theses

Recent research finds that conservative Protestants are cohabiting in no small numbers. Given the strict moral orientation of conservative Protestants, that outcome appears paradoxical. This thesis explains that paradox through the culture in action models of Swidler (1986), given the social and economic location of conservative Protestants. The thesis employs pooled General Social Survey data from 1993 to 2008 in which a question is asked that indicates cohabitation. The thesis finds that the social and economic location of conservative Protestants is related to their cohabiting. Though conservative Protestant cohabitors have lessened religiosity, much of the decline in religiosity compared to …

Asian Indian Mothers’ Involvement In Their Children’S Schooling: An Analysis Of Social And Cultural Capital, Susan Chanderbhan-Forde

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study utilized concepts drawn from the theories advanced by Coleman (1988) and Pierre Bourdieu (1987) to examine the extent to which Asian Indian mothers utilize embodied cultural capital and social capital (specifically social norms and social networks) in their engagement in their children's education. Using interviews with 12 Asian Indian mothers whose children were enrolled in a large urban school district in West Central Florida, the study examined their beliefs about the value of education, the origin of those beliefs, their roles in their children's education, family and community norms surrounding education, and how they utilized social networks …

A Juxtaposition Of Rational Choice And Socio-Cultural Approaches To Explain Changes In Family Size Throughout The Process Of Economic Development Using Household Survey Data From Brazil, Daniel Delfino

Economics ETDs

This research juxtaposes empirical approaches to analyze the relationship between fertility and economic development. Using household survey data from Brazil in the mid 1990s, separate Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) models are run that comparatively evaluate the explanatory power of divergent methods used to explain fertility in developing countries. Rational choice approaches, in the spirit of Gary S. Becker, are presented alongside approaches that account for heterogeneous socio-cultural traits to see which method explains more about family size in Brazil. The paper finds evidence to support the relevance of both the rational choice and the socio-cultural approaches to fertility studies. The …

The Role Of Culture In The Somatic Response Of Peer-Victimized Latino Youth, William Martinez

College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations

There is emerging evidence that Latino youth report a higher prevalence of somatic complaints than children from other ethnic groups. Although culture has been implicated to explain these somatization differences, few studies have investigated the extent to which cultural factors actually influence the way Latino youth respo0nd to stressful events. The present study employed the problem suppression-facilitation model to posit that a Latino cultural orientation plays a moderational role in the relationship between peer victimization and physical symptoms. The present sample consisted of 134 Latino youth ranging in age from 10 to 14 years old. Analyses were conducted using structural …

From Trial To Triumph: Representations Of African Americans In Museum Exhibits, Derrick Brooms

Dissertations (2 year embargo)

In my dissertation, I examine contemporary exhibits about African American history and culture at six museums to explore issues of racial representation, collective identity, and cultural authority. I conduct a systematic two-part investigation of exhibition practices across Black-owned/operated and mainstream museums, one of each in three different cities (Chicago, IL; Milwaukee, WI; and Washington, DC). First, I explore the socio-historic discourses on race as played out in the museum medium and its implications for shaping collective identity. Second, I examine the use of exhibits and other visual mediums located within museums, in the process of representation wherein these visual media …

The Embedded American Artist, Jason Edward Chaffin

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

As our world ramps up the speed of its connections, our identities merge with increasing speed and angles of confluence. Not only are new identities created, but also the more fringe social and cultural elements of our world are exposed to mainstream consciousness. My work is a product of my own fringe background (namely its sheer breadth of experiences not normally visited upon a single person's life). My aim is to add variables to our social and cultural speed of combination and new variety by creating work that is derived from my own experiences to speak to those who are …

Visualizing Cultural Impermanence Through Entropic Design, Clifford Meena Khalili

Theses and Dissertations

Entropy is a process of gradual decline as a system loses the strength to maintain itself. It begins with disorder and results in complete transformation. As a multi-cultural American, it has been my experience that the maintenance of my Iranian heritage parallels this concept. A method of visual communication that incorporates entropy is able to express notions of impermanence, disorder and transformation. This project is focused on employing entropy in the process of design and image making by using the transformation of my cultural identity as primary content.

The Voice Of Elementary School Principals On School Climate, Suzanne Elayne Scallion

Open Access Dissertations

School climate has been described as "the set of internal characteristics that distinguish one school from another and influence the behaviors of each school's members" (Hoy, Smith & Sweetland, 2005). In the landmark study by Brookover, Schneider, Beady, Flood and Wisebaker (1978), school climate was found to be a more significant factor in student achievement than the variables of race and socioeconomic status. Principals need training in the phenomena of school climate and to develop the skills needed to alter it as needed for the benefit of students. This phenomenological study explored the conceptual understanding of school climate by experienced …

'Just Like Hitler': Comparisons To Nazism In American Culture, Brian Scott Johnson

Open Access Dissertations

‘Just Like Hitler’ explores the manner in which Nazism is used within mass American culture to create ethical arguments. Specifically, it provides a history of Nazism’s usage as a metaphor for evil. The work follows that metaphor’s usage from its origin with dissemination of camp liberation imagery through its political usage as a way of describing the communist enemy in the Cold War, through its employment as a vehicle for criticism against America’s domestic and foreign policies, through to its usage as a personal metaphor for evil. Ultimately, the goal of the dissertation is to describe the ways in which …

Cinderella Tales And Their Significance, Kristen Friedman

Anthropology

Variations of Cinderella tales make use of the device of changes in standing and status to suit different purposes ranging from criticism, teaching, preservation of culture, and many other aims. Cinderella tales are cyclical tales in which heroines are introduced as living in a middle to upper class with a loving father proper to their character, birth, and other traits but which they leave or are forced out of. The heroines must prove themselves and engage in work or adventure to find their way back into the class and environment in which they belong. These tales generally reward the good, …

The Relationship Between History, Culture, And Chinese Business Practices: Using Sociological Awareness To Avoid Common Faux Pas, Vikki A. Ballard

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

As the world continues to become more global, and as economies continue to develop, more emphasis is being placed on understanding the business environment of cultures around the world. There is perhaps no other nation or culture globally that has been discussed as much as China. This is because the United States is one of the largest foreign investors in China (Li, 2008). The importance of the Chinese market to the U.S. lies in its wealth of people and resources and the millions of new consumers joining the market every day. As a nation of 1.3 billion citizens, with a …

Imagining Sri Lanka, Derick Kirishan Ariyam

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Analyzes the works of three Sri Lankan expatriates, the writers, Shyam Selvadurai and Michael Ondaatje, and the artist, M.I.A., giving particular attention to Selvadurai's Funny Boy and Ondaatje's Running in the Family, Anil's Ghost, and The Cinnamon Peeler. Though all three have been charged as "inauthentic" due to their dislocated positions, uncovers the various productive and complicated ways Sri Lanka has been configured by those outside its shores.

Teaching Efficacy, Innovation, School Culture And Teacher Risk Taking., Margaret Elizabeth Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an exploratory study of teacher risk taking. The risk-taking literature in education and other types of organizations is lacking in studies exploring the concept of healthy risk taking and how that risk taking is related to other concepts such as organizational culture, innovation, and efficacy. The purpose of this study was to explore the concept of teacher risk taking as it relates to teaching efficacy, school culture, and organizational support for innovation. The research design of this study utilized a five-section survey administered to 740 public and private school teachers from 53 schools in 9 Midwestern states. …

Postconflict Community Development In Sierra Leone: Western, Cultural, And National Influences, Whitney Mclntyre Miller Phd

Dissertations

Sierra Leone was torn apart by a terrible eleven-year civil war. Rebel forces raped and murdered civilians, burned down crops and villages, and looted homes and community structures in a quest to overturn the long-corrupt government. Since 2002 communities have begun the process of developing toward a sustainable peace. Using grounded theory and inductive analysis, this qualitative research study conducted during the summer of 2009 examines the development efforts of two communities in the Northern provinces of Sierra Leone, Lungi and Makeni. Findings reveal that there are three influences playing a role in their development: western, cultural, and national. This …

Religion And Regionalism : Congregants, Culture And City-County Consolidation In Louisville, Kentucky., Joshua D. Ambrosius

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Literature on religious involvement in public affairs typically examines the national scene, particularly public opinion and political behavior in presidential elections. Few scholars examine religious actors in urban politics and policymaking. Those who do study local politics emphasize morality policy and ignore issues of metropolitan governance and institutional design, central concerns of the urban politics field. This dissertation fills that gap by studying Louisville, Kentucky, site of the first large-scale city-county consolidation since 1969. I ask: does religion affect how people vote in a consolidation referendum and shape their opinions about merged government? I employ a survey instrument (N=807), collected …

"Rapping About Authenticity": Exploring The Differences In Perceptions Of "Authenticity" In Rap Music By Consumers.", James L. Wright

Doctoral Dissertations

Historically, social scientists have not only marginalized rap music as a viable unit of scholarly analysis, but failed at attempts to understand the thoughts and actions of rap music consumers. This study analyzes the connection between rap music’s (and the artists’) authenticity and how those perceptions of authenticity affect music consumers’ decision making process, thus providing a possible explanation as to why music fans purchase rap music. The goal of this research was to see if the reasons rap music fans provide explaining the rationale behind their purchases match the images and perceptions presumably held by the general public about …

"Cooking With Love": Food, Gender, And Power, Melinda Anne Mills

Anthropology Theses

This work explores the complex relationships between women, food, and power. Engaging the literature of feminist food studies allowed me to record the narratives and examine the experiences of women living in the United States. I take a close look at how women solidify and strengthen their social relationships to family and community through the use of food, or compromise and weaken these relationships through the denial or refusal of food, in the form of cooking or eating. I also consider both local and global contexts for understanding food, in terms of consumption and chores. Finally, I demonstrate how imagery …

Seeking Shakers: Two Centuries Of Visitors To Shaker Villages, Brian L. Bixby

Open Access Dissertations

The dissertation analyzes the history of tourism at Shaker communities from their foundation to the present. Tourism is presented as an interaction between the host Shakers and the visitors. The culture, expectations, and activities of both parties affect their relationship to each other. Historically, tourists and other visitors have gradually dominated the relationship, shifting from hostility based on religion to acceptance based on a romantic view of the Shakers. This relationship has spilled over into related cultural phenomena, notably fiction and antique collecting. Overall, the analysis extends contemporary tourism theory and integrates Shaker history with the broader course of American …

The Social Interactions Of Students With Disabilties In A 5th Grade Level Inclusive Classroom And The Effect On Academic Achievement, Estella Marshall-Reed

Wayne State University Dissertations

No abstract provided.