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

Digital Commons Network

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

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Decadal Disparities In The Election Of Women To State Legislatures, Jude C. Platz Apr 2021

Decadal Disparities In The Election Of Women To State Legislatures, Jude C. Platz

Munn Scholars Awards

Over a century has passed since the first women were elected to state legislature positions in 1894. Research shows that women are more successful in these positions as they have greater chances of bridging party lines and are more likely to enact policies representative of diverse needs. Despite this, women today account for the majority of the population but less than one-third of state legislature positions nationwide. Research seeking to understand this gap is limited; hence, there is a need for increased studies regarding what factors contribute to more women being elected to these positions. This study uses a dynamic …


Development And Dynamics Of Us Welfare Policy, Liza Gordon Jan 2021

Development And Dynamics Of Us Welfare Policy, Liza Gordon

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In this dissertation I analyze the development of contemporary US welfare policy with special consideration given to the importance of race and gender. In the introductory chapter I outline how the development of the American welfare state has continuously neglected the needs of women and minorities as well as how classist, racist, and sexist appeals have been prevalent throughout US history in relation to welfare policies. The remaining chapters analyze how contemporary welfare policies including the 1996 welfare reforms and state drug-testing for welfare laws carry on these American legacies. In Chapter 1 I examine how the classist, sexist, and …


Adult Delinquency And Victimization: A Test Of Differential Association Theory With New Data, Shah Alam Jan 2021

Adult Delinquency And Victimization: A Test Of Differential Association Theory With New Data, Shah Alam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The theory of differential association applies not only to adolescent people but also to the adult population. A lot of studies tested this theory on delinquent behavior but tests on victimization are rare. Using West Virginia Social Survey 2020 data, this study finds that there is an association between having delinquent friends and learning of self-delinquency in the adult population. It also reports that self-victimization can be predicted with having delinquent friends. The highest probability of victimization is twice for people for having pain medication misuser friends than of people having marijuana user friends. But self-delinquent behaviors do not report …


[K], [G] And [ʔ] In Amman: Social Associations And Identity Perception In Young Rural [Fallahin] Palestinian Speech, Shahd Abu Nahel Jan 2021

[K], [G] And [ʔ] In Amman: Social Associations And Identity Perception In Young Rural [Fallahin] Palestinian Speech, Shahd Abu Nahel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Built after several immigration waves, Amman developed its own dialect. Previous studies investigated the stylistic and social reallocation process (Britain & Trudgill, 2005) that happened to some major phonemes. The three phonemes [k], [ʔ] and [g] are dialectal reflexes of the Arabic modern standard uvular phoneme [q], and they correlate with social aspects like gender, identity and social class. This study has two parts the first investigates the distribution of the phonemes of the first generation of rural Palestinians hypothesizing that they will follow the generalizations found in Al-Wer (2011). The second part is a large-scale questionnaire targeting the social …


Gendered Use Of Language In Facebook Status Updates Among Jordanian And American Youths: A Sociopragmatic Study, Ashraf Wenas Al Sad Jan 2021

Gendered Use Of Language In Facebook Status Updates Among Jordanian And American Youths: A Sociopragmatic Study, Ashraf Wenas Al Sad

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The study examines the types of speech acts of Facebook status updates that are posted by Jordanian and American youth. The participants were from Yarmouk University which is located in northern Jordan and from West Virginia University which is located in the US. The data was elicited from 50 American males, 50 American females, 50 Jordanian males, and 50 Jordanian females. Searle’s taxonomy was used to do the content analysis of the data. Searle’s taxonomy and additional speech acts were found: directive, expressive, assertive, God’s invocation, humor, and quotation. The findings of the study indicate that the religious and cultural …


Women, Water, And Well-Being: Gendered Experiences Of Household Water Contamination In Parkersburg, West Virginia, Emily Brooke Tingler Jan 2021

Women, Water, And Well-Being: Gendered Experiences Of Household Water Contamination In Parkersburg, West Virginia, Emily Brooke Tingler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

DuPont Washington Works chemical plant knowingly pumped hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic C8 waste into local waterways, water tables, and landfills for over 40 years, contaminating the drinking water for more than 100,000 residents in and around Parkersburg, West Virginia. Drawing on feminist political ecology and the political ecology of water with literature on perceptions of risk in contaminated communities, environmental reproductive justice, modern water, and hydrosocial waterscapes, I examine, through a qualitative case study, the lived experiences of women who have an intimate understanding of C8 water contamination from the DuPont Washington Works chemical plant. Specifically, I …