Digital Commons Network^™

Beyond The Crown: A Qualitative Research Study On Pageant Women And The Looking-Glass Self, Laurel R. Stiekes

Masters Theses

Pageantry has existed in society for hundreds of years and is still prevalent within society today. Pageant contestants voluntarily compete in systems to hear what judges have to say about their intellect, talent, and poise. However, the opinions of the judges seem to not be the true influential voice in a pageant queen’s life. Previous research has reported that it is the people closest to us that have the most positive or devastating impact on the way we view ourselves. The question this study sought to answer was, “How have the opinions of others had an impact on the self-image …

Privileged And Complicit: Education And Understanding Of White Privilege At A Predominately White Institution, Chase Rourke Dolan

Masters Theses

At predominately-white institutions (PWI), students commonly come from racially homogenous backgrounds and may have never had to think about their racial identity or racial issues. The purpose of this study was to examine white students’ understandings of the concept of privilege, the effectiveness of their education at this institution about privilege, and their comfort with racial dialogue. Without an understanding of privilege and oppression, and their complicity in this system, students cannot be expected to engage meaningfully in any discussion about racial injustice. Helms’ white racial identity development model, Watt’s privileged identity exploration model, and critical race theory were used …

Those Who Choose To Stay: Narrating The Rural Appalachian Queer Experience, Amy Michelle Jordan

Masters Theses

“Those who choose to stay” is a qualitative exploratory study compromised of four LGBT youth from rural towns in East Tennessee. These young adults were recruited through LGBT listservs, pride festivals, and word of mouth. Each young adult was interviewed over the course of one to three hours. The interviews were then transcribed and coded using Atlas.ti software, allowing codes to surface from the text. Four main themes were discovered: religious atmosphere, family, coming out, and peer networks.

Religious atmosphere was generally found to be a destructive part of these youths’ environments, making them fear for their safety and worry …

Climbing Into The Ivory Tower: A Look At Administrative Perspectives On Sexual Assault On The College Campus, Tasha Nichole Turner

Masters Theses

This study examines the attitudes of administrators about sexual violence on campus, as well as their knowledge of disciplinary policies and procedures to prevent and redress rape and sexual assault on campuses. This study begins the discussion about how administrators understand their current policies as well as the attitudes that may affect their understandings. I use Thematic Analysis to analyze responses to a series of open-ended questions surveying participants on their attitudes towards their universities policy and procedures for handling sexual assault. Findings suggest that the participants have overwhelming confidence in the established policies, the extent of their knowledge of …

Two Types Of Couponers Discovered: The Smart Family Shopper And The Game Player, Alana Stephenson Phillips

Masters Theses

In 2011, 3.5 billion coupons were redeemed, which is up 6.1% from 2010. Even with coupon redemption on the rise, coupon distribution is down, average coupon values are lower, and average usable time before expiration has been shortened. Coupon users, or couponers, are also fighting a bad reputation and stricter store coupon policies.

Despite all the issues facing couponers, couponing has become more popular in recent years. Some of this popularity may be due to the thousands of coupon blogs that aide couponers in matching coupons to available deals. Couponers no longer have to search all sale ads and keep …

Voices Of Low Ses Women Overcoming Breastfeeding Barriers: A Qualitative Analysis And Model Development, Lacey Mc Donough Raburn

Masters Theses

Abstract

Background: Breast milk provides optimal nutrition for most infants for a specific amount of time. In spite of well-accepted benefits associated with breastfeeding, both for infants and mothers, rates among low-income women remain consistently low.

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify what motivates women, who are at a high risk of not initiating breastfeeding or early weaning, to establish a successful breastfeeding relationship.

Methods: Mothers meeting the eligibility criteria of having no more than a high school degree, being low-income, and having breastfed for > 3 weeks, completed an in-depth telephone interview. Using grounded-theory methodology, researchers developed …

A World With Two Moons: An Analysis Of Reader Identification, Paul Joseph Watson

Masters Theses

Utilizing Kenneth Burke's theory of Identitification, this study seeks to understand if readers of a literary work of fiction were or were not able to identify with it according to the way Burke describes identification. The study uses Paul J. Watson's Protect: A World's Fight Against Evil as the literary work upon which qualitative surveys were conducted. Five general respondents and two expert readers took the survey, which asked questions regarding the novel. Through analysis and the comparing and contrasting of these respondents' answers, conclusions were reached in regards to whether or not identification occurred between the readers and the …