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Sociology

Liberty University

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Articles 151 - 176 of 176

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Social Media Networking Strategies For The Yale New Haven Center For Emergency Preparedness And Disaster Response (Ynh-Cepdr)/ Yale New Haven Health System Center For Healthcare Solutions (Ynhhs-Chs), Amanda Smith Apr 2012

Social Media Networking Strategies For The Yale New Haven Center For Emergency Preparedness And Disaster Response (Ynh-Cepdr)/ Yale New Haven Health System Center For Healthcare Solutions (Ynhhs-Chs), Amanda Smith

Masters Theses

This paper investigates the uses and gratification of social media for both personal and organizational usage among employees at the Yale New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response/Center for Healthcare Solutions in New Haven, Connecticut. The purpose of this thesis is to assess and evaluate the relationship between YNH-CEPDR/CHS' usage of social media tools and the organization's employees' personal attitudes, beliefs and usage of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Employees of CEPDR/CHS were surveyed regarding the function of social media for emergency management communication and the promotion of products and services. Results suggest that while employees generally agree …


Reading Between The Lines: Gender Perception Of Lean Media, Jennalee Conner Apr 2012

Reading Between The Lines: Gender Perception Of Lean Media, Jennalee Conner

Masters Theses

Over the years, communication methods have evolved from face-to-face conversations to computer-mediated communication including: e-mail, instant message, and text message interactions. Since the methods have changed, a large aspect of communication, nonverbal cues, have become nearly impossible. These methods of communication that lack nonverbal cues are therefore referred to as lean media because they lack the richness of facial expression, vocal expression, and immediacy. In order to modify more recent forms of communication to include nonverbal cues, individuals have created their own nonverbal cues. While each individual is unique, though, genders normally tend to think or behave in similar fashion. …


Influence Of American Media Upon Korean Broadcasting Culture - Analyzing 'American Idol' Vs. 'Superstar K Ii', Han Na Shin Apr 2012

Influence Of American Media Upon Korean Broadcasting Culture - Analyzing 'American Idol' Vs. 'Superstar K Ii', Han Na Shin

Masters Theses

This study examines the influence of American media on Korean broadcasting culture, based on analysis of American Idol and SuperStar K Season II. Viewer ratings were analyzed to find out the popularity of American programs in South Korea. Web-based surveys and individual interviews were analyzed to figure out the difference between both programs and its influence upon Korean viewers. The result shows that American programs currently influence the Korean media and Korean viewers, and that influence is getting more produced. With those findings, the study concludes it affects Korean viewers and Korean society as well. Audition programs become one of …


Investing In Happiness: An Analysis Of The Contributing Factors To The Positive Professional Work Environment, Alena Naff Apr 2012

Investing In Happiness: An Analysis Of The Contributing Factors To The Positive Professional Work Environment, Alena Naff

Masters Theses

The professional workplace is an environment prone to both jubilation and disdain. Research indicates that employees in a more positive work environment are more productive and satisfied in their work. Understanding the contributing factors to a positive work environment is the first step to creating a more satisfying workplace for employees. These contributing factors may be material or relational and hold different levels of influence. Guided by the theory of structuration, this study employed a three-phased Q-methodology, including a Q-sort questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and a cluster analysis. Participants included the employees of the Southeastern region financial institution, BB&T. Two research …


You Sir Are A Fine Young Gentleman. Thank You, My Lady: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Eighteenth Century Conversations Regarding Gentility And Gender, Kati Overbey Apr 2012

You Sir Are A Fine Young Gentleman. Thank You, My Lady: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Eighteenth Century Conversations Regarding Gentility And Gender, Kati Overbey

Masters Theses

This study rhetorically analyzed the eighteenth century work of Richard Steele and Joseph Addison's The Spectator and Eliza Haywood's The Female Spectator using Kathleen Turner's framework for rhetorical history as social criticism integrating text and context. Ten essays from The Spectator as well as ten essays from The Female Spectator were selected based on content and subject matter regarding manners and gentility. When Turner's framework for analysis was applied to the essays, defining characteristics of gentility were revealed. A presentation of the results of the textual and contextual analysis of these twenty selected essays is provided. An analysis of the …


I'M Ok, You're Not: Assessing Variable Influence On Perceptions Of The Mentally Ill Among College Students, Phillip Wagner Apr 2012

I'M Ok, You're Not: Assessing Variable Influence On Perceptions Of The Mentally Ill Among College Students, Phillip Wagner

Masters Theses

Due to the alarming level of stigma associated with individuals with a mental illness, this present study seeks to understand the variables that influence perceptions of the mentally ill. The research questions for this study are as follows: RQ1: What are the latitudes of acceptance, rejection and non-commitment that college students identify in their perceptions of the mental health community?, RQ2: Does gender influence college student perceptions of the mentally ill?, and RQ3: Does the level of religious involvement that college students identify correlate to their perceptions of the mentally ill? The 257 participants completed an online survey that assessed …


Perceived Factors Influencing The Retention Rate Of Native American College Students: A Case Study, Tamara Louise Bergstrom Apr 2012

Perceived Factors Influencing The Retention Rate Of Native American College Students: A Case Study, Tamara Louise Bergstrom

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The number of Native Americans entering college is higher now than it has been over the past 40 years; however, the degree completion rate has been less than half that of White students. This research study was a bounded case study of Native American students enrolled in the teacher education program. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify the perceived factors influencing the retention rate of Native American college students. Some of the theoretical models that explain why students stay or leave an institution before earning a college degree look more toward explaining this phenomenon in a …


Standing In The Gap: A Study Of College-Bound Latinas' Resilience In Completing High School Within An At-Risk Environment, Shane York Apr 2012

Standing In The Gap: A Study Of College-Bound Latinas' Resilience In Completing High School Within An At-Risk Environment, Shane York

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to look at the life experience factors that led to high school graduation through the eyes of resilient Latinas between the ages of 18 and 25. A grounded theory approach was used in combination with Paulo Freire's praxis and a resiliency conceptual framework to derive constructs directly from the data itself. Participants were selected through a purposive, snowball method until saturation was met. Extensive qualitative interviews were employed to gather the data used to derive theory. All data were coded and reviewed in light of the three research questions. Validity and trustworthiness were established …


A Heuristic Inquiry Into The Stress That Home Educators Experience, Jennifer Rathmell Apr 2012

A Heuristic Inquiry Into The Stress That Home Educators Experience, Jennifer Rathmell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the stress that families incur when they choose home education as their primary educational method. Extensive studies exist regarding stress that traditional education teacher's experience. However, the research on stress experienced by parents who are the primary educators of their children is limited. This study endeavored to provide insight and add to the home-education body of research. Using a heuristic inquiry research design, nine home educators participated in four data collection methods: a homeschool questionnaire, The Occupational Stress Inventory - Revised (OSI-R), a focus group, and individual interviews. …


Exploring Hispanic Teenage Pregnancy And School Resiliency: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology Study, Olga Estrada Apr 2012

Exploring Hispanic Teenage Pregnancy And School Resiliency: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology Study, Olga Estrada

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Teenage mothers face multiple risk factors that may prevent them from graduating from high school. This study examined the phenomenon of Hispanic teen pregnancy and teen mothers' experiences with emphasis on academic, social , and personal factors to stay in school. The study explored the resiliency of twelve Hispanic teen mothers through a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Their stories provide an insight into the challenges the young pregnant/mothers encountered during pregnancy and motherhood at home and in school. Their lived experiences also provide a framework for exploring the school, personal, and economic factors that most influenced their ability to remain in …


The Correlation Between The Three Reading Fluency Subskills And Reading Comprehension In At-Risk Adolescent Readers, Craig Courbron Apr 2012

The Correlation Between The Three Reading Fluency Subskills And Reading Comprehension In At-Risk Adolescent Readers, Craig Courbron

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine which of the three reading fluency subskills were most strongly correlated with reading comprehension in adolescent at-risk readers. The participants were 82 adolescent males (ages 13-19) who had been committed to a juvenile detention facility. Archival data from a two-year period was collected from a maximum security juvenile detention facility in a rural section of the Northeastern United States. The Measures of Academic Progress test was used to collect reading comprehension data; the Qualitative Reading Inventory-4 test was used to collect reading speed and reading accuracy data; the Multidimensional Fluency Scale was …


A Study Of Ethnic Minority College Students: A Relationship Among The Big Five Personality Traits, Cultural Intelligence, And Psychological Well-Being, Teresa Smith Apr 2012

A Study Of Ethnic Minority College Students: A Relationship Among The Big Five Personality Traits, Cultural Intelligence, And Psychological Well-Being, Teresa Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Institutions of Higher Education are challenged to educate an increasing, diverse ethnic minority population. This study examines (1) if the theory of the Big Five personality traits as a predictor of the cultural intelligence theoretical model remains constant with ethnic minority college students attending a southeastern United States Historically Black College or University, and (2) if there is a predictive relationship between cultural intelligence and the psychological well-being of ethnic minority college students. Ethnic minority college students received an online survey that included demographic questions, the Cultural Intelligence Scale (Earley & Ang, 2003), Goldberg's (1999) Internal Personality Item Pool (IPIP), …


Why Students Are Choosing Not To Participate In Honors And Advanced Placement Classes: The Phenomenon In One Georgia High School, Susan Buice Apr 2012

Why Students Are Choosing Not To Participate In Honors And Advanced Placement Classes: The Phenomenon In One Georgia High School, Susan Buice

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study is to determine the causes for high school students' decisions not to enroll in Honors or Advanced Placement (AP) courses. This study is a transcendental phenomenology whose participants are students who have been determined to be potentially successful in Advanced Placement classes by the AP Potential publication but who have chosen not to take any advanced classes. I will use an initial interest survey, individual interviews, and focus groups in order to gain knowledge from the students about their reasons for choosing not to participate in the Honors/AP classes. After coding the responses, I will …


Relationships Between Educators' Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, And Administrators' Gender, Stephanie Potter Apr 2012

Relationships Between Educators' Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, And Administrators' Gender, Stephanie Potter

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to examine the differences between teachers' mean job satisfaction scores based on the administrators' gender and examine the relationship between the administrators' gender and teachers' organizational commitment plans in Tennessee middle schools. Job satisfaction and organizational commitment was measured by the Tennessee Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) Survey that was administered online and completed by Tennessee teachers voluntarily and anonymously. A stratified random selection of schools based on the administrator's gender (female, n = 85; male, n = 85) was selected (N = 170) from those achieving the predetermined response criteria …


A Values Comparison Of Liberty University Freshmen, Steve R. Vandegriff Apr 2012

A Values Comparison Of Liberty University Freshmen, Steve R. Vandegriff

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There has been debate over generally accepted values, not only in the context of education, but also within the context of those who are considered people of faith. This study is an investigation to determine if there are any differences between the two contexts, with responses being drawn from students enrolled in a required introductory university course on the campus of a Christian university. The variables of this study will be gender and ethnicity, giving a picture of student values, prior to being influenced by university pedagogy. A survey was made available by Hogan Assessments, self-titled as Motives, Values Preferences …


Florida Charter Schools: The Effects Of Types And Socioeconomic Status On Academic Achievement, Reginald Thompson Apr 2012

Florida Charter Schools: The Effects Of Types And Socioeconomic Status On Academic Achievement, Reginald Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was established in 2002 with the primary goal of closing the achievement gap between low socioeconomic students and their more advantaged peers. Charter schools are a part of NCLB's school choice policy and are intended to be a form of intervention to close the achievement gap. Much research has been conducted to measure charter school student achievement compared to regular public schools. But little has been done in distinguishing the differences between charter schools and their impact on student achievement. This quantitative study identifies the different types of public charter schools in Florida using Carpenter's …


What Do Middle School Boys Read? An Observation Of Middle School Boys' Reading Choices, Sheilah Cooper Barnett Mar 2012

What Do Middle School Boys Read? An Observation Of Middle School Boys' Reading Choices, Sheilah Cooper Barnett

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative study investigated what current middle school boys are reading. The purpose of this study was to gain information that would aid educators in providing those reading materials and communicating with male students concerning their reading habits. Six middle school males were chosen for this study, which utilized a phenomenological approach to capture individual experiences. Results showed that boys do read, but they often read materials which educators do not generally accept as valid reading material, such as magazines. Boys often do not view themselves as readers. Males enjoy books with a lot of action and prefer to observe …


Holistic Healing Ministry: A Practical Guide For Korean Presbyterian Churches, Yanghyun Park Feb 2012

Holistic Healing Ministry: A Practical Guide For Korean Presbyterian Churches, Yanghyun Park

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study attempted to provide practical and effective advice to Korean Presbyterian churches (KPCs) for adapting Holistic Healing Ministry (HHM), not as an optional ministry but a necessary ministry for all local churches through the exact biblical concept about HHM. Through the analysis of survey for HHM conducted in many congregations of KPCs, this thesis evaluated the present reality of HHM ministered to KPCs, examined holistic health conditions of the congregations of KPCs, and identified which domain of health - physical, emotional, or spiritual - KPCs are currently interested in. Moreover, this thesis drew up a plan for KPCs to …


Divorce And Remarriage: Applying Biblical Standards To A Modern Culture, John E. Grab Jr. Dec 2011

Divorce And Remarriage: Applying Biblical Standards To A Modern Culture, John E. Grab Jr.

Senior Honors Theses

Divorce rates in America have reached historic levels. The American home has been exposed to disruption and fragmentation that has radically changed the culture of the American family. Furthermore, the uniqueness of the American situation resides in the near-apathetic approach that the American public has taken to the issue. Divorce rates are historically high and the American home is drastically changing, yet the American culture neglects the issue both in the local community of the church and the home and in the public arena of politics and government. By examining the biblical foundation of marriage, one can transition from principle …


Reviewing Racism And The Right To Marry: An Analysis Of Loving V. Virginia, Kathryn L. Jordan Apr 2011

Reviewing Racism And The Right To Marry: An Analysis Of Loving V. Virginia, Kathryn L. Jordan

Senior Honors Theses

Prior to the 1967 United States Supreme Court case of Loving v. Virginia, many states had laws that banned the intermarriage of whites with black or other minorities. Since then, the number of interracial marriages has increased and the attitudes of society have shifted. This thesis uses Loving as basis to explore the ways in which societal views have changed since the overruling of the anti-miscegenation statutes. It first discusses the culture in America before Loving and then, explains the details of the Loving case. This is then followed by a synopsis of how the culture changed after Loving. After …


Determinants Of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking And The Urgent Need For A Global Cultural Shift, Karen M. Hoover Apr 2011

Determinants Of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking And The Urgent Need For A Global Cultural Shift, Karen M. Hoover

Senior Honors Theses

In the United States, an overtly selfish and sexual culture contributes to the spread of human trafficking, thereby requiring a complete culture shift in order to diminish this modern day slavery initiated by the aberrant culture. Sex trafficking of minors in the United States encompasses a variety of factors that facilitate the bondage and brutal enslavement of American children. These children are bought and sold hundreds of times, with no regard for their personal well-being. Major factors such as demand, vulnerability, and America’s induced culture of sex serve to increase the environment that trap children and youth in commercial sexual …


The West's Feet Of Clay: Transmuting The Pillars Of Liberty From Gold Into Dross, Jin Seock Shin Apr 2011

The West's Feet Of Clay: Transmuting The Pillars Of Liberty From Gold Into Dross, Jin Seock Shin

Senior Honors Theses

This study seeks to support the centrality of the Judeo-Christian heritage to the growth and sustenance of liberty, a form of individualism limited by moral values. The pillars of liberty—self-government, private property, representative government, and limited government—reflect the structural contributions made by the Judeo-Christian heritage. Unfortunately, much of Western civilization suffers from a spiritual crisis, which has introduced and exacerbated fractures in the pillars. Pitirim Sorokin’s social and cultural analysis of Western civilization provides a framework to better understand the fractures evident in the history of liberty in Europe and America, and developed in each pillar of liberty—fractures that reaffirm …


Through The Looking Glass: Finding And Freeing Modern-Day Slaves At The State Level, Michelle L. Rickert Jul 2010

Through The Looking Glass: Finding And Freeing Modern-Day Slaves At The State Level, Michelle L. Rickert

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article delves into the interaction between federal and state laws prohibiting human trafficking. The article advocates for comprehensive human trafficking laws at the state level, including police training, victim aftercare, forfeiture, and prosecution as essential elements. It looks comprehensively at the existing state laws prohibiting human trafficking. Additionally it examines the five existing models for state law and suggests benefits and potential improvements for each model. The article concludes y advocating a holistic law prohibiting human trafficking in the Commonwealth of Virginia.


Quantum Of Solitude: Lonelines As Experienced By Pastors' Wives, Jama Davis, Frederick Milacci Oct 2009

Quantum Of Solitude: Lonelines As Experienced By Pastors' Wives, Jama Davis, Frederick Milacci

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This phenomenological study investigated the individual experiences of eight pastors’ wives with the phenomenon, loneliness. Data was collected using informal, conversational, taped and transcribed interviews. Descriptions of the experiences of loneliness and the general factors contributing to loneliness were identified by the participants. The experiences and general contributing factors were compared and contrasted. The findings of this study suggest three factors which most significantly impact pastors’ wives and loneliness. Suggestions for future research involving pastors’ wives and pastors are provided.


Paul’S Contextualization Of The Gospel Before The Areopagus In Acts 17, Philip J. Luca Nov 2008

Paul’S Contextualization Of The Gospel Before The Areopagus In Acts 17, Philip J. Luca

Senior Honors Theses

The following thesis is an analysis on Paul’s presentation of the gospel to the Areopagus as recorded in Acts 17:22-31. The reasons behind his drastic permutation of the kerygma will be scrutinized by studying the exposition of the main components of the speech in parallel with an analysis of his audience. The objective of the thesis is to investigate the Apostle’s consistency with the orthodox kerygma as well as his interaction with the Gentile listeners. In conclusion, consequences for a relevant gospel presentation today will be proposed in light of Paul’s homily to the Areopagite Council.


Slavery In The 21st Century, Paul R. Rickert Apr 2006

Slavery In The 21st Century, Paul R. Rickert

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper briefly examines the modern practice of slavery. It attempts to demonstrate that slavery is a larger problem than most understand, does exist in the United States, and will outline some effective means to combat it.