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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Social Contagion Of Adolescent Depression: Applying A Differential Susceptibility Model, Win Guan Jan 2016

The Social Contagion Of Adolescent Depression: Applying A Differential Susceptibility Model, Win Guan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Recent research investigating social risk factors of depression has found evidence for a social contagion effect. The research comes from a surge in popularity of using social network analyses to examine the spread of various health outcomes such as obesity, smoking, substance use, and sleep. Although the finding of depressive contagion represents a significant contribution to the literature on the social etiology of depression, this is only the first step in providing meaningful research useful for the practical application of curbing the growing rates of depression especially among adolescents. Rather than simply acknowledging the existence of contagion effects, researchers must …


Leveling The Playing Field: Sport And Resistance In Low-Wealth Communities, Danielle Jo Thomas Jan 2016

Leveling The Playing Field: Sport And Resistance In Low-Wealth Communities, Danielle Jo Thomas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A consequence of systemic racism in the United States is low-wealth minority neighborhoods that are segregated from the rest of society and whose residents have less opportunities for social mobility than the general population. These neighborhoods often become the target of post-racial neoliberal projects of community development that emphasize individual development and achievement, or assisting residents with “escaping” their community as a means of achieving social mobility. One of the major forms of development is sport for development, aimed at youth in low-wealth minority neighborhoods. Here I call for a new narrative of community development that is critical, taking into …


The Limits Of Professional Autonomy: An Interview-Based Comparative Analysis Of The Workplaces And Perceptions Of Educators And Healthcare Professionals, Joseph Paul Cleary Jan 2016

The Limits Of Professional Autonomy: An Interview-Based Comparative Analysis Of The Workplaces And Perceptions Of Educators And Healthcare Professionals, Joseph Paul Cleary

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Workplaces are the locations of significant social outcomes that are worth studying in their own right. In addition to pursuing and achieving their own intended outcomes (i.e. a well-educated and healthy public, in the case of the American public education and American healthcare systems), they are resources on which individuals rely for social, psychological, spiritual, and economic fulfillment and identity. Central to a person’s overall efficacy within the workplace is the extent to which they exercise influence over their time and behaviors. In contrast to sociological works on bureaucracies, research on professional autonomy tends to be symbolic-interactionist and qualitative in …


Are We Really Bowling Alone? Family Changes And Social Capital In American Society, Ya-Feng Lin Jan 2016

Are We Really Bowling Alone? Family Changes And Social Capital In American Society, Ya-Feng Lin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

I explore the relationship between family changes and social capital in American society. Since the mid-20th century, new types of and additions to the family structure have emerged, including cohabitation family, single-parent family, employed women, and NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, and Training). Although new types of families symbolize a more flexible definition of family, some problems have emerged which are worthy of studying. In fact, these families have recently become a primary focus of study in academia, but their social lives are rarely mentioned. I argue in my dissertation that these new types of arrangements not only changed how …


Visionary Sociology In Action, Luke Castle Jan 2016

Visionary Sociology In Action, Luke Castle

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purposes of this dissertation are to provide research that will further facilitate an understanding of two matters of sociological interest: public sociology and video ethnography. In order to achieve this overall objective, a video ethnographic case study was conducted with eight undergraduates at an elite southern university. The students in the study self-filmed week-to week thoughts, feelings, and experiences to provide a methodical comparison of past and current literature of the lifestyles students construct while on campus. A qualitative approach, such as the video diary protocol established for this dissertation, is unlike most research protocols because informants (in this …


Fear No Evil: Making Sense Of Intersectionality And Fear Of Crime Amongst Blacks In High Crime Neighborhoods, Melinda Jackson Jan 2016

Fear No Evil: Making Sense Of Intersectionality And Fear Of Crime Amongst Blacks In High Crime Neighborhoods, Melinda Jackson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The extant literature on fear of crime has relied almost entirely upon quantitative data and was criticized as atheoretical due to its focus on the demographic characteristics associated with vulnerability. Emerging qualitative research on fear of crime has begun to overcome this limitation by drawing upon an intersectional lens, but quantitative assessments have yet to fully incorporate this theoretical development. The current study addresses this limitation by analyzing qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and quantitative data collected as part of a large-scale survey. The primary goal of this dissertation is to take an intersectional approach to understand the relationships …


Developing Mediators: An Analysis Of The Changing Associations Of Ghanaian Internet Cafe Users Between 2003 And 2014, Matthew Gregory Leblanc Jan 2016

Developing Mediators: An Analysis Of The Changing Associations Of Ghanaian Internet Cafe Users Between 2003 And 2014, Matthew Gregory Leblanc

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines interview data gathered a decade apart, in 2003 and in 2014.The analysis answers the questions: "How were café patrons using the Internet in 2003 and how do the 2003 findings of this study compare to the findings of other studies conducted around the same time?" "How has Internet usage changed between 2003 and 2014?" "How has the Internet café business changed over the last decade?" This study starts by reviewing the theory and literature which informs studies of the Internet and Internet cafés in developing countries. Two years were spent discovering the fate of the 2003 locations. …