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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Sociology

Western Michigan University

Theses/Dissertations

2000

Articles 1 - 13 of 13

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Organizational Culture In Community Foundations, Nanette Marie Reiser Aug 2000

The Organizational Culture In Community Foundations, Nanette Marie Reiser

Dissertations

Because of the current and future critical roles community foundations play in their geographical areas, the limited research to inform the community foundation field, and the importance o f studying organizational culture, there was a need to study the organizational culture of community foundations. A questionnaire was sent to 179 community foundation staff members in one state in the Midwest. Responses were received from 98 of the 179 staff members.

It was found that the actual organizational culture of the community foundation “industry” was differentiated across all variables (staff overall, paid staff size, asset size, and age of foundation). Organizations …


The Victim Rights Movement: A Social Constructionist Examination, Angela Renee Evans Aug 2000

The Victim Rights Movement: A Social Constructionist Examination, Angela Renee Evans

Dissertations

What has been termed the victim rights movement has made great progress in promoting legislative changes regarding victim rights in the United States. This research examines the victim rights movement from a social constructionist perspective by focusing on two pieces of federal legislation passed in the 1980s: the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982 and the Victims of Crime Act of 1984. Using the social constructionist perspective, the research examines who was involved in the claims-making activities and which claims were most likely to be heard and acted upon. Rather than seeing social movements as the result of some …


Coping With Chronic Fatigue, Susan Lynne Jensen Aug 2000

Coping With Chronic Fatigue, Susan Lynne Jensen

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine sense of coherence in those individuals diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and to explore its relationship to age, gender, work status, duration of illness, fatigue and functional ability/ disability in this population.

This study used a combined methods approach, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. A sample of thirty individuals diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome was surveyed by means of a self-administered questionnaire, including Antonovsky’s 13-item shortened Sense of Coherence (SOC) scale. A subset of 12 participants participated in the qualitative portion of the study, and answered specific questions regarding their …


Childcare And Experiential Knowledge: Expanding Definitions Of Childcare, Lori L. Mcneil Aug 2000

Childcare And Experiential Knowledge: Expanding Definitions Of Childcare, Lori L. Mcneil

Dissertations

Childcare is traditionally defined as care for children while their parents/guardians are in the workforce or attending school. While technically accurate, it is argued that traditional definitions of childcare are partial and consequently do not fully describe childcare based on an experiential dimension. Thus, this research project sought to augment normative definitions of childcare by including the voices of children in childcare, parents using childcare and those caregivers providing childcare.

Several theoretical frameworks were used for this research. First, standpoint theory (Harding, 1987) was presented in order to inform an alternative perspective of childcare based on “experiential” rather than “expert” …


An Examination Of Voir Dire From An Interactionist Perspective, Peter R. Stevenson Aug 2000

An Examination Of Voir Dire From An Interactionist Perspective, Peter R. Stevenson

Dissertations

Trial attorneys, historically, have used both scientific and unscientific selection techniques to empanel a jury, and these methods continue to be used in contemporary courtrooms. The ability of these techniques to pick a 'good” jury has been shown to have limited utility. This ineffectiveness may be due, in part, to a false assumption about the passivity of prospective jurors during questioning. An interactionist perspective sees individuals as much more active in that they control the information given out. Most potential jurors offer genuine presentations of self during jury selection in that they truthfully respond to the questions posed by courtroom …


Capital Punishment: A New Perspective On Race And Ethnic Differences In Punishment And Death Sentence Outcomes, Martin G. Urbina Aug 2000

Capital Punishment: A New Perspective On Race And Ethnic Differences In Punishment And Death Sentence Outcomes, Martin G. Urbina

Dissertations

A review of the existing literature on death sentence outcomes (i.e., executions, commutations) shows evidence of discrimination against minority defendants (e.g., African Americans). Prior studies, however, have followed a Caucasian/African American and/or execution/commutation approach. Latino defendants have either been excluded or treated as a monolithic group. Thus, little is known about death sentence outcomes for Latinos, whose experiences differ from those of African Americans and Caucasians. Additionally, little is known about the treatment of the various ethnic groups (e.g., Cubans, Mexicans) that constitute the Latino community. And, since the focus has been on executions and/or commutations, little is known about …


State-Corporate Crime In The Defense Industry: A Case Study Of General Dynamics’ Procurement Of The Trident Submarine, James E. Robinson Jun 2000

State-Corporate Crime In The Defense Industry: A Case Study Of General Dynamics’ Procurement Of The Trident Submarine, James E. Robinson

Masters Theses

This study outlines the evolution of White-Collar criminological studies of the 1940's, to the more specific study of State-Corporate in the Defense Industry. Furthermore, it outlines the procurement process used by the Department of Defense and puts these processes within a theoretical framework to better explain how State-Corporate crimes occur.

This study focuses on the process by which billions of dollars are wasted each year within the military procurement process, and specifically outlines the fraudulent procurement practices utilized by the General Dynamics Corporation when it built the Trident Submarine during the 1970's.

This study also explains the concept of the …


Proposition 48: Knowledge, Attitude And Appreciation In High School Student-Athletes, Robin Salters Jun 2000

Proposition 48: Knowledge, Attitude And Appreciation In High School Student-Athletes, Robin Salters

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the knowledge, attitude, and appreciation of high school student-athletes toward National Collegiate Athletics Association bylaw 14.3, commonly known as Proposition 48. The subjects completed a questionnaire inquiring about their knowledge of Proposition 48 as well as knowledge of its qualifying criteria. Those subjects that acknowledged having heard of the bylaw were then asked questions pertaining to their attitude towards Proposition 48 as a standard for intercollegiate athletics eligibility and the effect of their knowledge of Proposition 48 on their study habits in preparing for the pressures of being an intercollegiate athlete.

The …


Social Factors Related To Recovery After Hip Fracture, Debra Lindstrom Hazel Apr 2000

Social Factors Related To Recovery After Hip Fracture, Debra Lindstrom Hazel

Dissertations

Objectives. The relationship between social variables and performance of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) was examined in participants three to nine months after they experienced a hip fracture. All participants were over the age of 60 and living in their own homes before and after their hip fractures.

Method. This study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods. There were 19 participants in the quantitative portion of the study that compared three subjectively rated questionnaires with an objectively rated IADL scale. The independent variable, subjective scales were: (1) Antonovsky’s “Orientation to Life” Scale, which measures the sense of coherence, (2) …


A Socio-Cultural Comparative Study Of Freshmen Of Mexican Descent Attending Western Michigan University, Diane M. Ariza Apr 2000

A Socio-Cultural Comparative Study Of Freshmen Of Mexican Descent Attending Western Michigan University, Diane M. Ariza

Dissertations

Institutional racism, encouraged assimilation, and ignorance of Latino/a values are current barriers to the academic success and leadership development of students of Mexican descent in higher education. This study examined the lives and personal stories of 22 college freshmen of Mexican descent from Texas and Michigan and how they transitioned and adapted their first year at Western Michigan University. This study used interviews and participant observation to examine the individuals in each cohort in order to construct their life stories.

An additional purpose was to critically examine the role of the researcher who was highly involved in the recruitment and …


A Comparison Of African American Elderly Women Abstainers And Light To Moderate Consumers Of Alcohol, Treva L. Bostic Apr 2000

A Comparison Of African American Elderly Women Abstainers And Light To Moderate Consumers Of Alcohol, Treva L. Bostic

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences that may exist between two identified groups of older African American women: (1) light to moderate consumers of alcohol, and (2) abstainers from alcohol. Within these two groups are four subgroups of women that were studied: (1) abstainers with high social support, (2) abstainers with low social support, (3) light to moderate consumers of alcohol with high social support, and (4) light to moderate consumers of alcohol with low social support.

Through a contact-and-referral technique, a purposive sample of 97 African American women who were 65 years and over living …


African-American And White Female Homicide Offenders: Women Who Kill Intimate Partners Versus Non-Intimate Partners In Chicago Between 1980-1995, Shauntey James Apr 2000

African-American And White Female Homicide Offenders: Women Who Kill Intimate Partners Versus Non-Intimate Partners In Chicago Between 1980-1995, Shauntey James

Dissertations

The research that examines female homicide offenders goes little further than investigating whether or not offenders were previously victimized by those whom they kill. This research project is designed to contribute to this extant body of literature and theory in two ways. The first is to add and provide a comprehensive picture of African-American and white female homicide offenders in intimate versus non-intimate relationships in homicidal events. The second manner of contribution lies in the testing of a creative and integrative theoretical model. This model addresses race, underclass context, alcohol use, social disorganization and prior arrest record of female homicide …


Environmental Sociology: An Analysis Of Trends, Gregory M. Fulkerson Apr 2000

Environmental Sociology: An Analysis Of Trends, Gregory M. Fulkerson

Masters Theses

This thesis describes the current status of environmental sociology, and presents an invitation to the reader to engage in the topic of the environment. It begins with a review of the literature, focusing on the origins of sociology and the theory of ecology, and presents the framework for the content analysis. The content analysis investigates the content and number of environmental sociology articles in mainstream sociological journals. In addition to the articles themselves, it analyzes the schools and authors of these articles. This analysis is supplemented with an analysis of environmental journals, enumerating the total number of environmental journals in …