Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Experiential Learning In Collegiate Academia: The Silicon Valley Immersion, Kirsten Settle

Honors Theses

A thesis in an examination of experiential collegiate learning, specifically that are found within the vocational field of entrepreneurship and business management. This student-driven project’s objective primarily is to recruit a dedicated team of diverse students from Western Michigan University (WMU) to engage in a systematic, site-based experiential learning in one of the world’s biggest tech-metropolitans, San Francisco, California. The mission is to stimulate an experience-based approach to studying a business centered curriculum through field research with some of the country’s most successful companies. Participants evaluated company culture in diverse business settings to comprehend professional prospects and project management best …

Sexual Harassment Of Biology And Biomedical Sciences Undergraduates: A Study On The Effects Of Larry Nassar And William Strampel, Kathleen Ryan

Honors Theses

Sexual harassment amongst undergraduate women of science is a prominent issue, gaining much media attention. The goal of this study is to determine if, and how, major sexual harassment cases impact women pursuing science-related careers, and what the sexual harassment climate is like for these individuals. The study will examine prevalence of harassment, common types of sexual misconduct, perpetrators, and severity through an anonymous survey. Additionally, this study will look into the effects of the Nassar and Strampel cases regarding desire to report harassment, and students’ fear of experiencing harassment in their future educations and careers. It is hypothesized that …

A Recipe For Success In The ‘English World’: An Investigation Of The Ex-Amish In Mainstream Society, Jessica R. Sullivan

Dissertations

As a largely understudied and misunderstood religious group, the Amish appear to be a relic of more traditional times. Because they are a secluded group with little influence from the outside world, they remain relatively untouched by technology and social media. This results in a strict, fundamentalist church community with extremely high rates of retention. Distancing themselves from outsiders and temptations in the English world aids in retaining strong church boundaries, and results in a population that doubles every 20 years (Kaufmann 2010). Acknowledging these aspects, this research delves into the lives of those who have defected from the church …

The Place Of Art In Black Panther Party Revolutionary Thought And Practice: From Revolution To Reform, A Content Analysis, Michael James Macaluso

Dissertations

The Black Panther Intercommunal News Services (BPINS) was one of the most powerful black presses and a mechanism to build an imagined political community. Unfortunately, the scholarly and sociological literature examining the artwork of the Black Panther Party published in BPINS has been inadequate. Most work to date focuses solely on one artist, Emory Douglas, the Party’s Minister of Culture and primary editor of their press. Many other artists contributed to the collective endeavor of art and organization at large. The artwork of the Black Panther Party was a communal enterprise geared toward the promotion of political consciousness through visual …

Indigenous Knowledge And The Development Debate In Africa, Fidelis Ewane, Samson Ajagbe

International Journal of African Development

This research employs Bourdieu’s theory of habitus to explain the disposition of the donor community to integrate indigenous knowledge systems and practices into development projects. The theory’s objectivist perspective specifies the mechanism that links structural conditioning to social practice and regularities. It holds that power is culturally and symbolically created, and it is constantly re-legitimized through the interplay of agency and structure. This facilitates an analysis of the development field as social space characterized by indigenous and donor power relations. It argues that the reinforcement of indigenous knowledge as the main channel for development will generate transferable local capacities and …

Communication In Divorced Families With Children, Casey L. James

The Hilltop Review

This paper explores the research on communication in divorced families with minor children. The primary focus is on the various styles of communication and how communication affects children. After looking at the conversation and conformity family dyads, the dyads will be used in various areas of this paper to highlight the pros and cons of these family types and which aspect of the dyad has a stronger impact on healthy adjustment to the marital status transition. Communication will be broken down further to explore the impact communication with parents has on child adjustment. In addition, communication between the co-parents and …

The Socializer - Fall 2018, Department Of Sociology

The Socializer

Fall 2018 Sociology departmental newsletter.

Kinship Diversion In The District Of Columbia: A Review Of Local Practice To Inform National Policy, Marla P. Spindel, Beth A. Stekler, Stephanie Ridgway Mcclellan

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

This article addresses a practice commonly known in the child welfare community as “kinship diversion,” where a child welfare agency informally places children with relatives as an alternative to foster care. While evidence predominantly shows that abused and neglected children have better outcomes when they are placed with relatives when they cannot remain safely at home, serious concerns about these children’s safety and well-being arise when the placement with relatives is informal. Indeed, it is often not understood that these same relatives can be approved as foster parents and can receive essential financial assistance and supportive services to help safely …

“People You May (Or May Not) Know:” Usage Intensity, Status Motivation, And Intimate Self-Disclosure As Predictors Of Bridging Social Capital On Facebook, Ryan Paul Castillo 2209867

The Hilltop Review

Drawing on the concept of social capital, this study examines the impact of usage intensity, status motivations, and intimate public self-disclosure on Facebook users’ informational access and feelings of general social support. Survey data collected from a random sample of undergraduate Facebook users (n=583) were used to test several hypotheses predicting perceptions of bridging social capital. A multivariate ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model revealed significant positive associations between both Facebook usage intensity and status motivations, and perceptions of bridging social capital, while no significant relationships were found between various forms of intimate self-disclosure in public channels and perceptions of …

What Provides For Me As I Provide For Others? A Study Of Homeless Shelters Employees Within Kalamazoo, Michigan, Melanie Jezior

Masters Theses

Homeless shelters run on one thing: workers. Without workers there is no supportive aid for the homeless. A daunting and emotional job that is taken on by thousands, but why? Is the goal in entering this line of work to make an impact on homeless populations, a lasting difference? Everyone has their own personal reasons, however what are the main reasons for people going into a job like shelter work? What is it that motivates these workers to continue this line of work or motivates them to leave? It is a job that offers low pay, and emotional settings. A …

College Self-Funding Predicting Deviant Behaviors, Blake A. Darling

Masters Theses

This study examines the effects of the source of college funding on student participation in four deviant behaviors: monthly binge drinking, monthly marijuana use, illicit drug use, and academic cheating. Using secondary data from a self-reported online survey conducted at a midwestern University, competing hypotheses based in general strain theory and social bond theory, were tested. Logistic regression analyses of the four deviant behaviors suggest that the source of college funding has a very limited effect. Only in the cases of marijuana use and illicit drug use were significant relationships observed; where students whose funding came from their parents were …

Reconsidering Policy Barriers For Justice-Involved College Students, Bradley D. Custer

Journal of College Access

Student affairs professionals are concerned about the access and success of diverse groups of students in U.S. higher education, but systematic barriers continue to confront one understudied population of college students. Justice-involved people–those who have experienced the criminal justice system–face unique challenges on our campuses but are often ignored in discussions of access, retention, and success. To raise awareness about the barriers these student face, this paper offers a descriptive examination of the federal, state, and institutional policies that target justice-involved college students, including policies related to admissions, financial aid, campus housing, student employment, student athletics, and others. Analysis suggests …

Where Are We Losing Them? An Exploration Of Barriers To Buy-In Of Higher Education Responsible Employee Policies, Danielle Snow

Honors Theses

Sexual violence is a pervasive issue on college campuses across the U.S. In order to address this issue, the U.S. federal government has implemented certain acts and guidance to prevent violence and promote campus safety. One of the most controversial pieces of guidance is the responsible employee policy. In theory, this reporting system would allow students to have better access to victim support services and allow campuses to have more accurate data as to the reality of sexual violence happening on their campuses. In practice, however, this has not been the case for many individual institutional policies. Instead, many institutional …

The Context For An Undergraduate Research Program At Western Michigan University, Nathan Browning

Honors Theses

This thesis is an investigation into undergraduate research, experiential learning, and creative scholarship as it relates to Western Michigan University (WMU). Data mining was used to analyze the state of undergraduate research activity (URA) nationally. Surveys, interviews, and focus groups were used to examine both faculty and undergraduate opinion of the state of URA specifically at WMU. The goal of this thesis is to help establish a framework for what a successful undergraduate research program would look like at WMU.

Previous literature shows benefits for both institutions and students, including higher retention rates, stronger graduate outcomes, and increased satisfaction levels …

Do Students Feel Safe On Campus? A Policy Evaluation Of The Clery Act, Amanda Sidwell

Honors Theses

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the Clery Act) is federal policy aimed at creating safer college campuses. It attempts to provide students with statistics on crimes that occur on campus and inform them of the security policies and various resources available to them. The Clery Act also mandates that institutions of higher education (IHE) send out alerts of emergencies that occur on campus.

So how safe do Western Michigan University (WMU or “Western”) students feel on campus? This study attempted to answer this question by asking students through a survey. The students’ …

School Shootings: A Nexus Of Adolescent Masculinity, Bullying, And Homophobia, Jack Marsden

Honors Theses

Though overall gun violence has plummeted since 1993, multi-victim school shootings have increased in frequency over the last fifty years and the number of adolescent perpetrators has more than doubled since 1996. I borrow from Kimmel and Mahler’s (2001) format to examine seven shootings that have occurred in the fifteen years since their paper’s original publication. I replicate their qualitative methodology and conduct my own analysis of these attacks. My findings suggest that these boys that open fire are mired in a history of routine, merciless bullying and that the content of the bullying is homophobic in nature. I also …

The Socializer-Spring/Summer 2018, Department Of Sociology

The Socializer

Spring/ Summer 2018 Sociology departmental newsletter.

Spatial And Temporal Changes In Halal Food Sales And Consumption A Case Study Of The City Of Dearborn, Michigan, Sam Roodbar

Masters Theses

With a population of 3.2 million and growing in the US, Arab Americans are an integral part of the economy and culture of the United States and the world. The southeast portion of the state of Michigan is home to more than 300,000 Arab Americans. One of the main agents of cultural maintenance and support for the Arab American community are their ethnic food traditions, specifically Halal food. Since the introduction of Halal food in the United States, the sales and consumption of Halal products has increased immensely. This research seeks to answer four related questions focused on the entrance …

Assessment For Mild Cognitive Impairment: Striving For Best Practice, Julie Leigh Dalmasso

Dissertations

This dissertation is a series of three studies aimed at determining the best assessment practices for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) that can employed by speech-language pathologists (SLPs). The first study was non-experimental and descriptive examining whether three commonly used assessment instruments yielded similar categorical results. The data were analyzed to determine whether the Eight-Item Interview to Differentiate Aging and Dementia (AD8), the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the Cognitive-Linguistic Quick Test (CLQT) identified the same participants from a neurotypical sample as having cognitive deficits. Very little agreement was found amongst the three tools.

Study two was modified to include two …

An Evaluation Of Domestic Violence Shelter Programs And Research Best Practices, Katherine Brown

Masters Theses

Domestic violence is a prevalent social problem occurring all over the world. The numerous ways society addresses domestic violence programs varies causing further complications. This study aims to better understand some of the domestic violence research best practices, programs, and policies available through a national study examining innovative residential shelter programs. A content analysis of interviews, tour photos, shelter pamphlets/websites, and training materials suggested four themes. The main finding, however, suggested trauma-informed care should be implemented within safe housing for survivors of domestic violence.

Examining The Impact Of A Criminal Background In Social Work Education, Amy S. Vliek

Dissertations

Many returning citizens want to access higher educational institutions (HEIs) to access desired professions and increase employability. However, many HEIs and profession education programs have restrictions in place for returning citizens. An MSW is the most sought-after degree for returning citizens. However, social work education has restrictions in place for returning citizens. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the lived experiences of MSW returning citizen students considering these restrictions. The dissertation attempts to answer the following research questions: How did applicants who disclosed a criminal background at the time of application experience the MSW application process? Did the …

Educational Attainment In Young Adulthood, Depressive Symptoms, And Race-Ethnicity: The Long-Reach Of Parenting Styles In Adolescence, Brittany N. Hearne, C. André Christie-Mizell

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Utilizing four parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, uninvolved, and permissive) and two types of educational achievement (years of education completed and completion of a college degree), we investigated whether mental health (i.e., depressive symptoms) mediates the relationship between parenting styles in adolescence and the educational attainment of young adults. We further assessed whether the relationships among parenting styles and educational attainment vary by race and ethnicity for African Americans, Hispanics, and whites. Compared to youth with authoritative parenting, those who experienced uninvolved or authoritarian parenting were more likely to experience depressive affect, and these symptoms of depression partially mediated the relationship …

Journal Of Sociology And Social Welfare Vol. 45 No. 2

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

Age Stereotypes And Attitudes Towards Welfare State Arrangements For The Old: A Multilevel Analysis Across Twenty-Nine Countries, Ferry Koster

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study investigates whether and how support for welfare state arrangements for the old relate to the stereotypes of the young and the old within society. It is hypothesized that the social status that these groups have in society affect these attitudes through different mechanisms, relating to the deservingness criteria that citizens apply. An empirical analysis of Round 4 of the European Social Survey (including 50,009 individuals from 29 European countries) shows that: (1) the social esteem of people over 70 predicts support for welfare state arrangements for the old; and (2) the social esteem of people in their 20s …