Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Criminal Justice System: The Impact Of Legal And Extra-Legal Variables, Sanderson Charles Jeter

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the effect of legal and extra-legal variables on the processing and sentencing outcomes of defendants. The data for this study were extracted from the case files of Kalamazoo (Michigan) County Circuit Court. The sample population is comprised of criminal defendants randomly selected and who were processed in the circuit court from May, 1987 through May, 1988. The statistical procedure applied was cross - tabulation, utilizing a chi-square measure of association. Legal and extra-legal variables independently and collectively have different effects on the processing and sentencing outcomes of defendants. Results indicate that legal variables (e.g., type of crime …

“The Mirror Crack'd": Women As Mothers And Wives In Paternally Incestuous Families, Mary Deyoung

Dissertations

Women often are blamed for paternal incest. Although the notion of women's culpability is repeated so often in the literature that it has all the tranquility of an axiom, few studies have even used these women as subjects. This study sought to remedy that flaw by using as its subjects 20 women from paternally incestuous families. Each participated in an in-depth interview comprised of life history questions, and in a shorter follow-up interview.

The women reported a moderate degree of conflict between their roles as mother and wife. Their strategies for coping with that conflict were categorized according to the …

Spatial Distribution Of Hispanic Households In Holland, Michigan: 1960-1990, Cynthia J. Longstreet

Masters Theses

This paper examines patterns of Hispanic household concentration and segregation from non-Hispanic households in Holland, Michigan for the decades from 1960 to 1990 with some analysis of 1950 patterns. Household data were obtained from United States census reports and Polk directories, from which location quotients and indices of dissimilarity were calculated for census tracts and census blocks within the study area.

Data showed that most of Holland’s Hispanic households have been found in the three census tracts closest to the central city, but that deconcentration is occurring as more Hispanic families setde in peripheral areas of Holland. Data also indicated …

A Comparison Of On-Court Performance Aggression And Off-Court General Aggression In Women Basketball Players, Lee-Ann Toler O'Neal

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Lee-Ann Toler O'Neal on November 18, 1991.

Body-Image Attitudes And Perceptions Among African-Americans And Whites As A Function Of Socioeconomic Class, Christopher Eugene Huffine

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

While many facets of body image have been extensively researched, relatively few studies have examined racial and social class differences in body image. The present paper consists of two studies examining racial and class differences in body image among males and females. Study 1 utilized a national sample of respondents to a 1985 Psychology Today survey to examine racial (Black and White) and educational differences in body image among men and women. Study 2 utilized a smaller sample of Black subjects, half drawn from several Southeastern universities and the other half from non-academic locations in the Tidewater area of Virginia …

The Debate On Lesbian Sadomasochism: A Discourse Analysis, Gudbjorg Ottosdottir

Masters Theses

This study examines an issue debated within the U.S. lesbian community since the mid-1970s, lesbian sadomasochism. The issue has been whether sadomasochism is consistent with lesbian feminism, a political ideology which has much shaped lesbian identity and community. The claims and counter-claims made about lesbian sadomasochism are analyzed, as are the underlying ideologies and their relationship to general lesbian political and cultural history. It is argued that the debate is the result of a limited subject position offered by lesbian feminism. The perspective of lesbian sadomasochists is seen as a call for a renewed lesbian feminist discourse. It is proposed …

Parents, Religion And Interpersonal Orientation : An Attachment Theory Perspective, Bradley J. Strahan

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

It is generally believed that early experiences in childhood influence later psychosocial functioning. This study addresses the relationship between parenting in the early years and later psychosocial functioning and religious orientation within the social context of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Recent research in the application of paradigms from attachment theory to adult relationships and the psychology of religion forms the theoretical framework for the study. Questionnaire measures were taken from 242 tertiary students at a denominational college. Results indicated that the quality of the parent-child bond was significantly related to later psychosocial adjustment and religious orientation. Further, the quality of …

Religious Medical Centers In Cairo, Iman Mohammed Roushdy Hammady

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Patterns Of Illicit Drug Use Among American High School Youth: An Examination For The Years 1976 And 1986, Dennis Rosado Malaret

Masters Theses

Previous studies have noted the importance of structural and demographic variables for the study of drug use among high school students. The present study focuses on the pattern and extent of legal and illegal drug use by high school seniors, by variables such as gender, race, religion, and academic achievement, among others.

The data used for this study were taken from Monitoring the Future (Bachman, O'Malley, & Johnston, 1980, 1987) for 1976 and 1986. Each data collection phase included a sample of over 15,000 students from approximately 125 to 135 public and private high schools, selected to provide an accurate …

State-Corporate Crime In The U.S. Nuclear Weapons Production Complex: A Case Study, David Kauzlarich

Masters Theses

The objectives of this research are (1) to identify the characteristics of the environmental law violations committed during the production of nuclear weapons, (2) to identify the historical forces and events which have contributed to those violations, and (3) to use data on the illegal acts of the nuclear weapons production complex to help adjudicate between a number of competing explanations of the causes of organizational crime.

This research, a qualitative, socio-historical case study, found that a historical and structural level of analysis is best equipped to explain the causes of the weapons production complex's criminality. The conclusion of this …

Reagan-Bush Drug Crusades: An Historical Perspective And Critique, Martin Randall Hill

Masters Theses

This study is a sociological analysis of anti-drug legislation during the last one hundred years within the United States. Anti-drug legislation is explored with regard to specific substances, as well as in general, and compared to anti-drug legislation of today. The conflict perspective was employed as an aid in understanding the occurrence of such phenomena as anti-drug legislation and drug wars. It becomes apparent that social problems or deviance, related to drug use, are more than simply a matter of someone transgressing. The laws are created in an effort to perpetuate the existence of groups with access to power and …

Drug Problem And Social Change In Saudi Arabia: A Study Of The Attitude Of Saudi Students Studying In The U.S.A. Towards Drug Use In Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Yousef

Masters Theses

The main focus of this study is the relationship between level of income, level of education, length of stay in U.S.A., frequency of contact with foreigners, and level of religiosity on student attitudes towards smoking cigarettes and hashish, and drinking alcohol.

A sample of 110 students was randomly drawn from three areas: Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, and Lansing, Michigan. Data were collected through administering a questionnaire.

Analysis of the data revealed the following: income, level of education, length of stay in the U.S., frequency of contact with foreigners, and level of religiosity were associated with student attitudes towards drug use.

An Analysis Of Self-Report Delinquency: A Test Using An International Instrument, Linda Robyn

Masters Theses

This is part of an international pilot study on juvenile delinquency in the U. S. and six European countries. Research questions were designed based on using Hirschi’s (1969) theory of Social Control as a guide. Among the questions to be studied are the relationships between delinquency and single- and two-parent homes, participation in organized sports, and acts committed alone or with others. Interviews were conducted with 100 youths from 14- to 18-years of age. The population consisted of past and present students from junior high and high school in a mid-western city. The data were stratified into census tracts and …

The Effect Of Urbanization And Modernization On Family Structure In Oman, Sultan M. Al-Hashmi

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis was designed to describe family change in Oman as it undergoes urbanization and modernization. A survey questionnaire to measure these changes was developed. Some questions were developed in two forms for a comparison of family change across two generations. Respondents were asked to answer the questions as they applied to their current family situation. They were then asked to consider, according to their best recollections, what the situation was in their parents' generation.

The Effects Of Negligence And Causation Information On Jurors' Determination Of Liability, David K. Blanchard

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the effect of arguments for and against defendant's behavior being negligent and for and against defendant's behavior being a cause of damages to the plaintiff. The findings were (a) that negligence arguments affected negligence ratings, causation ratings, and verdicts and (b) that causation arguments affected none of the measures.

Scenes Of Schooling, Linda Herrera

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Agency Policies And Personnel Attitudes Toward Adolescent Fathers, Sandra Gunderson Warner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Adolescent parenting research has typically focused on the mother and ignored the father. Researchers have suggested that adolescent fathers are disregarded as the child's other parent because their parenting role is devalued. An emerging body of literature indicates that adolescent fathers are excluded from the pregnancy and parenting services provided to adolescent mothers because they are viewed as unnecessary to the parenting process and unimportant to the child's development. Moreover, researchers have alleged that service providers treat adolescent fathers as outcasts based on stereotypical beliefs that they are uncaring, irresponsible victimizers who disappear at the first mention of pregnancy. However, …

The Play Of Visually Impaired Preschoolers With Their Mothers, Claudia Weber

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis answers the following questions: (a) Is the Play Assessment Scale a true measure of development? (b) Does the mother have a significant, positive influence on the child's level of development? (c) Does the mother's interactional style influence the child's development as measured by the Play Assessment Scale and the Battelle Developmental Inventory? The subjects were 13 visually impaired preschoolers. Development was measured with the Play Assessment Scale and the Battelle Developmental Inventory. Maternal interactional style was assessed with the Parent/Caregiver Involvement Scale. The study indicated that the Play Assessment Scale is a valid, reliable measure of development in …

Reverse Peace Corps: A Proposal On The Recruitment Of Third World Nationals As Peace Corps Volunteers Assigned To The United States, Payam Foroughi

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

"War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength." (Orwell 1949, p. 5). Indeed, in 1960, when President Kennedy announced his future plans for a Peace Corps of young Americans, there were already an estimated 10,000 Americans working in the Third World country of Vietnam in the capacity of "military advisors". By 1963 there were 17,000 such Americans in Vietnam and another 7,000 Americans in 44 other Third World countries working as Peace Corps Volunteers (Rice 1985).

In 1835, reflecting on the then young America, Tocqueville stated that "of all nations, those most fond of peace are democratic nations" and …

Knowledge Of Infant/Toddler Development Among Low-Income Families, Ann B. Parkinson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pretest data from a two-year project entitled "An Early Intervention Program for Parents of Young Children at-Risk" were collected and analyzed, in a sample of 2,191 low-income parents, for Head Start participation and baseline information. Respondents participating in the sample were from the states of California, Delaware, Nevada, South Carolina, and Utah. For their participation in the study, respondents received a free subscription to age-paced newsletters, which contained information about appropriate growth expectancies, nutrition, and guidance for their child of 36 months or younger. Newsletters were mailed monthly to parents who had children 12 months and younger and every other …

El Tayibin, Petra Yvonne Kuppinger

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Relocation Decision-Making In Dual-Career Couples, Lori Bartels

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the decision-making process of individuals in dual-career couples when faced with a job opportunity in a distant city. The purpose was to determine which factors would be given the most importance by males and females during the decision process.

Each scenario presented an identical situation in which the participant was offered a job in a distant city. Following this paragraph were five brief statements representing five factors; job opportunities for self, job opportunities for spouse, career commitment--self, career commitment--spouse, and economic considerations. Two levels (moderate and high) of each factor were used in order to manipulate the …

Norfolk Resource Mothers Program Evaluation, Margaret Moore Konefal

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

This study uses the post-test only design to assess the preliminary effects of a community-based policy initiative, the Norfolk State University Resource Mothers Program (RMP), on the gestational ages, birth weights, and survival rates of infants born to participating adolescent mothers.

The RMP uses experienced mothers or paraprofessionals similar in race and socio-economic status to the participating teenagers. These persons are trained to assist pregnant adolescents and teen parents with nonmedical dimensions of pregnancy and child care. They recruit teens into the RMP, encouraging them to get early prenatal care. Resource Mothers provide teen mothers and their families with practical …

Characteristics Of Families And Home Environments That Facilitate The Successful Adaptation Of Children Into A Formal School Environment, Janice Elich Monroe

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine what characteristics of families are most likely to enhance the development of social capital in young urban school children and to determine which of these characteristics or combination of characteristics contribute to a child's ability to adapt positively to a formal school environment. This purpose was accomplished through the design and implementation of an ex post facto study utilizing qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. The sample for this study included 33 second grade students from four target schools in the Norfolk Public School System who were identified as disadvantaged and as either …

Crime And Development: A Comparative Analysis, Dick Taver'shima Andzenge

Dissertations

The study examines the extent to which social and economic development might be related to crime. Modernization theory of crime posits that the process of social and economic development involves changes in the society which are criminogenic. These changes include: urbanization, industrialization, longevity or increased life expectancy, increased manufacturing and gross domestic products. According to this theory these characteristics alter social tendencies to stability and conformity, and therefore result in increased deviance and crime.

This study tests the theory by using longitudinal data collected over a 25-year period from 54 countries. A sample of these data representing 34 countries from …

Private Versus Public Operation: A Comparison Of Two Juvenile Restitution Programs, Sudipta Roy

Dissertations

The present research focuses on the effectiveness of two restitution programs for juvenile offenders, one in Elkhart County, Indiana, and the other in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Effectiveness refers to the impact of the two restitution programs on offender restitution to their victims and on offender recidivism. The two programs are a Victim Offender Reconciliation Project (VORP) in Elkhart County and a non-VORP restitution program administered by the Juvenile Probate Court in Kalamazoo County. The VORP is operated by a private agency--the Center for Community Justice, while the Kalamazoo program is publicly operated. This study focuses on the impact of the …

Value-Orientations, Socialization And Social Mobility: A Replication And Conceptual Extension Of Kohn, Eric O. Johnson

Masters Theses

This thesis replicates and extends Kohn and associates' (Kohn, 1969; Kohn et al, 1986) research on the differing value orientations of the middle and working classes, self direction and conformity to authority, respectively. Using the findings that these values are reflected in child socialization, investigation was extended to those socially mobile from the working to middle class. Since parental resocialization of the mobile occurs over time, it is hypothesized that eldest children of the mobile will be socialized to working class values and successive children increasingly to middle class values. Examination of this process also informs about the class maintenance …

Political Perspectives In Encyclopedias: Portrayal Of The Nicaraguan Revolution, Brian B. Smith

Masters Theses

Encyclopedia text is most often presented as objective, factual, authoritatively documented truth. To examine this knowledge claim, this thesis analyzes the portrayal of the 1979 Nicaraguan revolution in editions of the four major U.S. encyclopedias. A qualitative content analysis is employed to determine the political perspectives present in encyclopedia coverage of the Nicaraguan revolution and the subsequent changes in Nicaraguan political economy brought about by that revolution.

The findings indicate that significant differences among and within the encyclopedias existed in the text analyzed. A variety of political perspectives were found to have influenced the content of the text, and to …

Toward A General Model Of Social Control And School Related Violations, Robin E. Sowell

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Racism, Sexism And Ageism In America, Bobbie Alexander Lyons

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.