Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Future Will Require Learning How To Exist In A Multicultural Society, Vanessa Lopez-Littleton

UCF Forum

Why should I have to tell my sons to respect the police?

Child Labor In Agricultural Production And Socioeconomic Variables Among Arable Farming Households In Nigeria, Albert Ukaro Ofuoku, David Eduvie Idoge, Bishop Ochuko Ovwigho

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This study was conducted to determine the level of child labor involvement in arable crop farming. A multistage random sampling method was used to select the respondents. Data were collected with the use of a structured interview schedule and questionnaire. Most farming household heads were males (60.61%) and 65% had no formal education, with an average age of 42.28 years, an average household size of 11 persons, annual average income of N192,000.00, and average farm size of 1.13ha. The children participated in field preparation, planting, weeding, pesticide, fertilizer and herbicide application, harvesting, transportation, and processing. Many (43.33%) of the children …

Hipsterevolution, Alessandra Malito

Capstones

The hipster is part of an ever-present subculture rapidly taking over metropolitan areas, regardless bias or perception. It is an old word with a deep history, and those who follow it – consciously or subconsciously – are bringing the subculture to the forefront of urban life, and impacting every aspect from social to economic through the increase of housing prices, the introduction of big-name brands in otherwise small neighborhoods and the pushing out of residents who had been there long before the new kids on the block, but won’t be there after. So who are they -- and where are …

Rural Caregivers And Social Isolation: Some Properties And Dimensions, Ramon Hinojosa, Melanie Sberna Hinojosa, Toni Chiara

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

There are an estimated 400,000 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United States. Many rely on an informal caregiver for assistance. Caregivers are more likely than non-caregivers to report feelings of social isolation. Rural MS caregivers are especially prone to these feelings of isolation. We conducted in-depth interviews with rural caregivers of veterans with MS and used a grounded theory approach to data collection and analysis to illustrate some properties and dimensions of social isolation in a rural MS caregiving sample. These properties include: isolation and the rural environment; isolation from family; isolation from friends; and isolation from the …

Promoting Participation In Sustainable Living Educational Programming Events Among Nonenvironmentally-Motivated Individuals: The Importance Of Key Informant Involvement, Brooklynn J. Wynveen

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Many social science researchers agree that overconsumption of resources and consumer goods is a major problem in Western culture today, particularly in the United States. Thus, promoting sustainable behavior among the public in rural and urban areas alike is important. Although existing research offers suggestions for promoting sustainable behaviors among environmentally-motivated audiences, a void remains with respect to encouraging non-environmentally-motivated individuals to adopt more sustainable behaviors. In response, I conducted a formative experiment aimed specifically at: 1) fostering participation among non-environmentally motivated individuals in sustainable living educational programming events, and 2) promoting subsequent behavior change among those participants in the …

Why “Ritiya” Could Not Go To Sell Vegetables? Myth Versus Reality In Terms Of Caste, Culture And Livelihood, Chandu Lal Chandrakar

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This qualitative study focuses on the challenges faced by the upper-caste Brahmin women in rural areas of the district of Katihar, Bihar, India by focusing on their education, cultural values, and choosing the means of livelihood in the milieu of newly transformed rural areas in Bihar. A drastically decreasing educational quality in terms of skill and morality combined with the message of education translated as knowing the rights to maintain equity and equality have excluded the upper-caste women from the benefits of government policies. There is a paucity of research that could reflect the suppressed voice of insecurity and psychological …

Armed To Farm: Developing Training Programs For Military Veterans In Agriculture, Dan J. Donoghue, Harold L. Goodwin, Angela R. Mays, Komala Arsi, Margo Hale, Terrell Spencer, Michael O’Gorman, Shibu Jose, Ondieki J. Gekara, Joan M. Burke, Ann M. Donoghue

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Farming offers a viable avenue for returning veterans to transition into society and capitalizes on skills that made them successful in the military. However, these opportunities may be missed due to a lack of targeted training programs, guidance, and information for the veteran community. Programs directed toward educating beginning farmers, along with increased awareness and demand for local food production, have provided an opportunity for individuals interested in farming. However, few programs have focused on the needs of veterans interested in agriculture. Since 2007, our team has directly supported approximately 300 veterans interested in farming through workshops, internships, research, and …

The Canon Of East Asian Ecocriticism And The Duplicity Of Culture, Hannes Bergthaller

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "The Canon of East Asian Ecocriticism and the Duplicity of Culture" Hannes Bergthaller begins with the premise that ecocritical scholarship often locates the roots of environmental crisis in Western modernity and that it looks towards pre-modern or non-European traditions for a remedy. Bergthaller argues that such forms of cultural critique tend to reiterate a quintessentially modern gesture. Following Niklas Luhmann's account of culture, Bergthaller examines how these reiterations functions as a semantic mechanism for coping with the contingency of social forms. To describe a social practice as cultural, Bergthaller contends, is to valorize it as a marker …

Orange Is The New Golgotha, Kerry S. Walters

Philosophy Faculty Publications

The Roman soldiers jeered at Jesus, called him "towelhead" and "sand monkey," ripped off his garments and clad him in an orange jumpsuit. Then they pulled a black sack over his head and led him to an interrogation cell, where CIA operatives awaited him. They shackled Jesus's wrists and strung him up so that he dangled from the ceiling. One of them questioned him, and when his responses weren't to their liking, the other beat him. [excerpt]

Constructing Grammar Instruction In The Omani Elt System: A Critical Literacy Perspective, Ali Al-Issa

The Qualitative Report

Debate in the literature has been ongoing about whether to teach English language grammar explicitly, implicitly or integrate both approaches to achieve optimal learning. This research paper, hence, discusses this issue from an ideological perspective with a particular reference to the Omani English language teaching (ELT) education system. The paper triangulates data from various semi-structured interviews made with different agents involved in the Omani ELT education system, the pertinent literature, The Philosophy and Guidelines for the Omani English Language School Curriculum, which I will herewith refer to as the National English Language Policy/Plan (NELP), other policy texts and the English …

Tracing The History Of Grounded Theory Methodology: From Formation To Fragmentation, Méabh Kenny, Robert Fourie

The Qualitative Report

There are very few articles, which track the history of Grounded Theory (GT) methodology from its tentative conception to its present divisions. This journal article addresses the dearth by tracing the history of GT methodology from its conception in the 1960’s, discussing the context of its composition, character, and contribution. Subsequently, the article follows the maturation of GT which is characterised by a series of contentious and, at times, antagonistic academic debates. The crux of these debates centres on disputes over core tenets of GT and have resulted in three dominant and divergent configurations of the GT methodology: Classic, Straussian, …

Authenticity In Constructivist Inquiry: Assessing An Elusive Construct, Patrick Shannon, Elyse Hambacher

The Qualitative Report

Methodological rigor in constructivist inquiry is established through an assessment of trustworthiness and authenticity. Trustworthiness parallels the positivistic concepts of internal and external validity, focusing on an assessment of the inquiry process. Authenticity, however, is unique to constructivist inquiry and has no parallel in the positivistic paradigm. Authenticity involves an assessment of the meaningfulness and usefulness of interactive inquiry processes and social change that results from these processes. However, the techniques for ascertaining authenticity are in the early stages of development. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to describe a process for assessing authenticity in a constructivist inquiry. A …

The Study Of Torture: Why It Persists, Why Perceptions Of It Are Malleable, And Why It Is Difficult To Eradicate, Erin M. Kearns

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Why does torture persist despite its prohibition? Scholars, policymakers, and the public have heavily debated this topic in the past decade. Yet, many puzzles remain about the practice of torture. Scholarship on torture spans academic disciplines, which adds diversity in perspectives brought to these questions but also can lead to redundancy and stunted progress in research on the issue as a whole. This article assesses the state of the multidisciplinary literature on torture in counterterrorism with specific focus on why democracies torture despite prohibiting it, how public perception of torture is malleable, and why so few countries are able to …

Parents' Gender Ideology And Gendered Behavior As Predictors Of Children's Gender-Role Attitudes: A Longitudinal Exploration, Hillary Paul Halpern

Masters Theses

This longitudinal study examined the association between parents’ early and concurrent gender ideology and gendered behaviors and their children’s gender-role attitudes at age six. Specifically, parents' global beliefs about women's and men's "rightful" roles in society, as well as their work preferences for mothers, were considered in relation to the gender-role attitudes held by their first-graders. In addition, parents’ gendered behaviors, including their division of household and childcare tasks, division of paid work hours, and job traditionality were examined as predictors of children’s gender-role attitudes. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized parents’ early and concurrent behavior and ideology would …

Cross-Sector Review Of Drivers And Available 3rs Approaches For Acute Systemic Toxicity Testing, Troy Seidle, Sally Robinson, Tom Holmes, Stuart Creton, Pilar Prieto, Julia Scheel, Magda Chlebus

Troy Seidle, PhD

Acute systemic toxicity studies are carried out in many sectors in which synthetic chemicals are manufactured or used and are among the most criticized of all toxicology tests on both scientific and ethical grounds. A review of the drivers for acute toxicity testing within the pharmaceutical industry led to a paradigm shift whereby in vivo acute toxicity data are no longer routinely required in advance of human clinical trials. Based on this experience, the following review was undertaken to identify (1) regulatory and scientific drivers for acute toxicity testing in other industrial sectors, (2) activities aimed at replacing, reducing, or …

Humane Society International’S Global Campaign To End Animal Testing, Troy Seidle

Troy Seidle, PhD

The Research & Toxicology Department of Humane Society International (HSI) operates a multifaceted and science-driven global programme aimed at ending the use of animals in toxicity testing and research. The key strategic objectives include: a) ending cosmetics animal testing worldwide, via the multinational Be Cruelty-Free campaign; b) achieving near-term reductions in animal testing requirements through revision of product sector regulations; and c) advancing humane science by exposing failing animal models of human disease and shifting science funding toward human biology-based research and testing tools fit for the 21st century. HSI was instrumental in ensuring the implementation of the March 2013 …

Much Of Society's Unrest Caused By Barrage Of Negative Stereotypes In Films, Anthony Major

UCF Forum

Everybody has a perception about what the image of art should say – or not say – but few have an informed opinion. The power of the communicative arts transcends the mere power to inform. That power is used in film, television, newspapers, radio, art, magazines, music, theatre and the new social media network as a means of influencing and shaping attitudes by providing images and opinions.

The Ecological Genomic Basis Of Salinity Adaptation In Tunisian Medicago Truncatula, Maren L. Friesen, Eric J.B. Von Wettberg, Mounawer Badri, Ken S. Moriuchi, Fathi Barhoumi, Peter L. Chang, Sonia Cuellar-Ortiz, Matilde A. Cordeiro, Wendy T. Vu, Soumaya Arraouadi, Naceur Djébali, Kais Zribi, Yazid Badri, Stephanie S. Porter, Mohammed Elarbi Aouani, Douglas R. Cook, Sharon Y. Strauss, Sergey V. Nuzhdin

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: As our world becomes warmer, agriculture is increasingly impacted by rising soil salinity and understanding plant adaptation to salt stress can help enable effective crop breeding. Salt tolerance is a complex plant phenotype and we know little about the pathways utilized by naturally tolerant plants. Legumes are important species in agricultural and natural ecosystems, since they engage in symbiotic nitrogen-fixation, but are especially vulnerable to salinity stress. Results: Our studies of the model legume Medicago truncatula in field and greenhouse settings demonstrate that Tunisian populations are locally adapted to saline soils at the metapopulation level and that saline origin …

Analyzing Flying Chameleons: Using Autoethnography To Explore Change In The Female Educator, Leslie Pourreau

The Qualitative Report

What is a chameleon in the world of education? What defines her professionally, personally, and why? In this autoethnography, I explore the chameleon metaphor for meanings and implications in my personal and professional identity as a female educator by seeking answers to questions stemming from Mitchell and Weber (2005): Just who do I think I am? Just who do I think I am? Just who do I think I am? Just who do I think I am? I analyzed my own autobiographical journals using the four-part Listening Guide (Gilligan, Spencer, Weinberg, & Bertsch, 2003) coupled with theme-based family coding to …

Connecting The Dots: A Review Of Traversing The Uncharted Arena Of Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software: Mapping Out Qda Miner 4.1 As A First-Time User, Andrea Cuva

The Qualitative Report

A review of QDA Miner 4.1, a mixed method computer assisted data analysis software (CAQDAS), was conducted to determine how accommodating (if at all) the software was for beginning researchers and/or individuals less proficient with computers. Rather than maintaining the more traditional focus on the technical functionality of QDA Miner, this review was structured around the needs and interests of a beginning researcher. Although QDA Miner offers a variety of helpful resources, questions regarding how to structure initial project to ensure findings yield methodological accuracy remain.

The Institutional Review Board (Irb) And Faculty: Does The Irb Challenge Faculty Professionalism In The Social Sciences?, Glenda Droogsma Musoba, Stacy A. Jacob, Leslie J. Robinson

The Qualitative Report

Institutional Review Boards (IRB) were instituted to protect the rights of research participants and due to past (and at times egregious) practices committed in the name of research. We question whether the IRB is currently overstepping its bounds into the domain of the researcher. We illustrate possible ways in which the IRB subtlety and not so subtlety challenge faculty professionalism and limit faculty research independence, highlighting some instances in which qualitative research topics bump up against boards that mistrust or misunderstand the nature of qualitative research. Using case study vignettes from five universities, our concerns focused on mission creep and …

‘Resurrecting Harry Clarke’: Breathing Life Into Stained Glass Tourism In Ireland, Tony Kiely

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Internationally, the exponential demand for ‘cultural/heritage’ tourism is increasingly being viewed by tourism stakeholders as an opportunity for value adding revenue generation, wherein both specialist and ‘media programmed’ tourists can seek out designated cultural attractions to satisfy their respective quests for authentic, and/or emotionally charged experiences. Indeed, this international ‘demand’ re-alignment is exemplified in the growth of churches and cathedrals who openly promote their artistic content as ‘must see attractions’. However, despite such utilitarian attractiveness, one wonders if the counter-influences of indifference, protectionism, or fear of heritage commodification, might act to scupper an opportunity to re-envision Harry Clarke’s iconic stained …

Attaining Sustainability: The American Evolution Of Socially Responsible Business Practices, Lauren M. Beatty

Alumni Scholarship

The focus of this thesis is on the evolution of socially responsible business practices (SRBPs); the historical progression of commercial philanthropy; the current market trends that drive corporate actions; and the projected rise of social responsibility integration within organizational cultures. The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence for how SRBPs contribute to, rather than detract from, the strength and success of American consumer goods companies because of their strategic integration in organizational cultures. In addition to providing a brief historical overview of the evolution of SRBPs, the thesis will highlight how the objectives of SRBPs have continuously advanced …

Barack Obama, Implicit Bias, And The 2008 Election, Jeffrey J. Rachlinski, Gregory S. Parks

Jeffrey J Rachlinski

The election of Barack Obama as the forty-fourth president of the United States suggests that the United States has made great strides with regard to race. The blogs and the pundits may laud Obama’s win as evidence that we now live in a “post-racial America.” But is it accurate to suggest that race no longer significantly influences how Americans evaluate each other? Does Obama’s victory suggest that affirmative action and antidiscrimination protections are no longer necessary? We think not. Ironically, rather than marking the dawn of a post-racial America, Obama’s candidacy reveals how deeply race affects judgment.

Through The Eyes Of The Homeless, Aisha M. Soto

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

When reviewing the entire project from start to completion, I can honestly say, Through the Eyes of the Homeless is a play about ten women and their plight. It illustrates their dealings with everyday issues of hurt, disappointment, abuse, love, and hope. I believe the true impact of this play is the undeniable prayer for help and hope within each monologue. Despite the horrors that are unveiled and released through hidden secrets, the undertone of betterment is truly resonating. My own expectation for this play is simply to strike awareness and understanding in the eyes of the people. It is …

Fifty Years Of Weathering The Storm: Are The Louisiana Gulf Coastal Parishes Prepared For Another Major Hurricane?, Danielle L. Boudreau

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study examines ten major storms that have affected Louisiana in the last fifty years, beginning with Hurricane Betsy in 1965. The goal is to determine if the nine coastal parishes are prepared adequately for another major hurricane impact. It examines storms that have affected the state physically, in terms of property and ecological damages. It also considers storms that provided non-physical influences, by way of mitigation policy changes and social, economical, ecological, and political policy alterations. The main focus is on the transformations, if any, of social vulnerability in light of emergency preparedness in the areas impacted, particularly along …

Site Visitation: School Leaders' Perceptions Of A Diagnostic Tool For School Improvement, Mary Shannon C. Chiasson

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This case study explored the use of site-visitation as a diagnostic tool for school improvement. Nine charter schools in New Orleans were selected for the study. Based on qualitative research and systems theory, a within- and cross-case analysis of nine semi-structured interviews with school leaders were conducted. The school leaders’ experiences with the state-run site-visitation model and their use of the findings for school improvement was explored. The findings led to the development of a hybrid accountability model that encompasses the components school leaders believe will lead to school improvement. This study aims to assist educators, policy makers, and researchers …

Has Adam Gadahn Forsaken The Lawful Jihad For Anti-Americanism? A Case Study Of Ideological Contradictions, Paul Kamolnick

ETSU Faculty Works

Despite his importance as a senior Al-Qaeda spokesman, no detailed examination exists of Adam Yahiye Gadahn’s employment of fiqh al-jihad—that branch of Islamic jurisprudence regulating the lawful waging of jihad—to condemn or condone violence committed in the name of Al-Qaeda. This article first provides a detailed exposition of Gadahn’s sharia-based critique of affiliates’ conduct deemed by him in violation of Islamic law and involving the commission of major sins. Second, Gadahn’s conception of fiqh al-jihad is contextualized and contrasted with the comprehensive fiqh al-jihad-based critiques produced by respected militant Islamist scholars. A key finding here is that Gadahn (unlike these …

Social Movement Unionism Or Social Justice Unionism? Disentangling Theoretical Confusion Within The Global Labor Movement, Kim Scipes

Class, Race and Corporate Power

After the election of John Sweeney as President of the AFL-CIO in October 1995, activists and supportive intellectuals in the United States began thinking about how to revitalize the almost moribund American labor movement. A key part of this literature has revolved around the concept of “social movement unionism.” This term touched a nerve, and has garnered widespread usage in North America over the past two decades.

However, most researchers using this term have no idea that it was initially developed to understand the new unionism developed by members of specific labor movements in Brazil, the Philippines and South Africa, …

No Longer Can We Keep Our Eyes Closed To Human Trafficking All Around Us, Richard Lapchick

UCF Forum

You may have read in early December that 61 people were arrested across Florida in a four-day human-trafficking sting operation. If you haven’t followed the dramatic increase in stories about human trafficking in the United States, this news may have caught you by surprise.