Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Discerning The Other: Political Prejudice And Intergroup Contact, Matthew Durham

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Increasing political polarization in the United States over the last 60 years has led to an increase in self-segregation by political affiliation. This can be seen at the level of the nation, state, city, and even the neighborhood. In contrast, many data trends suggest that polarization between other groups (e.g., racial, ethnic, religious, sexual orientation) has decreased during the same time. One of the most studied methods for decreasing intergroup prejudice has been Gordon Allport’s intergroup contact hypothesis. Allport suggested that contact between groups who see themselves as equals with common interests, common goals, and the support of cultural institutions …

Theories Of Language Acquisition, Laura Gomez

English Language Institute

Language acquisition has been discussed for many years; several theories were proposed. In this occasion we will discuss Social Interactionist view by Lev Vygotsky and Nativism view by Noam Chomsky.

The Impact Of Social Interactions On Resettled Refugee Health, Shahjadi Zaman

Political Science ETDs

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the effects of social interactions and other factors on the self-reported physical and mental health of former refugees in their host country. Social relationships and interactions consist of different layers extending from individual personal relations, to social networks, to collective activities. Using data from a public opinion survey of newly resettled Bhutanese and Rohingya refugees in Michigan, I find that along with their economic situations, like employment and income, social integration is an important determinant of physical and mental health among resettled refugees. In particular, resettled refugees tend to have better health …

Agency And Contemporary Recording Production, Eliot Bates

Publications and Research

Recording production is a complex, multistep, typically collaborative process that entails a shifting set of individuals inhabiting changing roles within spaces that house consider­ able amounts of specialized technology. As these roles and technologies feature promi­ nently in the aesthetics of Anglophone and Francophone popular music, they have been studied within such milieus for the longest period. This scholarship tends to understand the creative act as either the result of a prominent individual or something determined by the technologies used within studios. However, recent ethnomusicological scholarship has shown it is much more difficult to clearly situate agency within recording production, …

Play Captains On Play Streets: A Community-University Playful Learning And Teen Leadership Collaboration, Molly Schlesinger, Jeremy Sawyer, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Rebecca Fabiano

Publications and Research

Playful Learning Landscapes (PLL) merges playful learning pedagogy with community spaces to create playful learning opportunities for children, families, and communities. Prior PLL projects have demonstrated effectiveness in enhancing social interaction between children and caregivers by creating opportunities for social interaction derived from the learning sciences literature. In the present case study, a university-based team of PLL researchers partnered with a local community-based organization (CBO) that provides educational, skill building, and job training opportunities for teens in low-income neighborhoods. PLL provided consultation and training to transform the CBO’s Play Captains program into a Playful Learning program where local teenagers led …

Design Hub: Activating Community By Design, Ed Williams

Theses and Dissertations

MOTIVATION

At the turn of the century, Robert Putnam (2000, 27) wrote “...a powerful tide bore Americans into ever deeper engagement in the life of their communities, but a few decades ago that tide reversed and we were overtaken by a treacherous rip current.” Putnam is describing a loss of “social capital” throughout American society. Research suggests that many of our contemporary issues are the result of a decline in “social capital,” or “community.”

This pervasive lack of community is thought to be detrimental to “educational performance, safe neighborhoods, equitable tax collection, democratic responsiveness, everyday honesty, and even our health …