Sociology Commons^™

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 …

Cross Cultural Analysis For Training And Facilitating Latin-American Audiences, Jose P. Alcazar

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

The purpose of this project is to help Creative Problem Solving (CPS) trainers and facilitators to improve the efficacy when working with Hispanic groups and individuals, either in a personal or in organizational environments. This project will guide the facilitators to use a more appropriate tools that will allow the resource group to feel more comfortable during the idea generation, creating an environment more according to the believes and behavioral habits; and the client to feel more confident to converge and make decisions accordingly to the initial goals. When training people in CPS, the project will align the methodology and …

"Race Becomes Biology": Co-Occurring Oral And Systemic Disease As Embodiment Of Structural Violence In An American Skeletal Sample, Rieti G. Gengo

Masters Theses

In recent years, a large number of biomedical studies have demonstrated that the bacteria that contribute to periodontal disease can migrate outside the oral cavity, causing a host of systemic infections. Yet, to date, only one bioarchaeological investigation has addressed this co-occurring disease process in a past population. The results of this thesis confirm the bioarchaeological visibility of the correlation between oral and systemic disease based on data derived from a sample of white and black adults from the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Skeletal Collection. Vertical recessions and porous remodeling of the alveolar crest were examined to identify periodontitis. Periosteal …

Diffusion Of The Lnternet And Its Effect On Gender Attitudes: A Cross-National Approach, Robert Roznowski

Masters Theses

The rapid diffusion of the Internet worldwide generates discussion about the social implications of the Internet. To explore the effect of Internet diffusion worldwide, this study examines changes in reported gender attitudes since the introduction of the Internet. I propose that the diffusion of the Internet fosters egalitarian changes in gender attitudes. Using cross-national data from forty countries over a time span of nearly twenty years, I successfully implement an alternative analysis technique, the slope-slope model, to examine the relationship between rates of Internet diffusion and changes in gender attitudes in the economic, political, and education domains. Internet diffusion affects …

The Colonial Legacies Of “Fiesta Island”: A Critical Study Of Live-Music Events Production In Puerto Rico, Anilyn Diaz

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the historical relationship between the state and national culture in Puerto Rico as seen through the case of the entertainment industry, specifically live-music events production. The dissertation is located within two bodies of literature: critical post-colonial cultural studies of cultural industries and cultural policy, and cultural approaches to scholarship on collective action and state-civil society relationships in neoliberal contexts. The research design includes archival work and analysis of organizational material, supported by a cultural ethnography approach to semi-structured informant interviews and group interviews. The interviews focus on the historical development, cultural legacies, and practices of the entertainment …

The Centrality Of Disagreement, Brian T. Connor

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation brings the philosophical writings of Jacques Rancière to sociology through the examination of women’s suffrage in the US from the late 18^th through mid 19^th century. The issue of equality takes center stage here, as Rancière’s politics is based on the alteration of symbolic categories of equal and unequal. The result is a sociological theory of politics that claims disagreement, not consensus, must be at the base of any democratic politics that broadly seeks equality. Women’s limited suffrage in New Jersey from 1776-1807, and the build up and proclamation of equality at the Seneca Falls Convention …

Hispanic Mothers' Normative Beliefs And Intentions About The Discussion Of Sex-Related Topics With Their Adolescent Daughters, Dana M. Rodriguez

Dissertations (1934 -)

Hispanic adolescent females continue to have rates of pregnancy and STIs, which exceed those of white non-Hispanic peers. When mothers engage in the discussion of sex-related topics (DSRTs) with their adolescent daughters, it has been shown to delay or decrease sexual intercourse. However, it has been found that Hispanic parents talk less with their daughters about sex-related topics (SRTs) when compared to other ethnic groups. Understanding why Hispanic mothers may or may not intend to engage in DSRTs is important in order to design culturally appropriate programs aimed at increasing their DSRTs. A sequential mixed-methods predictive correlational design framed by …

後Cepa 時期香港電影懷舊想像中的「本土」身份書寫, Dan Shen

Theses & Dissertations

2003 年中國內地與香港簽訂《內地與香港關於建立更緊密經貿關係的安排》(Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, 簡稱CEPA)。其中關於電影的條款放寬了香港電影進入內地的條件，加之龐大的市場需求，香港電影工業的跨境活動變得日益頻繁, 並開啟了新一輪的中港「合拍片」潮流。電影產業及其市場環境的轉變背後是更為深層的中港經濟、政治與文化的融合。香港從「九七」前後至今在新的政治空間及身份脈絡中不斷尋求「本土」位置顯得日益困難。電影作為流行文化文本和社會實踐曲折地表述「本土」、「自我」、「身份」，其中「懷舊」（nostalgia）便是近十年香港電影文化想像中一個顯著的憶述工具和路徑，亦即通過處理「過去」、歷史、集體記憶等來書寫「現在」的某種情感、經驗、欲望。

本論文以後CEPA 時期的香港電影為研究對象，檢閱以合拍片為主導的電影工業體制下，和香港近十年來文化政治脈絡中，不同類型、風格、主題，以及不同生產方式、製作規模、市場面向的香港電影懷舊想像與「本土」身份的互構關係。以及後CEPA 時代香港電影的懷舊想像與此前懷舊電影相比下的延續與新變。

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …

The Influence Of Religion On Attitudes Toward Alcohol Use In Jewish Adolescents, Toby R. Levin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Historically, the Jewish faith has used alcohol in rituals and religious holidays in which adolescents are permitted to fully participate and this exposure to alcohol may influence attitudes and beliefs about underage drinking among Jewish adolescents. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between the Jewish religion and attitudes toward alcohol among Jewish adolescents. The theoretical frameworks, on which this study was based, were the social bond theory and the social development theory. Each of these theories indicates that community is important to the individual. Using a cross sectional study design, 160 adolescents participated …

Peace Under Pressure: Portraits Of Christian Leadership In College Basketball Coaches, Charles Henry Wilson Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

NCAA Division I college basketball coaching is a high-stakes, high-reward profession. This study is based on three premises: (a) there is increasing pressure on college basketball coaches to win immediately and win consistently; (b) coaches are expected to maintain their integrity; (c) the pressure to win immediately and win consistently can influence some coaches to compromise their integrity. Given that context, the purpose of this study was to investigate and illuminate the lived experience of Christian head men’s and women’s basketball coaches at public, NCAA Division I institutions. This study was guided by two guiding research questions: (a) What is …

Social Capital Of Last Resort: The Role Of Religion, Family, And Trust Among People With Low Socio-Economic Status, Jean Reid Norman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This qualitative study finds evidence that poverty and homelessness undermine primary social relationships for many low-income people, eroding social capital, and that generalized trust may not be a good proxy for social capital, at least among a largely homeless population. This study also finds a surprising number of references to God, religion and spirituality among largely homeless populations when talking about their social networks, which addresses literature suggesting that church affiliation and religion may be unique in the formation of social capital. Twelve focus groups were conducted with a total 46 participants self-identified as low-income to explore social capital. A …

Adult Third Culture Kids: Does Their Concept Of Home Have An Impact On Their Career Paths?, Kelly B. Wisecarver

Capstone Collection

For decades, social scientists have been conducting studies about Third Culture Kids (TCKs). TCKs are children who have been raised outside of their passport countries as a result of their parents’ professions abroad. One sociologist refers to TCKs as “prototype citizens of the future,” citing their backgrounds a playing a role in today’s increasingly globalized world. How have TCKs’ multicultural backgrounds and experiences shaped them? What types of professions are they prone to? What qualities and characteristics do they commonly share and why are they an important group to study? My capstone aims to address these questions.

The combination of …

The Future Of The Music Experience, Kayla Caballero

Graphic Communication

This study was intended to gain a strong understanding of where the music industry and accompanying artwork is today, how music is primarily experienced, and how it will develop in the future. The widespread shift from physical to digital platforms has reached the music industry and how listeners experience their favorite music. Although there are many positive results from this shift, it is important to pay close attention to how these changes affect how one experiences music and what is lost in the shift to digital. Even more importantly, where this shift might take music and its artwork’s relationship in …

Smartphones And Face-To-Face Interactions: Extending Goffman To 21st Century Conversation, Omar Bradley Ictech Ii

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Smartphone is a technological innovation that has transformed for the better how billions of people live by enabling them to transcend time and space to remain socially connected to potentially millions of others despite being thousands of miles apart. Although smartphones help people connect from a distance, there has been much concern about how they affect face-to-face interactions. This study explored, drawing on Goffmanian concepts, how and why smartphones affect face-to-face encounters. The findings show there are three types of smartphone cross-talk: exclusive, semi-exclusive, and collaborative. With the addition of smartphone play and solo smartphone activity, interactants can engage …

Improv To Improve Interprofessional Communication, Team Building, Patient Safety, And Patient Satisfaction, Candace A. Campbell

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

The purpose of this process improvement project was to implement a test of change within a healthcare team utilizing applied improvisational exercises (AIEs), and to lay the groundwork for more effective inter- and intra-professional communication.

Literature review: AIEs have been shown to facilitate individual participant communication strengths through a process of un-learning certain common behavioral habits, and learning new habits that assist in creating and expanding closed-loop communication. Such un-learning and learning enriches the participant’s awareness of the environment and encourages participant adaptability through positive group interactions.

Method: An all-day AIE seminar/workshop was conducted with members of two healthcare teams …

Traditional Masculinity & Advertising Image Approval, Danielle W. Kailing, Peggy Cantrell Phd

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project investigates the relationship between adherence to traditional masculinity and approval of selected advertising images. Because traditional masculinity includes characteristics supportive of aggression and dominance; I hypothesize that an increase in adherence to traditional masculinity will correlate with approval of the violence found in some print advertisements. Participants include 259 men who completed an anonymous, online, survey. Adherence to masculinity is measured using the Male Role Norm Inventory-Revised (MRNI-R) (Levant, et. al, 2007). Each picture is scored on a 5-point Likert Scale. As hypothesized, an increase in total MRNI-R score, is significantly correlated with an increase in the approval …

Faith-Based And Graduate Adult Educator's Negotiation Of Similarities And Differences Among People As An Indicator Of Their Multicultural Effectiveness, Elizabeth Conerly Smith

Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between adult educators‘ multicultural effectiveness scores and their negotiation of similarities and differences scores. The participants were in faith-based institutions, specifically Christian churches and in graduate adult education programs of universities and colleges in the United States. Multicultural effectiveness was measured by the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) that the authors reported measured multicultural effectiveness as the primary, encompassing variable. The MPQ is a five-point Likert scale with 91 items. The MPQ reliability was a Cronbach‘s alpha of .82 (Van der Zee & Van Oudenhoven, 2000). The Miville-Guzman Universality-Diversity Scale (M-GUDS) measured the negotiation of similarities …

Star Trek As An Agent Of Cultural Reproduction, Jacob H. Pullis

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Reacciones Culturales A La Sociedad Del Consumismo En España Contemporánea: Correlaciones Entre La Economía Y Los Repertorios Culturales, Taylor M. Perry

Senior Theses and Projects

The phenomenon of postmodern society includes increased importance on consumerist culture and capitalist behavior. During the end of the twentieth century, economic prosperity reinforced this notion throughout Spain’s large cities. Following the demise of the Spanish financial and banking industries in 2010, society began to voice negative opinions surrounding consumer culture and the dependence on spending money to spur economic growth. High unemployment and increased debt levels yielded protesting art performances, politically charged editorials and various studies regarding a newly discovered “shopping addiction” disease. This social and political outrage conveyed through an assortment of cultural expressions surrounding an economic issue …

Victimization, Separatism And Anti-Intellectualism: An Empirical Analysis Of John Mcwhorter's Theory On African American's Low Academic Performance, Marlon Dewayne Marion

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to test John McWhorter's theory on African American academic underachievement. The theory claims that since the 1960's African American identities have been significantly influenced by beliefs of victimization and anti-intellectualism along with values of separatism. In order to test for the existence of these dimensions in African American's thinking and for their relationship to academic achievement, data from the Maryland Adolescence Development In Context Study (MADICS) were used. Findings indicated that victimization, separatism and anti-intellectualism have a causal relationship and that sentiments of victimization are found to be significantly higher among African Americans. A …

Dowsing For Potential Temporary Autonomous Zones: A Psychotopology Of The Alternative Lifestyles Of Nomadic Artisans In Mexico, Annaliese M. Pope

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

By using qualitative data gathered from semi-structured interviews and participant observation, this study performs a psychotopological investigation of the lifestyles of nomadic artisans in Mexico in order to determine if the spaces created through the performance of such lifestyles are conducive to the germination of Temporary Autonomous Zones (Bey, 1990). In so doing, it analyzes these artisans' understandings and performances of time, space and mobility and the ways in which they lend themselves to free demonstrations of creative activity. It also examines whether or not such free expressions of creative activity, which are a fundamental part of these alternative lifestyles, …

A Thin Blue Line And The Great Black Divide: The Inter And Intra Departmental Conflict Among Black Police Officers, Their Agencies, And The Communities In Which They Work Regarding Police Use Of Force Perception By Black Americans In A Southwestern State, Vance Debral Keyes

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the relationship between Black police officers, Black citizens, and their external environment using a group of 30 police officers and citizens to establish the connection between police officer race and perceptions by same race citizens within the context of police use of force. I use the term Black to be inclusive of African Americans as well as others of African descent without regard to their ethnicity or national origin. Criminal justice means system application whereas criminology is the study of criminal behavior. In America, there exists a history of volatility between the police and Black communities. While …

The Notion Of Cultural Assimilation Into An American Identity: Abstract Or Concrete?, Julie A. Rivera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Assimilation is believed to be the process immigrants follow to become "American." To be American is to be equal to other Americans in societal, employment, and educational opportunities. But this is not and cannot be an outcome of the assimilation process in the United States. There are multiple definitions and expectations of assimilation; too many to allow a clear outcome. This project addresses the complexity associated with all versions of assimilate, the multiple definitions, processes, and outcomes associated with this term, and demonstrates that there is no concrete resolution to an assimilation process due to the multitude of definitions attached …

Environmental Sustainability, Cultural Awareness, And Personal Growth: A Short-Term Study Abroad Program Design For The University Of Colorado, Boulder, Jana K. Howlett

Capstone Collection

The University of Colorado (CU), as with many academic institutions in the United States, has seen a consistent increase in the number of students opting for short-term study abroad programs. A growing concern in the field of international education is whether it is possible for students to mature in cultural competence from such a short time spent abroad. In an initiative to deliberately increase students’ intercultural growth during short-term excursions, Global Seminar: Environmental Sustainability and Cross-Culture Contact in Costa Rica (GSCR) proposes a program that implements two new aspects to CU’s study abroad options: a course-linked program and an …

Dsm-Iv-Tr/Dsm-5, An Evidence-Based Comparative Analysis With Focus On The Cultural Context Of Mental Health Illness Of: Bipolar Disorders, Depression, Autism Disorders, Anxiety And Adhd., Claudia Zendejas-Finley

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The DSM-5 presents many changes in the criteria and categories used in the clinical diagnosis of clients. In addition, the proposed changes within the DSM-5 also attempts to address some of the concerns regarding the lack of a contextual assessment process regarding the role of culture within the lives of clients (Warren, 2013). This research aims to create a comparison between the DSM-IV-TR and the DSM-5 of some of the most common diagnosis used by Family Service Rochester including: bipolar disorder, depression, autism disorder, anxiety and ADHD. In addition, this project also intends to develop a comprehensive cultural analysis of …

Culturally Responsive Leadership: A Case Study To Explore Stakeholders’ Perceptions Of Culturally Responsive Leadership In A K-12 Public Charter School In North Carolina, Kimberly Michelle Jones Goods

Dissertations

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to explore stakeholders’ perceptions of the culturally responsive leadership practices of charter school leaders. The goals were: (a) to explore how the school leadership team perceived culturally responsive leadership in a K-12 charter school in North Carolina, (b) to explore how the teachers perceived culturally responsive teaching and learning in a K-12 charter school in North Carolina, and (c) to explore how parents perceived a culturally responsive home-school connection in a K-12 charter school in North Carolina. Because this study involved an examination of stakeholders’ perceptions of culturally responsive leadership in a …

Sustainability Policy’S Inherent Dilemmas – Exemplified Via Critical Examination Of The Las Vegas Metropolitan Sustainability Campaign, Kathryn A. Zimmerman

All Master's Theses

In response to a dual problem of critical water scarcity and rapid population growth, leaders of metropolitan Las Vegas implemented a region-wide, internationally marketed sustainability campaign. Preliminary studies found that, while sustainability policy attains its rhetorical goals, solutions initiated not only perpetuate but also purposefully expand the original dual problem to justify continuous water resource acquisitions. To examine this sustainability conundrum constructed by leadership—problem-perpetuation rather than problem-resolution—a critical examination in resource management asked two basic questions: what is being sustained and by what means? Via this inquiry, specific processes by which leaders perpetuate problems can be identified; and, so-informed, new …

Religion, Heritage, And Power： Everyday Life In Contemporary China, Asan Xue

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Based on an ethnographic study of the religious life of ordinary people in the town of Dongpu, this research explores the relationships between: religion and state power; Chinese ritual (li, 礼/禮) tradition and Christian culture; and religion and intangible cultural heritage in contemporary China.

This research found that both the practitioners of Chinese rituals and the Christian community deploy tactics to resist and negotiate with the hegemonic official culture through spatial and religious practices in their everyday life. Chinese ritual practices dedicated to deities and ancestors are defined as idol worship in the doctrine of Christianity and denigrated …

The Australian Football League And The Closet, Andrew Douglas

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis examines the complete absence of openly gay males from the ranksof the professional players in the Australian Football League (AFL). It seeks to explain this absence in the context of the modern gay rights movement. incontemporary Australian society. It compares and contrasts the effects of thismovement on both the AFL and other mainstream Australian social institutions.

Over more than four decades, the gay rights movement has effected a number of social changes. These changes include both specific legal reforms and more general trends such as the increasing social visibility of gay men across a range of mainstream institutions …