Sociology Commons^™

Intimate Partner Violence In South Texas (Rio Grande Valley): An Exploratory Research Of Latinas Of Mexican Descent, Georgina Villegas

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This is a qualitative exploratory research study of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) among a sample of Latinas from the Rio Grande Valley. Purposive and snowball sampling was used to identify 12 Latina victims of intimate partner violence. Respondents’ ages ranged from 24 to 40 and were born in cities throughout the Rio Grande Valley. Respondents participated in a structured interview process. Respondents’ descriptions of abuse included physical, verbal, sexual, and emotional abuse. Interview results produced 12 distinct narrative memos summarizing respondents’ intimate partner violence experiences. Interview results were analyzed and revealed several themes and subthemes frequently identified in other intimate …

The Struggle Itself Toward The Heights Is Enough To Fill A Man's Heart: Calling, Moral Duty, Meaningfulness And Existential Self Of Zookeepers, Luisa G. Allen

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Applying Existential Sociology (Douglas & Johnson 1977, Manning 1973, Lyman and Scott 1989, Kotarba and Fontana 1984) as a theoretical foundation, this thesis endeavors to formulate first-order experiential understanding of zookeepers. Utilized is a mixed method approach comprising the survey and interview methods to explore zookeeper sense of calling as a moral duty, meaningfulness of work, and the possible connections formed with animals under their care (Bunderson & Thompson 2009, Spreitzer 1995, Wrzesnesweki et al 1997, and Pratt and Ashforth 2003, Hosey & Melfi 2010). Thirty zookeepers completed questionnaires containing measures of sense of calling, moral duty, work meaningfulness and …

The Queries To Google Search As Predictors Of Migration Flows From Latin America To Spain, Dawid Wladyka

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Recently, the development of global network and ITC technology provided new opportunities to improve the estimations and predictability of migration flows. The activity of users of e-mail and other web-based services was compared in time and space in order to track international human mobility. At the same time, the IP based geolocation linked to Google Search proved to be efficient in geographically tracking the outbreaks of several illnesses, and also in predicting changes in economic indicators and travel patterns. This research draws from both experiences. It compares the popularity of migration-to-Spain related queries introduced to Google Search in Argentina, Colombia …

Marginalized Within The Borderlands: The Undocumented Citizen Students Of The University Of Texas-Pan American, Christian V. Ramirez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The Rio Grande Valley, geographically located on the southernmost tip of Texas and north of the Mexican State of Tamaulipas, is far removed from the social and cultural centers of both the United States and Mexico. Within this geographically and socially marginalized space lives a group of citizen students who lack legal documentation to reside in the U.S. This ethnographic study will seek to convey the perceptions of undocumented citizen students, their families, and the background assumptions through which they understand their current and future state of social place. The University of Texas-Pan American is home to over 19, 000 …

Radicalization In Post-War Bosnia And Herzegovina: Social Disorganization And Its Consequences, Mirela Dapo

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis will explain how social disorganization leads to the radicalization. During the process of rapid change (e.g. abrupt democratization of previously authoritarian Bosnian society) new situations cause development of new desires (e.g. a need for greater independence from social controls) which results in development of new attitudes (e.g. individualism). When the society is unable to satisfy the new desires and attitudes, people resort to illegal acts and even violence to meet their new needs, and social disorganization develops. Due to lack of research that focuses directly on Bosnia this thesis will analyze similar researches conducted in other regions (e.g. …

‘Climate Change’ And Its Bearing On Violent Crimes In A Rio Grande Valley City In Texas, Vanessa Valdez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Previous theories have attributed aggression to biological influences but this thesis will focus on the frustration-aggression hypothesis. If such a theory is relevant, weather may have an effect on violent crime. This study intends to answer whether a relationship between violence (specifically violent crime) and warm temperatures exists and what type of relationship exists. The study tests the hypothesis that warm temperatures will have a positive association with violent crime. Based on secondary data the Part I Index crimes (Violent) or murder rape, robbery, and aggravated assault were collapsed into two variables, ‘Violent’ which omitted robbery and ‘Violent 2’ which …

Health Care Accessibility Among A Hispanic Community In South Texas, Juan F. Lopez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Historically, residents who live along the southern Texas and northern Mexican border live below the poverty threshold. This study examines the likelihood, of the independent variables of age, sex, education, marital status, income, number of children, and residency status, in contributing to a community's accessibility to health care along the Texas-Mexican border. During the second half of the month of March 2009, a sample of 517 residents completed a health-care survey at four different branches of a community-based non-profit organization. The results suggest that age, education, income, and residency status had a significant effect on a respondent's likelihood of having …

Art, The Social Enzyme: The Emergence Of An Art Community In The Rio Grande Valley, Heaven Lashley

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study explores the emergence of an art community in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) region of South Texas. In researching this objective, I relied on observations at many gallery public functions where I had the opportunity to observe the interactions between prospective buyers, gallery owners and artists. I also visited with gallery owners and artists many times in small group settings where I raised open ended questions about the region's artists and other historical developments that would allow me to put together a cohesive story about the emergence of the art community

This study began as an unstructured exploration …

Credit Card Debt: A New Class Or A New Culture?, Rebecca Olympia Millan

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis project examines the current situation of credit card debt on college students in two colleges in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas and seeks to understand whether the use of credit cards is the result of an emerging class or an emerging culture. In order to explain this distinction, students' credit card debt will be viewed as being created through three main areas: the result of the current living wage, the presence of a "buy now, save for later" philosophy, and the desire to obtain the means of the cultural capital to bridge from one social class …

Medication Mismanagement Among Elderly In Starr County, Romeo Garcia Jr.

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Given the current and projected rises in prescription drug use among the elderly in the United States and the current and projected rises in prescription drug costs, this research attempts to examine this national trend within the specific context of poverty and rurality manifested in Starr County, Texas. Starr County offers an ideal naturalistic laboratory for examining demographic predictors for improper medication use in the United States, poverty and rural residence. Hence within this context of poverty and rural location, the following questions are posited for investigation in Starr County. To what extent do high drug costs and low incomes …

The Working And Living Conditions Of Migrant Farm Workers, Hilario Molina Ii

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the world of migrant workers, through first hand account, through the description of the living and working conditions of migrant farms by focusing on each camp (A, B, and C), by observing and describing the line of work, by discussing the social and cultural dynamics of migrant farm working—the role and culture of the migrant women, children, and alpha males—and by documenting the exploitation of migrant farm workers. This is a qualitative research, based on ground theory, which consisted of participant observation of these factors. There was no hypothesis due to the …

The State Of Domestic Violence Protective Orders In Hidalgo County, Texas, Cindy Noel Berner

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Domestic violence has long been an issue for the criminal justice system and society. Despite decades of research, activism, and intervention programs, much remains to be accomplished. There are many facets to studying domestic violence. However, there are few studies that specifically deal with protective orders and what, if any, effect they have on the occurrence of domestic violence. The goal of this researcher was to discover whether there were any relationships between variables such as age, gender, and employment status and the decision to not issue a protective order. The data used in this study were obtained from the …

International Drug Trafficking: Police Corruption On The Us/Mexico Border, John Jacob Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this thesis was to examine contemporary extralegal factors for the causation of drug-specific police corruption, particularly drug trafficking on the US/Mexico Border. Police included only those officers who were commissioned by municipalities. The researcher focused on a particular geographical area of the US border region consisting of a quad-county area, which includes Willacy, Starr, Hidalgo, and Cameron Counties. This region was ideal for its unique demographic composition and location. This is qualitative research based on grounded theory, which consisted of purposive and snowball sampling. There was no hypothesis due to the inductive nature of this research. The …

The Battle To Be Mayor: A Case Study Of Interethnic Conflict In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Adrian Cruz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Mexican Americans and Anglos have lived in Texas for generations now. Historical data has shown that Anglos have dominated the political and economic structures in the state. A case study was conducted of the 1998 mayoral election that took place in a city located in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The study investigated if there was evidence of Anglos supporting one candidate and Mexican Americans supporting the other.

Reducing Juvenile Graffiti Vandalism: A Study Of Community Policing Problem-Solving In San Benito, Texas, Yolanda Lopez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In 1997, in the small rural community of San Benito in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, at the southern tip of Texas, graffiti vandalism was the target of a community-police partnership. Supported in part by the Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Offices, U.S. Department of Justice, the San Benito Police Department took action against graffiti and in doing so elicited the community's participation.

This thesis provides a brief overview of American policing with emphasis on an innovative and strategic management concept known as community-oriented policing and on problem-solving approaches. These efforts were undertaken by individual officers and community organizers to address …

The Sacred And The Mundane: Images Of Deity In Ordinary Objects In The Lower Rio Grande Valley Of Texas, Monica Delgado Van Wagenen

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis focuses on "iconotheophanies" or images of deity in ordinary objects. It further looks at the people who recognize and believe in iconotheophanies, specifically those of Mexican descent. This study hypothesizes that the Virgin of Guadalupe narrative, which emphasizes the appearance of images on objects, sets a pattern for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans to recognize the sacred in their own lives. Juan Diego, as the main character in the story, demonstrates a theoretical profile of five characteristics of individuals most likely to recognize iconotheophanies. These characteristics are: low level of acculturation, low socioeconomic status, male gender, older age, and increased …

Mexican American Baptists' Dependency On Anglo Baptist Institutions In South Texas: A Case Study In Bee County, Richard Carrera

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In the early 1800s, Anglo-Americans entered the Southwest in great numbers, bringing religious institutions with them, Mexican American Baptist dependency on Anglo Baptist institutions occurred. Anglos in the Southwest brought in the doctrine of Manifest Destiny and strict racial codes. Mostly Southerners, they sought to submit so-called foreign cultured people, in this case Mexican Americans, to a predetermined role in the economic and sociopolitical life of the Southwest. Anglo Baptists were part of this culture and influenced by the practice of this ideology. Applying the theory of Dependency, this study will examine the manifestation of dependency and its legacy in …

Advance Directives And Communication Styles In A Lower Rio Grande Valley Health Facility, Armando G. Dominguez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study explores physicians' decision-making communication styles at end-of-life and advance directives in a hospital. Participant observation, case studies and a survey questionnaire are used. Egalitarian communication style is found to have moderate reliability. A .6969 coefficient, is measured by Cronbach's Alpha model. Authoritative communication style, yields a less than moderate alpha coefficient of .4278. Regression analysis using these two variables as the independent variables obtains insignificant results. However, sixty-three percent of the respondents speak Spanish moderately or very little. Eighty percent of the surveyed sample do not have training to administer advance directives. Twenty-two percent of the respondents have …

Adult Survivors Of Family Violence And Abuse, Marcie De La Cruz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The topic of family violence and abuse is a very sensitive issue. Yet, violence is a part of everyday life. Although people are constantly being bombarded by violent acts on television and in newspaper articles, family violence and abuse is a topic that is to a certain extent, taboo. Even with this taboo topic, family violence and abuse has been widely studied and researched; however, the majority of the research has concentrated on a quantitative aspect. Thus, this study looks at family violence and abuse through qualitative eyes. In the grand tradition of case studies and narratives, this qualitative study …

Correlation Between The Number Of Children A Woman Has In The Women, Infants, And Children Program And Their Ratings Of The Program, Elizabeth Trevino

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This paper tests the proposition that W.I.C. is satisfactorily meeting the educational, prenatal care and management needs of the W.I.C. clientele. Specifically, the difference of satisfaction between women who have all their children in the program and women who do not have all their children in the program will be determined. The women with more than one child in the program may have more experience with the program and as a result, rate it higher. From a political perspective, the findings of this study are important to the government and taxpayers that are concerned with how well W.I.C. actually serves …

The Relationship Between Health Attitudes, Beliefs, Health Locus Of Control And Use Of Breast Cancer Screening Modalities In Elderly Hispanic Women, Debra Kay Gillett, Rosamaria Ortiz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

A non-experimental design was used to examine the relationship between health attitudes, beliefs, locus of control and the use of breast cancer screening modalities in elderly Hispanic women in this pilot study. Leininger's Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality and the Health Belief Model were the supporting theoretical frameworks. Research was conducted at the Amigos del Valle senior centers in Hidalgo County and included 52 English-speaking elderly Hispanic volunteer participants. Instruments used for data collection were the Health Care Attitudes and Beliefs Scale and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale. Results of this study revealed that there appears …

Highway Safety Funding For The “El Protector” Program From The Texas Department Of Transportation, Colin Barto Ashburn

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The proposal is in response to the request for proposals from the Texas Department of Transportation. The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Department's proposal is for funding of the “EL PROTECTOR” Program. The program seeks to reduce the Hispanic fatalities and injuries from alcohol-related crashes and non-seatbelt compliance.

Acculturation Level And Performance Of Mexican Americans On A Test Of Malingering, Sonya Rosa Flores

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The detection of malingered neuropsychological impairments is an essential issue for mental health professionals. Acculturation level and performance of Mexican Americans on the Computerized Assessment of Response Bias, (CARB), was investigated in the present study. The CARB was administered to 89 subjects comprised of 51 student volunteers and 38 community volunteers. There were 41 males and 48 females, with ages ranging from 18 to 46 years of age. All subjects were instructed to try their best to "fake" a memory deficit. Subjects were grouped into four acculturative typologies according to their performance on the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II, …

A Comparison Of Prison Rehabilitation Classes, Linda Sue Jackson

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study employed a Pretest-Posttest Comparison Group Design in order to determine the comparative effectiveness of two prison rehabilitation classes. The experimental group was comprised of 14 adult, male, incarcerated offenders enrolled in a Prerelease class designed to impact their attitudes, thinking, and values. The comparison group consisted of 22 adult, male, incarcerated offenders enrolled in a GED preparation class. Both groups received a battery of pretests and posttests consisting of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, the Adjective Checklist (ACL), and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2). There was an interval of 23 school days between the pretests and posttests. Between …

A Research Model Of Care-Givers And/Or Socializing Agents Explored In Terms Of Grandparenthood, Susanna Imelda Guadalupe Stephens

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

A collection of secondary (literature) information which revealed the relevant elements and conditions that surround the psychosocial aspects of family kinships were integrated to form the Kin-Psychosocial-Systems Model (KPSS). The KPSS Model is an investigative model (that includes a set of inter-related concepts, definitions, and propositions) which presents a systematic view of family kinships by specifying relationships among culture and family social systems, care-giving and socialization, and psychosocial development for the purpose of providing researchers with a means for explaining and predicting psychological and social phenomena related to the expression and enactment of family kinships.

Voces De Las Buenas Mujeres: An Ethnographic Study Of Marianismo Among Mexican American And Mexican Women, Lori Anne Ruiz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Research has focused on gender roles of the Hispanic male and female in regards to the machismo social construct. The current study examines the other side of machismo, via Gil and Vasquez's (1996) Ten Commandments of Marianismo, and explores the validity of this social construct through interviews with Mexican American and Mexican women. Twenty Mexican American and Mexican women were selected through a nonrandom purposive sample to participate in the interviews. The taped interviews were analyzed verbatim. Eight categories emerged which are directly related to marianismo. The women's responses are used to convey their attitudes, roles, and relationships and to …

The Disposable Mexican: Operation Wetback 1954, The Deportation Of Undocumented Workers In California And Texas, Sylvia Cavazos

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In June 1954 the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service initiated an aggressive program to rid the country of Mexican undocumented workers. The campaign was a result of years of hostile media coverage and public outcry that depicted Mexicans as subversive villains infiltrating the country in order to rob "decent, hardworking Americans" of jobs. In an attempt to satisfy these critics, the federal government called for the immediate deportation of over one million Mexicans, the majority of whom had been actively recruited by American growers. The INS called this program Operation Wetback.

Acculturation And Response Style On Mexican Americans On The Millon Index Of Personality Styles, Alicia Stephens Guffey

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This research investigated response style differences between highly acculturated and low acculturated Mexican-Americans on the Negative Impression (NI) and Positive Impression (PI) Scales of the Millon Index of Personality Styles (Millon, 1994). The MIPS is a questionnaire designed to measure personality styles of normally functioning adults. Research has suggested that culturally distinct response styles are common in less acculturated Mexican-Americans. If present, these culturally distinct styles could be misinterpreted and have a negative or harmful impact on the assessment of Mexican-Americans. Analyses of covariance on data from two culturally distinct groups of Mexican-American college students, with age, gender, educational level, …

Mexican Elites In The United States: An Introductory Investigation Of Privileged Mexicans In South Texas, Maria Elena Elias De Mounce

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Privileged Mexicans--first generation elite Mexican immigrants living in the United States-Mexican border--are herein described in terms of their cultural capital. Levels of assimilation are explored. A greater knowledge of this group, not yet fully appreciated in the literature, may advance sociological knowledge in a transitional region. The sample comprises wealthy, professional business people, architects, physicians, academicians, socialites, writers, artists and their families. Facilitated through interviews in Spanish, participant observation, and a detailed questionnaire, the study examines their attitudes toward South Texas, toward Mexican Americans, and evaluates the process of their integration into the community. Questions focus on religion, education, language, …

Work Role Vs. Familial Roles: Management Of Work And Family Responsibilities Among Blue-Collar Chicana And Mexican Immigrant Women In The Lower Rio Grande Valley Apparel Industry, Maria Olivia Villarreal-Solano

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This qualitative study examined how a select group of forty Chicana and Mexican immigrant women employed as apparel production workers in the Lower Rio Grande Valley manage work and family responsibilities. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted over a one year period in the county of Hidalgo, Texas. This study identified two processes used by women in managing work and family. Age and the timing of life events were found to have the greatest influence on the process of managing work and family responsibilities among the studied women. Ethnicity, contrary to existing explanatory models, was not …