Sociology Commons^™

Hispanic Culture And Machismo: How Hispanics Interpret Transgender And Gender Non-Conforming Identities, Karen R. Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines dynamics linked to normative gender expectations and gender identities within Hispanic culture. Little is known in this regard concerning how Hispanics perceive and interpret transgender and gender non-conforming identities. The analysis provides qualitative assessment using 35 in-depth face-to-face interviews and examines the following research questions: 1) how do life experiences such as marriage, parenthood, and work force participation among Hispanics shape their formation of gender expectations? 2) Among Hispanics, how do class, race/ethnicity, and education shape the construction of gender ideologies.

The present study, in turn adds to the literature by examining gender norm constructs among Mexican-origin …

Does Machismo Culture Influence Latina/O Attitudes On Mental Health?, Amanda R. Mercado

Theses and Dissertations

This study represents an attempt to contribute to the identified gap in knowledge towards the effects of machismo on both Latina women and Latino men and how it effects their attitudes towards mental health. The idea that previous research on machismo has been so one-sided, but has revealed that psychological distresses were present and ignored, leaves room for my research to explore how Latina women are affected because they are just as susceptible to psychological distresses as men. By using a research based framework to explain the effects of machismo on both Latina women and Latino men, my study will …

Generational Status And Views On Nonconforming Gender Expression Among Individuals Of Mexican Origin, Bianca C. Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

Despite recent change of perspectives and an increase of acceptance of gender nonconformity, the concept of gender still remains a controversial topic. Gender continues to be a developing idea and maintains an influential role in many cultural contexts. Examining facets of gender in various settings can perhaps enlighten our comprehension of such and a further understanding of those who express gender nontraditionally. This study examines the concept of gender in a less traditional stance, exploring views of non-conforming gender expression among generations of Mexican Americans and individuals of Mexican origin. Through analysis of survey data on views of gender nonconformity …

International Migration In Santa María Huatulco, Oaxaca [Migración Internacional En Santa María Huatulco, Oaxaca], Yasmin Angelie Cordero

Theses and Dissertations

Migration into rural areas has been of increasing interest in the last decades of research. Mexico has implemented development initiatives to reduce emigration and strengthen locally depressed communities resulting in immigration to the target areas. Santa María Huatulco is one of the areas of focus where the Mexican government created tourism development projects subsequently attracting internationals to migrate. This study focuses on international migrants who have chosen to relocate to the area of Huatulco, currently under development by the Mexican government. This was one of Mexico’s poorer regions and has seen the slowest amount of growth since the development projects …

Family Influences And Its Effects On Completion Of Postsecondary Education Among Hispanics, Marlee Olivarez

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I will examine the relationship between family influences and college graduation among Hispanics. Compared to students in other race/ethnic groups, Latino students are underrepresented in college enrollment and completion of a bachelor’s degree. Prior research generally finds that higher parental educational attainment is positively associated with educational attainment for children. Highly educated parents may expect their children to attain a similar level of education, have the resources to support higher education and provide encouragement and assistance necessary for children to successfully pursue post-secondary education. Yet, at the lower end of the educational distribution, the relationship between parental …

Does A Criminal Justice Degree Produce Law Enforcement Officers?, Bryan Keith Murray

Theses and Dissertations

Police departments are being asked to diversify their ranks in a job field dominated by White males. Hispanics are predicted to be the majority-minority by 2043, few studies were conducted to explore whether Hispanic students majoring in criminal justice will pursue a career in law enforcement agencies upon graduation. Therefore, it is necessary and important to investigate the willingness of Hispanic students perusing a career in law enforcement agencies and what kind of factors behind this pursuit. This research anonymously surveyed 203 students currently enrolled in a four-year Hispanic university. Gender and the liberalizing effect served as the independent variables. …

The Hispanic Female Scholars: Experiences Of An Underrepresented Minority. A Study Of The University Of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Cecile Caddel

Theses and Dissertations

The study intends to illustrate how certain challenges influence the disparity of Latinas/Hispanic women pursuing a career in academia, in the Rio Grande Valley. Aside from the aspects, which drive these women to success, I also hope to uncover those, which restrict Hispanic women from achieving tenure within the university system. Conclusively, I intend to understand how the issues and circumstances of Latinas in pursuit of the professoriate, compares/differs from other marginalized groups.

The qualitative research process allows for individual interviews, in order to construct authentic interpretations of the challenges and conditions, which often affect the Hispanic woman in the …

Ethnicity And Poetry: A Systems Theory Approach To Contemporary African American And Mexican American Poetry, Antonio Paniagua Guzman

Theses and Dissertations

Given the ongoing ethnic transformation of the current society of the United States, contemporary sociologists have extensively studied ethnic relations from diverse theoretical and methodological approaches. Despite the vast sociological research recently developed, the literary-based methodological approach remains partially uncultivated. This study explores motivations and patterns of minority groups’ ethnic performance in contemporary poetry by analyzing inter and intra-group similarities and differences of diverse linguistic and cultural traits. From secondary data analysis, this study examines four hundred poems authored by forty contemporary African American and Mexican American writers experientially connected to the state of Texas. Grounded in systems theory, this …

The Spatial And Temporal Distribution Of Residential Burglary In Brownsville, South Texas, Sonia Figueredo

Theses and Dissertations

The study utilized existing theories, including the pattern theory/environmental criminology, and the routine activities and lifestyles theories and also existing technology to examine the spatial and temporal patterning and variations in residential burglary, the processes that produce this type of burglary, and its incidence rates among the twelve law enforcement zones (PPZ’s) in the South Texas border city of Brownsville from 2006 to 2014. The data and information for the thesis were the raw Brownsville Police Department (BPD) data on residential burglary incidents that showed the addresses where, and the times, days, months and years when the incidents occurred. The …

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 …

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. …

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 …

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 …

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.