Sociology Commons^™

Maternal Depression In The United States: A Geographic Comparison Between Geographic Regions And Rurality, Samantha J. Patterson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Health disparities exist between rural and urban areas but geographic comparisons of mental health are less studied and conclusive. Maternal depression has not been examined by region or rurality in the United States but might be influenced by geographic locations due to the variance of social support and healthcare available in some locations compared to others. The research focuses on (1) whether rurality increases a mother’s risk of experiencing depression and (2) if region impacts a mother’s risk of depression. I used the NESARC-III data that included three general depressive disorders: major depressive episode, major depressive disorder, and dysthymia. Regions …

A Sociological Evaluation Of A Large Team Science Project: The Iutah Experience, K. Taylor Dean

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many contemporary scientific research projects are composed of large numbers of researchers working together to provide solutions to social issues that affect our society. In an attempt to understand and address these issues, projects have been implemented where researchers from a wide variety of disciplines come together and collaborate. As this research includes a variety researchers, it requires a unique approach. Questions such as how to make these projects as effective as possible, how to properly evaluate these projects, and how to gauge the quality and success of these projects need to be answered.

These are directly addressed in this …

Justice And The River: Community Connections To An Impaired Urban River In Salt Lake City, Taya L. Carothers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Local communities have the right to participate in decision-making about environmental resources near where they live. Local governments have tried to gather feedback from communities to help improve the decisions they make, but have not always done a good job getting feedback from minority or urban communities. This dissertation provides one step toward obtaining this kind of public input in a majority minority community surrounding the Jordan River in Salt Lake City. Children and adults participated in this research. I present findings from two surveys, from work with children, and from adult interviews to understand how this community relates to …

Understanding A Therapist's Way Of Being: A Modified Delphi Study, Kaity Pearl Young

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research has indicated that there are certain ingredients that make therapy successful. One of these ingredients may be the actual therapist providing the therapy. The concept of a person’s way of being appears in some literature, but the concept of therapist way of being has not been well developed and explored. The purpose of this study was to form a definition of therapist way of being, to gain an understanding of how way of being influences a client’s change in therapy, and to describe and ways of being that are beneficial and detrimental to a client’s journey of change.

Data …

Nonstandard Employment And The Risk Of Divorce In South Korea, Donghyun Kim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Despite a persistent increase in South Korea’s divorce rate, our understanding of the economic determinants of divorce in South Korea is very limited. In particular, the relationship between nonstandard employment and divorce has received little attention, even though the number of nonstandard employees has rapidly increased in recent years. This paper examines the extent to which one’s employment type is associated with marital dissolution in South Korea, using nationally representative longitudinal data (the Korea Welfare Panel Study from 2007 to 2013). Results from discrete-time hazard models show that for men, the odds of divorce of nonstandard workers are estimated to …

Culture Matters: Career And Life Expectations And Outcomes Among Business School Alumni, Ace Beorchia

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Women have made great strides in narrowing the gender gap in professional fields. However, women are still significantly underrepresented and face substantial challenges in reaching top professional positions in business. Recently, in its Life and Leadership After HBS study, the Harvard Business School surveyed its graduate school alumni to better understand “gendered dimensions of life and career that [are] crucial to advancing women leaders” (Harvard Business School 2013). This groundbreaking study found that both men and women have similar career aspirations and expectations upon graduating from HBS, yet men are more likely than women to achieve their career goals.

My …

A Modern Plague: U.S. Racial And Ethnic Vaccination Disparities During The 2009 H1n1 Influenza Pandemic, Andrew E. Burger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

On June 11, 2009 the World Health Organization announced that a novel strain of H1N1 influenza was being classified a Phase 6 pandemic, the highest level of alarm indicating that the disease was present worldwide and its spread was inevitable. While seasonal influenza epidemics occur annually, the 2009 H1N1 strain was the first novel pandemic influenza since the 1968 Hong Kong flu. The 2009 H1N1 pandemic provides a case study of how the U.S. population responded to an emergent and potentially lethal infectious disease. The richness and variety of public health data presents an opportunity to examine predictors of vaccination …

Chronic Migraines And Couples: A Grounded Theory Of Adaptation To Chronic Migraines For Patients And Their Partners, Douglas P. Mcphee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was completed to better understand and treat couples wherein one partner suffers from chronic migraines. I interviewed eight couples about their experiences in dealing with migraines as a patient, as a partner, and together. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed by a team of seven researchers. We developed a theory that can be used to understand how patients and their partners adapt to chronic migraines. The theory was grounded in the experiences of the patients and partners who were interviewed. We found that patients and partners alike dealt with burdens and costs associated with chronic migraines. Coping, healthcare, …

Socioeconomic Status Influence On Mothers’ Interactions With Infants: Contributions To Early Infant Development, Krista L. Gurko

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Children from different socioeconomic backgrounds often have different long-term outcomes in terms of school, language, and emotional wellbeing. At this time, no reasons for these differences have been agreed upon by experts across disciplines. Parents with different personal characteristics and life situations use different types and amounts of interactions with their infants. The social interactions infants experience during their first year of life provide the start of their developmental path in the areas of language and executive control while also guiding their expectations for interactions with people around them.

This study used previously unpublished data from a sample of 79 …

Why Do They Do That? Understanding Factors Influencing Visitor Spatial Behavior In Parks And Protected Areas, Abigail M. Sisneros-Kidd

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Visitors to parks and protected areas within the United States and worldwide often visit these areas with a particular destination in mind, such as seeing Old Faithful erupt in Yellowstone National Park or standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park. These visitor use destinations, and the pathways leading to them, such as trails and roadways, see high levels of use, and as a result, impacts to soil, vegetation, air, water, soundscapes, and night skies that result from this use. The field of recreation ecology studies these impacts to park and protected area resources resulting …

Homeless Social Service Workers As Street-Level Bureaucrats, Curtis Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Social service outreach workers serving homeless populations exemplify what Michael Lipsky calls street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) who exercise discretionary power in the performance of their professional roles. This dissertation draws on over 200 hours of ethnographic fieldwork in an urban center in the Mountain West to examine the challenges faced by homeless outreach workers and case managers in serving the needs of homeless clients and the practices they use to manage those challenges. Using a grounded theory analysis of participant observation and interview data, this dissertation focuses on what is termed “aggressive advocacy” in which social service SLBs creatively and actively …

Advancement To The Highest Faculty Ranks In Academic Stem: Explaining The Gender Gap At Usu, Helga Van Miegroet

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Science and technology (S&T) disciplines at universities are still largely dominated by men, and few women are found in the highest employment ranks. Using the faculty data from Utah State University, this thesis explores the factors that help explain the difference in career trajectory between men and women in the S&T colleges. While there were few women in S&T colleges prior to the 1990s, more women have been hired since then, and the lower ranks of the faculty corps are starting to reflect the gender composition of the doctoral degree holders in the different fields. This is not the case …

Professional Development Needs Of Utah State University Extension Professionals, Callahan K. Ward

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many Utah State University (USU) Extension personnel are nearing retirement age. The purpose of this study was to identify professional development needs of Extension professionals and assess USU Extension by evaluating competencies essential to be a successful Extension professional. USU Extension can conduct more beneficial professional development training by using identified high priority competencies and improve the on boarding process for new Extension professionals. With improvements as suggested, the effectiveness of professional development could be enhanced and produce Extension professionals who work more efficiently and are committed to the success of USU Extension.

Does Neighborhood Context Matter? A Multilevel Analysis Of Neighborhood Disadvantage And Sleep Health, Carlyn E. Graham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Childhood is one of the most important stages for physical and cognitive growth during the life course. For young children, sleep is one of the major contributors to healthy development; poor sleep quality and short sleep duration can detrimentally affect developmental progress. In addition to physiological contributors to poor sleep, social factors may affect young children’s sleep. Prior findings suggest that demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, such as race and parent’s educational attainment, may contribute to sleep health for children. Furthermore, limited prior research suggests that neighborhood attributes may affect sleep for both children and adults alike. To my knowledge, no …