Sociology Commons^™

Collaboration And Reflexivity In Wildland Fire Risk Governance In The Western United States, Brett Alan Miller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation presents both quantitative and qualitative analysis on different aspects of wildland fire risk management in the western United States. Each of these chapters is framed by and examines the sociological concept of reflexivity, which describes a process of individual and/or collective reflection. This reflexivity is needed to identify and enact alternative management strategies that contend with the expected increases in the number and severity of wildland fires in the future due to the combined effects of even-aged forest growth after years of timber extraction, a legacy of fire suppression, climate change, and increasing human development in the wildland-urban …

Social Change Engagement And Leadership Development Among College Students, Andrew Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Young people are increasingly in the public view as agents of social change. As suggested in the Social Change Model of Leadership Development, those who develop the seven values of socially responsible leadership (consciousness of self, congruence, commitment, common purpose, collaboration, controversy with civility, and citizenship) are prepared to engage in the leadership process by creating positive social change. Findings from this study suggest that the socially responsible leadership value of citizenship was the value most consistently related to social change engagement. Additionally, social generativity, or the desire to leave a legacy for future generations, as well as participating in …

Framing Climate Change In Local Context: Newspaper Coverage Of Climate Change In Three Mountain Towns In The Intermountain West Compared To National Coverage, Tyler J. Spradlin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Past research has focused on how journalists cover and frame the issue of climate change or global warming in mainly nationally circulated newspapers. This study compares and contrasts the framing of climate change between two nationally circulated newspapers, The New York Times and The Washington Post, and three intermountain west community newspapers, Jackson Hole News & Guide in Jackson Hole, WY, Summit Daily in Summit County, CO, and Park Record in Park City, UT. This research incorporates the five generic frames, responsibility, conflict, human-interest, economic consequences, and morality frames defined by Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) …

Relationship Quality Before, During, And After Stepfamily Education: A Latent Trajectory Analysis, Bryan K. Spuhler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to explore the trajectories of relationship quality for a sample of 777 adult participants attending the Smart Steps: Embrace the Journey stepfamily relationship education course. Rather than assume that all program participants had similar relationship quality trajectories by averaging their scores together in a growth curve analysis, growth mixture modeling was used to allow for a variety of sub-groups (classes), each with a unique trajectory. A prevention science approach was then taken to address possible predictors of each trajectory class in order to identify the risk and protective factors that influence participants’ trajectories.

It …

Applying Sexual Script Theory To Hooking Up: A Latent Profile Analysis Of Predictors And Outcomes Of Class Membership, Mitchell R. Rhodes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to explore relationship between individuals’ characteristics, experiences, personality traits, and thought processes in the contexts of casual sexual behaviors. According the principles of Sexual Script Theory, personality traits and personal thought are creations of cultural beliefs and individual experiences. A sample of 1,142 emerging adults between the ages of 18-24 who had a hooking up experience (i.e., sexual activity outside of romantic relationships).

It was found that the emerging adults in this study could be grouped into three (3) distinct groups based upon their personality traits and their motivations for hooking up. The first …

The Environmental Impact Of Immigration In The United States, Guizhen Ma

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Population growth increases pressure on the environment. Immigration may be harmful to the environment because it is the major force of population growth in the United States. However, this argument has not been supported by research findings. A few studies on this topic show that locations with higher numbers of immigrants experience better air quality than locations with greater proportions of U.S.-born residents. This research investigated the environmental impact of immigration through three independent studies. First, I tested the relationship between U.S.-born population, foreign-born population, and air quality across all the U.S. continental counties. This study analyzed the air quality …