Sociology Commons^™

A Sociological History Of Prison Privatization In The Contemporary United States, Donna Selman-Killingbeck

Dissertations

This dissertation is framed by the radical criminological-theoretical perspective and utilizes the social constructionist method of analysis to examine the development of prison privatization in the United States. Central to this analysis is the question: How is it that, given the disastrous history of blatant attempts to blend capitalism and punishment, contemporary privatization of prisons not only emerged but continues to expand becoming a multinational incarceration industry? Three phases of privatization: emergence, maintenance and perpetuation, are illuminated in their political, economic and cultural contexts. Thestrategies and techniques, access to power, claims-making and managing counterclaims for example, of various stakeholders in …

Intergenerational Power Exchange Model: Meta-Analysis Of Male Batterers’ Intervention Programs, Suzanne Van Weelde

Dissertations

Domestic violence is an ongoing social problem. Many women have suffered from the abuse of spouses and boyfriends. A number of children have been victims, or witnesses of, this particular form of violence. The consequences of abuse are: preventable crimes, victims and witnesses becoming abusers themselves, escalating health and mental costs. Domestic violence has touched every community within the United States. It is not a social problem that sociological researchers can afford to minimize.

Sociological literature has documented the growth of the social problem of domestic violence. As a result of the awareness of domestic violence as a serious social …

Importation And Prisonization Of Corrections Worker’S Attitudes And Behaviors: An Empirical Examination Of Social Distance, Correctional Orientation, And Punitive Behavior Within The Correctional Setting, William J. Hartley

Dissertations

Past research has relied on two theoretical models---importation and prisonization---to explain staff member's attitudes, behaviors, and social distance from offenders in the correctional work environment. Tests of these models have shown partial support for both models. However, missing in the literature has been a clear understanding and examination of how these attitudes and behaviors vary across custody levels within a given correctional facility. The purpose of this study is: (1) to include a more comprehensive test of the prisonization and importation models by including more of the variables utilized in past research; (2) to develop and test a causal model …

Career Experiences And Career Development Among Chinese American Professional Women: A Qualitative Study, Yi-Ling Linda Kuo-Rice

Dissertations

Only a few research studies have addressed the cultural transitions and career-related issues experienced by Chinese American women. These individuals represent a silent group whose career values, career choices, and vocational needs remain largely unexplored (Yang, 1991).

This qualitative study, using grounded theory methods, explored the career experiences, career development, and career decision-making of nine foreign-bornChinese American professional women from various career fields. The findings from the study are divided into two parts. The first part presents summaries of each study participant's career development, providing a context-rich description of each case. The second part of the findings offers the results …

A Structural Analysis Of Law Enforcement Officer Deaths; 1995-1999, Kasey A. Tucker

Dissertations

Every year several officers die while serving the general public, protecting society from chaos and disorder of crime. Much conjecture surrounds the discussionof why law enforcement officers die in the line of duty and several different studies gave been conducted looking at the different aspects of law enforcement officer death, but limited literature exists exploring law enforcement officer death from a structural perspective.

This study examines in a preliminarily nature, the structural factors that precipitate law enforcement officer deaths between the years of 1995 and 1999 in the United States. In this analysis a theoretical framework reflective of the conflict …

A Behavioral Model For The Assessment And Management Of Dehydration In Older Adults, Leilani Feliciano

Dissertations

Dehydration is a serious health concern in the elderly, constituting 1 of the 10 most common causes for hospitalization in this population (Sanservo, 1997). Previous research on dehydration has typically been conducted within nursing home settings (Chidester & Spangler, 1997; Holbren, Hassell, Williams, & Helle, 1999; Spangler, Risley, & Bilyew, 1984) without specific attention to the variables maintaining dehydration for any given individual. A functional behavioral approach to assessment and prevention or intervention for dehydration would involve identifying maintaining variables in the environment that can be altered to produce effective, non-intrusive interventions to increase healthy fluid consumption. The current project …

Youth Ministry And Beliefs And Values Among 10- To 19-Year-Old Students In The Seventh-Day Adventist School System In North America, A. Barry Gane

Dissertations

Problem. A survey of the literature revealed that there was little by way of empirical study on the relationship between youth ministry and attitudes, beliefs, and values held by young people. We empirically tested the anecdotal evidence that youth ministry is effective in the transmission of beliefs and values. The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether Seventh-day Adventist youth ministry in North America makes any difference in the lives of youth in the Seventh-day Adventist school system.

Method. The sample for this study was 10,832 10- to 19-year old students enrolled in SDA schools in 2001. …

A Critique Of The Urban Mission Of The Church In The Light Of An Emerging Postmodern Condition, Kleber De Oliveira Goncalves

Dissertations

The world is becoming an urban society. The urban expansion witnessed during the twentieth century and continuing into the twenty-first century is unprecedented in the history of the human civilization. Simultaneously, the Western world faces the paradigm shift from the modern era to a postmodern condition. Both movements have remarkable implications for the mission of the church in urbanized, postmodernizing societies. Shaped by the modern worldview, the church is now further ostracized by the postmodern condition.

While the literature of urban mission has grown in the past few years, very little consideration has been given to the particular issues and …