Other Sociology Commons^™

Gun Ownership As An Expression Of Whiteness And Masculinity., Michael Daugherty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Public discourse on the topic of gun ownership in the U.S. is polarized, with the debate framed as a binary between unquestioned gun rights versus a complete ban. Gun ownership can have grave consequences: guns are used to commit acts of violence and suicide. Interviews with white male gun owners explore the influence of white backlash, masculinity, and racial identity development in their decisions to own guns. This project explores the extent these reasons are related to race on the part of white males, starting with these two questions: How much does race play a factor in the action and …

Connecting Right-Wing Authoritarianism To Environmental Beliefs And Behaviors: A Pilot Study., Rebecca Halpryn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is an urgent situation that may be alleviated by a dramatic transformation in individual’s lifestyles. Right-wing authoritarianism relates to a wide variety of beliefs and behaviors, yet little is known about its relationship with environmental beliefs and behaviors. An online survey utilizing the 18-item ACT scale, the revised NEP scale, the PEB scale, and background questions as conducted; 60 college students enrolled in introductory sociology courses responded. Multiple regression and backwards stepwise statistical methods were employed on the survey data to investigate the relationship between right-wing authoritarianism and pro-environmental beliefs and the relationship between right-wing authoritarianism and pro-environmental …

Professional Gaming And Work: Challenges, Trajectories, And Labour Market Impacts Amongst Professional Gamers, Michael Haight

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Over the last decade the popularity of video games has risen tremendously. A new industry around professional gaming has emerged alongside this growth in the popularity of video games. In professional gaming, individuals play video games competitively while their matches and games are streamed online to a global audience. As a result of the growth in the sector, compensation for some individuals has reached well into six and seven figures. Knowledge of these salaries has resulted in an influx of individuals interested in working in professional gaming. This study investigates not only those individuals who play video games professionally, but …

The People Who “Burn”: “Communication,” Unity, And Change In Belarusian Discourse On Public Creativity, Anton Dinerstein

Doctoral Dissertations

The main intellectual problem I address in this study is how everyday communication activates the relationship between creativity, conflict, and change. More specifically, I look at how the communication of creativity becomes a process of transformation, innovation, and change and how people are propelled to create through everyday communication practices in the face of conflict and opposition. To approach this problem, I use the case of communication in modern-day Belarus to show how creativity becomes a vehicle for and a source of new social and cultural routines among the independent grassroots communities and initiatives in Minsk.

On one level, I …

The Culture Of Violent Talk: An Interpretive Approach, Peter Simi, Steven Windisch

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

One of the defining characteristics of extremist movements is the adherence to an ideology highly antagonistic to the status quo and one that permits or explicitly promotes the use of violence to achieve stated goals and to address grievances. For members of extremist groups, talk is one of the most concrete manifestations of how adherents communicate their ideas to each other and the general public. These discussions, however, do not necessarily involve a direct correspondence between words and future behavior. To better understand the culture of violent talk, we investigate how white supremacist extremists use these discussions as a rhetorical …

Affordability Challenges Drive Food Insufficiency In The Pandemic, Jessica A. Carson, Sarah Boege

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this data snapshot, authors Jess Carson and Sarah Boege find that getting food is a problem for people experiencing food insufficiency during the pandemic, but affording food is the biggest challenge.

What Do We Know About What To Do With Dams? How Knowledge Shapes Public Opinion About Their Removal In New Hampshire, Simone Chapman, Catherine M. Ashcraft, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Kevin H. Gardner

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Simone Chapman, Catherine Ashcraft, Lawrence Hamilton, and Kevin Gardner report the results of an October 2018 Granite State Poll that asked 607 New Hampshire residents how much they have heard, and their thoughts, concerning the question of whether older dams on New Hampshire rivers should be removed for ecological or safety reasons, or whether the dams should be kept.

Most people admitted they have not heard or read about this issue, but at the same time they agreed that dams could be removed in at least some cases. The more people heard or read about the …

Homelessness During Covid-19: Understanding And Preventing Risk Of Virus Spread In This Vulnerable Population, Ashley Van Slyke

Population Health Research Brief Series

Individuals experiencing homelessness are older and have a lower life expectancy compared to the average American. This brief describes how individuals who are homeless are experiencing COVID-19 and efforts by various cities and organizations to prevent transmission.

The Benefits And Barriers To Living In Coös County, New Hampshire: Perceptions Of The Region From Emerging Adults, Kristine Bundschuh

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this report, author Kristine Bundschuh identifies the benefits and barriers that emerging adults, age 18–25, perceive as they make the decision to stay in, leave, or return to Coös County, New Hampshire. The main draws to living in Coös are its family and community support systems. Those with local professional and educational plans, or who have purchased a home locally, experience additional benefits. Some emerging adults say they would live in Coös if it provided the employment opportunities, diverse communities, and amenities they seek.

Red-Green Rows: Exploring The Conflict Between Labor And Environmental Movements In Kerala, India, Silpa Satheesh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Popularly referred to as “blue-green” conflicts, the stand-off between labor and environmental movements is often understood as a class-based conflict between working-class labor unions and middle-class environmental movements. Such singular conceptions fail to explain labor-environmental conflicts in the context of countries in the Global South, where working-class participants constitute both these movements. In this backdrop, my dissertation seeks to explore the conflicts between labor and green movements surrounding an issue of industrial pollution in Kerala, a south Indian state with a unique trajectory of development and working-class movements.

I adopt a qualitative methodological approach to understand the nature and dynamics …

The Influence Of Social Media On Murder, Brandy Jones

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research contains information on how much or if at all social media influences murder. Social media has such a big impact on the lives of many around the world, it is almost impossible to avoid. There is research on how social media effects brain processes and may even cause addiction. And there is research on why people commit murder, but there is little to no research on the role social media can play in some murders. Social media is almost like an alternate universe where people can pretend to be the people they want to be in real life, …

There Must Be Something In The Water: A Comparative Study Of Ground Water Contamination In The U.S.A. And Canada, Kathleen Spooner

Honors Theses

The regions of Nova Scotia and New Hampshire are naturally susceptible to arsenic water contamination due to their geological makeup. These locations are relatively rural, with many of their citizens reporting low incomes and lacking education, the majority of which are unaware of the risk of arsenic poisoning. There is also a high dependency on private wells which are not regulated in terms of water quality under federal law in both countries. Arsenic water pollution is undetectable as it is both odorless and tasteless and potentially very dangerous, and therefore water testing must be performed on wells, which is currently …

Barriers To Sexually Exploited Cambodian Women Integrating Into Churches: Perspectives Of Sexually Exploited Women And The Christian Community, Tricia J. Hester, Sopheak Kong, Glenn M. Miles

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The aim of this cross-sectional study is two-fold. First, it investigates the barriers experienced by sexually exploited Cambodian women when integrating into Christian churches. Second, it explores pastors’ perspectives towards sexually exploited women integrating into churches. A mixed-method approach to data collecting was designed. Participants’ answers were gathered by the staff of a faith-based non-governmental organization (NGO) in Cambodia that assists women in exiting the commercial sex industry. The concept of spirituality is important to distinguish, within the context of this study, because it has been found within research to play a meaningful and relevant role in the (re)integration process. …

The Subaltern Magazine, Rebecca Fox, Riese Nichols

Social Sciences

The Subaltern intends to reach Cal Poly students who do not feel as if their voices are heard and allow them the platform to share their stories. Our focus is on unheard stories from our campus - whether this involves race, class, gender identity, mental health, ethnicity, culture, or any unique part of one’s identity or experience. We hope that these stories will begin to shed light on what we usually consider “taboo” topics and allow students to feel as if they aren’t alone.

Being a very homogeneous campus, it is important for us to realize that privileged voices are …

What Are The Relationships Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Age Of Initiaton Of Substance Use?, Alisha Dozier

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Child abuse and substance abuse are significant health problems in the United States and they negatively impact the physical, emotional, and biological health of millions of individuals. It is estimated that one in four children experience child abuse, which is a risk factor for the development of substance abuse problems later in life (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2018). Rates of substance abuse are increasing nationally, making the relationship between child abuse and the development of substance abuse problems important to study.

This research project analyzes the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and subsequent age of …

Participation In The Cacfp Ensures Availability But Not Intake Of Nutritious Foods At Lunch In Preschool Children In Child-Care Centers, Saima Hasnin, Dipti Dev, Alison Tovar

Faculty Publications, Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies

Background — The US Department of Agriculture Child and Adult Care Food program (CACFP) recently (October 2017) updated requirements for meal reimbursement and best practice recommendations for serving nutritious meals and beverages, and minimum age-specific serving sizes for five food groups. It is not known whether CACFPfunded child-care centers are meeting the updated meal pattern requirements and best practice recommendations, and whether children are meeting nutrition recommendations based on the current 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). Objective This study assessed whether the recruited CACFP-funded child-care centers in this study were meeting the updated (2017) CACFP requirements regarding foods served …

Innovation In Food Access Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jessica A. Carson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered income losses and rising demand for food-related support, while social distancing requirements have complicated access to usual nutrition support sites. In response, government agencies, private retailers, nonprofit organizations, and volunteer networks are undertaking innovative efforts to ensure food access by vulnerable populations. By highlighting strategies that are unfolding in real time, this brief shares an array of potential approaches for private, public, and nonprofit stakeholders to use in deploying their resources.

"We Missed Our Youth": The Identity Formation Of Child Migrants, Refugees, And Jewish Children In France From 1940 To 1942, Michaela Maria Gouge Watson

Honors Theses

From 1940 – 1942, hundreds of Jewish children from Germany, Austria, Russia, and France were hidden from Nazi and Vichy French authorities in children’s homes in France. These homes were administered by the Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants, a Jewish aid organization that assisted children in need during World War II. This study employs a quantitative content analysis of the testimonies of twenty Holocaust survivors who were hidden children in France between 1940 and 1942 to investigate to what extent the experience of outsider status and trauma affected these children’s personal and religious identity formation. The analysis finds that the …

The Army National Guard: Recruitment, Retention, And The Balance Of Life, Stephanie N. Ashwell

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

The National Guard is an institution with a history older than the United States. Members are drawn to Guard service for a variety of reasons, and they face a range of difficulties as they manage their experiences in the Guard and in their civilian lives. This project offers a small case study, based on semi-structured, in-depth interviews, with six current or former Guard members. Findings highlight that these members experienced a range of frustrations that clustered around issues of recruitment, retention, and the balance of life. The purpose of this study was to gain a better idea of what are …

Trusting Scientists More Than The Government: New Hampshire Perceptions Of The Pandemic, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Thomas G. Safford

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Lawrence Hamilton and Thomas Safford report that despite a dramatic increase in the incidence of COVID-19, and an evolving government response, there was no significant change between surveys taken in mid-March and mid-April in the shares of New Hampshire residents who reported they were making “major changes” in their daily routines, had low confidence in the federal government’s response, or expressed trust in information from science agencies.