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Women On The Line: A Qualitative Study Of Women's Experience Of Work In The Meat Industry, Jessica Jacques Jan 2015

Women On The Line: A Qualitative Study Of Women's Experience Of Work In The Meat Industry, Jessica Jacques

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the experiences of women who work in the meat industry. Drawing from symbolic interaction and standpoint theory frameworks, this research focuses on how gender, race, and nationality influence work experiences and family life for women in comparison to men in the meat industry. This study is based on 15 in-depth interviews with men and women who work in management positions and in the processing rooms of meat companies where non-human animals are disassembled in the production of food. Data collection and analysis were performed using grounded theory methods of inquiry. Participants' stories highlight women's experience in adapting …


Millennials Making Meanings: Social Constructions Of Sexual Harassment Regarding Gender And Power By Generation Y, Nicole Stark Jan 2015

Millennials Making Meanings: Social Constructions Of Sexual Harassment Regarding Gender And Power By Generation Y, Nicole Stark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The term sexual harassment was brought to light by legal scholar Catharine MacKinnon during the second wave feminist movement in the 1970s, and has since changed in its meaning over the past four decades, influencing policy, legal action, and the way we, as a society, treat this social problem. Millennials, or those born between 1980 and 2000, will be the next generation of working adults that will influence the way sexual harassment is understood and defined both legally and socially. The Millennial generation is typically considered liberal and socially conscious, prompting the research question of “How do Millennials socially construct …


Undergraduate Prescription Stimulant Misuse: The Impact Of Academic Strain, Social Norms, And Gender, Lauren Norman Jan 2015

Undergraduate Prescription Stimulant Misuse: The Impact Of Academic Strain, Social Norms, And Gender, Lauren Norman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the misuse of prescription stimulants among undergraduates for a variety of different purposes, including: academic, other instrumental, and recreational. This research is important as existing literature as well as national level surveillance data indicates a substantial increase in this type of prescription drug misuse, especially among young adults aged 18-25. Drawing from several theoretical frameworks, this research focuses on how academic strain, social norms, and gender influence prescription stimulant misuse among undergraduates. Roughly 900 quantitative surveys were collected that specifically address undergraduate prescription stimulant misuse. The results indicate that college students are at an increased likelihood of …


Domestic Violence & No-Drop Policies: Doing More Harm Than Good?, Jolene Vincent Jan 2015

Domestic Violence & No-Drop Policies: Doing More Harm Than Good?, Jolene Vincent

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past few years, much debate has been centered on domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence (IPV), and how it should be handled in our society and criminal justice system. In previous years, domestic violence has been seen not only as a private family matter, but a situation in which no outsiders should intrude. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control stated that intimate partner violence is a public health problem with 27% of women and nearly 12% of men who have had some sort of experience with sexual or physical violence at the hands of an …


American Indian Homicide; A County Level Analysis Utilizing Social Disorganization Theory Revisted, Kayla Ward Jan 2015

American Indian Homicide; A County Level Analysis Utilizing Social Disorganization Theory Revisted, Kayla Ward

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lanier and Huff-Corzine's (2006) article "American Indian Homicide: A County-Level Analysis Utilizing Social Disorganization Theory" has been referred to as a highly influential piece of literature on American Indian homicide. The study looked at American Indian homicide victimization incidents by county between 1986 and 1992 in the continental United States using the framework of social disorganization theory. Despite the violent crime drop in the 1990s, little research exists that examines current dynamics of American Indian homicide. This study provides an updated replication of Lanier and Huff-Corzine (2006) by examining the impact of social disorganization on American Indian homicide victimization between …


It's A Conspiracy: Motivated Reasoning And Conspiracy Ideation In The Rejection Of Climate Change, Nikilaus Wycha Jan 2015

It's A Conspiracy: Motivated Reasoning And Conspiracy Ideation In The Rejection Of Climate Change, Nikilaus Wycha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A large disconnect exists between the general public's acceptance of human-caused climate change and the prevailing consensus of actively publishing scientists. Previous research has examined both political and economic motivated reasoning, media influence in print and television, conspiracy ideation as a predictor of science rejection, and the role of the social construction of scientific knowledge in science rejection. Using these previously studied justifications for climate change rejection as a starting point, this research examines 212 written responses to a prompt at Climate Etc. asking the community to explain their acceptance / rejection of climate change. Using a textual content analysis, …


Collegiate Concerted Cultivation: The Influence Of Class And Family On Higher Education, Meghan Weyant Jan 2015

Collegiate Concerted Cultivation: The Influence Of Class And Family On Higher Education, Meghan Weyant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The 1966 Coleman Report and subsequent research identifies social class as an important determinant of educational outcomes, but after decades of research it is still unclear exactly why. This study purports to explore one possible explanation, collegiate concerted cultivation. The focus of this study was to explore the existence of collegiate concerted cultivation as a sociological concept. Collegiate concerted cultivation provides a theoretical framework to more deeply explore the relationships between social class, family factors, and familial support of education in order to better understand differential outcomes in achievement in higher education. Using a mixed method approach, the study examined …


The Disobedient Prisoner: A Racial Comparison Of The Level Of Punishment Prescribed To Inmates For Rule Violations, Sarah King Jan 2015

The Disobedient Prisoner: A Racial Comparison Of The Level Of Punishment Prescribed To Inmates For Rule Violations, Sarah King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the various studies that point to racial disparities at different levels of the United States' criminal justice system, it is necessary to uncover all places within the system where racial disparities might exist. Understanding that Black inmates are disproportionately represented within the prison system led to the hypothesis that Black inmates receive harsher punishments than White inmates when they violate a rule while in prison. A cross-sectional study, "Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2004," which was available through ICPSR, was used in order to test the hypothesis. The data were collected from October 2003 through …


Women And Time: Food Work Politics Of Self Defined Healthy Men, Juan Barredo Jan 2015

Women And Time: Food Work Politics Of Self Defined Healthy Men, Juan Barredo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the way gender operates in relation to time within the food work spectrum discussed in 19 narratives. The 19 narratives came from individual open ended face-to-face interviews with self-defined healthy men who shop at healthy food stores. This study's examination of how gender operates in the narratives was based on how the men constructed their experiences with women and work in relation to time through the food work spectrum. Women mentioned in the sampled narratives taught the men how to shop and eat in a healthy manner but women still did the cooking. Work wise the findings …


The Interspecies Family: Attitudes And Narratives, Nicole Owens Jan 2015

The Interspecies Family: Attitudes And Narratives, Nicole Owens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Families are conceptualized and accomplished in increasingly diverse ways in the 21st century. A constructionist framework was utilized to examine a widespread contemporary family form, the interspecies family. This mixed-method approach relied on both quantitative survey data and qualitative interview data. First, survey data from the 2006 Constructing the Family Survey were analyzed to understand who in America counts pets as family. Many social demographics were associated and predicted counting pets as family but gender was one of the strongest associations. However, marital status moderated the relationship between gender and counting pets as family at a statically significant level. Men …


Report Construction When Domestic Violence Surrounds Or Involves Children, Chelsea Nordham Jan 2015

Report Construction When Domestic Violence Surrounds Or Involves Children, Chelsea Nordham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Household violence that involves children can be complicated situations to understand and describe for police responding to calls. Police reports are important in prosecuting cases by informing and reminding criminal justice personnel of what occurred in incidents, and inconsistencies between reports and accounts by involved persons can result in credibility loss and case dismissal (Gregory et al. 2011). Little research has been conducted on the construction of police reports, particularly in domestic violence cases involving children. This study uses three years of domestic violence police reports from a sheriff office*s database in Florida to distinguish information recorded for three types …


Experiences Of Stigma During Sexual Healthcare Visits: A Qualitative Study Of Non-Monogamous Women, Rachael Mccrosky Jan 2015

Experiences Of Stigma During Sexual Healthcare Visits: A Qualitative Study Of Non-Monogamous Women, Rachael Mccrosky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Access to health care services is critical to both personal health outcomes and health equity within a community. While non-monogamous behavior is widespread, stigma surrounding consensual non-monogamy can create barriers to health care access. This research outlines the experiences of non-monogamous women during sexual health care visits, how class acts to modify those experiences, the barriers to health care access that they encounter, and the adaptive strategies they employ. The sample for this research was 23 consensually non-monogamous women. Participants were contacted through online support groups, message boards, and snowball sampling. In-depth interviews about their sexual health care experiences were …


Les Temps Roulent: An Analysis Of Emergency Medical And Police Response Times To Shootings And Lethality In New Orleans, Sarah Sacra Jan 2015

Les Temps Roulent: An Analysis Of Emergency Medical And Police Response Times To Shootings And Lethality In New Orleans, Sarah Sacra

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lethality of aggravated assaults has long been discussed in terms of weapons used, location of assault, demographics of victims, and regions of the US in which the assault occurred. However, dating back to the 1950s, medical response times have been discussed as a mediating factor, but minimally explored in analyses. The current study assesses the lethality of shootings with a primary focus on emergency medical and police response times in New Orleans, LA. Along with routine activities and social disorganization indicators, 102 shootings that occurred in 3 months are analyzed to establish response time patterns of lethality. Results indicate that …


Media Coverage And The Ferguson Unrest, Brittanni Wyatt Jan 2015

Media Coverage And The Ferguson Unrest, Brittanni Wyatt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The media aids in bringing to light many social issues across the nation each and every day. Historically, police force on African Americans can be seen amongst many media outlets. However, with technological advances the media has flourished which makes it possible for the media to supply coverage of police force on African Americans more now than ever before. This exploratory analysis aimed to uncover ways in which the media has framed the individuals involved in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014. Articles from four media outlets were used in this analysis. Data was …


Can I Get An Amen? Central Florida Black Pastors' Perceptions Of The Impact Of The Black Church In The Black Community, Jeffrey Williamson Jan 2015

Can I Get An Amen? Central Florida Black Pastors' Perceptions Of The Impact Of The Black Church In The Black Community, Jeffrey Williamson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study uses phenomenological methods to answer the research question, “what do black pastors perceive as the role of the church in the black community?” I asked 20 Central Florida black pastors 17 questions, most of them open-ended, to determine their perceptions of the current black church. First, these pastors are dismayed at the condition and the position of the current black church. They view the history the black church as strong and stalwart, and the Civil Rights Movement as an example of what the institution is capable of doing and being. Second, they perceive the primary roadblock of the …