Digital Commons Network^™

Recycling: Knowledge, Demographic & Motivational Factors Which Differentiate Behavior, David Ducoff

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study focuses on motivation -Involved in recycling behavior among residents of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Knowledge of recycling and how it was acquired, and the variables of environmental concern, economic incentive and the peer pressure were compared so that behavior could be distinguished that separated recyclers from nonrecyclers. Talcott Parsons' work in action theory and George Homans' work in exchange theory provide the theoretical foundation for my study. The research was approached in a qualitatively based design with interviews of twenty area residents. Demographic factors of age, sex, religious affiliation, church attendance, education and income of respondents were solicited. In …

Applications Of Artificial Intelligence/Expert Systems To Sociological Concepts, Darryl Strode

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Social scientists are using Al (Artificial Intelligence) and Expert Systems in a variety of areas. This thesis explores some applications of "intelligent" programs in the field of sociology. These applications include modeling social networks using logic programming and simulating sociological decision-making using small knowledge-based systems. PROLOG and VP-Expert are used as development tools.

In this thesis, PROLOG was used for modeling triads. In this situation, PROLOG was used to define the "actors," the relations between them, and rules governing the existence of transitive and intransitive triads. Users are able to query the knowledge-base about various aspects of this situation. In …

Perceptions Of The Causes Of Gambling Fever In Taiwan: An Analysis Of Six Discussion Groups, San-Yi Li

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this study the causes of gambling fever in Taiwan were explored through an assessment of the perceptions of the members of six Taiwanese discussion groups. Each group consisted of six to eight concerned citizens who had a diiscussion meeting once a month for six consecutive months beginning in September 1988. During these discussions the members of the groups were allowed to discuss freely any issues of interest related to gambling in Taiwan. This study analyzed only the reasons for gambling. Three sociological perspectives were applied in this study for an explanation for gambling fever in Taiwan: (a) strain theory, …

Zora Neale Hurston: The Voice Of The Goddess, Mella Davis

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Zara Neale Purston has re-emerged as an author of promise due to the re-appraisal of her works led by Alice Walker and Robert Hemenway. In both literary and folklore academic circles, Hurston's work has been reclaimed by African-American female scholars and writers, but still a significant study has yet to be done about her ethnographic contributions to folklore and her farsightedness in fieldwork methodology. This thesis seeks to validate her work as a folklorist, thereby dismissing the charges of popularization and amateurishness by re-examining her work. Mules and Men and Jonah's Gourd Vine are Hurston's two most influential folklore texts …

Relationships Between Podiatrists & Medical Doctors: An Examination Through Network Analysis, Neale Chumbler

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis examines how a more powerful and a less powerful profession --allopathic medicine and podiatry -- are linked in a series of networks through patient referrals and practice activities. The importance of professional networks is that they link different professions such as podiatry and allopathic medicine in ways which direct attention away from ranking the power of fields or viewing them as endlessly in conflict over occupational turf (traditional research questions) to questions of the actual and regularized relationships diverse professions have with one another. This thesis analyzes professional training and activity variables related to the emergence of networks …