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Defining Neighborhood: Social Disorganization Theory, Official Data, And Community Perceptions, Jeremy Waller

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

While the theory of social disorganization has been refined through research and critique, data and methods used to measure key concepts related to the theory have largely remained the same. This study examines the extent to which resident perceptions of neighborhoods are reflected similarly in official data provided by the U.S. Census, in terms of both neighborhood boundaries and neighborhood conditions. It consists of a combination of respondent-identified data and official data gathered on neighborhoods, their condition, and crime. Comparisons between perceptual indicators of neighborhood boundary and characteristics and corresponding official data at the block, block group, and Census tracts …

Concordance Of Vocational Interest And Efficacy Of Female College Students Pursuing A Traditional Career Path, Priscilla A. Walton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Women make up a considerable portion of the 21st century workforce. Despite the increase in the labor force, the Census Bureau continues to reflect that the majority of women are employed in what are defined as traditionally female occupations (Watson, Quatman & Edler, 2002). Even though the proportion of women in the work force has increased, women continue to be underrepresented in high-paying, high status professions that have been traditionally male dominated (Betz, 1994). Significant research has been devoted to understanding the unique variables which affect women's career choices and behaviors. According to Fitzgerald, Fassinger, and Betz (1995), women's vocational …

Sexual Liberty And Same-Sex Marriage: An Argument From Bisexuality, Michael Boucai

Journal Articles

In Lawrence v. Texas (2003), the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a right to choose homosexual relations and relationships. Same-sex marriage bans unconstitutionally burden this right because they have the purpose and effect of channeling individuals into heterosexual relations and relationships. Bisexuals are in the best position to raise this claim because they share homosexuals’ interest in the freedom to choose same-sex partners, yet are more easily steered toward different-sex partners by marriage’s enormous prestige and benefits.

An argument from bisexuality for same-sex marriage refutes on normative rather than empirical grounds what this article calls “the politics of containment,” a politics …

To Set The World Right: Religious Pluralism And The Progressive Era, Lance Sorenson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The contention of this thesis is that religion played a vital and sometimes overlooked role in the promotion and success of progressive reform. Religious leaders often provided primary leadership for reform. But even when their role was not so direct, they and the institutions they represented helped cloak reform efforts in moral and religious institutional authority in order to garner support for change. The process of spreading reform was directly related to the process of articulating reform in language with which people would be comfortable.

Just as reform efforts inevitably faced traditionalist resistance, they often succeed when cast in traditional …

Examining Crowd Violence Connected To Sport Applying The Hooligan Template, Kelly Worthen

HIM 1990-2015

The aim of the research is to evaluate crowd violence as it pertains to sports and its spectators. In particular, the research examines sports riots. "A sports riot is defined as violence-vandalism, throwing/shooting missiles, rushing the field or court, committing arson, and/or fighting- committed by five or more individuals in a crowd of one hundred people associated with a formally organized sporting event" (Lewis, 2007). On a micro level, the most prevalent form of spectator violence is the act of Hooliganism in relation to football (soccer). The research on this aggression has been primarily inherent in Europe and South and …

Do Attitudes About Spoiling Children Affect Attitudes Regarding What Infants Need For Early Social-Emotional Development, Kathleen Westover

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Infants that are raised in a warm loving environment have an increased probability of growing into responsible loving adults. Infants have the ability to make their needs known through different cues such as crying. Many parents do not understand how to respond appropriately to their infant’s cues. For instance many parents believe that if you pick up an infant every time they cry they will become spoiled. Researchers have studied the effects of responding appropriately to an infant. Infants who have their needs met when they demonstrate signs of distress learn that the world is a safe place for exploration. …

Assessment Of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition: Possible Effects On Alpine Ecosystems Above 9000 Feet In Grand Teton National Park, Jennifer Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Certain forms of nitrogen (N) in the atmosphere are pollutants with effects that mimic fertilizer application. If there is too much N, it can become a stressor, and the ecosystem may undergo drastic changes (e.g. certain plant species may decline or disappear). The N load at which a system starts exhibiting negative effects is dependent on the type and location of the ecosystem. Alpine ecosystems (i.e. above 9000 feet in Wyoming) may be particularly sensitive to low levels of atmospheric N input because of short growing seasons, sparse plant cover, and shallow soils that limit their ability to absorb the …

Father-Child Interactions At 24 And 36 Months And Developmental Outcomes At Prekindergarten, Shareesa L. Mcmurdie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study looked at father teaching interactions and singing in toddlerhood as predictors of child cognitive and language outcomes at prekindergarten in a low-income, ethnically diverse sample. Results found that, overall, father teaching interactions in toddlerhood predicted child cognitive and language outcomes at prekindergarten and father singing in toddlerhood predicted language outcomes. Fathers provided slightly more teaching interactions at child age 24 months than at 36 months, and sang more frequently at 36 months.

Within ethnic groups, father teaching interactions were statistically significant in predicting cognitive and language development outcomes for children of African American (approached significance for language outcomes) …

Tripping With Stephen Gaskin: An Exploration Of A Hippy Adult Educator, Gabriel Patrick Morley

Dissertations

For the last 40 years, Stephen Gaskin has been an adult educator on the fringe, working with tens of thousands of adults in the counterculture movement in pursuit of social change regarding marijuana legalization, women’s rights, environmental justice issues and beyond. Gaskin has written 11 books about his experiences teaching and learning with adults outside the mainstream, yet, he is virtually unknown in the field of adult education. He lists his religion as hippy; he is a member of the Counterculture Hall of Fame (inducted 2004), a convicted felon, a United States Marine, a Korean War combat veteran, and a …

Closures And Consolidation: Schools, Farms, And Population Decline In Rural Illinois, Eric Porter

Master's Theses - Sociology and Anthropology

This thesis reports the results of a year-long quantitative research project that examined the causal relationships between population loss, agricultural consolidation and school closures in rural Illinois—three primary facets of the overall decline in rural America. Conventional wisdom conceptualizes the following progression: a shifting U.S. economy from agriculture to manufacturing moved jobs to urban centers, which along with the reduced need for labor from industrialization in farming, caused out-migration from rural America; eventually this led to many rural schools closing due to dropping enrollment. However, it is hypothesized that these processes create exacerbating feedback loops. Specifically, loss of population leads …

Comparing The Environmental Attitudes And Behaviors Of Native Americans And Non-Native Americans, Franklin Sage

Theses and Dissertations

Are Native Americans different from non-Native Americans when it comes to environmental attitudes and behaviors? Historically and traditionally, Native American preservation of the environment has been interwoven into cultural practice, which led to a special relationship between the environment and Native people. This thesis presents results from a comparative, quantitative study that focuses on Native Americans’ environmental attitudes and behaviors using data from the 1993, 1994, 2000, and 2010 waves of the General Social Survey. The study is framed using multicultural theory, which values the unique standpoint and perspectives of traditionally marginalized groups. This thesis focuses on the standpoints of …

Defined By What We Are Not: The Role Of Anti-Catholicism In The Formation Of Early American Identity, Brandi Hatfield Marchant

Masters Theses

From the colonial era through the mid-nineteenth century, anti-Catholicism colored key points of development in America's early history. Amidst the English colonial experience, the Revolution and establishment of the republic, and the educational reform efforts of the nineteenth-century, anti-Catholicism emerged as a fundamental factor in the development of America's characteristically Protestant political and religious identity. While many studies of early American anti-Catholicism focus on one region or time period, drawing connections across geographic boundaries and constructed historical periods attests to the sentiment's pervasive and enduring influence. While this sentiment varied in intensity throughout America over time, its presence profoundly shaped …

Interpreter Roles And Transition For Public School Students Who Are Deaf: A Multiple Case Study, John Hinz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative multiple case study research project examines interpreter use for students who are Deaf in the public school system and juxtaposes it with interpreter use found in the work sector after the school-to-work (STW) transition. Semi-structured interviews with 16 Deafness professionals and 6 study participants who are Deaf, as well as workplace observations yield bits of data which are coded and themed for review. Results confirm that interpreter use is abundant in public schools and scant in the work sector. Further results determine that STW placements for students who are Deaf can be haphazard, while employers are largely unaware …

Take Pride In America Phase Iii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering January 25, 2012-April 24, 2012, Margaret N. Rees

Anti-littering Programs

• The GIS database continued to be populated with data.
• Hector’s Helpers participants completed multiple projects.
• Social Media training was delivered.
• The pilot testing of the litter monitoring program continued.

The University of Nevada Las Vegas Public Lands Institute (PLI) has designed the Take Pride in America (TPIA) Phase III work plan based on the strategic plan developed by the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership (SNAP) anti-litter and desert dumping team during Phase II of the program.

Socialization With Alcohol Or Alcohol As Socialization: An Actor-Network Theory Approach To Understanding College Student Alcohol Use, Sean B. Hoops

Sociology Honors Projects

Many studies of college student drinking focus on understanding the problematic consequences of alcohol use. This research, however, does less to illuminate the cultural meanings of the use of alcohol. To address this gap, I examine how students relate to drinking alcohol socially, paying particular attention to how drinking and non-drinking emerge as meaningful behaviors in particular social settings. I analyze drinking qualitatively, focusing on the student perception of the significance of alcohol consumption as part of social interaction to understand the impact that alcohol itself has on the social setting. By employing an Actor-Network Theory framework I conclude that …

"Nudge A Mexican And She Or He Will Break Out With A Story": Complicating Mexican Immigrant Masculinities Through Counternarrative Storytelling, Berenice Villela

Scripps Senior Theses

In this thesis, I explore Latino masculinities and contest their uniformity through transforming an oral history conducted with my father into a collection of short stories. Following storytelling traditions of Latino/Mexican culture, I converted an oral history interviews with my dad into a collection of short stories. From these short stories I extracted themes relating to the micro and macro manifestations of gender policing. Drawing from Judith Butler's Theory of performativity and Gloria Anzaldua's theory of Borderland identities, I rethink masculinity and offer Jose Esteban Munoz's theory of disidentification. With these theories in conversation, I analyze the themes of the …

The Sociology Of Harriet Martineau In Eastern Life, Present And Past: The Foundations Of The Islamic Sociology Of Religion, Deborah A. Ruigh

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This paper is a critical analysis of Harriet Martineau’s philosophical stance and epistemological modes, her systematic sociological methodology, her use of this methodology, and her sociology of religion. How to Observe Morals and Manners (1838), Eastern Life, Present and Past (1848), and other relevant works will be used to examine Martineau’s evolving epistemological modes as well as her sociology of religion. How to Observe, Martineau’s treatise on systematic sociological methodology and cultural relativism, will serve as an exemplar for analysis of Martineau’s methodological practice as evidenced in Eastern Life. The research problem herein is three-fold: (1) to examine …

Nantucket Shellfish Management Plan, Kristin Uiterwyk, Steve Bliven, Dan Leavitt, Jack Wiggin, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Nantucket’s shellfish resources are an important part of the Island’s history, culture, and economy. Nantucket waters support one of the country’s last wild-caught bay scallop fisheries. Elsewhere along the Atlantic coast, fishing pressure, habitat loss, and disease have severely depleted bay scallop populations. Although Nantucketers continue to make a living harvesting shellfish from the Island’s waters, many do so with concern for the future of the resources and the habitats that support them. Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) provided technical assistance to the community to develop a Shellfish Management Plan (SMP) that addresses issues of water quality, habitat loss, climate change, …

Eastern Pequot Archaeological Field School, Steven Silliman

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

This project assists with locating historical cultural sites on Eastern Pequot reservation established in A.D 1683, and providing historical preservation and archaeological services at low to no cost to this Native American community. This project also trains undergraduate and graduate students from UMass Boston and other institutions and tribal community interns in archaeological techniques, heritage preservation, Native American history, colonial studies and collaborative research methods. It aims to improve archaeological fieldwork and interpretations as part of a deeply collaborative relationship, and also study Eastern Pequot house sites, using artifacts, animal bones , plant remains, architecture, landscape historical documents and oral …

Language Symmetry: A Force Behind Persuasion, Joseph Yeager, Linda Sommer

The Qualitative Report

Language operates according to rules. Rules mean prediction. The application of these language rules to persuasive campaigns through linguistic technology can result in major gains in advertising, political and marketing outcomes. For qualitative researchers in communications, marketing and messaging, one area of persuasive language technology can be found in the linguistic feature of symmetry. Language has many forms of symmetry, and most persuaders are unaware that a great deal of persuasion depends upon symmetrical message structures. In persuasion, a mirror image or symmetrical reflection of an attitude or opinion is more persuasive than a random or non-symmetrical message or idea. …

Making Babies: Getting Into The Mood For Love, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

The pursuit of a perfect partner by women can betraced back to thousands of years ago when the world was still a society of hunters and gatherers. Back then, men tended to provide the family with meat and protection while women stayed at home to plant crops and take care of junior.

Why Are Cities The Only Place For Dreams? Outmigration Of Youths From Rural Uttarakhand, Peter Grunawalt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Outmigration of rural youth from the hill districts of Uttarakhand has happened since time immemorial. However, within the past decade it has appeared as a frontline issue. This is evidenced by the massive increase in government and NGO rural livelihood development schemes directly and indirectly targeting outmigration throughout the state. This study investigates migration from the mostly rural districts of Uttarakhand to the urban centers of the plains, namely Dehradun and Delhi. It focuses on the prospective livelihood of young adults. Questions addressed in the study; (1) What are the different factors which influence migration of youths? (2) What are …

Locating Royce's Reasoning On Race, Marilyn Fischer

Philosophy Faculty Publications

In the fall 2009 issue of The Pluralist, Tommy Curry and Dwayne Tunstall challenged the current, dominant view of Royce as an antiracist. In "Royce, Racism, and the Colonial Ideal," Curry presents Royce as a white supremacist, an admirer of British colonialism, and an advocate of black assimilation to Anglo-Saxon cultural practices (14-15). Tunstall, in "Josiah Royce's 'Enlightened' Antiblack Racism?," presents Royce as a non-essentialist regarding race, yet as a cultural antiblack racist, with a colonial attitude comparable to that held by John Stuart Mill (Tunstall 40). In the same issue of The Pluralist, Jacquelyn Kegley analyzes Royce's …

Richard Rudgley, Lost Civilisations Of The Stone Age., Laina Farhat-Holzman

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Addiction In Alaska: How Alcohol Abuse Is Impacting Community Members In Native Villages Throughout Rural Alaska, Cristina Casillo

Capstone Collection

Across rural Alaska are over 200 Alaska Native villages so isolated, they are only accessible by airplane, boat, and snowmachine. These villages strive to keep their Native culture alive and rich, but continue to struggle against Western influences. Introduced to Alaska Natives by European and Russian explorers in the 1700s, this paper examines how alcohol addiction is affecting community members throughout villages in rural Alaska. The research was conducted in two Iñupiaq Eskimo villages, Point Hope and Selawik, both located above the Arctic Circle in rural Alaska. Drawing from three years of personal observations and a series of interviews, this …

Cambiar El Negocio De La Finca: Un Perfil Del Agroturismo En La Provincia De Herrera, Julianne Gagnon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In 2008, Panama formulated a long-term tourism plan for the country, and agritourism was a main element that was being introduced. There are requirements and qualifications for a farm to be considered an agritourism farm by the Panamanian government and these farms are increasing in number each year. A farm must be accredited by both the Ministerio de Desarrollo Agropecuario (MIDA), which evaluates the agricultural practices for “buenas practicas,” and by the Autoridad de Turismo de Panama, which determines if the farm’s infrastructure is compatible with visitors. Since it is such a new form of tourism in Panama it is …

“Todo Pasado Es Presente”: Racismo Abierto Y Confrontación Violenta En Cochabamba El 11 De Enero De 2007, Andrew Hernández

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The city of Cochabamba, Bolivia in 2007 faced an extremely violent confrontation after protesters from the rural areas found themselves against the citizens of the city. The farmers from the rural areas (campesinos) came to protest recent calls from the Prefect Manfred Reyes Villa for autonomy through the use of blockades. The citizens, many from the middle to upper class, decided they wanted to “take back the city” and “defend democracy” in their efforts to eradicate the campesinos from the city. Through the use of oral histories and life stories I reconstruct January 11, 2007 and explore the degree to …

Community Gardening: Benefits Focused Strategies, Joseph Zaanan Tellschow

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Throughout history humans have had varying degrees of interaction with nature and natural environments. This interaction has shaped our species in almost every way possible from our physical traits to our behaviors and places we have chosen to occupy. Currently, humans have developed such overwhelming mastery of the planet that it is easy for many humans to feel disconnected from nature. This separation could have detrimental effects on various aspects of human well-being including physical and mental health. To understand these effects, it is important to evaluate the benefits that humans receive from exposure to nature and interaction with natural …

An Examination Of Alcohol Expectations And Social Desirability In Fraternity Members On American College Campuses, Pietro A. Sasso

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Males who are members of American college fraternal organizations remain one of the heaviest drinking populations among college students (Wall, 2006). Within fraternities, alcohol use is ceded to social status (Larimer et al., 1997). This culturally ingrained alcohol misuse has confounded interventions and programming to address this phenomenon and response to these attempts have been low or nonexistent by fraternity members. This study investigated alcohol expectations and social desirability among fraternity members. It was hypothesized that as members enter and remain in the fraternity culture, distorted expectations and socially desirable behaviors may occur as demonstrated by differences between pledges and …

Transforming Student Engagement Through Documentary And Critical Media Literacy, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

Young people entering college today have grown up in a multimedia environment, yet the classroom they most often encounter reflects nineteenth-century pedagogy. This paper explores the paradigm shift that is making documentaries more widely accessible for use in the classroom; describes a pedagogical strategy for connecting a critical media literacy ‘reading’ of documentaries with more traditional reading of written texts; investigates the effectiveness of this method to engage students through critical media literacy in ways that encourage transformation. Effectiveness was measured in a voluntary, self-reported questionnaire, emailed to students after the semester they took Introductory Sociology. Students in the sample …