Digital Commons Network^™

Zooming In On The Money Shot: An Exploratory Quantitative Analysis Of Pornographic Film Actors, Erin O'Neal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sex work is one of the rare elements of our society that is both accepted and stigmatized. Ironically enough, it is stigmatized without being studied in depth. The truth is we know very little about sex work and even less about pornography—the most legal of genres. While researchers have spent a great deal of time determining the effects that pornography has on viewers, particularly juvenile viewers, little research has been done on the men and women who make pornography. A 43 question survey was created and disseminated to those in the pornographic film industry, both amateur and professional, resulting in …

Keeping Quiet: Investigating The Maintenance And Policing Of Male-Dominated Gaming Space, Christopher Charles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the near parity between the number of female and male gamers (Entertainment Software Association, 2014), studies on gender in videogames illustrate a culture that typically reflects hegemonic masculinity and excludes women on a multitude of levels. Because these interactions occur within real and virtual space (both online and within games), a holistic approach is warranted to analyze these mechanisms of oppression. This paper seeks to uncover the ways by which gaming culture is maintained and policed as a male-dominated space, through qualitative data collection. By using ethnographic, participant observation at a large, multi-genre convention the experiences of both male …

Sleuthing Scientific Evidence Information On The Internet, Carol Henderson, Diana Botluk

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

Inside And Out: The Interaction Of The U.S. Immigration System And Indian Immigrant Families In Columbus, Ohio, Madeline English

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

The purpose of this study is to consider how Indian immigrant families, who come from cultures that are shaped around culturally distinct forms of family, navigate and adapt to U.S. culture and institutions that are structured based on the idealized American family form. The main research questions being considered are: How is family defined by immigration policies? How are Indian immigrant families affected by these policies? An ethnographic methodological approach, including participant observation and semi-structured interviews, is used to gather data in the Columbus metro area in order to address the above questions. Observations and semi-structured interviews were completed with …

Men In A Female-Dominated Profession: The Lived Experiences Of Ghanaian Male Nurses In The United States, Daniel Kwadjo Frimpong

Educational Studies Dissertations

Minority men are less than two percent of the total nursing workforce in the United States. The small presence of minority men in the nursing profession presents a challenge to healthcare providers as patients are much more responsive and open-minded to healthcare providers of the same cultural and ethnic backgrounds. This qualitative study was designed to explore the lived professional experiences of Ghanaian male nurses in the United States to shed light on the barriers minority men encounter in the nursing profession in order to make suggestions relating to strategies to appropriately support minority men in their nursing practice. This …

The Teacher's Closet: A Narrative Inquiry Of Dual Identities Of Lesbian And Gay Middle School Teachers In Georgia, Heather Ann Keilwitz

Educational Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of lesbian and gay Georgia middle school teachers in not disclosing their sexual identities with their students. Using a narrative inquiry, data were collected through in-depth individual interviews and a focus group discussion on the following areas of inquiry: What are the experiences of lesbian and gay Georgia middle school teachers who do not disclose their sexual identity with their students? How, if at all, do the experiences of nondisclosure inhibit their abilities as teachers? How, if at all, has the nondisclosure affected their personal lives? Ten self-identified lesbian and …

Gender Matters: Masculinities Among African American Men Farming In North Carolina, Marcus K. Bernard

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

The residue of racism, institutional discrimination, and class warfare continue to displace constructions of masculinity for African-American men in farming by shifting the drive for success onto the sidewalk of survival. The shifting focus migrates from goals of economic and political gain to simply shielding masculinity through acts of providing for and protecting the family. African-American men’s failure to acknowledge these quandaries in Western society’s social structure entraps their masculine identity by keeping their focus on issues of race and social class which overshadow the broad gender transformations. The deceptive social forces underlying this social structure hurl African conditions are …

"Don't Have Sex, You'll Get Pregnant And Die!": Female University Students' Experiences With Abstinence-Only Education, Jillian Grace Norwick

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Based on the various changes in sexual education, many schools throughout the United States still teach abstinence-only education. There is a plethora of literature on the effectiveness of sexual education programs as well as adolescent sexual practices. However, there is a deep gap in literature on students' perspectives of their sexual education and the possible effects it has on their experiences while in college. Therefore, this phenomenological study aims to explore and describe the essence of the experience female university students have regarding the abstinence-only education they received during secondary schooling. The informants (n=12) were 19-22 year old female university …

Do Beliefs About Sex Behaviors Mediate The Link Between Parent-Adolescent Communication About Sex And Risky Sexual Behaviors?, Guangyi Cui

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The current study examined the protective effect of parenting-adolescent communication about sex on four risky sexual behaviors (age of onset of sex, number of sex partners, condom use, and STDs) among youth, framed by the Theory of Planned Behavior. It also tested for potential mediation effects between parent-adolescent communication and risky sex measures by sexual cues, date rape attitudes, and acceptance of dating violence in a sample of 2,245 college students from Japan, Slovenia, Spain, and the United States. Results provided evidence of a weak effect of parent-adolescent communication about sex on risky sexual behaviors across samples. A number of …

In His Image: A Content Analysis Of Evangelical Youth Books For Their Representation Of Gender Roles And Ideals, Taryn Renee Vis

Honors Projects

This content analysis discusses the results of the analysis of twelve major Evangelical books for young adults and their representation of gender roles and gender ideals. The background of the Evangelical church’s handling of gender, particularly in relation to media beginning in the 1970s is established and discussed at length in order to situate this analysis amongst previous discussion of Evangelical gender roles. This analysis found that each of the books discussed four main themes of gender roles and relations: biological essentialism, complementarianism, counter-cultural branding of gender, and sexual purity (especially for young women).

Meyer, Pierce, And The History Of The Entire Human Race: Barbarism, Social Progress, And (The Fall And Rise Of) Parental Rights, Jeffrey Shulman

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Long before the Supreme Court’s seminal parenting cases took a due process Lochnerian turn, American courts had been working to fashion family law doctrine on the premise that parents are only entrusted with custody of the child, and then only as long as they meet their fiduciary duty to take proper care of the child. With its progressive, anti-patriarchal orientation, this jurisprudence was in part a creature of its time, reflecting the evolutionary biases of the emerging fields of sociology, anthropology, and legal ethnohistory. In short, the courts embraced the new, “scientific” view that social “progress” entails the decline and, …

Racial Disparities Among African Americans Primarily In The Criminal Justice System And Other Areas In Society, Juana D. Hollingsworth

Graduate Research Papers

African Americans are overrepresented in the criminal justice system and known to experience disadvantages in society because of their race/ethnicity. In an effort to understand the barriers that hinder African Americans from equal opportunity; this study explores the possible factors that account for the disparities against the African American population in the criminal justice system and other areas in society. The current studies that exist utilize qualitative and quantitative interviews to collect the perceptions and experiences of African Americans with law enforcement. Findings revealed disparities particularly in the criminal justice system; the disparities are present in traffic tops, arrest, and …

Acceptability And Feasibility Of Introducing Strengthened School-Based Sexual And Reproductive Health Information And Services In Accra, Ghana, Terence Adda-Balinia, Philip Teg-Nefaah Tabong, Maya Teye, Philip Baba Adongo, Placide Tapsoba, Harriet Birungi

Reproductive Health

An initial study conducted by Population Council under the Strengthening Evidence for Programming on Unintended Pregnancies (STEP UP) project in 2012 assessed the knowledge and reproductive health needs of adolescents living in selected slums in Brong Ahafo and Greater Accra regions with the view of informing an improvement in adolescent sexual health (ASRH) programming in Ghana. The study concludes that stakeholders generally believed there was the need for enhanced adolescent sexual and reproductive health services in school as the present system of delivering these services were not sufficiently addressing ASRH needs. The use of trained psychologists and health workers was …

Health Impacts Of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Synthesis Of The Evidence, Samuel Kimani, Jacinta Muteshi-Strachan, Carolyne Njue

Reproductive Health

The Africa Coordinating Centre for the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, with support from the Population Council, sought to synthesize the evidence on the health impacts of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), identify recommended interventions, and compile and analyze the existing reference materials. The goal of this review is to inform the development of a comprehensive set of training guidelines and materials for frontline healthcare providers so they can manage the care of women and girls who have undergone FGM/C, prevent the practice at the community level, and accelerate abandonment of FGM/C practices. This analysis underscores the health impacts associated with …

A Systematic Review Of The Treatment And Management Of Pre-Eclampsia And Eclampsia In Nigeria, Karen Kirk, Ishita Chattopadhyay

Reproductive Health

Throughout the development of a pregnancy, there are many opportunities when pre-eclampsia and eclampsia (PE/E) can be prevented, detected, and managed; based on the literature, certain gaps exist along this continuum of care. To fully appreciate the enormity of the problem at the country level, the Population Council conducted a systematic review of published papers on PE/E in Nigeria from 2000–15 in order to understand the key challenges, gaps, and interventions related to the prevention and treatment of PE/E. In order to have the most impact, this report recommends a multi-level set of interventions that increase community awareness of symptoms …

Understanding Married Women's Vulnerability To Hiv Infection In Egypt: An Exploratory Study, Doaa Oraby, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab

Reproductive Health

This study examines the behavioral, sociocultural, economic, programmatic, and legal factors that aggravate Egyptian women’s vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS. The study concludes that in low-prevalence settings like Egypt, targeted interventions are the most strategic and cost-effective: for example, HIV awareness-raising with a special focus on the preventive role of consistent, correct condom use, and creating a cadre of peers that could provide psychosocial support and HIV counseling to migrant workers. Furthermore, premarital and antenatal care programs should include HIV awareness-raising and provider-initiated counseling and testing after screening of women to identify those at risk for HIV infection. Concurrently, efforts should be …

Using The Community Informant-Based (Made-In And Made-For) Methodology To Estimate The Neonatal Mortality Rate (Nmr) In Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: A Feasibility Study, Ali M. Mir, Saleem Shaikh, Mumraiz Khan, Irfan Masood, Mansoor Qaisar, Sabahat Hussain, Rehan M. Niazi

Reproductive Health

Concerned about high levels of neonatal mortality, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa district government in Pakistan expressed a need to adapt and test a new approach—commonly referred to as the “Made-In/Made-For” (MIMF) method—that uses community-based informants to estimate the number of maternal deaths. The current pilot study in Nowshera was commissioned by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and conducted by the Population Council to test the feasibility of using the method, and community-based informant networks that had been used to measure maternal mortality, for estimating neonatal deaths. This study clearly shows that, in addition to identifying maternal deaths, informant …

Twerking, Alcohol, And Fame: The Construction Of Disney Celebrities In The Media, Carla R. López

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The mass media expanded intrusion of cameras into the public and private lives of celebrities has contributed to the public's fascination with Hollywood celebrities. Specifically, this cultural obsession has been increasingly centered on female celebrity's increased deviancy and criminal behaviours. Although numerous studies have been completed discussing the cultural fixation of Hollywood celebrity culture and the audience’s attachment to these celebrities, few have provided insight into the media construction of cultural narratives surrounding Disney celebrities. To fill the gap in the literature, I will assess how female celebrity deviance and sexuality is constructed in the media by examining the media …

The Effect Of Birth Order On Attitudes Toward Altruism, Deanna R. Smith

Departmental Honors Projects

Birth order is an extensively studied and contested concept in social science research. It has been used to examine topics such as personality (Curtis and Donald, 1993; Harris, 2000; Krueger et al., 2000), risk-taking behavior (Krause et al., 2014; Piliavin and Charng, 1990), context-specific learning (Harris, 2000), relationships (Eckstein et al., 2010; Harris, 2000; Kalliopuska, 1984; Manaster, 1977; Maner and Gaillot, 2007; Radley and Kennedy, 1995; Salmon, 2003; Winterich et al, 2009), narcissism (Curtis and Donald, 1993), and prosociality (Kalliopuska, 1984; Krueger et al., 2000; Kurzban et al. 2015; Maner and Gaillot, 2007; Piliavin and Charng, 1990; Radley and Kennedy, …

The Social Contagion Of Adolescent Depression: Applying A Differential Susceptibility Model, Win Guan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Recent research investigating social risk factors of depression has found evidence for a social contagion effect. The research comes from a surge in popularity of using social network analyses to examine the spread of various health outcomes such as obesity, smoking, substance use, and sleep. Although the finding of depressive contagion represents a significant contribution to the literature on the social etiology of depression, this is only the first step in providing meaningful research useful for the practical application of curbing the growing rates of depression especially among adolescents. Rather than simply acknowledging the existence of contagion effects, researchers must …

Are We Really Bowling Alone? Family Changes And Social Capital In American Society, Ya-Feng Lin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

I explore the relationship between family changes and social capital in American society. Since the mid-20th century, new types of and additions to the family structure have emerged, including cohabitation family, single-parent family, employed women, and NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, and Training). Although new types of families symbolize a more flexible definition of family, some problems have emerged which are worthy of studying. In fact, these families have recently become a primary focus of study in academia, but their social lives are rarely mentioned. I argue in my dissertation that these new types of arrangements not only changed how …

Inverted Quarantine: Individual Response To Collective Fear, Katherine Parker Moncure

Honors Papers

In his 2007 book Shopping Our Way to Safety, sociologist Andrew Szasz coined the term inverted quarantine to describe a phenomenon in the way that Americans react to the changing natural environment. Inverted quarantine, or the impulse to remove one’s self from perceived environmental dangers, often manifests in consumption behavior such as consuming only organic food, drinking filtered or bottled water, moving from a city to a suburb, or even being enclosed in a gated community. Although inverted quarantine may result in some form of protection, in the long run it is unsustainable in the face of the changing natural …

Creating Trans-Inclusive Schools: Introductory Activities That Enhance The Critical Consciousness Of Future Educators, Kris T. De Pedro, Christopher Jackson, Erin Campbell, Jade Gilley, Brock Ciarelli

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The Lawrence King murder and other tragedies surrounding transgender youth have prompted a national discussion about the need for schools to be more supportive and inclusive of transgender students. In this multi-authored reflection, the authors describe a series of three introductory activities in an undergraduate educational studies course aimed at cultivating critical consciousness about transgender students. The instructor and students discussed their viewing of televised interviews featuring transgender individuals and participated in a gallery walk and a role-playing activity. These activities cultivated students’ critical awareness of the experiences of transgender students and strategies for creating trans- inclusive classrooms and schools.

Law And Lgbq-Parent Families, Emily Kazyak, Brandi Woodell

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This paper addresses how the law affects LGBQ-parent families. We first outline the legal landscape that LGBQ parents face in the US, underscoring that it varies drastically by state and creates inequity for families. Reviewing existing social science research, we then address how the law affects three processes for LGBQ people: desiring parenthood, becoming a parent, and experiencing parent- hood. Our review indicates that the law affects if and how LGBQ people become parents. LGBQ people consider the law as they make decisions about whether to pursue adoption, donor insemination, or surrogacy and often view the latter two pathways as …

A Cautionary Tale: Examining The Interplay Of Culturally Specific Risk And Resilience Factors In Indigenous Communities, Melissa L. Walls, Les B. Whitbeck, Brian E. Armenta

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Efforts to build empirical evidence for the protective effects of Indigenous cultural factors on psychological health have yielded mixed findings. We examine the interplay of previously hypothesized culturally relevant risk (discrimination, historical loss) and protective (spiritual activities) factors among Indigenous people. The sample includes 569 Indigenous adolescents (mean age = 17.23, SD = 0.88; 51.0% girls) and 563 Indigenous adult caregivers (mean age = 44.66, SD = 9.18; 77.4% women). Our central finding was that indigenous spirituality was associated with poorer psychological outcomes across several domains (depressive symptoms, anger, anxiety, somatization, and interpersonal difficulties), but observed effects were attenuated once …

Variation In Attitudes Toward Being A Mother By Race/Ethnicity And Education Among Women In The United States, Veronica Tichenor, Julia Mcquillan, Arthur L. Greil, Andrew V. Bedrous, Amy Clark, Karina M. Shreffler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Do differences in experiences of motherhood (e.g., number of children, age at first child, and relationship type) by race/ethnicity and social class mean that attitudes toward motherhood also vary by social location? We examine attitudes toward being a mother among black, Hispanic, Asian, and white women of higher and lower socioeconomic status (SES, as measured by education). Results using the National Survey of Fertility Barriers (N = 4,796) indicate that, despite fertility differences, attitudes toward being a mother differ little between groups. White and Asian women have higher positive attitudes toward being a mother than black and Hispanic women. Only …

A New Way To Estimate The Potential Unmet Need For Infertility Services Among Women In The United States, Arthur L. Greil, Kathleen S. Slauson-Blevins, Stacy Tiemeyer, Julia Mcquillan, Karina M. Shreffler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background: Fewer than 50% of women who meet the medical/behavioral criteria for infertility receive medical services. Estimating the number of women who both meet the medical/behavioral criteria for infertility and who have pro-conception attitudes will allow for better estimates of the potential need and unmet need for infertility services in the United States.

Methods: The National Survey of Fertility Barriers was administered by telephone to a probability sample of 4,712 women in the United States. The sample for this analysis was 292 women who reported an experience of infertility within 3 years of the time of the interview. …

Multi-Level Risk And Protective Factors For Substance Use Among Zambian Street Youth, Kimberly A. Tyler, Ray Handema, Rachel M. Schmitz, Francis Phiri, Kourtney S. Kuyper, Charles Wood

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background: High rates of substance use have been reported among youth in Zambia. This is particularly concerning given that substance use is one of the biggest risk factors placing young people at risk for HIV infection. Objectives: The purpose of the current study is to examine how multilevel risk and protective factors (i.e., community, family, peers, individual) influence alcohol and marijuana use. Methods: A total of 250 street youth in Lusaka, Zambia, were interviewed in the summer of 2014 about their alcohol and marijuana use and reasons for usage. Data were analyzed using descriptive and multivariate methods. Results …

Christians Under Covers: Evangelicals And Sexual Pleasure On The Internet, Kelsy Burke

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

American evangelicals have a rich history when it comes to promoting sexual pleasure within marriage, having drawn upon multiple mediumslike books, workshops, and radio shows-since the 1970s.4 Today, evangelicals encourage sexual expression through all of these channels, as well as through a wide range of digital media, including online sex toy stores, online message boards, blogs, podcasts, and virtual Bible studies that discuss a plethora of topics related to marital sex. The content of these digital resources reflects the ideas presented in print literature written by well-established and respected evangelical authorities, but unlike a book that is already written, the …

Cultural Implications Of Starbucks Consumption In China: Why Do Chinese Have A Latte On Their Mind?, Garrett Hersh

Honors Theses

The aim of this thesis was gain a more comprehensive understanding concerning the Chinese consumers understanding of coffee and Starbucks in China as a luxury good. Considering China's recent history, as well as the introduction of a capitalist, consumer economy, examining the Chinese consumers' consumption pattern of this foreign, arguably luxury, good, is reflective of Chinese consumer ideals. A literature review analyzing the relationship between Chinese consumer ideals and the introduction of global consumerism, in addition to a set of interviews and surveys were conducted in attempts to understand the current Chinese consumption patterns of Starbucks coffee. After conducting the …