Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring The Influence Of Multigenerational Transmission Process Among Nonresidential African American Fathers, A'Ndrea J. Wilson

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

With a disproportionate percentage of black children growing up in fatherless homes in the U.S. and an increasing concern over the state of fatherhood nationally, investigation of fathering in the African American community is essential. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of nonresidential African American fathers and how their parenting beliefs and behaviors have been transmitted to them from their fathers and grandfathers. The theoretical framework of the study included the Responsible Fathering Conceptual Model and Family Systems Theory. Through qualitative, exploratory research methodology, the perceptions of African American fathers who do not reside in the …

Gaining Balance: Toward A Grounded Theory Of The Decision-Making Processes Of Applicants For Adoption Of Children With And Without Disabilities, Philip Burge, Margaret Jamieson

The Qualitative Report

A grounded theory is presented of the decision-making processes among applicants when considering available children with and without disabilities for domestic public adoption. Using grounded theory methodology (Strauss & Corbin, 1998), data from 15 adoption applicants were analyzed followed the traditional three coding phases. The central category of Adoption Decision Making is labeled Gaining Balance and was the underpinning concept to all categories and sub-categories (i.e., in parentheses) of the theory: Commitment (e.g., motivation, financial considerations), Persistence (e.g., coping with emotions, counteracting pessimism), and Evaluation (e.g., assessments of personal abilities and resources, assessments of knowledge of potential adoptees' needs). The …

Weekend Warriors: Autonomy-Connection, Openness-Closedness, And Coping Strategies Of Marital Partners In Nonresidential Stepfamilies, Becky L. Degreeff, Ann Burnett

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this study was to examine the classic and unique relationship tensions marital partners of non-residential stepfamilies experience. Grounded in relational dialectical theory, transcripts from interviews of five non-residential stepfamily couples were analyzed using qualitative content analysis to search for and identify autonomy-connection and openness-closedness dialectical tensions and coping strategies utilized by the participants. These relational dialectical tensions were illustrated in every interview. Tensions were present not only between the relationship partners, but also in regard to the non-residential children. Participants utilized a variety of coping strategies to deal with the relationship tensions experienced in their marriage within …

Elements Of Engagement For Successful Learning, Amy Schweinle, Marcy F. Reisetter, Valerie Stokes

The Qualitative Report

In this research we sought to understand student practices, beliefs, and behaviors that led to positive engagement on campus. More specifically, we studied student engagement as a function of the individual within the contexts of classroom and university environment using a basic interpretive approach. First year students from a medium-sized, public, Midwestern university participated in interviews on engagement, the classroom, university, and community contexts. Results suggest that both personality and a sense of self influence students' levels of engagement. Students who had identified life goals and who sought related activities and relationships made greater use of university resources and felt …

Primetimes Newsletter, Winter 2009, Office Of Lifespan Studies

PrimeTimes Newsletter

PrimeTimes is the newsletter of the Office of Lifespan Studies in the College of Science at Coastal Carolina University.

Animal Cognition, Kristin Andrews, Ljiljana Radenovic

Sentience Collection

Debates in applied ethics about the proper treatment of animals often refer to empirical data about animal cognition, emotion, and behavior. In addition, there is increasing interest in the question of whether any nonhuman animal could be something like a moral agent.

Figurational Dynamics And Parliamentary Discourses Of Living Standards In Ireland, Paddy Dolan

Articles

While the concept of living standards remains central to political debate, it has become marginal in sociological research compared to the burgeoning attention given to the topic of consumer culture in recent decades. However, they both concern how one does and should consume, and, indeed, behave at particular times. I use the theories of Norbert Elias to explain the unplanned but structured (ordered) changes in expected standards of living over time. This figurational approach is compared to other alternative explanations, particularly those advanced by Bourdieu, Veblen and Baudrillard. Though these offer some parallels with Elias’s theories, I argue that consumption …

Nonknowledge: The Bibliographical Organization Of Ignorance, Stupidity, Error, And Unreason: Part Two, Jay H. Bernstein

Publications and Research

Starting with the Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom paradigm in information science it is possible to derive a model of the opposite of knowledge having hierarchical qualities. A range of counterpoints to concepts in the knowledge hierarchy can be identified and ascribed the overall term “nonknowledge.” This model creates a conceptual framework for understanding the connections between topics such as error, ignorance, stupidity, folly, popular misconceptions, and unreason by locating them as levels or phases of nonknowledge. The concept of nonknowledge links heretofore disconnected discourses on these individual topics by philosophers, psychologists, historians, sociologists, satirists, and others. Subject headings provide access to the categories …

With The Sweat Of Our Brows: A Qualitative Interview Study On The Meaning Of Work For Illinois And Nebraska Family Farming Couples With Long Careers, Sheri J. Hink

Master's Theses - Sociology and Anthropology

This thesis explores the social identities and the work and business strategies of five farming couples who had long farming careers in the Midwest. Much of the literature presented within this thesis discusses the hardships that family farmers face in today’s economy. However, the research also points to a strong attachment to farming and the farming lifestyle despite its many challenges. Using a qualitative interviewing method, I was interested in studying what meaning these farming couples attached to their work, including any gendered division of labor, and what survival techniques they had employed. I found that the five family farming …

A Pilot Study Examining The Use Of Technologically Assisted Psychotherapeutic Intervention In The Delivery Of Therapy To Women With Anxiety Residing In Rural Utah Communities, Benjamin K. Farmer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine change in symptoms of anxiety and satisfaction experienced by participants who received acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) by using technologically assisted psychotherapeutic interventions (TAPI). TAPI utilizes the internet as a medium to make mental health services available and accessible to people residing in rural communities. The participants in this study were women who were experiencing severe levels of anxiety and lived in a rural community. Measures were taken at three different points in the study (pretherapy, posttherapy, and 6-months posttherapy). Participants received therapy over the internet via Macromedia Breeze videoconferencing to reduce …

Exploring Masculinities In The United States And Japan, Susan Sims Cochran

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

This paper explores the differences and similarities between American and Japanese masculinities (and their underlying values). The paper contrasts the findings regarding American and Japanese masculinities detailed in books and articles read by the author, and discusses the portrayal of masculinities in the films "The Last Samurai," "Shall We Dance?" and "Shall We Dansu?" The paper begins with a discussion of masculinities in general, including brief historical contexts, followed by an overview of masculinities studies in America and Japan, concluding with an exploration of the similarities and differences of masculinities in America and Japan, as portrayed in the above-referenced films.

The Ethnic Identity Of Returning Immigrants To A Pueblo In Yucatan, David Piacenti

Dissertations

This study seeks to understand: 1) motivations for leaving and, if applicable, racialized, segregated environment, which is represented by the returned cholo, whose "urban gangbanger" mentality confronts the traditional, rural ethnic identity. San Francisco also affects the overall perception of immigration and desire for permanent U.S. residence. Of the San Francisco cohort, 42% say immigration is "positive overall." Conversely, 62% of the Kalamazoo cohort says that immigration is "positive overall." Only 29% of the San Francisco cohort desire permanent residence in the U.S. while 54% of the Kalamazoo cohort desire permanent U.S. residence. Therefore, the suburban context of Kalamazoo may …

The Relationshiop Between Gender Inequality And Hiv/Aids In Africa, Nayree L. Sheldon

Social Sciences

This paper discusses the developmental and health issues of Eastern Africa in regards to the relationship between gender inequality and HIV/AIDS.

A Tri-Disciplinary Analysis Of Religion, Alicia Wallace

Social Sciences

This paper analyzes religion using a multi-disciplinary approach. Studying the Social Sciences exposes one to an opportunity not just to learn a single discipline, but three, and this unique learning experience can teach one to look at the world’s phenomena with a multi-perspective view. Using a tri-disciplinary approach when exploring topics can broaden ones outlook on how there are many ways to explore and investigate a topic in greater detail. By using Anthropological, Sociological and Geographical theoretical perspectives one can understand a topic more fully by using a multi-perspective approach when exploring this diverse world culturally, socially and physically.

Tattoos: A Marked History, Audrey Porcella

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Counting Girls In - Gender Issues In Science And Mathematics: An Examination Of The Research Concerning Innate And Socio-Cultural Gender Differences In The Fields Of Science And Mathematics In An Effort To Promote More Female Participation, Valerie R. Mackin

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

In today's world, there is an increasing demand for people in the technological fields. Fewer females than males pursue careers in physical sciences, engineering, and computer science in the United States presenting a loss of needed mathematicians and scientists. Gender differences related to mathematics and science is a complex arena of study, involving both innate biological differences combined with socially constructed ideas about gender in society. Through an in-depth investigation from educational, cognitive, and social psychology perspectives one will be able to determine how innate and socio-cultural factors contribute to the shortage of needed mathematicians and scientists in the United …

The Hard Embodiment Of Culture, Dov Cohen, Angela K. Y. Leung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The way humans move and comport their bodies is one way they (literally) carry their culture. In pre-wired embodiments, body comportment triggers basic, evolutionarily prepared affective and cognitive reactions that subsequently prime more complex representations. Culture suffuses this process, because (1) cultural artifacts, affordances, and practices make certain body comportments more likely, (2) cultural practices, rituals, schemas, and rules promote the learning of an otherwise underspecified connection between a given body comportment and a particular basic reaction, and (3) cultural meaning systems elaborate basic affective and cognitive reactions into more complex representations. These points are illustrated with three experiments that …

Halting The Race To The Bottom: Urgent Interventions For The Improvement Of The Education Of English Language Learners In Massachusetts And Selected Districts, English Language Learners Sub-Committee, Massachusetts Board Of Elementary And Secondary Education

Gastón Institute Publications

Massachusetts students of limited English proficiency do better academically than students of limited English proficiency in other states. But relative to other students in the state, students of limited English proficiency in Massachusetts face a disadvantage greater than that faced by their peers in most states. This suggests that while the overall higher levels of education in the state benefit LEPs in Massachusetts relative to LEPs who attend schools in states where the quality of education is lower, current policy and practice leads to significantly greater inequality in this state. As the state takes steps to improve performance for all …

The Effects Of Ethnic Identity On The Assimilation Behaviors Of Second Generation Immigrants, Emily Baumann

All Theses

This thesis examines the effects of ethnic identity on assimilation behaviors in second generation immigrants. It looks at two types of ethnic identity--one that is an internal, self-identification and one that is an external, objective designation. More specifically, this study reviews the effects of ethnic identity on how well a respondent writes a foreign language, how well a respondent writes English, language the respondent prefers to speak, total monthly earnings, and highest level of education achieved. This study hypothesizes that various ethnic self-identifications and various nationalities will be predictors of various assimilation pathways set forth in the segmented assimilation theory. …

You Don't Know Jack: The Dynamics Of Mormon Religious/Ethnic Identity, Michael R. Cope

Theses and Dissertations

For much of human existence identity was ascribed based on the group one was born into. In such cultures all aspects of social life were fused into one incontrovertible identity: group identity. However as modern mindsets took root individuals began to shift the foundation of meaning and identity away from the fixed focal point of the group to one of personal preference. In response to this modern trend many groups began to intensify the maintenance of group identity as paramount in the lives of group members. Hammond and Warner (1993) assert that a powerful mechanism for sustaining group identity is …

Emerging Adulthood In India, Liann Nicole Seiter

Theses and Dissertations

This paper explores the nature of emerging adulthood in Southern India. Survey data was collected from 450 college students in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India and 100 non-students from rural villages surrounding Coimbatore. Unlike American samples, the majority of the 18- to 26-year-olds studied felt that they had achieved adulthood. The sample emphasized attributes needed to fulfill family roles as characteristics necessary for adulthood. Differences in optimism levels were found between students and non-students. Arnett suggests that emerging adulthood would be affected by cultural influences. The unique cultural and structural influences in India such as, Hinduism, caste, gendered socialization, and the …

Right By Children: Children's Rights And Rights Based Approaches To Policy Making In Early Childhood Education And Care: The Case Of Ireland, Noirin Hayes, Siobhan Bradley

Reports

No abstract provided.

Population, Rural Development, And Land Use Among Settler Households In An Agricultural Frontier In Guatemala’S Maya Biosphere Reserve, David Carr Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Guatemala was among the world’s leaders in deforestation during the 1990s at a rate of 2% per annum. Much of Guatemala’s recent forest loss has occurred in the emerging agricultural frontiers of the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR), the heart of the largest contiguous tropical forest in Central America—La Selva Maya. This paper presents data from 241 heads of households and 219 partners of household heads from a geographically stratified sample of eight (of 28) communities in the Sierra de Lacandón National Park (SLNP), the most ecologically biodiverse region in La Selva Maya and a core conservation zone of the MBR. …

Ua23 New Learning Approach, Aurelia Spaulding

ALIVE Center Publications

No abstract provided.

Nuclear Proliferation And Authority In World Politics, Brian Frederking Ph.D., Kaitlyne Motl, Nishant Timilsina

Journal of International and Global Studies

We apply the “security-hierarchy paradox” to nuclear proliferation. Global security requires a certain amount of hierarchy. A world in which no nuclear proliferation rules exist to constrain states, for example, would not be secure. Global security requires legitimate and authoritative rules, which we define as rules that are mutually negotiated, binding to all and which provide a stable social order. Too much hierarchy, however, amounts to coercion and undermines global security. Rules that are not mutually negotiated, binding to all or do not provide a stable social order are not authoritative. We argue that North Korea and Iran have attempted …

Rural Life Census Data Center Newsletter: South Dakota Farm Number And Size Trends, Jake Cummings, W. Trevor Brooks, Donna Hess, Diane Kayongo-Male

Census Data Center Newsletter Archive: 2007-2010

If you have ever wondered about changes in the number of farms in your state or county, the latest U.S. Census of Agriculture can help answer your questions. New Census of Agriculture information is both interesting and useful. Census of Agriculture data can be used to analyze farm trends, inform agricultural policy, and direct farm spending (2007 Census of Agriculture).

The History Of The Illinois River And The Decline Of A Native Species, Paige Mettler-Cherry, Marian Smith

The Confluence (2009-2020)

Floodplains as connectors to rivers are essential parts of the ecosystem; endangered plants chart progress or decline on the the Illinois River.

Poverty, Neighbourhood Characteristics And Trajectories Of Maternal Depression, Mai Thanh Tu, Mark Daniel, Louise Séguin, Yan Kestens

Health over the Life Course Conference (2009)

Background: Income, education, being an immigrant and residential neighbourhood characteristics are linked to depressive symptoms. To our knowledge, no longitudinal study has examined the joint influence of demographic and neighbourhood characteristics on maternal depressive symptoms.

Objective: To examine the influence of demographic and neighbourhood characteristics on trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms from child age 1.5 to 7 years, in Québec, Canada. METHODS: 1611 mothers from the Québec Longitudinal Study on Child Development, seen regularly since child birth (1998). Maternal depressive symptoms (CES-D), income, and residential neighbourhood characteristics (neighbourhood poverty, unemployment and quality of nearest park) were measured for mothers at …

Keynote Address: Health Over The Life Course, Sylvain Segard

Health over the Life Course Conference (2009)

Sylvain Segard is a public policy manager with over 20 years of experience at the provincial, federal, and international levels in such diverse fields as economic and regional development, social policy, environment and sustainable development, maritime safety, corporate and strategic planning, and federal budget making. Mr. Segard is the Director General of the Center for Health Promotion with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). He oversees a number of programs to promote healthy living among Canadians in general as well as initiatives targeted at reducing health risks among vulnerable populations. Prior to joining PHAC, Mr. Segard was Director General, …

The Terminological Problem In Africana Studies, Nikitah O. Imani

Black Studies Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Delivered lecture “The Terminological Problem in Africana Studies” at the Africana Studies Annual Interdisciplinary Symposium, 2009 "AFRICA AT THE CROSSROADS: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?" James Madison University, October 9th.