Digital Commons Network^™

Human Trafficking For Labor Purposes An Analysis Of Immigration Policy And Economic Forces Within The United States, Candace G. Owen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human trafficking is an international crisis which has emerged as a human rights issue of the highest priority for many nations. This is not a new occurrence, although the onset of globalization has provoked increased intensity in this international crime. Recent studies, including the U.S. State Department’s 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report have predicted that the recent global economic crisis will inflate these numbers to an even larger number of victims. This thesis will investigate these phenomena ultimately asking: Do immigration policies and economic conditions contribute to the recent proliferation in cases of human trafficking for labor purposes? Moreover with …

Dead, Imprisoned, Relapsed The Fate Of Homeless Substance Abusers Two Decades Later, Rachel L. Rayburn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Guided and influenced by a famous follow-up study in criminology focused on desistance from crime, this dissertation studies desistance from crime, homelessness, and substance abuse. In the early 1990s, The New Orleans Homeless Substance Abusers Project (NOHSAP) was founded as an experiment funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) to uncover optimal treatment strategies for homeless alcoholics and drug addicts. The program ran for three years (1991-1993) and in those years, 670 homeless New Orleans men and women were admitted into treatment. Some of the original clients were followed for as long as 18 months, but …

The Stigmatization Of Deathcare Workers, Shannon Rose Simone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has indicated that Funeral Directors and Embalmers are stigmatized for their work. Studies have shown that, although the decay of dead bodies is a stigmatized process in American culture, these particular deathcare workers are able to shift the focus of their services from the dead to the living. However, there remains a lack of research regarding deathcare workers who are not employed as Funeral Directors or Embalmers— those whose positions are not as obvious to the general public. This research explores how, why, and to what degree stigma is placed on those individuals who spend the majority of their …

Student Perceptions Of Race And Gender Representations Within College Textbooks, Chastity Lynn Blankenship

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines introductory textbooks images across a variety of disciplines, with particular focus on the ways in which race and gender are shown. This study goes beyond a basic analysis of textbooks, however, and also explores student perceptions of textbook images. My data show that compartmentalization of gender and race into certain themes still occurs within some textbooks. Specifically, white men were more likely to be depicted as hard workers and contributors to the field than any other race and gender. Despite these results, students seemed mixed on the importance of textbook images with many students focused on the …

Out A Sociological Analysis Of Coming Out, Nicholas A. Guittar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study uses a constructivist grounded theory approach to investigate the meaning of “coming out” for LGBQ individuals. Analysis of open-ended interviews with 30 LGBQ persons revealed three main themes. First, coming out does not have a universal meaning among LGBQ persons; rather, it varies on the basis of an individual’s experiences, social environment, and personal beliefs and values. Coming out is a transformative process, and an important element in identity formation and maintenance. Second, despite being attracted only to members of the same sex, ten interviewees engaged in a queer apologetic, a kind of identity compromise whereby individuals disclose …

Emotional Regulation At Walt Disney World Deep Acting Vs. Surface Acting, Anne Reyers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study is to examine the emotional regulation strategies used by Walt Disney World on-stage employees as a way to fulfill requirements set forth by the company. Ten Disney on-stage employees were interviewed off-property in Orlando. The emotional regulation framework was divided into several categories: (1) a distinction between deep acting and surface acting, (2) emotional deviance, and (3) emotional exhaustion. “Surface acting” is a strategy by which employees display company-imposed emotions not genuinely felt, whereas “deep acting” occurs when employees do feel the emotions that they are required to express (Hochschild, 1983). Throughout the data reduction …

Homicide In The Headlines An Analysis Of The Newspaper Reporting Of Baltimore Homicides Of 2010, Jaclyn V. Schildkraut

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Baltimore is notorious for its recent and storied history of crime. The current study examines the treatment of homicide victims in Baltimore newspapers. In 2010, 222 homicides occurred in Baltimore, according to the city‟s homicide map. One hundred and sixty-five were discussed in The Baltimore Sun, the city‟s most-circulated paper. Based on the inclusion or exclusion of particular cases and the manner in which cases were discussed, conclusions can be drawn about the media‟s perception of a case‟s newsworthiness. Specifically, cases with particular details that varied significantly from a “normal” homicide were found to be most newsworthy, determined in part …

Understanding The Subjectivities Of Pastors And Beliefs About The Current American Church Culture, Michael Ellis Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the spiritual subjectivities of pastors in the Mainstream White Middle Class Evangelical Church in the context of American capitalism. The Evangelical church carries extreme amounts of power and influence in shaping the beliefs of individuals in American society. However, very little pointed research of pastors' spiritual subjectivities that guide their teachings and views in this sub-sect of church culture is present in academia. Anthropology, along with other disciplines, often focuses on dominant churches from an etic perspective of politics and power relations without fully considering the spiritual beliefs of pastors. This etic perspective can miss the deeply …

Inter-Institutional Comparison Of Faculty Perceptions On The Purpose Of Freshman Year Composition Programs, Rosemarie N. Branciforte

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is an investigation of instructors‟ perceptions of composition learning objectives focusing on which should be taught and which should be emphasized. The researcher observed that instructors do not regard all course objectives in English Composition courses equally; emphasizing some and giving others brief consideration. From this observation, this study was developed to measure objectives as well as to examine principal reasons for the differences in perception. Using an 18-question (16 content area and two demographic) survey based on content areas chosen to mirror general learning objectives in composition courses, along with six focused interviews, the …

An Analysis Of Trauma Narratives Perceptions Of Children On The Experience Of Sexual Abuse, Jennifer Marie Foster

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is estimated to affect 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys before the age of 18 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005). Despite the prevalence of sexual abuse and frequent negative outcomes for child victims as well as adult survivors, little is known about CSA from the perspective of the child. To date, the vast majority of research has targeted adults. Studies conducted on children are mostly quantitative and have explored the effectiveness of various treatment interventions. To address the gap in the research literature, the present study investigated the perspectives of children …

The Vegetarian Social Movement An Analysis Of Withdrawal And Backsliding, Jaime Deborah Hecht

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The vegetarian social movement is a “new” social movement based in lifestyle and cultural change. New social movements hold a strong emphasis on collective identity and social networks as a means to sustain participation. The majority of the social movement literature remains focused on movement engagement and mobilization while a large gap exists regarding disengagement. This project explores the barriers to vegetarian maintenance. The primary question answered is, why do some vegetarians and vegans backslide and withdraw from the practice? Fourteen individuals were interviewed to discover the social and cultural factors inherent in vegetarian instability. Over the course of the …

The Portrayal Of Teen Pregnancy In The Tv Series "The Secret Life Of The American Teenager", Erin Lovell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of the current study was to investigate the way teen pregnancy is portrayed in Seasons 1 and 2 of the television drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Framing theory and social cognitive theory were used as guiding frameworks for exploring the way the main character’s pregnancy was presented and the way this presentation may influence the ideas and behaviors of viewers. A qualitative content analysis was conducted to examine portrayals in the first 23 episodes. Results indicated that teen pregnancy was portrayed in five major ways: as Dramatic, as Identity, as Manageable, as Transformative, and as …

Transgender People On University Campuses: A Policy Discourse Analysis, Doris Andrea Dirks

Dissertations

The goal of this study is to examine the language used to discuss transgender people on university campuses. My main research question was: What do university reports describe as problems and solutions for transgender people in universities? The primary data for this study consists of 16 reports issued at four Big Ten schools from 1992-2010. These reports address the inclusion of gender identity and expression in nondiscrimination policies, the status of transgender people on university campuses, or both. This study employs policy discourse analysis, a hybrid methodology that analyzes written documents using feminist, critical, and poststructural theories in order to …

A National Study Of Parental Involvement: Its Trends, Status And Effects On School Success, Alandra Washington

Dissertations

Parental involvement has been emphasized as a mechanism for improving our public schools. In this study the author inquired into (a) the trend and status of parental involvement and (b) whether parental involvement is associated with schools meeting accountability measures. Secondary analyses were conducted on multiple waves of nationally representative data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) School and Staffing Surveys (SASS). Descriptive statistics, discriminant function analysis, logistic regression, among others, were used for the study.

The analyses on the trend and status of parental involvement indicated that there was a statistically significant increase in parental involvement …

Risd Pod 2011 Evaluation & 2012 - 2015 Strategic Plan, Project Open Door

Publications + Documents + Videos

This evaluation report and strategic plan documents key findings of an external review of Project Open Door and agreement and the 2012-2017 Project Open Door Strategic Plan. The plan represents consensus among Project Open Door faculty, staff, and Dean of Graduate Studies, Research and Engagement, and Advisory Committee members to strengthen and institutionalize the program. Dean Phillips asked that the review “...evaluate the current condition of the program, confirm its scope, scale, and feasible and fruitful staffing scenarios, explore ways to successfully institutionalize it both within and outside of RISD, and identify pathways for the future, including greater visibility for …

The Role Of Income And Employment On School Participation Rate In Pasay City And Eastern Samarthe Role Of Income And Employment On School Participation Rate In Pasay City And Eastern Samar¹, Tereso S. Tullao Jr, John Paolo R. Rivera

DLSU Business & Economics Review

The Philippines committed itself to the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDG), one of which is the universal access to primary education by 2015. To address the goal, supply factors and demand factors must be considered. Supply factors refer to the ability of the government to provide resources to finance elementary education. Demand factors refer to the variables affecting household’s decision to demand educational services such as income, education cost, and demographic characteristics of the households: age structure and family characteristics. This study explored the extent to which household income and household head employment status influence elementary school participation rate …

Family Structure As A Social Context For Family Conflict: Unjust Strain And Serious Delinquency, Ryan Spohn, Don L. Kurtz

Center on Children, Families, and the Law: Faculty Publications

Two major themes in the delinquency literature are the roles of family structure and childhood victimization. Combining these two lines of research, the current project examines the unique contribution of family structure and victimization on the serious delinquency of a nationally representative sample of adolescents. In addition, we examine whether the form of families serves to condition the relationship between victimization and delinquency. Past research indicates that abuse is more likely to occur in two-parent families of a ‘‘mixed’’ form, specifically in the presence of a live-in boyfriend or stepfather. However, little is known regarding the impact of victimization on …

Leverage: Review Of Burk & Lemley, 'The Patent Crisis And How The Courts Can Solve It', Stephen M. Mcjohn

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

Dan L. Burk and Mark A. Lemley’s “The Patent Crisis and How the Courts Can Solve It” (The University of Chicago Press, 2009) is valuable for anyone interested in patent law. The book serves two goals. First, it suggests how patent reform in the United States can best be accomplished: not through Congressional amendment of the patent statute, but by judicial implementation of industry-specific reforms, in interpreting the existing act. Some jurisdictions, such as India, already differentiate between industrial sectors more explicitly in patent policy than the United States. Second, of interest to patent law worldwide, the book provides a …

The Fundamental Question When Applying The Welfare Principle: "Who Will Be The Better Parent Or Guardian"?, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The welfare principle – that is, when making a custody-related decision, the best interests of the child form the first and paramount consideration – is probably one of the cardinal principles of family law in many common law jurisdictions. While the welfare principle is generally considered a wide concept with no exhaustive definition or list of factors, it is submitted that there is an important question – sometimes neglected or misunderstood – that should actually feature most prominently when applying the welfare principle, particularly when joint or no order custody orders seem impossible. The question is simply that of “who …

The Seen And Unseen: Religion And Identity In The Chicago American Indian Community, Eli Steven Suzukovich Iii

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The following dissertation is an ethnographic community study focusing on religiosity and its relationship in maintaining tribal identity among urban Indians living in Chicago, Illinois. The research examines spirituality and religious practice in an urban Indian community and illuminates and examines how people conceptualize the sacred and how it applies to their sense of tribal, familial, and individual identities and its development through a lifetime. The goals of this research are to: 1) provide an overview of religiosity as it currently exists within the American Indian community of Chicago; and 2) examine religion and spirituality as is develops over time …

Different Challenges And Different Blessings: Life Experiences Of Young Mothers Of Children With Down Syndrome, Janice Driscoll Nugent

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Life experiences of young mothers of preschool aged children with Down syndrome were explored in this qualitative narrative study. Intensive interviews of four purposefully chosen young women were conducted. The findings of this study illustrate the impact of a preschool aged child with Down syndrome on the life of a young woman.

A variety of themes were identified. The primary themes were the background of the woman, including her public school experience, learning of the diagnosis of Down syndrome, supports, the child's medical complications, learning to cope and the impact of that disability on their day-to-day lives.

Child care and …

Under The Bridge: A Qualitative Investigation Of Homeless Persons' Perspectives On Substance Abuse And Its Treatment, Amanda Beth Taylor

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Although homelessness is generally thought of as an urban problem, it is also a growing problem in rural areas, such as Missoula, Montana (Jacobson 2010). Studies of urban homelessness indicate that substance abuse is a part of life for many homeless individuals, and the barriers to substance abuse treatment are exacerbated by being homeless (Snow and Anderson 1993; Morrell 2007). “Prevalence studies estimate that the percentage of homeless people with alcohol use disorders to be at 30%-40% and drug abuse at 10%-15%” (Fisk, Raakfeldt, and McCormack 2006: 480). Substance abuse is also common among homeless individuals in rural areas, including …

Debt Structure In The West: Money And Gift, And The Influence On Community, James A. Becker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Debt structures all relationships in America as well as all of our economic material exchanges. Historically debt has always been seen thus with our religious texts being written both in the terminology of the metaphysical and the economical combining them together in an attempt to understand the social and economic systems that individuals live in. At the core of the social and economic systems is community. In America the myth of the gift is a dominant catalyst that uses debt to make community through time. In order to study the structure of debt within America I will be using an …

Digital Determinism: The Cyrillic Alphabet In The Age Of New Technology, Martin Paulsen

Russian Language Journal

The spread of digital technology has created new conditions for the existence and development of languages. The East Slavonic languages Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian are excellent examples. Since the Internet originated in the U.S., and since most computer devices are created on the basis of languages that use the Latin alphabet (i.e., English), people who use other alphabets, such as Cyrillic, face additional challenges in adapting to the new technological realities (Sproat 2010).3 In this article, I shall focus on how digital technology challenges Cyrillic, as the alphabet in which the East Slavonic languages are written.

The consequences of similar …

Securitizing Gender: Identity, Biometrics, And Transgender Bodies At The Airport, Paisley Currah, Tara Mulqueen

Publications and Research

It is widely assumed that the more information surveillance apparatuses can collect about an individual, the less risk she poses. In this article, we examine how gender figures into and potentially disrupts the link between identity and security. Our analysis centers on one very particular event: the confusion that erupts at the airport when US Transportation Security Administration agents perceive a conflict between the gender marked on one's papers, the image of one's body produced by a machine, and/or an individual's perceived gender presentation. Gender has been so deeply naturalized—as immutable, as easily apprehended, and as existing before and outside …

China's Official Media Portrayal Of Religion (1996-2005): Policy Change In A Desecularizing Society, Qingjiang Yao, D. A. Stout, Zhaoxi Liu

Communication Faculty Research

This content analysis of religion news coverage in the People's Daily during a 10-year period (1996–2005) found a more positive tone toward religion after 2001, when a significant policy change was announced by Chinese political leaders. The number of newspaper articles about religion increased steadily. Under-representation of Christianity suggested by previous studies was not found, but a prejudicial tone toward different religions was identified.

Fellow~Feeling And The Moral Life: Book Review, Patrick Mello

Religion in the Age of Enlightenment

In his Fellow-Feeling and the Moral Life, Joseph Duke Filonowicz challenges readers to modify the premises underlying much moral philosophy since Kant by considering with open minds whether human beings possess an innate moral sense. Despite the systematic logical satisfaction achieved by ethical rationalism, Filonowicz argues that the dogged adherence to reason reduces morality to a mere set of anemic thought-experiments having little to do with the actions undertaken by people living emotionally complex lives. Modifying rationalism, Filonowicz finds inspiration from a notion expressed in Henry Miller's Black Spring, that "what is not in the open streets is …

Editor's Introduction, “To Cheer, To Raise, To Guide”: 22 Years Of The Farms Review, Daniel C. Peterson

Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011

No abstract provided.

Digital Technology And The Variation In Design Routines: A Sequence Analysis Of Four Design Processes, James Gaskin, B. Veeresh Thummadi, Kalle Lyytinen, Youngjin Yoo

Faculty Publications

We advance a theory of design process variation across organizational types and the effects of digitalization on these processes. We argue that design routines are subject to greater variation within and between organizations as organizations embed increasingly rich repertoires of digital capabilities in their design activities. Using a sequence analysis method we compare design process variation in four organizations to examine how design routines vary due to differences in embedded digital capabilities and organization of the design process. Our analysis reveals new insights on the effects organizational context and digitalization have on design routine composition.

Structure And/Or Culture, Daria Roithmayr

Publications

No abstract provided.