Digital Commons Network^™

Review Of American Generosity: Who Gives And Why By Patricia Snell Herzog And Heather E. Price, Young-Il Kim

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

Excerpt: "In American Generosity, sociologists Patricia Herzog and Heather Price provide comprehensive, detailed, and realistic portraits of generosity among American adults. The research in this book was conducted as part of the University of Notre Dame’s Science of Generosity Initiative. In an earlier book, Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson described the paradox of generosity in which few Americans generously give despite the many benefits that generosity brings back to the giver. American Generosity sheds some light on why this paradox exists, asking: Who gives, who does not give, and why do some people give more than others?"

Perceiving The Cultural Sea That Is Our Home - Spiritual Formation And Western 21st Century Culture, Lisa Graham Mcminn

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

Spiritual formation occurs in the routines of daily living. We are formed by choices made at the grocery store, as we reach for our medicine cabinet, as we consider whether to drive ten minutes or walk thirty. Such seemingly insignificant choices reflect assumptions held about who we are, and how we are supposed to live in the world. Spiritual formation, like notions of civic duty, develops from within a cultural context. Cultural environments give us largely unquestioned taken-for- granted assumptions about how the world is and how we should live in it. This essay explores three of the many Western …

The Contexts Of Conversion Among U.S. Latinos, Aida I. Ramos, Robert D. Woodberry, Christopher G. Ellison

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

The growth of Protestantism among U.S. Latinos has been the focus of considerable discussion among researchers. Yet few studies investigate how Latino Protestants and Latino Catholics differ, or which types of Latinos convert from Catholicism to Protestantism. Our study tests various theories about why some Latinos convert including a modified version of the semi-involuntary thesis, the national origin hypothesis, and assimilation theory. We use data from a large national sample of U.S. Latinos and find some support for assimilation theory and less for the semi-involuntary thesis. However, context matters. If we divide Latinos into national origin groups, these groups strongly …

Transcending Liberalism – Avoiding Communitarianism: Human Rights And Dignity In Bioethics, Hille Haker

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Contemporary bioethics is caught in the Scylla of political liberalism that presupposes a concept of a sovereign and independent individual, thereby more and more promoting a “consumer patient” in the realm of medicine, and the Charybdis of communitarian ethics, here spelled out as care ethics, arguing for the acknowledgment of embeddedness and interdependence and interpreting care as a right and a responsibility. Both approaches, I argue, fall short to provide moral criteria that define the scope or limits of the rights and responsibilities, and they both lack a comprehensive understanding of the moral agency. I argue that the concept of …

Relationship Of Religiosity And Spirituality To Hazardous Drinking, Drug Use, And Depression Among Sexual Minority Women, Laurie Drabble, Cindy Veldhuis, Barth Riley, Sharon Rostosky, Tonda Hughes

Faculty Publications

Using data from Wave 3 of the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women (CHLEW) study (N = 699), we explored whether religiosity and spirituality were associated with risk of hazardous drinking, drug use, and depression among sexual minority women (SMW; i.e., lesbian, bisexual) and possible differences by race/ethnicity. Participants were more likely to endorse spirituality than religiosity, and endorsement of each was highest among African American SMW. We found no protective effect of religiosity or spirituality for hazardous drinking or drug use. An association initially found between identifying as very spiritual and past-year depression disappeared when controlling for help-seeking. …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Children’S Experiences Of Role-Play In Two Pack-Away Early Childhood Settings., Zenna Mary Kingdon

Plymouth Institute of Education Theses

In this thesis, I explored children’s experiences of role-play in relation to notions of self. The research took place in two pack-away settings in the Private, Voluntary and Independent (PVI) sector of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). The experiences of eight children, aged between three-year-three months and four-years one month, were investigated over a period of seven months. I used an adaptation of The Mosaic Approach (Clark and Moss 2001) combined with a reflective lenses approach (Brookfield 1995) to create a three-dimensional view of the children’s experiences. The children and I used a range of tools to gather data …

The Role Of Sound Recordings In The Revitalisation Of Minority Languages Of The Ainu People (Japan) And The West Frisians (The Netherlands), Malgorzata Fryzlewicz

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

This thesis explores the use of sound recordings in the revitalisation of two minority languages – the Ainu (Japan) and the West Frisian (the Netherlands). Over the last few decades, a growing concern about linguistic diversity in the world has led to an increasing awareness of minority languages, which are endangered by loss. The concept of language revitalisation calls for work which will affect the vitality of these languages. The nature of these revitalisation efforts is inscribed into place-related processes and the interpretations of the relationships between language speakers and the place they live in. Sound recordings can afford language …

Don't Think, Just Drink!': An Ethnographic Study Into Why Young People Engage With Alcohol-Fuelled Leisure Markets Of The Night-Time Economy, Sam Barnes

The Plymouth Law and Criminal Justice Review

Consumption and consumerism are now accepted as being fundamental contexts for the construction of youth lifestyle in post-modern society. This research is a critical exploration of why young people consume alcohol in a manner that can go beyond 'pleasure', to the painful realms of jouissance. This research draws on various disciplines utilising a deviant leisure perspective in order to explore the broader harms that lie beneath the surface of commodified leisure, which have become culturally acceptable and normalised in today's society. Through the use of ethnographic research, utilising observations and unstructured interviews, this project critically explores the significance of alcohol-fuelled …

Solomonic Judgments And The International Court Of Justice, Nienke Grossman

All Faculty Scholarship

This chapter, in a forthcoming book on legitimacy and international courts, analyzes the impact of Solomonic or "split the baby" judgments on the normative and sociological legitimacy of the International Court of Justice.

Voting Realism, Gilda R. Daniels

All Faculty Scholarship

Since Shelby County v. Holder, the country has grown accustomed to life without the full strength of the Voting Rights Act. Efforts to restore Section 4 have been met with calls to ignore race conscious remedies and employ race neutral remedies for modern day voting rights violations. In this new normal, the country should adopt “voting realism” as the new approach to ensuring that law and reality work to address these new millennium methods of voter discrimination.

An Investigation On Body Composition, Dietary Intakes And Physical Activity In Girls Aged 8-11 Years In Saudi Arabia, Rabab Bade Alkutbe

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Introduction: Obesity has become a major world-wide health issue. Social-economic status, physical activity levels and dietary intake may influence the weight status in children. However, these issues have not been examined together in studies of young girls in Saudi Arabia. Aim: This study aimed to investigate energy and nutrient intakes, physical activity and social economic status of girls aged 8-11 years in western Saudi Arabia according to their BMI. Methods: This study was conducted in two phases, phase one was a pilot study where 32 girls were selected to assess the suitability of body composition, dietary intake (food diary, food …

An Evaluation Of The Impact Of Event Attendance On Perceptions Of The Host Organisation’S Reputation: A University Case Study, Katie Angliss

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Reputation is an important asset for organisations worldwide. Many researchers have attempted to develop a measurement construct to assess an organisation’s reputation, with the RepTrak System being recognised to be the world’s first tool that assess reputation across multiple stakeholders and areas of the organisation. Nevertheless, the characteristics, methods and stakeholders to include within an assessment of this intangible asset continues to be widely debated. Organisations are under intense scrutiny by their stakeholders, with reputation being an organisational asset on which many opinions are formed. Universities in the UK are no different, as they compete for students from around the …

The Times And The Manchester Guardian’S Editorial Perspectives On Irish Home Rule And The Adoption Of Referendum Debates During The British Constitutional Crisis: December 1910-August 1911, David Frederick Ernest Moore

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis is a critical examination of the editorial coverage of referendum and Irish Home Rule issues as reported by both The Times and the Manchester Guardian during the closing stages of the British constitutional crisis of 1911. The traditional and conventional constraints on the House of Lords were replaced with constraints based on the law namely the Parliament Act 1911. The Act gave financial control of the state to the House of Commons, and rendered the role of the House of Lords chamber primarily one of revision and delay. A coalition led by the Liberal Government. including the Irish …

Greenies, Growlers And Goffers: The Development Of The Royal Navy Habitus, Russell Andrew John Roy Shobrook

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis applies the theoretical perspective of Bourdieu to investigate the development of a Royal Navy habitus. It is one of the first studies to uncover distinct social processes within the Royal Navy that otherwise would have largely remained unknown to a wider academic audience. An ethnographic methodology was used to investigate the attitudes of serving members of the Royal Navy using an approach that was informed by the Biographical Narrative Interview Method (Wengraf 2001). In my analysis, I constructed a complex picture of how individuals develop a particular habitus, showing how the interplay between the institutional and individual habitus …

The British Labour Party And The German Social Democratic Party: Changing Attitudes Towards The Welfare State, Annabelle Wolff

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Placing politics in time can greatly enrich our understanding of complex social dynamics. The question this thesis tries to answer is which mechanism led to the change in attitudes of the German Social Democratic Party and the British Labour Party towards the welfare state during the period from 1990 to 2010 and which effects in consequence these changes had on the existing welfare states. This thesis builds on the welfare state categorization work done by the Danish sociologist Gosta Esping-Andersen ("Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism"). However, the thesis focuses its in- depth analysis on Germany and the United Kingdom as …

The Medium And The Message: Afro-Cuban Trance And Western Theatrical Peformance, Christopher Danowski

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

The Medium and the Message investigates the incorporation of Afro-Cuban trance techniques in Western theatrical performance. Through art practice and research, I am asking two questions: how do performers, trained in Western theatrical contexts, articulate their experience with Afro-Cuban trance techniques? And how can my research methodologies illuminate the inherent intercultural tensions in ways that are productive for performance practitioners and theorists? To answer these questions, I created four new works of theatrical performance where I developed a method for performers, utilizing Afro-Cuban rituals adapted for non-practitioners. Working toward a phenomenological understanding of what is happening when a performer incorporates …

An Exploration Of How Agency And Socio-Cultural Milieu Support Greater Or Lesser Controlled Gambling And Recovery From Gambling Addiction, Edward Iain Pyle

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Most gamblers never experience addiction and the majority of those who do eventually recover. This thesis investigates how most maintain control over their gambling and how the majority of those who do experience gambling addiction regain control. Findings are based on 25 qualitative semi-structured interviews with participants who fit one of three ideal-type groups: (i) gamblers who have never experienced addiction; (ii) gamblers who have regained control after experience of gambling addiction; and (iii) gamblers experiencing addiction at time of interview. Participants were recruited who had never engaged in formal treatment because existing research suggests most who experience gambling addiction …

The Knotweed Factor: Non-Visual Aspects Of Poetic Documentary, T.J. Coles

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis is an inquiry into the creative processes of poetry and poetic expression in documentary. The practice-based element is a 60 minute video about a poet living in Exeter, UK, called James Turner. The documentary is entitled, The Knotweed Factor. This written element of the thesis contextualises the investigation as a discourse on blindness and visual impairment. There are few representations of blindness and/or visual impairment (VI) in The Knotweed Factor. Rather, the documentary is concerned with how visual information (e.g., filming a poet) is translated non-visually (e.g., the sound of the poem being recited). It also addresses the …

Transitioning Beyond Undergraduate Hospitality Education; A Dialogic Analysis Of Final Year Hospitality Students’ Narratives Of Employability, Cat Hine

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Employability has become a key consideration for graduates, and society. Increasingly the trajectory of individuals at age 18 involves the completion of an undergraduate level degree qualification. This thesis presents a sociologically grounded study into the dialogic construction of employability in final year hospitality students and recent hospitality graduates. Drawing on a nationwide sample of UK based hospitality graduates, as they transition beyond undergraduate level higher education, a new understanding of the way in which employability is narrated and individuals position themselves within the competitive context surrounding employability, has been uncovered. The study therefore evaluates the way in which employability …

Designing Inclusivity: Reconstructing The Meaning Of The Seven Pointed Star Symbol In The Jordanian Flag Through Design Thinking, Fadwa Barakat

School of Art, Design and Architecture Theses

This thesis is an attempt to explore the Jordanian community of today with its multi-ethnic fusion and its social practices that often appear rooted in the past. It is an examination of what possible series of symbols could be formed from a collective view of the diverse ethnicity in Jordan and that could be culturally relevant to the seven-pointed star of the Jordanian flag. This has been an investigation structured around Design Thinking processes using a mixture of qualitative methods integrated with a social science methodology. The qualitative data collection methods involved close contact between the research participants and the …

A Search For Justice: An Analysis Of Purpose, Process And Stakeholder Practice At The International Criminal Court, Benjamin Iain Nutt

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

At the outset the International Criminal Court (ICC) was heralded as a revolution within international society, but it has since found itself at the centre of much controversy and debate. According to the Rome Statute’s Preamble, a broad aim of the ICC is: “to guarantee lasting respect for and the enforcement of international justice”. However, a review of the critical literature surrounding the ICC uncovered a noticeable lack of discussions applying theoretical understandings of justice to neither the Court’s design nor operations; a gap in the literature that the thesis aims to address. Moreover, the review identified that the primary …

Antecedents Of Low Carbon Emissions Supply Chains, Z Luo, A Gunasekaran, R Dubey, S Childe, T Papadopoulos

More Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Research

Purpose: The low carbon economy is the pressing need of the time. Despite several efforts taken by government and large corporations, there is still research to be conducted exploring the role of top management commitment in translating external pressures into responses that help to build low carbon emissions in supply chains. Design/methodology/approach: We have grounded our framework in institutional theory, agency theory and contingency theory. On the basis of existing literature, we have drawn four hypotheses. To test our hypotheses, we developed and pre-tested our questionnaire. Finally, we performed statistical analyses to test our research hypotheses using 176 samples gathered …

How Do Social Work Students Develop Their Professional Identity?, Julia Wheeler

Plymouth Institute of Education Theses

Professional socialisation is a key aspect of social work pre-qualifying training and the final practice placement has long been viewed as one of the most crucial elements of social work training, in enabling students to transfer learning on the course into practice (Parker, 2007). Whilst there has been substantial research into how students develop their skills in social work education, very few studies have focused upon the student’s development of professional identity and the process of professional socialisation (Valutis, Rubin and Bell, 2012). This study explores this gap, particularly the impact of the placement supervisor and agency context upon the …

Narrating The (Im)Migrant Experience: 21st Century African Fiction In The Age Of Globalization, Bernard Ayo Oniwe

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the fiction of 21st century African writers as a product of engagement with the forces of globalization and the related notions of cosmopolitanism and the fact of South to North migration. Analyzing migrant experiences in the writings of Chris Abani’s Becoming Abigail (2007), Chika Unigwe’s The Black Street Sisters (2009), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah (2011) and Teju Cole’s Open City (2013), I argue that third-generation African writers, while building on the works of previous generations, take a global turn, and in the process, push the borders of African literature beyond the continent. 21st century African fiction, I …

Troubles Musculosquelettiques : Revue Réaliste Sur Les Bases Théoriques Des Programmes De Réadaptation Incluant Le Milieu De Travail, Marie-José Durand, Chantal Sylvain, Jean-Baptiste Fassier, Dominique Tremblay, William S. Shaw, Johannes R. Anema, Patrick Loisel, Marie-Christine Richard, Michael Bernier

États de la question, rapports d’expertise et revues de littérature

Les troubles musculosquelettiques (TMS) constituent une des principales causes d’incapacité au travail. Au cours des dernières décennies, plusieurs programmes de réadaptation au travail ont été démontrés efficaces. Cependant, le niveau de mise en œuvre de ceux-ci reste encore peu élevé. Une raison pouvant expliquer ce faible niveau d’implantation est le fait que ces programmes sont complexes et doivent prendre en compte des contextes sociaux, culturels et légaux très variés. Par conséquent, il n’est pas toujours clair quelles composantes des programmes sont efficaces (phénomène de la boîte noire) et quelles sont les théories sous-jacentes utilisées. Ainsi, il existe un …

An Investigation Into Discrimination: Racially Identifiable Names And The Effects They Have On The Home Renting Process, Francis Thomas Flynn

Master's Theses

Many urban sociologists do not adequately address ingrained systemic forms of racism

that exist in society today, such as the effects that racially identifiable names representing the larger idea of racial bias have on different social processes. This paper investigates racial housing discrimination in Chicago through analyzing the affect that racially identifiable names have on the home renting process. I conducted a field experiment in which I inquired about the availability of 96 properties throughout various locations in Chicago. Specifically, I created four email addresses linked to four racially identifiable names and sent the exact same fictitious email script from …

The Devil's In The Emails: A Sociological Examination Of Organizational Failure, William Howard Burr

Master's Theses

It is often argued that the market, with its "invisible hand," displays an inherent bent towards maximizing utility and delivering the "greatest good to the greatest number." Faith in the market to act as benevolent overlord is not only misguided but, as revealed during the Great Recession, a fantasy. Analyzing emails made public following the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, this paper considers the organizational culture within Lehman Brothers leading up to history's largest bankruptcy in order to emphasize the role of interaction within an outcome otherwise uncritically categorized as the unavoidable product of market fluctuations. Demonstrating how Lehman employees adopted the …

Filling Pews, Speaking Truth: Pro-Life Ministry In A Liberal Catholic Parish, Jonathan Neidorf

Master's Theses

Scholars of the pro-life movement in the United States have extensively documented how pro-lifers in this country feel that their cause is embattled by society (Williams and Blackburn 1996; Maxwell 2002; Munson 2008). Other research argues that conservative Catholics tend to feel that their Church is swept up in an increasing liberalization in greater society, which serves to compromise core moral tenets of the faith (Leege 1988; Weaver and Appleby 1995; Wedam 1993). No thorough research exists examining how pro-life Catholics see their Church's and their parish's liberalism as directly suppressing their pro-life work. In this ethnographic study of a …

Whiter Shade Of Pale: Making The Case For Jewish Presence In The Multicultural Classroom, Daniel Ian Rubin

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Despite over 4,000 years of persecution, American Jews and antisemitism continue to be overlooked in university multicultural and social justice classroom discussions. This is due to many factors, such as the misconceptions that Jews are solely a religious group, are White and have completely assimilated into American culture, and are economically successful. Jews are a distinctive group in the United States who continue to experience racism and oppression. In order to validate the racism and discrimination of Jews in the United States, university multicultural and social justice programs must begin to discuss the issues pertaining to antisemitism.

Knowledge Of Polymath Walks, Talks, Makes Waves, Turns Into Deeds, Hamlet Isaxanli, Waqas Ahmed

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

In this interview, Hamlet Isaxanli shares his opinion on polymathy. What makes a polymath? Isaxanli stresses the importance of two factors: a person’s nature may lead him/her to an insatiable thirst for knowledge and the desire to explore different fields simultaneously. On the other hand, the education system encourages polymathy from the perspective of the richness and diversity of the high school curriculum. Isaxanli also goes into the relationship between math and poetry as well as the art-science-humanities connections. He then calls attention to Omar Khayyam, Nasr al-Din Tusi and some polymaths of the 20th century. Finally yet importantly, Isaxanli …