Digital Commons Network^™

The Omaha World-Herald And The "Growth Machine": Interpreting North Omaha And Millard News Headlines, Alexandra Shepherd Lipschultz

Student Work

This study explores the social context of the Omaha World-Herald headlines written about two geographic areas of the city, North Omaha and Millard. A combination of sociology and mass communication theories are used to examine the role of the local newspaper in the patterns of the city’s growth and development.

Daubert V. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Epistemiology And Legal Process, Margaret G. Farrell

Cardozo Law Review

Justice Blackmun's majority opinion in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. acknowledges that law and science have different goals, but it fails to recognize the implications of those differences for legal process. Recent increases in the scientifically-based claims brought in the federal courts, and in the size and complexity of the litigation in which such claims are made, have raised the stakes in the debate. At the same time, scientific concepts of relativity, uncertainty, and multiple causation are at odds with simple, legal notions about fact-finding and cause and effect. This disparity between legal and scientific understandings over the admission …

The Practice Of Social Research (Book Review), Kristen Wenzel

SHU Faculty Publications

Book review by Kristen Wenzel.

Ec94-811 Older Nebraskans: Patterns And Changes In Nebraska, 1970-1990, John C. Allen, Jian Wu

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

The number of Americans 65 and older increased rapidly in the last 20 years. Nationwide, the growth rate was 27 percent between 1970 and 1980 and 22 percent between 1980 and 1990. In each decade the number of older adults grew more than twice as fast as the general population.

This circular discusses this population increase of the older Nebraska generation by county, towns, and cities.

Towards An Understanding Of The Relationship Between Gender And Fertility Strategies, Beverly Jean Matthews

Digitized Theses

Recent studies of fertility patterns have documented the connection between egalitarian gender roles and very low fertility. Some research examines individuals' beliefs about gender roles, some focuses on women's labour force activities, and others study large scale societal changes. The conclusions drawn from these investigations indicate that egalitarian gender relations result in long-term below replacement fertility.;It is my contention that such conclusions are premature, that the current very low fertility results from the transition in gender relations rather than from egalitarian gender roles themselves. In this thesis, the nature of the relationship between gender and fertility is explored. A small …

Cultural Orientations

Border Life Collection

Typed essay. Topics covered in essay: patterns in Mexican and Anglo culture in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Uneasy Alliances: Belief And Action On A Geropsychiatric Team, Elizabeth Blesedell Crepeau

Doctoral Dissertations

This ethnographic study explores the influence of two competing ideologies, the medical model and the empowerment model, on the actions of staff on an acute geropsychiatric unit. The medical model emphasizes the professional power of the physician and other health care workers. In contrast the empowerment model emphasizes the autonomy of patients and their role in directing their care. Since these beliefs are contradictory, staff may feel conflict no matter how they act. The tacit nature of these beliefs mask the source of this tension. The mission of the unit is to enhance the independence of people over 60 with …

The Contemporary Work Ethic: An Exploration Of Culture And Structure In Post-Industrial Society, Marcia J. Ghipina

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation the relationship between structure and culture is explored in the context of the American work ethic. This analysis has two components. The first involves a socio-historical examination of the evolution of conceptions of work. Work is first viewed as lacking any positive qualities but with the emergence of the Protestant ethic and its later secularized versions, work took on positive meaning. These conceptions are analyzed in relation to their structural context, particularly early capitalist industrial society.

To further explore the relationship between culture and structure, a second component is included in this research. In order to characterize …

Work And Power In Post-Fordist Production: A Case Study Of Four Machine Shops, Stephen A. Sweet

Doctoral Dissertations

American industry is shifting to a "post-Fordist" approach to production. The post-Fordist approach includes expanding use of advanced manufacturing technologies, decreasing organizational sizes, decreasing bureaucratization of the work place, and the abandonment of Tayloristic managerial practices in favor of increasing worker participation in decision making processes. This study examines the effects of the post-Fordist approach upon power relations in four work places in the machining industry.

Interviews with 44 machinists, employers and community leaders in the case study site "Machinist Valley" show that the shift to post-Fordism is accompanied by declining incomes, fewer employment opportunities, lower benefits, and less job …

Final Vows: Organizational Dilemmas And Emergent Status-Reconstruction Of The Contemporary American Nun, Mary Anne Wichroski

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the effects of societal, institutional, and structural change on the status of Roman Catholic nuns. Based on interviews with 34 members of female religious orders, archival materials, Church documents, and participant observation, two case study orders (apostolic and cloistered) are compared in terms of structural change since Vatican II and their relative viability in the 1990s. As members of declining organizations, apostolic sisters are reconstructing their roles by drawing upon sources that pre-date formal hierarchical structures, as well as aspects of gender-status. Although active sisters show some congruence with feminist beliefs on work-related issues, other aspects of …

A Sociological Study Of The Manifestation Of Multi-Culturalism In Public Schools, Christy Lee Hammer

Doctoral Dissertations

Debates on multi-culturalism are prevalent in politics, the mass media, and the educational system. I identify the range of local and national views concerning multi-culturalism and multi-cultural education, and explore how these views are manifest in actual multi-cultural practices in the schools. My central thesis is that the implementation of multi-culturalism in the schools threatens core, traditional values functional to the power structure. Yet, effective, quality multi-cultural education does takes place. This reveals a contradiction between the needs of the Nation-State to maintain certain core values and the need for multi-culturalism by international capitalism.

I have explored multi-cultural issues in …

Islands Of Deutschtum: German Americans In Manchester, New Hampshire And Lawrence, Massachusetts, 1870-1942, Robert Paul Mccaffery

Doctoral Dissertations

The history of the German-American communities of Manchester, New Hampshire and Lawrence, Massachusetts raises several important issues about German immigration to the United States. Comprising only a small percentage of the population of the two cities German immigrants founded a distinctive culture--islands of Deutschtum--as vibrant as those in the "German belt" of the Midwest. The historiography has generally concluded that German-Americans could not unite in common cause, and that World War I ended German culture in America. However, not only did Germans in Manchester and Lawrence unite, but they maintained Deutschtum through World War I into World War II.

Several …

Punitiveness And Public Opinion On Abortion And Capital Punishment In The United States, Kimberly Joyce Cook

Doctoral Dissertations

The intriguing paradox of opposition to abortion and support for capital punishment is the central concern of this dissertation. Others have argued that these are inconsistent life views. However, there is some evidence that these views are rooted in traditional morality and political conservatism. Beyond traditionalism, is the desire to punish those who violate the social order. Punitive respondents desire to secure obedience to the law or moral code by means of punishment. Criminal abortion laws allow the authority of the state to punish those who have or perform abortions. Capital punishment is one means of punishing those who are …

Children Experiencing Unemployment Stress: A Comparison Of Families With Stable And Unstable Employment Histories, Barbara Alice Wauchope

Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigates children's experiences of changes that occur in families when fathers lose their jobs, the children's interpretations and responses to those changes, and their resulting symptoms of stress. In the first part, school-aged children and their parents in fourteen two-parent families in northern New England were interviewed and completed instruments measuring the children's behavior and symptoms of stress. In the second part, adults from seventy-six additional families completed a self-administered questionnaire. In both parts, children in families were divided into two groups and compared: middle-class with older parents in which fathers had little or no history of losing …

The Creation Of The New Hampshire State Prison For Women: Some Unintended Consequences Of Legal Reform, Elaine Rizzo

Doctoral Dissertations

In 1989, New Hampshire established its first women's prison in response to a lawsuit filed by inmates charging the state with sex discrimination in its treatment of women prisoners. This litigation reflects a growing use of legal reform based on equal protection rights by female inmates to express and remediate correctional needs.

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the conditions that led to the creation of the women's prison, and the unintended consequences that have resulted from legal reform on the correctional treatment and court processing of female offenders.

This research uses qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative analysis …

Ec94-810 Increasing Racial And Ethnic Diversity Of Nebraska, John C. Allen, Jian Wu

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

During the last decade, minority population in Nebraska increased rapidly while white population declined slightly. This increase was more rapid than was projected, but similar to the national trend.

This extension circular discusses the growth and decline of races in the state of Nebraska.

A Description And Comparison Of Variables That Influence Recidivism Of Selected Juveniles., Martin P. Carr

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Nationally, over $1.6 billion is spent incarcerating juveniles. Prevention, rather than correction is needed to reduce these costs. The cost in human lives exceeds the 56,000 incarcerated juveniles. It touches more than those who commit the offense. Victims, families of victims and families of the convicted juvenile also pay a price to one degree or another. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe variables which may impact recidivism rates of selected juveniles who were charged and have arrest records on file. The research was based upon East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, juvenile arrest files from 1981 through …

Cultural Orientations

Border Life Collection

Typed essay. Topics covered in essay are: racism, Anglo and Mexican relations.

Dancing On Razor Wire: Caring To Write And Writing To Care In A Women's Prison, Kathe Penfield Simons

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study investigates the writing of women in prison as a tool to care for themselves and others. The inmates participated in a student-centered, socially contextualized, process writing class whereby they could write for their own purposes, and share and publish their writing. The study presents case studies of two women who were also involved in a peer-tutoring program (one serving as the tutor for the other) and who used their literacies extensively on their own time outside of the classroom.

Many of our nation's inmates are considered illiterate by standardized, school-based measures. Some participate in correctional education programs …

Employer Recruitment And Job Matching Theories: The Effects Of Informal Recruiting Practices On Racial And Gender Job Composition., Frederick Carson Mencken

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation analyzes the effects of employer recruiting practices on the gender and racial composition of jobs. Using the Metropolitan Employer-Employee Survey, I examine how the structural characteristics of organizations, occupations, industries and jobs affect the manner in which employers recruit for certain vacancies. The results show that employers use informal recruitment techniques, such as recruitment through professional colleagues and business associates, to recruit for executive/managerial, professional and other white-collar occupations. Employers use formal recruiting techniques for jobs in large establishments, in government agencies, and lower-level white-collar jobs. The dissertation addresses the link between recruitment practices and the gender and …

A Step In The "Wright" Direction: Mapping The Structural Locations Of The "New Class"., David Emile Maurer

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Stratification researchers have directed their efforts toward tracing the emergence of and speculating about the composition of a New Class which is forming as American capitalism expands. In their endeavors, three sets of theories occupy center stage: Expert New Class theory, Managerial New Class theory, and New Working Class theory. To empirically test each of these theories, the 1991-1992 Class and Class Consciousness data set were employed. Of the three sets of theories, Managerial New Class models offer the most promise for future research and explaining the changing nature of the American social structure. Moderate support is also provided for …

What Does It Take?, Joshua Yount '95

Undergraduate Review

No abstract provided.

Cultural Orientations

Border Life Collection

Typed essay. Topics covered in this essay are: discrimination, and Mexican culture.

The Impact Of The Global Economy: An Analysis Of Foreign Language Study In The United States., Kazumi Kimura

Student Work

An examination of global forces helps us to understand how school curricula in a nation are shaped. This emphasis on global forces is important especially when we deal with foreign languages as a school subject, because the study of foreign languages, unlike other school subjects, is more likely to be influenced by world political and economic situations. This study is designed to examine what impact the emergence of the new economic order, or global economy, has brought on language study in the United States. The impact of economic transformation will be measured by analyzing language enrollments at various educational levels, …

Chinatown - The Socioeconomic Potential Of An Urban Enclave - Zhou,M, Jimy M. Sanders

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Conflicting Partial Paradigms: An Analysis Of Stratification Articles, 1953-1990, Kaj E. Williams

Student Work

This thesis addresses the relevance of paradigms to the field of social stratification. Social stratification articles appearing in the American Sociological Review and the American Journal of Sociology from the years 1953-1990 are analyzed. The results provide evidence for a multiplicity of paradigms within the field. A life cycle model for paradigm development is proposed to account for the changes exhibited by the paradigms. I suggested that paradigms go through four stages and that movement through each stage is caused by interactions between the paradigms. Similarities and differences to Kuhn's original paradigm concept are emphasized, and suggestions are provided for …

Adapting To Retention: A Naturalistic Study Revealing The Coping Resources Of Nonpromoted Students And Their Parents, Robbie J. Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to uncover the feelings and reactions of students and their parents in regard to the nonpromotion experience. Families with children who had been retained at least once in grades one through eight were purposefully selected as units of study from one of four area school systems. A total of 52 family members from 22 family units participated in 46 separate, qualitative interviews. The information collected from the interviews was inductively analyzed. Building upon Schlossberg's theory for human adaptation to transitions, seven factors or coping resources emerged from the data that affected the adaptation of …

The Wooster Voice (Wooster, Oh), 1993-04-09, Wooster Voice Editors

The Voice: 1991-2000

In this edition of the Voice, the Board of Trustees ad-hoc committee presents a preliminary report on the issues surrounding Greek life to trustees' at the general meeting. Professor of Music and Black Studies, Josephine Wright, is selected as Editor-in-Chief of American Music, a national quarterly journal. The College’s faculty votes to ban double majors in international relations and any of its participating departments (economics, history, and political science), and in urban studies and any of its participating departments (economics, political science, and sociology). Additionally, the Inter-Section and Inter-Club Councils are abolished to form the “Inter-Greek Council” in an effort …

The Sociology Of Plants, Julie L. Welch Stuehser

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research is to assess the link between plants, people, and performance. Several studies have suggested that plants in a social environment will change the behavior of the people in their vicinity (Relf, 1990, 1992; Bryant, 1992).

Relative Risks And Tempo Of Childbearing In Early Birth Intervals: A Comparative Study Of The Dominican Republic And Trinidad And Tobago, Bernard Godfrey St

Digitized Theses

This study explains and compares the variations in the relative risks and tempo of first, second and third order births among women from the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago. In Trinidad and Tobago, Indians have unique cultural traditions that are known to affect their fertility behaviour. Thus, the study also focuses on the Indian and Non-Indian women from Trinidad and Tobago.;Data are obtained from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) that were conducted in the Dominican Republic during 1986 and in Trinidad and Tobago during 1987. A standard core questionnaire permitted comparisons between the fertility behaviour of women from …